Revenge gone wrong

Catalina's POV

A knock on my door pulled me out of my trance and I turned my gaze to the door. A worried Gilberto walked in. "Boss, I heard what happened. How I wish I had been here. That boy wouldn't have been able to lay a hand on you!" He was fuming as he walked quickly to my desk.

"It's fine Gilberto, you had to work," I astutely stated, picking up some paper works that had been calling for my attention.

"Elonzo and those good-for-nothings didn't do anything. I can punish them if you'd like Boss." He suggested with a hopeful gaze. I knew he liked violence but there'd be none on the ranch, at least not while I was here. "I said it's fine. I'll deal with it." My tone was firm

"Okay, Boss."

"And Gilberto," I called out, not looking at him once.

"The incident with the fire doesn't happen again," I warned, flipping the pages. Burning his house wasn't the punishment asked I for but Gilberto went ahead anyways.

"Yes, Boss. I promise it won't happen again."

He was about to leave when he paused, "Boss?" He called out to me, gaining my attention the second time. "I just wanted to remind you to be careful. There are a lot of snakes lurking around during this season."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for your concern." My reply was short, hinting he needed to leave.

I was alone once again, lost in my thoughts of revenge. I couldn't think of anything to help me get back at him. My head was starting to hurt from all the crazy ideas I had but none seemed to work out the way I wanted. It always ended with me getting hurt.

I slouched in my seat, ready to give up. A sigh left me when suddenly, it struck me. The best either I could come up with was right under my nose. A devilish smirk graced my lips as I plotted everything.

****

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Just as I thought, the coast was clear. With no one in sight, I tiptoed towards his stable and was met with three horses, they ate away on the hay set in front of them. They didn't look like they cared much about what I was doing there except for one. He eyed me, wary set in him. I took a step closer to him and he stepped back, neighing loudly for help. I got the hint immediately and stepped back, lucky for me, he stopped.

I let out a breath, easing my nerves. I had to finish quickly otherwise I'd get caught. Just as I was about to pull out my equipment, a voice stopped me in my track. "What are you doing?" I'd recognize that voice anywhere, it was Andres.

I turned slowly, quickly shoving my stuff in my bag. Luckily he didn't notice, he was too busy staring at my body to notice anything I was doing. "Hey!"

"Catalina? What are you doing here?" Surprise dripped from his tone as he took some steps closer.

"I came to see you. We need to talk." The quiver in my voice didn't go unnoticed by him. "Are you okay?" He held both my arms in his hands, concern etched all over his face.

I looked around me when he urged me to go on so I said the first thing that came to my mind."We need to talk about the fence!" Fuck!

"We got nothing to discuss. Your horses broke it down so you should fix it." He had let me go, crossing his arms. His concern for me was out the window in an instant as annoyance took its place.

"That's what I'm here to talk about. Hear me out and you might just like what I have to offer." He eyed me with wary. His jaw soon dropped as I spoke my next words.

"I would like to purchase your ranch." The look he gave me didn't alter my confidence. This wasn't what I came for but it was going even better than I planned and if I played my cards right, I could get rid of him for good!

When he didn't say anything, I took the liberty to continue, "I'll pay you for your troubles. I know you've been trying to fix this place up and it looks great, better than the last time I was here. I could pay you in full. Just name your price." Confidence oozed off me like a running river, it just kept flowing.

He gave a little laugh. "What gave you the impression that I was interested in selling this place? This has been in my family for years now, I can't just give it up."

He wasn't taking me seriously.

"I think you should re-think this. Have a look at what I have to offer. You'll be pretty impressed with how far I can go to get something I want."

A slight pause filled the air. "You want to know what I think?" He cocked up a brow, the perfect arch hidden under his hair. "I think I like you."

"You remind me of yourself from before, always going after what you want. You haven't changed one bit but you are trying to hide it and I don't understand why. I like the old you."

"I'm not having this conversation again," I said, exhausted from having to repeat myself. "I told you, people change," I snapped.

"I know that but things can be different now. You don't have to be that way anymore. I'm here for you. We can be friends and maybe one day, you'll see me as something more." I shook my head and he immediately turned pale, all the blood left his face. "Catalina, don't move." His eyes were locked on something behind me.

I tried turning back to take a look but he placed a hand on my shoulders, stopping me. "There's a snake right behind you. I can kill it and get you out of here but you mustn't make any sudden movement, got it." The serious look he had assured me he wasn't playing around. I began hyperventilating, not sure what to do anymore. I was petrified beyond belief.

Grabbing a hold of my face, he said, "Hey, look at me. You are going to be safe, alright. I won't let this thing hurt you." I couldn't say anything. Suddenly, I was mute, the danger had fried my brain and I couldn't get a word out.

"Stay with me, breathe in and out. I'll get you out of here, I promise."

I still hadn't taken a look at the snake and in all honesty, I was not sure I wanted to. I stood still, keeping my eyes shut. I wasn't going to go through this again. I couldn't.

I heard rustling before the silence hit. The sound of metal making contact with the ground followed and that was when I heard it. Pain clouded his voice and though I was scared, I was even more frightened to not know what was happening. I opened my eyes to find Andre on one knee clutching his leg, the snake nowhere in sight. "I was bitten," he said in between gasps.