Invisible: An Alpha Company Military Romance

by Beth Abbott

  “Off the grid, off the internet…there’s been virtually no electronic record of our existence for the last three and a half years.”

  She was gasping for breath now, sobs catching in her chest.

  “I even walked around on a broken foot for six bloody months, all because I couldn’t risk going to the hospital for an x-ray! I ate boxes of painkillers like they were sweets!” She sobbed.

  “I kept telling you it was more than a sprain.” Suzy broke in quietly.

  Ellen nodded her head, but couldn’t speak.

  The men looked at each other silently, each of them well aware of what they were asking Ellen to do.

  Danny spoke quietly.

  “Your father is in West Wales, Ellen. We already know that much. We know the name of the village and we have a description of the cottage he’s been living in. How long do you think it will take us to track him down?”

  JT nodded. “And if we found him, how long do you think until someone else does?”

  He shook his head slowly.

  “At least if you help us do this… persuade him to testify…. We can make sure the police do everything they can to protect him until the trial, and until we can get Georgie and his men convicted.”

  “And then?” Ellen sniffed. “Assuming he stays alive that long?”

  “Then, we give him a new identity and enough money so he can move abroad and live a comfortable life.” JT said quietly.

  “And what about me? They’ll come after me as well.” Ellen pointed out. “They’ll use me to silence my dad.”

  “Over my dead fucking body!” Luke growled. “You’ll stay with me, and I’ll keep you safe until this is all over. Then you can decide what you want to do.”

  Matt, Danny and JT nodded in unison.

  Ellen was exhausted. Her shoulders slumped and her head hung down. She didn’t know what to do.

  Suzy climbed off Matt’s lap, and took Ellen’s hand.

  “Come on.” She gave Ellen a watery smile. “Girl time.”

  Suzy led her into the bedroom, climbed up on the bed, and patted the space next to her.

  Ellen sat down, but before she could get out another word, the damn burst.

  As Ellen crumpled into Suzy’s arms, her friend gathered her close and hugged her for all she was worth.

  “That’s it, honey.” Suzy soothed. “Get it all out. All the pain and fear… just flush it all away.”

  Ellen sobbed for what seemed like hours, but was probably only about twenty minutes. She didn’t see Luke appear in the doorway, or see Suzy smile at him to let him know that everything would be Ok.

  By the time she was able to breathe properly, she was a tear-stained, snotty mess.

  As she sat up and started to straighten her hair, she realised she must look hideous.

  “Here.” Suzy pushed some tissues into her hand. “Clean yourself up, and we’ll get you a nice cup of tea.”

  Ellen could have laughed. Tea was Suzy’s answer to everything. Well, tea and Vodka. Ellen guessed it had been a toss-up which Suzy would go for.

  “Are you and I…. are we Ok?” Ellen asked her friend hopefully.

  “Oh Hun, we’re fine.” Suzy hugged her again. “I understand your decisions, even though I wished I’d have known and been able to help you more. But…. Bygones.” Suzy grinned.

  “Yeah. Bygones.” Ellen echoed.

  Chapter 32 - Ellen

  Ellen knew that eventually she would have to face Luke and his friends. Just like she knew what her answer would have to be. She just wanted to put it off for as long as possible.

  “You can’t stay in this room forever.” Suzy teased.

  “Are you sure about that?” Ellen smirked. “Can’t we just barricade the door, binge on chocolate and watch my Friends DVD’s?”

  “You have a chocolate stash in here and you didn’t mention it?” Suzy gasped.

  Before Ellen could respond, Matt appeared at the door. “Come back and join us?” He asked gently.

  Knowing she couldn’t hide out any longer, she slid off the bed, Suzy following behind her.

  Luke was sitting in the armchair now, and when his eyes met hers, she could see the sadness there. He was going to ask her to give her father up. It lifted her spirits just a little to know that he didn’t seem all that happy about doing it.

  When he held his hand out to her, she walked straight to him, and when he tugged her into his lap, she didn’t hesitate.

  “It’s Ok.” She reassured him. “I know I have to do this. It’s the only way forward. The longer Georgie and his thugs are on the street, the more people they can hurt. We have to stop them. I have to help you stop them.”

  Luke nodded and held her tighter, but said nothing.

  “How do you normally contact your father?” JT asked.

  “I don’t.” Ellen replied. “I never have contacted him. I wouldn’t know how.”

  “Then how do you stay in touch with him?” Danny asked.

  “I wouldn’t so much call it staying in touch, more like checking in.” Ellen looked down at her hands, her fingers twisting together. “My dad rings me twice a year, on my Mother’s birthday and their wedding anniversary, which are roughly six months apart, February and August. Always between midnight and one am. The calls never last more than ninety seconds, as he’s paranoid that they’re being traced.”

  Suzy gasped out loud.

  “For God’s sake, Ellen! He’s your only living relative, and he can only spare you ninety seconds every six months?” She was appalled.

  “It’s not like that.” Ellen protested. “If we stay on the phone any longer, the call can be traced. He’s trying to keep me safe.”

  “Well the call was traced anyway.” Suzy was outraged. “How else do you think Luke and the others were able to track you here?”

  Ellen looked at Luke and then JT for confirmation.

  JT nodded. “We haven’t traced all your calls, but the first few, we managed to get a lead on.”

  “That was my fault.” Ellen whispered. “I’d cry so much dad didn’t want to hang up. He let the time run over ninety seconds.”

  Luke hugged her so tightly she had a feeling she’d be bruised later. But she didn’t care. It felt so good to have someone hold her and reassure her. It had been so long!

  “If we take you to the village where he’s staying, will you help us find him?” JT asked.

  Ellen’s head shot up.

  “What…When would you want to go?” She asked him.

  “No time like the present.” Danny answered first.

  “No! I can’t leave now. I have a job!” Ellen protested.

  “Honey, when you leave here to go and get your father, you won’t be coming back.” Luke said quietly.

  “What? No! I can’t leave right now. It’s only a week until Christmas! The restaurant is booked solid until the twenty third of December. No way am I going to leave G and Fran in the lurch.” Ellen was breathing so hard now. “Besides, if I am leaving, I have all my stuff to pack up, and I have to give notice to my landlord or I’ll lose my Bond. It’s six hundred pounds, and I’ll need that to get another place.”

  Luke silently willed the other guys to say nothing about the money.

  To them, six hundred pounds was nothing. These days, that was a boy’s night out with a meal and a few drinks at a club.

  To Ellen, who had nothing and nobody to fall back on, that was a few weeks hard-earned wages.

  “That actually might work.” Luke looked at JT. “If we sweep in now, we’ve got nowhere to stash them, and nothing in place for the next stage. Whereas, if we wait until next weekend, things will have ground to a halt for Christmas, and we’ll be able to set up a safe-house or two, before going down to retrieve Ellen’s dad.”

  He looked back down at Ellen.

  “How much notice will G need to find a replacement?” He asked.

  “After we close on the twenty third, G and Fran are flying back to Italy for two weeks to visit wit
h Fran’s family. If I tell him tomorrow, that will more than cover the fourteen days’ notice I’m supposed to give.”

  Luke nodded. “And your rent?”

  “I’m supposed to give a month’s notice. I pay a month in advance, so I’m good until the end of the month, but I’ll probably have to pay two more weeks rent just to get my Bond back.”

  “We’ll cover your rent, Ellen.” JT said quietly.

  Before she could open her mouth to protest, Luke put a finger over her lips. “It’s the least we can do.” He assured her.

  “Where will we go when we get my dad?” Ellen asked.

  “We’ll probably take you to one of the bigger cities.” JT explained. “Possibly Cardiff or Bristol? Maybe up north? Manchester or Newcastle even? It’s easier to hide in a city than in a small community.”

  “Are you sure about that? Dad and I have done Ok so far with small communities.”

  “Maybe so.” Danny agreed. “But your luck was running out.”

  Ellen couldn’t argue with that.

  She looked at Suzy, realising for the first time that she was going to have to leave Suzy and Charlie behind.

  “Nuh-uh lady!” Suzy must have been reading her mind. “You’re not getting rid of me. I may not be allowed to go with you…” She glanced at Matt, just as the words “Hell, NO!” left his lips.

  “But as soon as it’s safe, we’ll make sure we’re close enough to see and talk to each other all the time. Right?” She looked up at Matt, pleadingly.

  “Right!” Matt leaned down to kiss his wife, before looking over at Luke and Ellen and nodding.

  “Ok.” Luke sighed. “So, if you guys head back to the city and start making arrangements for safe-houses and transport, Ellen can get her notices in to her boss and her landlord. I’ll have her moved out of here on Saturday, the twenty fourth, we can all spend Christmas day with our families, and then I suggest we head down to West Wales on the twenty sixth of December. Ok?”

  JT nodded, along with Danny and Matt.

  “Sounds like a good plan.” JT agreed.

  “What about my packing?” Ellen asked. “I’m pretty much working from ten in the morning until midnight every day until the twenty third.”

  “That’s Ok.” Luke soothed her. “I’ll take care of it for you. I’ll go and get some packing boxes tomorrow, you can tell me what you want packed each day, and then I’ll rent a van to move all your stuff on Saturday. Easy.”

  “But, you were going back tonight.” Ellen protested.

  “And now I’m staying here.” Luke gave her a stern look.

  “Right?” Luke said to JT.

  “It still sounds like a good plan to me.” JT smiled.

  Luke rummaged around in his pocket before fishing out his car keys, which he threw to Danny.

  “Drive my car back would you? I’ll be driving the van back.” He smirked at Ellen. “Besides, someone thinks it’s a piece of shit anyway.”

  Ellen smiled for the first time in hours.

  “Really?” Danny was naturally gob-smacked. It was a three month old BMW X5 for God’s sake! Top of the line and worth about sixty grand!

  “Maybe I’d just better hang on to it then.” Danny grinned.

  “Yeah.” Luke agreed, never taking his eyes off Ellen. “Maybe you better had.”

  Chapter 33 - Luke

  After the guys and Suzy left, Ellen deflated like a slowly leaking balloon. Luke watched the adrenalin drain out of her.

  Instead of talking, he picked her up, and took her back to bed. He didn’t bother undressing either of them, just slipped their shoes off, and lay down, hugging Ellen close and pulling the comforter over the top of them.

  “What if he’s angry with me?” Ellen whispered into Luke’s neck.

  “What if he’s made a new life for himself and doesn’t want me to be a part of it anymore?”

  “Is that what you think?” Luke leaned away from her so he could look down into her face. “That he doesn’t want you anymore?”

  Ellen shrugged her shoulders.

  “I used to think this separation would be temporary. Give it a year or so, and then he’d tell me we could be together again.” She sighed. “But he never did, even though I asked every time. And then about three phone calls ago, I could have sworn I heard a woman’s voice in the background, and the sound of him shushing her. When I asked him who was there, he said it was just the TV. Before I had time to say anything else, the call was over. I cried all night.”

  Luke pulled her as close as he could, his hand lovingly caressing her back.

  “Would it bother you if he found someone else?” Luke asked quietly.

  “NO! God, no.” Ellen was adamant. “Not if I thought he was replacing my mum. He’s been alone for twenty years.”

  Luke felt her tears land on his shoulder, and stayed silent.

  “It’s just that… I get the feeling that it’s not mum he’s replaced. It’s me!”

  Ellen turned her head into his neck and wept quietly.

  Luke didn’t know what to say. He could reassure her that her father would never do that, but what if it was true? What if they got down to West Wales next weekend and found him shacked up with some woman?

  Ellen had been living a virtually solitary life for three and a half years. She had a few work colleagues, but only one real friend in Suzy, and even then, Ellen hadn’t felt safe enough to share her secrets.

  How would he have managed bottling up his emotions over Casey all that time?

  He wouldn’t, was the short answer.

  He had blown up a time or two since the night he’d lost his dinner all over the comms room floor. JT would take him to the gun range so he could let off some steam. Or the boys would take him to the basketball courts so he could take them on in a bit of one-on-three basketball.

  They’d all come off court with a shed load of bruises, and a black eye a time or two as well.

  He couldn’t imagine getting through the horror without being able to talk to anyone.

  How could her father have done that to her? Fucking prick! Luke thought.

  An idea struck him.

  “Do you have anything nice to wear?” He asked her.

  “What?” Ellen looked up at him and sniffed, obviously confused.

  “I’m talking about clothes.” Luke smirked. “I know you have a penchant for sweats and hoodies. But do you have anything decent? Enough nice clothes for say… two days?”

  “Not really. I’ve only got what you’ve seen.” Ellen responded.

  “Ok.” Luke had a plan. “So, tomorrow morning, we’ll head out really early and be at the shops when they open at eight, and we’ll get you some new clothes. We’ll get you some new jeans, tops, trousers, and maybe a nice dress. Oh, and some decent shoes. You can’t wear flats or trainers all the time.”

  Ellen shook her head.

  “What on earth do I need new clothes for?” She asked.

  “Because, my beautiful girl, you are done with being invisible!” Luke announced. “When we leave here next weekend, you can shed your ‘invisibility cloak’. You’ll be coming home with me, and then visiting with my parents for Christmas day. I want them to see how utterly beautiful you are.”

  “Luke, I can’t….! Casey…” Ellen stopped, not willing to say the words.

  “Casey, and more specifically, Casey’s death, was nothing to do with you.” Luke insisted. “And I never want to hear you say anything like it again. If anything, I think it was fate! Casey helped keep you alive so that we could meet.”

  Ellen looked into Luke’s eyes, her own flooded with tears. “Do you really think so?” She whispered.

  “Yeah, I really do.” Luke smiled at her. “Casey had more women than you could shake a stick at, but he wasn’t really a ‘wham, bam, thank you, mam’ kind of guy. Even if it was a one-night stand, he still romanced them. Wine, dinner, dancing, then…well you get the idea. If he’d thought it even remotely possible that I’d meet and fall in love wit
h you, without a doubt he’d have given his life to keep you safe.”

  Ellen didn’t breathe! Did he realise what he’d just said?

  After a few minutes of silence, Luke breathed out heavily.

  “I’m sorry!” He whispered.

  “Why?” Ellen asked, looking up at him, her brows furrowed in confusion.

  “I promised myself I wouldn’t rush you or put pressure on you.” He sighed, “Then what do I do? I molest you one night, ravage you the next, and when you’re pouring your heart out to me about your father, I go and blurt out some heavy feeling stuff.”

  Luke shook his head in frustration.

  “I’m a stupid asshole!”

  Ellen turned in his arms and leaned on his chest looking up at him.

  “Heavy feeling stuff?” She smirked.

  Luke blushed, not knowing what to say.

  “So, you love me?” She whispered.

  Luke nodded solemnly.

  “That’s good.” She smiled before laying her head back on his chest.

  “Because I think it’s fair to say I’ve fallen head over heels in love with you.” She said quietly, not moving her face from his chest.

  If Luke’s arms hadn’t tightened around her for just a split second, she wouldn’t have been sure he had even heard her.

  “Well, Ok, then.” He replied, his voice sounding unmistakably choked with emotion.

  They both drifted off to sleep shortly afterwards, and it was evening by the time they awoke.

  Ellen made them something to eat, while Luke sent a few e-mails and called his mother to let her know they would be having an extra guest to Christmas dinner.

  She wasn’t sure how her father would have reacted under the same circumstances, but Luke’s mother seemed delighted from what she could hear from Luke’s side of the conversation.

  Ellen wondered how pleased she would still be when she discovered Ellen’s part in Casey’s death.

  She shook her head. There was no point in borrowing trouble!