Twenty minutes after leaving
the gym, Manny had the boys settled in to study and read. Just as he got down
to the living room to wait for Keegan, the man himself appeared, led in by Mr.
Shadrick.
After introducing himself as
if they had never met before, Keegan told Manny, "A friend suggested I
look you up."
"Oh? Which
friend?" Manny asked as he glanced across the room to see Mr. Shadrick
hovering at the desk.
When he saw Manny looking,
Mr. Shadrick immediately headed for the door, saying, "I'll leave so you
and your friend have some privacy."
Manny nodded, turning his
attention back to Keegan, who said, just loudly enough that Mr. Shadrick
couldn't help but overhear, "Mr. Alasdair. He said you might be able to
help me out."
The door whispered closed
behind Mr. Shadrick but seconds later Manny saw it move open again, just a
fraction. "Help you how?" Manny asked as he gave a slight nod towards
the door.
Feigning hesitancy, Keegan
replied, "I need a safe place to stay for a few days. There's
someone—"
"Looking for you?"
Manny prompted.
Keegan nodded, playing his
part by beginning to pace the room. Finally, he said, "A man by the name
of Rafael. He’s been searching for me, and I’m afraid he’s found me, or at
least where I live."
It was Manny's turn to
hesitate, as if weighing the pros and cons of the request. After a few moments
he replied, "You can stay with me as long as you want, just make damned
certain that no one, and I mean no one knows that you are. I'm not about to put
my roommate in danger because of you." And
that lets that cat out of the bag for damned sure he thought. But there
was really no help for it if he was going to play this out realistically.
"Believe me, I've got
no intention of letting the fact that I'm there be known to anyone but you and
our mutual friend," Keegan said firmly.
"Alright then. Let me
give you my address and then I'll call my roommate to let him know you're on
your way. I'll just tell him you're a friend who showed up unexpectedly."
"Thank you,"
Keegan replied, smiling as he saw the door finally close the last half inch,
giving Manny a thumbs-up when it did.
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