Page 42 of The Redemption of Alex Cade
My heart rate went through the roof. I couldn’t do anything but stare at him, my mouth hanging open. Kelvin threw back his head and laughed.
“Oh, your face. It’s classic. I was only joking, Kitten. Honest to god and hope to die. On scouts’ honour.” He tilted his head and looked thoughtful. “Trouble is, I don’t believe in god, and I was never a scout. Got any biscuits?”
“No.” This time, unlike before, it was the truth. “Kelvin, please, what is it you want?”
“For god’s sake.” He threw his arms into the air, shaking his head as he looked at me, a mix of contempt, pity, and disbelief written across his face. “You still don’t get it, do you? I want you gone.” He said the words slowly, loudly, treating me like the idiot he thought I was. “I want you Out. Of. Our. Lives. Because you really have thrown a spanner in the works.”
I jumped, Kelvin’s words hitting me like a brick around the head. “Why? What do you think I’m trying to do?”
“You tell me, Kitten. All I know is that since you wormed your way in, he’s lost his way as far as the business goes. He’s got all these ideas, suddenly, about going in a different direction or even cutting ties. With me. Me! If it wasn’t for me, he wouldn’t be where he is now. Probably be dead.”
I gasped and reared back. I wanted to run as much as I wanted to lean forward to find out more. Whatever Alex hadn’t told me, I knew in my gut those blanks were about to be filled and I hated myself for wanting them to be.
“Alex told me about the foster house, and Travis. How you intervened, before you both got out of there. He told me about working at Euphoria and taking the place over when the owner died. I can’t imagine how he got through it all?—”
“No, you can’t. You can’t imagine any of it.” Kelvin’s gaze held mine, hard and steady. His lips twitched in a small smile. The bastard was laughing at me, mocking me. “We had a conversation, me and Alex, he said he’d told you about who he is, and what he is?—”
“How do you mean,what?”
“He hasn’t told you anything, Kitten. I’d go as far as to say he’s told you fuck all. Or fuck all of what really matters. About the man he is, about what’s made him who he is, about the business he’s in. He’s up to his neck in it, just as I am, but now he seems to think he can swim through all the shit we’re wading around in and cleanse himself in pure crystal clear waters. He really is smitten, which is something I never thought I’d see. It’s caught me unawares if I’m honest, and I really don’t like surprises. But yes, he’s smitten with his Kitten.” He barked out a hard laugh. “It’s making him think he can make a choice, which comes down to me or you, but in the end he’s not going to have to.”
“What do you mean?” I whispered.
“It’s simple. You’re going to make the choice for him because I’m going to tell you a story. A true story, one that fills in all those blanks Alex somehow, conveniently, chose not to fill in. And you’re going to listen, Kitten, you’re going to listen very, very carefully.”
“No.” I shook my head. “It’s for Alex to tell me what he wants or needs to, not you.” But I wanted to know, and shame filled me up when Kelvin grinned because he’s seen through me.
“How very noble, and complete shit.”
I began to scramble from the table. “No, I won’t?—”
“Shut up and sit down.” His voice was hard and cold. My legs trembled. No longer able to support my weight, I collapsed back down into my seat.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
KIT
He made more coffee and went through my cupboards and fridge as though he owned the place. I didn’t dare move, doing exactly as he told me to. Because I was scared. But I also sat still because I wanted to know what it was Alex hadn’t told me. Kelvin had me hooked and reeled in, and I was nothing more than a fish gasping on the shore.
Kelvin took a sip, before putting the drinks down, moving his head from side to side. “Not bad. Not great either, but not bad for instant. I’m surprised at you, Kitten, I really am. A nice refined boy like you, thought you’d have a fancy all singing, all dancing coffee machine. Still, you really can’t judge a book by its cover, can you?”
I picked up my own drink, but my hands shook so much I put it down again with a clatter and spilt some on the table.
“Alex and I run a very successful business. Clubs, bars. Which you know about. The night time economy, it’s a toughgame to be in. To do well you have to be innovative. You have to diversify.”
My shoulders jerked back. That word again, it crawled up my spine. Diversify. Alex had used it, but now Kelvin was going to explain what that diversification actually meant.
Kelvin watched me, and smiled. “We got lucky, inheriting the club because it was the first solid brick in the wall.”
“Wall? What do you mean?” I had no idea what the hell he was talking about.
“Getting our hands on Euphoria made all the difference. It afforded us a measure of protection,” he said, not bothering to answer me. “But it wasn’t enough. If we were to be really untouchable, we needed more. Like I said, we needed to diversify.” He tipped his head to the side. “Have I jumped the gun? Hmm, I think I might have. Let me go back a step or two. But first, more coffee. I’m a bit of a caffeine addict, as you’ve probably worked out. It’s a bit shit, but it’ll have to do I suppose. Are you sure you don’t have any biscuits?” He jumped up, humming tunelessly as he stomped around my kitchen.
The bastard was enjoying himself. Breaking into my house. Frightening the hell out of me. Playing a warped game of cat and mouse. Treating my home as if he had a right to be there when he had no right at all. A flare of bright, hot anger lit up inside of me. I wanted this man out of my house and there was only one way to do it. My mobile was still on the table, and Kelvin had his back to me. I grabbed it and I was already half out of my chair, ready to make a run for it.
“Don’t even think about it, because I’ll make sure you regret it.” Kelvin’s voice was a dark, deep rumble and my moment of defiance wobbled.
Turning around, he leant back against the counter and surveyed me as my hand froze around my phone. “Top marksfor demonstrating some balls, though. I’m impressed, I really am, because I was beginning to think you were a bit limp if I’m honest. Well done, Kitten. Well done. Oh, I’ve not made you another because you’ve barely touched yours.” Kelvin returned to the table, and plucked the mobile from my hand. “I’ll just take this for now, because we don’t want any unscheduled disturbances, do we?”
