We sat in silence for a while, around the table in the VIP section of the bar. I'd shut the entire section off for the night, giving us total privacy. I wanted no one hearing what I said, no one else nearby when I revealed everything to my brothers.
I sensed that they each had a million questions running through their heads, so many things that they wanted to straighten out about dad's death. But I knew they wouldn't question me, I knew they wouldn't push it. They'd seek clarification later from Kyle. I'd leave it to him to explain, to make them understand.
Right now, I just didn't want to talk about it. Not now. Not ever.
....
My lack of sleep was beginning to tell as the evening drew on. I told them that they should celebrate, invite their girlfriends out and enjoy the evening on me. I wasn't in the mood for such frivolities though. No, I wanted to be alone.
I said my goodbyes and left the VIP area, an exhaustion settling inside of me. As I rounded the corner into the main bar I noticed Alice waiting for drinks. Tess was alongside her, and Gem. I took this as a good opportunity to clear the air.
I approached from behind and got Alice's attention. She'd never taken to me and I knew why. Now, however, I'd moved on from it all. I'd accepted that Kyle wanted to be with her, and despite dad's wishes, I had to concede that it wasn't my place to interfere.
“Alice, can I have a word,” I said, tapping her lightly on the shoulder.
She turned, her face stony and impassive, but curious. “Sure.”
I led her over to a free table and sat down, seeing Tess and Gem come together at the bar and immediately start whispering to each other.
“Alice, I wanted to straighten things out between us. I know that you've never liked me and I guess that all's fair.”
Her eyes seem to perk up slightly as I spoke. She clearly wasn't expecting an admission like that.
“I owe you an apology,” I continued. “I see how much Kyle cares about you and you him. I never should have tried to stand in the way of that. I'm sorry.”
Her expression softened quickly, her deep frown loosening. I could see what Kyle saw in her. She was stunningly beautiful.
“I really appreciate that Crash,” she said, her tone light. “Thank you.”
I smiled at her. If she was to be my brother's long term partner, then she really would be family. If so, I wanted her to trust me implicitly.
“I suppose that Kyle has told you about our plans?”
She nodded.
“And I understand that you're doing a business and management degree?
She nodded again.
“Well, perhaps you can help us. Maybe we could find a position for you once you graduate, all things going well with Kyle, that is.”
Her eyes broadened further. “You mean, give me a job?”
I nodded. “Assuming you get the desired grade in your degree and ace the interview.” I smiled, seeing her do the same.
“Crash, I don't know what to say. You'd trust me to be part of the business?”
“Sure. If Kyle trusts you, I trust you. You're becoming family Alice, and that's the number one thing in the world.”
Her eyes looked like they were beginning to well up. She looked overjoyed at my words, like she had been waiting for acceptance from me forever or something.
“You know, you can be kinda sweet sometimes,” she said, a smile creasing her face. “I've been wrong about you. I'm sorry.”
I shook my head. “No apologies. Anything you've thought about me or said about me in the past was probably fair. I haven't been the easiest guy recently. This whole thing with my father and becoming the head of this family...it's been a lot of pressure. Now, though, all I want is for this family to move forward together.”
“I understand it must have been hard, and I'm so sorry.” She really seemed to mean it, her eyes deep with memory, as if she'd suffered the same in her past.
“Elle really would be lucky to have you.”
The name sent a shock through me. Elle. I'd pushed her from my mind recently, consumed with other thoughts. Clearly though, she'd talked about me to Alice.
“Elle. How is she?”
My heartbeat rose a fraction as Alice prepared to speak about her, and quickened further when I heard her words.
“Not good actually. She's having a tough time at the moment.”
“What's wrong?” I said quickly, my face growing worried.
“It's her ex. He attacked her in a parking lot a few days ago. She's really shaken up by it all, isn't quite sure what he'll do.”
I could feel my blood beginning to boil, my tiredness discarded from my body. An energy was growing, surging, inside me, an anger creeping into my head.
“Who is he?” I growled. “Where is he?”
A look of concern grew on her face. “Um, we don't know. He hasn't turned up since. He might have gone back to college in California.”
“And where's Elle? Is she back at your dorm?”
She nodded. “She's been stuck in there since it happened. I tried to get her to come tonight, but she won't leave the room. She's pretending she's just revising, but I can tell she's pretty rattled right now.”
I stood quickly.
“No Crash, I wouldn't go there. Not tonight, it's late.”
My hands were shaking now with thoughts of this guy. Thoughts of him scaring her, putting his hands on her. I needed to know who he was, I needed to talk to her now.
I turned and stormed from the bar, Alice's voice blurring into the background as she tried to tell me to stop.
But there was nothing she could say, nothing she could do to stop me.
Elle. I needed to protect her. I needed to see her safe. Nothing anyone could say would change that.
Chapter 24
Elle
I lay in my bed, the door to my dorm securely fastened and locked. I'd taken to locking it now every time I was alone in the room. Before, I'd been happy to leave it open, but not now, not any more.
The feeling of Brad's lips was still lingering in my mind. I'd kissed him a thousand times before but now things were completely different. His lips carried a menace, a feeling of desperation and isolation.
I had begun to feel as though his desire for me would never be quenched, that he'd continue to haunt my steps forever. The thought ran my blood cold.
I climbed out of bed and over towards my desk to pick up another book. Exams were coming up soon and I had plenty of revision to get through. I guess that was one benefit of my newly developed agoraphobia: now I'd have lots of time to revise without any distractions getting in the way.
The problem was, I was distracted. Not by my friends or dance class or anything like that. No, I was distracted by thoughts of Brad's eyes on my window. Thoughts that he'd be waiting outside for me to go off to the shops or out to class. Thoughts that he'd eventually make his way into the building and towards my room, his desperate eyes staring through the door at me as I hid in my bed.
Lexi had come over several times to see how I was doing. Her and Alice and Tess were all worried, all there trying to convince me to go to the police.
But for what? What would I say? That my ex boyfriend is around and he, erm, kissed me and ran away. He hadn't really done anything. He hadn't attacked me, he hadn't tried to rape me or even threaten me.
I knew the police would laugh at me, tell me it wasn't serious enough for them.
No. This was a problem that I had to deal with. I'd broken his heart, I'd made this mess. It was up to me to try to make things right so that we could both move on.
A part of me knew I was being naive. It knew that I wasn't dealing with a normal person, that my words could do nothing to satisfy him. But I had to try. I had to try to put
this to bed once and for all.
....
The door knocked loudly.
The sound sent a jolt running through my body, causing me to drop my book to the floor.
I sat up in bed, my breath lost. I could see the shadow of two feet at the bottom of the door, someone waiting for me to open it up.
I stayed silent, not a sound in the room or out in the corridor, hoping that they'd go away and leave me alone. A sound of squeaking metal pierced the quiet and I looked up to see the handle turning down slowly. My eyes were set on the lock.
I did lock it, didn't I?
I got my answer as the handle turned back up, followed quickly by another knock. I willed for whoever it was to leave, to walk away, to think I wasn't in.
Then a voice filtered through the door, muffled by the wood but unmistakable. My heartbeat rose quickly, my nerves settling. It was soft, concerned, a deep well of worry within it.
“Elle, are you in there?”
I slid from the bed and towards the door, stepping lightly. I still wasn't sure I wanted to see anyone right now so was keen to make sure my presence remained in doubt.
His voice came again.
“Elle, I'm just here to see if you're OK. I want to know you're safe.”
I reached for the lock and twisted gently. It clicked open and the handle quickly turned. The door swung open and Crash stood before me, his eyes troubled.
He looked me up and down quickly and gave me a hug. I must have looked a mess wearing my sweatpants and without any make-up on. He'd never seen me like this.
His arms were strong around me, his embrace making me feel safer, more secure. I couldn't help my eyes from welling up, tears lightly dropping from them as I lifted my own arms around his broad and muscled back.
He released me and brushed my tears away with his fingers. His eyes seemed to be changing. Going from concern and worry to anger, those raging eyes that I'd seen before, once again catching blaze.
“Why are you here Crash?” I asked him. The last time he'd come to see me he'd basically said that he had feelings for me but couldn't act on them.
“I saw Alice at the bar,” he said quickly. “She told me that your ex boyfriend attacked you in a parking lot?” His eyes were fully burning now, his jaw clenching.
“He didn't attack me, not really. He just...” My words began trailing off.
“What did he do?”
“Nothing. He just creeped me out, he wasn't violent.”
His eyes stayed fixed on me. He knew there was more to it. The way I was behaving: hiding in my room, scared to even answer the door - that wasn't normal. No, my face told a story of its own.
“Do you know where he is?” he asked, his voice turning more cold and businesslike.
I shook my head. I had no idea if he was still in town. No, that was a lie. I know he's here. I can feel him.
“It's OK,” he said, “leave it to me. I'll take care of it.”
The many words of warning and rumors about Crash that I'd heard came flooding into my head. I'll take care of it. I didn't even want to think about what that meant.
“Please don't Crash. This is my problem. I don't want anyone else involved.”
“No Elle, I am involved now. Nothing can change that. Tell me his surname.”
I hesitated. His stare told me that he wasn't leaving until he had the information that he wanted.
“Crash, I don't want him to be hurt. He needs help, not to be beaten up or....worse.”
His eyes were still set. “I only want to talk to him. He needs to be told Elle, he needs to know what he's doing to you.”
I knew he was right. I figured that coming here would be enough for me to move on and avoid the issue forever. But no, he'd found me now. Maybe he did need to be told.
“I know his first name's Brad. What's his surname.”
I hesitated.
“Come on Elle, I'm not leaving until I have it.”
I breathed deep again, my mind running in several directions.
“Scott,” I said eventually. “His name's Brad Scott.”
He reached and took my hand. It was still trembling lightly. “It's OK Elle, you don't have to be scared of this guy any more. I'll have a friendly word. I'm sure he'll go back to California when I'm done.”
I couldn't help but feel as though he was only telling me what I wanted to hear. Inside his words, deep within them, was a hidden menace.
“Please Crash, please don't hurt him. It's not his fault.”
He hugged me again.
“Elle, I told you before that I'd be there for you if you needed me. I'm not lying to you. I promise I'll just talk to him, nothing more.”
He leaned in and kissed me softly on the cheek, his lips lingering. I felt an urge to turn my head so that our lips met but he pulled away before I could.
“Don't worry Elle. Everything will be OK.”
With those words he turned, a consoling smile on his face, and walked briskly out of the room.
Chapter 25
Crash
“Don't hurt him.”
Was she fucking kidding me! The guy was fit for a straight jacket. Or a jail cell. Probably both.
Why was she protecting this psycho stalker? He'd made her life a fucking misery, forcing her to move away from her family and friends and start a new life somewhere completely alien to her. And now he'd tracked her down and was still tormenting her.
The guy deserved a beating, and more.
I called Jones, yet another job for him to do. This guy deserved a serious pay rise with all the work he'd put in for me recently. Although, something told me that money wasn't much of a motivator for him.
I had total faith that he'd track this guy down in the blink of an eye. It didn't matter how many Brad Scotts there were, he'd find him. He knew which college he went to, he knew he was here, in town, right now. That would be enough for a guy like Jones. More than enough.
He had contacts all over from his days as a detective. He'd be able to use them to access police databases and track credit card transactions. I could find out Brad's mobile number and he'd be able to use that to pinpoint exactly where he was.
This one would be an absolute walk in the park for Jones. I had no doubt about that.
....
It was only about 2 hours after I'd called Jones that I found myself standing outside a cheap motel on the outskirts of the city. The night was drawing on and the place was enveloped in silence, not a light on inside the row of rooms lined up to the side of the road.
Jones had traced a credit card transaction in Brad's name to the place, and now I was there to have a little chat.
I saw a large handwritten sign saying 'reception' over to the right and walked towards it. Inside a stout elderly woman sat heavily behind a plexiglass window, busily scratching a worn pencil on a crossword. I tapped on the glass and saw her head rise slowly to meet my face.
“I'm looking for a friend of mine.” I said.
Her face was stony and disinterested.
“He's medium build, about 21 years old, blond hair. Name's Brad.”
She continued to look at me with a completely neutral stare. It was like she didn't understand what I was saying.
“Can't give away information about our guests,” she said, dropping her head back down to her crossword.
“Look, I'm just looking for my friend. Do you want me to start knocking on each door looking for him, waking up your guests? That wouldn't be good for business, would it?”
She kept her head down but reached out her left hand towards the telephone. “Do that and I'll call the police.”
Stupid stubborn old bitch. Tell me which fucking room he's in!
“No
, look, don't do that. Please, can you just do me this favor, just this once.”
Her face when her eyes lifted to meet mine told me all I needed to know. Screw it.
I dipped my hand into my pocket and pulled out a $100 bill, slapping it down on the counter in front of me. “How about now?”
Her hand crept forward through the small gap in the glass and snatched the note. She briefly held it to the light before turning her head down into some sort of log book.
“Room 4. He didn't call himself Brad but he matches the description.”
A smile hit my lips. Perfect.
I turned and walked back out into the night. A long trailer-like building stretched out to my right, broken down into different rooms, each with their own number.
I walked along the front, passing by rooms 1 to 3 before stopping at 4. There was no light inside, not a sound coming from within. He was either sleeping or he wasn't there. I was about to find out.
I reached for the handle and turned it, expecting the door to be bolted shut.
But no, it slid open a fraction. I felt an excitement building as I pushed slightly harder, opening the door wider to reveal a single bed lined up against the wall in the middle of the room.
The faint light of the moon spilled inside, illuminating the silhouette of a figure lying on the bed. My heartbeat was rising fast now, the situation getting to me. I wasn't used to this sneaking around stuff, this was usually Jones' forte. No, I was always in your face and direct, not slinking in the shadows.
I stood in the doorway, waiting a moment for my eyes to adjust. I could hear a light breathing, the body on the bed moving slowly up and down. The room was basic and bare, a closet in one corner and a small table in front of the bed, an archaic television set sitting on top of it.
The walls seemed to be covered in some sort of decoration. It looked like pictures in the dim light, pinned up against it.
I turned and gently shut the door, drawing a crowbar from behind my back. It was time.
The Logan Brothers - Books 1-4: (EXPOSURE, CRASH, TWIN PASSIONS, and ADDICTED TO YOU) Page 32