Page 90 of Faith

“He’s been here for days. I came over because he said he had a way to save my resort, plus stick it to you. That man doesn’t like you, bruddah.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Jensen said approaching him. Carino stepped neatly in his way.

“He doesn’t like Wulf?”

“No, hates him more than I do.” He leaned over so he could make eye contact with Jensen. “He wants to see you ruined.”

Carino looked at him. “Could this be true?”

“I don’t see how.” He looked at Michael. “Are you sure?”

He nodded. “Truth is, I thought he wanted to ruin you financially, not hurt Ms. McCann. I wouldn’t be okay with that.”

Carino’s phone buzzed. He looked at the number. “I have to take this.”

He stepped away and Jensen moved closer to Michael. Calmer now, he tried to think through the last few years with Alfie. Was what Michael saying right? Did Alfie hate him? He had never done anything wrong, other than the usual boyhood pranks. Hell, he gave Alfie a job when he needed it.

“Are you sure he said these things to you?”

Michael nodded. “That’s why Dad didn’t want to work with him. He said he couldn’t be trusted.”

“Wulf, we have a problem. Michael, these officers are staying here until we get this all cleared up.”

“Am I under arrest?”

“If that’s what keeps you here, then yes, you are.”

Carino walked out the door leaving Jensen to jog to keep up with him.

“What’s going on?”

The detective pushed the button for the lift. He held up his phone. It was the parking lot at the Aloha Tower Marketplace. He watched it for only a second when he saw Alfie approach the rental car, then slip beneath it.

“The bastard.”

“Yeah. They sent it over to see if it was Michael. Call her. Now.”

He started calling her, but her phone kept going to voicemail. If he had been worried yesterday, it didn’t compare to the terror he felt chilling his blood now.

“Fuck me,” he said as they stepped onto the lift. “Nicola, it was Alfie who screwed with your brakes. Carino and I are on the way.”

He heard Carino order more cops and an ambulance.

“Dammit. She didn’t want him there. Told me he bothered her.”

“We’ll get there in time,” Carino assured him.

“Is that why you ordered the ambulance?”

“I never leave anything to chance. Just pray that he hasn’t realized that we know about him.”

And for the first time in a long time, Jensen did just that.

* * *

Nicola couldn’t seemto calm her nerves. She’d felt jumpy and irritated since Jensen had left with the detective. She would like to blame it on the situation and not her companion. They were still sitting in the living room watching TV, but she had sat on the couch opposite of his. There was always something off about Alfie. Since first meeting him, she didn’t trust him. She knew that he wasn’t that happy when Jensen got clean. He would pretend, but every now and then, he would make an offhand remark that told her he was a user. Part of it was his behavior toward Julienne. She had told Nicola that he had tried to hit on her when she was barely seventeen years old. Jules tried to steer clear of him ever since. That should have told her something.

Nicola looked at the clock and realized she didn’t know where her phone was. Jensen had taken it away the day before, so she would sleep, but she wanted it now. Rising, she started toward his office That would be the one place she thought Jensen would keep her phone. She found it on his desk, but it was turned off, so she booted it on.

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