Chapter 105

Chapter 105
Alonzo

The shower was hot enough to fog the entire glass. kind of heat that usually calmed my nerves. I pushed my hair back and let the water run over my face, down my shoulders.
Then I heard it.
A voice.
Familiar.
Too familiar.
My eyes snapped open.
For a second, I thought I imagined it. I shut off the shower instantly. The water stopped, but that voice… that damn voice kept echoing through the hallway outside.
No.
Impossible.
I stood still, listening harder. My pulse hammered in my chest.
That can’t be him.
Not here.
Not in Genevieve’s home.
Not anywhere near her or Stella.
My jaw tightened until I could feel the pressure in my teeth.
I waited again, the steam fading around me.
There it was—another sentence, clearer this time, the tone sharp, irritated, almost accusing.
And my entire body went cold.
It is him.
My hand lifted automatically toward the shower knob, ready to turn it back on, to pretend like I didn’t hear anything… like I could ignore it.
But I couldn’t.
That man, that particular voice, had no reason to ever show up in my life again.
He wasn’t supposed to. 
Our paths were never meant to cross again.
And he sure as hell had no business being in Genevieve’s house.
The water dripped from my fingers as I froze with my hand on the tap.
“What the hell are you doing here…” I muttered under my breath.
My heartbeat grew louder, faster.
Memories I despised rushed back—memories tied to that voice, to that man.
“Dad… how do you even know that message is about me?” Grnevieve held up her phone and flipped it to him. “You don’t see my name anywhere, do you? It just says Your daughter is dating a mafia man. It doesn’t say which daughter or who she’s dating.”
She scrolled again, tapping the message with her thumb. The number wasn’t saved. 
No profile picture. No clue.
“This number isn’t even in my contacts,” She added.
Her dad’s shoulders finally loosened. Relief washed over his face, and he exhaled like someone had just convinced him the world wasn’t ending.
Genevieve felt a wave of relief too.
But next to them, Ria looked like she was about to pass out from regret.
Genevieve’s dad suddenly narrowed his eyes again.
“Well then explain this,” he said. “Why did you run away from your date?”
Genevieve rubbed her forehead and forced herself to think fast. She had no idea how to tell him the truth — that she'd run straight into the arms of the most dangerous man alive.
“I didn’t run away,” She said quickly. “I got my period. I went out to buy pads and when I came back Walker was gone.”
Ria’s eyes widened so much she looked like she might faint.
Her dad blinked twice, uncertain.
“Then why didn’t you inform him?” he asked.
“How am I supposed to tell a man I barely know about my period?” Genevieve pressed her fingers to my cheek and pretended to be embarrassed.
“Tell me you are going to meet Walker. He liked you. If you liked him then you should have told me.”
That line punched straight through the bathroom door.
I froze. My hand hovered over the shower knob. My pulse shot up my throat.
I cracked the door open just enough to see a sliver of the hallway. Genevieve and Ria stood in the way so all I saw were a pair of white shoes. A man’s. Heavy. Familiar.
Her father.
He was trying to push her toward another man.
This time, he seemed so desperate.
Perhaps because of the message he received last night. 
“Dad… I met him once. How can I say anything yet…” Genevieve whispered. Her voice shook. She sounded cornered.
“You both know each other. That’s good. I will arrange another meeting.”
His tone left no space for arguments.
He walked away.
Ria sighed and slipped into another room.
The moment the door clicked shut Genevieve leaned back against it. Her breath rushed out in relief.
That was when I moved.
I stepped out of the bathroom. I wrapped my arm around her waist from behind. She stiffened then spun around with wide eyes. Her pulse beat fast under my fingers.
“Who was that old man? Should I kill him too?” I asked. My voice came out hotter than the damn shower. Everything I heard set me on edge.
“Shut up. He’s my dad.” She snapped at me. “And I love him so much.”
Love.
She said it like she meant it with her whole soul.
Something dark slid through my chest. I narrowed my eyes. I never heard her talk about anyone with that kind of fire. For a moment I felt something I never felt in my life.
Competition.
“Even if he is your father I still feel jealous.” I ground my teeth and looked out the window. Her dad was sitting in the car. 
His posture, his voice, his build… something about him poked at an old memory
No..
I must be hallucinating. That man couldn’t be Genevieve’s father. 
My destiny can’t be this cruel. 
Genevieve’s voice softened.
“I only have one person on my side. And that’s him.”
Her eyes glossed. Her words punched deeper than she knew.
It scared me.
Not because she trusted her father but because I suddenly wasn’t sure if she trusted me.
I swallowed the feeling and said the one thing burning in my head.
“Are you actually going to meet that Walker?” My voice dropped low. 
Sharp. Deadly. 
Genevieve knew it too. She knew if she said yes I would snap that man in half without a second thought.
“Perhaps.” She lifted her hair and twisted it into a pin.
Wrong move.
I grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward me. Her body crashed into my chest. She gasped but didn’t pull away.
“You are mine. Don’t make me repeat it.” 
She turned her face away. I gripped her chin and forced to look into my eyes.
“Moon, It won’t take me a second to expose the fucking truth before your father. We’ve a daughter. You are bound to me endlessly.” My voice was a warning that she couldn’t ignore. .
her body shivered in my arms.
“Do you understand what I mean?” 
Her lips parted. She nodded slowly.
She had no idea how close she came to starting a war.
And she had no idea how far I would go to keep her.