Bound To You

Chapter 10

I stepped down from the black SUV, squinting against the sun's glare as it baked the cement under my feet.

I had to admit, this was one impressive port. It was bare as of now, but I could see its potential. Saying it was going to be good for business would be an understatement. Dad hit the jackpot with this one.

I stepped to the side, then offered my hand to Valeria as she scooted over to the door. Without looking at me, she took it, gripping it firmly as she set one booted foot on the ground, then the other. She was dressed in a white shirt, black pants, and white ankle boots, her ruby hair falling in waves over her shoulder to her midriff.

She squinted adorab-

No. She just squinted.

End of story.

I firmly focused my attention to my left, where my father was helping my mother get down. He motioned for us to walk towards the crowd that had gathered near the gate.

The inauguration itself took about three minutes, which consisted of a scissor's snip, loud applause and some cheering, and white flashes of cameras going off as they captured my father and his three friends grinning.

A buffet and tables had been set up a short way from the gates, and everyone headed straight for it.

I moved with them, following my parents as they headed for the stack of plates and cutlery. I turned to my left, about to ask Valeria-

Only to find that she had disappeared from my side.

I did a frantic sweep of the port, and spotted her walking the other way. Towards the edge of the port.

I broke away from the crowd, quickly catching up to her. Her head turned slightly to her right for a fraction of a second as she heard my footsteps, and she slowed.

"Where do you think you're going? The buffet is that way," I pointed at the crowd behind us with my thumb.

She shrugged. "I don't feel like eating right now. This is such a lovely, open space. I wanted to take a walk around. And besides, it would be an absolutely futile waste of energy to try and get through that crowd," she said, closing her eyes and tilting her head back, smiling at the sun.

Unable to find anything to counter this logic with, I stayed silent, watching her as she soaked in the sun, the wind lifting her hair.

We stayed like that for the next five minutes. When she tilted her head back into place, opened her eyes, and spotted me, she jumped slightly, as though she had forgotten I was there.

Which was a first, because in my experience, women found it near-impossible to keep their eyes off me, let alone forget I was present.

I smirked at her sheepish smile. Then she turned and began walking towards the buffet, which was now free from the onslaught of the hungry crowd. I kept pace with her, both us ambling towards the buffet in silence.

Which was also a first, because in my experience, at least when it came to women, silence always made things awkward. I frowned at Valeria out of the corner of my eye, intrigued by the unusually comfortable quiet, wondering why it was different with her.

It was perhaps that contemplation that distracted me enough that I didn't hear the blast of the gunshot until I was already on the ground.

Valeria crouched next to me as I snapped out of my head, struggling to process the last second. I hadn't been the slightest bit aware of what was happening, so my best guess was that Valeria had spotted the shooter before I had and pulled me to the floor.

And basically saved my life.

On the far side of the port, pandemonium reigned. People were screaming and running in all directions. My father and his friends were yelling furiously, trying to bring order to the chaos while attempting to track down the perpetrator at the same time. The satin of the tablecloths shined in the sunlight as people scrambled to take cover.

Valeria was a tense tigress beside me, scanning the crowd for any signs of the shooter.

I scanned the same crowd for signs of my parents, ultimately finding my mother guarding a horde of terrified young women who looked nineteen at max, and my father running towards the gate with a group of five men, all of them carrying guns.

Chaos still reigned with an iron fist, refusing to alleviate enough that anybody could actually think straight.

The armed group had nearly reached the gate.

I heard a faint rustle of cloth, a click that sounded distinctly like a gun-

And the silenced blast of a bullet.

I blinked in shock as a shadowed figure fell from a hidden corner behind one of the caterer's trucks.

I looked around to find the gun still aimed in Valeria's hands, her brow furrowed as she scanned the vicinity for any remaining threats, her posture sleek and still as a panther.

When she was done with her investigation, she put her gun away and looked over at me.

And winked.