Elli (A Second Chance Novel Book 1) Page 31

  Elli looked at Ben, but he looked away. She wanted him to tell them about Doug’s irrational behavior and him smoking pot with some of the movie crew, but he said nothing. Had he considered that Doug’s drug and alcohol use might be linked to this? Elli remained quiet. She needed to talk to Ben first about this. He knew Doug better than she did. She might just be making a big circumstantial leap and that wasn’t fair to Doug.

  When the subject shifted to the crawfish boil, Elli stood. She wanted to stay, but she had to get back to her computer to see if the e-mail arrived so she could finish the transaction for the sale of her car. “I have to get back to the house. I have some business to attend to. I wish I could help you more,” she told Frank. “I wish I had been more observant at the cabin before it caught fire. If you have any questions for me or need anything, just call me.”

  “We will,” Frank said before turning to Ben. “Now, let’s talk about your employees.”

  Elli walked out the office and went straight to Ruby’s car. She sat inside without starting the engine, sifting through everything that had been said. Something was niggling at her memory, but she didn’t know what. She thought about the fingerprints, the gasoline, and the phosphorous. She thought about the nitrogen and potassium. Would she even know what those chemicals looked like if she saw them? She closed her eyes, wondering what was just out of her grasp that her brain couldn’t capture.

  She rubbed her hands over her face and shook her head. “I don’t know.” She slid the key into the ignition. Before she started the engine, the passenger door opened and Doug climbed in. He smiled at her.

  “Hi, Elli.” He closed the door. His eyes were bloodshot, his fingernails dirty. His clothes were neat, but he looked a mess. “Ruby let you borrow her car, huh?”

  “Mine was blocked in,” she told him.

  “Quite the commotion around here.” He blew out a heavy breath. “Did you get fingerprinted, too?” Elli nodded. “I never dreamed in all the years of working here, that Ben would have the police fingerprint me.”

  Elli wanted to defend Ben, but something in his demeanor said it wasn’t a good idea. “How’s your leg from the bite?” she asked, looking for a safer topic to talk about.

  “It’s fine. Ben told me that Doe has a problem with cigarettes.” He shook his head. “Sorry to hear it.”

  Elli thought about how hysterical Doe had gotten the night she came to get him at Doug’s cottage. Come to think about it, she remembered how odd BJ had acted too, hiding under the tarp on the side of his cottage. A flash went off in Elli’s head. The tarp. The smelly thing beneath it. Did it smell like phosphorous? Nitrogen? Potassium? All three? What did those things smell like? She looked at Doug and his expression shifted. His eyes grew wilder, his face more strained.

  “What are you thinking?” he asked, his voice low and deep. “I can see you are thinking about something. Something about me? You think I set the fire? You think it was me, don’t you?”

  She shook her head, not sure how to answer him.

  “You do. You think I set the fire.” He grabbed her arm. “Why Elli? Did the fire marshal say something about me?” He shook her. “Tell me.”

  “Doug, you’re hurting me.” She tried twisting her arm free. His grip tightened. “Please. Let me go.”

  “Why do you think I burned the cabin?”

  Elli looked at him straight in the eyes and decided in that instant that she needed to talk to him honestly. He was a streetwise man who knew how to read people. She was a naïve, sheltered, daddy’s girl, who had always been a terrible liar. “I don’t know who set the fire, Doug. I was just wondering about that terrible smelling thing you keep under the tarp on side of your cottage.”

  He cursed and shoved her against the door. “You bitch. You told the law about that, didn’t you?” His lips curled into a fierce growl, like the German Shepherd had when she got too close to him in the examining room. He punched the glove compartment, and then kicked it. It popped open. Elli spotted Ruby’s Taser. Doug turned to her and grabbed her thigh. He squeezed her so hard she knew she would bruise. “Start the car and drive to the main highway.”

  Not a good idea, Elli thought, her heart racing and her head pounding. “Let’s talk this through, Doug. I didn’t tell them about the stuff under the tarp.” His grip tightened on her thigh as he turned the key in the ignition and started the engine. “Doug, you’re hurting me. Please stop.” She tried to shove his hand away, but he gripped her leg tighter.

  “I don’t give a damn about you, lady. I just want to save my ass.” He shifted the car into reverse. “Drive.”

  Elli had seen enough movies and heard enough about abductions to know you never got in a car with the bad guy. Too late for that. At least she was in the driver’s seat, she thought, wondering just how far Doug would go to save his hide. His crazed eyes told her she didn’t want to find out. She stomped both feet onto the brake. “Doug, you can’t get away with this. Right now, all they have you on is a drug charge. It’s only one strike. There are laws that give you three. If you kidnap me or hurt me, it’ll be bad, Doug.”

  She eased her hands up to the steering wheel. If she could just blow the horn, Ben and the sheriff would hear it and come out to check on the commotion. Her fingers inched along the steering wheel toward the horn. “What the hell are you doing?” Doug slapped her across the face and captured both of her hands. Her cheek stung, her eyes watered, and her nose began to bleed. Elli had never been struck before. She was hurting and shocked by his violence but her instincts kicked in. She lunged at Doug, slapping, punching, and scratching him in the face, the arm, the stomach. She flailed her arms and hands and didn’t stop.

  “This isn’t the first time I’ve had to fight for my life, you bastard,” she screamed. Doug slapped her again, harder. Her feet slipped off the brake and the car started backing into the road. She dove at him, punching and biting. He hit her in the stomach and she fell back against the dashboard, her hand slamming against the open glove compartment. Elli felt the Taser. . .cold, hard against her hand. She grabbed it and felt for the Mace that she knew was there, too. The car kept rolling backward until it crashed into the fence on the training field. Doug shoved her again, and Elli took the Taser and slammed it into Doug’s head.

  “You bitch,” he screamed, crushing her throat with one hand and capturing her hands with the other. She tried to raise her knee to kick him, but he had her pinned. Black spots started floating before her eyes. Dear God, this was it. After all she had been through fighting cancer, she had never thought she was going to die this dreadful way. Tears burned her cheek as she tried to shake her head free. He squeezed tighter, pressing his body heavier against her. Elli closed her eyes and saw the face of the man she loved. The man who would never know how much she cared for him. Oh God, this was so unfair. She prayed he wouldn’t be the one to find her body.

  Suddenly, the passenger side door flew open and Doug was yanked from the car. He didn’t release Elli and she fell out with him. “Let her go you son of a bitch.” It was Ben and he was trying to pull Doug off of Elli. Ben drew back his fist and slammed it into Doug’s face, again and again. He fought with him to get his hand off her throat. Elli looked at the Taser, tried to turn it on, but couldn’t figure it out fast enough, so she began to hit Doug in the head with it over and over again. The black metal of the Taser tore into his forehead as Ben’s fists tore into his body. Doug shifted, let go of her throat, kicked Elli in the chest, and sent her falling backward. Pain from her chest and back took her breath away and thickened the sounds in her ear. She knew the Sheriff was running toward them, knew he was shouting, but she had no idea what he was saying. The only thing she could hear from under the cloud of pain was Ben’s voice. It was deep, feral and angry.

  “I’m going to kill you,” Ben shouted, diving on top of Doug, pummeling him with his fists. Elli didn’t know how Doug could fight back. Ben was stronger, madder. But he did. Elli’s nose was running, tears poured from her eyes a
s she crawled to the car and found the Mace in the glove compartment. She knew how this worked. She opened the top and turned to the men rolling in on the shell road. She aimed the Mace at Doug’s eyes and when she had a clear shot, she sprayed it at him.

  “Move away from him, Ben,” she shouted. “Or you’ll get Mace on you, too.” Ben rolled away as Doug curled into a ball and howled. The sheriff and the fire marshal were on top of Doug a second later, handcuffing him. Ben rushed to Elli and lifted her in his arms.

  “Are you okay?” Ben asked, looking at her face. It ached and she knew it was already swollen and discolored.

  “I’m fine.” She began to shiver. She looked at a small cut on his forehead; some tiny pieces of shells and rocks stuck to the blood around it. She shivered harder. She wanted to ask him if he was okay, but the words caught in her head.

  “Somebody get her a blanket,” Ben shouted and she didn’t know who brought it to her, but a blanket was draped over her shoulders.

  “You need to take her to the hospital,” Beau told Ben. “Doug might’ve broken something.”

  Ben’s arms tightened on her, his back stiffened. He lifted her to carry her to his truck. “Let’s go in my car,” Ronald said.

  Ben held Elli as they drove to the hospital, breaking all the speed limits to get there. On the way, she found her voice and told Ronald about the tarp and the smelly sacks beneath it. She told them how Doug climbed into Ruby’s car and how she fought to defend herself. “I didn’t know how to turn on Ruby’s Taser, so I just hit him with it.”

  “That’s one way to use it,” Ben said, through clenched teeth. “You fight like a girl on steroids, cher, you know that?” He stroked her hair and back and kissed her on the top of the head. “Thank God.” His voice was low, unsteady. “I heard the car crash into the fence and came out of the office.” He sucked in a breath. “I saw him hit you and my blood turned to ice. I wanted to kill him.”

  Elli rested her head on his shoulder. “Thank you for rescuing me.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  My very dear friend, Abby, threw me a surprise party last night. What fun! It was a Radiation Liberation Party!! I’m finished! The seven week, daily dose of radiation to kill possible rogue cancer cells in my body is over! My Bosom Blog Buddies, I want this over for you, too! E.

  Bosom Blog Buddies Post

  Ben returned from the hospital and settled Elli into his bedroom to rest. His bed was bigger and more comfortable so he thought it was better for her to recuperate there. Ruby and Tante Izzy had stayed at the house with Joey and now were in the kitchen making soup and arguing over what they could and could not put in it to make it organic. Joey was upstairs reading one of his favorite bedtime books to Elli. Beau was on the phone with Abby, taking care of the details for the sale of her car. His family had rallied around Elli and Ben was damn grateful for it. His stomach was still tied in knots and he felt pretty damn useless every time he looked at Elli’s black eyes and swollen cheeks. He hated seeing her hurt. All he could think about was how he wanted to break into the jail and beat Doug until he was limp and moaning on the hard concrete jailhouse floor.

  “Allons,” Tante Izzy said, handing him a cup of warm tea. “Bring dat to Elli. It’s made with her funny lookin’ tea twigs and leaves.” He smiled and gave her a peck on the cheek.

  “Thank you.” He looked at Ruby. “Thank you, too.”

  Tante Izzy snorted and waved her hand to send him on his way. “Dis is what family is ’bout. Dat girl is family.”

  Ben entered his bedroom and Joey put his finger to his lips. “Don’t make any noise,” he whispered to his father. “She’s sleeping. I read her Newfies Find the Pirate Treasure and she went right to sleep.”

  Ben gave him a thumbs-up. He placed the tea on the makeshift nightstand and sat on a folding chair next to his son. “You did well. She needs her rest to heal.”

  Joey stared at Elli and started to cry. Ben put his arm around his son’s shoulder. “Is she going to die?”

  “Nah. She’s just got a few bruises and her hand has some cuts that the doctor glued with his special medical gunk.” The knots in his stomach cinched tighter. He understood Joey’s reaction. He cared about her, too.

  “I heard somebody say Grandpa did that to her.” He looked at his father for confirmation.

  “Your grandpa is having some problems, Joey.” How in the hell did he explain this to his son when he didn’t fully understand it himself? “He’s behaving badly. I don’t excuse him for reacting the way he has to his problems. A man has to find a way to be a man and take care of problems without hurting others.”

  “Is he a drunk like Momma was?”

  Where in the hell did his son hear these things? “He drank too much. Yes.”

  “I’m never going to drink.” He wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “Just like you.”

  Ben nodded. “I choose not to drink because I never want to get into trouble when I have someone as special as you in my life.”

  “That’s what a man is supposed to do, right?” Joey said with total conviction. Ben poked his son in his side.

  “You are so smart,” he told him with a smile. “How did you get so smart?”

  Joey took his question literally. “I read a lot.”

  Ben’s chest was so warm with love. How had he been so lucky to have him for a son?

  Elli stirred in the bed and opened her battered blue eyes. “Look at my two favorite men,” she said. Her eyes widened and Ben knew she was surprised she had said what she did.

  “Do you want me to read to you again?” Joey offered, opening his book.

  Elli smiled at him, but Ben didn’t give her a chance to answer. “Later. Why don’t you take the dogs out for a walk? They need exercise and Tante Izzy will appreciate you getting them out of the kitchen.”

  Joey jumped up and ran to the door, turned around, ran back, and after a few moments trying to figure where to kiss her, he gave Elli a tender peck on her hand. “I hope you feel better.”

  “I do already with that kiss,” she told him, touching his face. He ran out of the room.

  “He’s in love with you, you know?” Ben said, hearing the words in his head—so are you. He looked at Elli, knowing his mouth had dropped open. Was that true? Was he in love with this pain-in-the-neck woman?

  A tear slipped from Elli’s eye. She sat up in bed. “He’s the most wonderful boy in the world.” She sniffed. Ben moved to sit on the bed next to her.

  “Yeah, he is.” He folded the edge of the knit cap that she wore to lift it off her swollen brow. He was having a hard time talking, with the idea of being in love with her still sloshing around his head.

  “Is something wrong, Ben? You look pale.”

  He shook his head. “I’m good.” He handed her the tea Tante Izzy brewed for her. His head was spinning. Was he in love with Elli? He knew he shouldn’t be. Hell, their relationship was too damn complicated and they had different agendas in life. They had been fighting since their first meeting. But…he did love her. He loved this crazy, unpredictable Texian.

  “Ben?” Elli touched his hand and electricity shot through him.

  “Elli…” he began, but Tante Izzy walked into the room and stopped him from telling her what he had just discovered.

  “Allons, Ruby, the girl will starve to death before you bring dat soup in here.”

  “It’s sloshing all over the tray. I told you not to put so much in the bowl.” Ruby walked into the room taking baby steps on four inch heels. She looked around the room. “There’s no furniture in here. Where am I supposed to put the tray?”

  “Mon Dieu, Ben. Don’t youz know anythin’ ’bout nursin’ a sick person? Go get the TV tray in the livin’ room.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He darted out of the room to get the TV tray.

  “Hurry,” Ruby shouted after him. “My arms are getting tired.”

  “That’s because youz need to exercise more. Youz should do da Biggest Loser exercise video wit
me in the morning.” Tante Izzy lifted her arm and showed Ruby her biceps. Loose, wrinkled skin dangled beneath her arm. “See how good dey look?”

  Ruby rolled her eyes. “Hurry up, Ben,” she shouted.

  Ben came in, set up the TV tray, and took the soup from Ruby. She immediately rubbed her arms. Now it was Tante Izzy who rolled her eyes. Ben sat on the side of the bed, unfolded the napkin, and awkwardly placed it on Elli’s chest. He’d taken care of Joey when he had been sick with no problem. Why did taking care of Elli make him feel like he was all thumbs? He reached for the soup and spotted an amber vial on the tray.

  “What’s this?” he asked, lifting the bottle. Elli gasped behind him and frowned at Tante Izzy and Ruby.

  “I’m leaving now,” Ruby said, rushing out the door.

  “Tante Izzy,” Ben said, his voice firm.

  She stepped closer to him and smacked him in the back of the head. “Don’t worry what it is,” she said. “Just drink it and give some to Elli, too. If she won’t drink it, pour it down her throat.”

  “What?”

  Tante Izzy started mumbling in Cajun French how he and Elli were as stubborn as a mule with a hoof ache. Then she pointed her crooked finger at him. “Don’t be stupid and let this one get away.” She left the room.

  “You can drink that spider spit if you want, but I’m not doing it,” Elli said, a smile on her face.

  “What the hell is it anyway?”

  “It’s from a tray-tor.” She shook her head. “A love potion.”

  “What a conniver.” He laughed, putting the bottle back on the tray. His old aunt was too late. He didn’t need this hocus-pocus potion. He was already in love with Elli.

  He scooped up a spoonful of soup and lifted it to Elli’s lips. She closed her hand around his wrist to guide the spoon to her mouth. “I can do this myself,” she said after a second spoonful.

  Ben blew out a breath. “Good.” This all felt so weird to him. He wanted to make her well so badly that feeding her felt so damn important. This whole being in love with her thing was scary. He needed to think about it. Figure things out. Let it sit a while.