Apart from being the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen, she looks like a regular person, not the sister of a mafia boss. She doesn’t look like she belongs in my world at all.
She looks sweet and friendly and smiles at people who walk past her as she makes her way down the street.
I wait a few breaths before I climb out of my car to follow her.
Keeping a distance, I walk behind her through the city to a park.
She sits on a bench and throws broken-off pieces of a croissant at some ducks.
I watch, wondering what the hell I’m doing.
She could have security guards that I’m not even looking for because I’m so absorbed in her.
She could turn around and see me at any moment and scream. She might be furious. She might be scared.I shouldn’t be here at all.
I chuckle when I think about how my brothers kidnapped women who were enemies. They took them against their will, and somehow it turned out great for them. Obviously, I can’t do that to Kat. I’m not going to kidnap her and force her to interact with me. That’s not who I am.
It was pure luck that it worked out for my brothers.
If I had any brain whatsoever, I would walk away right now.
But I stay.
Leaning with my shoulder against a tree and my arms folded over my chest, I watch her. She does have guards, but they keep their distance. They don’t seem very observant, as none of them has noticed me. Stupid morons. I’ve been staring at her for over an hour, following her since the coffee shop, and they haven’t caught on.
Thank goodness they aren’t that great, though, because the next day, when I find myself following her again, they don’t get in my way at all.
I tried to stop myself from climbing in the car to come find her. I told myself it was a bad idea. I told myself I should just drive to the office and do some work. But instead, I found myself driving towards her.
Kat goes to the mall, wandering through the stores, trying on dresses, buying a new purse, admiring some bright pink sneakers. She laughs with the shop assistants who help her. Her energy and charm draw people in wherever she goes. I’m captivated. I’m learning about her. Everything she touches oradmires, I take note of it. What she likes. What she doesn’t like. What she orders at the coffee shop. What chocolate she buys at the little boutique before she goes home.
I follow her again the next day. And the next.
The constant knowledge sits in the back of my thoughts, a weighted warning, telling me to walk away, to leave her alone. Telling me that she ghosted me for a reason, and I should be doing the same. She’s my enemy. We can’t be together. I should let this go. But I can’t.
I can’t wake up in the morning without her on my mind.
I can’t stop the consistent need that plagues me to know where she is and what she’s doing all the time.
So I follow her.
Every day.
For longer and longer each day until she’s all I can think about.
She consumes me, every waking moment. When I’m not watching her, I’m agitated. I’m worried about her. I’m wondering who she’s with and if she’s safe. I can’t stay away, and I don’t even care anymore.
It’s late on Friday afternoon, and the sun is starting to set when she leaves the restaurant carrying a box of takeout she came to collect.
I love the fact that she’s spending a quiet Friday at home this evening. I can picture myself with her. We’d watch a movie, share our takeout so we could try more from the menu. During the movie, we’d get distracted by each other, and I’d kiss her. We’d make love for hours, forgetting about the movie. Getting lost in each other.
The van comes out of nowhere, skidding to a halt a few feet from her. She screams as men leap from it, bolting towards her.
Her bodyguards are too far away to help her. Too slow. Too useless.
I move like lightning, firing a shot into the back window, drawing their attention off her and onto me. “Kat, run!” I shout, but one of them has her in his grasp. It boils my blood to see his hands on her.
The other three men run around the car to face me down, but I put bullets into two of them before they have a chance to see which direction I’m coming from. As I run towards Kat, I lash out, and the third man hits the floor, blood gushing from his cracked skull.
