by Iona Rose
“Did you really think he wouldn’t fire you? You made him out to be someone who sexually harasses his employees,” I point out.
“Yeah, so my plan wasn’t perfect.” Beatrice shrugs. “I figured he’d get over that part when he realized how romantic it was that I’d fought so hard for him. He didn’t for the record. He’s still into you after everything. Which leads me nicely into why you’re here. I’m not letting Ashton go and I need him to see that. So I’m going to have Henry here mess up your pretty little face and then kill you. Ashton will see then that he can’t be with anyone else, because he’ll see what happens to them when he tries. That will show him how serious I am about him.”
“No, it’ll show him how deranged you really are,” I say without thinking.
Beatrice stands up and smiles. “Either way, I win and you lose.” She comes closer to me and stands over me, looking down on me for a moment, and then she slaps me hard across the face.
My head slams to the side with the force of her blow, my cheek smarting from it. Tears of pain fill my eyes. I blink them back quickly, but not before Beatrice sees them.
“Oh honey, you are not going to enjoy the next half an hour if that made you cry.” She looks up at Henry. “She’s all yours.” She walks away.
Henry steps in front of me, that malicious smile back on his face. “We’re going to have a lot of fun together, you and me Elena.” He grins.
Chapter Forty-one
Ashton
Beatrice flounces out of my office, leaving me standing there open mouthed with shock. There is no doubt in my mind that she’s serious about her threat to Elena. The cold way she said it, the malicious gleam in her eyes as she talked, and her obsession with us being together all come together to paint the picture of someone who’s beyond deranged.
I think for a moment. What should I do? I can’t go to the police. They won’t just take my word for it that Beatrice is nuts and go arrest her. And I can’t use the recording on my phone to prove it. She didn’t elaborate on her threat in the conversation, so it would be inadmissible as evidence. Dammit, when I get something solid on her, something I can use, I’m not letting her get away with it on a technicality like this.
Before I work out how I’m going to take Beatrice down and get her locked away somewhere she can’t hurt anyone, I have to warn Elena about what’s coming. I go to my desk and pull my phone out. I stop the recording and save it – it might not be admissible in court, but it will prove my innocence to Elena and it might help to convince her just how dangerous Beatrice really is.
I open up my text messages and think for a moment. What can I say that might convince Elena this isn’t just me trying to force her to talk to me? I can’t think of anything, and so I decide to just go with the truth and hope she sees the truth of it.
I type out the text and read back over it. I hit send. It’ll have to do. I’m no Shakespeare and I don’t have time to try to be. I’m just going to go over there and explain, and if she won’t let me in, I’ll put my phone to her door and tell her to listen to the recording.
I grab my jacket and my keys. I put my jacket on as I leave the office and slip my phone and my keys into the pocket. I don’t wait for the elevator. I take the stairs, running down them two at a time. I’m not convinced it was really quicker when I reach the bottom, gasping for breath, but it felt like progress where standing waiting for the car would have felt like time being wasted. I run to my car, ignoring the burning feeling in my lungs. I really need to up my cardio game.
I drive directly to Elena’s place. Her car is outside of her house which makes me feel good. She must have listened to me. I run up her path and bang on her door. No answer. I try again. Still nothing.
I crouch down and shout through her letter box, “Elena, it’s me. I know you don’t want to talk to me, and if you don’t want to hear my explanation about the email then fine, but you have to let me in. You’re in danger. Real danger!”
No answer. Dammit. I slam the letter box closed and go to her lounge window. I don’t like doing this – I don’t want to scare her – but I’m a lot less scary than Beatrice. I press my hands against the glass, cupping my face and peering inside. It doesn’t look like Elena is home. There’s no sign of any movement inside of the house, and there are no tell-tale sounds of anyone moving around.
Fuck. She’s ignored my text in more ways than one. She didn’t reply, which is to be expected right now, but she ignored the warning too. She’s fucking gone out, most likely to make some sort of point to me that I can’t tell her what to do or whatever.
I pull my phone out and try calling her, even though I’m certain she won’t pick up. I end the call and slam my phone away in anger when I hear her phone ringing through the glass. She’s not only gone out she hasn’t even taken her phone with her. If anything does happen, she can’t even call for help.
Maybe it’s not the end of the world though. If she’s not home, then Beatrice won’t know where to find her. Hell, I know Elena way better than Beatrice does and I wouldn’t even know where to start looking for her, so there’s no chance Beatrice will know.
Or maybe this is even better than I could have hoped for. Maybe Elena was already out when I texted her, and she left her phone behind because she’s sick of dodging my calls and texts. If that’s the case, then she’s definitely safe.
I decide to go back to my car to sit and wait for Elena to come home. She has to come back eventually, and I can talk to her then. Even if I have to follow her up her garden path and shout at her in the street, I’ll make her aware of the danger she’s in.
As I move back to my car, something white catches my eye on the ground. It looks like a sleeve off a shirt or something. I pick it up, curious about why a sleeve would be in Elena’s garden. God, I hope I’m not too late. What if it’s her sleeve and there was a fight, one Elena didn’t win?
I unfold it. It’s not a sleeve. It’s a piece of cloth, probably someone’s old duster that got thrown away and caught in a breeze somewhere along the way. It feels damp though and I realize it has a chemically smell. It hits me what it is and I drop it quickly.
It’s fucking chloroform.
My heart is racing, I jump into my car. Fuck, where would Beatrice have taken Elena if she had chloroformed her? Somewhere deserted where she could do whatever she wanted to her. But where specifically?
I think for a moment and then I pull my phone out and make a call. “Jess, it’s Ashton,” I say as she picks up. “Listen to me. Can you trace a company mobile phone? Like its location?”
“Yes. Whose is it?”
“Beatrice’s,” I say.
I can hear her clicking away on her keyboard. “It’s just tracing the signal now. What happened?”
I quickly fill her in on Beatrice’s threat, me firing her, and the chloroform soaked rag at Elena’s place.
“Shit,” she says. “For once, it was a lucky break that a disgruntled employee kept their company phone. I’ve got it. I can’t get an exact location, but she was in the King’s Close area for a good ten minutes. Stationary. Could that be Elena’s place?”
“Yes. Where did she go after that?”
“She’s stationary again. She’s somewhere around Bancroft Road.”
I plug the street name into my sat nav and take off. I switch my phone onto bluetooth and throw it on the passenger seat. “Any idea what’s around there?” I ask.
“I’m looking on Google Earth now,” Jess says. “It’s an industrial area. Shit, Ashton, there’s an abandoned looking building right at the back. I don’t know for certain that’s where she is, but if I chloroformed someone and took them somewhere, that’s where I’d go.”
“Me too,” I agree. “I’m heading over there now. Jess, call the police and get them out there now.”
“On it,” Jess says.
The call cuts off and I turn my full attention to the road. I am breaking the speed limit, but I don’t care. If I get pulled over, I’ll just keep dri
ving and lead the police right to them. In typical fashion, I don’t see a sign of a single cop car on my drive. If I was running late for a meeting and driving like this, I could guarantee I’d have gotten pulled over.
I reach Bancroft Road and I see Jess was right. It’s an industrial area. It looks pretty quiet. There are plenty of cars parked up around the place, but not much foot traffic. That’s normal for a place like this though. The units are workshops and storage units, not the sort of place customers generally visit, making it the ideal place for someone who wants to do something shady in private.
I follow the main road through the place, heading for the back of the buildings. Jess said there’s an abandoned place up at the back and that’s the building I’m heading for. I spot it. It looks run down, weeds growing up the sides and no sign of life anywhere. I know I’m in the right place though. Beatrice’s car is parked beside the unit. I park and jump out of my car.
I can hear sirens coming closer and I send up a silent thank you. Jess came through and got the police out here fast. I’m not going to wait around for them though. If I can hear the sirens, Beatrice can hear them too and it might push her into doing something worse than she planned. Or if she had planned for the worst, then it could make her act much quicker. I just hope I’m not already too late. Her car gives me hope that I’m not. If she’d already killed Elena, she wouldn’t be hanging around here afterwards.
Even the thought of it sends a cold shiver through me and I break into a run. I run to a small side door beside the huge roller shutter. I push the door and get a lucky break. It opens. I take in the scene quickly.
Beatrice is sitting on a chair watching some fucking goon who is towering over someone tied to a chair. I don’t have to see the woman’s face to know it’s Elena in the chair.
“What the fuck,” the man says, looking up.
“Ashton?” Beatrice exclaims.
I ignore Beatrice focusing on the man. I run towards him and shove him away from Elena. He swings for me, but I duck and his punch goes wide. I throw a punch of my own, catching him in the mouth. His bottom lip splits and blood runs down his face. I punch him square on his wide jaw and he staggers backwards.
The door bursts open and two police officers run in.
“Stop. Police,” one of them shouts.
I back away from the goon with my hands up. I finally relax.
Elena has a red mark on her cheek, a hand print by the looks of it, but she’s otherwise okay and that’s all that matters.
Chapter Forty-two
Ashton
The police release Elena then take Beatrice and the thug away into custody. I sigh my relief. It’s been a long day. Even after I knew Elena was safe, it was far from over. We have spent hours telling it all, down at the police station, giving statements and being questioned. It was after six when they finally let us go. They did offer to take Elena to the hospital to be checked over before taking her down to the station, but she refused. I offered the same thing when they released us, and again, Elena refused. I’ve driven her home and this is our first real moment alone.
“Will you come in?” Elena says. “We need to talk and I don’t like talking in the street.”
“Of course,” I say.
We get out of the car and go into Elena’s house. We go inside and she says she needs a shower before we do anything. I tell her I’m going to cook dinner while she showers and she tells me to order Chinese instead.
After what feels like forever, Elena comes down the stairs. She’s wearing pink pajamas and her hair is still wet. She smiles at me as she comes and sits down beside me. “First, I want to thank you Ashton... you know, for saving my life and all that.”
“Ah, it’s all in a day's work.” I smile.
She turns serious and she looks at me for a moment.
“I also wanted to say I’m very sorry. Beatrice told me everything. I hate myself for how I reacted, Ashton. I never should have doubted you when you told me you didn’t send that email.”
I wave away her apology. “It was an email sent from my account containing photos only I had. I can understand why you thought it was me.”
“I still should have heard you out. And I should have trusted you enough to believe you wouldn’t do that. Again, I’m sorry. I can make no excuses really. I shouldn’t have...” A tear rolls down her face. “Please forgive me?’”
“How about we leave the past in the past and concentrate on the future,” I suggest as I reach across and swipe the tear away. “I thought you might be gone forever, so I don’t care about the rest. Because I meant what I said Elena... I love you and I want to be with you, always.”
She smiles at me and nods her head. “I like that plan. And Ashton, as much as I’ve tried to fight it, I love you too,” she says.
My heart soars at her words. I don’t think it’s possible that I could be happier than I am in this moment.
Elena proves that theory wrong when she comes closer to me and plonks herself down in my lap. Her lips find mine and I feel ready to explode with happiness. It’s taken me over a decade, but I’ve finally got the girl of my dreams right here in my arms.
Epilogue
Ashton
Two Months Later
SO MUCH HAS CHANGED over the last two months. Beatrice and her goon went to court. Both pleaded guilty to all the charges against them. Beatrice has been sent to a secure facility where she will get the help she needs for her mental health issues. The goon, Henry something or other, was given a seven year prison sentence for his part in this.
Elena has moved in with me, and she’s got a job working at a large retail company as the personal assistant to the CEO. She didn’t feel comfortable coming back to work for me while knowing everyone had seen that email. So I called a long term client who I knew was looking for a personal assistant. I explained the situation and he hired Elena on the spot on the strength of my recommendation. She loves it there, and I think we’re both doing better in our careers when we’re not distracted by each other all day long. And knowing I’m coming home to Elena makes me a lot less likely to work late too.
I’ve just texted Elena and asked her to meet me at the duck pond in the park. I pace nervously, waiting for her to show up.
She arrives quickly and smiles at me. “You left in such a hurry this morning,” she says. “And now this. What’s going on?”
“Well, there was something I had to pick up.” I shrug my shoulders.
“What? Why do you look so nervous?”
“This,” I reply. I pull the ring box out of my pocket and get down on one knee.
Elena’s jaw drops as her gaze flows my descent to the grass.
“Elena Woods, I have loved you since I was just a boy. And I don’t want to wait a moment longer to ask you this. Will you do me the honor of agreeing to be my wife?”
“Yes. Oh, my God, yes!” she says, laughing even though tears roll down her face.
I push the ring onto her finger and then I stand and kiss her. I pull back and smile down at her. “Right now?”
“What?” Elena asks while looking dazed.
I grin at her and take her hand. I lead her to the bandstand.
It’s wrapped up in swirls of white voile decorated with pink and white roses. Chairs dressed in white and pink line the area in front of it. A band is placed behind the chairs and the whole area is decked out with fairy lights.
“Oh, my God!” Elena exclaims.
“So what do you think? If you agree, there’s a marquee set up behind those trees with hair and makeup people waiting, and a bunch of dresses for you to choose from.”
“Let’s do it,” Elena says, half laughing and half crying.
I kiss her again and then I pull a walkie-talkie out of my pocket, “We’re on,” I say into it. I smile at Elena. “Go. Our friends and family are going to be here in ten minutes.”
Her jaw drops and she hurries away.
I WATCH MY BEAUTIFUL bride walking down the makeshift gra
ssy aisle with Jess beside her as her maid of honor. Elena looks beautiful. She’s chosen an off the shoulder gown that hugs her body and flows out into a fairy tale wedding skirt of lace. Her hair is in ringlets and she looks stunning. Her face is flushed with excitement and her eyes twinkle.
She looks as happy as I feel.
Elena reaches me and it takes everything I have not to kiss her right now, before the officiant gives his permission. We exchange our vows and finally, the time comes for me to kiss the bride. I kiss her with everything I have, letting my kiss tell her how much this moment means to me.
We walk back down the aisle as a married couple. I whisk Elena away for photographs and when we come back, a team has been in and removed the chairs, replacing them with picnic benches that are now laden down with food and drinks. A dance floor has been erected in the center of it all, and even though it’s far from dark, the fairy lights have been switched on.
The band sees us approaching and the singer speaks into the microphone, “Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time, please welcome Mr. and Mrs. Miller to the dance floor.”
Our guests clap and cheer as I take Elena’s hand and lead her out into the middle of the floor. I pull her into my arms and she laughs as the first notes of Lady in Red ring out over the park.
I feel like I’ve died and gone to heaven as I swirl her around the dance floor, holding her right where she should always be – nestled tightly in my arms, against my heart – a heart that always belonged to her.
The End.
