“It’s nothing, really. I was just hoping for a few more hours is all…”
She widened her smile in the hopes that he would give up on his line of questioning. Tony was a nice guy but he’d never been particularly interested in anyone’s personal life. That and of course the fact that it was ridiculously easy to throw him off track.
“Ellie.”
Kelly poked her head in through the kitchen door, her smile lit up by the candy pink lipstick she wore.
“Can I speak to you for a minute?”
Tony nodded and turned back to the kitchen and what he had been doing before Ellie had asked him about the new rotas for the week.
She followed Kelly out into the main diner and down to the empty end of the restaurant.
“I couldn’t help but overhear that you were looking for more shifts here.”
“Kelly, I really don’t…”
Kelly instantly cut her off.
“Don’t get mad, I didn’t mean to listen in but it happened.”
Ellie didn’t say anything, biting down on her tongue in an attempt to keep her temper in check.
When she didn’t argue, Kelly smiled and leaned in towards her, whispering conspiratorially.
“I know how you can earn some extra cash.”
“Kelly, I…”
“Hear me out, OK? It’s nothing you need to worry about. I do a little waitressing up at some of the parties for the folks that live out along Cliff Road.”
“Waitressing?”
Kelly nodded. “Yeah. The parties are very exclusive but I think I could get you in, if you’d be interested…”
Ellie grinned. “Kelly, if you could do that for me, I’d be forever grateful…” Ellie paused, unsure what to even think. This could be the answer to her prayers if Kelly came through for her.
“It’s no problem, doll. I know you’ve struggled with caring for your mom and all…”
A lump formed in the back of Ellie’s throat and she fought to swallow past it. Ellie flung her arms around Kelly’s neck, surprising herself as much as Kelly as she dragged her into a hug.
In Ellie’s mind this was a lifeline. This morning after the letter she’d been drowning—everything had seemed so much more difficult. And now, out of nowhere, to have Kelly offer her an opportunity to at least keep the wolf from the door for a little while longer? It was almost too good to be true.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. I have to run it past my boss.”
Kelly’s practical attitude cut through Ellie’s excitement, instantly sobering her. She released the other woman and took a small step back, schooling her features in an attempt to disguise some of her relief.
“I’ll let you know as soon as I have the details…”
“Thanks, Kelly, I really do appreciate this.”
“Well somebody’s persistent.”
Kelly glanced over past Ellie and she turned to see who she meant.
Stuart stepped into the diner, a frown on his face as he scanned the faces surrounding him. Ellie caught his eye and his expression instantly softened, making Ellie’s heart quicken.
What the hell was wrong with her? She’d been over it a hundred times in her mind. She didn’t have time for someone like Stuart who would do nothing but complicate her already out of control life.
“I’ll serve him,” Ellie said, a smile creeping across her lips as Stuart waved and took up his place in the booth he’d had the day before.
Kelly turned and shrugged, moving back towards the kitchen to pick up her next order.
Ellie moved across the room, pausing only once she’d made it to him.
He grinned up at her, and it was then she became aware of the bruising beginning to appear on the side of his jaw.
“What happened to you? Did Grey’s men do that to you?”
Ellie’s anger at Grey instantly resurfaced. It washed over her, filling her veins with a white hot fury that threatened to steal the air from her lungs.
“What? This?” Stuart indicated his jaw. “It’s nothing, an accident is all…”
“But if Grey or one of his men did…”
Stuart shook his head, cutting her off.
“Seriously, it’s fine. You should have seen the other guy.” He grinned, his bright smile lighting his face and filling his eyes.
It was a good smile, a very good smile and one that Ellie found difficult to resist.
“So, what can I get for you?”
She dropped her attention to the notepad that she struggled to pull from the pocket in the front of her small apron. It was easier to focus on something else—anything else—that would take her mind away from the handsome man sitting before her.
“Well, I thought seeing as you couldn’t have coffee with me earlier, I was hoping maybe you could now?”
“But I’m working…”
Stuart smiled hopefully.
“Maybe you’re due for a break?”
Ellie cast a glance back over her shoulder at the rest of the diner. It wasn’t particularly busy, since the lunchtime rush had come and gone. It probably wouldn’t matter if she took a five minute break and it would at least give her the opportunity to figure out why he was being persistent in the first place.
“Fine, but it can just be five minutes.”
Stuart nodded at her, his grin growing wider.
“Coffee, is it?”
“Yeah, and maybe if you have any of that apple pie left?”
Ellie grinned. “We might have a little left over after lunchtime.”
She turned and headed for the kitchen but she was distinctly aware of Stuart’s gaze as he seemed to study every move she made.
* * *
Pushing into the kitchen, Ellie paused and leaned back against the doors. Clearly she had just lost her mind—there couldn’t be another excuse for her behaviour.
Ellie had been so sure she’d made up her mind about Stuart and seeing him just that morning at Grey’s estate should have simply been the icing on the cake that sent her running in the opposite direction. And yet here she was planning on having coffee with him.
“Tony, is it OK if I take my break now?”
Ellie grabbed a plate and cut a large slice of apple pie fresh from the oven. It smelled heavenly and she was half inclined to cut a piece for herself. But if she did that then Stuart would probably get the wrong idea about her comfort level.
No, it was better to keep everything as uncomplicated as possible.
Ellie smothered a giggle as she realised she’d just convinced herself that a slice of pie would complicate her life.
“It’s fine, Ellie, just don’t make it a long one. I need you in here to prepare for the dinner rush.”
She nodded and plopped the plate down onto the tray nearby along with two cups. Effortlessly she carried the tray out through the swing doors, grabbing a coffee pot as she passed it on the way back to Stuart’s table.
She set everything out before she hesitated and stared down at the place where he expected her to sit.
“I promise I won’t bite,” he said, as though aware of her inner turmoil and indecision.
“I didn’t think you would,” Ellie answered as she slid in across from him.
She reached for the coffee pot but Stuart’s hand was there before her own. The feel of his fingers as they brushed against hers made Ellie jump. She whipped her hand back fast enough to send her cup spiralling over the edge of the table.
Stuart’s hand was there before it hit the floor.
“I’m so sorry, I don’t know…”
He cut her off as he replaced the cup on the table top.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s a way for me to keep my reflexes sharp.”
The grin she was coming to love spread across his face once more.
When she reached for the jug of coffee once more Stuart didn’t interfere. She watched him from beneath lowered lashes as she poured the dark, rich-smelling drink into both cups.
“Did you get the job
with Grey?”
Ellie couldn’t help bringing his name back up. She liked Stuart but the more time he spent with Grey the less she could trust him.
“Yeah,” he answered before pushing a forkful of apple into his mouth.
She watched as he nodded around a mouthful of apple pie, an appreciative sigh escaping him.
“This is so good!”
He mumbled around the crumbly pastry and sweet apple filling, making Ellie laugh.
“It’s one of our best sellers.”
“I can see why.”
There was a moment of silence and Ellie struggled for something to say. She’d never been very good at the whole small talk side of things and the simple fact that she liked Stuart complicated things further.
“Does it bother you that Grey hired me?”
Stuart’s sudden and very blunt question surprised her and Ellie struggled to keep the look of shock from her face.
“Why would it?”
Stuart shrugged and took a long gulp of his coffee.
“There’s something going on between you two. I’m not sure what exactly, but it’s definitely there.”
“There’s nothing between Grey and me, nothing but hatred…”
“Hatred? Isn’t that a little strong? Surely something happened to bring about such strong feelings? You don’t just wake up one day and hate a random stranger.”
“It’s not something I want to talk about,” Ellie answered, her tone curt and irritated. He was probably just here as a way for Grey to figure out how best to silence her.
“Look, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you…”
Stuart started to speak but with a wave of her hand Ellie silenced him. She stood and reached for the cup of coffee she had poured for herself.
“It doesn’t matter. This was a bad idea…”
The bell over the door jingled, drawing Ellie’s attention.
She turned as Ricky stepped inside and Ellie gasped.
One of his eyes was so badly bruised it had closed over, the blackness of the mark in stark contrast to the pallor of his skin. A jagged cut split his lip and with the way he stood favouring his ribs, Ellie knew the bruising on his face wasn’t the only injuries he’d sustained.
* * *
“Ricky!” she called out to him, instantly moving towards him. Her arms outstretched, she caught him as he slumped against one of the booths.
“What the hell happened?” Ellie whispered to him, suddenly aware that every eye in the diner was fixed firmly on them.
“I didn’t get out of town…”
His voice was hoarse and Ellie could see the pain on his face as he tried to speak around the cut on his lip.
“Who did this to you?”
“Who? You know who, Ellie. I told you this would happen… The only reason I’m here is because I got away.”
He coughed, a sudden spasm of pain rumbling through his body. He collapsed forward, and Ellie and she knew he had passed out. It had obviously taken every ounce of strength he had to get this far. She tried to hold him up but Ellie wasn’t strong enough and he slipped from her grip and down towards the ground.
Stuart was suddenly there, his strong arms wrapping around Ricky, propping him upright.
“Where do you want him?”
His expression was grim and very serious as he held Ellie’s unconscious brother in his grip.
“Out back…”
It was the only place nearby that Ellie could think of. Everyone in the diner had seen Ricky’s arrival and the whispers and sideways looks told her that they’d heard everything he’d said before he passed out.
Stuart didn’t hesitate. He lifted Ricky as though he weighed nothing at all and Ellie gasped. Stuart looked strong and she’d noticed the muscles beneath his dark t-shirt but it wasn’t until he picked Ricky up that she suddenly realised how powerful he truly was.
She followed him as he made his way towards the kitchen door.
Kelly appeared in the swing door, her smiling expression slipping away as she saw Stuart barrelling towards her.
“You can’t come back through here…”
“Hold the door.” Stuart barked the order and Kelly instantly obeyed, moving out of his way as she pushed the door wide.
Ellie moved up alongside him and directed him through the kitchen to a door that stood off to one side. It had once been the staff break room but now they mostly stored their bags and coats, preferring to take a break in the main area of the diner where there were always people around to talk with.
Ellie pushed the bags and bits of discarded clothing from the bench, making room for Stuart to put Ricky down.
“What the hell are you involved in? Who is this?”
Stuart’s tone was harsh as he gestured to Ricky. Tears instantly sprang to Ellie’s eyes as she tried to bring Ricky around.
“He’s my brother. You wouldn’t understand, no one would. I’m not sure even I understand the half of it…”
“Ellie, this is serious. Your brother has taken a nasty beating but if what he says is true…”
“That he got away?”
Stuart nodded and remained silent as Ricky moaned and stirred.
“Ellie, where the hell am I?”
He struggled to sit up and cried out, clutching suddenly at his ribs.
Ellie lifted his t-shirt and gasped. His chest was a mass of purple and black, each breath he took lifted his chest but one side lifted more than the other.
“Don’t.”
He tried to push Ellie’s hands away, his expression dark as he fought against her.
“Ricky, what happened? You have to tell me?”
“Why do you care now? You didn’t last night…”
His voice was filled with bitterness and Ellie flinched back away from him as though he had slapped her.
“I’ve always cared. Every time something happened I was always the one there to help you, to bail you out.”
“So what changed last night then, Ellie? Because you made yourself perfectly clear that I shouldn’t bother to rely on you.”
“How can you say that? You tell me you’re caught up with Grey, after everything he’s done to this family and I’m not allowed to have a moment to be upset? You knew what Grey was like, you knew how dangerous he was…”
“I thought he had done the same thing to Melanie that he’d done to you…”
Ellie stumbled back from her brother, an icy feeling filling her chest, choking the air from her lungs.
“Why would you think that?”
The words left her in a rush of breath as her heart raced in her chest.
“She told me about what he’d done to her, the way he’d tried to…”
Ellie cut Ricky off, clamping her hands over her ears. She had her own nightmares to contend with, the last thing she wanted to hear about was the things Grey had done to some other naive fool.
“Ellie, she’s gone. She stole something important from Grey and now she’s gone, disappeared…”
Ellie slowly let her hands drop from her face but she couldn’t form the words to ask Ricky what he meant by disappeared.
“When you say disappeared, what exactly do you mean?”
Stuart, who had remained silent during the entire conversation, finally interjected, his voice making Ellie’s heart skitter in her chest in a way that had nothing to do with her fear of Grey.
“She’s gone. I tried to find her after I saw Ellie last night. I was going to confront her about landing me in it with Grey… There was a place we’d agreed to meet but when I got there…”
Ricky broke off and dropped his face into his hands.
“I’ve been such a fool, Ellie. I thought she was playing me but now I know she wasn’t.”
“How do you know, Ricky?” Stuart pressed, his voice low and filled with authority. It was the type of tone that if he were asking her the questions she’d have gladly given up every secret she’d ever had.
“When Grey’s men picked me up, th
ey knocked me out while they were transporting me but I came round right before we got there. I was looking for something to help get me out, you know like maybe I could find a weapon or something but instead I found…”
He choked off and Ellie could see the horror reflected in his eyes. She wanted to say enough was enough, she wanted to tell him that he didn’t need to say it aloud, that they’d heard enough.
But Stuart wasn’t done.
“What did you find, Ricky?”
“I found her earring! There was all this sticky stuff and hair, except I didn’t know it was hair at the time until they opened the trunk and I could see. When they did I could see it all, it was all over my hands because I’d been scrambling around looking for a weapon. As they pulled me out something bit into my hand and when I looked down there was a tooth…”
He raised his hand, the small puncture on his palm giving credence to his story.
“She’s dead. I know she is and now they want to kill me too…”
“We need to get you out of here. Everyone in the diner watched you come in and it won’t take long for word to get back to Grey.”
“But how? I mean where can he go? There’s no money…”
The helplessness of the situation closed in around Ellie and she struggled to breathe.
“It’s fine, I know somewhere. Can you walk?” Stuart leaned down, holding his hand out to Ricky.
“I appreciate it and everything, man, but I don’t even know who you are. How do I know you’re not just going to send me back there?”
Stuart shrugged. “You don’t know but what other choice do you have? If you stay here, Grey will come for you.”
“Ricky, go with him, he’ll keep you safe.”
“How do you know? Who is he?”
Ellie shook her head and stared up into Stuart’s dark eyes.
“If you hurt him I will hunt you down and make you pay.”
She levelled her gaze at Stuart putting every ounce of authority behind her voice. Despite who he worked for, despite what should have been common sense telling her she was mad, she trusted him.
She couldn’t explain it but there was something about Stuart that told her he could be trusted. Of course it didn’t make any sense, and if she had to explain it to anyone they would tell her she was mad.
Breaker's Point Bad Boy Billionaires Boxset Page 7