Chapter 16 #6
“Kitchen is this way,” I continue. I half expect her to interrupt me, tell me to stop, or ask questions about her moving in, but she doesn't, letting herself be led.
It is two a.m. now, and it looks like we are both experiencing the same suspended exhaustion.
We pass by the large white upholstered kitchen with two round rusty-gold light fixtures, a large island, and everything anyone could ever need to cook.
Not that I have ever used the oven myself, but I have never heard my housekeeper complain.
Having Ella here could be a good way to finally try cooking something here.
Taking the stairs, I notice a flinch in her step, fatigue finally catching up to her.
I scoop her into my arms before she can protest and carry her upstairs.
I don't stop to question morals or etiquette, since I would rather sleep on the floor next to her than in another bedroom.
So I take her straight to mine, at the end of the hallway, past the guest room and the gym.
The door opens into darkness, save for the faint spill of moonlight slipping through the half-closed curtains.
Dark wood stretches from floor to ceiling, with a stone wall behind the charcoal bedsheets. My own fortress. Secluded. Untouchable.
A chair waits near the window, angled toward the trees, beside the small table where I leave a pile of books I never take time to read.
Perhaps she could use it for her own reading?
Though I would need to add more lighting, blankets, and whatever she pleases.
I cross to the bed and lower her carefully onto the mattress, keeping one hand behind her shoulders until I am sure she is settled.
All sounds here are nonexistent except for the rustle of branches outside.
She is out, completely asleep. Carefully, I remove her shoes. There, she’ll be more comfortable.
Searching for a blanket, I find one in the dresser.
Never used it. I cover her, making sure to tuck her sides.
Is she okay? Does she need anything more?
I have never… Her breathing evens out as she lets out the most adorable small sigh.
I guess…I guess she is okay. Kneeling with one leg, I raise my hand mid-air.
Wanting to kiss her on the forehead, I stop.
Ella is asleep, and I am not exactly certain how she would feel about this gesture while being out.
With another woman, I wouldn’t ask myself that many questions, but…
I doubt Ella has ever been with a man before, let alone slept outside her home.
I did bring her here for her safety and, well, because I also wanted–no, needed her here, in my place, under my roof.
Still, physical boundaries are a different matter, and I need to know hers before pursuing anything more.
Cracking my neck, I take a deep breath, wanting nothing more than to be close to her.
I settle for a gentle caress of her temple.
“I’ll be right back, sweetheart,” I murmur, and turn before I change my mind and let my resolve snap under the weight of desire. Getting out of this room has never been so hard. Yet, duty descends under my skin, my calm morphing into something lethal and cold.
Stepping into my living room, lit only by two dim lights, one in the corner and one from the entryway, I take out my phone.
“Yeah,” rasps Nate, sounding like he has just crawled out of bed, which makes sense since, checking the time, it is now past two a.m. Catching him up on our situation, I inform him of my plan.
“From now on, I am reinforcing security for you, Maddie, and Mom. You will have constant house watch and bodyguards. I am turning the office into a fortress, and I’m expecting to find the breach in our security that this fucking rat used to intrude.
You will have to inform all our staff tomorrow of the new security protocols, including digital screening. ”
“Wait, Mad and me too? Are you sure you’re not overreacting?”
“Either this, or I move all of you into a safe house.”
“Bodyguards it is, then,” Nate sighs, his voice catching, clearer. “What about Ella? Is she all right?”
“Yeah, she’s, she’s…”
“Don’t tell me you brought her home.”
I go silent.
“No way,” he lets out. “You’re sure you’re my brother?” He’s trying to diffuse the obvious tension. “I’ll be there first thing in the morning at the office, taking care of the announcement and the new security protocol.”
“Thanks. Thanks, I…”
“You did good bringing her home.” Silence stretches, the reality of Ella taking place in all parts of my world now undeniable.
“Never thought I’d see the day that you, my brother, would move in with someone, but yeah, there’s a first for everything.
” I grin in silence behind the call, fear fighting with me, diluting into my blood, telling me I could have it all. It is almost there. Almost.
“Alright,” I clear my throat, “I have to go, er…”
“Yeah, sure, just…” He pauses. “Don’t get killed, yeah?”
“Sounds great,” I rasp. Another silence falls, and I end the call, then call Matt, my head of security.
Quickly putting a security plan into motion, I reinforced every aspect of my life and business, physical and digital, turning Ashford Building into a fortress and finding someone for Ella’s dad.
A nurse who happens to have worked with him in the field back in the day, whom we will manage to get hired through Mara’s care company as a replacement for the one currently working that job.
That is the best I can do so far to make sure her father gets proper care and safety while Ella is here.
At home. Our home? No, stop. This is premature.
A muffled sound strikes me as I stand near the window.
Did I imagine it? Sprinting toward the stairs, I rush to my bedroom.
The sound repeats again, sheets shifting, heavy breathing.
Cole could never enter this place, but what if…
What if he could? What if he was about to steal or hurt Ella? What if…
Squirming under the sheet, eyes squeezed tight, my Ella is crying words I cannot hear, fisting the fabric and contorting as if being attacked from the inside out.
Her voice is not there, but I swear, I swear I hear it, pleading to be found in whatever hell she has found herself in.
Her breathing catches, heaving, like she has just sprinted.
Terror punctures my chest, and I rush to her, climbing on the bed still in my black pants and white shirt folded at the elbows.
For a second, I hesitate. Can I touch her now?
How will she react? A tear forms at the corner of her eye as she keeps thrashing, and my palms find her shoulders.
“Ella, wake up, sweetheart. Wake up.” She keeps moving, but I continue.
“I’m here. You’re not alone. You’re safe.
I’m right here. Wake up, baby, just…” She stops moving, her chest lifting slightly, face moving left and right, looking for me.
With care, I place my hand on her cheek, cupping it, and she embraces the touch, inhaling my skin, the motion wild and feral, making my blood boil.
Ever so slightly, her eyes open, the imperceptible sanguine light from the corner of the room letting her wake without the blade of brightness hurting her vision.
I sit on the bed as she naturally climbs onto my lap, seeking refuge in my neck, inhaling my scent, holding on to my biceps, hard.
“Just a nightmare. Just a nightmare,” I repeat, trying desperately to soothe her.
Am I doing this right? Should I offer her a glass of water?
Or space? Or a blanket? Her breathing slows as she backs off slightly, just enough for our noses to brush.
“What happened?” I ask as she wipes her tears, signing between our chests.
“Everything was gone. You, my dad, everything. I was all alone in a dark place with no walls or ceiling. It was so scary, Tristan. What if whoever sent you the photo finds me?”
Connecting our foreheads, I murmur, rubbing her back, “You are not alone, and you never will be,” because if she is as in as I am, then this is for the long run. “I will keep you safe and make sure you never have to be afraid anymore. I’m going to take care of this, Ella.”
“You promise?”
“I promise. Tomorrow, you’ll stay here while I take care of it, and then it will be done.”
“Take care of it?”
“Do you really want to know?” She hesitates, looking right, then back at me, shaking her head.
“What if they hurt you? What if tomorrow something goes wrong and…”
“It won’t. It will be okay. I promise you.”
“How can you be so sure? If they managed to break into the building, then…”
“It will be okay because I know exactly what to do,” I lie, shame coating me all over.
No, Ella, I do not know where Cole is. And no, I am not calm or composed.
All of this is a fucking facade because picturing you away from me tears me apart, and I need you to stay here, safe, while I find a way to find Cole and stop him once and for all.
So no, Ella, I have no idea what I am doing for the first time in a decade.
She nods, but tears betray her, and small sobs escape her.
“Ella, baby, look at me.” A frown wears her face, tiredness along with worry, and I want to take it away. Think. Think. What did Nate use to do to try to cheer me up after I got sent home from fighting at school and Mom and Dad threatened to send me away to juvie?
“I…” This is so stupid. What am I doing?
“Um.” Come on, just try to put a smile on her face.
“Would you, um, would you rather dance in front of a hundred people or have your palms sealed with concrete for a whole year?” A smile shatters her sadness, and a joyful burst of laughter, even though silent, slashes through her.
Crisis averted. That would flatten Nate.
He’s always taunting me for being too stuck up.
I would tell him, see? I am good at humor.