Hal watched her for a second, then followed.
Frank’s mouth opened wide. He couldn’t move or breathe.
So lost and confused, Robbie just swung a view to Frank then to his father.
Joe squeezed the corner of his eyes, and only gave a motion of his head to Danny Hoi.
“No!” Frank yelled when he saw his men taking Johnny into custody. “No.”
“Frank.” Joe held out his hand.
“Dad.” Frank tried to get by Joe. “It’s my kid.”
“I’m ... I’m sorry, Frank.” Joe shook his head with sadness.
“Johnny!” Frank yelled out. To him, Johnny looked like such a child as he was restrained by the two men.
“Dad?” Johnny looked back as they pulled him away. “They’re lying, Dad. They’re lying. Please, believe me,” Johnny begged. “Help me.”
Frank was crushed and heartbroken, He felt so helpless as he watched them take his son away.
^^^^
Had Hal not heard the heavy sobs, he would have never found Ellen between the two warehouses, huddled into a ball on the ground like she had rolled into a shell.
He dropped down to his knees beside her. “Ellen.”
Ellen only cried harder. “I’m sorry for doing this to your family. I’m so sorry.”
Hal’s arm reached over her arched back. “Don’t be sorry, Ellen. Be glad. It’s over for you. It is finally . . . over.” Emotions of turmoil building in himself, Hal leaned down to her and with his entire body, he gave an embrace that blanketed her entire being. He held Ellen tightly. “It’s over.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Dean’s fingers were clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. He pressed his fist hard to the surface of the dresser. His arms were straight and ridged while his head hung low. Every muscle in his body tensed up and Dean wanted to scream in pain for Ellen over what he had just heard.
Hal paced slowly to him. “I just thought I’d give you the whole story, just . . . so you know.” He laid his hand on Dean’s back.
Dean couldn’t speak. He only nodded his head.
“I’ll get her.”
Dean’s eyes closed tightly as he listened to Hal walk out of the bedroom.
Hal pulled the door almost closed behind him and walked to Ellen who stood in the middle of the hall.
“You didn’t have to do that, Hal,” Ellen told him.
“How much of the truth would you have told your husband?” Hal asked.
“I would have spared him . . .”
“What?” Hal cut her off. “What would you have spared the man you are married to?” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “Nothing. He should know everything. He has to know it all in order to know what you are feeling. Now . . . I think you need to speak to him.”
Ellen nodded. “How do you think this will affect you and Frank?”
“For now . . . badly.” Hal gave a half smile. “But after he realizes the truth, we’ll be back to our normal bickering and hating each other state.”
Stepping to Hal, Ellen embraced him. “Thank you for everything.”
Hal held on tightly. “I wish you would have come to me sooner. I just wished you would have.”
“I do too. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Hal kissed her long on the cheek then pulled back. “Go talk to your husband.” He laid his hand on her cheek. “He needs to speak to you.”
Ellen laid her hand over his then after one more look at Hal, still clenching his hand, she walked toward the bedroom. She took a deep breath before entering the room.
Dean still kept his stand where Hal had left him.
“Dean?” She closed the door and locked it.
His words were hard to understand, tense, soft, and cracking. “If you told me right now you were done with me, I’d have no ground to stand on. No argument to give.”
“What?” She asked emotionally and moved to him. “What are you talking about?”
Dean turned around to face her. His reddened eyes looked to her. “Where did I fail you?”
“Dean?”
Dean huffed out a breath of his hurt. “A man . . .” He walked by her. “Another man was beating you. He was beating you and I didn’t know. I didn’t see it. Instead I chose to accuse you of taking a drug.”
“He made it look that way, Dean.”
“I should have known you better. And trusted you.”
“And I . . .” Ellen gasped out. “I should have trusted you. I should have come to you.”
“You tried.” Dean stopped by the bed. “You tried.” He shrugged. “I blew you off.”
“When?”
“When Billy got shocked in the cryo-lab. You tried to tell me but I didn’t listen.”
“I understood why.” Ellen found herself talking to his back. “Dean? Dean, please don’t do this.”
“I can’t even look at you.”
“Well, that’s tough.” Ellen reached out and took his arm. “Because you’re gonna have to. You have to face me because I need you to help me face all this.”
“Why would you want me to?”
“Because you’re the only one who can.” Ellen moved to him. “I love you. I told you, when you found out the truth, you would feel bad. I wanted to get that out of the way ahead of time because I knew how bad I would feel. Dean,” she whispered, “my family is torn apart. Frank and Hal were killing each other on the street. Johnny is about to destroy Frank. Joe . . . poor Joe. You are my stability and right now, I need that.”
“I want to be that.” Dean’s fingers reached out and touched upon Ellen’s face. Slowly he brought his hand in and laid it on her cheek. “Where do I start?”
“Do you feel like listening? Because I have yet to talk to anyone about this whole entire mess.”
Dean’s eyes closed and he leaned into Ellen and kissed her. “Talk as much as you want.”
“You may regret saying that, Dr. Hayes.” Ellen reached for his hand and walked to the bed with him. She climbed on it. “Right now, let’s lay here, face each other, and just talk.”
Dean slowly, but without hesitation, joined Ellen on the bed.
^^^^
“Holding?” Frank asked Joe as they stood with Robbie in the main little office of the Holding center. “He’s my kid. I’ll keep him on my watch.”
Joe shook his head. “I can’t do that, Frank. You know what he’s been accused of and you know the rules.”
“But no one is buying this. No one,” Frank argued. “It can’t be Johnny. Come on, you know our family. We’re tight. What would his gain be to turn his back on us?” Frank looked to Joe for an answer. “Dad?”
“I don’t know, Frank.”
“Robbie?” Frank turned to his brother in question. “You’re not agreeing with this, are you?”
“I’m here if you need me, Frank,” Robbie told him.
“Answer my question,” Frank stated.
Joe interceded. “Don’t. Don’t put your brother on the spot like that. Not for you. You know how he is with you. Robbie wants to wait until he views the evidence like everyone else.”
“What evidence?” Frank asked.
“Hal said he has evidence.”
Frank’s angry words carried heavily. “Hal has the word of John Matoose. Oh isn’t that fuckin convenient. John Matoose!”
Joe lost it. “And what about Ellen!” He stepped to Frank. “What about her word, Frank? Do you think she’s lying? Why would she lie?”
“What if she’s scared to tell the truth?”
“Scared?”Joe questioned. “Oh, she was scared all right. She’s been scared to death for weeks. You’ve seen her. You saw her actions. It all makes sense now, doesn’t it?”
“But Johnny?” Frank asked. “Dad . . .” he heaved out emotionally. “What am I supposed to do? He’s saying he didn’t do it.”
“I think you have to come up with that answer on your own. You’re his father. You do what you think is right.”
�
�You think he’s the insider?” Frank asked with hurt. “You think Hal’s right and I’m wrong?”
“I’m not saying my opinion on the issue. I won’t. As far as Hal being right and you wrong, don’t ask me to take sides. Don’t ask me to. I won’t do it.”
At the same time, Frank, Joe, and Robbie all looked to the door of Holding when it opened and Hal walked in.
Frank, with rage, rushed toward Hal.
“Stop it!” Joe ordered, grabbing on to Frank. “You will not go after him. You understand!”
“What is he doing here!” Frank yelled. “Gloating. Did you come to gloat, Hal?!”
Hal ignored Frank. “Dad, I came to tell you I was leaving. I wanted to say goodnight to you and Robbie and make sure you’re all right.”
“I’m fine.” Joe nodded. “Thanks.”
Disgusted and angry, Frank mumbled. “Another fuckin notch.”
Hal stopped in his leaving. “Excuse me, Frank?”
“You heard me.” Frank gave an up nod. “Another fuckin notch in the Hal’s trying to shine belt.”
“Grow up,” Hal told him. “This is not a personal strike against you.”
“You don’t think?” Frank asked. “It’s my son.”
“Take a look at what your son has done. I did not do this to hurt you, Frank. If that was my intention, I would have come forth long ago with my allegations. Now I will not fight with you anymore about this.” Hal shook his head. “You look at me and you act is if I’m doing nothing but lying.”
Frank smirked. “It wouldn’t be unlike you, would it? You’ve lied since day one about anything just so you can look like the good guy.”
“I am the good guy here.”
“How did I know that was coming?” Frank asked.
“With all due respect . . .” Hal paused. “Fuck you, Frank.”
“No, Hal. Fuck you.” Frank’s voice raised, “I don’t know what kind of scheme you and Ellen have . . .”
“Stop!” From the door, Hal rushed from the door in a ‘face to face’ stand with Frank. “I don’t give a shit what you say about me or to me,” his voice graveled, “but you say one thing about Ellen, one thing, and you and I will go to a deadly head to head. Now you think about where that mouth almost took you.” In a heated stare, Hal’s eyes were locked with Frank’s. “Think about what you almost implied. Ellen . . . is not lying. Ellen is not doing anything. She was the victim in all this. The victim, Frank. If you forget about that, if you insinuate anything less of her, then you deserve every ounce of pain you will feel when she walks away from you forever.” After one more glare and a moment of silence, Hal turned from Frank. He took a step to Joe. ‘Dad.” In a lean he gave Joe a kiss to the cheek and extended his hand in a squeeze to Robbie’s arm. “Robbie.” He moved to the door and looked back. “Frank. Goodnight.” Hal walked out.
Frank didn’t say anything. He drew in a breath that was fueled by confused emotions, turned, and went into the back where Johnny was kept.
“Dad,” Robbie whispered so lost, staring at his father whose head was down. “Dad, what’s happening to our family?”
Slowly Joe looked up and laid a hand on Robbie’s shoulder. “Nothing is happening to our family, nor will it. Not if I can help it.”
^^^^
Dean’s lips trailed softly from Ellen’s neck across her bare shoulder and they stopped on her arm. He held them there, almost in a hover, as his body pressed tightly behind her. He closed his eyes and reflected on the lovemaking between them. How long it had been? How the physical aspect of the act was entirely lost within the emotional aspect. Dean swore he could not recall ever making love to Ellen so slowly or kissing her so much. He couldn’t stop kissing her.
“Dean,” Ellen whispered his name with a hint of a chuckle. “Are you seducing me again?”
Dean was snapped from his thoughts. “What was that?”
Ellen rolled onto her back. “I guess not.” She looked up at him. “You reminded me of a teenager tonight.”
“That fast and that bad?”
Ellen laughed. “That nervous.”
“I just . . .” His fingers ran down the side of her face. “I just was trying to record every single moment. I think this was one of those nights I fell in love with you all over again.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” Dean kissed her.
“Hold on.”
Dean plopped backwards with a moan when he watched Ellen roll back onto her side, reach into her nightstand, and pull out a notebook. “Why do you do that?” he asked.
“So when we’re old, I’ll know just how many times we fell in love.” She flipped open a page. “See, you fell in love with me just in September.”
“Before that?”
“Um . . .” Ellen looked then bobbed her head. “August.”
“God, am I cliché.” He took the notebook and tossed it to the floor all in the same motion when he leaned his body almost onto hers.
“Now, see, I know you’re seducing me again.” Ellen smiled.
“Gonna try.” Dean winked and slipped his hand under the pillow to bring Ellen to him. He held on to her, bringing her with him as he rolled onto his back. Just as he started kissing her, he heard the knock at the front door. Removing his lips from hers, he peered away to hear better. “Was that a knock?”
The doorbell rang.
Ellen slid from Dean. “I wonder who it is.”
The muffled voice from outside, complaining, ‘why is this fuckin front door locked’ answered Ellen’s question.
Ellen’s eyes closed and it took everything she had not to scream when she heard the knock on the window.
“Dean,” Frank whispered loudly and knocked again. “You sleeping?”
“Not anymore,” Dean replied as he slipped out of bed and reached for his jeans.
“What? Did you say something?” Frank asked.
He pulled up his pants and a bit perturbed, Dean went to the bedroom window and peeked through the blind. “Go around front.”
Frank nodded.
Shaking his head, Dean stepped from the window. He stopped when he saw Ellen still in bed. “You aren’t getting dressed.”
“No. Tell him I’m sleeping.”
“What?” Dean picked his shirt up from the floor.
“I can’t deal with it right now. Not Frank. I don’t want to be forced to tell him anything about the situation. I don’t want to put him in the middle anymore than he already is.”
“I see.” He threw his shirt over his head. “I understand. I’ll tell him but you really should talk to him.” As he left the bedroom, Dean pulled the door closed almost all the way. He walked down the hall to the front door and opened it.
“It took you long enough,” Frank spoke slowly.
“I had to get dressed.” As soon as Frank passed him, Dean smelled it. “Frank? Have you been drinking?”
“Yep. Very much.”
“Aw, Frank.” Dean closed the door.
“What would you do, Dean?” Frank pulled out a chair at the table and sat down. “Huh? What would you do? This is so fucked up.”
“I wish to God I knew what to tell you.” Dean joined him at the table.
“Is El sleeping?”
“Um, yeah, Frank, she is. I’m sorry.”
“Can you . . . Can you wake her?” Frank asked.
“No,” Dean stated. “She had a lot happen to her too. I think I want to let her sleep.”
Frank nodded and folded his hands. “I needed to apologize to her.”
“I understand. About the Anthium thing?”
“No. She doesn’t know this, but I do.” He slowly shook his head. “See, not that I don’t believe her, but . . . but I implied it. Almost.” He lifted his hand. “Hal stopped me. I was arguing with him and you know me and my mouth. Anyhow, I started to say it and fuckin Hal stopped me.” Frank closed his mouth tightly. “He threatened me, you know. Threatened me.” His voice trailed. “But, Dean, between you and me, I didn�
�t act it and I didn’t show it, but . . . if he would have hit me, I would have let him. I would have let him beat the fuck out of me for even . . . even implying anything about her. But don’t tell him. He has a big enough head as it is.”
“I won’t say anything.”
“I need a drink.” Frank started to get up.
“No, you don’t.” Dean pulled him back down. “How about coffee? I have some left but it’s old. I can make you fresh stuff.”
“Nah, I’ll take the old stuff.”
Dean stood up, speaking as he went into the kitchen. “I heard you and him got into it pretty bad on the street.”
“How do you like that? I fought with my brother. How the fuck he learned how to fight is beyond me.”
“He held his own with you, huh?” Dean set down a cup of coffee.
“Unfortunately. I kind of knew he would. Check this out.” Frank pulled his bottom lip and folded it down for Dean. It separated.
“Christ, Frank.” Dean looked closer. ‘That needs stitched.”
“It’ll be fine.” He took the coffee.
“How about you, Frank? Will you be fine?”
“Nope.” He shook his head. “I love my son. I love Ellen. As a father, Dean, please answer this.” Frank hesitated. “What do I do?”
“Why are you asking me this, Frank?”
“Because you’re my friend. I need a friend right now.”
“To be honest . . .” Dean exhaled. “It’s tough call. Your child is denying guilty actions he committed against the woman you love the most. See if I got this right, if this is what you’re thinking. It’s not so much a matter of who to believe, as who are you gonna end up turning your back on.”
Dramatically Frank’s head nodded, then it lowered. “Where and when do you divide loyalties? I’ve been doing a lot of thinking since I left Holding a while ago. You know, no one in the community is buying this.” Frank played with the side of his cup. “They’re all thinking Hal was duped by John Matoose. I couldn’t walk down the street, enter the Social Hall, couldn’t do anything, without being stopped every five seconds by someone telling me, ‘Hal is wrong. Hal is wrong’. Without someone saying, ‘Not Johnny. He’ll get out of this.’” Frank sighed.
The Next Ten: Beginnings Series Books 11 - 20 Page 220