Capture-Bonding

Chapter 1

The rivalry between two families has been occurring since the two fathers of the opposing families were young boys. Michael Jauregui was absolutely sick of deals being intercepted and stolen from beneath his feet by that incorrigible Alejandro Cabello. Michael had to do something if he wanted to keep up with his and his family's luxurious lifestyle.

The straw that broke the camel's back was losing his biggest deal of the year—a 2.7 million-dollar loss—to the man he had quickly grown to hate since childhood. Michael called for a meeting at his underground headquarters and started to brainstorm his brewing plan.

–

Camila Cabello has been walking to the 24-hour library a few blocks away from her house. Her parents had denied her request to leave the house at this hour without a supervisor, but Camila has her ways of sneaking out of her room without her parents' and bodyguard's knowledge. She's been doing it successfully for two years now, she was nearly a professional.

The young Cabello is an adult now, she doesn't need daddy's little helper following her around everywhere she goes anymore. She can handle herself—not that she would ever need to. Nothing has ever happened to her in her nineteen years of life, her dad is just a paranoid old man.

"Maybe if he wasn't a highly sought-after criminal," Camila huffs to herself bitterly, her Converse-clad footsteps the only sound reaching her ears as she strolls to the library.

That was the interesting part about the Cabello family. Alejandro is a very intelligent man who lives an "honest life"—his words, not Camila's—by day as stock broker, and a secret life as an expert smuggler by night. The Mexican head-of-household basically ran the smuggling industry. But he is so good at what he does, no one outside of the industry knows who he really is. He's a very busy, very successful man, which is why he hires people to protect his family.

But it's 2AM, and no one is out on these streets at this time, which is why Camila often snuck away from her controlling parents and overbearing bodyguard. Sometimes, she just needs time to herself. Camila needs time to clear her head from the madness and just do the stuff she likes to do, which, more often than not, is reading. She loves to escape her world and enter into someone else's for a change.

–

"Is that her?" Lauren whispers to the two men sitting with her inside the blacked-out van, just two blocks from her target's destination.

They nod, asking the young girl if she knew the plan.

"Of course I know the fucking plan, you idiots. My goddamn father has drilled it into my brain for the last month of my life that I'll never get back," the young Jauregui snaps fiercely.

If she hears that fucking plan one more time, she is going to blow her brains out.

Lauren rolls her eyes at her father's muscle-headed minions before instructing them to slowly follow behind their target. They approach the alleyway that cuts behind two buildings and then curve up to the street where the library is. Lauren had to wait until the target was advancing toward the corner of the block before she could exit the van, slink down the alley and up the curve before meeting the target right before they would pass by the end of the alley that led to the library.

"Okay, ease into a stop," Lauren directs, slowly opening the back doors of the van. "Now wait here, I'll be back in less than five. If it takes any longer, you know the plan," the green-eyed criminal mocks.

She hops out of the van, keeping her eye on her target until she disappeared into the dark alley. Lauren maneuveres stealthily, keeping track of how much time had passed and where her target would be at each passing second until she reached the opposing end of the alley. She stands quietly with her back against the wall, breathing quietly just as she had practiced several times in the past month.