Capture Me Book 3

Katherine

By the time I got back to the mansion, the weird feeling still hadn’t left me.

Why did he call me that? No one called me that except Xavier and the people who worked for him.

Lily called my name and brought me out of my thoughts.

“Yes?”

“Mr. Lexington wanted me to let you know that he is still at the office and if you wanted to join him for a little and then go out for dinner in the city?”

“I’d love to. Let’s go.”

So here I am, back in the car with my bodyguards, driving back to the city.

After twenty minutes, we arrived at Xavier’s office building.

It was incredible. Half of the building was made out of glass. The views from the offices must be incredible.

I made my way inside and stopped by the receptionist.

“Hello, how can I help you?” she asked without looking up from her computer.

“Hey, I’m meeting Mr. Lexington.”

“Name?”

“Katherine Carlone.”

Suddenly she looked up with wide eyes.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry, Mrs. Carlone-Lexington. I didn’t know it was you. I just started last week, and—”

“It’s fine,” I interrupted.

She let out a shaky breath. “You can just go up. Thirty-sixth floor.”

“Okay, thank you.”

I got into the elevator. Just as the doors started to close, a hand flew out and stopped them.

A woman hurried inside. She looked me up and down and sneered.

I turned to her and asked, “Is there a problem?”

“Nope. I’m just surprised women are still trying to get Xavier’s attention.”

“Excuse me?”

“Excuse you. I can’t believe that you have to stoop so low to try to get his attention, but let me save you the trouble. He’s mine. We are just taking a little break, so back off.”

Just as I was about to reply, the elevator door opened.

Xavier stood there in all his glory, waiting. We both stepped out, and the woman turned to him.

“Xavier, do you need me to get rid of her?”

He looked at me, and I just raised an eyebrow.

“And why would you get rid of her?” he asked her.

“Well, she came here for you, as if you would ever look at someone like her.” She laughed.

Xavier stepped toward me and pulled me into his embrace. He kissed my temple and turned to the woman.

“Amara, we have been over this a million times. I slept with you once, years ago. Let it go. I don’t want you. Why would I want a hamburger when I have steak at home?”

She looked shocked. Xavier continued.

“Meet my soon-to-be wife, Amara. This is my love, Katherine. Speak to her like this again, and I will ruin you. Don’t forget, you work here as a courtesy to your brother, who is my good friend.”

Xavier turned to me and said, “Let’s go, love.” He pulled me toward his office and pushed me inside. “I’m so sorry about that, love. If you want me to fire her, I will.”

“It’s fine. Just transfer her to a different floor or something.” I sat down on his chair and turned to look outside. London was just laid out beneath my feet.

“Done, darling.”

I looked around the office. It was quite messy.

“What’s going on? You don’t talk to me, you work all the time, and you’re keeping secrets again. And don’t even get me started on my new bodyguards.”

“Kat, I just want to protect you. The bodyguards will stay. Don’t fight me on this. Please.”

“Xavier, I just want you to talk to me. Tell me everything. We are in this together. I didn’t come back to be in this bullshit again. Either you talk to me about everything, or I leave.”

“Kat…”

“I’m serious.”

“Fine.” He combed his hair with his fingers and took a seat in front of me.

“The letter from my father stated that he will do everything in his power and that he will make sure you suffer for my mistakes. He wants to kill you to get to me. I won’t allow that!

“So now I’m doing everything in my power to make sure that you are unharmed and safe.”

“And you thought you couldn’t tell me that?”

“I want to protect you and make you feel safe. I just got you back. I can’t let you be scared or hurt. You’d leave again.” He looked down.

“Xavier, I’m here. I’m in this with you. I came back to make this work. Yeah, you fuck up most of the time, but I do genuinely like you. We will get through this together.”

I wanted to say I love you, but after everything, I had to be careful.

“Okay. I promise I will let you know everything along the way. I can’t lose you. You’re my most precious possession. I just want you to love me.”

I smiled at him and got up. I rounded the table and planted my ass on the edge in front of him.

I took his hand in my own and asked.

“So, what’s the plan?”

“I need to find him somehow and kill him. But he’s good. My men are having trouble finding him. I can’t believe that he was alive all this time.”

“We will work it out. Let’s go to dinner and forget a bit and revisit this tomorrow. What do you say?”

“Let’s go.”

At dinner, he asked how work was going, and I told him about the new client and how excited I was.

“What’s his name? Maybe I know him?”

“I don’t know his last name. He just said that his name is David. He asked if we could be on a first-name basis.”

“That’s weird.”

“I know, but he seemed nice, so I’m going with it.”

“Just be careful. Have your bodyguards with you all the time.”

“Yes, honey.”

“I love it when you call me that.”

“What? Honey?” I smiled.

“Yeah.”

“What about darling or baby?” Ha ha. I couldn’t imagine someone calling him baby.

“You can call me anything you want. Just maybe stay away from baby.”

We laughed. Dinner was a blast.

The next day I went to work. The bodyguards left me and told me to call when I was finished.

My work phone rang.

“Katherine Carlone.”

“Katherine, hey. It’s David. From yesterday.”

“Oh, hey. What can I do for you?”

“I’m in the city, and I’m just about to head to the mansion. I wanted to know if you’re free. You could take a look at it and figure out what the plans could be.”

“Oh, yeah, I can check with my boss and meet you there.”

“I’m near your office. I could give you a ride, and then my driver can take you back to the office.”

“Hmm, okay. I will meet you in front of the building. Let’s say fifteen minutes?”

“Perfect. See you then.”

A black car soon picked me up. The driver opened my door, and I slid in. David smiled at me.

The drive was around twenty minutes out of the city.

When we finally reached the mansion, I suddenly remembered. Fuck. I forgot to tell my bodyguards. Xavier would be livid. I made a mental note to talk to him later about it.

The mansion was exquisite. It was old, but the architecture was amazing. It looked like the villas you normally saw in Italy.

David led me inside.

“So, as you can see, we are remodeling it. I want everything new.”

I nodded and took my phone to make notes.

He showed me the living room, the kitchen, and a few other rooms.

“I want every bedroom to have a modern but soft feel. And something different in every room, so they are not all the same.”

“We can do that.”

I took a picture of the mansion.

“Okay, I think I saw enough. I just need you to send me the plans for the mansion so I know the dimensions, and then I can get started.”

I made my way down the stairs, and just as I reached the front door, David called out.

“Katherine, wait.”

I turned around to look at him.

“I can see what my son sees in you. You are beautiful and smart. Just like my wife was. But sadly, you will get caught in the crossfire.”

What?

Just as I wanted to turn and make a run for it, someone grabbed me, and I felt a needle in my neck. Soon the world became dark.

The last thought that crossed my mind was, is this Xavier’s dad?