Page 90 of Provoke You

“Probably not. Even now with all the evidence stacked against him, I still keep waiting for him to show me he had nothing to do with any of it.” Her eyes filled with tears, and Ben patted her hand.

“He never deserved a daughter like you.”

Across the lobby, Chase gave me a nod and moved to the elevator bay. “Looks like they’re ready for us.” I held Ela’s elbow and walked her upstairs.

The rooms we had were decent for what we needed for the night. A one-bedroom suite with a connecting room. Kitt and Chase stayed in the second room, while Ben made himself comfortable on the sofa in the living room area.

“Before you retire for the night. Would you do the honors?” Ben beamed at Ela. I got the feeling he’d been waiting a long time to do this for her.

She walked to the coffee table and stared at the papers laid out in front of her. Ben had her grandmother’s will and the affidavits needed to revoke Andre Benoit’s power of attorney over Ela’s estate. There were several other statements she had to sign.

“I know it seems overkill, but I do not want to leave any loopholes for Andre.” Ben made room for Ela on the couch. “You will be fine. You’re not alone. That’s Andre wreaking havoc in your head.”

Ela nodded and sat, taking the pen Ben offered her. As she signed on one line after another, she sat a little straighter. Her dad no longer had control over her, financially or psychologically.

When she finished, Ben arranged all the files in an order only he understood and stuffed them in his briefcase. “That’s it. All we have to do is make sure we make it to the courthouse tomorrow.”

“And prove to the judge that I’m not crazy.” She hugged herself.

“You leave that to me.” Ben relaxed on the sofa. For a retired lawyer, this must be way more action than he was used to. “Now, if you don’t mind, this old man needs to sleep.”

“Good night, Ben.” Ela waved at him as she made her way to the bedroom.

I followed her but stayed put at the door when she went in. “Good night.”

“You’re not sleeping with me?” She sounded so alone.

“I’ll be wherever you want me to be. I didn’t want to assume.” I pointed behind me toward Ben, who seemed to be fast asleep already.

Ela reached for my hand and pulled me toward her. “I promise I’ll behave. Ben’s always had excellent hearing.” She cuddled next to me on the bed while I stroked her hair. “Is it bad that after all that’s happened, I can’t stop thinking about what we could be doing if only we had one goddamn minute of peace?” She jabbed me with her fist on the chest, her cheeks red.

“It isn’t bad. I’ve thought of nothing else since I left.”

She shifted her body and pushed herself up to kiss me. Her skin felt hot under my touch, and that put all kinds of ideas in my head. “We should’ve gotten three rooms.” She groaned and turned on her side.

“I want you too. Never doubt that,” I said against her temple, holding her tighter.

“I guess that would have to do for tonight.” Within minutes, her breathing became slow and steady. When she spoke again, her tone was sleepy, as if she were talking to herself. “What do you think happened to…this Andy guy? Do you think that now that you’ve seen his face, he’ll back down?”

“I hope so. I mean after tomorrow, no matter what happens to you, your dad will not benefit from it.” I rubbed her arm, hoping my words were true. What I saw in Andy’s face earlier tonight was something else. I could only image the kind of crap Andre fed him over the years. Whatever it was, it was enough for him to want to kill Ela, viciously.

The next morning, I woke up, and Ela was gone. A shot of adrenaline jerked me to my feet. I checked the bathroom. It was empty, but steam still laced the mirror.

Calm the fuck down.

When I bolted to the suite door, Ela’s giggles outside in the living area brought my heartbeat down to a normal pace. I leaned on the wall and blew out air. With my blood still pumping hard, I trudged to the bathroom and washed up with the traveling toiletries Ela had left on the counter. The first day we’d met, we’d shared my toothbrush. That morning she’d only done it to provoke me, get a rise out of me. So much had happened since then.

After I finished, I donned the suit either Kitt or Chase left on the club chair in the corner. Ben’s idea for sure. Out in the living room, Ela and Ben sat in front of more papers with their leftover breakfast pushed to the side.

“Ben has a plan to shut down Dad’s request. He’s officially out of retirement to be my lawyer today.” She strolled over to me and kissed me hello. She was also dressed for court in a suit blazer and pants.

“Seems I overslept.”

“Not really. I just couldn’t sleep anymore. When I came out here to get water, Ben was already up.”

She frowned at the papers on the table. “Part of the reason I never claimed my inheritance was because I didn’t want to have that difficult talk with Dad. I knew he’d hate me for it. Now I’m going to have that conversation in front of a judge and everyone.”

“Let me do the talking.” Ben stood. Kitt and Chase had been busy getting clothes for everyone this morning. They even found a fresh suit for Ben.

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