Prison Break (3 page)

She wanted to see Jessica first not only
because she was a good friend, but also because she wanted to pry
and get more information about Jeremy. Perhaps that would be useful
by the time she met up with him.

She was ready for a new life. She tucked her
house keys and her cell phone under a pile of notepads, placing
them deep into the back of her nightstand drawer. She wouldn't need
her keys anymore. Nor would she need her phone, since she knew
Mateo and his men would track her phone to find where she was. She
needed time and space from the political life. She didn't know how
much time she needed, only that she didn't want her time to be
interrupted by being found. She knew she could always get another
phone when she got to the U.S.

She smiled. It would take Mateo and his men
forever to track her down. She had her own bank account and charge
card after all—all e-statements from the unmarried life she had
before at the tourist agency. It was a good thing that ever since
they married, Mateo had supported her financially and had given her
a monthly allowance as well. With the e-statements, no one would be
able to trace where she was spending her money.

Donning a baseball cap on her head made her
look like a foreigner. No need for make-up, perfume, or a
sophisticated bun today. She checked her reflection and mussed her
hair, letting several strands fall from her cap. Dressed in an
oversize T-shirt and baggy jeans, she touted a backpack with a few
changes of clothes and neared the door.

She waited there to spy on Mateo's men, the
security guards he left behind at their posts to ensure she was
safe.
You can't take chances with your life in politics
, he
had said. That meant her life had to be safe, too.

The “safety” she experienced for the two
years of her marriage now seemed more like imprisonment. The time
had come for her to flee.

When she heard the security guard leave his
post for the restroom, she slipped out quietly. When she got to the
lobby, she saw the other guard sitting cross-legged on the couch,
enjoying the latest skin magazine. She hid a smirk and sauntered
out of the building.

Catching the first cab she saw outside, she
made her way toward freedom.

The breathtaking view departing her homeland
and arriving in the United States was so beautiful that Natalia
wished she brought her cell phone along to take pictures. Why
didn't she think of bringing her camera? She had taken it
everywhere when she worked with the tourist agency.

Oh, yeah, she got married and the job ended
because Mateo wanted her home with the kids they were preparing to
have. Two years of boring domestic life and diplomatic events
sprinkled throughout was what she settled for, and the trappings of
class took over.

Several layovers and mile-high movies later,
she was in Seattle. She spent the days touring and drinking in the
sights, sounds, smells and tastes of a new land, one in which she
had not been before. The nights she spent catching up with
Jessica.

Then she checked in one morning at the train
station for a twenty-three hour ride south. The views along the
coast were just as beautiful as the view from above. She snapped
countless pictures with her new phone.

She arrived at the Ferry Building on Saturday
morning and checked in to a hotel. She figured she could take
advantage of the weekend as a tourist before dropping by Jeremy's
workplace on Monday morning. She picked up a host of brochures at
the hotel and signed up for some tours.

On Sunday evening, she walked along the
waterfront and gazed at the LED display on the Bay Bridge. The big
red bow and arrow lodged nearby made her think of Jeremy.

Cupido
. Her chest constricted. What
was that song? Who left their heart here? It didn't matter. She
left hers in San Francisco, with Jeremy.

He's not seeing anybody, not that I know
of.

Those were Jessica's words one night after a
few flutes of wine. Jessica had been tight-lipped before. Natalia
remembered that Jessica's tongue got loose after wine. The siblings
were close in age and confided in each other often.

So Jeremy must be available then.

Monday morning finally arrived. Natalia
changed into a sleeveless black dress, put her long brown hair in a
bun, dabbed a drop of perfume behind each ear lobe and put on her
make-up. She put a dress coat on top, clutched her purse, and
walked to Jeremy's office building.

Once there, she flipped through a news
magazines in the waiting room to calm her belly jitters before a
lady called her in to Jeremy's office.

Natalia opened the door. Her breath
caught.

Was it possible he could get more handsome
with time? His jet black hair had a dash of wind, unlike the
greased combed hair on men she often saw in Argentina. His bright
green eyes sparkled like morning sun on dewy grass. His cheekbones
and jawline jutted out, as if he actually got more fit in the past
two years. Must be all the mountain-climbing. She wistfully
recalled the numerous expedition sites she rattled off to him when
he first asked her at the tourist agency.

You've never been on an airplane before,
even though you work here?
Jeremy had eyed her then with a
raised eyebrow.
The view from the mountaintop is the closest
thing to being airborne, only your feet get to touch the
ground.

Take me there, Jeremy.
In her mind's
eye, she wanted to be on top of a mountain, spreading her arms open
wide like the wings of the ancient
Argentavis
. She
remembered thinking then,
This man will set me free. I want to
be free.

She ached to touch him then and there in his
office, behind his desk. She wanted to take off his grey Armani
suit, strip off his black and silver pinstripe tie, and tug off his
black shirt. His suit only highlighted the piercing verdure of his
eyes. She had to stop ogling him. Looking at him made her think
about how much she lost in the past two years.

She closed her eyes. If only she had kept the
ring... She had no right to him. Not really. So civil must she
remain.

He motioned to the seat in front of his desk.
“Please.”

She set her purse down, seated herself and
looked around. She marveled at the series of black-and-white
photographs on the wall depicting several close-ups of nature and
the sinuous polished wooden sculpture in the corner near the
window. Even though she didn't pursue teaching fine arts after
completing her program, she never regretted her degree. She
appreciated art.

“What brings you here?” His voice had an edge
she found unbearable.

“You left,” she murmured.

“No,
you
left.” He sounded harsh.

“You left no messages. Nothing.” She blinked.
“No way to contact you.”

“
A enemigo que huye, puente de plata
,”
he said. A Spanish proverb—get rid of your enemies with a silver
bridge. Basically, make it easy for them to leave.

She flinched. Was that how he saw them—as
enemies?

“You sent me packing on the bridgeway out,”
he said. “I obliged and burned it. How did you even know where to
find me?”

“Your sister,” she answered.

He sighed. “Why now?”

“Mateo is in jail on trumped-up charges,” she
began. “The investigation will go on for awhile. This was the best
time.”

“To seek alliances? To seek support? What do
you want, Natalia?”

“I've had a lot of time these past two years
to think about us.”

“What
was
us.”

She blinked back a tear. “I'm sorry. I know I
should have reached out sooner.”

“You didn't.” His jaw looked tight. “And that
was a good thing.”

“Why are you making this hard?” She looked
down.

“Natalia.” His voice softened. “I think you
need to ask yourself why this is hard for
you
.”

“It's not everyday that I get to talk to an
ex-fiancé.” A lump was forming in her throat.

“An ex,” he corrected.

No matter. It was all semantics. “I realized
that I caved in, first to my dad and then to my husband.” She
paused and took a deep breath. “I've never been free.” She searched
his eyes for the warmth and understanding she used to see. “I was
never free like I was with you.”

His eyes stayed guarded.

“And you won't be,” he cut in, “if you keep
on thinking about someone other than the person you married.”

“But I want to be free.” She leaned forward
and released her bun, letting her hair down. She shook her locks
free. “How can I make it up to you, Jeremy?”

“Is this how you repay your husband, who has
supported you for over two years?” He was not making this easy at
all. Why did he have to mention Mateo? “When he needs you, your
support, you run off to be with another guy?”

She leaned back and shrank into her chair. “I
know I can't erase these last two years and bring back what we had
before.”

“No, you can't. Neither can you fetch the
ring you threw into oblivion.”

She held her breath. Invading her mind's eye
was the image of the ring she possessed for a short time to “think
about it” and the moment it disappeared into a speck amongst the
raging waters.

“I'm sorry, Jeremy,” she muttered.

“I'm not, Natalia.” He stood up. “You need to
move on.”

“Mr. Wyatt,” the intercom sounded, “Mr. Burns
is here to see you.”

He pressed the intercom button. “Thank you,
Carol. Send him in.” Then he moved to the door, opening it for her.
“Good-bye, Natalia.”

He was so distant, so cold. He did not sound
like the Jeremy she knew. She wanted to touch him, make sure he was
real and what he said was real.

She collected her purse and hugged him. She
felt a faint stir in his pelvic area and smiled secretly. He wasn't
immune to her after all. While his words said one thing, his body
said another.

He backed out of her arms, repeating,
“Good-bye, Mrs. Varela.”

That's what you think, Jeremy.

He could be as cool and composed as he wanted
to be, but his body told her more. She knew better, and she was
going to tap into that.

You're going to want me back.

“We aren't over, Jeremy.” She swung her purse
over her shoulder and left. She had a plan.

Seduce him.

That was what Natalia needed to do. If there
was even a miniscule chance to win him back and have the life that
she should have had over two years ago, then she needed to find out
for sure. And she knew just the thing she needed.

Eye candy.
He liked eye candy.

She set out shopping for the attire she had
in mind. According to U.S. dress sizes, she had to look for three
sizes smaller than her Argentinian dress size. And the specific
clothes she wanted to get were hard to find in her size.
Nevertheless, she found them. By that time, the early afternoon sun
had set in.

She rented a car, went back to Jeremy's
office, waited for him to leave and tailed him to his gated luxury
apartment complex. From a short distance, she watched him drive
into his apartment building parking, timed the gate closure to
about two back-to-back cars per key card entry, and left for her
hotel.

She snuck in to Jeremy's complex the next
afternoon. The place looked good with tennis courts, swimming pool,
fitness center and all. She parked the rental car outside Jeremy's
building and checked the listing of residents, but Jeremy's was not
listed.

To help her pass the time, she bought and
read an e-book on her phone. Although she got through the novella,
the periodic interruption from every car passing by (which snapped
her to attention) made for a distracting read. However, none of the
cars were Jeremy's.

She waited until ten-thirty. Still no
sighting yet. Was he seeing someone? Was she too late?

If he was seeing someone, I would know
about it in a heartbeat.
Jessica's words echoed in Natalia's
mind.

Natalia flushed from the memory of Jeremy's
physical reaction to her hug in the morning.

I like pressing you to the wall.
Jeremy was so passionate, so direct. Uncomplicated when it came to
sex. God, she missed that.

You can't run. You can't hide.
The
memory of his hot breath on her ear spurred a familiar warmth deep
in her belly. Made her want to stay pinned to the wall then—and
now.

No, she wasn't too late. She could still get
him back.

Tired, she returned to her hotel.

She came back in the morning to check for
rental openings in Jeremy's building. A couple of suites were open,
one of them furnished. She waited in the lounge to be shown
there.

“Delivery for Jeremy Wyatt.”

Natalia looked up at the delivery man. She
couldn't believe her luck.

The man had to wait in the lobby, because the
elevators did not work without a key card. Perhaps she would be
seeing Jeremy again sooner than she thought. Anticipation made her
heart beat faster.

When the elevator doors opened, a brunette
with dark brown eyes who looked a lot like Natalia tipped the man
and received the order. Natalia heard her Spanish accent.

So Jeremy liked Latinas, and this was his
latest conquest. Maybe he couldn't get enough of the Latin blood
after he had a taste of Natalia. She was his first—and the only one
he proposed to, at that. This woman was obviously a replacement, a
play thing, a substitute for the real thing. Poor girl. Natalia
smirked.

She could have some fun with this one and
make a bold statement to this woman to steer clear away from
Jeremy. No way was Natalia going to quit now that she was so close
to getting Jeremy back.