Page 2 of Guarded

The one thing I hated about this plan was how long I would have to stay and wait in the treehouse.

Alone.

In the cold.

Waiting for Tala to return.

Tala’s plan needed to work. I run over it again in my head. I would wait for Tala here while she rode her bike into town. Then she would call the cops and tell them about Evangline keeping up in the hot shed all summer. Tala said they would call my father and arrestthe bad thing.

“Okay, Nero. Wait here,” she instructs, buttoning her jacket and pulling the hood over her head.

I watch her disappearing down the ladder. Charlie cuddles next to me, and I’m grateful for the warmth. My tummy grumbles. A reminder that I hadn’t had a decent meal in days. Ignoring the hunger pains in my lower belly, I rest my head on the wall and shut my eyes. I dream of hot meals and reuniting with Tala and my dad. Dreams where I am happy and safe. But the peace doesn’t last long.

A sharp pain erupts in my stomach. I open my eyes to find dark ones staring back at me. They’re not the kind ones I was waiting for. These eyes are scary—the bad thing.

“Wake up you son of a bitch!” Evangeline yells.

My spine stiffens at her voice, but it’s too late. Pain explodes in my stomach, and my arms shoot down to comfort myself. She pulls her leg back. A warning that I better sit up before she strikes again.

My heart beats so loudly in my ears. Desperately, I try to look for Tala.

“Help.” I cry when Evangeline strikes again.

I don’t know what’s happening. Had the plan failed? I look out the Treehouse window and see the embers of a fire igniting in the distance.Another one of Evangeline’s fallen cigarettes again?

“You wanted to burn me alive?” Evangeline screams. She repeats her question several more times before her fists fly at me. I put my hand over my head so it doesn’t hurt as bad, but she doesn’t stop.

“Where is she?!” Evangeline screams.

Hot tears flood down my cheek. Their salty taste familar to me. Tatay says boys don’t cry, but I can’t help it. Tala is gone. The bad thing is here, and the plan has failed.

Chapter 1

Ariella

List of Lists I need to make.

Iscribble at the top of my pink-lined notepad. Lists were essential for me. They eased my anxiety and kept me organized and, most importantly, in control. Sure, it was a little OCD of me to make lists of lists I needed to make, but this was how I was coping with life these days. Organization kept me sane.

To the functioning normal brain, one would see my habits and consider them extreme. Rotating my underwear so each pair gets worn as much as the other might not be understandable, but fridge inventory is logical. I mean, budgeting seems pretty rational to me. The underwear thing is weird, but I can’t help it. My obsession with object rotation started when I was eight years old with Bratz dolls. I didn’t want Sasha to feel like I loved Yasmin more than her, so I started my first mental list and rotation schedule. I think the sense of control is soothing for my brain. Everything else in my life seems so much outside of my control.

I am the youngest daughter of Aurelio Reyes and Adriana Consuelo. My father works as second in command for Los Reyesde Tamaulipas, a notoriously known cartel, and my mother is the heir to one of the most luxurious hotels in Houston, Texas:Calavera Hotels. The Texas location belonged to my grandfather, Vicente Consuelo. There was one in California where I grew up, but that belonged to his brother. All of them had branched off from this location, and all of them were funded by the Cartel.

I don’t know all the details of how everything operates within the cartel other than it’s a dangerous operation. My parents and two older brothers, Axel and Adan, don’t share much with me. They want to shield me from the family business like I hadn’t already seen the worst of humanity. What’s that saying? You can take the girl out of the Cartel, but you can’t take the cartel out of the girl?No, that’s not it.

I know my parents care for me, but sometimes, it’s too much. I felt like I was suffocating in our home, which was filled with bodyguards inside and out. During my first year of college, I saw the difference between me and other women my age. Even though most of them came from prestigious families like mine, they were much more self-sufficient and independent. They could spend the weekends romancing lovers or unchaperoned at clubs. They were experiencing life.

I wanted to experience life. To figure out who I was and what was out there. So, after I obtained my associate’s degree in accounting, I convinced my parents to let me move from California to Texas.

“I want to learn about the family business.” I lied

“I can finish my bachelor’s online.”Another lie.

“I’ll be safe in Houston.”The lie detector determined that was a lie.

Thanks to my older cousin Thalia getting targeted by a motorcycle gang and some other baby daddy drama I ignored, I was no longer safe. The whole thing was an entire shit show—one where I got myself involved in attempts to help out. According to Axel, my safety was compromised, and I was given the ultimatum.Go home, prepare for an arranged marriage in California, or get a bodyguard and stay in Houston.

The arranged marriage thing was not up for debate. No matter what option I chose, that would happen regardless. Surely, finding a suitor here in Houston would be more difficult, so I agreed to the bodyguard as long as it could buy me time away from home. Home meant I would be locked away on our large estate and molded to their liking. I would be safe, but I would suffocate in that house.

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