The Alpha's Collateral Lover

“Show yourself, Manuel,” his cold voice echoed through the small house.

Wearing an expensive suit with a pistol tucked on his side, Alejandre Duvigne, the infamous Loan Shark in SinsVille, stood proud with his men checking every corner of the house. “You know that this won’t end well if you don’t show up now. Don’t waste my time, old man. You’re not the only one I need to pay a visit to today,” he added, kicking the round table in front of him and sitting on the chair. He took out his high-end vape mod and started smoking while keeping a blank expression on his face as seconds passed by.

Andre was getting annoyed spending his precious time dealing with a pathetic debtor that couldn’t pay his loans on time instead of beating the shit out of the goons his men caught the other day. He had been patient for five minutes which was the longest he could wait and yet no Mr. Ignacio had shown up. The latter was old enough to be his father but still didn’t learn an important life lesson.

“Didn’t your parents teach you not to borrow if you can’t repay it?” Andre clicked his tongue and brushed his hair up. His amber eyes glowered at the last door which hadn’t been checked. “I shouldn’t be here getting my money back, Manuel. How could you force me to come to this shithole when you’re just going to hide? Come out now and pay your debt then we’re even. You might keep your life if you show up right this instant too,” Andre warned one more time. He roughly drew vapor into his mouth and shut his lips. His eyes squinted as he opened his mouth again to breathe in the vapor before exhaling it.

“Burn the house,” Andre ordered his men and continued to smoke. “Wait,” he said when he heard something or probably someone hiding somewhere around him. “Break that door.” He pointed at the closed door with a hint of excitement in his eyes. “It would be so much fun if he’s watching while his house turns into ciders,” Andre added and smirked.

A loud crash was heard as soon as the door flew open. Everyone was curious about what was inside only to find a room filled with children’s toys and well… mostly girls’ stuff.

“Boss, he’s not here. This room seems to belong to a young lady. I didn’t know Manuel had a daughter,” Colt, one of Andre’s men, said. “He must have fled before we came here. That runt!”

Andre frowned. He was thinking of letting the old man live if he would face him and compromise but it looked like he went into hiding. However, he knew what kind of person Manual was. He wasn’t the type to run away from his debt even if it meant he had to grind his bones until death. “Send men to check his bar. If you find him there, drag him to the base.”

“Yes, boss!”

“A daughter, huh?” Andre glared at the room filled with cute stuff. He cringed at the sight while imagining Manuel having an adorable little girl. “That bastard should have paid his debt if he doesn’t want to ruin his little girl’s life.” He breathed the smoke out of his mouth and clicked his tongue. “Another day wasted with that old man, huh? I should reconsider whether he lives or dies,” Andre muttered. He turned his heels to leave when a high-pitched voice roared from behind.

“What the hell is going on?!”

Andre felt his eyebrows meet when he heard a woman’s voice. How come there was a woman out of nowhere when his men couldn’t even find the man?

“Boss, it’s a woman…”

Andre rolled his eyes. “I know, Steve. I can tell she’s a… Woman.” He tilted his head to the side and looked at the woman who'd wrapped herself in a towel. Her face was covered with a mask. By the looks of it, she had just come out of the shower and it was obvious her brown hair was still wet. Andre couldn’t help but laugh sarcastically. “Who are you, Missy?” He asked the woman, scanning her from head to toe.

“No. Who are you? What are you doing in my house?” The woman asked in return. She tightly grabbed the towel as she roamed her eyes around. “Oh my! You have no idea how long it takes me to clean this whole place and yet…” She paused and glared at Alejandre. “Out! Get out or I’ll call the cops!”

“Cops?” Andre smirked. He pulled out the pistol from his side and aimed it at the woman. “I don’t have time to play with you. Tell me who you are if you don’t want to pick up the pieces of your skull after I shoot every bullet of this gun on your head.”

“I’m Greta,” the woman replied, raising her left hand in the air while using her right to keep the towel from falling. “My name’s quite old-fashioned so you don’t want to know it. You can call me Greta, sir…” She choked on her words at the sight of the gun.

Andre walked closer to her with a smirk. “Good. You’re a good girl, Greta,” he said, reaching out for her chin. He lifted her face to look at her closely only to get annoyed by the unusual smell he caught a whiff of. “What is this smell? A rotten banana?” Andre turned his head to the side and ordered his subordinate. “Steve, get a basin with water. Greta needs to wash the dirt off her face.” He wondered what she would look like without the crushed banana on her face.

“But… I just put on this face mask for a couple of minutes. It should be around 5-10 minutes to work its magic,” Greta reasoned despite the tight situation she was in. “You see, I don’t know what you came here for but I hope you leave now.”

“Later,” Andre replied and let go of her. He continued to smoke while staring at Greta. “Are you Manuel’s woman? I didn’t know that old man’s into young ladies.” He breathed out the smoke in Greta’s face which earned him a slap from her.

“Damn it,” Andre cursed under his breath. He wanted to praise the woman for slapping him without second thoughts but she didn’t just do that. To his surprise, Greta grabbed his vape mod and threw it away. She went back to raising a hand after having a scared expression on her face. “Hah! Why do that when you’re afraid to face the consequences?” He muttered, rubbing his swollen cheek.

Andre’s men were shocked but they were quick to move and pinned Greta on the wall.

“I didn’t mean to do that but you can’t smoke, especially in front of me!” Greta yelled. She was catching her breath while struggling to get away from Alejandre’s men. “Let go of me!” She kicked her legs only to stop after doing it once when she realized she wasn’t dressed properly.

“Steve, where’s the basin?” Andre was impatient. “Make sure there’s no trace of banana left on her face,” he ordered Steve who quickly poured the water on Greta’s face.

“Not that,” Andre complained and clicked his tongue. “You should dip her face in the basin with water,” he said in a serious tone as he watched Greta slowly running out of breath.

Greta chose to still despite being in the middle of the crowd. Her eyes screamed for help but none of the people around her seemed to notice, except for Alejandre of course, but he didn’t give a shit.

Steve came back with another basin of water. He held it with both hands while Andre grabbed Greta’s head and pushed her face onto the basin. He did it three times. The first time, Greta struggled to break away from the men’s hold when Andre forcibly pushed her face into the basin. On the second time, Greta tried to desperately beg him to stop as she could no longer breathe properly but failed. She had to catch her breath rather than attempt to speak so no words came out of her mouth but whimpers. On the third time, Greta became unconscious and fell on the floor. It was at that moment when Alejandre started to care… A little.

“She died?” Andre asked, holding his breath. He only wanted to see what she looked like but why would Greta lose consciousness?

Steve bent down to check and shook his head. “No, boss. She’s still breathing though it’s faint.”

Andre nodded his head. “Alright. Let’s go back. That’s enough for today,” he glanced at Greta on the floor. “We’re bringing her with us. If she’s Manuel’s woman, he will surely come to get her. Let’s make him pay for this wasted trip then,” he muttered, not taking off his gaze at the woman who was almost naked in front of him.

“Damn it,” Andre muttered while swallowing a lump in his throat.

“My goodness, Alejandre! What do you think you’re doing?”

Alejandre, who was taking his time smoking while checking the documents piled on his table, didn't bother to raise his head to see who it was. “Shut up, Trinity. What do you want? And stop calling me that. Know your place.”

A woman in her early thirties rushed to Andre’s table and smacked her hands. “I know my place well but you’re getting ruthless by the day. Did you know that you almost killed that poor woman?”

Andre shrugged. “What’s the big deal? She’s still alive. You said ‘almost’ there.” He put down his vape mod and crossed his legs to face Trinity, one of his few relatives left. “So, what’s going on with her? She looked fine when we met her then she suddenly fainted.”

“I asked Steve. You tried to kill her by drowning her in a basin of water!” Trinity couldn’t believe her younger cousin could be so horrible. She was trying to understand him but Andre was getting out of hand and she wanted to give up sometimes.

“Trinity, listen. I didn’t want her dead,” Andre retorted. He snorted while reminiscing how the woman slapped him without a second thought. “Besides, she was the one who slapped me. As the family doctor, you should also worry about my injury, don’t you think?”

Trinity rolled her eyes. “You look fine to me,” she pointed out. “If you don’t intend to drown her, why did you do that? She was having an asthma attack and thanks to her luck she’s still alive now,” Trinity added and sighed. She rubbed her temple and slumped on the chair in front of Andre’s table. “You could have killed someone innocent.”

Clicking his tongue, Andre returned his focus to the documents he was reading. “Innocent, huh? You may not know it but she could be the one who wasted Manual’s money. That old man owed me a lot and now he’s nowhere to be found. If that woman wasn't related to Manual Ignacio, I wouldn't have met her at his house yesterday.” He shrugged and grabbed his vape mod to smoke again. “Who knows? She could be his secret younger lover.”

“Really?” Trinity scoffed. “She could help you find Manual if that’s the case then why did you try to kill her?”

Andre gasped in exasperation. He respected Trinity since she was the one who took care of him when he was younger and helpless. He thought of her as his older sister but he hated it when she nags. “Trinity, I already told you. I didn’t try to kill her,” Andre said for the second time. He was only repeating himself because it was Trinity.

“Then why did you dip her face in the basin after asking Steve to fill it with water? Were you giving her a facial wash or what?

“Exactly!” Andre exclaimed. “You weren’t there so you didn’t know what she looked like when she appeared in front of us.”

“I know,” Trinity replied almost immediately. “Steve didn’t forget to mention that the poor woman was wearing nothing but a towel around her. I was hoping you’d grow up to be a gentleman, Andre.”

It was truly useless to argue with a woman who didn’t plan to let a man explain. Andre was thinking the same while watching Trinity who was watching him. “I give up. Just think whatever you want. Anyway, that woman will be staying here with us. Tell the others to keep an eye on her,” Andre said, leaning his back on the chair and turning around. He didn’t want to see Trinity’s face again, especially when she was giving him a skeptical look. “Leave,” he ordered in a calm yet cold voice.

“Alright,” Trinity said. “I’m leaving if that’s what you want,” she added and turned her heels to the door. “Just Andre… Remember not to overdo yourself or you’ll have to go through another dangerous phase like the last time. I’m reminding you this because I can’t promise I will be able to help you every time that happens. That’s all.”

Andre clicked his tongue with his eyes closed. He was listening to every word Trinity told him. “She had a mashed banana on her face,” he said all of a sudden just before Trinity could get out of his office.

“Huh? What did you just say?”

Andre took a deep breath and sighed. “That woman had rotten bananas on her face. I wanted to see how she looked so I decided to help her wash up,” he explained. Andre was waiting for Trinity’s response and frowned when he didn’t hear anything. “Hey, I’m serious.”

“Hahaha!”

“Stop laughing,” Andre said when Trinity couldn’t help but laugh. The latter was even holding her tummy as she tried to stop herself. “What’s so funny? Stop it.”

“Well,” Trinity bit her lip to suppress her laughter while wiping her tears. “I just realized you don’t know women that well, huh? Oh, Andre. This is the reason why I keep telling you to start dating.”

Andre clicked his tongue. “What does a rotten banana have to do about my dating life?” He faced Trinity with a grim expression. “Get out. If you have nothing else to say, leave my office.”

“I’m leaving, okay? But before that, why don’t you visit our dear guest? She doesn't have anything on her face now,” Trinity said, moving her eyebrows up and down. “She’s still sleeping though so you would only be seeing her face with her eyes closed.”

Andre rubbed his nose bridge. “I can’t, Trinity. I’m busy.” He gave the other a solemn look and sighed. “Just make sure she doesn't die. Otherwise, Manuel might not show up to get her.”

Trinity nodded her head. “I don’t think she’s Manual’s woman though. What will you do if Manuel doesn’t come to get her?” Her question put a frown on Andre’s face. “Let me tell you what to do then,” she added and smiled. “Let her go after apologizing for what you did—”

“Why should I apologize?” Andre butted in. “She shouldn’t be there if she didn’t want to get involved.”

Trinity didn’t say a word and just stared at Andre. “She’s pretty,” she said after a while. “In case you’re wondering. Who knows, you’ll get interested in her. Nah, never mind. I’m just saying random things,” Trinity added. “See you around, Andre.”

“Who cares about her appearance?” Andre took his vape mode and began to smoke. He looked at the door where Trinity disappeared. Sighing, he clicked his tongue and stopped smoking. “She’s just going to be the collateral for Manual’s debt,” he muttered and went back to check the documents on his table.

A couple of minutes passed and Andre was having a hard time concentrating on his work. He was losing his patience when someone spoke from outside his office.

“Boss, it’s David.”

Andre raised his head and stood up when he heard his underboss’ voice. “Come in, David.” He watched the door open and a tall and tan man walked in. “You have the report? Let’s see what you’ve got.”

David walked toward Andre and handed him the envelope. The latter was about to take it when he pulled his hand away. “Or maybe you want me to read them for you?”

Shrugging, Andre gave his subordinate the cue. “Go ahead,” he said and sat back in his seat.

“We did our best to gather this information about Manuel so I hope you won’t throw a fit after listening to this,” David said, knowing that Andre could flip the table once he heard the report.

“Hmm… You know, David, it depends. Okay?” Andre squinted his eyes while looking at David who managed to stay calm under his boss’ cold stare. “Spill.”

David cleared his throat and opened the envelope to read the report. “After gathering information from our trusted sources, it was found out that Margareta Ignacio… Also known as Greta,” David paused when Andre smacked his hands on the table.

“Just get straight to the point.” His cold voice resounded through the room.

“... Greta is Manuel’s daughter,” David muttered.

“Hah! So she’s his daughter. I knew it! That old man lusts over younger women like her…” Andre halted when he realized what he just heard. “What did you say?”

David looked Andre straight in the eyes and spoke. “Greta, the woman you brought home yesterday is Manuel’s beloved daughter. Manuel was said to be out of town so he wasn’t in his house when you came to see him. His daughter didn’t seem to know about her father’s debt either.”

There was a spark in Andre’s eyes as he continued to listen to David’s report. Strangely enough, he wasn’t much interested in Manuel anymore but his daughter.

“Greta, huh? She had the nerve to slap me on our first meeting,” the Mafia boss mumbled to himself, placing his elbows on the table. “David, inform everyone. Greta will not be going home anytime soon.” He smirked as he rested his chin on the back of his hands. “She’s going to be our special guest so everyone should keep their eyes on her in case something happens.”

David abruptly replied. “Yes, boss. I will inform everyone to make sure that our hostage cannot escape.”

“Yes. That’s what I said.”