by Goode, Ella
Violet rushes over. “Yes, please. Give me something to do, or I’ll end up pulling my hair out.”
“I don’t know if it should even be salvaged,” Eden mumbles.
I don’t know if she’s saying that because she’s tired of the café or she really wants out. It’s not something that should be answered today after the shock she just suffered. “Take your time before deciding then. I want to send Ryan to a spring break vacation. I’m going to find out what his preferred destination is, okay?”
Eden hesitates but then gives me a small nod. I don’t need to explain myself to Violet. Twin intuition kicks in, and she gives me a knowing look of approval.
I close the kitchen door behind me and grab Ryan by the shoulders. “We’re going to take care of the mess, but first you’re going to go into the kitchen and apologize to your sister. She isn’t the one who caused the problems and so she shouldn’t be yelled at.”
Ryan’s eyes fall to his shoes in shame. “Yessir.”
“Go now and meet me in the garage over there.” I point to a smaller building that houses four cars. “Don’t tell your sister you’re going somewhere either. Just say you’re getting some fresh air.”
His head pops up. “We’re going somewhere?”
“Yeah. I told you. We’re going to fix this mess.” I have a list of his old man’s creditors and there’s only a couple on there that would be brazen enough to do this shit. A quick call to the PI who worked my sister’s case gives me the location for suspect number one. Ryan appears at the garage with a bright look on his face.
“I’m ready.”
“Let’s roll.” We both hop into a black nondescript sedan. Ryan searches the backseat for something, turning around with a frown of disappointment when he comes up empty handed.
“No guns? No baseball bats? We going to huff and puff until we blow their house down?”
“I would’ve thought a kid of your smarts would’ve had a better imagination,” I reply.
“What do you mean?”
“A house is full of weapons. You just need to be creative.” I show him what I mean when we arrive at Gom Antonov’s place. There are two guards out front who are trying to blend into the scenery and pretend not to be guards. I drive one face into the iron railing and then slam the planter across the back of the other one. Ryan nods his approval.
“I think I’m getting it.”
“Watch and learn. There’s more to come.” We stomp through the entryway and up the stairs, where we find Gom in his bedroom surrounded by three women. “Best leave so you don’t get hurt,” I advise before walking into the bathroom. I find a blowdryer and a can of hairspray, which is all I’m going to need. When I come out, Ryan’s got a glass vase in his hand, and he’s aiming it threateningly at Gom. The girls are gone.
I toss Ryan the hairdryer. “Find an outlet.”
Ryan is confused but does what I ask. “I was kidding about the blow your house down thing,” he mutters when he hands the dryer back.
“Like I said, watch and learn.” I turn the dryer on high and shove it against Gom’s neck.
“What the fuck. Get that off me. Fuck, that burns,” he screams.
I remove the dryer and spray the burn mark with the hairspray. The alcohol makes him cry out. “Next place the dryer goes is going to be your balls. I want the name of everyone associated with trashing The Daily Drip, and I want it now.”
Gom sings like a canary. I leave the man with just one burn mark on his neck. Ryan follows along, having watched and learned.
Chapter Eighteen
Eden
“Sip on this.” Violet puts a hot chocolate in front of me. “I can give it a little kick if you want.”
“This is great. Thank you.” I sit there still feeling numb from everything that’s happened today. Ryan and I can never catch a break. I mean, how much am I expected to endure before I lose my cool? Something is building inside of me and I’m scared I’m about to blow. I’ve never felt this level of anger before.
“Everything is going to be okay,” Violet says, placing her hand over mine. I have to admit that it feels good to at least have her and Miles in our corner. I can’t even imagine going through any of this without them. It’s crazy how quickly they’ve assimilated into mine and Ryan’s lives.
“Is it?” I ask. I know there is something going on with her. Miles told me a little, but he didn’t get into many details. She is sweet and beyond beautiful, but she never leaves this house. I may not know the details, but whatever happened to her must have been bad for her to resort to never leaving here.
“Right now for me it is. I think my light will come soon.” She gives me a soft smile. I used to think the same thing. I was sure I’d gotten a glimpse of it when Miles helped me change distributors. That the extra money that would flow in would more than keep us afloat.
I’m starting to realize me doing that is why this is all happening. What else could it be? I mean it’s no coincidence that all of this began happening when I made the switch. If anyone knows what’s going on it’ll be my father. I’m going to have to confront him. Even though I’m dreading it, there isn't much else I can do at this point.
“I’m guessing you’re not going to let my brother help you with the shop. Do you guys have insurance?”
“Yes.” It’s required. Thank God or I’m sure my father would have tried to cut corners there. “Not that it matters. I’m sure my father will take the money and wipe his hands with it.” I should maybe do the same. Lose that place for good. I’ve put so much time into it, but it was slowly starting to wear me down.
What makes my blood boil is the danger he not only put me in but Ryan too. I’d moved us out of his home to get away from the seedy men he always had around. I should have gone further. I never should have taken him up on running The Daily Drip. He took advantage of me. I shouldn’t be surprised, but it still burns. More because he knows I’m trying to do the right thing for Ryan.
“Sometimes when life crumbles around you, it opens up the possibility of something new.” She gives my shoulder a squeeze before she slips from the chair and heads out of the room to give me a moment alone.
She might be right. As much as I don’t want to take a handout, I know Miles isn't going to let me stay at some hotel. At least I’ll have some time to figure this all out. What I do need to do is cut my father out of our lives in any way I can. He is always at the root of our problems, and I’m done with it. Done with him.
I go in search of my brother, wanting to make sure he’s okay. I get that he’s angry. He doesn't know how to work through it. To be honest, I don’t even know how to manage all the disappointment and frustration. It takes me a while to get through the house, but I don’t see him or Miles anywhere.
My phone starts to ring in my pocket. I pull it out, seeing my father’s name. I shouldn't answer it. I should hit ignore and walk away from it all. My anger gets the best of me, and I hit accept instead.
“What do you want?”
“Eden. You have to listen to me. They have Ryan.” My heart drops.
“Who?” I try to stay calm. I’m useless to Ryan if I lose my shit. My hands begin to sweat with nerves, but I take deep breaths, knowing that I need to listen to every detail my father is about to tell me.
“This is your fault. I didn't approve those changes around the shop. You made this mess.” His words have my blood boiling.
“Me!” I take another deep breath. There is no point in fighting with him. All that matters is Ryan.
“Just shut up and get to my house so we can handle this. Don’t bring that boyfriend of yours either.” How the hell does he know about Miles? “He’s already made this worse.” He hangs up the phone before I can try to ask anything else.
I try to call Miles and Ryan, but no one picks up. Too scared to waste time, I head toward the garage, hoping I can find keys to one of the cars in there. Miles hadn't been joking about having a ton of cars sitting around. I get lucky for once, grabbi
ng a set off the wall. I hit the unlock button to figure out which car I’ll be taking.
I pull out of the garage and take off toward my father’s place. How the hell did they get Ryan? Why would they even take him? It’s not like my father can pay ransom, and they destroyed the shop so we can’t even change anything back to how it was before.
When I get on my father’s street I slow down. I don’t see any cars in his driveway. I park and head for the front door. Before I can knock, it swings open. A man that is not my father stands there. I let out a scream when he grabs me by my arm and yanks me into the house. His hold is so tight I know it’s going to leave a bruise.
“I’m impressed Tony followed through on something.” He doesn’t let my arm go. I stare up into sinister eyes, and a chill runs through my body.
“Where is he?” I ask, only caring about Ryan.
“Tony is over there.” The man nods. I don’t give a crap about my father, but I look anyway. He’s sitting on the loveseat, his face all busted up. His hand is wrapped, but blood is soaking through it.
“Where is my brother?” The man clicks his tongue. It’s in that moment I realize they don’t have him. Relief fills me, but only for a second. This is far from over. For me at least.
“That boyfriend of yours is making a lot of trouble.” The man pulls me over to the sofa and gives me a shove. I fall backwards onto it. “So now I’m going to give him some trouble.” I don’t see the slap coming until it’s too late. My ear rings and the taste of blood fills my mouth. I wipe it with my sleeve. “That’s perfect.” He snaps a few pictures of me.
“What do you want?” I don’t want Miles in my mess. He came into my life as a knight in shining armor, and this is what I gave him.
The seedy man ignores my question. “Your rich boyfriend thinks he’s Batman.” I swallow. Miles is already in this clearly. “And I bet he’ll be willing to do anything to get you back.”
I know he’s right. Miles will come for me. He always does.
Chapter Nineteen
Miles
“I feel like I could lift a thousand pounds,” Ryan declares. He leans out the window and shouts something into the wind. I grin. The boy’s happy, which I know will make Eden happy, which makes me happy. The kid resettles into his seat. “We doing the blowdryer trick on the next guy or what?”
“Don’t get bloodthirsty on me. Not every conflict is solved through violence. If you can avoid it, you should do so. Buying people off can be just as effective and a lot less messy.”
“How come you didn’t buy off the last guy?”
“Because he scared Eden, and I wanted him to feel that same sense of hopelessness and despair and remember it.”
“Doesn’t his boss deserve the same thing?”
“You can scare people in different ways, and bosses are often most scared by the loss of money and power.”
“That makes sense.”
Ryan’s like a sponge, absorbing everything. I’ll have to be careful in the future and watch what I say. He’s at a stage where he can be influenced, and I don’t want to lead him down the wrong path. Eden wouldn’t like that.
It’s funny how everything circles back to her. My main focus in life now is how can I make her happy. That’s literally all I want. The phone rings and interrupts my thoughts.
“Can you get that?” I nod my head toward the phone in the console.
Ryan picks it up. “Miles’ phone. What ‘sup?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see all the excitement in his face turn to stone.
“What’s wrong?” I ask as a chill runs up my spine.
“You better listen to this.” He lays the phone between us and turns the speaker on.
“—girl, you best come quick.”
“Repeat that!” I bark.
“I said, if you want to see your girl, you best come quick. You deaf or something?”
“Where? What address?”
“Your pa’s place. Better be here soon or she’s going to look like this.” The phone screen abruptly turns from all black to reveal a terrified Eden with a red palm print on her face. Someone wants to die. It quickly pans to Tony’s busted face.
“You hurt her, and I’ll fucking kill you,” screams Ryan.
The screen turns black, and a chuckle resonates through the line. “You can try, kid. You can try.”
The line goes dead before Ryan can respond. He pounds on the dashboard of the car in futile anger.
“Go. We need to get to my sister,” he yells.
As if I don’t know. I pick up my phone and scroll through until I find Bach Turner’s number. He answers after the first ring. “Is Violet okay?” he says before I can even get out hello.
“She’s fine.”
“Your security—”
“It’s fine. I have a different problem.” I quickly give him a summary.
“How many men do you need?”
“How many do you think I’ll need?”
“Two. I’ll come as well. Send me the address.”
I disconnect and give Ryan a nod. Grimly, he texts his dad’s information to Turner. “What’s this Turner do?”
“He’s a security expert. Former special forces. He set up the system at our house.”
“Why’d he ask about Violet?”
“Because he loves her.” And can’t be with her because Violet refuses to leave the house, and until she can overcome that, she doesn’t think she’s worth being with. I pray that Turner will change her mind.
We arrive before Turner. Ryan wants to rush inside, and I do as well, but if we fuck it up and Eden gets hurt, I’ll never forgive myself. Instead, I call the man who contacted us and stall for time.
“I figure you guys are going to want money so I’m running by my bank. How much do you need?” I lie.
The man snorts but doesn’t decline. “Wait here.”
We hear footsteps departing and then arriving. A new voice appears on the line. That’s two men. “This is Dunn. You Miles Monroe?”
“I am.”
“I’ve read a lot about you, Monroe. The internet says you’re worth a few billion.”
“Can’t believe everything you read on the internet, Dunn. I’d have thought you were smarter than that, but I can see by the red on my woman’s cheek that you don’t have much upstairs. If we shake you, we’ll probably hear the rattling of tin cans.”
There’s a brief moment of silence and then a thunderous, “Fuck you!”
“I’m not interested, Dunn.” I hang up because the cavalry has arrived. Turner unfolds his long body from the truck and joins me on the sidewalk.
“You have a way you want to play this?”
“Yeah, I’m going to go inside and beat the shit out of whoever hit Eden. This is her brother and he’s going to want to get a few licks in.”
Ryan gives a terse nod.
“We’ll just make sure the fight is fair then.” Turner gives instructions to his men—he brought four and not two.
Ryan and I head to the front door with Turner while his four men do an outdoor reconnaissance. The door is unlocked just like last time, but no one’s in the front room. We find them in the back bedroom, all shoved into the small space with the curtains drawn. Eden’s on the floor beside the dresser, and her old man is nowhere to be seen. I push by everyone and pull her into my embrace. “You okay?”
She bites down on her lips and nods, clearly trying not to burst into tears. God, those fuckers are going to pay. I twist around to see Ryan at the door with Turner behind him. Dunn scowls.
“Who said you should bring all these people?”
“Who said I couldn’t?”
“You’re a chickenshit then. No one’s going to want to do business with you when they hear you came crawling to me with your dick between your legs.”
“My man, we don’t run in the same business circles. I do not give a fuck what you and your acquaintances think of me. Spread around that you scared me so much I shit my pants. This
will not keep me up at night. I will tell you that if you come near me and mine again, I will cut your dick off, shred it in a blender, and pour it down your throat until you choke on your own vomit.” I slide my arm under Eden’s legs and lift her into my arms. “I’ve decided I don’t need to hit anyone. Please feel free to do your worst, Turner, and make sure that Ryan feels like he had a fair turn. I’ve got my woman to take care of.” Revenge can wait.
Chapter Twenty
Eden
My hands shake. I’m sitting in Miles' lap in the back of some SUV outside of my father's house. I can feel the anger rolling off of him but his hold on me is gentle. I’ll never forget the relief I felt when I saw him enter the room.
I know my father can be a piece of shit. I just never thought it could go this far. That was the silly little girl inside of me that thought maybe to some degree he loved us. He used us the same as he uses everyone else. He has no regard for our lives or our safety. He will always come first.
I had no doubt Miles would come for me. He is too good of a man not to. Guilt weighs heavily on me that I pulled him into this mess. The uncertainty of what is going to happen from here is eating me alive. I’m in love with him. I never wanted him to see this part of my life.
“I’m sorry.” My words come out barely a whisper. Miles' hand that is rubbing up and down my back stops moving.
“Look at me, Eden.” I slowly raise my eyes to meet his.
“There is nothing for you to be sorry for. This is not your fault. I should have put one of my men on you.” I stare at him. Wait. Is he saying what I think he’s saying?
“You think this is your fault?” That’s crazy. If not for me, none of this would be happening.