by Aubrey Rose
He sighed and turned his back on her. She watched as he forced his hand back through his hair, frustration etched in the tension of his shoulders.
“I never meant to be such a screw up, Ellie. It wasn’t a part of my plan...”
He turned around, spreading his hands wide, imploring her.
“But it’s real bad this time. He’s going to kill me and I don’t think there’s anything I can do to stop him.”
Ellie stared at her younger brother, her eyes widening in shock. She couldn’t see anything in his eyes that told her maybe he was exaggerating. As far as she could tell he was being completely honest with her and that frightened her. Ricky wasn’t exactly known for his honesty, so the fact that he seemed to be giving it to her now could only mean something terrible.
“Ricky, what happened? Who wants you dead?”
He dropped his gaze to the floor once more and Ellie instantly knew what he was going to say.
“It’s Grey, isn’t it? How could you be so stupid, Ricky? You know what he’s capable of, you know what he’s tried to do to our family and you go and get caught up with him?”
Ellie’s voice lifted in panic and she found herself backing away from her brother. It was bad enough to think that he was in trouble but trouble with Grey Mattheson? She turned and moved into the main area of the diner. The darkness swallowing her up as she fought to stifle her sobs with her hand.
How could he have been so stupid?
Ellie’s legs buckled beneath her, her back slamming into the tall counter as she slid to the floor. Ricky knew that getting involved with Grey was a bad idea.
Grey lacked a conscience and he had the money to back him up. He practically owned the town and whatever he wanted he got, nothing was off limits to him...
Ellie shook her head and buried her face in her hands, an image of her father’s smiling face popping into her mind. The only man in town to stand up to Grey’s bullying tactics. He’d believed that his friendship with Grey’s father would mean something to the young playboy, but he’d been wrong and he’d paid for that mistake with his life...
Strong hands wrapped around Ellie’s wrists, pulling her hands away from her face.
“Ellie, please don’t cry, I won’t let him get to me, I promise I won’t end up like Father.”
Ellie’s temper got the better of her and she lashed out with her hands. She caught Ricky by surprise, her open handed slap landing him back on the floor on his ass.
“Dad thought he was doing the right thing, he thought he could stop Grey from turning this entire town into his own personal playground. You on the other hand did something stupid, despite knowing what Grey was capable of, you still got involved with him!”
“I didn’t do any of this on purpose, Ellie, despite what you might think I didn’t draw him on me deliberately. He set me up...”
Ellie shook her head. She wouldn’t listen to him. Ricky was an adult now and it was time he started behaving like one. She couldn’t always be there for him, bailing him out whenever he got in over his head.
“Don’t lie to me. What happened, Ricky? What did you do?”
There was a girl, Melanie, and...”
Ellie snorted in derision and pushed herself up from the floor.
“Of course, I should have known a girl would be at the heart of this.”
Ricky followed her, the look in his eyes wild. He grabbed Ellie’s arm, halting her progress and swinging her back towards him.
“Ellie, please, it’s not what you think. I thought she really liked me but she was using me to get back at Grey... She stole something and now he thinks I helped...”
“How could you be so stupid?”
Ellie scrubbed her hands across her eyes.
“Did you steal from him, Ricky? And I want the truth.”
He released Ellie’s arm as though the merest touch of her skin burned him.
“You think that little of me? You think I’d draw Grey’s attention back on our family?”
The look in his eyes was one of disappointment and hurt. Anger drained from Ellie, leaving her feeling limp and she sagged back against the counter.
“I didn’t mean that...”
He cut her off.
“Don’t, Ellie, don’t bother. I thought you of all people would understand how easy it is to get caught by Grey. At the end of the day, you were the reason Father had to go against Grey, and you’re the reason he’s...”
“Don’t, Ricky, don’t you dare say it.”
Ellie’s voice trembled with emotion, and the guilt she had carried since the day her father had turned up dead crushed over her. The last thing she needed was Ricky to confirm what she had felt all these years.
Ricky shot her a look of disgust before he strode from the diner and back out through the kitchen. She started to follow him but by the time she made it out into the kitchen the backdoor to the diner stood open and there was no sign of her brother.
Tears started to trickle from Ellie’s eyes, her vision slowly blurring as she stared at the open door.
Ricky was right of course. She was the reason their father was dead. If she had just kept her mouth shut then he’d still be alive...
Time ticked slowly by as Ellie stood in the kitchen staring at the open door but it wasn’t the door she could see. Her mind conjured all the images she had kept bottled up inside. A year had passed and yet Ellie could still remember it like it was yesterday.
Cold air crept in around her and she shuddered but it was enough to pull her from her thoughts of her darkest hour. Pulling the keys to the diner from her pocket she moved to the backdoor and stepped out into the alley. She slammed the door behind her and jammed the key into the lock, turning it until it made a satisfying click.
It took a few attempts to pull the key back out of the lock but once she had she moved down the alley to where she had parked her car. Sliding in behind the steering wheel she dropped her bag onto the passenger seat and buried her face in her arms. All thoughts of going home and taking a hot bath were gone, replaced instead with a cold ache in her chest.
A sudden image of a pair of warm brown eyes flitted into her mind. There had been something in his eyes, something that told her he knew what it felt like to lose the people you cared about. Of course she had screwed all that up too and he probably thought she was some sort of crazy person and who could blame him if he did think that.
Ellie needed to stop thinking about him. There was nothing between them except her wild imagination and it needed to stay that way. Getting close to people only led to heartache and she’d had more than enough of that to last a lifetime.
Ellie flipped the key in the ignition and gunned the engine. It roared to life and without a second thought she pressed her foot to the accelerator, the car jumping forward in response. All she wanted was to get home and hide under the covers and try and bury the painful memories she had allowed to resurface. If she could do that, then maybe she could think of a way to help Ricky.
CHAPTER THREE
Sitting in the large expanse that Riley called a living room, Stuart propped his legs up on the edge of the polished coffee table. The crystal tumbler he held in his hand glittered in the low lighting and Stuart stared at the amber liquid within.
He had let himself in as soon as he arrived and making himself at home wasn’t difficult. Riley was nowhere to be found and Stuart could only assume he was attending some sort of glitzy event thrown by whoever happened to be flavour of the month up in Breaker’s Point.
Stuart wrinkled his nose in disgust. It wasn’t his scene, never had been and never would be. He lifted the glass to his lips and downed the liquid in one gulp. Warmth spread through his throat and down into his chest.
He closed his eyes and basked in the feel of the brandy as it slid down inside. Stuart had to admit one thing about his brother: he’d always had impeccable taste in alcohol.
The front door slammed and Stuart was instantly alert. He placed the glass on the small table n
ext to the chair he sat in and watched the open doorway through half opened eyes.
Riley strode past the door and Stuart smiled as he watched his brother pause before he back-pedalled and stood framed in the entryway.
“So you decided to come up here after all?”
Riley’s tone was dry and lacked humour. Stuart couldn’t help but imagine that whatever event he had attended had obviously not gone his way.
“Well you did invite me, brother, and I wasn’t going to simply ignore your royal summons.”
Stuart tried to keep the smile from his face but it was proving more difficult than he’d anticipated.
Riley moved into the room without saying anything. He paused in front of the drinks cabinet and grabbed a crystal tumbler and the bottle of brandy Stuart had tried. He carried them both over to the polished table that sat in the centre of the seats and let them both clang down.
Stuart watched as Riley dropped onto the couch and grabbed the bottle of brandy. He filled his glass and then paused, his gaze narrowing over Stuart’s feet that were propped on the surface of the coffee table.
“Do you know how much that table cost?”
Riley’s voice lacked emotion as he set the brandy bottle down again.
Stuart shrugged and smiled.
“Nope, but I suppose you’re going to educate me.”
“You haven’t changed a bit, have you? I thought you might have grown up a little...”
Riley reached out and knocked Stuart’s booted feet from the top of the table before settling back against the sofa. He held the tumbler full of brandy in front of him and stared down into its contents as Stuart spoke.
“Neither have you, Riley. I was hoping by now you’d have found a woman to pull out that stick you have lodged up your ass.” Stuart shrugged, “obviously I was mistaken. You’ve grown so pompous no woman would touch you now.”
Riley lifted his gaze from the glass in his hands and shot Stuart a withering look.
“At least I don’t chase happily married women.”
Stuart instantly found himself bristling. It was just like Riley to snoop on his life. No doubt the invite and the offer of a job was all pretence. It was probably just Riley’s way of trying to stop him from making a mockery out of the family. After all, he was the only Reynolds to refuse the family fortune and all it entailed, in favour of working in private security.
Riley had never understood Stuart’s need to work, to earn his own money instead of accepting what his privileged birth had afforded him. The others in their own way had all fallen in with what was expected of them, Stuart was the only one who had maintained any independence.
“Who the hell told you that? I should have known better than to come here and think things might be different. You’ll never change, Riley, more fool me for believing you might have.”
Stuart pushed up to his feet and started for the door.
“Stuart, don’t go—I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
Riley’s apology halted Stuart mid-stride. Riley never apologised. It wasn’t in his nature or at least it never had been.
“Sorry?”
Riley cast him a look over his shoulder before scooping the brandy bottle back up from the table and holding it out to Stuart.
“You heard me, Stu, don’t make me repeat myself. Come and have a drink.”
Stuart stared down at the man sitting on the couch. Two years had passed since he’d last seen him and although he looked the same Stuart couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to make him apologise so readily.
Stuart moved back to the seat he had just vacated and dropped down into it. Picking up his glass he held it out to his brother and watched with a raised eyebrow as Riley topped the tumbler up. It seemed things had just gotten interesting and Stuart had every intention of getting to the bottom of Riley’s sudden change of heart.
“So did you really invite me up here because you had a job for me, or was it just so you could check and make sure I wasn’t disgracing the family any more than usual?”
Stuart sipped his brandy and watched Riley over the edge of the glass. His brother sighed and shot him another withering look.
“Is it always going to be like this? A constant battle? If that’s the case then I’m contemplating taking my apology back.”
Riley’s voice was low but for the first time since he’d arrived Stuart could hear a trace of humour in his tone.
Stuart grinned and shook his head.
“You know me, I’m only happy when I’m poking at the hornets’ nest.”
“Is that why you were so interested in a married woman?”
“You’re not going to let that go, are you?”
Stuart sighed and shot his brother a hard stare.
“Come on, Stu, you’re better than that. I don’t see why you always chase after the unattainable.”
“It wasn’t like that. I wasn’t chasing her.”
“That’s not what I heard...”
“So who’s your informant?”
Stuart struggled to keep the bitterness from his voice.
“It doesn’t matter now. I’m just glad you’re away from the Ashcrofts. David never struck me as the type of man who would take competition lying down.”
Stuart smiled and a short laugh escaped him.
“No, he’s definitely not afraid to fight for what he loves and I can’t blame him. Carrie is amazing.”
Riley tutted and finished the amber liquid swirling in the bottom of his glass.
“You were really that smitten?”
“You’d have been the same if you’d met her. David is a very lucky man...”
Riley opened his mouth and Stuart lifted his hand, fending off the lecture that he knew was coming from his older brother.
“Don’t worry, I know she’s married. But more importantly she’s happy and I wouldn’t interfere in that. I wouldn’t ever want to do something that would hurt her.”
Silence fell over the room and Stuart found himself lost as he stared into the orange flames that filled the fireplace.
The sound of Riley shifting on the couch drew Stuart’s attention back to his brother. Riley reached over and picked up the now half empty bottle that sat on the table.
“Well, I think that deserves a toast, don’t you?”
Riley’s voice was a little slurred and Stuart suddenly became aware of the slight tremor in his brother’s hands as he picked up the bottle and twisted the cap off. Stuart said nothing and held his glass out so Riley could refill it but questions swirled in his mind. What had put Riley in such a mood? It wasn’t like him to get drunk—Riley was the type of man who was never out of control.
“So what happened to you this evening?”
Stuart kept his voice light, since Riley was normally good at seeing straight through Stuart’s ploys of getting information from him. All he could hope for now was that his brother was a little too far gone to notice.
Riley let the bottle drop back to the table top with a bang and settled back on the couch. He didn’t speak as he loosened the tie he wore and popped the top button on his crisp white shirt. Stuart opened his mouth to ask again and before he could get the words out, Riley closed his eyes.
“She hates me. I don’t think she’s ever going to forgive me and I don’t deserve her forgiveness but God do I want it, Stu!”
Riley’s voice was filled with emotion and it took Stuart by complete surprise. It wasn’t like his brother to express the kind of emotions he was. It wasn’t in Riley’s nature to share any emotion.
“Who hates you?”
“Holly.”
Riley settled back against the couch and drank deep from the glass he held.
The name rang a bell in the back of Stuart’s mind but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
“Holly?”
“Holly McCombe. You remember her, I know you do. I dated her back in high school...”
Riley cut himself off suddenly and opened his eyes. He s
hot Stuart a narrow look.
“I’m not so drunk that I don’t know when you’re trying to pump me for information.”
Stuart smiled and shrugged.
“I don’t often get the opportunity, Riley. There was a time when you wouldn’t have shared this much with me no matter how drunk you were. I think you’re getting soft in your old age.”
Riley’s expression remained hard and closed for a second before he burst into laughter. He sat up and placed the glass back on the table.
“Perhaps you’re right, Stu, and on that note, I should go to bed before you get all of my secrets out of me.”
Riley stood and wavered slightly on unsteady legs. Stuart started to stand but his brother waved him away.
“I’m fine, I don’t need to be escorted to bed. I’m not our father.”
His voice was suddenly filled with bitterness and Stuart remained seated. The mention of their father was like a punch to the gut and if Stuart was honest it had been a long time since he had even allowed any thought of his father to enter his head.
Riley staggered away and made it to the stairs. Stuart watched as he climbed them one at a time before returning his gaze back to the fire.
Perhaps it was the brandy, or maybe it was the fact that for the first time in his life Riley had shown Stuart an emotion other than cold indifference, but he started to think of the past.
Riley’s sudden declaration that he wasn’t their father, seemed an almost childish need to reassure that he could handle his drink.
Stuart closed his eyes and brushed his hand across his face. He was tired and the last thing he needed now was to allow thoughts of that cruel bastard to fill his head. He’d buried all those memories and he wasn’t about to let them resurface now.
Reaching out, Stuart grabbed the bottle from the table and poured the last of the brandy into the glass he held. With the glass full to almost overflowing, Stuart swallowed the amber liquid down, letting it burn down through his throat and chest, his attempt at washing away the memories that threatened to swallow him alive.
