“Brax, you listen to me,” he scolds. “This shit is already serious. You don’t know what or who you’re dealing with. I’ve been looking into what your friend Brimstone has been up to, and he is more dangerous that you think. You are too wrapped up in your girl and you dropped the ball. This is all on you.”
Dammit. How on earth am I related to this monster?
“What do you want?” I demand.
“I want you two to work for me, and I want you to stay out of the girl’s business. Even better, stay away from the girl,” he says, his voice low and serious now.
“Ain’t going to happen, pops. I’m not leaving her and I told you a long time ago, I’d rather die than work for you,” I reply, realizing that this was Evans game plan all along.
“Well well, I think it’s time you rethink your priorities, don’t you? Girls come and go, but you and Shay are few and far between, don’t you agree?”
I punch the coffee table, the force reverberating through my arm.
“Well, I’ll leave you to ponder that. Shay will be back before you know it,” he says before hanging up on me.
I run my fingers through my hair. What do I do now?
I walk out of the bedroom after my shower to find Brax pacing in the living room. This is starting to become a common occurrence.
“What’s wrong, babe?” I ask, walking towards him.
“Everything’s going wrong,” he murmurs quietly.
“What do you mean?” I ask, getting worried he is talking about our relationship.
He shakes his head. “Nothing hon, you don’t need to worry about me. You look beautiful, by the way. Have I told you that today?” he says, a clear attempt to change the subject.
I eye him suspiciously. I know something is wrong and I know he’s trying to protect me from the truth. I suddenly have a horrifying thought.
“Has…Has there been another note?” I ask, my voice shaky.
“Oh, no. No Elle. Nothing like that, I swear,” he answers, pulling me into his chest as he embraces me. I instantly relax at the closeness. I feel cocooned in his arms, like nothing can touch me when he’s with me.
Fuck! This whole situation is a shit fight. What the hell happened last night? I remember seeing B and Elle off in a taxi and then heading back inside to finish off the party. I remember I was the last to leave the bar and was walking towards my car. I’d been careful not to drink because I knew Brax was drinking and the agreement is that one of us always stays sober. Now I’m in a concrete room somewhere, on a dingy mattress on the floor. I sit up, rubbing my sore head and searching for any clue as to where I am.
I hear a voice on the other side of the door and although I recognize it, I can’t pinpoint exactly who it is. I scan my mind for who it might be, but I’m distracted by my pounding headache. I rub the back of my head and feel an all too familiar bump. Damn them, they knocked me out.
It all starts coming back to me. I remember heading towards my car with my keys in hand, ready to unlock the door when everything went black. They must have knocked me out. They better wish they were dead once I get out of here.
I think of Brax, he’ll know something is up by now. He would have tracked me by my phone. Shit! Where is my phone? I check my pockets, but I can’t find it. They must have taken it, or chucked it. Hopefully he can still track my car, but that will only work if they moved me in my car. Dammit, I need to get to a phone, anywhere, as long as it’s away from these idiots.
I hear the voice again, he must be on the phone.
“Brax, you listen to me.”
I know who it is now, it’s Evans. I knew he’d do something soon, he’s been getting antsy. Ever since Brax went to see him at the warehouse I know he’s been watching us closely. I’m not stupid. I know he wants us to work for him, he even offered me a cool hundred grand for us to work for him, but I know Brax will never let that happen and no amount of money in the world could make me betray him. He has never hated anyone as much as he hates Evans. There is too much family history there that will never change the way he feels him, even if he is blood.
“Frankie, get Shay out of there, I want to speak to him,” I hear Evans bellow at one of his men.
Sure enough, the metal door to the room I’m in starts shakes as it is being unlocked and a disheveled looking teenager comes in with a gun pointed at me.
“Up on your feet,” he demands. I’m not stupid. I have a gun pointed to my head. Even if the guy holding it is shaking like a leaf, you never take on a guy with a gun. Not without having some advantage, anyway.
I jump to my feet, making the boy flinch. I can’t help but grin at him. He’s in way over his head here and he knows it. He points to the door and walks behind me. I walk out the door, taking note of the hallway I’m being led down, how many doors are off it, whether there are any fire alarms or signs on the doors, and any exits I could take. He leads me towards a door at the end of the hallway. Opening it up, I see Evans and a couple of his henchman sitting behind a desk, the slimy grin on Evans’ face tells me that he thinks he’s done well with this little stunt.
“Shay, nice of you to join us. Have a good sleep?” he says with a chuckle. I clench my fists at my side. Damn, this man grates me like no other.
“Have fun knocking me out?” I retort, looking him straight in the eye.
“Yeah, sorry about that. Par for the course” he says. He pauses, like he’s pondering his next move. “I’ve spoken to Brax this morning, he knows I’ve got you and he even knows where we are. But there is no need for him to come all the way up here now, I think I’ve gotten the message across. You’re free to go.”
What? Just like that. Something isn’t right here; this is all seeming a bit too easy.
“Just like that?” I scoff. “You gave me a sore back from sleeping on a hard ass mattress and a killer headache for a stupid message?”
They all start laughing, but Evans goes dead serious all of a sudden.
“Yes Shay, just like that. You’ve served your purpose, now you are free to go. Just pass on my regards to my son,” he adds.
“He’s not your son, you gave up that right,” I say spitefully before turning towards the door.
I’m not stupid, and I’m definitely not sticking around this shithole any longer. I back away towards the door, shutting it behind me. Walking down the hallway, I try every closed door until I find the exit. I walk out into daylight, my eyes taking a few minutes to adjust after being stuck in the dark for so long. Sure enough, in front of the door is my car with my keys in the ignition.