Falling Hard

Dressed in a pair of jeans and a white button-down, I went to her home first. Just as I got there, the fucker who was outside her car was coming out of the house. I jumped out of my truck and rushed him, slamming him onto the porch’s brick railing. “What the fuck are you doing here? If you so much as touched her, I’ll bury you.”

“What the fuck?”

“Oh my God. Let him go,” an older version of my woman shouted. I let him go as he pushed me off him. She ran down the steps, coming in between us.

“Erica’s mine. You need to stay away from her,” I told the bastard. She was afraid of this fucker.

“Wow, you must be Adrian.” Erica’s mother smiled at me.

“I’m not here for Erica. I’m here for Patricia.” The guy wrapped his arm around Patricia’s waist. I was shocked and guessed that her ex-husband and his boss had no idea that they were together.

None of that really mattered because I had to find my woman. “What? Where is Erica?”

“I thought she was with you. She came home this morning, but we didn’t get a chance to talk before she left again.”

“How did you know about me? Has she mentioned me before?” I was curious. Had she seen me in the club and craved me as much as I craved her?

“Only in passing, but I saw the look in her eyes. It was Danny who told me about the incident at the health club,” she said, indicating the man beside her.

“Yeah. I went to check on her, knowing she told her mother that she would be out. I saw her car at the gym, but when I went in, they told me she left with you. A couple of females were gushing about how manly you were.”

I shrugged because I couldn’t even feign contrition. “Good. So you’re not after my woman?” I asked, making sure he knew the deal.

“God, no. She’s too young for me. Besides, I’m in love with this lovely woman.”

“Sorry. She said her father…” I couldn’t even stomach finishing that sentence. The thought of his hands on my precious woman infuriated me.

A look of remorse crossed his face, and I was tempted to pop him in the mouth. What did he do to make her think he was interested? I had to be losing it, but I took a deep breath and listened. “That’s my fault. He saw me with my eyes lingering on them too long one day while they were still married, and I lied and apologized for checking out his daughter.”

“Oh. Again, I’m sorry.” My phone rang, but I sent it to voicemail. It was just Rachael at the gym. She probably wanted to check on where I was at. I should have been there an hour ago. “I need to go, but if her little ass shows up here, please keep her here. I need to go back to work. As much as I’d love to hunt her ass down and drag her back to my condo, I have a company to run.”

She stepped in close and jabbed my chest. “Be good to her, or you’ll have to answer to me.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I smiled because I knew exactly where Erica got her brass balls from. “Have a good day.”

I called Erica’s cell phone, and it went to voicemail. “Little girl, when I get a hold of your ass, you better be ready because I’m going to tie you to our bed so your ass can’t leave me again.”

She didn’t call me back, which only made me panic that something had happened. My heart sank when I didn’t see her car in the lot. As soon as I opened the door to the gym, an older man in a suit turned to me from the front desk. I could see the attendant looking nervous as she pointed at me.

“Mr. Greco, is it?” He didn’t extend his hand, and I had a feeling he didn’t deserve to shake mine.

“It is. Who’s asking?” I bit out. My patience had run out two hours ago, so whatever this prick had to say was probably going to set me off.

“Gregory Finch. You are going to listen, and listen well. Return my daughter to me, or I’ll have this and everything else you own torn down.”

“Do you think I’m fucking scared of you?” I challenged, chuckling in his face. If he thought I had his daughter, then she didn’t go to his home today.

“You better be.”

“Yeah, let me make a note of that.”

“I’m warning you. I have friends in the right places. Erica’s already promised to someone else.”

“I’d like to hear that from her mouth. Besides, I have cameras in the right places. Isn’t that so, Amber?” She nods, pointing to the one right at the door. “It has sound, too.”