Page 55 of Fighting for Ella

February 9th

11:57 A.M.

They were all there.

Allof them.

Not just her team and the Prey guys, but all the guys’ wives and kids as well. Which was kind of a dirty trick because they all knew she loved those children and would do anything for them. There was no real need for them to be there, they’d had nothing to do with the whole mess. The oldest of them was Spider and his wife Abigail’s seven-year-old son RJ, the youngest King and his wife Faith’s two-year-old daughter Indigo, they were all too young to even understand. The wives had nothing to do with it either. She had no idea if they’d also believed the worst of her, but if she knew the guys, and she did, they wouldn't have told their wives what was going on until they had her in custody, so there was a good chance they’d been none the wiser until she got home from Mexico.

While it definitely wasn't uncommon for the wives or kids to hang out in the Prey building, Ella knew why they were all there today.

To reinforce the idea that Prey was a family.

She certainly wasn't naïve enough to believe that families never hurt one another, that they didn't mess up, that sometimes they didn't even do the unforgivable. It was just that knowing that in theory and living it in practice really were very different things.

It wasn't even the forgiving that was making this so hard. Truth was, with enough time Ella was sure she could forgive every single one of these people, after all, she loved them like family.

Trust was the issue.

How could she ever trust them again?

And if she couldn’t trust them, how could she work with them?

Prey Security’s strength was that Eagle Oswald had worked hard to make the company one great big family. A lot of the teams had known each other before joining Prey, some had even been teams in the military first. There was camaraderie there, bonds had been formed, and there wasn't anything you wouldn't do for one of these men or women or the people who were important to them.

Which was why this all hurt so much.

She’d given that kind of support but hadn't received it in return.

That’s why she had to leave.

“Every single one of us let you down, Ella,” Fox spoke. “No one is denying that, we’re all owning our mistakes.”

That was evident from the expressions on everyone’s faces. Even the kids, young as they were, seemed to sense thatsomething big was going on, their little faces were somber, missing their usual brightness.

“We all suspected that this was what you were going to do, and Eagle and I talked it through. He won’t accept your resignation,” Fox informed her.

Ella’s mouth dropped open in shock.

Eagle couldn’t just decide not to let her leave.

If he wouldn't accept a resignation, she’d just quit.

One side of Fox’s mouth quirked up into a smile. “I can see your brain running a mile a minute. Eagle said he won't let you leave Prey, but if you decide you can't stay here and work with us, you’ll have a job at Prey’s main office.”

Surprise—and an unexpected dose of gratefulness—swamped her. That could be the answer she was looking for. The last thing she wanted to do was leave Prey. They were the best of the best, a wonderful company to work for, and not just because of the pay and benefits.

It was that whole family thing again. Eagle had believed in her, and she would feel comfortable working for him directly or being assigned to another team, or another job in the East Coast office.

Fox’s smile turned sad. “I can see you like that idea. None of us want you to leave, Ella. Not a single person. I asked Eagle for a compromise.”

“Compromise?” she asked, somewhat suspiciously. Why did there always have to be a catch?

“It’s not the worst thing in the world,” Fox assured her. “At least I don’t think it is. I’d like you to give us a month.”

“A month?”

“To make things up to you, rebuild some trust, see if there’s a way we can keep you here where you belong. If at the end of a month, you still feel like you can't work here, then Eagle will transfer you.”

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