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Despite only being fifteen, he tried to get me to go work for him, something he has continued to try and do since then. He made promises that I could rise up through the ranks and take over from him one day. I may have been an impressionable teenager but I scoffed in this face, saying that I would never work for scum like him. I even went so far as to tell him that the only thing we had in common was genetics.
He tried to trap me and force me into working for him. I remember that day fondly, he accosted me on my way home from school. When I refused to go with him yet again, he laughed at me and said that I was just as stubborn and stupid as my mother. That comment resulted in my punching him in the nose. I broke my hand, but it was worth every day I spend in a plaster cast. In the end, Roger and I decided the only way to escape him was for me to enlist.
I send Shay a text first thing in the morning, asking him to meet me at the campus café where I first took Elle. She has a morning class to go to so I left her as she was getting dressed. Now I’m sitting here at the cafe waiting for Shay.
He walks in five minutes later, taking a seat and muttering to himself. “What’s up? You look pissed,” I ask him, trying not to laugh.
“Well, your pops decided to pay me a visit this morning, insisting that I should tell him what is going on so he could help.”
I almost choke on my coffee.
“Dude, what the hell? When I saw him yesterday, all I asked him was whether the guy in the black Honda is one of his, mainly because it has his name written all over it. He denied any involvement.”
“Well, he seemed very interested in your girlfriend and I didn’t think you’d be pleased,” he says with a frown.
“Uh, no! I don’t want his dirty hands anywhere near her. I better not have to go see him again. Was hard enough dealing with him and his henchman yesterday.”
“Well, let’s end this delightful topic now then. Before you get really pissed off and punch a wall again, or his face,” he says with a laugh.
“Yeah, well yesterday was eventful,” I say sarcastically. “Brimstone really rattled Elle. She was on the floor crying when I got home.”
“What he say?” His tone suddenly goes serious.
“He wasn’t happy that she wasn’t selling Brightlight to him. We expected that, but then he had to add in that her father would be rolling in his grave and that he’d get the company, whether she wanted him to or not. You know what that means, bro,” I say, looking straight at him.
We both know what that means. It means that Brimstone is aware that the company rules say that the final decision is Elle’s until such time that she sells her share or she is incapacitated. I hope to hell he isn’t going for the incapacitated clause, cause then I’d have to kill him.
“It means that she’s really in danger now, from Brimstone, from Evans if he is working for Brimstone, and maybe someone else we haven’t considered yet. We’re going to have to watch her twenty four-seven,” he states. This is why Shay and I are and the best partners; we think the same and we read the other’s mind.
“And then to add salt to the wound, Elle got another note yesterday. Hand delivered to the mailbox, on the same paper as the one from Richmond, but this one had a clear warning for her,” I tell him, pulling the note out of my pocket. Shay grabs the note and lays it on the table.
“What the f**k, dude? This is getting frightening now,” he says angrily.
“Tell me about it. She was freaked out, man. I’ve only seen her that bad when she’s had a nightmare,” I wince, remembering how upset she was.
“What do you want to do?” Shay asks, knowing that we need to formulate a plan. I’m glad I have Shay. He loves Elle like a sister and like me, sees this as more than a job now.
“We need to monitor her at all times. Who knows what this maniac is planning, or when he is planning it. He could be connected to Brimstone or Evans, or it could be totally unrelated to the whole thing,” I add, thinking out loud. “The unknown factor is what scares the shit out of me.”
“Considering the guy followed you to Virginia, I think we should go with it being separate to the Brimstone affair. Nobody knew where you were going and hardly anyone round here knows your car, so he must have been watching you,” he says, verbalizing everything that I was thinking, but really didn’t want to admit out loud.
As soon as I intercepted the note in Richmond, I knew we had been followed. I was too distracted by Elle and failed to look out for a tail. I was careless, especially given that our job is to protect her.
“Well, B, I’ve gotta get back on the street to watch your pretty girl and her hot ass,” he teases with a smile.
I growl at him. “Don’t you be watching my girl’s ass, dude,” making him crack up laughing at my possessiveness.
“See you tonight at the bar?” he adds.
“Yeah, I’ll text you to when we’re on our way,” I reply as he turns and leaves.
I’d totally forgotten about Shay’s birthday drinks tonight. I text Elle to make sure she still wants to go. After all the stress of yesterday, I’m half expecting her to pull back into her shell. She seemed okay this morning, but she had two bad experiences yesterday and I need to make sure she is really alright, and not just telling me what I want to hear.
I get home from my morning classes and find Brax is still out. He sent me a text telling me he was on his way home for lunch. I’m a bit wary of being home alone right now. Yesterday’s note freaked me out. I go to the front window and look out around the street. I can’t see the black Honda anywhere so I feel my whole body relax a bit. We haven’t seen him for three days now, but after the hand delivered note yesterday, I have a gut feeling that he isn’t too far away.
I hear the lock in the door rattle and Brax walks in, carrying a bouquet of white roses with a big smile on his face. I stand in the middle of the living room, mouth open in shock. No one has ever bought me flowers. I blink back the tears in my eyes as his thoughtfulness sinks in. With a huge grin he walks up, hands me the flowers, and leans in to give me a sweet probing kiss. I can handle hellos like this.
He pulls away, leaving me wanting more than a kiss, and takes the flowers into the kitchen to put them in water. I turn and watch him go, unable to stop myself from checking out how the muscles in his shoulders move under his tight black Henley. I should really stop ogling him all the time, although I can’t see myself ever getting sick of the sight of him. An idea pops in my head and I decide to run with it, knowing that Brax is never one to turn me down.
