Lost in Distraction

Chapter Thirteen



I wake up, after dozing for about half an hour, to an empty bed and Brax nowhere to be found. I start panicking and sit up quickly, taking a few deep breaths to calm myself down. How stupid. I know Brax loves me. I don’t know why I panicked, he said he would never leave me and I believe him. There is actually no one else I trust more in my life.

I hear the door handle rattle and look up to see Brax walking in with a couple of bags of takeout. It smells so good and I realize that we haven’t eaten since the diner. Looking at his face I can tell something is up, and just when I thought I’d gotten rid of his bad mood. I hope he’ll tell me about it after dinner.

With a huge smile on my face I get up and walk across the room to put a t shirt and my panties back on, purposefully bending over in front of him in the process. I can’t help but grin when I notice Brax watching me with a hungry look on his face—and not for food. He’s a typical male, this one.

I look up at him with a smirk. “Enjoying the view, babe?” He just stares at me with that sexy grin of his.

“You are such a tease, you know that?” he says, making me giggle as he puts the food down and rushes me, pushing me back onto the bed as he starts ravishing me.

Whoa! Note to self, definitely do that again.

He gets off the bed and pulls me up, giving me a kiss on the tip of my nose before pushing his forehead against mine, breathing me in.

“If you’re going to do that, babe, can we at least eat first so I have the stamina to jump your bones again?” he says, his voice laced with intent. I can’t help but laugh.

“Yeah, babe, we can eat first,” I say with a wink. He reaches round and gently taps me on my ass before sitting on the floor and setting out the Chinese food he ordered for us.

“Eat, my love.” He hands over a plate of food over to me. That feeling of warmth sweeps through me again. God, I could get used to this.



I’m putting on an act for Elle. I know it isn’t right and it’s not fair to keep her in the dark, but that note has rattled me to the core. The words keep running through my head.

I will finish what I started.

I don’t know what it is alluding to, although I have a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach, but I refuse to acknowledge it. It can’t be that. It has been too long.

It could be from Evans, it definitely seems like his handy work. I’ve always had a suspicion that he is involved with the man in the car that is stalking us, but it does seem a little obvious for him. He’s not one to be careless, he has always been so careful with everything he does. It is how he has gone so long without being caught. Brimstone? Always possible, but I don’t see him spending money on having us followed. Elle hasn’t even given him an answer about the takeover yet.

I can’t get my head around it. What have they started? What does he mean by finishing it? The more I think about it, the more I can feel a fist tightening around my heart. I couldn’t bear it if something happened to Elle.

For a moment I reconsider our trip to Atlanta. We’re almost halfway. It wouldn’t matter if we turned back now, surely. I feel Elle’s hand on my forearm, snapping me out of my swirling thoughts.

“Hey, babe, you look worried. What’s wrong?” she asks, a sad look marring her beautiful face.

“Sorry…I was just thinking about seeing my house again. It still has so many memories,” I add, kicking myself for lying to her yet again. She puts her food down and shuffles into my lap, wrapping her arms around my shoulders and kneading my neck with her fingers.

“I understand, Brax. I never went back to my house after the murders. I couldn’t face it, but you have so many great memories of your father, you just need to focus on those. It helps get through the bad days.”

I’m amazed how the tables have turned and Elle is comforting me. Damn, my girl is so strong. She almost makes me feel weak. I’ve never met someone with the strength and resilience that she has. She is so determined and independent. She may have closed herself off before meeting me, but she is such a bright star now that she can’t help but make everyone else around her shine.

In that moment, I make a decision about the note. We’ll keep going to Atlanta, but from now on Elle will not leave my sight unless I know she is safe. And since Shay isn’t anywhere nearby, that means we’re going to be attached at the hip.

When Elle goes into the bathroom to clean up after dinner, I take a photo of the note with my phone and send it through to Shay, telling him in a text message how I found it. He rings me straight after receiving it.

“Dude, are you serious?” he says as soon as I say hello.

“Serious as a heart attack, brother,” I reply.

“Well, we can’t get any prints off it now, can we?” he says, sounding irritated.

“Sorry, but I wasn’t going to leave it there for Elle to see.”

“Yeah I realize that. I’ll see what I can do when you get back. Any sign of who it was?”

“Nope, but I’m thinking it’s our friend in the Black Honda from the diner. God knows how he followed us, though,” I add, racking my brain in an attempt to figure out how I how I didn’t see him.

“Well, the plate came back stolen, from New York no less, so we still don’t know who this guy is. Are you guys going to head back now? I don’t like you going further away from where I can help you.” I laugh because he says exactly what I’ve been thinking for the past hour. This is exactly why we work so well together.

“Yeah I’m definitely thinking about it, but I have to run it past Elle first.”

“I know, bro. Let me know either way. Out!” he says, ending the call.

Dropping my phone onto the bed, I stand up and start pacing, running my hands through my hair in frustration. What the hell am I going to do now? I look up to see Elle come back into the room wearing a tank top and shorts, looking at me with a worried look on her face. I hold my arms out to her and she walks straight into my arms. I hold her close to me and stroke her hair while kissing her forehead. She knows I’m upset, but thankfully doesn’t ask why. She just holds me and waits for me to pull away.

I don’t.



Brax received a phone call from Shay after dinner and it rattled him. I was in the bathroom and could hear him talking, hearing him say “bro” and I knew it had to be Shay. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him as unsettled as he is tonight. He is fidgety and keeps pacing around the room, raking his fingers through his hair. I want to ask what’s wrong, but I know he’ll tell me when he is ready. Well, I hope he will. He holds his arms out to me and I instantly go to him, letting his arms surround me and hoping like hell that I’m helping him somehow. All of a sudden I feel his whole body jolt, like he has just come to some major realization.

“Hon, pack your bags, we’re heading out tonight.” I lean back and look up at him.

“Why? We’ve just checked in and we’ve had such a big day already, babe. Can’t we just leave in the morning?” I ask, hoping he’ll see reason.

“I’m too excited to just stay here. Let’s go, you can sleep in the car while I drive. I’ve got a pillow and blanket in the back so you can make yourself comfortable,” he explains as he rushes around the bed, packing up all of our stuff.

“Brax?” I’m standing in the middle of the room, watching him run around like a headless chicken.

“Yeah, babe?”

“What is going on?” I ask, my face giving away my concern. He stops and looks at me from across the bed, sighing loudly and running one of his hands through his hair again. I know the signs now. He’s troubled and he’s thinking about how to tell me.

“I saw another black car when I was getting the takeout. I’m kind of worried about it now, especially after you told me that you’d seen it a few times around our building. Shay said the number plate from the diner was a stolen New York plate. I’m sorry, sweetheart. I just don’t know what to do anymore. I think we need to either keep moving towards Atlanta or head home, but we can’t stay here tonight. I also don’t want to ruin this holiday for you. I’m so sorry,” he says, sounding exasperated. He sits down on the side of the bed, putting his head in his hands.

I walk over and kneel in front of him on the floor. I can see how torn up he is about this. I pull his hands away from his face and using my hand to lift his gaze to mine. His eyes are wet with unshed tears, making them look like the bluest ocean. I swallow down the lump in my throat which threatens to spill out. I can’t cry. Brax needs me to be strong. He’s been so strong for me, now I need to return the favor.

“Babe, whatever you think is the right thing to do, we’ll do it. As long as I have you, I don’t care where we go or what we do. You’re all I need.” I whisper the last bit, a lone tear rolling down my cheek. He leads forward and kisses the tear away; I almost melt on the spot.

“Right. Okay,” he says, rising to his feet. It seems like my little pep talk has worked wonders. “I think we need to head home, at least then we can try and figure this out.” I nod my head and kiss him hard on his closed mouth before pulling away.

He smiles back at me.

“What was that for, sweetheart?”

“Just for being you. I know you’d never let anything happen to me,” I reply.

“Not on my life, baby.”



We check out of the B&B and fill up with gas before heading back home. I send Shay a text while Elle is inside paying the attendant.

Brax: Heading home. Leaving Richmond now.

Shay: Best thing I’ve heard all day. See you tomorrow.

Brax: Roger that.

We drive all through the night and we arrive home around 5 a.m. We park up in Elle’s parking space under the building and grab our bags to head inside.

When we reach the top flight of stairs leading to our apartment, I see the front door slightly ajar. I quickly put my arm out in front of Elle to stop her from getting any closer.

“Wait here, hon. I need to make sure it is safe,” I whisper in her ear. She pulls me back to her, glaring at me like I’m a maniac.

“We should call the cops,” she whispers.

“I’ll be fine. Just don’t move unless I tell you to, okay?” I plead, looking at her scared face.

“Be careful,” I hear her say as she leans in and kisses my cheek. Damn, she’s sweet. Scared as hell and still thinking of my safety.

I walk forward, silently kicking myself that I’m unarmed right now but it’s impossible to wear a piece when Elle’s around. That would definitely make her suspicious. I reach the door and listen for any movement inside. When I don’t hear anything, I slowly push the door open and quietly step inside. Looking around our living room I can’t see anything out of place, except for a six foot blonde guy I know oh so well, sound asleep on the couch. Damn, Shay! Almost gave me a freaking heart attack.

I go back into the lobby to let Elle know it’s okay to come in. She starts giggling when she sees Shay hanging off our couch and she makes me start laughing, too. He has a line of drool coming from his mouth; he is so getting shit for that when he wakes up. After locking the front door, we take our bags in to our bedroom and collapse on the bed. I’m going to kick Shay’s ass when we wake up.

We get out of bed around 11 a.m. and find Shay sitting on the couch, eating some toast.

“Make yourself at home, man,” I mutter, making my way towards the coffeemaker. He looks at me and grins.

“You always were a grumpy shit in the mornings, even in the Army,” he adds, laughing at his own joke. “Bet you wondered why the door was open, brother.”

“Ha, ha. Yeah, real funny, bro. What the hell?” I reply, glaring at him.

Elle steps in, pretending to referee. “C’mon, boys. It’s okay.” We both look at her and crack up laughing, which makes her giggle.

“What’s so funny?” she says, trying to keep a straight face.

“You are, darlin,” I say, giving her a quick peck on the head when I walk past.

“Anyway, enough of your squabbling. I’m going to have a shower,” she adds, giving me a kiss and a sneaky ass grope before walking off towards the bathroom.

“Need any help?” I murmur as she leaves. She responds with a wink and walks off with an extra swing of her hips. Damn, now all I can think about is shower sex with Elle. Shit!

After hearing the water go on in the bathroom and willing my body back under control, Shay and I go straight into business talk.

“Here’s the note.”

I pull the note from Richmond out of my pocket. Thankfully Elle is still unaware of its existence.

“I’m really worried about this,” I say as Shay looks it over.

“This ain’t good, B. This seems personal, not about the business at all. I’m thinking we need to put the heat on Brimstone. He’s the original threat so we have to assume he’s behind this, that’s what our intel suggests, anyway,” he says, matter-of-factly.

“Or he could be getting Evans to do his dirty work which would also fit, but why would he send someone all the way to Richmond?” I muse, thinking out loud like Shay & I always do. It’s just normally we’re not in the same house as the target.



I walk into the kitchen after my shower, wearing a pair of yoga pants and one of Brax’s t-shirts. I love the fact that I have free reign over his shirts now that he’s living with me. Walking through the living room I head for the door, telling the boys that I’m just going to check the mail as I walk past. They nod and continue talking about some football game that’s coming up.

Reaching the bottom floor of my building, I grab my key and unlock my mailbox. I look out the front doors out of habit and sure enough, a few spaces down is the same black car from the diner in Virginia. It has even got a smattering of dust around the underside of the doors. Having a minor lapse of judgment, I head out the glass front doors towards him. I’m sick of this guy following us everywhere. I want to do something to finish this once and for all.

I start striding towards his car, my mail still tightly clutched in my hand. I try to get a good look at him. He’s a pale, measly looking guy with white blonde hair and wide blue eyes that watch me as I get closer to him. The look on his face is really unnerving, like he is staring straight through me. He looks creepy, but I’m so angry at him that I’m not scared at all. He definitely doesn’t look like a photographer or journalist, but these days you can never tell because there are freelancers everywhere. For all I know, they could be getting ready to publish a story about the reclusive heiress and her new live-in lover. It would not surprise me one bit.

I start to lose my nerve the closer I get to his car, he is rather disturbing up close. He has the weirdest look on his face—cold and hateful. He’s looking at me like I’m nothing. I stop just as I’m about to reach the front of the car, suddenly feeling a chill run through my body when I see the evil smile growing on his face. I’m definitely starting to second guess my decision to confront this strange man now. God, I wish Brax was here.

Without warning, he starts the car up and pulls out, squealing his tires as he speeds away. I hear footsteps running on the pavement behind me, and I get a fright when Brax wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me backwards into his chest.

“What the hell, Elle?” he shouts breathlessly. “What do you think you were doing? That man could be dangerous. He could’ve kidnapped you, or worse!” He continues to yell at me and I can’t hold in the whimper that escapes my mouth. He’s never yelled at me before and on top of everything else that’s happened, it’s just too much. I spin around and bury my face into his chest, sobbing uncontrollably.

“I…I just wanted to scare him off. I thought he was just a low-life paparazzi looking for another story about me.” As I sob, Brax cups my chin and lifts my eyes up to meet his.

“Elle, we don’t know who he is or who he’s working for. I didn’t know where you were and when you took so long, I raced downstairs. Sweetheart, you nearly gave me a heart attack when I saw you standing next to his car.” He runs his hand up and down my back in long soothing strokes, trying to calm me down.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think. I’m just sick of seeing him everywhere, I’m sick of being watched!” I say vehemently. Why did I do something so stupid?

“It’s okay, sweetheart. You’re fine. I wouldn’t let anything happen to you. You know that, right?” he says deadpan.

“Y-y-y-yeah, I do,” I splutter as I snuggle right in close to him. “I feel safe with you,” I murmur as he picks me up, carrying me back into our building.



The boss man called me into a meeting an hour ago. He feels that something is amiss with Miss Halliwell and is starting to think that Brax and Shay aren’t focused on the job. He wants me to check up on them. I call Shay, who thankfully answers straight away.

“Yo, Gibbs. What’s up?”

“Shay, you guys need to sort your shit out. We need new information. The boss man is turning into an even grumpier a*shole than normal and I need something new to give him,” I say sternly, making sure Shay knows I mean business.

“Yeah, man, we’re on it,” he says. “Brax and I were talking about it earlier. We think that Evans has been hired to do Brimstone’s dirty work and has hired a lackey to follow Elle around. Brax and Elle got back this morning and have been lying low, but Elle almost had a confrontation with this guy because he was sitting outside her building in his car again.”

“What the f*ck, Shay! That is inexcusable. She has to be covered at all times! What if she’d been taken, then where would we be? You know she is worth a hell of a lot of money and it is our job to keep her safe and well until the Boss man calls time. That includes keeping her the hell away from Evans!” I’m yelling down the phone at him now. Bloody amateur.

“Yep, boss, I hear ya. We’re doing our best. This time she kind of got away from us, but it won’t happen again, sir,” he says, actually sounding worried at what we might do.

“Okay, well consider this a warning, Shay. Eyes on the prize and all that. Ask Brax to find out when she is giving Brimstone her answer about the buy-out, too. That is when the shit’s going to hit the fan and we need to be prepared for it.”

“Yes, boss, I’m on it. Till next time,” he says. Cheeky shit.

“Freakin’ smartass,” I mutter to myself, hanging up the phone. I hear the boss walk up behind me at my desk.

“Everything under control, Gibbons?” he bellows in his low voice. That voice still gives me the chills and I’ve been working for him for over ten years now.

“Yes, sir, all sorted out. Shouldn’t be long now,” I add.

“Good, I’m looking forward to taking that a*shole down,” he says, turning and stalking out the door.

“Phew,” I sigh. Those boys better come through for me.

Or else we could all end up going down.