I would like to think that I would be able to age without becoming skewed cynically in my thinking. I already knew that my perception had been altered due to my parent’s death and my uncle’s greed. I wasn’t aiming for lifetime therapy sessions and I most certainly wasn’t aiming for becoming a bitter cynical bitch. I was aiming for some happy median of sorts between idealism and realism.
Oh well, I had plenty of time to figure out life’s problems. The immediate issue gnawing at my nerves was meeting Anthony’s mother. I would do what I always do when I’m at a loss, research. I was sure there would be plenty of info about her on the internet. Some would be true and some false but it would at least give me something to gauge her by.
It hit me that if anyone knew Anthony’s mother, it was Gretchen. I got up and made my way down to the kitchen.
“Hello sweetie, have a seat and let me get you a cup of coffee.”
She sat eyeing me as if she was taking inventory on what my emotional state was and I was relieved when her perception was spot on.
“Child, you have nothing to worry about when it comes to Anthony’s Mother. As badly as I hate to admit it their relationship is more like a business than an emotional bond. She worked tirelessly to see him get elected, but when it comes to anything emotional the two of them act as if they aren’t even related.”
I was relieved to hear that she wasn’t going to be the social snot that I had envisioned, but I was saddened to know that Anthony had grown up so disconnected from the woman who should have been a major contributing factor emotionally in his life. As badly as I attempted to restrain myself, my curiosity got the best of me.
“Gretchen what is your take on Anthony’s feelings towards me?”
Her hand gently covered mine as she eyed me with the utmost sincerity and spoke, “I have never seen Anthony like this over any woman. What you perceive as Anthony’s obsession with you, is actually Anthony’s love.”
“We all have issues from our past that mold us and cause us to be the people that we are. The same way that you have a hard time letting Anthony in, is the same way that Anthony has a hard time letting you go. He’s scared to lose you, plain and simple.”
Leave it to Gretchen to cut through all the tangled web of emotions that was Anthony and myself, and get right to the core of the issue at hand. We were both terrified.
“I’m getting the door,” I announced when I heard the doorbell ring with what I knew to be my delivery.
If this gown doesn’t fit to a tee and make me look drop dead gorgeous I swear I’ll have your head on a platter—Governor, or not!
I grabbed the boxes and tipped the delivery man quickly shutting the door and hurrying back to my room. Anxiety didn’t even begin to describe how I was feeling about meeting the his mother. What I couldn’t figure out was why the hell I even cared?
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Governor Anthony Johnson
I sat eyeing my assistant debating whether or not to take the issue that we were discussing as seriously as he was.
“Governor, this man is becoming more than just a nuisance, he has graduated to a full blown problem. This is a private, high end gated community and when people start worrying about water rights—it graduates to worrying about ownership of their property, which in turn means they begin selling. Then the property values go down. It’s a vicious cycle. This man is pissing off some major players. ones who have supported you throughout yours campaigns.”
I stretched my legs out and interlocked my fingers behind my neck, it was evident that this was an issue that I needed to give my undivided attention.
“Ok Carl let me see if I have this correct. Basically what you are telling me is that the man on the board of this lake house community is embezzling money. When he was brought up on charges he started threatening to reveal inside info on some high rollers who live in said community. Now he is going so far as to put people in fear over water rights and people are beginning to move which is driving real estate prices down. Am I correct so far?”
Carl just shook his head yes.
“What does any of that have to do with me?”
“He knows about Talia.”
That got my attention! “Carl, I expect for this issue to be taken care of immediately. How does this man have information about my property?”
Though I could tell Carl was taken aback by the term ‘property’ when it came to Talia, he knew enough about my dark side to understand it. He knew I had no intentions of ever letting Talia go.
“Evidently they knew each other because Talia use to frequent the lake house of one of the men who lives there.”
“So one of her old clients has property there?”
“Yes Sir.”
“I want information on both men, Carl. The embezzler and the sugar daddy.”
“I’ve already taken care of it. One of our best private investigators has them under surveillance.”
I could feel a rage within me trying to rear its ugly head, but I pushed it down. There were much more important things at hand than just my jealousy.
I turned back towards my desk and silently verbalized that this meeting was over.
“One more thing Carl, I want a top of the line phone, tablet, and computer set up for my Talia—complete with surveillance that is privy only to me.”
“I’m on it Sir.”
My mind drifted to thoughts of Talia. I have a penchant to feel urgency when I’m not gaining control of a situation to the extent that I desire. In the case of Talia I was feeling much more than urgency.
What was it that she was able to bring out in me that no one else was? It wasn’t insecurity—I, of all people knew that her body reacted to me as it had to none before me. Suddenly it hit me that this had nothing to do with sex—it had to do with losing her. I was afraid to lose Talia.
The thought settled in my gut like a concrete block. There were two issues that I was very displeased with. Talia had been much more of a challenge than I ever could have anticipated. She had no intentions of letting her independence go—I was going to have to take it. The other issue at hand was that I didn’t like the fear that coursed through me when I thought about losing her.
I’ve always been the one with the upper hand in relationships. The women I had been involved with in the past gave me everything that I wanted with no resistance. All they cared about was the money and the prestige that I brought to the table. Talia didn’t care about those things, to be honest I had no idea what she did care about. She was a hard study, she had spent years building up walls and it was going to take time to break them down. In the mean time I wanted a hold on her—no—I wanted a stranglehold on her. I was going to have to incorporate the help of the one person who had always been there when she thought that it would benefit her, my mother.
Miller
The dark shadowy figure was donned in camouflage and combat boots, quietly parked the fishing boat. He made certain to tie it off tightly enough to hold, but loose enough to provide the quick getaway that would be needed.
All was quiet in the secure lake house community. Its inhabitants slept with what could be termed as nothing but a false sense of security.
The killer knew better than anyone that if someone wanted your demise badly enough, then nothing and no one could stop the onslaught of danger. He was out for blood tonight and blood he would have.
He enjoyed his job because it fed the nasty little sadistic streak that inhabited his being.
He made his way around the house to cut off the security system before he quietly made his way to the sliding glass door and placed the suction cupped device on the cool glass. One clean circle and the glass popped out as if it were non-existent. He could feel the adrenaline surge as he made his way to the back master bedroom.
He stood viewing the man whose dark hair confirmed that he was the mark. Miller imagined him dreaming of catching a record size fish on his fishing trip that he had come here for. There would be no boasting of catching a re
cord size catfish because he would die tonight. There would be a nightmare come true by the hand of a deadly predator though.
The sleeping man’s predator watched as his chest rose and fell with each breath that he took. There was nothing like the power of holding life and death in the palm of one’s hand, it was intoxicating to say the least.
He wished that he could take the time to torment him and listen to his cries and screams for mercy, but this was a hit and he needed to be in and out quickly.
With exact precision he grabbed a handful of his mark’s hair and viciously jerked his head back. His mark’s eyes flew open in horror, but before he even had time to assess the situation the killer had his throat slit open and he was making his way into eternity.
Miller watched for a moment as the crisp white sheets became a crimson red and once again he wished that he had been able to revel in the thrill of the kill, but there was simply no time.
As quickly and quietly as he had made his way up to the lakeshore, he launched off onto the murky waters and into obscurity. He looked at the clear star laden night sky and thought to himself, Life is good…
Talia
I would awaken in the middle of the night at times and my lover would be on top of me fucking me—taking me—as he growled threats into my ear. My legs would freely open inviting him to defile me as if my body had a will of its own, and in a sense it did.
His voice called me from the deep, wooing me with promises of danger, intrigue, and forbidden passion. I would be soaked and I hadn’t even been awake to make the decision to respond to his advances or to be excited sexually, yet my body was on edge for him any time that he summoned.
My mind wasn’t exempt either from his web of addiction that he had intricately spun to entrap me. He studied it as if it were something that he was enraptured with, but really he had to know how to maintain dominance over it.
He needed the safety of knowing that he knew how I thought, how I perceived, how I processed the world around me—so that he could wrap my mind in his web of words and entwine it in his commands. He had gone so far as to tell me, “Possess a woman’s mind and body— and you possess the woman.”
“I own you my dove and I will clip your wings in order to keep you.”
I would listen to him, never giving him an answer, always avoiding the inevitable of being his completely. I knew that he wouldn’t stop until he had me completely at his mercy. I never have been the kind of woman to give up her independence. I couldn’t help but wonder if that was the reason that he had to have me—because he knew that he would never completely possess me.
I watched as he grabbed his phone and answered a text and I knew that it was something wicked.
A wicked smile crossed his lips only confirming what I already knew. He pushed my legs back thrusting into me with no mercy. My body ached for this man—literally ached, but there was still that part of my brain that wondered just how dangerous that he was.
It was time for me to do some digging. I needed full disclosure on this man and on what I had gotten myself into. It was becoming more evident by the day that I had sorely underestimated the Governor.
Miller
Miller sat in his hummer slumped down and eyeing the prey at hand through binoculars. The high dollar surveillance equipment that he had insured he would be able to see even the smallest of details.
He would enjoy this job more, making that bastard of an ex husband pay for taking out a hit on a woman. This time he would be able to savor the hunt and Miller was all about the hunt. He watched as the stunning blonde walked through her apartment barefooted in a white flowing dress. He could feel his cock twitch when he caught a glimpse of her pink nipples as they grazed against the gauze of the dress.
He could tell that she was nude beneath the thin white cotton gauze and visions of lifting her dress and taking her against the wall were exciting him.
He felt a type of primal urge to protect this woman against the man who was betraying her. He couldn’t ever remember a time that he felt that strong of an urge come over him—compassion was not a trait that Miller was used to exhibiting. He knew in that moment that it was only a matter of time before he took matters into his own hands.
He had realized during his stint in Kuwait that he enjoyed hunting and he had also realized that once a man hunts a human, nothing else ever quite measures up. He had heard a quote somewhere along those lines and now he knew first hand, that hunting humans raised the bar on the thrill factor. Yes, it was true, once you hunted human, anything else just never measured up.
That last kill had been so hurried. Though he had enjoyed watching the sheet soak up the blood that poured from his victim’s slit neck. Under perfect situations Miller liked to take a mark to his warehouse and torture them. He had made a commitment to himself that he only killed those who where deserving and never women or children.
He had managed to lure this mark’s ex husband into believing that he would do the job. When really he had been motivated by curiosity and the fact that he didn’t want the competition to get the hit and actually kill her.
Never women, I would never kill a women.
Miller had always known that he was different, but it wasn’t until he went to war that he realized just how different he was. He enjoyed extracting information from the prisoners that he subdued. In fact some of the most hardened soldiers he served with had to leave the room when he was extracting information.
He would go to any extreme to get what he wanted. Where others would do what was necessary to get the intel that was needed and then move on, Miller reveled in the pain that his prisoners were subjected to. To put it simply, Miller had a sadistic streak that was a mile wide and he was looking forward to getting his hands on that dirt bag ex husband of the blonde that he had become so intrigued with.
It hadn’t taken Miller long to learn that there was an awful lot of money to be made for a soldier that could offer his skills. Being a hit man worked out great for him, because Miller was about two things; pain and money. Working for men in powerful positions met both of those needs. Yes, life was good…
The ringing of the cell phone pulled him from his thoughts of avenging the damsel in distress.
“Well Miller, I have to say that you have outdone yourself on this job. Seems like that gentleman just wanted to spread all sorts of nasty rumors after he was caught embezzling money and we can’t have that now can we?”
Miller pushed down on his hardened cock and rushed to get off the phone. This blonde he was watching was distracting him, among other things.
“Glad that you’re happy Sir. I aim to please.”
“Well I’ll talk to you soon Miller and have a wonderful day. Your money has already been deposited into your bank account, along with a bonus.”
“Thank you Sir, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.” Miller hung up the phone and slumped down in the seat continuing to watch his mark.
Now back to the matter at hand.
The woman that he watched never left her apartment, ever.
She’s agoraphobic. She has every classic symptom: never leaves her home, has everything delivered, suffers from panic attacks. It was all beginning to make sense to him now. She barely steps out the door to retrieve the items that are delivered. That’s why her ex husband is trying to hire me.
It was evident to Miller why he wanted her dead. He wanted to collect on her life insurance. In light of the divorce being so recent he could say that the insurance policy was paid to date and that he was going to drop it at the next six month payment period. Miller wrote a note in his small pocket notebook to check into how much life insurance the little schmuck had taken out on her.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Talia
“What is it with you Talia? Your perception of people is altered.”
“Ha, my perception of people is altered? You still believe in prince charming.”
“Why can’t you believe that something good can happen to you Tal
ia? I understand that you have been through a lot with the death of your parents, but do you have to let their accident jade you?”
I cut my eyes at my best friend as I spoke. “You have no idea how ruthless this man is. I don’t know what extremes he would go to in order to get what he wants. What I do know is that right now he wants me. I’ll be damned if I am just going to open up and trust him. He is a politician Kathy, even you with all of your fairy dust beliefs, should know the reputation that they have for being liars and snakes.”
“Fairy dust beliefs? That was hitting below the belt.”
“Bringing my dead parents into it was too!”
“Talia, when are you going to get it? I love you and I just want to see you be happy.”
“I get that and I don’t mean to be a bitch but I don’t trust this guy and I don’t care how off of the charts that the sex is, this is my life and I’m not handing it over to any man.”
“Off the charts sex huh? Please do tell.”
“On a serious note Kathy, if something happens to me—he did it.”
“Oh my gosh Talia, you are going off the the deep end with this not trusting men issue.”
“This isn’t about men, it’s about people. I’m not jaded but I do have a clear understanding of how far people will go to get what they want.”
“Well silly, he wants you—he isn’t going to kill you. You may want to go get a five year birth control implant though because he might try to purposely get you pregnant. Hey, on another note aren’t you supposed to be going to some big gala this weekend with him and his mother?”
“Please don’t remind me. I can’t help but think his mother might be a bitch.”
“See, that is what I’m talking about Talia. You always see the negative, just stop it already.”
“Well this is one time that I hope that you are right, Kathy.”
Stop fidgeting dear. You look ravishing enough for me to be distracted with thoughts of taking you home and defiling you. My Mother will think that you are beautiful.
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