A slow smile spread across Ellie’s face. “Yeah, too bad.”
***
His phone started vibrating in his pocket. Going so fast there was no way he could take it out and check it without killing himself. Still, it could be Ellie. He pulled off on the shoulder and dug the phone out. It was a text message from his Dad. He didn’t even know Manny knew how to text.
‘Ellie’s safe with me. Come straight to her house. Will explain everything when you get here.’
Relief that both of them were safe overwhelmed him and he felt a little lightheaded. Why on earth were the two of them together—and at Ellie’s house? He was only about fifteen minutes from her place. He got back on the bike, and at a slightly more sedated pace, headed for her home.
He pulled into her drive and walked up to the door, hearing the sound of laughter coming from inside. He took a deep breath. For the past hour he’d been so upset and worried that his system was on overload. Hearing the two of them laughing had the last of the adrenaline draining from his system and his head starting to pound.
He didn’t knock, opening the door and walking in like he’d been doing it forever. They were in the kitchen, sitting at her island and drinking beer. He looked from one to the other, feeling like he’d stepped into some alternate universe.
“Rex.” Ellie stood first, came close and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tight.
Rex hugged her back, leaning in close and whispering, “I am so glad you’re okay. I’ve never been so scared.”
She nodded her head against his chest, tears welling up in her eyes. When she looked up at him, his eyes were soft. Until they focused on the ever darkening bruise on her jaw. “Wait, I can explain.”
“What the hell happened, Ellie? Who did this?” He turned her face towards the light, examining the area closely.
“I did.” Manny said, standing and coming around the island to face his son. When Rex pulled away from Ellie and took a threatening step his way, it was Ellie who stepped between them and with her palms flat on his chest, pushed him back a couple of feet.
“Rex, don’t. He was only doing what he had to do to keep me safe. Hear him out.” Her voice was firm, confident. There wasn’t a trace of fear or censure in her tone.
Rex moved a little further back and leaned against the wall, fists clenched. He wanted to hurt Manny. How could he have put his hands on Ellie? How could she be so forgiving?
“Come sit down, Rex. Let me get you something to drink, okay?” Ellie reached out to take his hand but he moved his hands away. She tried not to let the move hurt her feelings.
“I need to stay right here for a couple of minutes. Until I calm down.” He managed a small smile for her but it wasn’t easy.
“I’ll talk, you listen.” Manny returned to his seat and his bottle of beer. “A couple of years ago, one of Xander’s guys was placed in the same lockup as I was. He was a strung out piece of trash with a chip on his shoulder over being kicked out of the Karthadossians.”
Manny watched Ellie settle back into her chair, pushing the bag of frozen peas she’d set down earlier at her with a contrite smile. “For a little bit of blow the guy spilled his guts about being one of Xander’s 'elite' guards. Said he had helped set me up for the loss of the two clubs down by the county line and the bogus drug running charge.”
“After a couple more scores he started telling this story about Xander using the smaller clubs he’d stolen from me for gun running. Not petty stuff either. We're talking high dollar military-grade weapons, just about every kind of explosive money can buy, and plenty of ammo for everything.”
Ellie felt sick at her stomach. Manny was watching her closely and she knew that he understood how much this was hurting her. It didn’t make his information any easier to deal with, especially added to what she heard with her own ears tonight.
“Rex, I had to keep you out of the loop because of Ellie. I wasn’t sure if it was coincidence that you and Ellie had hooked up so soon after me getting out or if Ellie was in on some plan of her Dads to get close to you.” He shot Ellie a sheepish look. “Sorry, kid.”
Smiling, Ellie saluted him with her beer bottle. “No problem. I’d be suspicious of me too. Although I’m still dying to know how you found out about all—this.” She gestured at herself and Rex, curiosity causing her to cock an eyebrow his direction.
“One of the new guys at my club saw you two leave a bar together. He’s trying to get in good with me so he rushed back to tell me that Rex left with Xander’s daughter.” Manny shrugged. “He wanted to know if I wanted you followed but I wanted to wait to see if he’d tell me about you.”
“And when I didn’t you decided to send me away on a fake errand.” Rex was finally relaxed enough to sit on the stool next to Ellie, but he avoided looking at her face.
“Yes, I thought it best that you not be around since I couldn’t exactly tell you what was going on.” He pinned his gaze on Ellie. “Then this one shows up and almost ruins everything.” The words were said with an indulgent smile.
“I guess I went a little crazy, thinking I could just walk into Dad’s office and demand he tell me the truth.” Ellie shook her head, the lump in her throat growing again.
Rex and Manny looked at each other, faces serious. They needed to convince her of how dangerous her Dad could be. It was Manny who decided to speak up. “Ellie, honey, your Mom tried so hard to keep the truth about you Dad from you. Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea, but she thought it was the right thing. I had a lot of respect for your Mom. She stood up to Xander and got you out of that life, even after he had her beat half to death. He’s a psychopath, Ellie. He likes hurting people, even people he claims to love. You have to stay away from him.”
Ellie looked confused. “He beat my Mom? When?”
“When we were about six, I guess.” Rex said, his eyes full of sympathy. “Dad found her out on the path between our old houses. She didn’t want us to tell you. I think you went and stayed with an Aunt for a couple of weeks, in Arizona, maybe?”
She stared at the counter, tears spilling over and dripping onto the surface. “Everyone knew, didn’t they?”
“Yeah, pretty much.” Manny reached across the counter and patted her hand, never much good at dealing with female tears. “It’s part of the reason why our club hates your Dad so much.”
Ellie nodded, suddenly so exhausted that she couldn’t think straight. “All this time she let me believe that he was the one who didn’t want me involved in the club. If I’d gotten in with him, there’s no telling what he might have done to me the first time I screwed up.”
“That lie might have very well saved you a lot of pain.” Manny got up and threw his bottle in the trash can.
“I’m sure you two can manage the rest of this without me. I’m going to take a hot bath.” Ellie didn’t wait to see what they would say about her announcement. She got up and escaped to her master suite.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Rex got up and grabbed a soft drink from Ellie’s fridge. He wiped the top off with his shirt tail, popped the ring and drank straight from the can. He sat back down across from his Dad, rolling the can between his hands. “Think she’ll be okay?”
“Your Ellie is pretty tough.” Manny smirked, remembering how she’d stood up to him.
“She’s not my Ellie, Dad. We slept together. That doesn’t mean we’re going to be a couple or anything. After what she found out tonight, she might not want anything to do with any of us.” Rex took another long drink, pushing the disturbing thought of not being with Ellie again to the back of his mind. He had other things to worry about right now. “You need to tell me what else happened tonight.”
“I’ve got a traitor. Lucky I know who the traitor is and thought to rig a tiny listening device into his cell phone. It doesn’t have very good range though so I have to be close to listen in. That’s how I ended up seeing Ellie sneaking into her Dad’s club.” He noticed his son’s open mouthed shock. “I lear
ned a few new things in prison.”
“That’s an understatement. So, the plans to break in were all a set up?”
“Yea, but I needed you thinking they were real too, so if Ellie got to you there would be no denying that you believed every word I was saying. It worked too, except for one little detail.” Manny got up and paced the floor.
“What detail?” Rex watched his Dad pace, getting nervous.
“Well, I didn’t think about what Xander might do when I don’t show up for tonight’s explosion.”
***
Rex closed the door behind his Dad and locked it. He wasn’t leaving Ellie alone tonight, even if it pissed her off. She’d been in the bathroom for so long that he was getting worried.
He straightened up the kitchen, just to have something to do. It took a whole two minutes and he found himself once again pacing her living room, wondering what to do. Go break down the bathroom door or wait for her to come out on her own? He’d better wait. Give her some time.
The shelves in her living room were lined with all kinds of things. Books and knick knacks, photos of her when she was younger and her Mom was still alive. He smiled at the photos of her awkward teen years; she was brave to have them on display, most women would have hid them away. She had an entire shelf dedicated to one writer, a popular one whose books he saw displayed at several bookstores. Must be her favorite.
On one shelf was a plain black frame filled with those little purple flowers that grow like weeds everywhere.
Ellie watched him for several minutes before she spoke. “You picked those for me. Do you remember?”
He should have been startled, but he wasn’t. “You were upset because you were moving to a different house.”
“And you said I was silly because we’d still be going to the same school. That we’d see each other every day.” Ellie leaned against the door frame, eyes soft in the light coming from the only lamp in the room.
“I meant it. Then that summer everything changed. I changed.” Carefully, he put the frame back where he found it, but he didn’t turn around. He just stood there, staring at it.
“You were the only real friend that I had. When you acted like I didn’t exist, I thought I’d done something wrong. You were so angry.” She wanted to go to him but she held back, waiting to see what he would say.
“I hated the world and everyone in it. Even you. Because you were so good, and I wasn’t. I was afraid that I’d make you like me.” It was the most honest thing he said to anyone in a long time.
Quietly, she moved closer. “All I wanted was to be more like you. Not the angry part, but the brave and adventurous part. I thought if I were braver my Dad would want to spend more time with me.”
“I wasn’t brave, I was reckless.” He finally turned around, taking in her clean soap scent and the short satin robe clinging to her still damp skin. “There’s no telling what would have happened to you had you followed me all those times I offered.”
“Had some fun?” She closed the distance between them, looking up into his eyes. “You were just a kid, Rex. A kid who had too many troubles for his age.”
“You’re making excuses for me and I appreciate it, but I hurt you and there’s no excuse for that. I was no kind of friend.” She was too close and the temptation to reach out and touch her was irresistible. He rubbed the ends of her soft hair between his fingers.
“Why’d you push me on the swing?”
It was an odd question and he looked at her, slightly confused. “Because you wanted me to?”
“I did, but you didn’t have to. Sometimes I didn’t even have to ask, you just knew that I needed to swing. Ever think about how you knew?” She watched him playing with her hair, wondering if he realized that he was trying to comfort himself.
He thought about what she was asking. He’d always been around her so he just knew when she was sad or upset. “You were easy to read, I guess.” It was a lame answer but all he could come up with.
She nodded her head, a ghost of a smile on her lips. “Am I still easy to read?”
He almost didn’t answer, sensing that she was putting him to a secret test. “Yes and no.”
“That’s a rather convenient answer. Think you can read what I’m feeling right now?” Ellie ran her hands up the front of his shirt, slowly.
The smile that split his face was easy and swift. “Oh, I don’t know. I might need another hint.”
Standing up on her tip toes, Ellie pressed her lips against his sweetly and whispered, “Take a girl for a ride, Rex.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
***
While his daughter was sleeping with his enemy’s son, Xander was taking his frustration out on the Siouxan traitor. Manny hadn’t showed and the entire night had been a waste.
“I thought you said that Manny’s plan was set?” Xander ground the words out, his teeth clenched so tight that the muscles in his jaw were starting to ache.
“They were. It was all he could talk about.” The traitor was sweating, his heart racing. Xander wasn’t someone to fuck over. “Something bad must have happened.”
“Something you knew nothing about, right?” Xander stopped in front of the man, offended by the smell of fear sweat coming from his pores. “Or maybe you’re just playing the old double cross?
“No, I swear, I haven’t said a word.” The traitor raised his hands, moving away a couple of steps. There was a look in Xander’s eyes that he’d seen before and it didn’t bode well for his health.
Xander got very still, staring at the man as if he were considering his fate. “There’s just one problem with a traitor. You can’t ever trust them.” The gun was in his hand and a bullet was in the man’s head before the thought of running even surfaced. There was a sickening thud when his body hit the ground that Xander enjoyed immensely.
A bruiser of a man appeared seemingly out of nowhere. “What do you want to do with the body?”
Xander put the gun back in the specially made holster at his lower back, a gift from one of his contacts. “Put it in one of the barrels and seal it up. Leave it inside with the others.”
The man nodded and headed off to get a barrel from the back of the unit. Xander didn’t stick around to watch.
CHAPTER TWELVE
He was still trying to catch his breath when Ellie turned over and draped her leg over his, wrapping one arm over his stomach. She was breathing just as hard and he could feel the rapid beat of her heart against his side. “Your eyes get darker when you’re sad or upset and get more of a gold hue when you’re happy.”
Shock had her lifting her head to look at him. “They do?”
He nodded, smiling at the surprise on her face. “Right now, they’re like the wrappers on fancy chocolates.”
There was a moment when she just looked at him, mouth hanging open—then she started to laugh and couldn’t stop. She could feel his stomach moving as he laughed along with her.
When she was finally able to calm down, she had to wipe tears off her face. “Fancy chocolate wrappers, huh?” Just saying it sent her into another small fit of giggles. She pulled herself together, feeling lighter than she had in hours. “Come on, let’s go for a swim.”
“You’ve got a pool?” Rex sat up, the sheet falling well past his waist, distracting her from putting her robe on.
“Yep. It’s not huge but it’s private. You up for some skinny dipping?”
“Absolutely.” His eyes lit up like they used to do when he was a kid. He loved to swim and rarely got the opportunity. He jumped out of bed, fully nude and not a bit self-conscious. She envied him being able to do that.
She opened up the French doors in her bedroom and stepped out onto the patio. She was proud of all the work she’d put into the outside. It was her oasis of peace and quiet, filled with plants, flowers and comfy furniture to lounge on. The pool was lit from the inside and the water was clear blue.
He shot her a silly look before taking off and jumping into the water. She remem
bered his love of swimming and knew it would be a treat for him. Her chest felt a little tight as she watched him splashing around, for one moment all his cares put away.
Slipping off the robe, Ellie slid into the water, letting the ripples from his play wash over her. He dived deep and came up in front of her, shaking his head like a wet dog and making her squeal. “What are you, twelve?”
Putting his hands on the side, he slid closer, the hard ridge of his cock rubbing against her thighs. “Nope, not twelve. A horny sixteen, maybe, but not twelve.”
Her chuckle was husky and a little breathless. “You’re insatiable.”
“It’s your fault.” Teasingly he let his wet body slide up and down hers.
Every time they were together she got bolder. Less inhibited. He made her feel amazingly desired. Weaving her arms around his neck, she lazily licked at his lips, the taste of the pool water no deterrent. She pressed forward and slid her tongue into his mouth, taking her time exploring him.
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