Free Keep Me: A HERO Novella by Leighton Del Mia Page B

pound the pavement on my way back to the office. Guy Fowler? I hadn’t thought of the name in years. He was never more than some scum the Cartel had picked up along the way.
    The East Side isn’t far from here, a fact I’ve always hated until this moment. I could go there, take this out on someone who deserves it. I could. Anyone within arm’s reach over there is bound to have done something to warrant a beating, maybe even a kill. My skin burns. Yes. I could kill someone for this.
    I barely make it to my office, where I bury my wandering thoughts in paperwork until after everyone has left for the day. I sigh and run my hands over my hair. The transcript’s sterile, typed words are sandpaper across my brain. Someone needs to pay—now, this moment. But then I think about Cataline and what it must’ve been like for her to relive that. By herself. When I’ve calmed enough that I can trust myself again, I gather my things and head to her apartment.
    She opens the door slowly when I knock. “Where’s your key?”
    “I have it. Wasn’t sure you’d want to see me.”
    She takes my hand and pulls me inside. “Are you hungry?”
    I shake my head. “Did all of that really happen when you were with the Cartel? Tell me the truth.”
    “Maybe it’s best I don’t.”
    “I don’t want secrets between us.”
    “It was never a secret,” she says.
    My hands curl in and out of fists. I hold up my palms. “Look, I’m trying here. All I want to do right now is tear off someone’s limbs, but—”
    Her eyes double in size.
    “I wouldn’t—I don’t mean I’m going to go do that. Just trying to explain that I’m pissed. This is another level, Cat. For me to contain it is a damn near miracle.”
    “I know.”
    “Just tell me what’s going on.”
    “Okay.” She nods. “All right.”
    “What exactly did the officers want?”
    “To let me know that the Cartel isn’t dead. They’ve been lying low until the right time. They’re rebuilding with a new leader and a new crew.”
    “Who?” I pause as we stare at each other. “Guy Fowler.”
    She nods. “He’s the only one I dealt with when I was with the Cartel. Not Carlos. He—” she pauses. “I never told you, but he knows things about you.”
    “What things?”
    “Your identity. He said he saw you fight and also watched you get shot. But he said he was the only one.”
    “He’s the one who broke into my car.”
    “He asked me if you were immortal and how you did it.”
    “Did you tell him anything?”
    She shakes her head. “Never. I would’ve died first. Someone like that could do so much damage with that formula.”
    “Why wasn’t he at the shacks with Carlos when I showed up for you?”
    “I’ve never been able to figure that out.”
    I want to turn away, but my feet are leaden. “What I read . . . did it go further than that?”
    “No, baby. No. They tried, but Guy wouldn’t let anyone else touch me. What you read is as far as he took it. I don’t want you to be angry with me.”
    I take her face in my hands. “I’m not angry with you,” I say heatedly so I’m sure she understands. “Why didn’t you tell me though? You should’ve told me.”
    “I just . . . you worry about me so much. It would’ve sent you on a rampage.”
    “It’s my job to look after you.”
    “It’s not your job,” she says with unfiltered pleading. “When will you understand that you are not responsible for everything bad in the world? That you can’t protect everyone and everything?”
    “I get that. I do. I’ve given up being a hero, but you can’t ask me to give you up. It’s selfish—I do it for myself. I protect you because I can no longer see my life without you.”
    “Jesus Christ, Cal,” she says, wiping her eyes. “I wish you could see how good you are. How much you care. Why can’t you let yourself be happy?”
     “I am happy. I am so happy with you. If I’m a better man, it’s because of you.” I kiss her too hard and she not