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I’m exasperated now. I always intended to tell Elle about Roger and his battle with cancer, but in my own time. There has been so much going on lately with the notes and being on edge waiting for the next move to be made against Elle, it has honestly been the last thing on my mind. All I wanted was to have a nice dinner out with my girlfriend.
Michael Evans strikes again!
I sit down on the couch, putting my head in my hands as I rest my arms on my knees. I feel, rather than see Elle sit beside me, her arm snaking around my waist as she cuddles into my side.
“I’m sorry, babe. I didn’t know,” she says quietly.
I look up at her and smile. She is truly the most forgiving person I know.
“Sweetheart, I should’ve told you. I’m sorry, but I despise that man you met tonight, I never wanted you to have to meet him. If you want, I can tell you all about my mother and father, the ones that raised me, not the ones that created me. Whatever you want to know, I’ll tell you. I just need you to forgive me.”
I’m pleading with her now, we’ve come too far for something like this to get in our way.
“There’s nothing to forgive, babe. I know now why you didn’t tell me. But I hope you’ll tell me about Roger and Leah tomorrow, if you think you’re ready,” she says with a smile, lifting her lips to mine for a sweet gentle kiss.
“I love you so much, baby.”
“Me too, Brax. More than you know.”
Brax and Elle have gone out for dinner, so I have a couple of hours to myself. I’m sitting in my car, keeping watch on Elle’s building, when my phone rings.
“Gibbons,” I say, answering his call.
“Shay, we have a situation. We’ve received a message saying that Elle isn’t safe while you and Brax are involved. They’re pulling in the big guns now. Evans is in town and we know it’s not a good thing if the big man is hanging around. We’ve got to get you guys out of there, the boss man has ordered it. They’ve even threatened to go public with everything,” he says quickly. He sounds genuinely concerned.
“So who’s making these demands then?” I ask, not really buying Gibbons’ explanation because, to be honest, it doesn’t really make much sense. Things have been quiet for weeks now. No black Honda, no more contact from Evans, no notes. Nothing out of the ordinary.
“This is coming from Brimstone. He contacted the boss man, threatening to go to the feds if we don’t pull out. He recognized Brax and finally put two and two together. It has got the boss spooked so he’s calling you guys off the job.
“No way, dude. Brax will never leave,” I say, knowing where Brax’s head is at. It was just a few weeks ago that we talked about what we were going to do when the job ends. Brax made it clear to me, in no uncertain terms, that he will be wherever Elle is.
“He doesn’t have a choice, if he wants his girlfriend to stay breathing, he needs to get out,” he says sternly.
“I’ll talk to him, but I don’t see it happening,” I explain.
“Shay, you have to make him understand. I can send a back-up unit to watch her without being noticed. She’ll still be watched, just not as publicly as she is now. We have no choice, Shay. They have said she will not be safe unless you guys leave.”
“What has he got on the boss?” I ask. I need to know just how serious this is.
“A bunch of evidence that will leave him in a whole world of shit. He’s said you either pull out voluntarily or he will make it so that you don’t have a choice and you don’t want that, for yourself, for Brax or for Miss Halliwell.”
“I’ll get back to you,” I say as I hang up, not giving him a chance to say anything else.
I punch the steering wheel. I need to work this out. Brax and I don’t trust Gibbons as far as we could throw him, but if the boss has made the order that’s a whole other story. I have to work out another plan. Surely there must be another way to keep her safe.
A few moments later I see Brax and Elle walking along the street, not looking at all happy. Brax opens the apartment building door to let Elle in before quickly looking over in my direction to give me the customary nod, letting me know that he’s okay.
What he doesn’t know is that everything is far from okay. The call has been made, but god knows how I’m going to get him to follow these orders.
I wait until they’re upstairs in the apartment and the lights go off. I’m just about to start my car and pull out when I see a black van driving past me really slowly. I can’t see the driver, but they seem to be looking for something, or someone.
I note the number plate and make and model down, but if it’s who I think it is, we won’t be find out anything. I decide to follow it and start my car, getting ready to pull out. I let him get to the corner before I pull out to follow him. He turns left towards campus and then heads towards the centre of town.
Once he turns onto the freeway heading south, I pull over. I text Brax, letting him know that I’m heading home for the night and text Gibbons straight afterwards, asking him to track the plate anyway.
Chapter Twenty-Two
After the night’s events, I’m in a very reflective mood. After our little heart to heart on the couch, Elle and I crawled into bed and we made love like we were the only two people in the world. I wanted to reassure her that I love her more than anything I know that the night’s revelations have rattled Elle, as well.
When the boss first approached me with details of this job I wasn’t sure that I wanted to be involved, but the boss made the job very worth my while so I was intrigued to say the least—especially since he was prepared to pay so much money for a security job. As it was explained to me he had, and still has, a lot of money involved in Brightlight Industries. Originally it was part of a poker debt arrangement made between my big boss and Elle’s father, Benjamin. A mutually beneficial agreement in order to legalize the boss’ money and increase Benjamin’s cash flow. It ended up being a long term investment, only ending when Benjamin and his family were viciously murdered.
Being in this line of work is definitely not the life I envisioned myself living. I joined the Army at seventeen to escape the life Michael Evans was trying to force me in to, a life of crime, corruption and violence. After five years’ service, I got an honorable discharge to look after my sick adoptive father in Atlanta. After Roger died, I was soon struggling to stay afloat with the mortgage and his business and all of the mounting debts. In order to save my childhood home, the only home I’d ever known, I approached a loan shark who put me in touch with the boss. He bought the business from me and paid off all of the debts I’d inherited, as well as the mortgage. That meant the house was free and clear under my name. What I didn’t realize at the time, was the true cost of his help.
