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 10
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 Mattheson, 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.
She screamed as the pain of his grip bit into her scalp but he didn’t care. He pulled her to her feet and dragged her back down the alley away from her means of escape.
The guy who had spoken to her wore three bloody streaks of ragged skin down over his cheek and across his eye. He stared at her, hatred making his good eye darker than it should have been.
“You’re going to be sorry you ever did that, you worthless piece of scum.”
Ellie watched as he slid his belt from the loops in his jeans.
Fear trembled through her body making her shudder as she struggled to rip herself free of the punishing hold they had on her.
He folded the belt in his hands, moving deliberately slow as though to draw out the terror she was feeling in the moment. The man holding her spun her in his grip, turning her face in against his chest and smothering her nose and mouth into his jacket, making Ellie’s desperate gasping breaths even harder.
Ellie struggled to turn her head and from the corner of her eye she watched his hand whip back, and the sound the belt made as it cracked through the air raised the hairs on the back of her neck.
The hard leather came down across her back.
Pain lit up through her body and Ellie tried to scream around the hand that sat across her face but the sound only came out muffled.
There was a horrible moment of sinking realisation that no one would be able to hear her, no one would come to her aid.
The belt came down again, the metal buckle slicing into her buckling her knees and in Ellie’s mind it was like having scalding water poured across her back. He hit her again and again, the pain increasing with each blow.
She screamed wordlessly as he lifted the belt, Ellie had lost count of the number of times he had hit her.
All she knew was the pain, the white haze of it that had settled down over her body was enough to practically suffocate her.
Ellie tried to prepare herself for the blow, tried to prepare for the ripping and burning sensation that would flood over her skin as he brought his arm down.
It didn’t come.
A black blur darted in, tacking the guy holding the belt to the ground. Ellie could just make out the two bodies scuffling on the ground, her tear-filled eyes making it almost impossible to figure out who it was who had come to her rescue.
The grip on her hair relaxed and Ellie didn’t waste any more time thinking. She twisted, ramming her elbow back into the stomach of the man who held her. The sound he made as the air rushed out of his lungs brought Ellie more satisfaction than she cared to admit.
He released her and Ellie staggered away, each step bringing fresh pain boiling through her body.
She could feel the welts forming across her back and down her thighs and it was a pain unlike anything Ellie had ever encountered.
But still she kept on moving.
She had three attackers and only one rescuer, the odds were stacked against whoever had come to help her and Ellie wasn’t willing to stand by and let him get beaten to death.
She staggered down the alley, stopping once she made it to the dumpster that sat against the back wall of the diner. Wrapping her hands around a thick piece of timbre Ellie hefted it, trying to gauge the weight and feel of it in her hands. If she had to swing it at someone’s head, then she wanted to make sure she could keep a h
old of it.
The pain that flared across her back had her vision running in colourful streamers but that didn’t stop her.
Ellie turned, holding the piece of wood clutched against her chest.
A dark figure stepped in front of her and Ellie didn’t think—she let swing, the wood connecting with the arm he lifted to defend himself. He swore under his breath and for a second Ellie hesitated, his voice familiar.
“Ellie, it’s me, it’s Stuart. Don’t swing it again.”
The piece of wood dropped from her hands and clattered to the ground, the sound ricocheting around the alley.
“Stuart?”
Ellie had a split second to realise that he was the one who had come to her rescue before the adrenaline slipped away leaving her with only the searing pain in her back. Her cry was swallowed by the darkness that swamped her vision and the last thing she knew was the sensation of falling.
* * *
Ellie moaned and struggled against the strong grip that held her. White hot pain lanced through her and from the dark recesses of her mind, Ellie decided she was in hell. It had to be hell, since it was the only place she knew where little red men spent their time sticking red hot pokers in through the skin.
“Ellie?”
An oddly familiar voice called to Ellie, drawing her back from the darkness that welcomed her.
“Selena?”
It came flooding back, the men in the alley, the feel of the belt as it had torn into her back.
Stuart.
A muffled sob escaped her lips as Ellie struggled to sit up.
“Ellie, don’t move, Selena is checking your back.”
“Stuart.”
“I’m here, Ellie, it’s alright, it’ll be alright.”
His voice was heavy with emotion and Ellie could only imagine what he was thinking. It dawned on her then how she was positioned. Stuart had her draped over his lap, his strong hands stroking over her hair but also keeping her in place.
The feel of someone prodding and poking at the tender wounds made her squirm and Ellie cried out.
“Ellie, I’m sorry, I have to do this. We have to clean the cuts.”
Selena’s voice floated down to Ellie through the fog of pain that had descended over her once more.
The feel of something cold washed over Ellie’s skin and for a second it seemed to bring relief. And then, just as quickly as the relief had come it was gone and burning lit up across her back.
Ellie buried her face in Stuart’s shirt and screamed. His strong arms continued to hold her steady, anchoring her in the pain when all she wanted to do was escape.
Time passed and Ellie was certain hours had gone by when the burning slowly began to subside.
“Ellie, I’m sorry, I know it hurts but I’ve bandaged them over now, you can sit up if you like.”
Selena’s voice seemed to come from very far away and Ellie chose not to move. Deep down she knew Selena was only doing what was right, helping her even though she really didn’t have to. But Ellie chose not to move. Fear had settled over her, fear of the horrible pain she had suffered, and the last thing she wanted now was for it to come back.
“I have to go now but if there’s any change in her take her to a hospital. I’ll be back in the morning. If there’s any change with her mother call me.”
“I will, I’ve written down the number. Thanks.”
Stuart’s deep voice rumbled through Ellie, filling her with happiness and relief.
He had rescued her. If he hadn’t come along when he had, Ellie knew it wouldn’t have ended with her lying on her own couch, in her own house.
A shudder raced through her and for a second the pain flared in her back once more but it wasn’t as terrible as it had been and it quickly passed.
“Are you awake?” Stuart said, his voice soft as though certain she was asleep.
“Yeah, I think so…” Ellie said, shifting slightly on his lap. The movement had the pain return but it was something far more manageable now as long as she didn’t push it too far.
“What happened out there tonight, Ellie?”
His words brought the memories of the evening flooding back to her, fear and pain clouding her mind.
Stuart’s strong arms wrapped around her body, drawing her upright until she could look into his face.
“Don’t make me remember, please.”
The look on his face was one of sorrow and without thinking about what she was doing, Ellie reached out to him, her hand stroking down over the curve of his cheek.
“I’m so sorry, Ellie.” His voice was hoarse with emotion and for a minute he resisted the brush of her fingertips.
“You saved me, Stuart. You have nothing to be sorry about.”
“I should have been there sooner. If I had gotten there earlier, then none of this would have happened. You wouldn’t be so hurt…”
Ellie smiled but it was a watery look.
“The fact you were there at all is a miracle…”
A vision of Ricky, bruised and injured filled her mind.
“Ricky, how is he? Did you get him out of town?”
Stuart nodded and Ellie instantly felt herself relaxing. At least if they couldn’t get to her brother then the beating she had taken wasn’t for nothing.
“Ellie, did they say anything to you?”
“It was a message. Grey thought if he could put me in the hospital that it’d bring Ricky out of the woodwork.”
Stuart’s face darkened and Ellie withdrew her hand from his face. The look in his eyes honestly frightened her. It wasn’t like anything she had ever seen before. In the short time she had known him, he was always quick to smile, quick to laughter. This side to him, this serious and rage-filled look that sat behind his eyes wasn’t the man she was slowly coming to know.
You don’t know anything about him, Ellie, don’t be ridiculous.
Of course the voice in the back of her mind was right, she didn’t know him. He had appeared in her life but everything about him was new and different. For all she knew the look he wore now was his normal look and the smiles he had given her were simply an act.
“What’s wrong?”
Stuart’s voice cut through her thoughts and Ellie jumped, the pain it caused slicing into her and robbing her of breath.
“I don’t know… It’s just I don’t know this side of you, the look in your eyes, it frightens me.”
Stuart smiled but it was filled with sadness.
“I’m sorry. Frightening you is the last thing I want, Ellie. It’s just when I think about what might have happened… When I think about how I let you down, I can’t help but feel angry.”
“But you didn’t let me down? You saved me. Without you I’d be in the hospital or worse…”
Stuart’s expression darkened once more.
“See, there you go again with that look. You don’t need to feel responsible for me. I’m a big girl, I can look after myself.”
Stuart sighed and scrubbed his hand over his face.
“Look, I’m sorry. I can’t help the way I feel. Right now I’d love nothing more than to march over to Grey’s house and rip the man apart. What he did to you, what he’s trying to do…”
Ellie shook her head, a look of sadness sliding over her face.
“It wouldn’t do any good. The last person who stood up to Grey didn’t survive it and I don’t want to see anything happen to you…”
Ellie dropped her gaze to her hands, knotting her fingers against one another as she spoke.
“Who stood up to Grey?”
Ellie sighed and lifted her gaze. “My father.”
“And he murdered him? How can you be so sure?”
Ellie instantly bristled but she was tired and the combination of exhaustion and pain sapped her of the energy she needed to stay angry. She drooped, her shoulders slumping forward.
“I just know it… They tried to pass it off as a suicide but I know he wouldn’t have killed himself. He loved us, and when I
told him what Grey had done he was so angry…”
Ellie cut herself off, suddenly wishing she had kept her mouth shut.
“What did Grey do, Ellie?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she mumbled, trying to hide her gaze from Stuart’s probing one.
His fingers pressed beneath her chin, tilting her head back until she was looking up into his dark eyes.
“Tell me… Please.”
“I was stupid, so stupid… I thought he liked me. He invited me up to a small party he was throwing, so I went…”
Ellie trailed off again, not sure how to form the words of what happened next.
“It’s alright, Ellie, I’m right here. You can tell me.”
Stuart’s soothing tone helped and Ellie scrubbed her hand back across her eyes.
“I should have realised when I was the only girl there… Well, me and another girl, but I thought maybe I was early.
“He gave me a drink when I arrived, everyone else had one too so I drank it and that’s when things got weird…”
“What happened, Ellie?”
“I guess there was something in the drink and I started to feel kinda weird. So I tried to call a cab but then Grey was there and he took my phone. They were all around me, laughing and I thought it was just some joke that I didn’t get but then they started pulling at my dress, I ran. I don’t even know how I did it, I just had this urge to get away… They ripped my dress, ripped it right off me in the panic of them trying to stop me, and I remember climbing a fence before I passed out.
“The other girl was still there and I guess they got bored looking for me…”
Ellie faltered, the memories of that night, or lack of memory burned into her mind. How could she have been so stupid? To trust someone like Grey Mattheson had been a foolish mistake and one she refused to ever make again.
“When I woke up I was in the ditch near Mattheson’s house, my dress was gone and I don’t remember what happened after I passed out. I don’t even know if they found me. I just have this overwhelming feeling of fear and disgust over the night.”
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