Chapter 37
Jadon had strict instructions from his father to stay out of sight until his face didn't look as though he had been on the receiving end of a horse's kick to the face. Yeah. Jadon wasn't doing that.
Barely twenty-four hours after the whole fiasco with the Mvula family he was already getting itchy just staring at the walls of his house. Jadon needed air and he wasn't talking about the measured breeze that came in through his open windows.
Jadon wanted to go for a drive. If that drive happened to take him into Tapiwa's neighborhood, he wasn't going to think too hard about it. Just as he wasn't going to think too hard about the reason he asked Ezra to find out what had happened to Tapiwa after the whole ordeal yesterday.
Ezra had yet to give him any report. That was either good or very bad. Jadon couldn't decide but it added to his unease tenfold. Which was probably why he couldn't relax and needed to go for a drive.
Mind made up, Jadon carefully made his way to his foyer for his shoes and jacket. Except, when he got there, the thought of bending and putting on his shoes almost brought frustrated tears to his eyes.
Shit! He was in pain. Ezra hadn't lied when he'd told Jadon that his bruises had bruises. Thankfully, despite how bad he looked, he hadn't needed stitches. The doctor had just wrapped his bruised ribs after an x-ray showed they weren't broken. A nurse cleaned all the scrapes and minor cuts, then they gave him a shot of everything before handing him a bottle of painkillers and sending him home with instructions to rest.
Needless to say, Jadon hadn't rested and he had barely touched the pills. But now thinking of how much pain he would be in if he tried to put on his shoes and jacket, Jadon began to think maybe resting wasn't such a bad idea. And maybe he should take one or two of those pills while he was at it. Resigned, he turned around, ready to slowly walk back to his living room and nap on the couch like he should have been doing most of the day.
He barely made it two steps when the screech of tires outside in his driveway caught his attention. Apprehension quickly flooded his system. Jadon stopped moving and waited. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long. A car door slammed and then heavy footsteps stormed up the driveway toward his front door.
His first thought was that the Mvula men had tracked him down and were there to finish what they had started. Jadon wasn't sure he would survive another physical confrontation. For one thing, he didn't possess the legendary chi mastery of some martial arts fighters, who could allegedly fight on despite suffering broken bones. Jadon's bones were not broken but he was most certainly in too much pain to go another round with either father or son just because he had made the error of letting his libido direct his actions.
"Jadon!" Asher's voice boomed on the other side of the door, snapping Jadon out of his thoughts. It was both a relief and not. Especially when the shout was quickly followed by a fist banging on his door loud enough to wake the dead. "Jadon, open the damn door!"
Yeah. That didn't seem like the best idea. Suddenly, Jadon was grateful to all the stars he hadn't made it out of the house like he had been thinking. There was no doubt in Jadon's mind that his brother had found out about his little adventure with Tapiwa. Jadon closed his eyes and drew a deep breath. Damn, this mess was going to be the death of him, he thought with a shake of his head.
"Jadon!" The fist pounded again, somehow managing to rattle the windows of the house.
"Asher, go home!" Jadon bellowed back.
There was silence for a second and then a loud thud as though someone had attempted to kick the door down. Thankfully, the solid frame stood. A second later, Jadon heard Asher curse and assumed the idiot was now in pain. He didn't open the door to find out.
"You jealous piece of shit!" Asher shouted, kicking the door again. "Coward! Come out here and face me, you bastard!"
Jadon sighed tiredly. He gave his door a careful study just as another kick landed on it. Certain that it wouldn't suddenly give in and let his furious brother in, he shifted on his feet until his back was against the nearest wall. Then Jadon sunk to the floor and just listened as his brother howled insults at the top of his lungs, loud enough for the entire neighborhood to hear.
Asher called Jadon every nasty thing under the sun. He accused him of always being jealous of Asher and going after his girlfriend in a fit of jealousy because apparently, Jadon had always wanted whatever Asher had.
Laughter nearly bubbled out of Jadon as he listened. But his ribs hurt, so he bit it back. Besides, there was really nothing funny about the accusations. The urge to defend himself and set the record straight was strong.
Jadon wanted to tell his brother that he and Tapiwa had likely been drugged at the party. The proof was there in the existence of the blackmailer. But that wouldn't explain why Jadon had been balls deep in the young woman barely twenty-four hours ago. Hence, he kept his mouth shut and allowed his brother to rant like a lunatic.
Finally, after what felt like the longest half-hour of Jadon's life, Asher ran out of steam. Silence fell outside his door, but Jadon knew he was still there. He hadn't heard the car pull away.
As the silence stretched, Jadon grew more uneasy. For some reason, he had been more comfortable listening to Asher spew insults and assaulting his door. At least that way he had known exactly where the man was and what he was thinking. Silence meant being blind.
In a new state of panic, Jadon struggled off the floor with heavy breaths. Groans of pain slipped past his lips with every movement, reminding him of what a big idiot he had been. By the time he was upright, Jadon had a fresh sheen of sweat on his forehead and his breathing was labored.
After listening for a beat, he gritted his teeth and stepped closer to the door. He wasn't stupid enough to open it, he just wanted to be sure he knew where Asher was or what he was doing. Jadon thought the worst thing he could do was underestimate an angry man. Angry men were unpredictable.
A minute later, Jadon was certain Asher wasn't at his front door anymore. The back door! Jadon turned around and made his way as quickly as he could to his kitchen. He couldn't remember if he had locked it and prayed he had.
The back door that led into the small backyard attached to his house was also made of solid wood. The only difference was that half of the top part was replaced by heavy glass. However, to compensate for the possible security risk the glass presented, the door also came with a grill door which Jadon thankfully realized he had locked because Asher stood there scowling at him but unable to get into the house.
Jadon grimaced at the hatred he saw in his brother's eyes. Again, the need to explain himself hit him. He didn't fight it this time. "Asher, you need to hear me out. I didn't set out to seduce and sleep with your girlfriend. I wouldn't do that to my own brother for god's sake."
Asher snorted. His lip curled in an ugly snarl. "You are no brother of mine. Mom was right."
"What?" Jadon asked, puzzled by that statement. "What are you talking about?"
But Asher didn't respond to his question. Instead, he grabbed the grill door and shook it like a gorilla trapped in a cage. When he stopped, he was breathing hard, the glare in his eyes looked almost insane.
"You will pay for this, Jadon. I will make sure you regret ever touching what's mine!"
Jadon's lips parted, but whatever he had been about to say died on his tongue as his brother abruptly turned around and stormed off. Less than a minute later, Jadon heard the car in his driveway turn on and then a squeal of tires informed him Asher was gone.
Feeling both exhausted and a little shaken, Jadon grabbed for the island to stay upright. "Shit!"