Chapter 43

Jadon wasn't sure what he had expected to find when they got to the address Vicky had given him. His worst fears aside, he had guessed there was a huge possibility that Tapiwa was staying with a friend and it looked like he might be right.

The property was right off the main road which ran a few meters higher than the landscape below. This gave Jadon a very good view of the entire yard despite the place being fenced and the gate closed. Security-wise, it was pathetic. The owner of the place might as well have saved some money and not bothered with a fence or gate since they seemed to serve very little purpose.

The tiny building at the very end of the yard was also a puzzle to Jadon. He couldn't understand why eighty percent of the yard had been left unutilized. Unless someone thought the dry lawn and weed-infested gravel made for a beautiful landscape.

As for the building that covered the remaining twenty percent, Jadon doubted it contained more than one room. The tiny brick box truly left much to be desired and he wondered how Tapiwa was living there.

She didn't come from money like Jadon and was probably familiar with a simpler lifestyle, but still, what he was looking at looked extreme. The sudden urge to take her back to his house and take care of her hit him hard. Jadon drew a sharp breath, hands clenching on his thighs even as the car moved closer to the gate, finally cutting off the elevated view of the property.

He was so lost in his thoughts that it took Jadon a handful of seconds to realize the car had stopped and Kaelo was staring at him. He suddenly felt uneasy and frowned. "What?"

Kaelo arched a brow at him. "I thought you would have already jumped out of the vehicle and started banging on the gate by now, demanding entrance."

Jadon clenched his teeth. It wasn't that he hadn't thought of it. But after the library, he thought that maybe he needed to behave like a man with all his five senses intact and not being blown to the wind because he needed to set his eyes on Tapiwa.

"Just hand me your phone," Jadon stated with his hand outstretched expectantly.

"Why?"

Irritation made Jadon's fingers twitch. He curled his fingers back into a fist. "Because the woman has blocked my number and I want to text and tell her to step out of the house before I run this car into the gate and give her no choice in the matter."

Kaelo's eyes narrowed, still not handing over his phone. "Yeah, maybe don't say it like that."

"Phone," Jadon pressed, not bothering to amend his approach.

With a huff of disapproval and a headshake, Kaelo handed over his phone. Then he folded his arms across his chest and watched Jadon. Jadon, of course, ignored him and typed out his text, sending it before he thought twice about it.

JADON: Tapiwa, I'm outside the gate. I suggest you come out and talk to me if you don't want me making a scene.

Jadon passed the phone back to Kaelo and then leaned back in his seat and watched the gate. After five minutes, Jadon began to think he might need to make good on his threat. Tapiwa was refusing to come out and talk to him. That shouldn't upset him so much considering how their last encounter had ended, but it did. It infuriated him.

But just as Jadon threw the car passenger door open and jumped out of the car with Kaelo immediately rushing out after him, demanding to know what Jadon thought he was doing, there was the sound of angry footsteps at the gate and both men froze.

Several seconds later, the gate opened with a hard yank and Tapiwa stepped out followed by another woman who looked to be around her age. Both women spotted scowls that promised a hell of a lot of angry shouts in the next five minutes but Jadon wasn't really bothered by that prospect. He was just glad to finally have his eyes on Tapiwa.

"What the hell are you doing here, Jadon!?!" Tapiwa shouted just like Jadon had expected she would. She didn't even seem to be shocked by his bruised appearance. Or maybe she just didn't care.

"So, this is him?" the other woman snarled.

Jadon ignored the second woman and focused on Tapiwa, she looked better than he'd expected. That unclenched something in his chest, his shoulders sagged. "Tapiwa..."

Tapiwa shook her head. "I don't want to hear anything you have to say. You already said all that needed to be said the other night."

"The other night was a bucket full of chaos," Jadon argued, pausing when he saw Tapiwa flinch as though he had hit her. Jadon frowned and mentally went through his words, searching for the culprit. He found it in a heartbeat. "I didn't mean everything. Definitely not that," he quickly explained.

If eyes could reduce him to ash, Jadon imagined he would have been nothing but a pile of it by now. Tapiwa was beyond pissed and it all seemed to be directed at him as though he was the root cause of all her problems, which wasn't true.

But before Jadon could get more words out of his mouth, Tapiwa's friend was in his face. Literally. The woman, who was more on the plump side than Tapiwa but shared her height, looked up at Jadon, nostrils flared in anger.

"What kind of devil are you?" She waved her arms in the air in agitation. "Both you and your brother have done nothing but ruin her life."

Okay, he didn't have the patience for this, Jadon thought with gritted teeth. Jadon could appreciate that Tapiwa had a very supportive friend not afraid to confront him on her behalf, but she wasn't who he wanted to talk to.

Not bothering to answer, he looked over the woman's head at Tapiwa. "We should talk. Alone."

"I am not letting you anywhere near Tapiwa!" her friend suddenly declared. Then, as though to make sure she got her point across, the woman took a step back, putting herself between Jadon and Tapiwa. Then she spread her arms on either side and glared at Jadon as though daring him to try and get past her.

God, Jadon really didn't have the time for this. He had been going insane with worry for Tapiwa and there was just no way he was going to allow an overzealous friend to stand in his way.

Without giving it much thought, Jadon simply closed the distance, reaching for the annoying woman around the waist with both hands. Before she could react or anticipate his intentions, Jadon lifted her off her feet and onto his shoulder, making her squeal in shock.

Other voices joined the air, Jadon heard Kaelo's warning call of his name and Tapiwa's gasp followed by an order to put her friend down. He ignored both. Instead, he turned, walked over to Kaelo who looked at him as though he had lost his mind, and dropped the woman in front of him. "Keep her out of my way," he ordered.

An indignant gasp escaped the woman and she let out a long string of curses on Jadon but she didn't physically obstruct his way again when he was once again facing Tapiwa. Jadon realized Kaelo must have been holding the woman back when he distantly heard her order him to let her go. Good. That would keep her preoccupied and out of his way, he thought as he closed the distance between him and his main target.

Part of him expected Tapiwa to bolt, but she didn't. Instead, her eyes narrowed as she glared at him. Jadon's lips twitched in an aborted smile. For some reason, it pleased him to see her stand her ground and not flee from him. But he wasn't about to question himself then why that was.

Finally, Jadon reached Tapiwa and took her arm in a firm hold. Some part of him still feared her flight instinct might still win out in the end. He couldn't have that. "Are you going to come willingly, or do you want me to lift you as well?" he asked.