The Assassin’s Billionaire Bodyguard
Chapter 32

sure the women in her life weren't incapable of using actual words.

Isabella took Casper for a walk around the grounds and read the text messages on her phone from her sister, sister-in-law, and Sabine. She'd seen more eggplant and peaches emojis from them asking if she and Cam had made up after their skirmish, she wasn't Her phone rang and she pulled a face as she saw her parent's home number come on the screen. She crossed her fingers praying it was her father and not her mother. "Hello." "Isabella?"

Damn, she thought frustrated. "Hi Mama. What's going on?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, why do you ask?"

Her mother's voice was quiet. "Evgeni stopped by to ask where you were. He suggested the man you're dating kidnapped you."

Isabella's heart stopped for a solid second before she pushed the panic down, "Mama, I am safe. Evgeni is being troublesome. Clara sent me somewhere to keep me safe and away from him until her security team replaces him and deals with him. Is he still there?" "No, he left here about ten minutes ago. I wasn't going to call but I kept thinking about it and it was bothering me."

"Mama, I'm sorry. I did not mean for my troubles to end up at your door." She walked into the house and saw the door to Cam's office where he and Gideon had locked themselves in about two hours before was still closed.

"It's okay Isabella. I know he's not well. There is something different about him now Isabella. He was always a bit self-centered, but he was worse tonight. He said things like you belonged to him and you were destined to be together, and he only needed to talk to you, and you would see you were meant to be. He told me I was not to keep you from him. I did not like his tone."

"Mama," she knocked on Cam's office door and entered when he commanded her to go in. "Mama, I'm with the people Clara wanted me to go to. They are incredibly good at security and replaceing out information. Would you be okay if they asked you some questions about what exactly Evgeni said when he was in your house tonight?" She held Cam's gaze seriously, feeling sick to her stomach at the thought he was in her childhood home.

She saw Cam get up immediately from behind his desk and move to her and gently take the phone from her shaking hand. She wasn't scared or frightened, her rage was manifesting physically. The psychopath had, if she was reading between the lines correctly, threatened her. Her mother would downplay to her daughter, but she would open more to a man, especially if her mother thought he was macho. Isabella wanted Evgeni Andropov's balls on a plate. "Mrs. Ruiz, my name is Cam. Can you tell me what time Evgeni arrived at your home?"

Her mother's voice perked up. "He mentioned you Mr. Torres. He said you were a murderer, and you were going to kidnap Isabella."

"Mama," Isabella stood at Cam's shoulder, "remember when Elian told you I went out to dinner with the man, and I told you his family was from Brazil and Mexico?"

"Yes, I remember."

"Cam is the man I went out with. Clara trusts him mom and she sent me to his house so he can keep me safe. His company provides security services for important people."

"Oh, that's nice Isabella. He's the man your dad met."

"Yes!"

"Your dad liked him."

"I'm glad," Cam spoke quietly wishing he could get the woman to focus. "Can you tell me when Evgeni was there?"

"He showed up about forty-five minutes ago, he stayed about half an hour. He had a cup of tea with me."

"Is your husband home Mrs. Ruiz?"

"No, he went to the pub with his brother. I sometimes go with him, but my hip was bothering me, and I didn't want to walk." "You were home all alone?"

"Yes."

"Did he come alone, or did he have a friend with him?

"Someone else was driving his car but he came into the house alone."

"And what color car did his friend drive. Did you see?"

"It was a red sports car. It reminded me a bit of the one Isabella borrows sometimes from Clara."

As Cam looked at her with a curious smile, Isabella spoke, "you mean the Lamborghini?"

"Yes, it was one of those. I recognized the thing on the front."

She looked to Cam, "she means the hood emblem."

"Also, it had one of name plates Isabella hates."

"Mrs. Torres, do you remember what the plate said?"

"Of course, and you call me Carolina, you're my Isabella's special friend."

"Mama, what did the plate say?"

"It said RUSNHTY"

"He's with his friend Anton. His plate is supposed to mean Russian Hottie."

Cam's face mirrored the disgust in hers. Isabella noted Gideon was sending out text messages while they were talking to her mother.

"Mrs. Ruiz,"

"Carolina," she corrected.

"Carolina," Cam said smiling as he looked at Isabella. "Can you tell me what Evgeni and you talked about when he was there?"

"He was very rude," her mother complained. "He asked for a cup of tea and then told me he was looking for Isabella. He said Clara was hiding her from him, and you were a murderer. He said Isabella gave herself to him, said he was her only s****l partner. Did he think I wanted to hear my daughter had s*x when she isn't married?"

"Mama!"

"I'm aware you have s*x Isabella. I just don't want to know about it. Besides, does it even count with him? I've seen the photos he's sent you. Was there even penetration? Could you feel it?" "Mama!"

Cam covered his mouth to keep from laughing and Gideon choked as he bit the inside of his cheek.

"Mama, focus, what else did he say?" Her face felt as if it were on fire.

"He kept saying he had a headache and his head hurt. He said he was tired, and you were the only person who knew how to make him better. He said he loved you and you belonged to him, and he was never letting you go." She was quiet for a moment and then she whispered, "then he got weird, and he punched the table and said if he found out I was hiding you he would punish me. He then went upstairs and checked all through the house to make sure you weren't here."

"Carolina, Evgeni isn't well. I'm going to keep Isabella here with me."

"Does she have Casper with her? She needs her Casper."

"She does and I'll keep them both safe. I also am going to send someone to watch your house."

"Cam, I don't think it's necessary." Carolina demonstrated where Isabella inherited her stubborn qualities.

"It is Carolina. Can you call your husband and tell him my friend Mickey is going to meet him at the pub and walk him home? For the next little bit, just until we get Evgeni the help he needs, I want to keep you safe. Isabella is important to me and as her parents you are also important to me. Would it be okay if you just humour me for a couple of days?"

"Mama, please do what Cam says." Isabella begged.

"Okay but I think its silly."

"Maybe it is but Papa saw Evgeni at the hockey game with me last week and he knows how he's not himself."

"You and Papa are supposed to go to the game Thursday night. Are you still going?"

"Yes," she ignored Cam's vehement shake of his head. "Of course, we are going. We'll just have extra people with us is all."

"Okay," her mother sighed, "though no stopping at the pub after. You brought him home drunk last week Isabella and I had to put him to bed."

"Yes Mama," she smiled and wiped a tear off her cheek. She was going to kill Evgeni for threatening her mother. When she got her mitts on him, he wasn't going to know what hit him and it didn't matter if Clara approved or not.

"I'm going to go finish my washing up. I love you. Sleep in separate rooms when you are with Cam, Isabella."

She groaned and shook her head as Gideon met her eyes with a smirk while she avoided Cam's. "Mama, I love you. If Evgeni comes back or calls you, you call me right away."

"I will."

Her mother ended the call and Isabella met Cam's eyes. "He went too far. He better pray one of your guys replaces him before I do, or I'll kill him with my bare hands. He threatened my mother!" "Isabella, we'll replace him."

She ripped her phone from Cam and called Clara who answered on the first ring. "He went to Mama's house. He went and threatened her and then searched her house for me." "Where are you?"

"Still at Cam's. So, help me God Clara, I know you and Mikhail are tight but I'm going to rip him into tiny pieces, and they will never replace him. They'll replace Jimmy Hoffa before they replace him."

"Isabella, calm down." Clara's voice cut into her murderous thoughts, "I will let you have at him. I promise. I've been coordinating with Cam and his team for the last little bit and the last sighting of him was with Ilya."

"He's in Anton's car. Mama described it to a T."

"I'll replace him Isabella. For now, stay at Cam's. It's the safest place apart from here or the office for you."

"I know of one other place I'd be safe," she thought of the Bellona headquarters where she could at least help in replaceing him. "Can't I come in?"

"No, you stay where you are and don't ask again. You're bait Isabella. I need you to be bait."

She kicked the leg of a side table impatiently realizing both men in the room were studying her intently. She didn't care. "If I'm bait, let me out of here and I'll bait him. I'll go right to his apartment. I'll lure him out then I'm going to kill the son of a b***h in the streets. My mother Clara!" her voice was sharp.

"Ruiz!" Clara's voice commanded quietly, "pull it together. You are to stay put until I tell you otherwise. Is it understood?"

"Yes," she made a face and turned back to see both Cam and Gideon standing shoulder to shoulder, their arms crossed over their massive chests both with very curious at her behavior. She grimaced at them and sighed, "fine, I'll stay here but I don't like it. I want to deal with this myself."

"I promise you'll have your time with him for going to Mama's," Clara promised her. "For now, your mom gave us good intel. I've already located the car, but video surveillance isn't showing anyone other than Anton in the car."

"Find him Clara." She ended the call and found her breath was short. She sat down in a chair, ignoring the wall of muscle across from her and scooped Casper into her arms. "Oh buddy," she stroked his fur and rubbed her face against his fur. "Isabella, what were you talking about being bait?"

"Clara said I'm bait, not me. She knows when I go to work tomorrow, Evgeni will be there. She texted me earlier and said exactly this as her plan. She'll have Ben and his team waiting and they'll grab him. If I go too soon, they won't be ready. Cam, how soon can you get someone to my parent's house? I want them watched while they sleep."

"Someone's already there Isabelle," Gideon reassured her, "and Mickey is gone to replace your dad at the pub. I told him I'd send him the exact address as soon as you gave it."

She gave him the name of the pub and then hugged Casper tighter. "He went after my mom Cam." She whispered against her dog's whimper. "My mom. He's sick." "Isabella, when you dated him, was he ever like this?" Cam knelt in front of her and put his hands upon her knees. His green eyes were searching hers for answers.

"No, not ever. He is self-centered, he loves to be the center of attention, but he's never been violent. He's a narcissist Cam and thinks there is nobody in the world as good as he is," she took a breath, "but he avoids confrontation and violence. He always did. If there was a fight, he left. He never rose his voice with me or anyone. He would make jokes about owning me or buying my affection, but he was never violent. Even if we argued he would placate me to avoid me being angry." She took a breath, "I remember we were at a party once and two of his friends got into a fistfight and he had them both thrown out and he never spoke to either of them again the entire time we were together. He always said bad vibes killed his buzz."

She held his gaze seriously, "none of this makes sense." She ran her fingers along Casper's back. "Evgeni has dated plenty since we broke up. He knew I was dating other people. He would occasionally show up in my DMs or where he knew I'd be with my friends. The last time we slept together it took me several months before he stopped messaging me, but it was always flirtatious and friendly and never like this. Was he a pain in the a*s? Sure. Was he threatening and abusive? Not once." Gideon interrupted, "what changed Isabella? When did he start acting this crazy?"

"He messaged me about a month before you came to the house," she looked to Cam. "He and Portia had a fight and he messaged me and said he had thought he was in love with someone really special, but she was acting like a brat, and he missed having adult conversation. He asked me to meet him for drinks. I declined. He sent me a picture of his p***s, as he does and then I didn't hear from him again until the day after you had dinner with Mikhail, Clara and Elian."

She took a breath, "the next day both he and Portia started acting crazy. My life has been a nightmare since. I don't understand what is wrong with him." She stood up, "I feel helpless right now. I'm not one to sit around and wait for stuff to happen." Cam touched her cheek softly, "I know you think you're able to take on the world because you're a good fighter, but you need to leave this to the professionals."

She wanted to laugh at his words. She was the professional. She was a professional just as much as he was. Instead, she was trapped at his house with nowhere to go and no way to protect her family. As she sat holding Casper while Cam and Gideon controlled the situation, she found herself wishing she were anywhere but here.