Redemption (The Bet)

by Phal, Francette

  Maddie wanted them to be happy, even if a few hearts had to be broken along the way.

  Wise enough to know that disaster was imminent, Maddie walked to her best friend and her ex-lover.

  "Come on Ellie, let's get you some tissues." Devlin looked as though he was ready to tackle Nicholas to the ground and smash his head into the carpeted floor. Maddie gently pulled Ellie away as Nicholas moved to answer his phone.

  Nicholas's call was short, and after a few succinct words to the person on the other line, he hung up. "I have to go."

  Ellie walked away from Maddie and grabbed Nicholas's arm before he could leave. "You know something."

  Nicholas turned. "Ellie…"

  "Tell me!" She shook Nicholas's arm in agitation.

  "I'm taking care of it."

  "Don’t you dare shut me out again!” She forced Nicholas to face her. “You don’t get to do this to me again. You want me to trust you? Well time to earn it. Tell me what you know, Nicky.”

  He peered down at her and the expression on her face had him second guessing his practiced words. Intuition told him to lie, lie to protect, even if it meant ending up on Ellie's bad side, at least she would be safe.

  Ten years ago, he'd lied to protect Ellie from himself and never had a day gone by that he hadn't regretted that mistake. Ten years of regret, stubbornness and pride had destroyed the only friendship and love that had ever mattered, that had kept him afloat.

  In retrospect, Nicholas knew it had to be done, if he hadn't put distance between them, he would've ended up hurting her. He knew he would've mentally tortured her until all the good in her flickered and died. That's how unstable he'd been, how volatile and angry he'd felt.

  But now looking down at Ellie's unsmiling face, behind the veneer of anger Nicholas could see her hazel eyes pleading with him to speak the truth, to help salvage a relationship that he'd believed unsalvageable.

  This time, unlike ten years ago, Nicholas took Ellie's offer of salvation.

  "My informants have tracked them down to a rundown apartment on the Southside of the city.

  "What?" both Gabe and Phillip chorused rising to their feet. "What the hell are we waiting for, let's go!"

  Nicholas was the one to grab Ellie's arm this time when she made to walk away, "There's more, Ellie."

  Ellie's brows creased, "What?"

  "We have good reasons to believe that…"Nicholas hesitated, vacillating with the idea of telling Ellie the entire truth.

  "My God, just tell me!" Ellie urged shrilly.

  "Tony took them."

  Had someone come in and rammed a fist through her chest cavity to yank out her heart, Ellie wouldn't have felt the pain as much as she did just hearing that name. She wavered on her feet, but Nicholas’s reflexes kept her from falling. "Ton…Tony" the name was lodged in her throat, refusing to be uttered.

  "How did that bastard find them…us? I thought he was locked up!"

  "He was released a few months ago, I wasn't made aware." The man responsible for that fault had paid handsomely for his oversight.

  "I'm calling the cops."

  "No police! If we are to rescue them, the local PD is the last thing I need right now; I'm going to take care of it."

  "You're going to take care of it?" Devlin mocked. "And just how exactly are you going to do that, Grayson? Up to something you wanna let us in on?" Standing toe to toe with him, Devlin met Nicholas's stare and sneered, "Or are you going to fuck this up like you've done so many things in your miserable life?"

  "Dev that's enough…"

  Disregarding his fiancée's warning, Devlin continued, like a rabid dog. "The only reason why you're even here is because Ellie doesn't have the heart to throw you out like the trash you are. We don't want you here, we don't need you here. You and your shady informants can fuck off."

  "What hurts you more, Westport? The fact that I had her first and ruined it for you, or that she'll never be satisfied with a very poor and inadequate substitute?" the punch was unexpected or maybe it was and Nicholas just felt that it'd been worth it just to finally see Devlin snap.

  The force of it pushed him back a few steps and running his tongue on the inside of his cheek, Nicholas was glad to feel that he wouldn't be paying his dentist a visit anytime soon. However, the coopery taste in his mouth wasn't something he particularly liked.

  "Are you both going to pee on me now? Or is this the part when one of you knocks me over the head with a club and drags me off to your cave? Please tell me, so that I know which of you to blame when something happens to my children, while you're both acting like assholes." Ellie stared between both men, the expression on her face, murderous.

  "Ellie…" Ellie shrugged off Devlin's hand with a glower.

  She turned to Nicholas. "Let's go get them."

  Hand messaging the pain from his jaw, Nicholas shook his head. "You're not going. None of you are going,"

  Gabe scowled. "Like hell we're not. Who the fuck…"

  "I'm going." Ellie cut her godfather off and evenly stared at Nicholas.

  "My men are professionals, bringing you all along will only get in their way. That's the reason why I haven't gotten the police involved, doing so would spook Tony and he'll run. You may not like it, but that's how it's going to be. I can't and I won't risk your safety or the children’, Ellie. This isn't up for discussion." He looked from Ellie's face to everyone else's. "To anyone."

  "Listen here, Nicholas…"

  "No, Dad, he's right. We haven't gotten anywhere on our own, if he somehow did find them, then we just have to trust him and do what he says. The kids will need us when they get home, all of us."

  "You can't just expect us to sit on our asses and do nothing, Ellie!" Gabe said frustratingly.

  "We can't all go barging in there. We'll end up doing more harm than good. Just let him do this, Gabe." Ellie implored. She wanted so much for Gabe to have her back on this and as if he knew then, he relented.

  "Don't fuck it up, Grayson."

  "So glad to see I have your approval, Gabe." Nicholas couldn't help but bite back and took great pleasure at Gabe's scowl.

  "Bring them back safely."

  "I'd give my life." He appeared so solemn about those words that Elle did not know what to say.

  Nicholas walked away, Ellie at his heels. At the door, Ellie grabbed Nicholas's arm and turned him to face her. Their gazes met and Nicholas's brow lifted in curiosity.

  "How's your jaw?" Ellie finally asked.

  Nicholas touched his jaw and winced. "Hurts like hell."

  "Good," Ellie hesitantly reached out touch his face, "You deserved it. It's not broken?"

  He shook his head and ruefully smiled. "Bruised, like my ego."

  There was silence, impregnable, filled with so much left unsaid. "Don't…don't do anything stupid."

  He grinned boyishly. "Stupid is my middle name."

  Ellie tried not to let the grin affect her. "You're right about that. But still…I'm serious, Nicholas, don't play the hero."

  "You worry too much."

  "It's my job to worry."

  Nicholas leaned close. "Am I included in that job description?"

  Ellie smiled weakly, "Unfortunately." She closed her eyes at the warm, soft feel of Nicholas's lips on her forehead.

  "Thank you." He uttered along her cheek and before she could say anymore he was gone.

  Ellie pressed her cheek to the door and softly whispered. "Come back to me safe, Nicky."

  Chapter 21

  There was no finding solace in sleep for Ellie. While the neighborhood and the rest of her family slept, she tossed and turned. The anxiety of the day's events taking its toll, she'd shrugged into a pair of shorts and a long sleeved shirt and careful not to wake Devlin, Ellie had quietly crept downstairs. The porch and the soft buzzing emitting from the light fixtures the only thing blocking the disquietedness of her mind. Ellie shut her eyes and leaned further back against the cedar porch swing. Midnight would soon toll and to Ellie it
would be another hour without her children.

  She breathed a sigh as the warm breeze kissed mocha flesh and took with it an ounce of the worry pooling her marrow. She'd yet to hear a word from Nicholas, outgoing calls to his cell phone were immediately sent to voicemail.

  What was she to do now? Ellie wondered edgily. Sit around and worry? Sit around and anxiously wait? What if things didn't go as expected? Had Nicholas underestimated Tony? What if, at this very moment his and their children's life hung in the balance?

  "No." Ellie shook her head to dislodge the depressing thought. Nicholas was far too clever and cunning to be outwitted by that sociopath. Ellie knew she had to have faith in him. Regardless of the issues between them, Nicholas always came through in the end. He was a man whose methods weren't always noble, but he always had the best intentions. Ellie had to trust in his abilities, needed to have faith that Nicholas would come through this unscathed. He and the children.

  "Penny for your thoughts?" Ellie halfheartedly smiled at her newest companion and scooted over to make room for him.

  "Hi, Dad." Phillip took the offered seat and leaned back into the cushioned bench, the rhythmic sway bringing a small smile to his lips. They sat in relative silence, each basking in the gentle lull of the whispering wind and the comforting symphony of the night, performed by invisible critters.

  "I remember when you were four," Phillip began, a fine sheen of nostalgia blanketed his weathered features further pulling his lips into a smile. "Your mother and I bought you your first tricycle. When you first saw it in the garage the morning of your fourth birthday, it was like Christmas all over again. Your face was so bright, you were so excited to jump right on and start riding," Ellie avidly listened, the emotions playing on her father's face fascinating to her. Although it'd been years now since their reconciliation, it wasn't everyday Ellie had the opportunity to see her father like this...so unguarded and happy.

  "You and I practiced all day. Through the scrapes and bruises and your mother yelling at us to call it quits but you were so determined to learn. It took you almost two weeks, but you did it-you did it without my or your mother's help. When I saw you riding, all by yourself, demanding that your mother and I look at you--- I couldn't have been more proud." Phillip finally turned his shuttered gaze to his daughter. "I knew then, that every obstacle you would ever face in the future, you would come out victorious, beaming with joy, a better and stronger person for having gone through it." Phillip rested a comforting hand on her knee and patted. "Your children share that very same dogged determination; they're strong and courageous when it matters most. They are Holbrooks, Ellie and we are if nothing else a willful lot. I know, just as I know every scripture in the bible to be the word of God that your children will be all right. You have to guard your faith, hold it tightly against your chest and trust that all will be all right."

  Speechless and chocked with tears, Ellie could only nod at the words her father spoke. She rested her hand upon Phillip's own still on her knee and gently squeezed. The silence from before came soon after, only this time Phillips didn't find the need to fill it.

  "Dad?"

  "Hmm?"

  Ellie took a second to gather her thoughts before continuing, "Wha---what do you think of, Nicholas?" She didn't really know why she wanted her father's opinion and maybe she realized too late that she shouldn't have even asked the question to begin with. "Never mind."

  "Well," Phillip began, seemingly oblivious to his daughter dismissal of the subject. "Your mother and I can certainly agree on one thing about him."

  "What's that?" Ellie hesitantly inquired.

  "He's an enigma she and I can't solve. We have our reservations. No parent wouldn't after learning of what he did. Of course he like all men has faults. He's wronged you, but so have your mother and I, so I am in no moral standing to pass judgment. However, from what I've seen and what little I know of him, I can tell you that he is a good man-a little too arrogant and brash for my taste, but a good man nonetheless. I can see that he cares very much for your children--- and you as well."

  "That's the one thing I'm sure about Nicholas, he loves those children with all that he is. Even Sophie."

  Phillip nodded his expression pensive, "Yes, I have noticed that too. Rather noble of him to love a child that isn't his own." He peered down at Ellie, "But such is the way of a good man."

  Ellie looked away with a sigh. "Yes, a good man who knows how to hurt me."

  "Those dearest to you are the ones you hurt the most."

  "He's filled with pride and has more faults than I can count."

  "Name me one man on this earth who doesn't. Mistakes do not make the person. It's what you choose to do after the fact that matters. He seems to be on the right path."

  Ellie pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them. "I don't want to forgive him. I’m---I'm scared of what he'll do to me if I do," she exhaled, "I can't take another heart break." She said softly.

  "Maybe the Lord has given him a path back to you, not only to seek your forgiveness, but maybe to guide him to his own salvation?" Phillip swung his arm around Ellie's shoulder and pulled her close. "Redemption, my dear, is something not easily found when the error of your deeds constantly plagues you."

  Ellie glanced up at her father, the tremor in his voice giving her pause. "Dad?"

  Phillip pulled away slightly and blinked his tears away. "I'm okay."

  "Dad, it was a long time ago; we've become an even stronger family since then and you know I love you and Mom so much." Ellie uncurled from her position and embraced her father.

  "I know, Ellie, but memories aren't so easily forgotten." Phillip detached himself from her arms and wryly smiled. "I relate to your Nicholas, in some ways. You may find it in your heart to forgive him one day, but his true obstacle will be forgiving himself."

  "You want me to take him back." Ellie quietly stated.

  Phillip took Ellie's hand in her larger ones and met her curious gaze. "I want you to do what will inevitably lead to your eternal happiness, Eleanor. If marrying, Devlin is what you choose then know that your mother and I will stand by your side."

  "Subconsciously, I think I've already decided." She sighed again, probably the hundredth one that night. "But I don't want to hurt, Dev, I love him so much, Dad. He's done so much for my family, has been there when we all needed him. He's given and given and has asked for very little in return. I want so much to be the woman he wants me to be."

  "You can't go through life living by the expectations of others, Ellie, no matter what that person has or hasn't done for you."

  "I know, Dad, which is why I think, I know that if I married, Dev, I would only be living by his expectations, playing a role that wasn't meant for me." that was the first time she'd ever actually spoken those words to anyone in her family. Saying it though, wasn't any less easy for Ellie. Devlin would have every right to crucify her.

  "Have you thought this through?"

  "Yeah, I have and no matter how many times I turn it over in my head, the answer is always the same. I've always known, but it wasn't until recently that I've actually had the guts to say it to myself. I've loved Nicholas from the moment I saw him ten years ago and I'm cursed to always love him. No matter how deep I bury the feelings, his presence alone uproots them back up again. Loving Devlin isn't the same as being in love with Nicholas." She said ruefully.

  "Are you sure that this is what you want to do?"

  "I'm not ready to jump back in his arms anytime soon and I don't think I will be for a little while, but knowing that he'll be there makes me sure that I'm doing the right thing. He may be the only man I'll ever truly love, but it doesn't mean that I'll readily give over my heart to him."

  "Well, it does sound like you've thought it out."

  Ellie smiled and leaned into her father's shoulder. "With your help."

  "I didn't do much, Ellie, just gave you my honest opinion."

  "That's all I needed, Dad. Thank you."
/>   Phillip smiled back, wrapped his arm around Ellie and dropped a kiss on her head. "You're welcome, dear."

  ~*~*~*~

  Half hour after Ellie called Nicholas...

  Topher "Bones" Avery knew guns. He could lay out the ABC’s of firearms for you, starting from the noisiest to the most silent and then go on to inform you how many rounds it would take to bring a man down. It wasn't as straightforward as movies made it seem. Topher wasn't just a well versed weapons specialist. He understood the mechanics of murder. Killing to Topher was as intimate as your first fuck. It wasn't just point and shoot to him. It was more. It was beautiful…magical. It was art and he was the truest of artisans in the world of hit men.

  Just as Monet had his love affair with his water lilies and Degas with his ethereal Ballerinas, so did Topher with his guns. With his guns and his targets, he was capable of creating masterpieces and that's why he was known as the best. He understood the beauty of death and relished every kill. There weren't many who understood his work, but all the same they sought him out, sought out his expertise and paid him quite handsomely to eliminate those who opposed them.

  Nicholas Grayson was one such a man. But he wasn't like the rest. Nicholas was capable of grasping the meaning behind Topher’s work, because Nicholas was a smart man.

  Topher liked Nicholas. Nicolas didn't fuck around. He wanted things done a certain way and he paid very well to make sure that all went according to plan. They'd done business in the past and like the majority of his clients, the entrepreneur always came back. Like tonight for example, after a year or so of hiatus, Topher received a call.

  "Christopher." Beneath the dim glow of the lamp, Topher managed a smirk around the cigarette held between his thinly chapped lips.

  "Well ain't this a fucking surprise, is it my birthday already?" He held the semi-automatic pistol to the light, squinted, before picking up the dingy rag on the cluttered table in front of him.