by Aubrey Rose
He crept forward and pulled the door open. His eyes scanned across the desks covered with papers. He knew there had to be something worth finding that would help put the pieces of the Grey puzzle together.
Moving through the office, Stuart headed for what he assumed was the main office, the large desk and plush chair suggesting it might be an office away from home for Grey. The filing cabinets were stacked with papers and documents and Stuart began rifling through them.
The sound of a door swinging open instantly had him alert. He crept forward and peered out through the gap in the door, his gaze sweeping the main floor area.
Shit.
Stuart muttered beneath his breath as he spotted the cops moving through the room, guns drawn. He switched his gaze to the room he stood in; there were no windows, no doors except for the one he had entered through, and seemingly no way out.
Stuart sighed and closed the filing cabinet before moving towards the door.
“Don’t shoot, I’m not armed.”
It certainly wasn’t the first time he’d been caught somewhere he shouldn’t have been and because of Riley, the cops had a tendency to brush things off. In this instance all he could hope was that they were feeling merciful.
He stepped out through the door, his eyes instantly meeting the gaze of the cop standing in front of him.
“Hey, where’s the other guy?”
A sound directly behind him had Stuart turning as the second cop moved up behind him and brought the butt of his gun down on the back of Stuart’s neck.
He had a second to realise before he was swallowed into darkness that whatever else the cops had planned, mercy wasn’t on the agenda.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Ellie sat in a corner booth near the back of the diner. Without Stuart in the house with her the place had seemed utterly empty and she couldn’t bring herself to spend any time there.
Staring down at the blank page in front of her, Ellie wondered how she was supposed to decide on anything. Tony, the diner owner, had come through for her and promised that he would arrange all of the food they might need for after the service. And as soon as she had called the funeral director he had promised everything for the service would be arranged.
And yet, it still felt like there was so much to do, so much to plan. Or at least in Ellie’s mind, it felt as though there should have been more. How could her mother’s life be boiled down to so little?
She jumped as her phone sitting on the table beside her began to ring, Ricky’s number flashing across the screen. Part of her wasn’t sure if she should answer the call—the things he had accused her of had been unfair and cruel.
Ellie sighed and lifted the cell phone to her ear.
“What is it, Ricky?”
The sound of loud music and raucous laughter had Ellie holding the phone away from her face. Ricky’s voice slowly filtered down the line, his words slurring together.
“Ellie, I’ve done something terrible...”
Ellie felt her blood turn to ice and her stomach seemed to drop into her shoes.
“What do you mean, you’ve done something terrible? Where are you?”
“I’m in that little bar just outside of town. Grey left me here.”
The blood started to pound in Ellie’s ears and her heart hammered in her chest making it difficult to understand what Ricky was saying.
“What? How did Grey get to you? Are you alright?”
“Ellie, I’ve done a terrible thing and now I don’t know how to stop him.”
Ricky’s voice trailed off into a garbled mess, making him impossible to understand.
“Ricky, what did you do? Tell me!”
“I set Stuart up...”
Ricky’s words sent Ellie’s world careening into a tail-spin.
“You wouldn’t, Ricky, that doesn’t make any sense... Why?”
“He said I could have Melanie back if I just told him where Stuart was.”
“Ricky, tell me you didn’t say anything. Tell me you told Grey to go to hell and he left you out at that bar to teach you a lesson?”
Ricky didn’t answer and Ellie felt the panic rising within her. What the hell would Grey want with Stuart? And if he had been set up how would Grey have gotten the jump on him?
“Ricky, I need you to tell me exactly what happened. Is Stuart alright?”
“I don’t think so... Grey left me here when he got the phone call telling him they had picked Stuart up. He left me out here when he showed me where he’d dumped Melanie’s body...”
Ricky’s statement shocked Ellie to the core. She’d known Grey was a dangerous man, she’d suspected him of killing her father. Ricky had suspected and told them that he thought Melanie might be dead at Grey’s hand. And yet still he had the ability to shock her to her very core.
“She’s really dead, Ellie. She’s really gone.”
“So you thought it was a good idea to give Stuart to Grey? What kind of a man are you, Ricky? When did you stop caring about what happened to other people? Stuart was looking out for you.”
Sobbing met Ellie’s ears through the sound of loud music. She could practically imagine her brother leaning against the bar, a stack of empty glasses surrounding him as he slurred down the phone to her.
“It was a mistake, Ellie, a stupid mistake that’s all.”
“If anything happens to him, Ricky, I’ll never forgive you for this.”
She ended the call and slammed the phone down on the table. Some of the other evening customers shot her curious looks as she buried her face in her hands. What was she supposed to do? There had to be some way she could help Stuart, some way to halt Grey in his tracks.
Ellie pushed up and away from the table. There was one person she knew would care what happened to Stuart and Ellie had to tell him. Perhaps between them there would be a way to get Stuart back before Grey did something drastic.
“Miss Blair, what can I help you with?”
Riley’s voice drew her out of her thoughts. She stared around the house in wonderment, her eyes desperately trying to take everything in.
Stuart’s older brother smiled kindly at her and Ellie could see that he shared his brother’s same deep brown eyes.
“It’s Stuart.”
Riley smiled knowingly.
“What’s he done now? Was there something he owed you perhaps?”
Ellie shook her head in frustration.
“No, God, no, it’s nothing like that. Stuart is in trouble.”
Riley’s expression suddenly changed and turned serious. He gestured for her to move with him into the office off the hall and Ellie followed him. A woman sat on the couch, her blonde hair swept back and away from her face.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you had company and normally I’d say I could come back but today it’s really important.”
“It’s quite all right, Ellie. I’d like to introduce you to a friend of mine, Miss Holly McCombe.”
The woman sitting on the couch smiled up at Ellie and stood, her dress nipping her in at the waist and giving her already-impressive curves the balance that only designer clothing could. Ellie couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. If she could afford expensive tailoring then maybe she, too, would look halfway presentable.
“Nice to meet you, Holly. I’m Eleanor Blair.”
Holly’s face turned a little pale beneath the golden tan she had and before Ellie knew it, Holly had pulled her into a hug.
“I’m so sorry for the things Grey has done to you and your family.”
Ellie pulled away, a stunned look on her face.
“How do you know about Grey and what he’s done to my family?”
Holly’s face twisted and a look of sadness filled her eyes.
“Let’s just say yours was not the first life that Grey Mattheson has tried to destroy. He needs to be stopped and the people who support him...”
Holly shuddered and looked away but not before Ellie had seen the look of horror that passed behind her
pale grey eyes.
“I’ve been filling Holly in on what has been happening, with Stuart and Grey.”
Ellie turned her attention back to Riley.
“Grey has taken him. He has Stuart and I think he’s in real danger.”
“What do you mean he’s taken him? A man like Grey wouldn’t get the upper hand with Stuart.”
Ellie dropped her gaze to the floor and swallowed hard.
“He didn’t need to get the upper hand with him. Stuart was set up.”
“By who?”
Riley’s voice had dropped low and when Ellie looked up at him the look of anger that filled his eyes made her take a step back.
She knew that if she told him who had endangered Stuart that Riley would find a way to take revenge—Ellie could see the look in his eyes. And if she was honest she really couldn’t blame him. Whatever punishment he cooked up for Ricky would be everything he deserved and yet Ellie still found herself hesitating. In the end Ricky was still her brother and no matter what happened between them she still loved and cared for him.
“I just need to know where Grey might have taken him. I know you and Stuart shared secrets and if anyone was going to know where Grey might be hiding then I figure that’s going to be you.”
“Tell me who set Stuart up first.”
Ellie shook her head.
“If I tell you then you’re going to concentrate on taking your revenge and right now we need to be looking for Stuart. Tell me where Grey might have him.”
Riley stared at her, a long calculating hard look but Ellie stood firm. As far as she was concerned when all of this was over and done with if Riley still wanted her brother’s name she would give it to him. But not before Stuart was safe; he was the priority.
“You really care for him, don’t you?”
Riley’s question caught her completely off guard and without thinking about the answer Ellie nodded. It occurred to her then that she really did care for Stuart. She had feelings for him, real strong feelings, and it scared her more than she dared admit.
If she could have feelings for him so quickly then what did that say about her? What would Stuart say to her if she told him? Would he admit to feeling the same or would he simply look at her as one desperate and grieving idiot who fell for him too quickly?
“Tell me where he is.”
Riley nodded and pulled a map from a drawer in the desk.
“Grey bought an abandoned airfield up near Breaker’s Point.”
Ellie shot him a confused look.
“An airfield in town? There isn’t one.”
Riley shook his head and pointed to a spot on the map.
“It’s the original Breaker’s Point. It’s the spot the town is officially named after.”
“You mean Lacey’s Head. The place they decided my father must have jumped from... The place where Grey murdered him.”
Riley dropped his attention back to the map as though suddenly uncertain of how to make eye contact.
“Yeah, that’s the one.”
Ellie turned and started from the room, Riley’s voice halting her as she pulled open the door.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going up there to get Stuart. I won’t let Grey hurt him.”
Riley shook his head and reached for the phone.
“Ellie, we need to call the police and have them send a team in there.”
But Ellie wasn’t listening anymore. She ran from the room, almost skidding into the front door in her haste to get out. There was no way she was waiting for the police. If she did that it might be too late and she couldn’t take that risk. She’d lost far too much already and she wasn’t prepared to lose Stuart as well. Not when he meant so much to her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Stuart struggled to open his eyes. He felt like someone had scooped them out rolled them in sand and put them back in.
It took him a second to register why he couldn’t move his hands. They were tied to the back of the chair he sat in.
It all came flooding back as he tried to study his surroundings. If he could work out where he was then he maybe stood a chance of getting out of this mess. As he looked around he quickly came to realise he was sitting in an empty aeroplane hangar.
“Stuart, good to see you finally in the land of the living once more. I was worried that the cops had manhandled you a little too well.”
Grey’s voice irritated Stuart and he struggled to turn and stare at the man who was holding him hostage, but his bonds refused to budge.
“Now, now, don’t struggle, you’ll only leave ligature marks and we don’t want that, now do we?”
Grey paced in front of Stuart, the large white bandage that spanned his nose and beneath his blackened eyes giving Stuart a momentary flash of satisfaction.
“How’s the nose?”
Stuart couldn’t resist goading his captor. He was in no doubt as to what Grey had planned for him. The moment he grew bored Grey would have him killed, and if Stuart could piss him off before then, all the better.
Grey’s eyes darkened for a second before he broke out in a smile.
“This?” he asked, gesturing to his face. “It’s nothing my surgeon couldn’t fix. Once it’s healed you won’t even know it happened.”
“That’s a pity. I was rather hoping it would improve your face and then maybe you wouldn’t have to rape defenceless girls in order to get your rocks off.”
Grey drew back, his punch landing squarely on Stuart’s face, rocking him backwards on the chair. A thought flashed through Stuart’s mind: if Grey hit him hard enough and managed to tip the chair over, would it break, freeing Stuart from his bonds?
The only flaw he could see in the plan was the repeated blows he would have to take from Grey first. It would be no good if he broke free but was unconscious and couldn’t take advantage of the situation.
“So, you’ve been spending time with that whore Eleanor, then?”
Stuart didn’t answer and instead consoled himself with the knowledge that as soon as he was free he would rip Grey apart for everything he had done to Ellie.
“I didn’t rape the little bitch. She ran off before any of the fun could happen. I don’t know why—she seemed up for it, and whatever we did to her would have been more than she ever deserved.”
Grey’s expression changed, a smile sliding across his lips as he stared down at Stuart.
“You slept with her, didn’t you? Tell me, Stuart, does the little whore grunt like the pig she is when you fuck her?”
It was more than Stuart could bear to hear and with a growl he fought against the ropes that held him down on the chair. If he could have escaped in that moment he knew he would have killed Grey where he stood.
“I’m going to kill you, Grey, and when I do I’m going to enjoy wiping the smirk off your face.”
Grey laughed, the sound bouncing around the empty hangar they sat in.
“Stuart, don’t you know when you’re beaten? Maybe after I have Wilson throw your body off Lacey’s Head, I’ll go in search of Ellie, give her the comfort that only a real man can.”
Grey gestured for someone behind Stuart to come forward. Strong hands worked on the ties that held him down onto the chair and the moment Stuart felt them loosen he jerked forward.
Stuart lunged towards Grey but the other man was faster than Stuart had anticipated and dodged out of the way. A hand grabbed him from behind, yanking him backwards and into what felt like a solid wall of flesh.
Wilson’s arm wrapped around Stuart’s neck and the larger man pummelled Stuart with his fists. There was nothing Stuart could do—he couldn’t escape the stranglehold Wilson had on him and each punch sent shockwaves ricocheting through his body. The only thing that Stuart could do was wait it out and hope and pray he could fight once he got his chance.
“That’s enough, Wilson, I said you could have your revenge but if you beat him too badly it’ll arouse suspicion if his body washes up.”
W
ilson’s grip reluctantly loosened on Stuart’s neck when a shot rang out, the sound echoing around the empty metal hangar.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Ellie held the gun steady in her hands and aimed at the man holding Stuart but it seemed the surprise of her first shot was all Stuart needed to escape.
Ellie watched as he rolled forward, taking the larger man with him. It took only a few seconds for other guards to pile in around but Stuart was a better and stronger fighter. Ellie kept the gun trained on the fight but her arms started to ache as Stuart quickly delivered well-placed kicks and blows to the men surrounding him.
“Put down the gun, Eleanor.”
The voice trailed over Ellie like the cold fingers of fear and she felt her hands waver as she slowly lowered the gun.
“Stuart, looks like your whore came to bail you out. Too bad I got to her first.”
Grey’s voice rang out through the hangar, instantly drawing Stuart’s attention away from the fight where it needed to remain.
A momentary look of anguish crossed his face as he caught sight of Ellie.
She had just enough time to scream, “look out!” before one of the men Stuart had already knocked to the ground grabbed his leg and twisted, driving him onto the hard cement floor.
Ellie’s voice choked in her throat as she watched the others pile in on top of Stuart and she sobbed as he disappeared beneath a writhing mass of bodies.
The press of Grey’s gun against her back and the way his arm banded around her throat had panic rising in Ellie but she fought to fight it back. She needed to stay calm. She needed to think clearly—it was the only way she was going to get out of it all safely.
Ellie’s eyes blurred with tears as Grey turned her towards the door she had come in through and marched her back out. She fought to think of something, anything to help the man she loved escape what was happening to him.
Ellie stumbled, realisation washing over her. She loved him, she loved Stuart and she wouldn’t give up on him.
