Lost in Distraction

Chapter Nineteen



I hear the bedroom door open and Brax walks back into the living room towards me. He leans over and gives me a soft kiss on the lips and presses his forehead to mine, wrapping his hands around my neck.

“He’s okay,” he whispers.

“Oh, Brax, I told you he would be,” I reply as I jump to my feet and embrace him. I can feel him relaxing into my arms. It’s a strange feeling, me being the one to comfort him for once, but I like it. I know this is the perfect opportunity to find out what happened.

“So, where was he?” I ask.

“Uh… he ended up in Boston of all places,” he says with a grimace. Boston? That’s, like, three hours away from here.

“Why did he go there?” I inquire, still trying to work out the situation in my head.

“To see his old girlfriend apparently, but he was so tired by the time he got there that he just crashed out in his car and rang me as soon as he woke up.”

“Right,” I say, not buying the story. Shay doesn’t seem the type of guy to drive for three hours in the middle of the night just for sex with an old girlfriend. God, at the bar last night there were more than enough candidates for a one night stand.

“Now that he’s woken up, he’s heading back. Is it okay if he calls by on his way home? I said you were worried about him.”

“Yeah, it’ll be nice to see he’s okay, especially after you were so worried,” I say quietly, noticing a frown forming on Brax’s face. “What’s wrong, babe?”

“It’s nothing, sweetheart, don’t worry your pretty little head about it,” he says, giving me a quick kiss before grabbing his bag.

“Now that it’s all sorted, I should really head over to the library to look up some reference material for my management class. Shay also thinks he dropped his phone in the parking lot near the bar, so he asked if I could go have a look.

“Okay. Will you be home for dinner?” I ask.

“Definitely, darlin,” I hear him say from the hallway.

I sit back down on the couch and smile at Brax. I love the way he drawls when he says darlin’.

Now that I have time to think, I’m wondering why Shay ended up in Boston. When we left the bar last night he said he was going back inside to help clean up then go home. Something doesn’t seem to add up. I’m left pondering it while I pick up my English literature textbook and continue studying.



I hate lying to Elle, but I have to get out of the apartment to sort my head out. With everything going on, Shay missing for twelve hours was the last straw.

I dropped the ball last night. One of us always stays sober, which was why Shay didn’t drink much last night, but I was so caught up in Elle that I didn’t think twice about leaving him alone at the bar. Dammit! I punch my dash. I would never have forgiven myself had he been hurt, especially by my f*ck up of a father. Until I see him tonight, I won’t know exactly what they did to him. Knowing what Evans’ men are like, I’d say he’s been roughed up at the very least.

My first instinct is to ring Evans and have a go at him, but he’s probably changed phone numbers by now anyway. He doesn’t trust anyone so he goes through burner phones like he changes underwear, that is why his number is always unknown. Even I can’t track him half the time. I just send a message through to his office and he always seems to have the time to call me straight back.

I drive around for a while, listening to old school rock in my car while I try to clear my head. When Shay gets back at least I’ll have a better idea of what happened. I don’t believe for a second that he was taken all the way to Boston just because daddy dearest wants us to work for him. He was sending another message, I just can’t work out what that is. Are we getting too close? Are we all at risk now? For all his faults, I know Evans would never stand by and let me be killed. Beaten, yes, but given that I’m one of only two sons he has, I know I’m safe when it comes to him. Maybe he knows something about Brimstone’s plans for Elle and, if he does, then how is he able to track us. I’m starting to think that we might have a rat in the organization.

I decide to bypass Gibbons and call the big boss directly.

“Boss? It’s Brax. Can you talk securely?” I ask when he answers.

“Yes, Brax. For what do I owe the pleasure?” he replies in his low monotone voice. The boss is not one to show emotion very often, it helps with the persona.

“I think we might have a problem,” I explain.

“Go on.”

“Shay was kidnapped by Evans overnight.”

“What did you say?” he says, the anger in his voice is palpable.

“Yup, Evans had his goons grab Shay as he was leaving the bar last night and I didn’t hear about it until I got a text from Evans himself this afternoon,” I explain. “At the very least, the GPS in his phone or car should have been tagged when he was taken. Why wasn’t I called?” I ask, getting angry the more I think about it.

“Good question, Brax. Better still, why weren’t you with him?” he asks sternly.

“I was distracted, sir,” I say solemnly.

“I see. The girl again, was it? I warned you about this, Brax,” he scolds.

“Yes, boss, but it can’t be helped. Shay and I kept to our normal protocol so he wasn’t drinking much last night. But that’s not the biggest problem—why wasn’t Shay’s GPS tagged when it moved out of the area? We always check in with HQ.”

“Yes, I know. Gibbons was on the night shift last night, he doesn’t usually miss something like this,” he notes.

“Well, I’m a little spooked now. Given that despite all security measures being in place, Shay was still taken.”

“Yes, Brax. I’m not happy about it at all and will be investigating” he states in his ‘I mean business’ voice.

“You can understand why I’d rather just deal with you now, though. I don’t trust anyone else right now.” I hope like hell the chance I’m taking is the right one.

“Brax, I’ll always have your back, you know that. What did Evans want?” he asks.

“Daddy dearest wants us to work for him. Apparently this was his way of getting that message across, but I’m not buying it.”

“Nope, the fact that Evans wants you by his side is no secret Brax, and you know why. Lucky for you, I know where your loyalty lies so I’m not worried. Do I have reason to be?”

“Not at all. You know my opinion of Evans, and you and Shay are the only one who know exactly why. I’m also curious why it’s taking so long to get intel back from Gibbons about the two notes Elle has been sent?”

“Really? Now that’s interesting because he assured me he had reported back to you. There was no evidence on them. We can’t link them to Brimstone or Evans, or anybody else for that matter. They’re clean,” he informs me.

I suddenly have a sick feeling in my gut. Why is Gibbons lying to the boss?

“Okay, boss man. I’ll leave you to sort it out with Gibbons, but I might just contact you directly if anything new comes up, all good?”

“Sure thing, Brax, and might this be a lesson to you. Focus on the job a little more, girls come and go.” I hear the line go dead in my ear. The boss has always had a way with words.

He obviously hasn’t met Elle before otherwise he would know that it is impossible not to get distracted by her. She is not someone you easily forget.

I know that I’ll never want to forget her. I want her forever.



I’m knee deep in my English Literature paper when I hear a knock at the door. Looking through the peephole, I see a delivery man on the other side. I open the door and he’s holding a thick yellow envelope in his hand, addressed to me. I sign for it and he hands it over, wishing me a good day as he heads back down the stairs. I’m not expecting any documents to be delivered, but it’s highly possible that Lawrence, my lawyer, forgot to tell me. He is usually the only one who sends tracked mail to me.

I put the envelope on the kitchen counter and go to top up my coffee. I’ll just wait until Lawrence contacts me, then I’ll open the envelope. No doubt it is probably just some documents to sign for my portfolio or my trust fund.

Checking my phone, I see that it’s been a couple of hours and I haven’t heard from Brax yet. He seemed really strange when he left home, like he was mad about something. We normally message each other when we’re out, so I hope he’s okay. As soon as I put my phone back down I hear a beep, letting me know I have a new text message. Expecting it to be Brax, I have a huge smile on my face as I open the new message.

Unknown: Hope you like your delivery, Elise.

My smile instantly fades when I open the message. This is weird. If it was Lawrence, he would simply call me, and I have his number programmed into my phone anyway. I decide to reply.

Elle: Who is this?

Unknown: Your nightmare come true.

I drop my phone. What the hell?

There is no way I’m opening that envelope now, especially when Brax isn’t here. I shouldn’t have accepted the delivery without knowing who it was from. I send a text to Brax while I’m walking around the apartment, checking that all my windows are latched and my front door is locked. I’m feeling really uncomfortable in my own home now and it’s the last thing I wanted. I’m supposed to feel safe here.

Elle: Hey, babe. What time you heading home?

Brax: Just packing up now, what’s up?

Elle: I’m okay. Just missing you xxx ooo

Knowing Brax is on his way home, I start to relax a bit. I can explain to him all about the envelope when he gets home, maybe he’ll know what to do with it. I didn’t want to tell him via text, just in case he was busy doing something. I know he would drop everything to get home to me if he knew and I don’t want him to have to do that. I sit back on the couch and try to calm myself down, but I can’t seem to stop staring at the yellow envelope on the counter. I check my watch again.

I hope he gets home soon.

About twenty minutes later, I hear Brax at the door. I jump up and open the door for him, almost crushing him in a huge hug.

“Whoa, babe. I missed you too” he mumbles as he tries to catch his breath back while holding me up.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve told you sooner, but a delivery man brought around an envelope when you were gone and I signed for it without thinking because I thought it would just be documents from my lawyer,” I explain, talking way too fast but my voice getting shakier with each word.

He puts his hand on my head, pulling me tight into his chest as he talks. “Babe, calm down. I’m home now. Now slow down and tell me what happened.”

I take a deep breath, trying to settle my heart rate, but it’s not working. “I had documents delivered to me by a UPS man, so I signed for it and he left. Then I got a text message from an unknown number saying how they hope I enjoy my delivery, so I messaged the number back asking who it was, and they replied with this.”

I show him the last text message I received. He tenses up immediately then gently pushes me away from him, before storming into the kitchen and grabbing the envelope.

I rush after him and put my arm on his to stop him. “Are you sure we shouldn’t just go to the Police, hon?”

“Nope, I’ll handle it,” he says gruffly. “I’m sick of this shit happening to us,” he grumbles under his breath, grabbing a knife from the kitchen drawer and carefully opening the envelope, making sure it doesn’t get ripped. He looks inside first before pouring the contents onto the bench. A folded piece of paper and an old newspaper cutting fall out. I take a step closer to have a look with him, he reaches down and takes one of my hands in his, entwining our fingers and holding on tightly. He’s letting me know that he’s here with me, whatever we find.

He grabs a dish towel and uses it to open up the newspaper cutting. It is dated four years ago, reporting the murder of my parents and sister. A sob escapes from my mouth the moment I see the faded family photo in the clipping. The media were given that photo by the Brightlight public relations department after the murders occurred. It was plastered everywhere I went, it was like a graphic reminder of everything I had lost. Seeing the photo again now is just as hard as it was back then.

I feel Brax put his arm around my shoulders, holding me close. I wrap my hands around his waist, unable to control the tears as they start falling. I feel him reach for the note while he holds me. He curses under his breath when he reads what it says.

“W-w-what does it say?” I stutter.

All of a sudden he folds the note up and carefully puts it back inside the envelope with the newspaper clipping.

“Sweetheart, I don’t think you need to see this.”

Hearing the angry tone in his voice, I lift my head up from his chest to look up at him. “Yes I do, Brax. I need to see everything.”

I feel his whole body shudder at my demand.

“Okay, but I don’t know what it means. Maybe you will.”

I look at the letter which Brax has pulled back out and opened up on the bench. I gasp in shock as I start to read it.

“You should have died with your family.”

It’s all I manage to read before my eyes roll back and I’m suddenly swallowed up by darkness.



“Elle?”

“Elise?”

“Baby, can you hear me?” I ask, trying to rouse her.

She fainted after reading the first line of the note. What kind of sicko are we dealing with here? Obviously someone who gets their kicks from scaring innocent people half to death! This goes way past what we were expecting from Brimstone or even Evans. The threat against Elle has just reached a whole new level of danger.

Luckily, I manage to catch her before she falls to the floor and quickly carry her into our bedroom, placing her on our bed. I’m starting to worry. It has been a couple of minutes and she still hasn’t come to. I give her a light shake again and I hear her moan my name.

Thank God!

“Elle, I’m here. You fainted, sweetheart. Are you okay?” I ask, cupping her cheek and gently rubbing her hair away from her face as she slowly regains her focus.

“What happened?” she groggily asks.

“You fainted. You read the note and fainted. You had me so worried.”

“The note!” she yells, sitting up straight on the bed. She looks to me and suddenly starts shaking again.

“Baby shh, calm down.” I move her into my lap, try to placate her. She burrows into my chest, wrapping her arms around me as I stroke her back.

She looks up at me. “Who would send that?”

Her eyes are begging me for an answer which is the only thing I can’t give her right now.

“I don’t know but I’m going to damn well find out, hon. This has to stop,” I say quietly. I lie her down and crawl into bed beside her, moving in close and curling my body around hers.

We lie like that for a long time, just holding each other, Right now it is the only way to comfort her that I can think of. I feel totally helpless for the first time in my life and I hate it. I need Shay to hurry up so I can talk to him. These threats against Elle are escalating. Whoever is doing all of this obviously knows her cell number and address, and knows how not to be tracked. This means they’ve done it before, or else they’re very smart. For all I know, the f*cker could’ve been posing as the delivery man, just to get his kicks.

Where is Shay when I need him?



I’m on my way back from Boston. I sent a text to Brax with my new cell number just before I started heading home and I’ve made it about halfway back so far. I hear a text come through on the burner phone, knowing it’ll be Brax since he’s the only one with this new number. I pull over at the next rest area to see what he wants.

Brax: Another note and a newspaper article were sent to our apartment along with anonymous text. Elle was so upset she fainted.

Shay: Shit. Who would do that? Brimstone or Evans? Black Honda guy? Take your pick. What did the note say?

Brax: “You should’ve died with your family” and had a newspaper cutting of when her family died.

Shay: Shit, and she saw it?

Brax: Yup. The psycho had it delivered to our door.

Shay: She okay?

Brax: Shaken up, but better now. She just blacked out right in front me after reading it. Scared the shit out of me.

Shay: I’m about an hour away. I’ll swing by as soon as I get back. Will make calls, check movements etc.

Brax: Thanks, bro. I appreciate it.

Dammit. It can’t be a coincidence that this happens when I’m out of state. I highly doubt it. I’m starting to think that we’re being watched just as much as Elle is. It’s almost as if somebody knew I wasn’t watching the apartment today. As much as I don’t want to consider it, I’m starting to smell a rat and Brax will be, too. We’ve both had a bad feeling about this whole situation for a while, but now it seems like a real possibility that someone is double crossing us.

I start thinking about what has happened over the past few weeks. My GPS wasn’t tagged going out of state this morning. I know this because Evans’ men wouldn’t have gotten me to Boston unnoticed if it had. Brax wasn’t notified as per protocol, and now this note arrives. We haven’t even heard back whether anything could be found on the previous two notes, either.

My gut instinct is that these notes have Evans’ name written all over them, but today he was busy entertaining me. Brimstone? By all accounts he is pretty mad right now that Elle won’t sell the company to him, but would he stoop this low? Would he try to scare her in her own home? Maybe Mr Brimstone needs some further investigating.

I pull over and make a call to my LA contact, asking him to start digging into Harry Brimstone’s financial status, former business contacts and history. If there is any connection between Brimstone and another person of interest in this case, Brax and I need to know about it. I want to know everything about the guy so that we know exactly who and what we are dealing with. We know he’s connected to Evans somehow, but that doesn’t explain how he’s getting his information about us.

I speed up as I head back towards Brax and Elle’s apartment. I need to see Brax.