Page 91 of My Bully's Crush: Vol1

For now, though, I had something else in mind.I wasn’t quite ready for her to be that far away from me, but neither did I want her here where those people knew where to find her.“What’s this idea of yours?”

“I bought a house in Bel Air; they just finished the remodel a few days ago.No one has lived in it for years, and it’s way more secure than this place.I want you to stay there for a while, at least until you go back to New York.”

I had no plans of taking no for an answer, but I had to at least give the impression that she had a choice.I wasn’t about to play that game with her again, especially not when it came to her life and safety, and I’d learned something else from the guys, never argue with your girl.Just state the obvious and carry it through.

That was easy for them to say since they never had to deal with her hard-headed ass, but I was up for the job this time around.I know all of her arguments and how she fights to win; this time, I’m going to take a leaf out of another playbook and be the man I should’ve been before I got us into this mess.

Surprisingly she didn’t put up much of a fight, and by the time the guys showed up, I’d helped her pack a suitcase and lock up her place.Tyler didn’t ask any questions when he came to the door, and in fact, he seemed pleased about the plan.

I thought for sure, since I hadn’t given them time to respond on the phone, that he’d have asked me to wait until later, but he seemed to understand when I told him now that I wasn’t comfortable leaving her here alone.

She seemed a bit intimidated by them, but who wouldn’t be?they went out of their way to make her feel comfortable with their presence even though they didn’t say much.I didn’t bother to ask where they got the utility van from or the disguises they brought, or even where they got that shit from with such short notice.

I called them as soon as I got her answer about staying at the house that Janie thought was going to be hers, something else I didn’t tell Elena.However, there would be time enough to tell her that it had been my plan all along for us to live there together once I had won her back.

The place was much bigger than hers or mine and in a much nicer area with more land and in a protective community where it wasn’t as easy to get to as where we lived now.This action, I must admit, was one of the things bred from my hatred of Janie.

I had no plans on moving to this area, to begin with, but once I remembered how much she liked it up here and had salivated over this house in particular, I knew that she’d hate the fact that her dream house now belonged to her enemy and belonged to her indeed it did.

When I bought the place, I bought it in Elena’s name, under an umbrella trust, of course, so no one would be the wiser if they went looking.It’s the first of many gifts I plan to give her to make up for what I’d done to her, and although it cost thirty million dollars, it was nowhere near what she deserved for the hell she’d been through because of me.

I watched her as we drove through the gates, and her eyes lit up.“Ryder, where did you find this place?I didn’t even know this was here.It’s beautiful.”She wasn’t lying; the place is known as a masterpiece among the elite and was built sometime in the early nineteen hundreds by some tycoon who had way too much money.

I never really had any interest as the place had about ten bedrooms and as many or more bathrooms, which for a single guy was too much.Funny how I thought of myself as single even when Janie had brought it to my attention the first time.When I lied to her a couple of weeks ago about buying the home for us, I’d already made up my mind that I wanted to live there with Elena.

Not just to get back at Janie, of course, though I couldn’t wait to see her face once she realized what I had done.But when I saw the place for myself and learned its history, I fell in love with it myself and knew that Elena would love a place like this.

For Janie, it would’ve been more like a fashion statement, whereas I knew my girl would love the place's aesthetics and layout.The gardens and grounds alone were worth it, but the mansion itself was something out of an old Hollywood classic.

I didn’t tell her when I gave her the old iron key that still worked on the front door that this was her new home, and there was a lot I couldn’t do because the guys were there, like carrying her over the threshold, though the way Tyler rolled his eyes at me and walked away told me he knew exactly what I was thinking.I’ll have to thank him later for not calling me bitch made in front of my woman.

Zak signaled to me that I had five minutes which I used to let her drag me all over the first floor, which was as massive as my own house, and that shit has two stories.“This is huge.When are you going to decorate?”

“I was hoping you’d want to do that.”She didn’t say anything, but I think her blush was answered enough.She got so lost in her excitement that she grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the floor-to-ceiling French doors that led to the backyard and the Olympic-sized pool, which was one of the first things I’d had remodeled because I knew how much she loved to swim.

Even after dropping her off there, I found it hard to leave, but I felt a little more at ease when I saw some of the men that had been at my home there.There was one newcomer who, when Elena saw her, she seemed surprised.

“Do you know her?”I was ready to bounce the older woman out the door until she smiled and approached my girl.

“Why do you look so familiar?”Elena asked her, but there was no alarm in her voice.

“Wait, you’re the old lady who warned me about the dark magic, aren’t you?”

“Yes, dear, sorry I had to be so secretive back then, but I was in a bit of a rush.My name is Char.”

Black magic, what the hell was she talking about?I looked at Elena for answers, but she was too busy looking at the other woman as if she’d seen a ghost.

“We’ve got to go, Ryder.She’s in good hands with Char and the others here.”

“I’ll be fine, Ryder.Go do whatever it is that you’re doing.”I guess that was her way of telling me that she trusted the guys on my say-so.

I shared as much about them with her as I could, and I know she appreciated all that they’d done.However, I get the feeling she trusted them more because of their nieces than anything I said.

“Okay, I’ll be back later tonight,” I looked at Tyler for reassurance, and he nodded yes.

“Okay, I’ll see you then, I guess.”This isn’t how I wanted to introduce her to our new home, but I guess it’ll have to do.I hated to leave her, but the guys were acting kind of antsy, and I got the idea that time was of the essence.

They didn’t take me back to my house but instead headed for the Saunders estate way on the other side of town.If Bel Air was exclusive, then this place wasn’t even on the map.

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