by BJ Harvey
Without warning, he starts the car up and pulls out, squealing his tires as he speeds away. I hear footsteps running on the pavement behind me, and I get a fright when Brax wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me backwards into his chest.
“What the hell, Elle?” he shouts breathlessly. “What do you think you were doing? That man could be dangerous. He could’ve kidnapped you, or worse!” He continues to yell at me and I can’t hold in the whimper that escapes my mouth. He’s never yelled at me before and on top of everything else that’s happened, it’s just too much. I spin around and bury my face into his chest, sobbing uncontrollably.
“I…I just wanted to scare him off. I thought he was just a low-life paparazzi looking for another story about me.” As I sob, Brax cups my chin and lifts my eyes up to meet his.
“Elle, we don’t know who he is or who he’s working for. I didn’t know where you were and when you took so long, I raced downstairs. Sweetheart, you nearly gave me a heart attack when I saw you standing next to his car.” He runs his hand up and down my back in long soothing strokes, trying to calm me down.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t think. I’m just sick of seeing him everywhere, I’m sick of being watched!” I say vehemently. Why did I do something so stupid?
“It’s okay, sweetheart. You’re fine. I wouldn’t let anything happen to you. You know that, right?” he says deadpan.
“Y-y-y-yeah, I do,” I splutter as I snuggle right in close to him. “I feel safe with you,” I murmur as he picks me up, carrying me back into our building.
The boss man called me into a meeting an hour ago. He feels that something is amiss with Miss Halliwell and is starting to think that Brax and Shay aren’t focused on the job. He wants me to check up on them. I call Shay, who thankfully answers straight away.
“Yo, Gibbs. What’s up?”
“Shay, you guys need to sort your shit out. We need new information. The boss man is turning into an even grumpier asshole than normal and I need something new to give him,” I say sternly, making sure Shay knows I mean business.
“Yeah, man, we’re on it,” he says. “Brax and I were talking about it earlier. We think that Evans has been hired to do Brimstone’s dirty work and has hired a lackey to follow Elle around. Brax and Elle got back this morning and have been lying low, but Elle almost had a confrontation with this guy because he was sitting outside her building in his car again.”
“What the fuck, Shay! That is inexcusable. She has to be covered at all times! What if she’d been taken, then where would we be? You know she is worth a hell of a lot of money and it is our job to keep her safe and well until the Boss man calls time. That includes keeping her the hell away from Evans!” I’m yelling down the phone at him now. Bloody amateur.
“Yep, boss, I hear ya. We’re doing our best. This time she kind of got away from us, but it won’t happen again, sir,” he says, actually sounding worried at what we might do.
“Okay, well consider this a warning, Shay. Eyes on the prize and all that. Ask Brax to find out when she is giving Brimstone her answer about the buy-out, too. That is when the shit’s going to hit the fan and we need to be prepared for it.”
“Yes, boss, I’m on it. Till next time,” he says. Cheeky shit.
“Freakin’ smartass,” I mutter to myself, hanging up the phone. I hear the boss walk up behind me at my desk.
“Everything under control, Gibbons?” he bellows in his low voice. That voice still gives me the chills and I’ve been working for him for over ten years now.
“Yes, sir, all sorted out. Shouldn’t be long now,” I add.
“Good, I’m looking forward to taking that asshole down,” he says, turning and stalking out the door.
“Phew,” I sigh. Those boys better come through for me.
Or else we could all end up going down.
Chapter Fourteen
I’m alone.
I’m in a dark room, everything is black around me.
“Elle.”
I can hear him, but can’t see him.
I feel myself start to shake as the man with white blonde hair suddenly starts edging closer to me. His face contorts with a cruel smile and I see him holding a silver handgun that he’s pointing straight at my heart. He’s the guy from the black car. I try to scream, but no sound comes out.
“No one is going to save you, Elise. You will be all by yourself. Alone, just how you like it.” The man starts laughing maniacally. Throwing his head back, howling with laughter at my predicament. He is pure evil.
“Elle.”
I hear Brax again.
“No, Brax. Don’t come in here!” I yell back at him. I can hear the man’s crazy laughter all around me as he continues to advance on me. I thrash back and forth, trying to move out of the chair, but I can’t. It’s like I’m paralyzed.
I feel myself being shaken.
“Elle!” Brax is still calling me.
“No, Brax, No!” I shout back at him. “It’s not safe!”
“ELISE!” Brax says again.
Suddenly I open my eyes and I’m back in my bed, chest heaving as I try to catch my breath. Holy shit! It was just a nightmare. It seemed so real, like I was really there with that horrible man getting ready to kill me. I look over at Brax. He looks terrified, but I can’t talk. I just lie there as Brax looks down at me. I’m trying to recover my thoughts. I was thrashing around and I could even smell him the closer he got to me.
I could have sworn it was real.
I look up at Brax with wide tear-stained eyes, seeing how freaked out he is. I’ve never had a nightmare when he’s been sleeping next to me. I can just imagine what he must think. I roll over into his arms.
“Just hold me, babe, I...I need you to hold me,” I spit out before collapsing in tears on his shoulder.
“Shh, hon. I’m here,” he says, rubbing my naked back from the dip in my spine all the way up to my neck then slowly returning back down the same path. “I’m not going anywhere,” he whispers as I continue to sob quietly into his side.
After ten minutes in his arms, my breathing has almost returned back to normal and my body has stopped shaking. Brax looks over at me as we lie in each other’s arms, lying side by side now.
“Hon, you have to tell me what is going on? You haven’t ever had a nightmare when I’ve been here. What has got you so scared?” he asks, pulling his eyebrows together in pain.
“I think it was just all the drama with that guy yesterday. He seriously creeped me out when he was looking at me—he just kept staring. It must have stirred them up again,” I say, my voice breaking. He moves both of his hands up to cup to face, making sure to look me straight in the eyes with those stunning baby blues of his that I can’t get enough of.
“I’m going to deal with it, okay? You can go to class today and not worry about it. Shay and I are going take care of it. I want you to feel safe, baby. I want you to feel safe with me,” he tells me, never once looking away.
“I’ll try not to,” I say, burying myself back down into his chest. I can’t help this horrible feeling in the bottom of my stomach.
It’s telling me that something bad is going to happen, all over again.
Elle freaked the hell out of me this morning.
I’ve never been with her when she has had one of her nightmares. I remember how scared she was when she had one shortly after I’d first met her and she called me over at 2 a.m. to stay with her. But the one this morning was worse. She was thrashing around the bed, writhing like she was in pain and kept yelling out my name, telling me to stay where I was. I tried waking her up to snap her out of it, but nothing worked. In the end I had to yell her name to wake her up. When she did, she just kept staring at me, her green eyes wide with fear.
My heart constricted, I couldn’t deal with her being so scared and having no control over it. I can’t stop nightmares. I thought my presence was enough to keep them at bay, but something has made them come back. We lie in bed holding each other, both of
us focusing on slowing down our breathing. I can tell she is replaying the dream in her head and I can’t help but worry about what my life would be like without Elle in it.
As soon as Elle leaves for school, I ring Shay and ask him to come over. I told Elle I wasn’t going to class today because I needed to catch up on sleep and thankfully she didn’t call me out on it. Shay arrives twenty minutes later bearing coffee.
“No sign of the car this morning,” he tells me, taking a seat in one-seater chair. I breathe a sigh of relief, maybe she did frighten him by confronting him. I stand up and start pacing.
“Shay, we need to put pressure on Evans. He needs to know we won’t take his shit.”
“Dude, you think it’s a good idea poking the snake? He’s got a rather nasty bite if you remember,” he says, making me wince. I remember exactly how bad he can get.
“Yeah, I remember. I was the one with a dislocated shoulder and broken ribs remember” I remind him. He nods in agreement with me.
“I want to call him out. If that black car is connected to him, we can make him stop. Elle had a horrible nightmare this morning. She was so terrified, man. It shocked the hell out of me,” I explain to him. He knows I don’t deal with emotions like that very well. I went through the same thing when Roger was dying.
“Yeah, I can imagine. I know how bad it was when your dad was sick. Hey, totally off topic, but I’m having a party tomorrow night at Stages Bar for my birthday. You and Elle going to come?” he asks. Shit. I totally forgot about his birthday tomorrow.
“For sure, man. Wouldn’t want to miss you getting another year older than me now, would I?” I answer, grinning at my smart ass retort.
“Shut up. You’re only slightly younger and you look older than me anyway,” he ribs, laughing back at me.
“Whatever you say, old man.”
Elle comes home around lunch time and I’m relieved to see that she’s back to her happy, smiley self. The cloud of sadness caused by her nightmare seems to have lifted for now. Her smile gets bigger when she sees me in the kitchen and, without any warning, she runs towards me and jumps up into my arms, wrapping her legs around my waist in one smooth movement as I move quickly to catch her.
“Whoa!” I say as I manage to hold on to her as she plunges her tongue into my mouth. These are the kind of attacks I can handle, gladly. After devouring each other, she pulls her head back and just stares at me with a huge grin on her face.
“Baby, I’m not complaining, but what was that for?” I ask, trying to catch my breath.
“Just because,” she replies with a shoulder shrug and a huge smile.
“Just because, huh?” I say, slowly moving my mouth back towards her lips.
“Because you’re sexy as hell and I can’t keep my hands off you…” she says seductively as I touch her lips with the tip of my tongue and trace the edge of them, forcing a moan to escape from her throat.
“Mmm, hmm……” she murmurs as I ever so slowly inch my tongue into her mouth to seek out hers. I pull her bottom lip into my mouth, gently grazing it with my teeth. Argh, now I’m teasing both of us. I set her down, slowly rubbing her body down mine, smirking at her when she moans in frustration.
“I think we’ll have to pick this up again later,” I say as I look at her ‘come to bed’ eyes.
“I have to pop out after lunch and I need to be on my game, not all sexed up and distracted by your sexy ass,” I reply, slowly moving my hand from her waist and around to her rear, “or your gorgeous breasts I enjoy tasting so much,” I continue, gently caressing her hips and stomach and inching up to her breasts, cupping each of them and gently rubbing my thumbs over her no doubt tingling nipples. “And most of all, I can’t be thinking about how good it feels to deep inside you when you scream my name.” I lean forward, whispering in her ear as I move my hips close and purposefully grind into her, making sure she feels every solid inch of how much I want her. I hear her groan into my chest, unable to control the frustration I’ve just fueled. She’s not the only one finding this hard.
I’m trying to resist the urge to grab her and take her right here on the kitchen floor. Pushing away from her, I go stand at the other end of the kitchen.
“I think it’s a lot safer if I stand over here, you little minx,” I say with a laugh.
“I think you might be right. I might just have to take care of myself while you’re gone,” she adds with a wink. Damn, this girl is going to be the death of me.
I suddenly remember about Shay’s party.
“By the way, Shay is having drinks for his birthday tomorrow night and wants us to go, are you keen?” I ask, slipping my sneakers on by the front door.
“Yeah, of course.”
“Great. I should be back in a few hours, sweetheart, so why don’t you relax and think about how I’m going to make you scream my name when I return.” I try hard to keep the smirk off my face but fail. She growls and throws a dish towel at me. I love how fiery she is now. She was sexy as hell when I met her, but with some spark she’s downright irresistible.
Damn, that man of mine is frustrating. Getting me all worked up and raring to go, just to leave me high and dry before going out for the afternoon. The least he could have done was give me a happy ending. He did redeem himself slightly by promising to finish what he started when he gets home, though.
Now I’m stressed because I have to find something to wear to Shay’s party tomorrow night. I want to find something extra sexy and enticing so that I can get Brax as frustrated as I am right now. That’ll serve him right for leaving me all hot and bothered.
I open my wardrobe to look for anything that fits the bill and as I suspected, nothing quite suits the look I’m going for. I look in the mirror and decide that the only solution is to go shopping and buy a new outfit. I text Shay for help.
Elle: Shay. I need you.
Instead of texting back, he rings me straight back, sounding all flustered. It’s really unlike him. Normally he is a smart ass from the get go.
“What’s up, Elle? What’s wrong?” he says quickly.
“Nothing, Shay. Everything’s fine. I just need your help with something for Brax. Do you have time to come out with me for an hour or so?”
“Damn, girl. You had me worried,” he replies, letting out a big breath of relief. Why would he be worried about me needing him? Weird.
“I need something to wear to your birthday drinks tomorrow night. I want to knock Brax’s socks off, literally. I figured you could help,” I add.
“Uh yeah. I mean, I suppose,” he stutters, suddenly sounding nervous.
“Look, it’s no big deal if you can’t. I just need to get him back for something and I need to look hot to do it,” I try explaining to him, wondering if this is a bad idea after all.
“Nah, that’s cool. I’ll pick you up in about half an hour. Sound good?” he asks.
“Cool, see you then,” I say, hanging up the phone.
I jump in the shower to get ready for my shopping trip with Shay.
I plan to meet up with Evans this afternoon, alone. Shay knows where I am and was meant to be my backup, but he just sent me a message saying Elle wants to go shopping with him.
Brax: Really? What’s up with that?
Shay: She said she’s wants to get you back for something and thinks I can help.
Brax: Lol. Now I know what she is up to. Just left her at home rather frustrated so she’s planning her revenge. All good, bro. Just make sure she buys something sexy.
Shay: Um I don’t think your idea of sexy is the same as mine, lol.
Brax: I know it’s not, no sleazy outfits!
Shay: You disappoint me, B. Don’t worry, I’ve got your back.
I crack up laughing. I hope Elle doesn’t agree with Shay’s idea of hot. The best way to describe it would be hooker chic.
I drive towards the meeting place I’ve arranged with Evans. I told him to meet me alone, but I know that he always has his goons surrounding him. I just want to
get to the bottom of this thing. I need to find out whether Evans and Brimstone are working together and if the guy who has been stalking us is connected to him.
Pulling my car up beside the squalid warehouse where I was told to meet him, I feel exposed. It was stupid agreeing to come here alone, but I know Shay is tracking my GPS and Gibbons knows where I am as well, so all my bases are covered. I park my car in a parking lot opposite the building and wait for further instruction from Evans.
While I’m waiting, I receive a text message from Elle. I open it up and soon see a photo of Elle wearing the hottest corset top I’ve ever seen, stopping me in my tracks. One photo and I’m instantly turned on—that is what she does to me. Damn, I’m a lucky man. I text her back to let her know that.
Brax: Damn, woman, what are you trying to do to me?
Elle: Just reminding you what you left behind at home this afternoon.
Brax: Believe me, babe, I’m painfully aware of what I walked away from.
Elle: Are you sure about that, baby? Maybe I need to show you…
Brax: Grrrr, you are such a tease. I’m definitely taking care of this when I get home.
Elle: Don’t make promises you can’t keep, young man ;)
Brax: Oh, don’t worry. This is a promise I’m planning to make good on, over and over again….
Elle: Dammit! Now I have to buy these panties, too.
My smile is huge when I read that last text. I love this little game of ours. Shit, that girl can drive me crazy. Now I have to think about something totally unsexy to calm my body down. What doesn’t help is that I can’t get that image of Elle in a corset out of my damn mind.
That photo is definitely being saved on my phone.
I receive another text which I expect to be Elle, but it’s from an unknown number.
Unknown: Come in the front door, unarmed and alone. Any trouble and we’ll have a repeat of the alleyway.
