Elle comes out of the bedroom wearing black jeans and a red long sleeved top. Not that it matters what she wears because I’m always fighting the urge to strip them back off her again. She stands beside me at the kitchen counter where I’m reading a newspaper article on her tablet about Harry’s arrest.
“Anything new to report?” she asks, noticing what I’m reading.
“Not yet. Seems he’ll be arraigned today and released on bail. But because all of his accounts have been frozen while they trace all the Brightlight money, he won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.”
Putting the tablet down, I spin the bar stool around and grab Elle’s hips, pulling her in between my legs. “You okay? I mean, with going back to school?” I ask as I slowly wrap my hands around her silky smooth waist.
“Yeah. It’ll feel weird, but I know I’ll catch up in no time” She smiles back at me, faltering ever so slightly when she sees the grim look on my face. “What’s wrong?”
“I wanna come with you today.”
She looks at me, and her eyes soften. “Brax, you don’t have to keep up the pretense anymore.” She wraps her arms around my shoulders as I move to the edge of the stool, resting my feet on the floor either side of hers.
“I know, but I will be going stir crazy unless I know you’re safe. I can’t bear the thought of you getting hurt again, or worse...”
My voice trails off as the thought of Elle being hurt hits me like a punch to the gut.
“I’m going to be in classes all morning. Apart from being here, it is probably the safest place I can be, babe. I’ll have my phone on me at all times, okay?” she asks, bending her knees so that her gaze is level with mine.
I growl in frustration. “Okay, but any sign of trouble you call me. The moment that you feel unsure or something doesn’t feel right, you call me or Shay. Deal?” My eyes plead with her.
“Absolutely. How about a goodbye kiss to help me get through my classes?” she asks, her lips turning upwards into a sexy grin.
“Now that I can do,” I say, seconds before our mouths crash together, our tongues becoming entangled as we struggle to tear ourselves away from each other.
Far too soon, she pulls away, running her hands through her now mussed hair to smooth it back down. “Damn,” she mutters, earning a laugh from me.
“Damn indeed,” I say before standing and giving her one last soft kiss. “You better get going before I change my mind.”
She giggles, one of the sweetest sounds she makes. “I’ll see you just after one.” And with that, she takes her sweet ass out the door, and off to class.
I ring Shay. There’s something I need to organize, and it’s been a long time coming.
“Hey, bro. What’s up?” he says when he picks up.
“I need my gun. You home this morning? I want to come pick it up.”
“We’ll be here. Why do you want to pack heat all of a sudden? Dude, don’t get me wrong, you should’ve been armed a long time ago.” Shay’s been in my ear for months about carrying my gun.
“We’re not hiding anything from Elle anymore, so I want to be armed. I want to have my gun in the house in case the f**ker who shot her gets stupid and decides to try coming back,” I explain, even though I know that I don’t even need a reason.
“Fair enough. What does Elle think of it?”
I sigh. “She doesn’t know yet. She’s at class this morning. I’ll have a shower, then pop round in about an hour. All good?”
“Yeah, bro. All good. I’m sure I will have kicked out my temporary house guest by then,” he adds, cracking up laughing.
“Good to see my whore of a brother is helping you out,” I add jokingly.
“Hey, enough of that. I’ve never needed anyone’s help to get laid.”
“You keep believing that, brother. I remember the old days.”
“Ha f**king ha. By the way, Devon left twenty minutes ago. You wanted him on Elle all morning, right?
“Yeah, man. If she won’t let me tag along, you can be damn sure I’m putting one of you guys on her.”
“Absolutely, but you know she’ll spot him straight away,” he says.
“Yeah I know. I’ll deal with it later. I’m off. See you soon.”
Just as I walk into the bedroom, my phone rings. This time Victor shows up on the caller ID.
“Brax.”
“Hey, Vic. What’s up?”
“Gibbon has gone AWOL. I wanted to warn you.”
“How the f**k did that happen, Vic?” I say, not bothering to hide my anger.
“Don’t know, but I’m thinking he found the tracker on his car because it suddenly stopped working around 8 p.m. last night and hasn’t been seen since. Gloria kicked him out a few days ago.”
“Fuck!” I yell, banging my fist into the bedroom door, shaking it on the hinges.
“Just listen to me, Brax. I’ve got the boys trying to track his movements. As soon as we find him, I’ll let you know. Maybe just try staying close to Elle until we hear more, okay?” he says, his deep voice not showing any sign of humor.
“Roger that. She’s on campus until one. I’m going to pick up my gun from Shay’s safe. I’m not dealing with any of this without my gun,” I state sternly.
“Fair enough. Brax, just be careful. I need you and Shay as much as you need Elle. We clear?”
“We’re clear. Talk soon,” I say before hanging up.
Fuck! This is the real deal now. Before we had to keep watch in multiple directions, now we have an identified threat. But this time it’s a desperate man who knows just as much as I do, and he’s got nothing left to lose.
After half a day of classes, I’m exhausted. Even walking up the two flights of stairs to the apartment is a mission. Not surprisingly, Devon is parked up in his truck outside campus, so I catch a lift with him back to our place.
We walk through the door to find Brax and Shay crowded around the living room, watching an ice hockey game. They’re yelling at the television, something about a bad call, or some missed penalty. I shake my head as I laugh at them and walk over to Brax, who stands and plants a huge, probing kiss on me. This is definitely not a kiss that should be given in front of company, even if it is only Shay and Devon. It’s toe curling, spine tingling even, and I can feel myself beginning to melt. I drop my bag and wrap my arms around his hips, pulling him closer to me, feeling every inch of how happy he is to see me.