“I can fix this. I can take care of them and they will never hurt you again,” I said.
A sinister laugh escaped her mouth, sending a chill down my spine. “You can’t fix anything. Go home, Elijah. I’m serious. We’re done.” Her voice was cold.
I knew that tone. I had adopted that same monotone voice that said nothing mattered. Live or die, it didn’t matter. I’d been that way for a long time until, with Trevor’s help, I had found the fight deep inside me. I didn’t want Michelle to lose her fight. If she gave up, they would win. She wouldn’t stand a chance.
“Michelle, wait. Let me—"
The line went dead. I immediately hit the return call button. She sent me straight to voicemail. Her words had stung. She’d sounded as if she meant it. She didn’t want to see me again. We’d had our one last time and now she wanted me gone.
I sent her a text, demanding she call me back. I stood next to my bike in the cool night air, waiting for a reply. Nothing.
“Dammit!”
She was scared as hell and that was my fault. Her words replayed in my mind. She had told me to leave and that she didn’t want me. That was bullshit. I had felt how much she wanted me that day on the hood of her car. Her body had craved mine, just as I craved hers. There was an undeniable tether between us, and I wasn’t going to let her throw it away.
Her terror was my fault. I went back inside the room, not quite as solid in my conviction to fuck with Liam and his buddies right then. I had come back for my own selfish reasons, not thinking about how my actions would affect her. She had kept telling me and I had kept ignoring her.
Sitting down on the bed, I pulled off my jacket and stared at the ugly picture of an ocean scene hanging on the wall. I had once been so convinced I was doing the right thing, but I wasn’t feeling quite as sure now. My head and my heart were going in two different directions. I was being pulled apart.
In the end, I did what I always did when I felt lost. I called Trevor.
“I think I fucked up,” I said when he answered the phone.
“Are you okay? Do you need me to come and get you?” he asked, his voice full of concern.
I shook my head, knowing he couldn’t see me. “No. I mean, I’m fine. I don’t need you here. I’ve got enough people caught up in this mess.”
“The girl?” he asked, already knowing the answer.
“Yes, Michelle. She’s scared out of her mind. She thinks her brother will kill me.”
Trevor chuckled. “I’m sure the brother thinks that as well. You didn’t go there to die. I trained you better than that.”
That made me smile. “I don’t think anyone ever plans on getting killed. It happens.”
“Not to you.”
“It isn’t only me that could get hurt,” I whispered.
“Do you really think her brother would hurt her?”
“Yes. I know he would. He will. When I kick his ass and make him hurt, he’ll go after her.”
Trevor was quiet. I knew he was mulling over what he wanted to say. Trevor didn’t say a lot, but when he did talk, it was important and worth listening to.
“You need to take a few days then. Rethink what you’re doing. I know why you needed to go back, and I support your need to take back what you think he stole from you that night. However, you have to ask yourself if it’s really worth it. You’re bloodthirsty, I get it. You’ve already proven you’re the better man. Does it really matter if he knows? Do you care what he thinks about you enough to risk her getting hurt too?”
Trevor asked a lot of hard questions.
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly.
I knew revenge wasn’t technically necessary. It was my own pride and ego fueling my need to hit back. I was okay with feeding my ego and fulfilling a promise I had made to myself the morning after when I had wished they had killed me. I wasn’t okay with anyone else getting hurt because of my selfish needs.
Trevor sighed. “I think that’s a problem. You don’t know. You went down there knowing exactly what you were going to do. Uncertainty will get you killed if you make a move right now.”
I rolled my eyes. He had no idea how hard that was when it came to Michelle. Now that I’d had a taste of her, I wanted more. A quickie on the hood of the car had done little but whet my appetite. I wanted to take my time with her in a bed, somewhere we didn’t have to worry about anyone disturbing us.
“You’re right. I’ll sit tight for a couple days and try to talk to her. Her boyfriend found out I saw her,” I muttered.
“Her boyfriend?” Trevor snapped. “You need to pull your head out of your ass and quit making trouble for this woman. If what you told me about those guys is even a little true, you are being a selfish prick. I want no part of you getting a woman hurt. You got me?”
“I know. I won’t. Chill out,” I growled, not appreciating his hard-nose tactics, even if that was why I had grown to respect him.
“Good. And, Elijah?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry. I know you’ve had your heart set on this for a long time. Sometimes things don’t always work out the way we think they should. Sometimes they work out better. Sit on this for a few days, really think about what it is you’re looking to accomplish and what it might cost before you decide what to do.”
“I’m going to try.”
“Don’t try—do.”
I nodded, having heard that familiar line from him for years. Every time I got in the ring, he told me the same thing. Trevor was an excellent trainer. He didn’t take on just anyone who asked. He interviewed the guy first. If he didn’t see the fire in the man’s eyes, he would send them to the next gym. He almost hadn’t taken me on. It wasn’t until after I had gotten my ass kicked in the ring that he had decided I was a worthy cause.
Falling backward on the bed, I rubbed a hand over my face. I needed to talk to Michelle. I couldn’t leave. I couldn’t make Liam pay. I was in limbo, and it was driving me crazy. I got up, stripped down to my boxer briefs, and did some cardio moves, kicking and punching the air, working out for over an hour. The entire time I thought about what I was doing back in LA. I didn’t regret coming back. I was going to have my cake and eat it too.
Feeling resolved in my decision, I jumped into a cold shower before falling into bed. Images of a naked and writhing Michelle haunted me as I drifted off to sleep. I couldn’t imagine my life ever being worth a damn if I never got to see that again.
15
Michelle
My heart hurt. Elijah hadn’t shown his face around town since our conversation Wednesday night. Liam and Nick were gloating. They were convinced he had run away once again because he was afraid of them. But I knew it was me who had driven him away. I had hung up the phone that night and cried myself to sleep. I’d had to go low to make him leave. I hated hurting him like that, but it had to be done for his own good as well as mine and Joey’s. If he even had an inkling that he had a son, Elijah would rain blood on the whole city to keep him away from Liam.
The sound of bikes coming down the street sent my heart into a rolling tumble. I moved the curtains and peered out the window. It was Nick and Liam.
I raced into the kitchen so I could pretend to be doing the dishes. I grabbed a few clean dishes from the cupboard and turned on the water.
“Chelle!” Liam shouted from outside a second before he came through the door.
He hadn’t come home last night, but that wasn’t unusual. I assumed he had hooked up with some skank from the bar. I always appreciated the nights he stayed gone. I always silently prayed he had been locked up for some crime and the judge would send him away on a life sentence. Obviously, that hadn’t happened.
“Chelle!” he shouted again.
“In here,” I called out.
Liam and Nick came around the corner, their bodies blocking the only way out of the galley kitchen. I felt trapped.
“What are you doing?” Liam asked.
I looked at my hands in the soapy
water before holding up a plate. “Dishes?” I said, not hiding the sarcasm in my voice.
I couldn’t play sweet all the time. He would know I was faking it and suspect me of lying. It was a fine line with him. I had to be a little bit of a smartass, but only at the right time.
He smirked. “Heard from your boyfriend?”
Nick elbowed him. “I’m her boyfriend.”
I bit back my retort. “No, I haven’t. I told you both that I told him to stay away from me and that I didn’t want anything to do with him.”
“You should have told me he came by,” Liam growled.
I shrugged a shoulder. “It really wasn’t a big deal. I didn’t want you to go off and do anything crazy—either of you,” I said, looking at my brother, then Nick.
My words seemed to be having the desired effect. “Sounds like she’s worried you were going to kill him or something,” Nick quipped.
“I was worried about one of you getting busted.”
Nick smiled, his green eyes gleaming with pride. It made me sick to my stomach, but I could play along and let him think I cared about what happened to him.
“I’m going to ask Joey next time. He won’t lie to me,” Liam said, knowing how to get to me.
“Good. I don’t want Joey to lie to anybody.”
I turned back to the sink and got busy washing the already clean dishes before rinsing them off and putting them in the rack. Liam and Nick headed into the living room. I breathed a sigh of relief, confident they believed me.
I quickly finished up, grabbed my purse, and got ready to leave.
“Where are you going?” Liam asked from where he was lying on the couch.
Nick was watching me from his position in the broken recliner.
“I have to go pick up Joey.”
“Little early, isn’t it?” Nick asked.
“I need to stop by the grocery store and pick up a few things.”
“Need money?” Liam said, digging in his pocket.
If he was offering, I wasn’t going to deny it. “Yes.”
He handed me two twenties. “Get me some beer.”
Even as I headed out the door, I was already calculating how much I could add to my hidden stash. I figured I could get two bus tickets for a couple hundred dollars. I wasn’t sure how far my car could make it without dying on the side of a highway, leaving me stranded and alone with a little boy. The bus seemed like a better option. I could land in a new city and start completely over. I had even been thinking about new names for myself and Joey.
I picked up some basics from the grocery store, spending the bare minimum. I waited to buy the beer until I was on my way home. I knew better than to bring Liam warm beer.
“Hey, buddy,” I said to Joey when he walked out of the school. “Want to go get a piece of pie before we go home?”
His eyes lit up. “Yes!”
I wasn’t ready to go home, and I definitely didn’t want to take Joey home right away knowing that Nick and Liam would ask him about Elijah. I wanted to keep my son away from the two men as much as I could.
Rayne saw us walk in and quickly ran over to give Joey a hug. “You got bigger, again!” she said, smiling at my son.
She stood up and looked at me, her eyes landing on the bruise that had turned an ugly shade of yellow with a purple dot in the center of my cheekbone. “Who?” she asked.
I covered my cheek with my hand. “It doesn’t matter.”
She shook her head, leading us toward a table in the back of the diner. Joey slid in, waiting for her to give him the crayons he knew she had in her apron pocket. “Here you go. Let me guess, you want apple pie?”
Joey grinned. “Yep!”
“Coffee?” she asked me.
“Yes, please.”
“This conversation isn’t over,” she hissed before walking away.
I had managed to avoid seeing anybody while my bruise had faded. I had thought she would overlook it. Guess I should have known better.
“Here you go,” she said as she returned with Joey’s pie and my coffee.
“Thank you.”
Rayne looked at me, pity on her face.
“I’m fine,” I told her again.
“I don’t think you are.”
“Miss!” An older woman a few tables away waved her hand, grabbing Rayne’s attention.
Rayne walked away, leaving Joey and me alone to enjoy our treat. I usually brought him to the diner once a week, indulging him with pie to avoid going home.
Joey looked up and his eyes went wide before he looked at me. I turned to see what had freaked him out and saw Elijah striding toward us. My eyes went to Rayne. She shrugged one shoulder and disappeared into the kitchen. She had called him! How dare she do something so reckless, especially with Joey right here?
The look of complete shock on Elijah’s face made my heart hurt. Thankfully, he recovered quickly and smiled at Joey. “Do you mind if I sit down?”
Joey looked at me. I gave a slight nod of my head. He scooted over in the booth, leaving room for Elijah to sit. Elijah stared at me, his eyes on the faded bruise. I could see that he was trying hard not to stare at Joey across the table. My stomach rolled and pitched, wondering how I was going to keep him from figuring out that Joey was his.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, his voice low and full of anger.
“It’s no big deal. It’s old.”
“That’s not what I mean,” he said almost so quietly that I couldn’t hear.
I looked at him, my eyes pleading not to press me for answers in front of my son.
He shook his head and pointed at my cheek. “Who?”
Looking down at the table, I stared at the dark liquid in my cup. “Liam.”
He sucked in a breath, and my eyes jumped to his, begging him not to say anything more.
“So, how old are you buddy?” he asked Joey instead.
Before I could interject to change the subject, Joey answered proudly.
“Seven.”
Elijah’s eyes met mine, questioning me without saying the words. “Seven, huh? When’s your birthday?”
I should have known he would figure it out.
Joey looked at me. It was one of the things we had worked on last year for a school project. I immediately regretted teaching him his birthday.
With a great deal of pride, he looked at Elijah. “January nineteenth.”
I watched Elijah do the mental math, inwardly cringing. Instead of blurting out any accusations, he smiled at Joey. “I bet you’re in the second grade.”
Joey was still grinning, clearly loving the attention and being included in the conversation. “Yep. Me and my best friend Larson are in the same class.”
“Good. A best friend is a good thing to have.”
Elijah raised his hand in the air. Rayne came rushing over. “Can I get a cup of coffee? And do you think you could have little man here help you for a minute?”
Rayne looked at me and mouthed she was sorry as Elijah stood up, making room for Joey to slide out of the booth.
“Come on, squirt. Come help me make some coffee and I might let you have a cookie to take home with you.”
Elijah waited to say anything until Joey was out of earshot. I was prepared for him to ask me who Joey’s father was. I would lie to protect all of us.
Instead he asked, “What’s his name?”
I cleared my throat. “Joey.”
He nodded but didn’t launch into the tirade I expected.
“You’re not safe here, Michelle,” he said instead.
I blinked, caught a bit off guard. Maybe I was wrong about him. Maybe he wouldn’t care that he had a kid. Somehow, that thought made me feel worse.
“It’s okay. It was one time.”
“But not the first time,” he said, his anger bubbling below the surface.
“No,” I admitted.
“I’m going to end this. I don’t want you to be afraid anymore.”
I looked at him, let
ting myself get lost in his eyes for a brief, blissful second. “It’s not that easy. I thought I made myself clear. You being here puts me and Joey at risk. They’re going to ask him if he saw you. He was the one who told them about you coming by the house. He was playing in his bedroom and heard you.”
“Shit. I’m sorry. If you would have told me you had a kid…”
“Why’d you come here today?” I tried to get him off of that track.
He shrugged.
“Rayne called you.”
He shrugged again, refusing to answer. At least he was loyal.
“You have to go before Joey gets back. Please.”
He nodded. “I will. I know what I’m doing. I’m asking you to trust me.”
I smiled. “I wish it were that easy. I want you to trust me in that I know what I’m doing too. I’ve been dealing with this for a long time on my own. I’ve managed this long, I can manage a little longer.”
“What does that mean?”
I waved my hand. “Nothing. They’re coming back. Go, please.”
He slid out of the booth and walked out of the diner without another word. It had been an abrupt exit, but that was the way it had to be. I needed to try to make Joey forget all about seeing Elijah. Rayne set the coffee on the table.
“Where’d he go?” Joey asked.
I shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know, I think he had somewhere to be.”
It was the truth. I had no damn idea where he went after he left me.
“I’m sorry. He needs to know what’s happening. It’s his fault after all,” Rayne said, a hand on her hip.
“Well, now he does. I only hope this little visit doesn’t make things worse,” I snapped, still irritated she had called him.
“You can be mad at me all you want. I’m looking out for you and him,” she said, walking away to help another customer.
“How about you finish up and we go to the park? The good park,” I said with a smile.
Joey’s blue eyes brightened. “Yes!”
The good park was out of the neighborhood. I didn’t take him often because it was a good twenty-minute drive, but the longer I kept him away from the house, the better it would be. I sent Liam a quick text, letting him know I’d forgotten Joey had a playdate and promising to bring cold beer later in the evening.
Men in Charge: A Contemporary Romance Box Set Page 30