"I never thought they would sink that low to kill us because we got their daughter locked up. They have taken this too far." Hayden pulled out his phone, ready to call the Blacks but changed his mind. Natalia had been right. The pain medication was helping his pain, and now he could think clearly. "What do you think we should do?" Natalia asked, noticing that he was no longer grimacing with every move. "We need to talk this through. I was going to call Simon Black and give him a piece of my mind. However, I don't want him to know we're on to him. We need to make the hitman disappear and then give proof to the authorities of who hired him." Hayden looked toward Dorian, who was nodding in agreement. "We at least know he's got a job here in the building, and he starts tomorrow. We also know what he looks like, so I can have my men take care of him. Let me work on getting something to hand over to the police about Simon Black." Dorian sent a message to his men and aske
Nick, Colby, Teo, and Kyle sat in the van across the street from the apartment building, waiting for Simon Allegri to show up for work. It was close to seven in the morning, so they expected him soon. They were upset about not being able to take out Jon before the authorities got him, so this was a way for them to redeem themselves. A few minutes before seven, they saw Simon walking toward the entrance. He was carrying a duffle bag they were sure had his gun hidden inside. They weren't going to make a move while he was in the apartment building. Instead, they would follow him when he left and take him off the street. It was time for the hunter to become the hunted. They didn't move all day while they waited. The four men got ready for quitting time so they could follow the hitman. When he walked out of the building, Teo and Colby hopped out of the van to follow him on foot while Nick and Kyle stayed in the van. As they followed him, the four men were conscientious, knowing Simon
Three Months Later Natalia finally had the casts off her legs and was working with her physical therapist, Hannah. She was able to take a couple of painful steps before having to sit back down. It was slow work, but it would be worth it in the end. Hayden came to every appointment with her, much to the delight of Hannah, who had an obvious crush on him. Hayden avoided her as much as possible while staying near Natalia. It made him uncomfortable each time Hannah accidentally touched him when there was no reason for her to do so. Natalia laughed it off, telling him he should be used to it by now with how handsome he was. However, Hayden was getting seriously annoyed and was close to saying something to her about it. "How soon before Natalia will be able to walk like she used to?" Hayden asked Hannah, rolling his eyes when her face turned red, and she fluttered her eyelashes at him. "It may be months. So you may have to come here for a while." She answered, pretending to accidenta
Natalia stared at the police officer standing in front of her, not believing what she had heard. It can't be true. Today was her eighteenth birthday. How could she lose everything on the day she became an adult? "Did you hear me?" The officer asked softly. "Please tell me you have the wrong house. It can't be my parents. You had to have made a mistake." She answered in a whisper. "I'm sorry, but we confirmed it was them." Elias had been working for the Pheonix Police Department for ten years. Notifying a family that their loved ones had been killed was the worst part of the job. "Noooooooo." Natalia fell to her knees, sobbing as the grief took over. Her parents can't be gone. They were on their way home to take her to dinner for her birthday. How was she going to go on without them?__________Three Years later Natalia walked out of the auditorium with a sense of accomplishment. She had graduated at the top of her class two years early with a master's degree in business at t
Four Years Later Natalia looked at the table of people in front of her. They were all eagerly waiting on her answer after they gave her the contract to look over. It was a business that wanted to make her a partner in hopes they could save their company from closing. She smiled before speaking. "You have a deal." Natalia signed the contract, and everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief. They'd heard that she was hard to deal with, but their interactions with her had been encouraging. She even met the people working for them and seemed to care about them keeping their jobs. Natalia got up from the table and gave the contract to her assistant to finish the rest of the transaction while she went to her office. She had spent the first six months in New York soaking up as much knowledge as possible before branching out independently. Her first year in business had been rough, and she'd had to use some of her inheritance to make ends meet. Eventually, she clawed herself up an
Natalia walked around the large banquet room, sipping her drink. She didn't care for alcohol but would drink a glass of wine at social engagements. She ignored the stares of others who didn't have the nerve to approach her as they mingled while waiting for the dinner to start. "How are things at NC?" She turned toward the familiar voice. It was Clifford Judd. He was one of the men she worked for when she was interning. He constantly flirted with her but wasn't as aggressive as others. "Hi, Cliff. They're going great." Natalia smiled slightly at the heavyset balding man with a large belly. His grey suit seemed to be bursting at the seams. "That's good to hear. I want to discuss something with you regarding a company we've been trying to get under contract. I think they may be more up your alley." She didn't think it was unusual for him to share this information. There have been several occasions he had sent companies her way that wanted to be saved rather than bought.
The following morning Natalia was lying in bed staring at the ceiling. She had a busy schedule today, but after what Cliff had done, she didn't feel like getting out of bed. Why did men always think a woman owed them? She had worked for him at one point but never asked for favors or special treatment. She didn't owe him anything. Natalia didn't believe in empty threats, and if he had raped her, she wouldn't have hesitated in filing charges. She groaned as she got out of bed and headed for the shower. She had taken an hour-long shower the night before to get any trace of Cliff off her. Even so, Natalia felt like she needed another one. Thinking of how Hayden had put his jacket around her and hugged her as she cried made her feel humiliated. She didn't like making anyone see her as a damsel in distress. She looked around with a smile as she walked back into her bedroom. She loved this apartment. It was larger than what she needed, but it was the only one they had available th
Natalia was on edge the rest of the day after agreeing to dinner with Hayden. She thought about canceling a hundred times but stopped by reminding herself it was a business dinner and nothing else. Patrice had brought the suit jacket back about an hour ago, fresh from the cleaners. She was supposed to meet him at a rooftop garden restaurant at six. She'd never been there before because her typical dinner was take-out. She sometimes was at the office until after ten and came back first thing in the morning. It didn't leave much room for a social life. She thought about running home to change but decided against it wanting to wear what she would wear to a business meeting. At five-thirty, she received a text that her car was downstairs. She grabbed her briefcase, purse, and Hayden's suit jacket as she walked out. Everyone else had left for the day around five, so she locked up after turning off the lights. The ride to the restaurant took about twenty minutes in traffic