Lost in Distraction

Chapter Eight



I try to open my eyes, but it hurts to move. My head is thumping, my shoulder is killing me, and my ribs feel like they’re about to explode. When my eyelids finally open, I remember that I’m in Elle’s apartment on her couch. Looking down, I see that she is sitting on the floor with her head resting on the couch beside me, holding my hand. I wish I could move over and hold her. She looks so beautiful lying beside me with her hand resting on my stomach, her way of making sure I’m okay.

I hate lying to her, but I can’t tell her the truth about the beating. Last night’s events mean that this situation is more complicated that we first thought, and I’m starting to think Gibbons and the boss are holding back on us. This doesn’t seem like a simple security job anymore. I want to have a brainstorming session with Shay about it later. We need to put our heads together and consider all the possibilities. If Brimstone is behind the attack on me last night, what did he mean with his message and what does this mean for Elle?

I watch Elle as she slowly opens her eyes and looks at me. I watch her wince when she sees my face. I must look really terrible now that the bruising has come up. She leans forward and threads her fingers through my hair ever so carefully, avoiding the bandage on my head that covers the stitches. She gently rubs her nose along my jaw and leans forward, placing a gentle kiss on my lips. I lift my good hand up to cup her head, pulling her close to me as I start to take control of the kiss, which ends way too soon for my liking. She sits up and smiles at me.

“Good morning,” she says quietly, the blush in her cheeks giving away how much she enjoyed the kiss.

“It’s always a good morning when I wake up next to you,” I murmur, kissing her gently behind her ear. I feel her shudder and can’t help but grin. I love the effect I have on her. It is such a turn on to have a woman respond so openly to a simple kiss, let alone anything else.

She pulls back, taking a seat on the coffee table in front of me.

“We need to talk. I wanted to talk to you last night, but when you were late I started to get worried thinking you had changed your mind about coming over,” she says softly. “But never in a million years did I expect you to turn up hurt. It breaks my heart to see you so broken, Brax.”

I can tell she is starting to get upset again. “Hon, it is okay. I’m okay and I’m here. All he got was our dinner, nothing else. I came back to you as soon as I could. I didn’t want to worry you. I just wanted to get checked out and cleaned up because I didn’t want you to freak out.” I carefully roll on my side so that I’m now propped up on my good elbow, facing her. “What did you want to talk to me about, sweetheart? Your text said you wanted to talk to me. Are you okay?”

She smiles. “I love it when you call me sweetheart. It makes me feel cherished.”

“Elle, I do cherish you. I care for you so much. I hope you know that,” I implore, staring straight in to his eyes.

”I do, Brax. Thank you for coming here last night and letting me take care of you, but right now I need to get you some coffee and breakfast and maybe help you into the shower” she says, moving to her feet.

“Sounds good, babe. Sounds really good.” I lie back down and drift off again. Damn drugs.



I can’t get over how terrible Brax looks this morning. He told me that the ER doctor wanted to keep him in overnight, but he discharged himself against doctor’s advice and caught a cab straight to my place. I’m glad he did, but I can’t help but feel horrible for him. I offer him some Tylenol, which he gladly takes, then make him a coffee and toast.

By the time I bring him some breakfast, he has fallen asleep again. I sit next to him on the couch and gently stroke his head. He turns his head into my hand, and I can’t help but smile. He seems to sense me, even in his sleep. Sitting here, looking at him, I realize that I’ve been kidding myself about my feelings for Brax.

I’m in love with him.

I have been for a while now, and I can’t imagine my life without him in it.

He has slowly inched his way in, fighting to push those firmly erected walls of mine down. But in order for us to move forward, I need to tell him all about me, the real me. He needs to know my good, my bad, and my downright ugly side. Only then will I be completely comfortable with him in my life. I need to know that he’s not going to bolt when he realizes how screwed up my past is. His reaction to my past will be the defining moment in our relationship. It will determine whether the final wall can come crashing down or whether I’m setting myself up to have my heart ripped out again.

I leave him to sleep and make myself busy around the apartment, cleaning up and doing some reading for school in my bedroom. I hear him call out my name, and I rush to the living room to see him. When I get there, I see that he’s managed to sit himself up and is at least looking a little bit better than he did last night. He smiles at me and picks up his luke warm coffee, taking a sip, before moving on to his now cold breakfast. I take a seat next to him, and he puts his good arm around me, pulling me into his side.

He gives me a small squeeze. “Thank you, baby. You’re the sexiest nurse I’ve ever had” he muses.

“I’m probably the only nurse you’ve had looking after you like this, sexy or otherwise,” I reply with a grin, bumping him with my shoulder.

Oh my god, I just hurt his sore arm. “Shit, I’m so sorry, baby,” I apologize, leaning over to kiss his arm. “See, all better,” I say sweetly, looking back up at him through my lashes.

He looks at me with a smile on his face, quirking an eyebrow. “I suppose that will teach me for getting smart.”

I can’t stop the giggle that rises up.

“You said you needed to talk to me last night. What about?” he asks, settling back into the couch and pulling me with him.

“Are you sure you’re okay to talk about stuff now? We can wait until you’re feeling better,” I reply, second guessing my decision to tell him. Now that the moment is here, I’m losing my confidence.

“Yeah, babe. I’m fine. Now what is it?”

He moves his hand into mine and starts stroking his thumb backwards and forwards over my hand in the way I love. I feel empowered by his touch and decide it’s now or never. I take a deep breath.

“Well, I’m not sure where to start. I’ve told you that my parents and sister are gone.” I stare straight in his ice blue eyes.

“Yeah,” he replies, his body not giving any reaction away yet.

“What I didn’t tell you is that three years ago, while I was away at camp, my family was murdered.” I pause, taking the opportunity to try and swallow down that familiar lump forming in my chest. “I didn’t find out until the next day when the school principal and guidance counselor told me,” I sneak a glimpse at his face, trying to see any reaction.

“My God, Elle. I don’t know what to say. I’m so sorry that this happened to you,” he says, pulling me into his chest again.

“It’s okay. It was a long time ago, but in order to deal with it I had shut myself off from the world. I left for camp, leaving behind a family that loved me, and two days later a gunman snatched them away from me forever. They didn’t even have a chance,” my voice wavers. I feel Brax stroking my hand again, like he is silently urging me to continue.

“I’ve often felt that I was the unlucky one to be left behind, that I should’ve been home with my family and been taken with them. But now that I’ve met you, I feel like the lucky one. I wouldn’t have had the chance to meet you if I had been with them.”



Elle’s confession is crushing me. She is such a beautiful person, inside and out. I just can’t imagine how she feels, hating herself because she is the one left behind.

“Babe, you are the most courageous woman I have ever met. I can’t imagine the pain you have been through, but I love that you feel lucky to have met me because I can tell you this,” I pause, making sure my words sink in, “My life was nothing until that moment I walked into that class and saw you.”

A sob escapes her throat, and she leans forward to kiss me. This time I don’t hold back. I kiss her with everything I have, trying to prove to her with my actions that everything I said is true. We pull away again and just look at each other.

“There’s more, Brax,” she says. “For the last three years I’ve been a shell, a numb vessel meandering through life. I haven’t wanted to feel anything. I’ve abused my body, let others use me, all in an effort to feel again. The moment I met you, I felt a warmth like I haven’t felt in a long time. You’ve made me feel something again, Brax. You’ve made me feel alive again, and for that I will be eternally grateful.” Her voice cracks on her last word.

“The other thing I haven’t told you is that my father was the owner of a very successful company that I now own a controlling stake in. Uncle Harry, the man you met the other night, is the acting CEO right now and my father’s old business partner.”

I raise my eyebrows at her. “He runs the company for you, then?” I ask, knowing that he does, but unsure whether she knows what he has been up to lately.

“Yeah. He’s okay, I suppose. He was my father’s best friend and has known me all my life. I went to live with him and his now ex-wife after it all happened. He has always been around, so it wasn’t really a surprise that he called in to check up on me a few weeks ago.”

I stare at her, thrown by that information. I didn’t know that she lived with Brimstone before coming here. I’m slowly connecting the dots in my head, and I don’t like what I’m discovering. I need to find out more.

“Do you know why he came here?” I ask.

“He said he was in the area for business and wanted to check up on me. But to be completely honest, I’m sure the only reason he called in was because he wants to buy me out of the company and the only way that can happen is if I allow the takeover,” she says, looking up at me waiting for my next question. This is the exact reason why Elle is under threat.

“And do you want to do that, Elle?” I wait for her answer, hoping with all my might that she won’t sell to that unscrupulous man. We know Brimstone is making moves against her, but we don’t know exactly what he’s planning. Whatever he does, I’m going to make sure that we’re a step ahead. I will not let him hurt her.

“Not really. Brightlight is my father’s baby. He started it from scratch and Uncle Harry came on board after it was already successful. He wasn’t there for the hard work and part of me thinks he just wants all the rewards, especially now that my father is not around.”

I nod at her statement, relieved that she hasn’t made a decision yet.

“You should also know that I own this apartment building. It’s all mine,” she says with a wry smile. “I figured it was better to buy somewhere for me to live while I was at school than rent and pay someone else’s mortgage.” Now this is something I didn’t know. I’m amazed. She has a really good head on her shoulders for a nineteen year old.

“Wow, hon. That is fantastic. But honestly, I wouldn’t care if you were renting a cardboard box on the nearest street corner. I’d still be wanting to kiss you…” I lean in, giving her a deep kiss, full of meaning and suggestion. “And touch you…” I slowly move my hand down her cheek then move it down onto her now surging chest. “And nothing you can tell me would change the way I feel,” I say, leaning in to kiss her again, this time with a little more force. Pure lust is rushing through my veins.

Screw the pain. I need to show her that nothing she has said has changed how I feel about her.



I feel free. The heavy feeling I’ve had for the past few weeks, hell for the past few years, has gone. He didn’t ask too many questions but asked the right ones when needed. He has made me think about Uncle Harry’s offer and I’m glad I was finally able to admit to myself that I don’t want to sell my shares to him. I’m proud of my father’s company and his achievements, and Brightlight represents all of that to me.

Looking at Brax on the couch, I want to take care of him like he has taken care of me since the day we met. There is still one thing that is bothering me.

“Do you need to go see the Police about the mugging?” I ask.

“Nah, It was just some homeless guy who needed some food. He probably wanted some money to buy a bottle or something. I’ll be fine. It’s only a few bruises and stuff”. In typical Brax style, he’s trying to brush this off like it’s nothing.

“Brax, you have your arm in a sling which tells me you either hurt your arm or dislocated your shoulder—I’ve noticed that you can’t move that arm at all. And, from the way you are breathing, I’m thinking you have a couple of cracked ribs, too. I’m also betting you have a concussion with those stiches on the back of your head. So please don’t tell me this is just nothing. You’re worth more than that,” I reply sternly.

“Now, I want you to lie down and rest. Watch some TV, maybe make out with me a little—if you must,” I say with a smirk to rival his, “and I’ll do my best to be the sexiest nurse you’ve ever had. I may even find a uniform for you.” With a wink, I walk out of the room and look back to see his mouth drop open at the thought. Good, that took his mind off everything.

Now where do I find a nurse’s uniform?