by Anna Kendra
“The second was a supposed burglary attempt, except that nothing was stolen and he made enough noise to wake you up. And when you tried to stop him from escaping, he stabbed you, missing any vital organs but hitting your arm nonetheless, a superficial wound.You made a narrow escape before the police arrived.
“The third was the short circuit in your office which failed because the night guard became the victim when he went to turn off the lights. Last but not the least, there was the kidnapping attempt on your son, from which he was able to escape since he was on his bike. Those are all the attempts that have been made so far.” Julian finished, watching her grimace at every event he mentioned.
“I was lucky, I guess.” Sia rubbed her temples. “I hate elevators, but I have to ride it up here to the seventh floor. People in the office know about my claustrophobia, so I was rescued right on time. The thief missed because I fell on the ground just as he was about to stab me, and I feel really sorry for the watchman. He shouldn’t be in the hospital right now. It should’ve been me,” Sia said sadly.
Did he hear things right? She should be happy she’s alive, and not want to take another man’s place! He didn’t think showing humanity was part of the character of the high-class society. Sia Milton seemed to be the exact opposite of the class stereotypes he’d been working for till date.
A thought struck him.
“It has to be someone you know! Someone who is family or even a friend?” he asked quickly. All evidence pointed to just that. Or how would the person intent on harming her know about her schedules or her phobias?
“Friends? Family! Goodness, no! Why would anyone—”
“Think about it,” he cut her off, “You are claustrophobic. That is the exact reason you were trapped in the elevator. That thief wanted to kill you,and the circuit was meant for you, so that when you switch on something in the morning,you will get electrocuted, and the kidnap attempt on your son was also meant to hurt you. As a mother, you’d be devastated if something were to happen to your son. Whoever it is, they want to hurt you physically or mentally, any chance they get,” Julian concluded, feeling a ripple of pain in his heart as he talked about the relationship between a mother and her child. His birth mother hadn’t cared,and he could do nothing to change that, but Cecelia Turner had more than made up for his loveless childhood. It was from her that Julian had learned what having a mother felt like.
Sia was stunned into silence. Never in her wildest dreams would she have gotten to this conclusion. Her friends or family! God help her, she was about to faint! Talking to Julian had given her a whole lot more to think about. “Mr. Turner, there are things I’d like to discuss with you in private. I believe my office is no longer safe for having such conversations anymore,” Sia said slowly, calming her nerves even as her eyes roamed the length of the room, searching for the red light of a camera. “Please report on duty tomorrow morning at my house. Your accommodation and meals will be taken care of.”
Julian smiled in satisfaction. He knew what he was capable of, yet every time a client officially hires him, he’d always feel a surge of relief. “I promise you won’t regret it, Ma’am,” he said firmly as he stood and extended his hand to Sia.
“I hope so too.” Sia, too, stood from her seat,and for the first time, he saw that she was wearing a white pencil skirt under her cotton shirt, and she looked fine in them. He noted that she was also very tall. Five-eight, maybe? A wonderful height for a woman, he remarked to himself.
But as soon as her hands touched his, Sia felt a surge of electricity pass through her skin,and she broke the handshake prematurely. “Good day, Mr. Turner, I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said hastily.
“Looking forward to it,” Julian said with a small smile as he walked out of the room.
Oh, he was looking forward to it all right! He knew Sia had felt that surge of electricity that had passed between them and, judging by the hastiness with which she’d pulled her hand free, he knew she wasn’t as unaffected by him as she had pretended to be.
But as he walked out of her office, Julian wondered why he was so eager to get a reaction out of Sia when his entire career depended upon his full attention on this mission.
Chapter 4
When Sia finally woke up from her slumber, it was almost noon the next day.
But she was in no hurry. She had created her best wedding dress to date and at the cheapest rate possible. She was happy that she was able to meet the demands of the underprivileged couple who will be starting their life together shortly. She sat up slowly and stretched, relieving the tension in her arm muscles. She hadn’t trusted anyone else with her designs this time, considering how the wedding season was in full swing. Employees are often tempted to sell designs to more prestigious companies who would charge a far higher rate for the gown she’d created, satisfying their own greed over bringing a smile on a woman’s face.
Sia had learned that the hard way when the company she had been working for as an intern had stolen her design, and the man she considered her guru had taken full credit for the work. So through gritted teeth, she waited until her internship was over.After that, she gave a big “fuck you”in reply to the offer of working as the man’s assistant and started her own company. Helaughed at her then, believing that she wouldn’t be able to make it far in the industry. But eight years later, she was steadily climbing the ladder of success while her so-called guru was facing his downfall because of poor, declining quality products sold at higher rates.
Sia got out of bed and went to take a warm shower. She then dressed herself in one of her favorite sundresses, a blue knee-length dress that had a white belt and three-quarter sleeves, pairing it with white slippers and pearl earrings. She liked to keep her style minimal.
When she was done, she went downstairs for breakfast.
“Good noon, Sia!” Mrs. Stackhouse welcomed her into the kitchen and placed some bread, ham, and cheese for her on a plate along with some freshly made lemon tea. Sia loved the aroma of lemon tea in the morning.
She ate her meal and drank her tea in comfortable silence. She wasn’t surprised when her mind went back to her encounter with Julian Turner. She was glad she had chosen him. He might be a womanizer,but he had brains. In an instant, he had figured out a strong lead behind the attempts on taking her life as well as her son’s: the attacks were a part of a revenge plot and not a usurpation scheme. Although the news he delivered was unnerving.
There was only one person she could think of who would do such a thing, but surely, he wouldn’t, would he? She had her doubts, but she knew she must speak to Julian about her past no matter how hard it might be. She thought she was finally free of it; after all, it’s been ten years. But psychopaths rarely forget their obsessions, no matter how much time has passed.
The sound of shoes padding on the marble stairs brought her attention back to the present. She looked toward the source of the noise just in time to see him jump off the last few stairs and land gracefully on his feet.
He was wearing blue basketball shorts and a white-and-orange striped sleeveless hoodie. His light blond, almost white hair was still damp from his shower,andhis amethyst eyes looked directly at her, the excitement in them barely contained. With his straight nose, full lips, and boyish but strikingly handsome face, her son would make any woman go crazy over him in the future. Leonard Stone was the spitting image of her, except for the eyes and hair. He was still a bit on the leaner side but boys his age usually were. She knew his body would fill out when he got a bit older, once he hit puberty.
“Good morning, Mom!” he exclaimed happily as he reached the kitchen counter and bent down to kiss his mother’s cheeks.
“Morning, Leo. Ready for practice?” she asked him, happy to get her mind off of serious things.
“Yup. But I won’t have that much time since finals are coming up,” Leonard or Leo as his mother called him answered. “By the way, what are we having for lunch?”
“Now, that’s cheating, Leo!” Mr
s. Stackhouse scolded him. “You know Sunday lunches are always special, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to reveal the items before lunchtime.”
“Martha!” Leo whined, making both Sia and Martha grin. “That’s not fair!”
“Life’s not fair, my boy!” Martha sighed dramatically.
“You know I have a nose, right?” was Leo’s comeback.
Leo was in his final year of middle school,and soon, he’d be in high school. Apart from his studies, Leo was also a great basketball player, and despite his young age, he could take on boys older than him. Sia had loved basketball ever since she was a kid, and she was happy to see her son share the same passion. In fact, she was the one who taught him how to play basketball. She made sure that even while she was struggling to make her mark in the fashion industry, her son would never feel neglected as she had once felt while growing up.
She was about to cut off Martha and Leo’s bickering when she heard a car pull up her driveway. She looked at the clock in the kitchen and saw that it was exactly noon. Right on time, she thought as she finished her tea and stood up from the stool.
“Are we expecting someone, Mom?” Leo asked, peeking out the kitchen window.
Sia looked at Martha, who nodded, indicating that the guest room was ready.
“Yes, hon. We are having a visitor,” Sia replied. “You remember I told you about our new bodyguard?”
“Julian Turner?” Leo raised an eyebrow at his mother. He felt a surge of relief when his mother nodded yes. In truth, he was extremely worried after hearing about the incidents that had happened at his mother’s office and the burglary attempt.
He wasn’t at home that night. He was at his friend’s house for a sleepover, but he felt extremely helpless when he saw the stab wound on his mother’s arm. He could feel her pain. And then came those people who chased him around town in a van that had tinted black windows, trying to catch him while he rode his bicycle home. He had been extremely lucky that day and had managed to make a narrow escape when he took a detour through an alleyway. It was a good thing that no one had followed him on foot after that. He hadn’t been allowed to go to school after,and although he hadn’t admitted it to his mother, he had been shaken up badly by the incident.
But today, hearing that there was someone finally here to help protect them, he felt extremely relieved. And knowing that the task at hand was dangerous, he also felt a great deal of admiration for the man who was willing to risk his own life to save theirs.
***
Julian sat in his car for a few more seconds, taking in the house in front of him.
The property wasn’t huge. It was what he would like to call decent or small compared to his previous clients’ houses, but there was something about the house that intrigued him.
It was a two-story white house with specks of green and lavender on its walls. On the ground floor was a room with walls made entirely of glass. The drapes were drawn so he couldn’t see inside, but he was sure the view from those rooms would be wonderful. There was a fountain in front of the house,and the road twisted around it and led back out the front gate. It was simple but very . . . welcoming.
He finally got out of the car and took out the bags he had brought from the passenger seat. He then locked his SUV and headed to the front door.
The door opened before he could even reach it, and standing in front of him in a blue sundress was none other than Sia Milton. He took in her long, lean legs for the first time and a scorching desire slammed into him so hard and fast that he felt like taking her in his arms and having her right there and then on the front porch. The image of her naked and under him, those sexy, long legs wrapped around his butt, was too enticing to bear. But he brought his desire under control before he could do anything stupid.
“Mr. Turner, you came right on time.” Sia managed a smile. Was it possible that the man looked even more handsome than he had yesterday?
“Julian, please, Ms. Milton, and I’m always on time,” he replied back politely with a small bow.
“Well, please do come in, Julian. And it’s Sia.” She managed a friendly tone. To be honest, Sia felt extremely nervous. Someone wanted her harm,and on top of that, she had to tell Julian about her past, one she had managed to escape from—and never go back to even in the form of a narrative—with severe difficulty.
He smiled at that and followed her into the house as Sia began giving him a tour of the house.
The living room was spacious with plush couches huddled around a small glass table in front of them, and small vases of freshly plucked flowers adding a fresh accent to the cream walls. There was a long dining room for special occasions which had a bit of a Victorian theme with the long table in the middle and twelve chairs around it. The room had huge windows draped with deep violet silk fabric and light violet walls.
The kitchen was right next to it, small but spacious. He was introduced to the caretaker of the house, Martha Stackhouse, who was a plump, old lady with a kind heart. She had coffee ready for them as soon as they entered the kitchen. Then there was the guest room. It had blue-and-white walls, an ensuite bathroom, closet,and a king-sized bed. The windows were draped with blue silk embroidered with silver floral designs. There was also a room for Martha at the back of the house, before the exit to the backyard. And finally, there was Sia’s office which was where she worked on her designs.
He was told that the rooms upstairs consisted of Sia’s and her son’s bedrooms and another guestroom. The security guards had a room right at the front, outside the main house, next to the front gate. There were two guards in total who had failed to stop the burglar from hurting their employee.
Julian was given the guestroom downstairs where he was left to unpack, while Sia returned to the living room. He did his unpacking quickly since he didn’t have that many clothes with him and moved to the living room, eager to be close to Sia. But there was also something else he was interested in.
It was time to meet Sia’s son, Leonard Stone.
Chapter 5
Sia took her time admiring Julian. His black hair was still wet from his shower, and his bare arms showed powerful muscles.He was wearing a black shirt with its sleeves rolled up to his elbows and dark blue jeans with white and blue sneakers. Blue would’ve matched his eyes better, Sia thought to herself before she remembered that he was her new bodyguard, not her client.
After almost 14 years of having no partner or, rather, avoiding the need to find one at any cost, Sia was surprised that Julian, aka Lucifer, had sparked an interest in her at all. Not that she would fuel it, but there was no reason not to admire this fine specimen. That is, unless she got caught in the act.
Leo was already waiting for them when Sia took Julian to the living room. She could tell just by looking that Julian was surprised at the lack of resemblance between her and Leo. Unfortunately, Leo looked exactly like his father, which should’ve been cause for pain to Sia, but she loved Leo with all her life.
Leonard and Julian introduced themselves to each other and had a polite conversation. Julian was yet again aware that Sia appeared too young to have a thirteen-year-old boy. She was like a puzzle to Julian, a puzzle he was all too excited to solve. He wondered if this attraction he felt towards her was because she wasn’t like the other women he’d met before, those who were ready to throw themselves at him to get his attention. He shook his head. No. Sia wasn’t like most girls, he thought to himself. She was confident and hardworking and a very independent woman. And he decided that he liked her just for that.
Julian decided to turn his attention towards Leonard. He had to say, he looked damn fine for a thirteen-year-old kid. Girls must be all over him by now. Right from first glance, Julian had no doubt that Leo was Sia’s son. He looked like the spitting image of his mother except for the white blond hair and the violet eyes which he must have inherited from his father. For some reason, he was glad that the resemblance ended there.
Leonard looked closely at their new “bodyguard”
as his mother showed him around. He knew the situation was serious, more than his mother let him believe. Someone was after them or, more precisely, his mother. He took his time assessing Julian Turner. The man was built like a tank, and that gave him assurance that no one would get to his mother as long as Julian was around.
Leo looked up to see his mother and Julian engaged in some serious conversation, but there was something in their gaze that caught his attention. Julian was looking at his mother like he had been wandering around in a desert for days, and she was the only oasis he saw. But strangely, even his mother was admiring the man.
Leo smiled slightly. This would be the first time he’d ever seen his mother interested in another man. The only man she had ever been with had been his father, and she deserved someone much, much better than him. He frowned as he vaguely recalled his father. The only thing he remembered was that he had the same hair and eye color as him . . . and his mother crying. His mother was always crying whenever he was around. Leo grimaced as the images flashed before his eyes. He looked at the couple ahead once again,and the smile returned. Julian was a nice guy, he thought. Hopefully, Julian would treat her better.
“I’ll be leaving now for practice,” he called out to his mother. After receiving her and Julian’s approval, he headed out the door, eager to know what the future would hold for all of them.
***
Sia brought Julian to her office that afternoon. He was to stay with her at all times and also with Leo if needed.
After checking her entire office for any bugs or suspicious items, he sat guard outside her office, near the secretary’s desk. He learned that the girl’s name was Millan Steiner, and she just turned twenty-five. She was pretty,but Julian lost all interest in her as soon as he had seen Sia.
He had been sitting there for some time when an idea came to mind. He stood up from his seat and asked Millan for directions to the control room and headed there. The control room was on the floor below whichtook him barely two minutes to reach. When he entered, he found that there were two guards sitting in front of the TV screens. Judging from their appearance, they appeared to be pretty lazy.