by BJ Harvey
Brax: Okay. No trouble. I just want answers.
Unknown: I bet you do.
I text Shay to make sure Elle is covered, then lock my car and cross the street towards the warehouse. Just as I reach the pavement the rotten sliding door opens, rattling loudly on its tracks. I gingerly walk inside and jolt when the door shuts behind me. Shit, maybe this wasn’t a good idea. I walk forward and see Evans standing by a window, looking out over the riverfront. He’s wearing his trademark suit looking part business man, part mob boss.
“Evans,” I grunt, giving him nothing more than a nod.
“Braxton, long time no see,” he snarls.
“I bet you’ve missed me,” I retort with a smirk.
“You could say that,” he replies, frowning. “Would be a lot better if you were working for me.”
“That’ll never happen, you know that. I want to continue living my life out of prison. Now let’s get to the point of this reunion,” I throw back at him. “Have you got a guy on Elise? Black car, blonde guy, kinda creepy looking, your favorite kind of guy.” I stare straight at him while I speak. He looks at me for a good minute, then a wide grin appears on his face.
Finally, he breaks the uncomfortable silence. “The Halliwell girl? Interestingly enough, no I don’t. Now you’re got me curious. Who do you think it is?”
“I’m not sure now. I just want assurance from you that there isn’t going to be any trouble,” I say. There is no way I’m letting him intimidate me again.
“No trouble from me, son,” he says with a dark look on his face, like there is something he knows but isn’t sharing.
“And what about from Brimstone?” I ask, looking him straight in the eye. If he lies to me, I’m wanna be able to tell.
“Brimstone is none of your concern,” he says darkly.
“Why don’t I believe you? Why has he called you in on this?” I’m hoping I can get some answers straight from the source.
“It doesn’t concern you, boy,” he spits out.
“Don’t be offended if I don’t entirely believe you,” I retort, getting angrier the more time I spend with this man.
“Good to see you’re still on top of your game, Braxton,” he sneers.
“Always will be when it comes to you,” I add with a smirk, knowing how much my attitude annoys him.
“Now, Now. You sure you don’t want to come work for me, we’d work well together. You could go a long way with me,” he says with a slimy grin.
“Never going to happen,” I say, effectively dismissing his invitation.
“You’ll change your mind one day,” he muses.
“Not in this lifetime. Right, well great to catch up,” I say sarcastically. “Hope you rot in hell and all that.” I move backwards towards the door. I don’t trust the man enough to turn my back to him.
“Aww, Brax. You break my bleeding heart. Where is the love?” Evans says just as I reach the door.
“Pfft, that was gone a long time ago, Dad.”
Chapter Fifteen
I get home after a successful shopping trip with Shay. He wasn’t all that helpful in the end, he kept suggesting clothes that would look better on a street worker than in a bar. There were lots of short skirts that would barely cover my ass and tops that could double as lingerie. He did make me laugh a lot so that made up for his hideous clothes sense.
I stepped of the shower and started getting ready to give Brax a private demonstration of my new underwear, when I hear my phone ringing in the kitchen. I put my robe on and rush to answer it, seeing Uncle Harry’s name on the caller ID as it falls out of my purse. I groan at the thought of talking to him because I know he’s wanting a final answer on the company. C’mon, Elle, you can do this. You can tell him.
After a lot of thinking and talking it over with Brax, I’m ready to give Harry my decision. I don’t want to sell Brightlight, but I don’t know if I want to run it either. Ultimately, if it came down to a choice between Brimstone or myself, there would be no question and I would step in immediately. I know I should be thankful to him and Sylvia for taking me in after my parents died. It meant I could stay at my high school without having to worry about where I was going to live, the amount of money I’d just inherited, and the multi-billion dollar company that was now mine. I had nowhere else to go and Aunt Sylvie wanted to try and keep my life as settled as possible, even during my self-destructive phase. I can’t pin point it exactly, but I don’t trust his reasons for wanting to buy the company from me. It would crush me to see him run it into the ground, or split it up and sell it off to the highest bidder.
My father started the company when I was a little girl in order to provide us with a better life, and he succeeded many times over. Brightlight Industries is the reason why I wouldn’t see him for days on end, why he would go away for lengthy business trips, and why my parents always had functions to attend at night, leaving us in the care of babysitters. Despite his demanding job, he would always make time for us. I feel like I need to hold onto the last thing left that was his. The thing he worked his ass off for, for me.
“Hi, Uncle Harry,” I answer the call, trying to sound cheerful.
“Darling Elle. How are you?” he says in his usual greasy way.
“I’m good, just got back from a few days away. How about you?”
“I’m good. I’ll be even better when you tell me you’re going to sell the company to me,” he says confidently. I can just imagine him rubbing his hands together in glee, champagne at the ready, waiting for me to tell him yes.
“Uncle Harry, I’m sorry but the answer is no. I know it isn’t what you want to hear, but I can’t give up the last part of my family, even to you,” I explain, swallowing back the tears building in my eyes.
“What?” he bellows down the phone, barely letting me finish. “You mean to tell me that after everything Sylvia and I did for you, you show me gratitude like this!”
“Um….Uncle Har—”
“No, Elise. No Uncle Harry now. You are dead to me, child. Your father would roll over in his grave at what you are doing!” he shouts down the phone. I feel that familiar tightness spread through my chest, I know that I’m just moments away from a panic attack.
“I will make this company mine, whether you like it or not, and there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it, girl! That boyfriend of yours is to blame for this!”
“No, Brax has nothing to-”
“Brax? Well, he’ll be getting an earful from me too. Wait a minute. Brax James?”
“Yeah,” I answer, confused as to how Uncle Harry knows Brax’s surname.
“That little fucker! Goddamnit!” he shouts down the phone.
“Don’t you dare talk about him like that! You don’t even know him,” I say vehemently. I’m getting angry now.
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that. Never you mind, girl. Mark my words, I will get my way, Elise One way or the other, you and your boyfriend will rue the day you ever crossed me!” he warns angrily, before hanging up in my ear.
I stare at the now silent phone, shocked at Harry’s reaction. I’ve never had anyone threaten me before. Why would he do that? The tightness in my chest has moved up to my throat and I’m powerless to stop it this time. I drop my phone to the floor and slide down the kitchen wall. I burst into tears, pulling my knees up and wrapping my arms around myself as I try to calm down.
I need Brax to make everything alright.
I need Brax to fix this, to fix me.
I get home after my meeting with Evans to find Elle curled up against the wall with her head down. I drop my bag, rushing to her side.
“Baby, what’s wrong?” I say as she lifts her head up and gazes at me through her tears.
“Un-Uncle Harry,” she whimpers. I feel the anger course through me. I’ll kill that man if he hurt her. I clench my fists together, trying to control my growing rage.
“What did he do?” I ask through gritted teeth, wrapping my arms around my gorgeous broken girl.
>
“I told him that I wouldn’t sell. He said I was ungrateful and that he’d get his way, one way or another. He thinks it’s your fault, Brax, and he acted like he knows you,” she says through her sobs.
“Baby...hush,” I say, pulling her into my lap as I sit beside her. “That man can’t do anything to us. I’ll make sure of it.” Fuck! I knew he recognized my name! There aren’t that many Brax’s around.
“How does he know you, Brax?” she asks. The look on her face is breaking my heart.
I cup her face with my hands, hoping she’ll believe what I’m about to say. “I don’t know, Elle. I’ve heard of him before, but I’ve never met him. That’s the honest to god truth, darlin.”
“He said my father wouldn’t be happy with this, that I couldn’t stop him.”
I brush my lips against hers, murmuring against them, “I’ve got this, Elle. He won’t ever be able to hurt you.”
Empowered by my words, she returns my kiss with all the passion she can muster. It’s like she is starving and I am the food she needs to survive. I let her take control, her tongue exploring mine like she’s trying to memorize it. I move her legs so that she is straddling mine and move my hands down her body, cupping her bottom and bringing her closer to me.
We stay there on the floor of our living room for what seems like an eternity, both of us unable to stop touching each other, comforting the other. Pouring everything we’ve been through, everything we have, into it. When we finally break apart we are both breathless. I stand up, carrying her with me over to the couch where I sit down and position her on top of me, rubbing her back, making sure she is okay.
I grit my teeth when I think of Brimstone. That man is going to be the death of me. If he hurts just one hair on her head, I will maim him. He will regret the day he ever threatened Elle. I need to take action, and that involves me talking to Shay and Gibbons.
“Brax, and for what do I owe the pleasure?” I ask.
“We need to do something about Brimstone,” he says. He sounds furious and I wonder what Harry has done now.
“Why’s that? As far as we know, he hasn’t done anything. He hasn’t made any moves against Elle as yet. We’re watching him like a hawk, Brax, you know that.”
“He’s threatened her. She told him she wouldn’t sell Brightlight this afternoon and he went ballistic, told her that he would get the company one way or another and that nothing would stop him” he says angrily down the phone.
“Brax, calm down. We can’t do anything until he makes a move, you know that.” I hear him grunt into the phone, an admission that he knows I’m right. “And anyway, Elise is safe with you living there and Shay monitoring the situation from the outside. Nothing can happen to her, right?”
“I know that, but it doesn’t stop me have a bad feeling about this. He seems to know me, gave Elle the impression that he knows exactly who I am,” he says, sounding defeated.
“How would he know? Brax, there is nothing connecting you to us,” I reply, hoping like hell I’m not giving anything away.
“I still think Evans is in on this with Brimstone. I just can’t prove anything,” Brax says. I can tell this is doing his head in and knowing him, he is frustrated to all hell. He may think he knows what is going on, but he has no clue.
“Look, Brax, just do your job and look after your girl. You and Shay have each other’s backs and I’m watching everything from down here, okay?” This conversation is getting a little exasperating now.
“Yeah, boss, will do. You’ll let me know if you hear about anything going down?” he asks
“Yes, Brax. It’s my job,” I add before hanging up.
I sit back in my chair and run my hands through my hair. I hope like hell this goes as planned. If anything goes wrong, I know I won’t live long enough to ponder the fact.
It feels so good to be in Brax’s arms. I always feel protected when he is around. I haven’t felt that since my family was ripped away from me. I don’t know what I’d do if he left me, or if I lost him. Uncle Harry’s words have stuck with me—he’s blaming Brax for my decision. Brax had nothing to do with it, he just helped me admit what I truly wanted, to retain the last piece of my father that I have.
It’s his legacy, it’s my destiny.
I have a bath after Brax calms me down. Even though I’ve already had a shower, Brax thinks that a bath might relax me and take my mind of the whole Brimstone affair. He is right. He even helps wash my back, and takes a few liberties while washing my front as well, but that’s why I love him. He definitely succeeds in taking my mind of Uncle Harry’s threat.
After almost dozing off in the water, I get up and throw on a pair of jeans and one of Brax’s wife beaters to wear. I smile to myself when I think of how Brax reacted when he got home and saw me so upset. I know he doesn’t cope well when I’m like that, but he has always been there when I needed him. He makes me feel invincible, like nothing could bring me down again. I walk into the kitchen, finding Brax sitting at the counter and staring at his phone.
“What’s up, babe?” I ask, taking a seat beside him.
“Just this Brimstone thing, sweetheart, I can’t stop thinking about how he threatened you,” he says sullenly.
“It’s okay, he was just blowing off steam. I know Uncle Harry wouldn’t really hurt me. Not intentionally, anyway,” I say quietly, suddenly doubting my own words.
“Okay, baby, I’ll try to stop thinking about it, if you will,” he says, grabbing my hand and entwining our fingers before bringing my hand up to his lips.
I suddenly realize that I forgot to check the mailbox when I came in. Ever since I almost confronted the man in the black car, I’ve been on edge about going down into the foyer by myself. Although we haven’t seen him since then, I’m hoping he got the hint and will leave us alone from now on.
“Babe, did you grab the mail on the way past?” I ask as I get up and pour myself a coffee.
Without looking up from his phone he replies, “Yeah, I dumped it on the coffee table when I came in.”
He seems really worked up over the whole Uncle Harry situation. He’s been busy texting on his phone ever since I got out of the bath. Maybe he’s venting to Shay, but whatever he’s doing I hope it calms him down. I’m still worried about what Uncle Harry said, but I know that I have the final say on the company until such time as I surrender my stake or am unable to do so and I’m still standing, so the company is still mine.
Brax’s looks up at me with a shy smile. “I gotta call Shay, sweetheart.”
“Okay,” I reply, giving him a quick kiss before he disappears into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him.
Not wanting to disturb him, I go make myself comfortable on the couch and start checking through the mail. There’s a letter from the utility company which is not unexpected, another one from college confirming my classes for the next quarter and all that is left is a strange yellow envelope. I turn it over in my hands and see that it has no forwarding address, all it has on it is my name handwritten on the front. Not even my full name, it just says ‘Elle’. Nobody calls me that except Brax, my father and Uncle Harry.
Putting my finger inside the seal, I carefully rip open the envelope and pull out a lined notepad page that is carefully folded inside. I put the envelope and other mail down on the coffee table and unfold the note.
I read what the note says over and over again, my hands starting to shake as the words start sinking in.
“I know where you are, I know where you’ll be.
I’ll finish what I started, it’ll be just you and me.”
Suddenly I drop the note onto the floor and let out a blood curdling scream. “Brax!”
I hang up from my call with Gibbons just as I hear Elle scream my name. I run into the living room and find her sitting on the couch muttering to herself, shaking like a leaf and pointing to a note on the floor. I see the note and my stomach churns when I recognize the paper, the same as the one left on my car in Richmond. The prob
lem is that this time, Elle has seen it.
I pick the note up and read it, instantly recognizing the handwriting. It’s from the same person who left the note in Richmond. Dammit! I’m seething now, angrier than I’ve been for a long time. I knew I needed to monitor the mail more closely; I didn’t want Elle to find out about this. The last time I felt this angry was when I found out the truth about my real father and what he did to my mother and me.
I read the words over and over again, trying to figure out who the hell could have sent it. Whoever it was followed us to Richmond, that much I do know. It still doesn’t seem to fit Brimstone’s style, and I may not trust Evans as far as I could throw him, but he said the black car isn’t his and he nothing to gain from lying to me.
I run my hands through my hair, looking down at my poor girl. How fair is it to be upset twice in the same day by things that are totally out of her control. She doesn’t deserve a life like this, she deserves nothing but love and happiness. Its moments like this when I wish I could tell her why I’m here, that it is my job to protect her. More than that, I want her to know she is safe with me. With Shay and I here, nothing will happen to her.
We would stake our lives on that.
She looks up at me from the couch, still shaken up and obviously upset.
“Who would send me something like this, Brax? I haven’t done anything to anyone!” she sobs.
“I don’t know, baby, but I’m going to talk with Shay and we’re going to find out who this person is. I love you too much to let anything happen to you, sweetheart,” I reply.
“What can you and Shay do? He works security and you’re a college student,” she asks inquisitively.
I hesitate before answering her, the look she is giving me says that whatever I answer, my credibility is in question. “Shay has a lot of connections and so do I. We’re going to see what they can do for us.” It’s not a lie, it is actually closer to the truth than I have ever said to her before.
