Ellie nodded again. “Those men, they all hold positions in dad’s various businesses now. They did what he said, threatened me verbally but I never actually felt threatened because dad’s people were conveniently there to witness the threats personally.”
“Ellie, are you telling me that you think he paid those men off to say those things?”
Looking into his eyes, she could tell that he was upset, maybe even angry, but not with her. “Yeah, I do. I tried to talk to mom about it but she refused to have anything to do with dad or the clubs. She told me to never speak of it again.”
He wanted to beat Xander for what he did. Not just to his dad, but to Ellie. “Fucking idiot. Doesn’t he know what could have happened? One of our guys could have actually hurt you in retaliation. It wouldn’t be the first time that someone got stupid.”
That thought had never occurred to her. Dad had always assured her that nothing would ever happen to her, that he and Manny had a deal. “I don’t know what to say, Rex. I can’t apologize for my dad.” The tears were back again and it was bothering her.
“Hey, Ellie, don’t.” He wiped at the tear that had started to track down her cheek. “You aren’t responsible for what your dad did any more than I am for what my old man did.”
She pulled away, not able to face him at that point. For the past couple of hours she lived in a fantasy world where this was going somewhere further than a weekend fling and then this. Rex would go back to the club and tell Manny what she said and that would be the end of this. It would be war and they'd be caught right in the middle of it.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Rex had left shortly after their conversation. Ellie had shut him out. She had been polite but distant and it pissed him off. He tried again to convince her that he didn’t care what her dad had done but it had fallen on deaf ears.
On the ride back to the club Rex wondered if her sudden freeze-up was less about what her dad had done and more about the fact that Rex was living that same kind of life. Maybe she thought he was like Manny and Xander. He was the Vice President of the Siouxan Brothers, after all.
The sad thing was; he might not be able to fight that logic. He wasn’t an angel. Since turning eighteen he did some things for the good of the club that someone like Ellie wouldn’t approve of. Nothing as illegal like the kind of crap that Xander and Manny got into, but the line was very fine. Fine enough that she might not see it at all.
Originally he planned on going to Manny with the information that Ellie had given him. There was no way to tell him what he knew without revealing who gave it to him and he couldn’t do that to her. He wasn’t as loyal to Manny as a VP should be and it might cost him his position if Manny ever found out.
He wasn’t sure if he even really cared. When Manny was locked up, Rex had been able to keep a handle on some of the guys that refused to give up their old ways. He managed to cut down the amount of dealing that went on inside the clubs, gave them the option of cutting out or getting a job in one of their more legitimate businesses. Most of them took the offer of a real job. He was proud of that. Manny wasn’t as impressed.
Dealing in drugs and guns brought in more cash than any of their other businesses. Even though Manny hadn’t made any overt moves towards getting back to the way things had been before, Rex knew it wouldn’t be long.
Then there was his obsession with finding out what Xander was keeping stored in those containers on former Siouxan properties. Rex had no doubt that Xander was into something big but he didn’t think they should get involved. Period. Even if that meant not getting revenge on Xander for putting Manny in jail.
He pulled up in front of the club and parked his bike. The stairs on the side of the building led up to his apartment. When he came around the corner, Manny was standing on the bottom step.
“I was just looking for you.”
“You found me.” Rex waited for his dad to move out of the way. If he wanted to talk they could do it inside where no one could happen to overhear their conversation. “Come on up.”
Rex got the door unlocked and went straight to the fridge for a beer. He offered one to his dad, watching him as he looked around his place. It wasn’t much and since he was rarely home he hadn’t put any time or effort into it.
“You’ve been gone since early this morning. She must be a hot piece for you to go back.” Manny took a long drink, watching his son’s reactions closely.
“What makes you think it was a woman that had me out this morning?” Rex leaned back against the wall, keeping his poker face tight. His dad was on a fishing mission and he wasn’t going to take the bait.
Manny laughed. “I know that look you’ve got. Someone’s got you all tied up in knots. Plus, there’s a nice little bite mark on your neck that wasn’t there last night.”
Rex barely managed to keep from reaching up to touch the spot. “I'm guessing you didn’t come looking for me to talk about the birds and bees.”
Manny pulled out a chair out from under the kitchen table and sat, crossing his legs out in front of him, studying the man his son had become. Rex wasn’t the angry kid Manny left behind ten years ago. He wished Rex had told him about Ellie. He failed the test and he couldn’t trust him. Until he knew more about what was going on with Rex and Ellie, he couldn’t trust that Ellie wasn’t using Rex to get information. She was Xander’s kid and blood runs thicker than anything else in the world.
He was hitting Xander’s storage units at midnight. If he couldn’t trust his son to have his back then he was going to have to find a way to keep him out of the way until the deed was done. “I need someone I trust to go pick up some cash in San Francisco.”
Rex tried not to let his suspicions show. He was no dummy. Manny hadn’t made it a point to come up to his apartment since he'd been back, now he was seeking him out to run an errand? “Depends. Is it legit?”
“Yeah, just an old debt that I need to collect. He’ll be expecting you.” Manny stood and drained his beer, tossing the bottle in the trash. “He’s got the cash ready. All you gotta do is get it back here.” He put a hand on the doorknob. “I got things to take care of. Come down when you get ready to go and I’ll get you the address.”
Dismissed. That’s how it felt. The Boss gave his order and that was all that needed saying. The old man was up to something and that something had to do with taking down Xander and the Karthadossians. Rex was sure of it. He was also sure that whatever he was planning, he didn’t trust Rex with the information.
***
After Rex left, Ellie showered and got dressed. She tried to get back to her book but the drive to finish the chapter she started was gone. Their last conversation kept replaying in her mind over and over. She needed a break from constantly analyzing every word they both said.
The sun was still shining outside her windows, the breeze ruffling the leaves on the trees. It was perfect weather for an early evening ride. She locked everything up tight and gathered her stuff, tucking a new notebook and pen into her bag.
It had been a couple of months since she took the time to ride solo. She wasn’t going to count—or think about—the ride she took with Rex the other night.
She peeled out of her garage, smiling at the neighbor’s shocked expression as she blew past his house. Staying off the highways, she hit the back roads and county highways. Without thinking, she headed towards their old neighborhood.
Her old house was one of the couple left standing. It had been empty for close to six years and was overgrown with weeds and vines. The city would tear it down—like they had the others—soon. Her old swing was still there, waiting on her.
She parked the bike and tossed her bag on the ground under the tree. The ropes were probably too rotted to hold her weight but she was going to give it a shot. The wooden seat creaked and moaned, but held. She pushed off, gently at first, then harder when the ropes seemed determined to hold.
As a kid, swinging had been a way to let go of the stresses of school and the kids who c
onstantly teased her over her weight. She couldn’t count the number of times she cried herself into near exhaustion while swinging, imagining worlds where she fit in and had friends to lean on. It had been a lonely childhood.
Rex had pushed her on this swing often when they were young. He was always careful to not push too hard so she didn’t go too high. Once he got her going, he'd sit down and lean against the trunk, watching her. He never asked to swing himself, or take her offer to try it. He just sat and watched.
She came in order to find a way to stop thinking about him and here she was, swinging on her old swing with Rex on her mind. It seemed there would be no way to get around dealing with what had happened earlier.
Kicking off a little harder, she rested her head against the rope and let her mind wander. All these years she had a thing for Rex and now that she got a taste of him, she wanted more. She wanted it all. She wanted nights sleeping in his arms. Days where they did nothing but laugh. She wanted to be a part of his world and have him be a part of hers.
It seemed impossible. They might be attracted to each other, might like losing themselves in each other’s bodies but how long would that last? How long before the troubles her dad had caused came between them?
As much as she loved to explore what was happening between them, she was too afraid of being hurt in the end. It was that simple. She could imagine the disaster a relationship with Rex could bring. Were a few weeks or months of bliss worth the eventual heartbreak?
***
Rex put off going down to the club until the very last minute. He considered, more than once, getting on his bike and riding back to Ellie’s and hashing things out with her. It was on his mind so much that he picked up his cell and pulled her number up on the screen three times already, only to turn it off before committing to the call.
What the hell was wrong with him? She shut him out so why couldn’t he let it go?
Well, he was going to have to try, at least, for tonight. Maybe a nice long ride would clear his head and help him figure out what it was, exactly, that he wanted from Ellie.
He grabbed his travel bag and headed downstairs to get the directions from his dad.
CHAPTER NINE
It was close to full dark before Ellie was ready to leave the old house. She'd been swinging for so long that her bottom was asleep but it had soothed her more than she expected. She knew what she had to do now.
Gathering up her things, she got back on her bike and headed for her dad’s club. He might not want her in there but since that’s where he was, that’s where she would have to go to find him. She needed to talk to him about his involvement with Manny’s arrest. He never admitted it, but she'd know if he was telling her the truth or not. She had to know.
She came up the back way, avoiding the front and the groups of people that would alert him to her presence. She needed him off guard if she was going to get any real answers.
Sneaking in the back door was nothing new for Ellie. She did it a thousand times as a teenager, desperate to be a part of her dad’s world. He never caught her sneaking in, only trying to sneak out. It had caused more fights and tension than it warranted.
The door to his office was open. It was perfect. She'd walk in and hit him with the questions she wanted answered before he had a chance to prepare an answer. When she got close, she realized that he wasn’t alone. Two voices came from inside.
She pressed herself against the wall outside of the office, checking to make sure she couldn’t be seen. It didn’t take long to realize that she shouldn’t have come. Everything she'd ever suspected about her Father--and worse--was confirmed in minutes.
She had to get out. Had to warn Rex so he could stop his dad. As quietly as she came in, she went out, forgetting how her dad had always caught her as she was sneaking out.
Pulling up Rex’s phone number, she hit send and waited for him to answer.
***
Rex had been on the road a little over an hour when he pulled off to get gas. He got out his phone, thinking about calling Ellie yet again. The voicemail icon was on the screen and he had a missed call from her. He smiled wondering if she thought about calling him as many times as he thought about calling her.
He dialed in and waited for the recording to start. She was whispering and his blood went cold. ‘Rex, you have to stop your dad. He knows, Rex. He’s going to ki—No. NO! Don’t touch me! Stop!’
CHAPTER TEN
Manny Pershing looked down at the unconscious young woman lying on the ground at his feet. He had to get her out of there and fast, before the conversation playing in his ear stopped. Grabbing her under the arms, he dragged her around to the back of the nearest outbuilding and propped her up against the wall. Running back, he grabbed her bag and the cell phone she dropped when he popped her on the jaw.
He really wished there had been some other way to get her out of there without hurting her, but the fear in her eyes as he approached—there was no way she was going to come quietly.
George was finishing up his meeting with Xander. Once they were clear of the area and heading to the West Side Club, Manny would take Ellie somewhere safe. He checked her phone to see who she’d been talking to. Rex. He should have known. No doubt his son was flying back right now, ready to rescue the damsel in distress.
The call to his son would have to wait. If Manny were to get caught on Karthadossian property with the daughter of their President—well, there'd be no need to wait for Xander to plot his demise.
***
Rex was breaking several traffic laws in his rush to get back to San Bernadino. He didn’t care. The entire State Police force could be on his tail and it wouldn’t matter. He had to get to Ellie.
Frustrated, he slammed his fist into the handlebar. What had she done? She was upset earlier after their conversation about Manny and her Dad. It was clear that she felt responsible in some way for what her Dad had done. No matter how many times he repeated that she wasn’t, he could see that she wasn’t buying it. Then she went cold, shutting him out and asking him to leave.
He didn’t know where to go. Ellie had obviously been warning him to get to Manny, but then someone had done something to her. Manny could die if he didn’t stop him from going near that storage unit tonight. Ellie was in just as much danger but he didn’t have a clue where to begin looking for her.
Manny knew that what he was doing was dangerous but he was choosing to do it anyway. Ellie was innocent in all this and didn’t deserve to be hurt or killed for trying to be a good person. There was no doubt whom he needed to get to first.
***
As soon as everyone was clear of the back lot, Manny started trying to wake Ellie. The minute her eyes opened and focused on him she started fighting. She didn’t slap and scream like many women. No, Ellie balled up her fists, took a fighting stance and began to swing. She almost got him too, he was so distracted by the sudden swell of pride for the woman that the little girl he remembered had grown up to be.
“Ellie, you have to stop. Give me a chance to explain. Please?” Manny had to dodge to his left to avoid the nice hook she threw his way.
“You knocked me out. I’m not in the mood to listen to explanations, Manny.” She rocked back on her left heel and came at him again with her right fist. He blocked the punch easily but it had hurt him. It was a small victory.
“If I let you punch me, will you drop this and listen to me?” He had his arms wide open, trying to be as non-threatening as possible.
Ellie eyed him warily. He might look contrite at that moment but who was to say he wasn’t luring her in so he could knock her out again? “Can I punch you the same way you punched me?”
“Absolutely.” Manny moved closer and stuck his chin out, making it easy for her.
Ellie looked at him and realized she wouldn’t be able to do it. Rolling her eyes at her own weakness, she lowered her fists. “What the hell were you doing, Manny? You’re on Karthadossian property. You assaulted me. Are you asking for a q
uicker death sentence?”
Looking around, Manny came closer. “I didn’t want to hurt you. I really didn’t but I couldn’t let you get caught and your Dad was only minutes out. You weren’t going to cooperate and I was out of time.”
“Out of time for what?” Ellie crossed her arms across her waist, impatient and still aggravated.
“Look, Ellie, I promise to answer every question if you’ll come with me somewhere safer than this back lot. I can’t leave you here. It isn’t safe for you.” Manny was genuinely worried, eyes darting around as if he expected someone to jump out of the darkness any second.
“No, Manny, you’re the one in danger. Xander is planning to--”
He held up a hand, cutting her off. “Yeah, I know. He’s planning on blowing me up tonight. Too bad I’m here with you, huh?”
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