Page 19 of Betrayal & New Beginnings

“Have a seat.”Ipointed to the chair in front of me.

She closed the door and sat.

“It’s not my story to tell, but the gist of it is thatElliehas an abusive ex, and while she left him and came here, it appears he somehow found her,”Iexplained, giving her the bare minimum but also the essentials she needed.

“When you say abusive, we talkin’ emotional, verbal, or physical?”Tammyasked.

“Definitely the last two, but likely all the above,”Itold her and could see her face tighten and breathing pick up. “Dipshit’sname isRandall.IgotArcherandVincelooking into him as we speak, but definitely let me know if you see or hear anything around here.Notsure how he found out she’s working here, but he knows now.”

“He knows her brother works with you guys upstairs?Couldbe a guess?”Tammyasked.

“I thought that too, but it appeared that while she mentioned her brother living here in town while he wasn’t overseas, she hadn’t given him any specifics ofwherehe lived, and she didn’t even know we hadRangerShieldup and running yet, soIdoubt she gave that asshole anything he could use to find us.”

I toldTammyif that guy or anyone else called back asking forElliespecifically, to let me know right away.Sheconfirmed and told me she would let me know if she heard or saw anything.

I grabbed our food fromChuckand made my way back upstairs.

* * *

Once upstairs,Iknocked at her door.Ihad a key to unlock it, but didn’t want to startle her, plus my hands were full of food.

Ellie opened it, butIhadn’t heard her unlock it.

“You should keep this locked at all times,”Itold her asIwalked into the kitchen.

“You said you were coming right back, and you already told me you guys keep this building very secure.”

“Yes, we do.It’svery secure, but now that your ex-douche canoe knows where you work, and you live where you work, you shouldn’t take any chances,”Iexplained to her so she understood the importance.

Her smile dropped, andIinstantly felt bad.

“Okay, sorry,” she said in a more somber voice.

“Let’s eat,”Isaid, holding up the bags and setting things up at the two barstoolsJackhad in his apartment in lieu of an actual table and chairs.

I felt bad bringing the mood down, soItried to think of something else to talk about to get her mind off it, thoughIwasn’t exactly great at mindless small talk.

“What wasJacklike as a kid?Gotany embarrassing stories you wanna share that we can give him hell for when he comes back?”Iasked.

She laughed and her smile instantly reappeared, making me feel good about my choice of conversation.

“Did he ever tell you about the time he got his braces stuck on a girl’s braces while making out with her—then had to go to her dad to get them unstuck?"Shegiggled, a definite devious edge in her voice.Itwas contagious—Ilaughed, too.

"No, can’t say he did.Dotell,"Iurged, prying for more.

She launched into three more gloriously embarrassing stories, giving me plenty of details to share with the other guys so we could properly giveJacka hard time later.

“What about you?Doyou have any siblings?” she asked me.

“I have one older sister,Willa,”Itold her. “Sheand her husbandPaullive here inGeorgia, and they have two kids,Charliewho’s nine, andHaleywho’s seven.Ialso have a younger sisterWhitney, who is going to college here inGeorgia.She’straining to be a vet, so she only has one year left of her forty-seven years of vet school.”

“Oh, that’s awesome,” she said, laughing a little.Godher face was beautiful when she laughed freely like that.

“What about your parents?Dothey live here too?” she asked with a smile still on her face.

“Yeah, they still live in the same houseIgrew up in,”Iexplained, feeling a bit lucky knowing she didn’t have her parents anymore. “Theyall get together with my grandma, who also lives nearby, everySundayfor lunch or dinner.Ican’t usually go because of my schedule at the pub, butItry to go once a month or so ifIcan.”

Her smile on her face now turned sad, andIcouldn’t help but feel bad that she didn’t have that anymore, given both her parents and her grandma were dead.Myfamily annoyed the hell out of me at times, butIstill loved having them here, and holidays were great.Chaotic, but great.

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