Page 19 of Her Keeper
It took me almost no time to reroute to Alfonso’s house and I was there within ten minutes. I parked in a spot that I was sure wasn’t actually a parking place, locked the car, and nearly sprinted for the front door. Behind me, I could hear people shouting that I had in fact parked illegally.
I didn’t give a single fuck. I had way more important things to think about than a parking ticket.
I was through the front door and on the elevator before I paused to think about anything else, stabbing at the button for Alfonso’s floor and only now trying to get ready for the coming confrontation. I wasn’t stupid enough to think Alfonso would be happy to see me. We were in the midst of an epic fight, after all.
But he cared about his sister just as much as I did, and I didn’t think he’d be able to stay mad once I told him she was missing.
* * *
Iwas right about Alfonso still being mad at me. He opened the door, took one look at my face, and sneered at me. Then he tried to slam the door in my face.
I put a hand up to stop him, though, and managed to shove my way through the door and past him, using my bulk to push him to the side on the way in. He whirled around, looking furious, and nearly spat at me.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he snapped. “This is my house, Michael. You don’t get to just shove your way in here whenever you want. I already told you everything I know.”
I put a hand up to stop him. “That’s because you don’t know what happened after you left. I need you to calm down and listen to me, Alf. And I need you to think with your brain rather than your temper.”
He blew a long breath through pinched nostrils, his face turning even redder. “I’m listening.”
And so I told him. I told him about my conclusions about Penny and the fight she and I had. What she’d said about giving information to a reporter and then the attack on my father.
“Your father’s been letting some guy from the grocery store into his house every day?” he gasped, sounding almost as furious over it as I’d felt. “And he didn’t see any problem with that?”
“You and I both know Fat Jimmy’s getting sloppy,” I said shortly. “High time he took a step back if he’s going to be making decisions like that. But right now isn’t the time for that discussion. Because this gets worse.”
Alfonso sealed his lips together, waiting, and I jumped into the rest of the story. The even more dangerous part.
“While we were at my father’s house I told Joseph what happened with Penny. And my father overheard. He’d put a hit out on Penny. He’s put me in charge of making sure it happens.”
Every ounce of color drained out of Alf’s face. Because he knew just as well as I did how impossible it was going to be for us to get around an order like that.
And then he did the last thing I’d expected. He balled up his fist, reared back, and took a swing at me. I ducked and slid to the side, avoiding him, but he turned and tried to hit me again, and when that blow missed, he followed it with a left hook.
That one landed on my cheekbone, and stars erupted in front of my eyes.
I staggered back, hand to my cheek, but Alfonso had been fucking stupid to hit me.
“What are you doing?” I snapped. “You know I outweigh you!”
“What am I doing?” he gasped, advancing on me. “What amIdoing? What the fuck haveyoubeen doing? I told you to leave Penny alone! I told you to leave her out of this life! We worked so hard for so long to protect her and keep her on the outside, and now look at what’s happened!” Another swing, this one missing. “Look at the situation you’ve put her in! She’s on the fucking run, Michael, and it’s all because you couldn’t keep your dick in your fucking pants!”
Another swing, this time with an open palm, and he hit me across the ear.
I shook my head to get rid of the ringing, shocked beyond belief, and then realized what he was accusing me of.
The next time he swung, I caught his wrist and turned it downward, spinning him and jerking his wrist up behind his back so he was stuck.
“You actually think,” I whispered into his ear, so furious I could barely think, “that Iwantthis? You think I’m somehow responsible for what she’s done?”
“You’re the one who hired her!” Alfonso hissed back, struggling against my grip. “And then seduced her! She’d never betray you unless something drove her to it, Michael. She’d never do something like that!”
I let him go, his words hitting me with the force of bullets, and when Alfonso turned and made to hit me again, I put a hand up, asking him to pause. “You’re right. I hired her because I wanted to protect her from anyone who might come after her. I wanted to make sure she was safe, and I thought the best way to do that was to keep her by my side. But you’re wrong about me seducing her, Alfonso. And if you think I’m trying to find her to kill her, you’re an even bigger idiot than I am.”
He dropped his fist, his face gone slack. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m not trying to kill her, Alfonso. I’m trying to save her. I have to find her to keep her safe from my father’s men.”
Now his eyes did go narrow. “You think she betrayed you, and yet you’re trying to save her. What the fuck, Michael? Why would you do that?”
