Chapter 4 Chapter Four
Arvin's POV
I stayed upstairs longer than I had to. My eyes caught the jewelry set on my way out.
I had no idea how it got to my bedside but, from that angle, I saw a signature on the box. This proved my theory that it wasn't brand new, which made me wonder why he gave me something someone else owned.
“What kind of man are you, Mr. West?" I muttered as I examined the box closely. My attention was divided when I heard chattering coming from the living room.
I hurried down and there he was, standing at the end of the stairs with his hands folded behind his back.
“Hi,” he grinned.
“Hi,” I scoffed in surprise. “I didn't know you were going to stop by. I have been trying to reach you all day but couldn't.”
“I had business and my phone wasn't available during it,” he replied smoothly as he assisted me down the stairs.
“Did you see it?” Charlie asked, pulling my focus.
“The shirt, you were going to give me.”
“What shirt?” Asher inquired.
“Oh,” I reacted when I realized I left it upstairs. “Charlie is the plumber Alicia got for me. The pipe went crazy and ruined his shirt and mine.”
“That's why you were changing,” he exhaled in relief and I immediately picked out his thought.
“Wait…” I paused. “You didn't think that there was —”
“It crossed my mind,” he muttered faintly.
“Shit,” Charlie breathed, realizing he was standing in the middle of an awkward situation.
“I'm going to head out. Don't worry about the shirt, but I will be back tomorrow.”
“Thank you,” I replied as he picked up his tools and exited. For a while, it was quiet between us.
“So you didn't come to check on me? You came to confirm if I was fucking someone else.”
“Maybe… maybe not,” he paced around, his eyes moving from wall to wall. For someone that huge, I couldn't hear his footsteps. They were almost non-existent.
“So you had been indoors?”
“Yeah,” I replied. “I'm still settling in and there are quite a number of boxes hoping to be unboxed.”
His eyes moved with me, following every pattern with an intriguing stare.
“How do you feel after yesterday's encounter?” he asked.
“Okay, I guess,” I answered as I bent over to pick up my shoes that were scattered all over the place. I glanced back and noticed how fazed he was from just a stare. His face turned red instantly.
“Have you never seen a woman in this position?”
“Stop teasing me…” he uttered hoarsely, his voice unraveling a craving within me.
I drew nearer, watching how unhinged he got as the distance closed.
“Or what?” I whispered, looking into his eyes.
“I thought you were tough… disciplined.”
“You want to test my discipline?” He leaned further. My reflection looked back at me within his void-like eyes.
From that proximity, I could swear I heard him growl. A rumble from within his chest as he leaned further. I could almost taste his breath before I pulled back with a sly smile.
“Thanks for stopping by.”
He exhaled deeply, watching me intensely.
“Goodnight, Arvin,” my name rolled off his tongue suavely.
He left and, if he had stayed a minute longer, I had no idea what could have unfolded.
I returned to my room, to the jewelry box. It felt like a puzzle begging to be solved and I had nothing but time to kill.
The following day was the last day of my sick leave. I spent my morning listening to the news about the organized takedowns of powerful cartels by the government.
So many underground empires were crumbling following the evidence revealed from my father's case. His arrest ignited the domino effect that took out the rest of them.
My mind flashed back to what he did to my mother. How he used her face as a punching bag until she lost her mind. It made me wonder what he would do to me if he had the chance.
I looked out the kitchen window by instinct, hoping to catch a glimpse of Asher but he wasn’t there.
I checked my phone and saw his good morning text. I blushed uncontrollably as I left him on read. He had ignored me for a whole day, now it was my turn.
The knock on my door alerted me to their presence.
“Hellooo!” Alicia waved as she walked in with a bald stranger by her side. Sometimes, I forgot she was a government agent because of how she slayed her outfits.
“Did the plumber come fix it?”
“He was supposed to complete the job this morning but I haven't heard from him,” I responded.
“He might be held up at work,” she said but my focus was now on the creepy stranger in my sitting room.
“Why did you bring Johnny Sins to my house?” I asked, earning a disgruntled glare from her.
“Miss Mario, it's a pleasure,” the stranger extended his hand but I was reluctant to accept it.
“That's fine, I understand the distrust.”
“This is Kante Wells, a government bounty hunter,” Alicia stated. “He was called in to find your stalker.”
“His name is Fredrick Ellis,” the man said as he pulled out a photograph from his jacket.
Chills ran through me when I confirmed the image.
“Judging from your looks, I will assume that's the guy?” Alicia asked and I nodded in response.
“Well, Kante and some of our best agents ran a sweep but couldn't find him.”
“So he is a ghost,” I reacted. “This man texted me my name and came up to me in the street. You got his name, how hard will it be to track him down?”
“Sierrarvin, we're trying our best,” Alicia breathed.
“Just one question, Miss Mario,” Kante took a seat. “Are you sure this was the man that approached you?”
“Yes. Now you think I'm making it up?”
“No, no, no!” He exclaimed quickly. “It's just strange. Ellis is a low-level drug dealer that was pushed out of business because of the Mafia’s presence. He doesn't have the resources nor the intellect to discover your identity.”
“Yet… he did,” I muttered.
“He looked towards me and told me he knew who I was. I'm pretty sure he found out somehow.”
He didn't appear satisfied with my response but he wore a smile anyway.
“We will get him. Punks like him don't fly under the radar forever,” he declared.
“You are to check in at work tomorrow and get —”
Alicia's parenting session got interrupted by a gentle knock at the door.
“Are you expecting someone?”
“Come in,” I answered and he stepped in. His footsteps announced his presence before I saw his face.
“Hi.”
“Hey,” Asher replied. His focus moved to Alicia and Kante who sat on the couch awkwardly.
“Good to see you, Alicia. Pardon, we haven't met before.”
“True, I'm Kante,” they shook hands firmly but something caught Kante’s eye. He observed the faint mark on Asher’s knuckles, the same way I had earlier.
“Erasing your tattoos?”
“Looking for a fresh start,” Asher supplied.
“From what?” he asked, probing with a mild smile. “You are looking for a fresh start from what?”
“What are you, a cop?” Asher retorted, pulling his grip from the prolonged handshake.
“Retired veteran,” he answered, tilting his head gently.
“I swear I have seen you before but I just can't tell where.”
“Asher owns the biggest logistics company in Sacramento,” I said but Kante wouldn't budge.
“I guess we might have crossed paths,” Asher added but the man still remained shrouded in thought.
“I came to check on you before heading out.”
“I’m okay, thanks.”
Suddenly, Kante's eyes lit up in astonishment.
“Oh my God!” He gasped. “I know who you are.”
