17. Ellie
17
ELLIE
Ruthie and I were scheduled to have lunch today down the street from the office at a sushi restaurant. She and I had been making a habit of going to lunch or dinner together and getting to know each other better.
Ruthie even confided in me about her past—and how she met Archer in Las Vegas .
"After my mom died when I was fourteen, things went downhill fast," Ruthie began. " My dad always wanted sons, and only sons. He basically hated me, so my older brother Jason ended up raising me. By the time I was twenty, I’d saved enough to move out, but Jason’s friend Mal wouldn’t leave me alone. He always sent me roses and jewelry, which creeped me out. Turns out, the jewelry was stolen. When I turned it into the police, I inadvertently exposed my family’s pawn shop, which was selling the stolen goods. In turn, I landed my dad and brother in jail."
I stared at her, wide-eyed. " That’s insane."
"It didn’t stop there," she said sadly. " One of their associates broke into my apartment and nearly killed me. Archer was the responding officer and suggested I move for my safety. Since my grandpa lived here, it seemed like a natural place. That , and Archer offered me a job."
While Ruthie’s story wasn’t the same as mine, we both knew what it was like to be haunted by people who wouldn’t leave us alone. It was an odd thing to bond over, but we did. And since neither of us knew many people here, we found a strange comfort in having each other.
She was also really great to talk to about Wade —which lately was becoming more complicated since I was still staying with him in his apartment, but we hadn’t really had any conversations about where we stood or what we were doing.
Needless to say, I was looking forward to lunch with Ruthie today so I could pick her brain a little.
I walked out of the elevator and turned right into the main entrance to the front lobby, where Ruthie was sitting behind her desk. She was on the phone and looked at me while holding up her finger, indicating she just needed a minute. I gave her a thumbs-up and sat down in one of the chairs by the front windows. Ruthie said goodbye and hung up the phone before turning to me.
“The phrase ‘the customer is always right’ is definitely not a one-size-fits-all rule,” Ruthie sighed, rolling her eyes.
Having worked in the service industry for several years, I understood her frustration.
“Can you give me a few minutes to sort some things for Vince really quick?” she asked me. “ That was a thirty-five-minute waste of a call I did not have time for, and Vince needed these reports within the hour.”
“Sure, or we can order, and I can just go pick the food up while you finish up and bring it back here, and we can eat in the fancy conference room,” I told her, because I honestly didn’t care where we ate. I just wanted to catch up with her, and I knew Mondays were chaotic for her.
“Are you sure? You don’t need to walk there. We can just get delivery,” Ruthie countered, looking unsure. “ I know the guys don’t want you walking anywhere by yourself.”
“They removed the tracker from my car, and we haven’t had any calls lately, so Wade said I could have a little more freedom. I’m just going across the street.”
Ruthie hesitated, then looked at me with sadness and guilt in her eyes, and I knew she must be feeling bad for having to adjust our lunch, but I honestly didn’t care where we ate as long as we got to chat.
“This time of day, it would be quicker for me to walk over and pick it up myself,” I explained. “ Let’s just place the order, and I’ll walk over and get it in a few minutes and bring it back here.”
I pulled up the app on my phone and typed in my order. When I went to hand it to her, she handed me a small box she pulled from her purse.
“Since you liked mine so much, I got you one too,” Ruthie uttered.
I opened the box to find a charm of boxing gloves, similar to the one I had complimented her on during a shift at the bar one night.
“Now we match, just like sisters,” she said, her jaw twitching slightly. “ I got you a yellow pair since I know you’re not a pink person like me.” She smiled weakly.
Her voice wavered slightly, and I could see emotion in her eyes that I couldn’t quite pinpoint. Ruthie had once mentioned she only had a brother, like me, so I chalked it up to this gesture making her sentimental.
“This one can be added to your charm necklace here,” she said. “ I know you said your grandma gave you that necklace, but I figure this can be a new charm to represent a new phase in your life.”
I smiled at her and thanked her sincerely. The gesture was incredibly thoughtful, and, I loved her idea of how it symbolized my fresh start here in Georgia . She reached into her desk drawer and handed me the tools to attach it to my necklace. She appeared oddly insistent I put it on before I left, so to make her happy, I added it on and thanked her again. It really was a beautiful charm.
Afterward, I walked over to the restaurant to pick up our order. While I waited by the register, I suddenly felt like someone was staring at me. It was a weird feeling, but my body was already on alert because I was by myself, and I knew the guys would frown at me for coming here alone. I turned and glanced around the restaurant, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and no one even seemed to be paying me any attention. Still , I couldn’t help but shake that creepy feeling.
“Order for Ellie !” the cashier called out.
I grabbed my order and made my way to the door just as a sharp jolt startled me. Someone bumped into me hard enough to make me stumble back.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said instinctively, looking up.
The man before me was older, maybe in his fifties, with a face etched in harsh lines and eyes that held nothing kind. He didn’t say a word—just stared at me, unblinking, his expression cold and unsettling.
“Excuse me,” I said, trying to move around him to the exit.
He didn’t budge, his gaze tracked me like a predator sizing up prey.
“Watch yourself,” he finally said, his voice low and menacing.
Heart pounding, I pushed past him quickly and turned around to look, but he was already gone, as though he’d vanished into thin air.
Just to be on the safe side, though, I quickened my pace across the street. By the time I reached the safety of the front office, I practically burst through the door.
“Are you ok? Did you run here?” she asked, looking a little worried.
“I’m fine.” I didn’t want to share everything with her because I was pretty sure I was just being paranoid about the guy. “ Some rude guy just bumped into me on the way out.”
“I knew you shouldn’t have gone over there alone!” she scolded, shaking her head.
“It’s not a big deal. Let’s just eat.” I told her
I wasn’t sure she believed me, but she didn’t call me out on it.
We enjoyed our lunch and chatted for an hour about a new book we’d both started reading and how we wanted to try out some of the newer hiking trails at the nearby Chattahoochee National Forest . We made plans for the following weekend when we both had a day off.
* * *
After lunch, I returned to my apartment to shower and change for my shift. That evening, I was waiting tables since we had two people call in sick. It wasn’t as fun as working the bar with Tammy but usually earned me better tips. Plus , Wade mentioned he was working behind the bar for a few hours tonight because Sam had plans, so he couldn’t come in until after the dinner rush.
During the dinner rush, I approached one of my booths, which had been seated with a new party of four at it. The semi-circle booths in the back had high sides, making it hard to see who was seated. As I got closer, I noticed the older woman sitting on the end looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place her right away. As I got closer, I saw all four women look up and smile at me, and I realized this table was full of Wade’s family, minus his dad.
“Ellie, so good to see you,” his mom said with a smile. “ What a coincidence we got you as our waitress. How wonderful!”
The rest of the table chuckled, and I realized maybe she’d seen me and asked for me on purpose. I smiled at that thought.
“Well, I’m happy you’re all here,” I told them. “ Now let me see if I can remember everyone’s names.” I paused, thinking in my head. “ Willa and Whitney ,” I said pointing to his two sisters sitting on the right. “ And you’re Wendy .” I pointed to his mom but then paused. “ Hmmm , they all called you Nana , so I’m not sure I remember your name, but I’m guessing it starts with a W like everyone else’s,” I joked.
“Nonsense. All that name weirdness started with my daughter.” She waved her hand around. “ My name is Carol , but you can call me Nana too if that’s easier.” She smiled at me, and I instantly missed my own gran.
I got their drink and food orders and put them in, occasionally going back to check on them, but the place was busy, so I didn’t have much time to chat with them over the next twenty minutes.
I was making my way to one of my other tables with some appetizers when I noticed Wade was now at the booth talking with his family. He didn’t look very happy. Was there something wrong with their food? Had they needed a refill? Once I set the food down on my current table, I started to make my way back to Wade’s family’s table to see if they needed something. As I got closer, I heard them talking, but then Wade turned to me and stopped talking. His face was unreadable but still slightly grumpy.
“Is everything okay? Do you guys need anything?” I asked his family.
“We’re fine, dear,” his mom said. “ Wade here apparently doesn’t like it when we come to visit. Supposedly we embarrass him.”
“You aren’t here to visit me, and we both know it,” Wade said, staring at his mom, who appeared to be unaffected by his glare. “ You called Tammy to ask when Ellie was working tables then came in on that very night and specifically asked to be seated in her section so you could ambush her.”
"Well, Wade , if you weren’t dragging your feet, we wouldn’t have to do the ambushing, now would we?” His grandma chuckled and raised her eyebrows.
“Besides, Ellie seems happy to see us,” Willa said. “ And we plan to leave a generous tip for her emotional support expenses now that she has to live with you."
Every woman at the table just grinned, but I felt my face turning bright red. They knew we were living together?
“You’re all pains in my ass, you know that?” Wade grumbled.
All four women chuckled at his grumpiness, and it made me smile.
Wade turned to me and spoke softer as he put his right hand around the back of my neck and shoulder. “ I’m headed out. I’ll be back at the end of your shift to come get you and head back to the apartment.”
He leaned in to kiss me on my temple, his hand slowly moving down my back and slightly squeezed my hip, and then he turned and walked away.
He’d kissed me. In public! I knew it wasn’t on the lips, but it was definitely something you wouldn’t do to just any coworker, and there were people around. In fact, when I looked up, Beth was staring at me with a look on her face that clearly said, “ Sure you two are just friends.”
I didn’t realize I was standing there frozen for a few seconds until Wade’s mom spoke.
“Aww, that was so cute,” she said, smiling at me.
“Who knew the big brute had a soft side,” Whitney said, chuckling.
“You two are cute together,” his grandma said. “ You will make such beautiful great-grandbabies for me.”
The rest of the table all laughed while my face continued to turn even redder and my eyes widened. Not knowing what to say to that comment, I tried to go back to waitress mode.
“Can I get you guys anything else?” I asked.
“Just the check, my dear,” Wade’s mom said with a huge smile on her face still.
They left about fifteen minutes later, and yes, they gave me a huge tip. Trying not to think too much about what just happened, I moved over to my other three tables to check on everyone and ask about refills. As I walked over to the bar to put in an order for another table, Tammy was waiting for me and staring at me as I walked toward her with a big smile on her face.
“I see you decided to go with the ‘have more fun’ option.” She shot me a knowing look as I typed in my drink order and sighed.
“I don’t know what is happening exactly,” I told her.
“Ask him,” Tammy said, like it was the simplest thing in the world.
“It’s not that simple,” I tried to explain to her.
“Honey, men are simple creatures. Most of the time you don’t have to ask a guy what they’re thinking because it’s usually only about their job, sports, food, and sex, or some combination of those four,” she said as she turned to make my drink order. “ But if you need clarification, just ask. Especially with a guy like Wade , who is gonna give it to you straight.”
I didn’t have anything else to say because I didn’t know how to respond to that, so I just stood there.
“Alright, here you go,” she said, handing me my drinks. “ Just talk to him, sweetheart. This doesn’t have to be any more complicated than you want it to be.”
I nodded, knowing she was right, but still nervous. The rest of the night was uneventful and seemed to go by very quickly.
I was cleaning up one of my last tables when I saw Wade come in the front door. He saw me and started to walk over to me. His mood was definitely better than when he was here earlier talking with his family.
“Hey babe, I’ll be in the back office working on the schedule. Just come get me when you’re done,” he said, winking at me and then walking back to the office.
Beth walked up next to me and had a weird grin on her face.
“ Babe? ” she said beside me, almost shocked. “ Yeah , you’re just friends.” She snorted then walked back over to her tables.
Why had he called me that in public? I knew we’d been staying together, but that was because of Randall . Was it because of the sex? Maybe Tammy was right and we needed to have a talk. I didn’t need anything else complicated in my life right now, especially a man. A good-looking man too.
I cleaned the rest of my tables, closed out at the bar, and said goodbye to everyone as I walked back to the office. The door was open, so I stepped into the doorway. Wade was sitting there at his desk writing things down on a piece of paper. When he didn’t look up, I took the opportunity to study him. He really was incredibly handsome. He had on a fitted Army green T -shirt that showed off his upper arm muscles and some of his tattoos. His hair looked a little damp, like he’d showered right before he came here but hadn’t dried it all the way. The muscles in his forearm flexed as he wrote things down, and I started to feel myself flush thinking of how good those arms had felt wrapped around me.
“You keep staring at me like that, and I’m gonna take you right there on that couch. We won’t make it upstairs.” Wade’s comment startled me out of my thoughts.
His words flowed right through me, making my skin heat up from the inside out.
“Ellie,” he all but growled at me. “ Grab your bag. Let’s go.”
He stood from his desk, and I turned around quickly to grab my purse from my cubby in the breakroom. With my purse in hand, I turned to see Wade in the doorway, but just as we were about to leave, Sam came walking toward us.
“Hey Ellie , some guy left this for you on one of your tables, said he forgot to leave a tip earlier,” Sam said, handing me an envelope of some kind.
I thanked him and lifted the lip of the envelope to open it. It had a folded-up piece of paper inside, which I opened.
Confused, I looked back at the piece of paper and unfolded it, and I suddenly got light-headed. It felt like all my blood rushed to me feet, and I knew my face had gone bone-white. Inside was a very simple handwritten message.
“Whores don’t belong here! That man does not belong to you. Do not put your filthy hands on another man. You don’t belong here. You belong in Tennessee . You will be going home whether you like it or not.”
Wade must have seen the reaction on my face, because the piece of paper was taken from my hands, but I didn’t remember much in that moment because my mind started spinning and I felt myself getting dizzy, scared, and angry all at the same time.
I felt Wade grab my arms and set me down on the bench and heard him talking to someone before he crouched down in front of me and put his hands on my face.
“Ellie, baby look at me,” he said softly to me. I looked up at him but didn’t say anything. “ You’re safe.”
“He knows I’m here, and he knows about you,” I said as I looked in his eyes and started to panic.
“Breathe, baby. Just breathe. We don’t know it was him personally. He could have gotten someone else to do it,” Wade said and that got my attention.
“You think so?” I asked softly.
“Diego is upstairs in the office still, so I’m having him check the cameras to see what this guy looks like,” he said calmly, though I was sure he was only calm for my benefit. He got up and walked back to the doorway.
“Hey Chuck ,” he yelled down the hall to the kitchen area, where Chuck was still cooking. “ Need a favor. Can you go get Sam and tell him to come back here ASAP ? Thanks .”
He turned and came back to me, squatting down to my level. His eyes were looking me over, assessing me, likely to see if I was going to break down. He put his hands on the top of my thighs, and his thumbs rubbed softly across my jeans, almost soothingly. This motion oddly calmed me, and I felt my panic attack starting to subside.
“I’m okay,” I told him. He stared at me as if trying to assess whether I was telling the truth or not.
“What’s up, boss?” Sam came into the doorway then glanced down at Wade in front of me, with me probably still a little pale. “ Everything okay?”
“Can you describe the man who gave you the envelope to give to Ellie ? Recognize him?” Wade spoke as he stood, staying close to me.
“Uh, no, didn’t recognize him,” Sam said, scratching his head. “ Honestly , the dude kept his head down, just mumbled he forgot to tip you, and he dropped the envelope off at the bar. I was mid-drink pour, but I grabbed it so no one else would help themselves to it. Dude was old-lookin’ though. My guess, late fifties or sixties. Looked rough too. Like he hadn’t showered in a few days, maybe even homeless.”
“Right, thanks. You can head back to the bar,” Wade said to Sam .
Sam nodded but hesitated walking away. He probably sensed something was up but also knew he was leaving the bar to Chuck and needed to get back.
Wade made another call to Diego then hustled me safely out of the pub and up the stairs to his apartment.
“Go ahead and get changed, babe. Do your routine, and I’ll meet you in the bedroom in a minute,” he declared, brokering no room for argument.
I could tell he was angry, though he was trying to keep calm, likely for my sake. I was too tired and angry myself to argue with him, so I went back to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. I really was wiped from a long shift, and then the letter nonsense took the last bit of energy I had. I was walking back into the bedroom, and I could hear he was on the phone. Likely calling Archer or Vince , or both, to update them.
I couldn’t wait to get to a point in time when these men were not spending all their time fixing my problems. I couldn’t wait to not have to deal with Randall at all. I growled low in my throat. I hated that man for not leaving me alone. I just wanted to go to school, have a job I enjoyed, see my brother again, spend time with friends, and just have a normal, quiet life. I tried to still my racing brain and focus on the task of getting ready for bed.
I’d just finished changing into my pajamas when Wade came into view, standing in the doorway. His face was blank, but I focused on his arms, which were stretched out to the top of the door frame. His muscles were on full display.
The back of my mind still raced from the letter and Randall , but at that moment, Wade looked so gorgeous, it was hard to ignore. His thick, corded muscles fully flexed as though he was using the door frame to support himself. It was total arm porn, and I bit my lip, enjoying the sight. With his arms up, his tee now bared a hint of skin over his stomach, and a peak of his sculpted abs were on display. I looked down even further, and I could see the evidence of a bulge in his pants. God , what that man could do with that part of his body. I’d obviously seen it in use, but Wade was more of the take charge, “we do it my way” kind of guy, so I hadn’t really been able to explore that particular part of his anatomy in great detail with my hands or mouth yet. I realized in that moment, I wished I could.
“Ellie, my eyes are up here,” Wade teased.
I grinned back at him, knowing he’d caught me looking, but I didn’t care. His face softened and he started to walk toward me.
“We need to talk about tonight,” he said softly. “ You doing okay?”
“Surprisingly yes,” I told him, and I meant it. I realized that even though the letter had spooked me, Wade was a calming presence and had brought me back to the here and now, where I knew I was safe.
“You sure?” he asked, cupping my face.
I nodded and moved my body into his, so we were touching from chest to thigh. Wrapping my arms around his torso, I hugged him closer.
“I am,” I said as I tilted my head back a little and looked into his eyes. “ We don’t need to talk about it. I really am okay. I’m peeved about the note and angry that Randall won’t leave me alone, but there’s nothing I can do about it right this moment, so no sense worrying or focusing all my time on it. There are other things I’d rather do instead.”
I moved my hands from around him back to the front of his chest and slid them slowly up and down. I could see in his eyes he was unsure of what to do. So , I leaned forward and kissed him, making the decision for both of us.
It was just a soft kiss, and at first, he just let me take control. I opened my mouth and put my tongue on his lips, and he opened for me.
That was when the kiss turned heated, and his hands, once gently cupping my cheeks, slid down to my neck. He tilted my head to intensify the connection, but I could sense he was holding back. He broke the kiss briefly, resting his forehead against mine. He probably thought I should be an emotional wreck after the letter and didn’t want to push me. But I wasn’t. Being in his arms made me feel safer than I ever had. If he was going to hold back, though, I decided to take control and do what I wanted.
I pulled back slightly, meeting his gaze for a moment before dropping to my knees in front of him. My hands found his belt, and I began unfastening it.
“Babe,” he uttered, trying to stop my hands from undoing the button on his jeans.
“No, Wade , I need this, and I want to do this,” I explained to him in the most stern, no-nonsense voice I could muster while lowering the zipper on his pants and continuing on with my mission.
He let out a low, calm protest, gripping my wrists to stop me. “ Not sure I want my dick in your mouth while you’re angry and upset.”
Before I could respond, he growled, “ Later ,” and pulled me back to my feet.
He kissed me again, harder this time. The kiss was fierce, almost primal, as though we were channeling the adrenaline from everything that had just happened into this moment. He walked me backward toward the bed, breaking the kiss only when I felt it against the back of my knees.
Dazed, I heard the faint rustling sound and glanced down to see him rolling on a condom. Seconds later, he was inside me.
“You feel so damn good,” he muttered, his voice low and gravelly.
He was pumping in and out of me frantically, as though he couldn’t control himself. He leaned down and sucked hard on my left nipple, while simultaneously rolling my right nipple between his fingers.
My first orgasm was barely a memory as my next one began to crash over me. I cried out his name again as pure bliss rolled through my entire body.
“Ellie,” he groaned as his body jerked through his release.
We lay there for what seemed like a long time, but undoubtably was likely just minutes. We were both still breathing heavy, and he rolled to the side. He kissed my forehead as he got up to go dispose of the condom. When he came back, he curled me so that I was laying half on top of him while he was on his back. Almost instantly, I was asleep, completely forgetting everything that happened earlier in the evening and forgetting that I wanted to talk with him.