by Aubrey Rose
It hadn’t tried to close the distance between them but that didn’t make Stuart feel any better about it. The moment he pulled into Riley’s drive he felt relief. At least he’d been able to keep his promise thus far.
Pulling the car to a halt, Stuart killed the engine and turned to face Ricky.
“I can’t let you in there with the knife.”
Ricky didn’t answer him straight away. He simply stared out the window and up at the house.
“I don’t understand why you’re doing this?”
Stuart shrugged and stared down at his hands. What could he say? As far as he could tell there didn’t seem to be an answer for that question, or at least not an answer that didn’t sound utterly crazy.
“I’m not sure why I’m doing it either, I just know that I want to help your sister.”
“You like her, don’t you?”
Ricky’s question took Stuart by surprise and for a moment he had no idea what to say. It would be easy to say yes and it certainly wouldn’t be a lie but it was more than that. There was something about Ellie that made him want to be better. He barely knew her and yet he wanted to be around her, spend time with her, make her smile... It was a smile that could melt the heart of the hardest of men.
“Yeah, I like her but there’s more to it than that...”
Ricky shook his head and winced as he lifted his hand to push it back through his hair.
“I know how that feels. It was the same for me with Melanie. There was something about her that made me want to never leave her side. The way she made me feel...”
He trailed off and Stuart could see a pain in his eyes that had nothing to do with his physical injuries.
“I want to kill him for what he’s done.”
Stuart reached out, placing his hand on the other man’s shoulder.
“He’s not worth losing your life over. You know you’d never succeed and he’d win.”
Ricky nodded and cleared his throat.
“I haven’t been a real brother to Ellie in a long time, too long. There was a time when we were really close and I’m not sure what happened... I guess the death of our father and the stroke our mom had kinda sent me running for the hills...”
He paused and Stuart kept silent. He had a feeling it was something Ricky needed to get off his chest, something he needed to do and Stuart wasn’t going to interrupt.
“If you hurt her, I’ll make you pay.”
“I won’t. The last thing I want is to hurt Ellie.”
“Just keep it in mind, she’s been through enough.”
Ricky’s statement made Stuart want to probe him further. He’d heard what had been said back at the diner. There was obviously a lot more between Ellie and Grey than she was willing to admit. Something had happened between them and Stuart had the distinct impression it wasn’t good.
Ricky let the knife drop from his hand and Stuart watched as he pushed the car door open, pain etched into his features.
The front door was flung open before Stuart even had a chance to make it up the front steps.
Riley stood in the open doorway a sour look on his face.
“I thought the idea was to get Grey on your side, make friends with him? Last I checked making friends didn’t mean breaking bones.”
“Last I checked, I didn’t need my older brother checking up on me.”
Stuart’s temper instantly flared. It had been a long time since he’d felt the need to be answerable to any member of his family. When he’d moved away all of that had changed and his business had been his own. It seemed moving back here made Riley think he could have an opinion once again.
“So you are working for Grey?” Ricky chimed in and Stuart turned around to see him hesitating on the bottom step.
“It’s a bit more complicated than that,” Stuart snapped.
“Not from where I’m standing,” Ricky said, throwing his hands in the air. “I’m outta here. I know Ellie sees something in you but if you’re working for Grey then I’m not willing to take the chance.”
“Who the hell is that?” Riley demanded and Stuart suddenly had the overwhelming urge to jump back in the car and drive away. It’d serve them all right to make them sort out their own messes.
Ellie’s face instantly popped into his mind and Stuart sighed. There was no way he’d do it, no matter how badly he wanted to.
“I’m going to walk back into town, hitch a ride out of here.”
Stuart stormed back down the steps and stood in front of Ricky.
“I told your sister I’d get you somewhere safe and that’s exactly what I’ve done. Now unfortunately if I tell her I brought you up here then you walked back out I’m not sure she’ll believe me, which will lead to all sorts of complications. But if you want to leave by all means do, a car tailed us up here and my guess is it’s one of Grey’s men.”
Stuart folded his arms across his chest and stared Ricky down.
“As for you.” Stuart turned on his brother, a small sliver of pleasure slicing through him as Riley looked at him with surprise.
“You need to butt out of my business. I told you I’d work on Grey, and I meant it, but I don’t need you telling me how to do what I know how to do best.”
Riley’s eyes narrowed and Stuart expected his brother to launch into a tirade.
“Fine, I won’t interfere. But who is that?”
Stuart swallowed his surprise and gestured for Ricky to move up the steps.
“This is Ricky, Ricky Blair. Grey wants him dead so I thought a good place for him to hole-up would be here.”
Riley didn’t say anything, which only surprised Stuart further. He moved in from the door and disappeared down the hall.
“I don’t think your brother is too thrilled I’m here,” Ricky offered as he hobbled up the steps. He stumbled at the top and the only thing that kept him upright was Stuart’s strong hand.
“He’ll survive. This will be good for him. He’s never had to get his hands dirty before. This is a good lesson in how the world actually works.”
Ricky laughed and then cut off, his expression turning pained.
“Make yourself comfortable, I’ll get Riley to get his doctor to come up and see you.”
Ricky shook his head, his gaze trained on something in the living room. Stuart followed his line of sight and knew he had homed in on the extensive drinks cabinet Riley had.
“I’ll be fine, I just need something to numb the pain.”
Stuart shook his head.
“Sorry, no can do. I won’t be explaining to Ellie that her brother died of internal bleeding all because I wasn’t a little more forceful about the doctor paying you a visit.”
Ricky hesitated for a moment and then smiled.
“She’d kill you, even though she’d guess it was my fault.”
Stuart laughed. “Death at the hands of your sister doesn’t sound that terrible.”
Ricky grimaced. “You’d be surprised, she’s resourceful, she’d make it hurt.”
Laughing, Stuart left Ricky to settle in as he followed Riley down the hall and into the spacious kitchen.
Riley stood in front of the coffee machine that had so confounded Stuart that morning and when he turned around he held in his hand a perfectly frothed cup of rich-smelling coffee.
“I don’t suppose you made me one?” Stuart said, knowing full well his brother hadn’t.
Riley shook his head and sipped from the small cup delicately.
“Is there a reason you thought it would be a good idea to bring Ricky here? He looks as though he needs a hospital, not somewhere to lay low.”
“Is that really what’s bugging you?”
Stuart could hear the tension in his brother’s voice, and he knew that by forcing Riley to come out with the truth it would at least clear the air.
“I’m a respected member of the community, Stuart. The last thing I need is for all of that to be destroyed because you brought someone like that into my house. You might not care
for the family’s reputation but I do...”
“You can’t really be arguing about the family reputation can you? You and I both know our family reputation went in the toilet a long time ago—our father wasn’t exactly a man of discretion.”
“That’s not the point and you know it, I...”
Stuart cut his brother off.
“I don’t care about your reputation either, Riley. You wanted to know what Grey was up to, you were the one who wanted me snooping around in his business. If Grey really is up to more than just trying to kill young, impressionable teenagers like Ricky, then your reputation is already gone.”
Riley fell silent. Stuart took a step back. He could practically feel the anger radiating from his brother and he had a feeling that when Riley exploded, which he would, Stuart wouldn’t want to be anywhere nearby.
“Why does he want him dead?”
“His girlfriend stole something valuable from Mattheson and now Mattheson believes Ricky was in on it.”
“And was he?”
Stuart shook his head. “Nah, the kid seems to be clean on this one. The girl did it as some sort of revenge, I think maybe Mattheson attacked her, but I can’t swear to it.”
Riley’s face paled and Stuart could see the first flicker of concern in his brother’s eyes. At least it was good to know that his brother hadn’t become completely heartless and corrupt with the money he’d made through his business dealings.
“And where’s the girl now?”
Stuart dropped his gaze and stared down at the highly polished black marble counter.
“From the sounds of what Ricky found, I’d say she’s dead...”
Riley set the coffee cup down on the counter and blew his cheeks out. The look of shock on his face told Stuart he hadn’t expected what he’d just been told.
“Can you be sure?”
Stuart shook his head.
“No, maybe if they found a body but we couldn’t just go to the cops with Ricky’s statement.”
Riley nodded in agreement. Stuart watched as he leaned heavily against the counter and for a moment he felt sorry for his brother.
“I didn’t know it would be this serious, Stuart. If I’d suspected something like this I wouldn’t have asked you to come up here.”
Stuart shrugged and smiled.
“Don’t worry about it. If you hadn’t lured me up here I’m sure I’d have just made a fool of myself.”
“Seriously, Stu, maybe you should let this go... I know I wanted to help Holly but...”
“I knew all of this came back to a woman, I should have guessed it was Holly with the way you spoke about her last night.”
Riley shot his younger brother an irritated look but it only made Stuart laugh.
“Can you be serious for a minute? I’m trying to be concerned for your safety.”
Riley’s words only made Stuart laugh more and it wasn’t long before his brother succumbed to the infectious sound.
It took them several moments to get a grip once more and as soon as they did, Riley’s expression turned more serious.
“You don’t need to be concerned for my safety, Riley, I’m a big boy now, I can look after myself.”
“I don’t doubt that for a second, Stu.”
It was the first compliment Stuart had ever received from his brother and he fought to keep his pleasure in check at such a generous comment slipping through the barrier Riley enjoyed keeping in place.
“But if I had known how dangerous he was... If I’d known he was killing people... Shit.”
Riley trailed off as he swore under his breath.
“What is it?”
“Holly told me to stay out of it. She said no one could help her shake Grey, that he wasn’t the one she was most concerned about.”
“Did she mention anyone else? You said Grey had recently gone into politics, that he’s connected, do you know who the connections are?”
Riley shook his head.
“No, no one knows where the funding is coming from. All I am sure of is that he has the town in a stranglehold and I don’t know how.”
“Aside from his house, is there anywhere else he does business?”
Riley nodded and shot his brother a suspicious look.
“Yeah, he has some offices in town. Why? What do you have in mind?”
Stuart shrugged. “I guess if I’m working for him, it might be a good idea to get to know all of his establishments.”
“Don’t do anything stupid.”
Stuart shook his head and grinned.
“Why would I do anything stupid?”
“Because I know you.”
“Nah, and anyway I have a pretty good reason to not get caught doing something I shouldn’t be doing.”
“What’s her name?” Riley asked, the hint of a smile hovering around his mouth.
“Ellie. Ricky is her brother.”
Riley nodded, understanding suddenly lighting his face.
“I suppose I should have known you wouldn’t have taken him in without a really good reason.”
Stuart chose to ignore his brother’s jibe and instead poked his head around the corner to stare into the living room where Ricky was.
Ricky sat on the couch, a half filled glass in his hand and from where Stuart stood it looked as though he had had chosen the ‘pass out from alcohol’ pain control method.
“Do you think you can get the doctor to come up and take a look at him? He’s in a real mess and I don’t want him dying due to internal bleeding and I’m pretty sure that’s not something you want either.”
Riley sighed and nodded. “Fine, but if you think I’m going to babysit him you have another thing coming.”
Stuart grinned and headed for the door. The sky was already beginning to darken as the evening crowded in. He had no idea what time the diner shut but he was hoping to get there before Ellie left for the evening.
Grey wasn’t the sort of man to just give up and if he wanted Ricky dead then the best way to try and get him to hand himself over was to go after the only family he had. That family just happened to be a brave and a curvy brunette who would do anything to protect the ones she loved.
The thought of Ellie fighting tooth and nail for the ones she loved made Stuart’s breath catch in his chest. To have the love of a woman like Ellie Blair would be a rare privilege and one Stuart couldn’t help but feel envious of.
CHAPTER TEN
Hurrying out the back door of the diner Ellie pulled it firmly shut behind her and slid the key into the lock. The sound of a bottle rolling across the alley ground made her jump and she cast a nervous glance over her shoulder.
As far as she could tell there was no one there and yet the hairs had stood on the back of her neck. Ellie wasn’t the type of girl to ignore her instincts and right now they were screaming at her to run.
Her hands shook as she struggled to pull the keys from the door but they wouldn’t budge.
“Not now, please, not now,” she muttered beneath her breath as she fought with the lock.
“Miss Blair, what are you doing out so late?”
She tugged the keys free and spun around. Two men had crept up on her, standing a few yards away on either side of her in the alley but it was the man standing in front of her who had spoken.
He looked utterly unremarkable, the type of man that if you saw him in a crowd would simply blend in. His brown hair was short and flopped over his brow making him look younger than the hard look in his eyes suggested he was.
“Who are you?”
Ellie struggled to keep her voice even. He moved towards her and Ellie carefully slid the keys between her fingers. Ricky had taught her that move back when he had been a brother to her, before he’d messed up. An image of him bruised and battered filled her head and a lump formed in the back of her throat.
“Miss Blair, can I call you Ellie? You know who I am... Grey sent me, he has a message for you.”
“There’s nothing I want from Grey Matthe
son, I don’t want any messages from him.”
Her words came out angrier than she’d intended but the man in front of her smiled, a vicious look and one that filled Ellie with dread.
“Grey wants Ricky but you already know that... I have a feeling that whatever I say to you won’t get passed onto Ricky. You look like the sort who would try to protect her younger brother and that’s a pity.”
“Why? Why is that a pity?”
Ellie’s voice was filled with fear and she hated herself for it. The last thing she wanted was for this brute in front of her to know that she was scared. He was probably the type who would get a kick out of it.
“Because it means the message will have to be one that Ricky learns about the hard and painful way. It means it’ll have to be the type of message that only the sight of you broken in a hospital bed, wires and tubes poking out of you, can impart.”
He lunged forward and Ellie brought her hand up, slashing at his eyes with the keys between her fingers.
The hard sharp metal hit home and Ellie’s attacker howled. It was the sound a wounded animal would make and Ellie didn’t hang around to see how badly she had injured him.
Instead she flung herself to the side and away from his wildly swinging arms. She ran down the alley towards the open mouth that would take her out onto the street.
Ellie spotted the other man waiting for her, his face serious as he prepared to stop her headlong flight to freedom. Ellie ran straight into him, there was no point in trying to dodge him.
She barrelled into him, her knee connecting with his groin and she drove it home with as much force as she could muster.
“Bitch!” he spluttered and collapsed forward, his face changing colour as he clutched at the area she had kneed him in.
A large hand clamped down on Ellie’s head, fingers tangling into her hair as a sudden tug sent her sprawling backwards.
She fell hard.
The jolt as her body hit the pavement rattled through her body, making the world swim in streamers of colour.
The hand that had grabbed her was connected to the other brute who had closed off the exit to the alley. He reached down as Ellie struggled to scramble away on her hands and knees and grabbed her by the hair again.
