Page 77 of Serena
“Again?”
“Yes, again.” She looks at the screen, then back to me. “After I left the hospital, I had a stalker. My parents thought it was my paranoia. At one point, I thought I was just going crazy. Then things started to happen around me. My dad’s car was vandalized at work. Someone spray-paintedXon the hood of his car. At showings, my mom thought she was being followed. I would get text messages from unknown numbers with a letterX. The police could never track their origin. I was so scared to put the people around me in danger, so I started to isolate myself from everyone. When Kyle came forward, everyone started to take me more seriously. After Lester was killed, everything stopped. By that point, I’d started taking classes online and never stepped foot on campus again. Not even for my graduation. It’s like I disappeared.”
She turns to me. “I was so scared all the time. I lived in constant fear. So shattered. When I looked in the mirror, I'd see a weak and fragile twenty-one-year-old.”
“Baby, shattered doesn’t mean fragile.”
“Tell that to my panic attacks. Ian, I’m going into the office, like it or not. Ineedto.”
“Like hell you are.” She stands up and goes into our bedroom.Our bedroom. Walks into the walk-in closet and picks out her outfit. I take it out of her hands and hang it back up.
“Ian, you can’t keep me locked up!”
“You want to test that theory? I have the rope, handcuffs, a gag, and a couple of other things to keep you tied down if needed.” She can’t help but blush. Those are some of her favorite things that are also in her closet at her apartment. What can I say? I need to be prepared.
“Ian, in a relationship, you have to compromise.” She realized what she just said.
“Did you just say relationship, Mi Reina?”
“Well, yes, Mr. Kayde, it seems like I did.” I grin and lift her off her feet. I kiss her. So consumed that I feel my soul become one with hers.
“Please, Ian.” Ugh, I can never deny her anything.
“Serena, this is your safety we’re talking about. If anything happens to you… The only way I’ll agree to this is if you have someone with you at all times.”
She rolls her eyes, “Fine, but I pick who.”
“Nice try. I’ll get everything in order. First, I need my breakfast, and let's put that rope to good use.”
When we’re finished eating, I call Felix and ask him to be Serena’s bodyguard. I trust that he’ll do everything to protect her. He can easily blend in at the office. You wouldn’t know he’s a sadistic killer. He looks like a goddamn politician. That’s not far off—his father is a mayor. So I guess there isn’t a difference. Felix is also considered family.
“Can I take her shooting?” Felix asks as he takes a bite of his toast. He’s waiting on Serena. She needed extra time to get ready today.
“Why would you do that?” I’m already annoyed that he wants to take more of her time.
“I think it would be good for her. She can blow off some steam.” He’s right.
“Have you asked Elias about the stalker?”
“No. I still can’t look at him,” I confess.
“You and Caleb. You need to swallow your pride. This is your woman. His father might have more insight into what was going on during that time. They were there. It seems more than her parents.” He looks somber at that familial mention.
“Felix! Serena walks to him and hugs him.” He holds her tightly. Like my cousin, any chance he has to rile me up, he does.
Serena and Felix head to the office, and I get ready to meet my father. So as not to worry Mom, we decided to meet at Caleb’s bar.
My cousin has a couple of different business ventures. His favorite one is this club. It’s modern, sleek, and expensive, just like everything in his life. I walk into the office and find my father and Caleb sitting down with a glass of expensive scotch on the table. The sight of my father in a place like this is throwing me off. As a successful businessman, he always tried to stay away from places like this to keep up his image. With the exception of one time, he never got his hands dirty. He barked orders and had others do his dirty work. Since taking over the family business, I have found out many of my father’s secrets. The most dangerous monsters are those who hide in plain sight.
This man has put so much pressure on me my whole life. However, the moment I asked him for help to protect the woman I love, he didn’t hesitate. I look at the envelope he’s holding.
“Did you read it?” I ask my father.
With a deep exhale, he says, “Yes, I looked at the name on the file and read the reports.”
I looked through the case file of Serena’s attack. Everything she told me is here. There are also things she told me that aren’t in the police report. She mentioned there was a knife, but there’s no mention of it being found. There was a witness who mentioned seeing three men leaving the back of the bar, but that lead wasn't followed up on because Serena mentioned only two men attacked her. Kyle was interviewed and denied ever talking to Serena but then changed his story.
“What the fuck is this?”
