He walked over to her then.
“Are you alright, Elayna?” He asked her. He had wanted to ask her that all night.
“Oh, Nick, ….” She wanted to say more. She didn’t feel safe inside of her own home. “Please, lock the door.”
He quickly locked the door and was back by her side in seconds He gently turned her to him. He softly touched her upper arms.
“Elayna, please, tell me. Did he hurt you?” He saw the sadness in her eyes then.She was close to tears.
“He always hurts me,Nick.” She whispered.
She hugged him then and felt the dam of tears she’d been holding back since earlier this evening come forward. She cried freely and felt Nick’s strong, muscular, arms wrapped around her. She f
Elayna felt refreshed and more like she had a better grip on things tonight than any other night since she had arrived back to her “normal” life. Though nothing was normal. She barely saw her husband after entertaining hundreds of people, and when she did he hurt her mercilessly. Her daily schedule was beginning to fill up as well, and it made the days go by. Last night had been her first real sleep back home, and she knew it was thanks to Nick. He had fulfilled her in a way she could only dream about sexually and emotionally last night. He seemed to understand her on a deeper, more intimate level and she was frightened by the transparency and vulnerability she felt when he made love to her. She wanted to protect him and that blissful feeling. The only way to do that would be to sever the tie with him. She had to end it before this flame scorched them b
Elayna took a sip of her mimosa. Her husband’s plans were back firing on him. How far would they unravel. “What are you going to do?” “What I always do. Win. I can quiet Alvarez with a nice lump sum of money. He’s stuck in a colombian jail for Christ’s sake. He is penniless, and the cartel will not let him be extradited. “It sounds like you have him where you want him. No need to worry.” “Not quite. The FBI got a hold of these pictures and are looking for you now.” “What?” “Don't worry, they can question you, but they can’t use what you say about me in the court of law.” “You want me to answer the questions about Alv
He walked over to her then and assessed her damage she was bleeding badly. He needed to apply pressure and stabilize it. “We have to get you to the hospital.” Elayna said. Nick picked the woman up then. She tried to protest but he wouldn't hear of it. She weighed a little more than Elayna. They walked out of the back and into a lit alley. There he saw a limo waiting. “That is Carlos. One of our drivers.”She coughed. Nick let out a high pitched whistle to get his attention. It worked. Carlos turned and looked in their direction. He recognized her, even in Nick’s arms and ran over to them immediately.
“Look, Nick we are on the same side.” “That’s funny, you could have fooled me.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” “You know what it means Pete, my man. You've changed a hell of a lot. What the hell happened to you?” The question slipped out. “Sorry.” He wasn’t. There was a hard, long pause before Pete began talking. “Nick, leaving the military and becoming a Civilian was one of the hardest things I have ever done.” He admitted. “For a few years, after my release I felt like I would never find my place and belong, but I did. I met Mr. King. He offered me a job as security and I Took it.” “So how long did it take you to realize he was mistreating his wife?”
It was past midnight when he returned back to the room. He thought he would find Elayna asleep but she wasn’t. She was sitting in the middle of the large king sized bed watching the news. He heard a reporter talking about the shooting and how the Mayor's wife was in critical condition. She looked so vulnerable to him in the large bed. She looked in his direction then turned the television off. “You’re back!” She got off of the bed, stood up, and walked over to him. She hugged him tight. He inhaled her scent then. She smelled fresh like soap. He found himself enjoying her affection. She looked up of him them. “Are you alright? Is everything o.k?” He wanted to tell her ‘yes’ everything was alright, but he knew she d
Shortly after their lovemaking session they were getting dressed and Elayna decided she didn’t want to bring any of her belongings or her luggage. She looked at the clothing that had no doubt had been packed by her maid. She realized then the places she and Nick would be going to she would stick out like a sore thumb in satin and lace. She wanted to take full advantage of disappearing. She had forgot to get her secret stash of money hidden in the far back of her closet. She had always thought she would be able to use it for her escape. She also decided to leave her purse with everything inside of it. She hoped Bradley would never find them. She was tired of him and his wicked ways. She would finally be free of him. She would get to start all over again and nothing would stop her from her happiness. Not even Bradley himself… PART 2 
Bradley wasn’t finished with Elayna until dawn. She had just fallen asleep when Rosa walked into Bradley’s bedroom with a silver breakfast tray. She placed it on Bradley’s empty side of the bed. Then went to the task of opening the curtains. The bright sunlight invaded the space, and Elayna awoke to the light. For a split second she forgot where she was, then her mind adjusted and she knew she was back in hell. She was home. “Good morning, Mrs. King. Breakfast.” Rosa said as she sat the tray down in front of her. “Thank you.” She said as she sat up and carefully slid the tray in her direction as Rosa quickly left the room. She took the top off of her plate. It was full of fresh fruit and a couple of strips of bacon. She was reminded of Nick waking her up every
“Where are we going?” She asked. “First, to the salon. I’m sure Nick loved you with this trashy, bleach blonde short hair, but as my wife, I prefer your long, raven black hair.” He was jealous and hurt, and she couldn’t understand his logic. She didn’t tell him that she dyed it blonde so she couldn't be found. She just smiled and agreed. “I think that would be a great idea.” They went to a upscale hair salon called The Hair Company. Bradley did all the talking while she sat in the salon chair pretending the way they discussed her like she wasn't there didn’t bother her. An hour later Elayna’s locks were no longer above the shoulder or blonde, but back to the long
Epilogue10 months later…Elayna heard the sweet,tiny cries of their newborn baby coming from the baby monitor placed on her nightstand table.The last two months of her life had been ever changing and tumultos in a good way. With the help of her recording and more evidence. She and Nick were able to escape prying eyes and leave the state. They spent the remainder of her pregnancy in the quaint cabin that they had first shared and ignited their love for one another.She had their child outside under the stars in the warm lake they had swam in. Nick was there, assisting her the entire time. He had pulled their child from the water and cut the umbilical cord. It was a boy. After crying tears of joy they decided to n
“You would kill me ? Over him!” Bradley sounded angry.“If I have to.” She admitted.He pressed the gun into Nick’s temple then.“Elayna don’t do this.” Nick replied. “ Save yourself.” He was not being able to see her, but he could hear her and the fear in her voice.She wanted to listen to Nick, but right now she wasn't in a position to. She had been physically and emotionally abused by his man. Systematically broken down by his rules and control and she wanted to be free of him. She knew as long as he was alive that would never happen.“One. Two.” He counted.Before he could get to three there was a gu
Elayna noticed Rosa was still there.She walked over to Elayna. Rosa looked at the goon, then back at Elayna. Her tears streaked her makeup and she could see the bruising they had covered up so strategically earlier. She picked up the needle then.“Rosa... please…” She begged her then, not knowing what Rosa would do next.The goon looked at Elayna. He smirked.“Mr. King won’t mind.” She informed him. “Now, you slap her arm so some veins show for me.” She instructed him.He did what she asked. He kept his large hand on Elaynas arm.At the very last minute, Rosa injected all of the contents inside of the needle
Elayna sat down on the couch in front of the fireplace.He sat down beside her. He was holding a glass of scotch. He took a drink then.“Alvarez was never going to sell. Not after that debacle your boyfriend caused. So I did what I do best. I got him to.”“By framing him.”“I didn’t frame him. I just made some information readily available to the police so he could forfeit his company over to me.Why does this concern you again?”“I told you. I just want to know. I have that right now. I’ve seen too much not to know, right?”“True.” He admitted.“What ab
She placed it in her hands then gave her a small clutch that matched her belt. She opened it and put the phone inside of it making sure to hit the record button before doing so.“Thank you. If I wasn’t so sore I would hug you. I need you to stay safe Rosa, understand?”Rosa nodded her head ‘yes’.“After dinner tonight I need you to leave. Alright?”Rosa nodded her head ‘yes’.When she did the door opened and one of the goons she remembered from last night came into her room.“Mr. King sent me.” He grumbled.She let go of Rosa’s hand, but not before givi
Nick could no longer see.Both of his eyes were swollen shut.Pete had been stripped down to his underwear, sliced and tortured by cuts and salt.Nick’s hand felt as if it were going to burst open for the pressure at any moment. The pain was excruciating. They were both in pretty bad shape. Both of them were dying of thirst . They were only given salt water to drink, which they didn’t. Nick had been waiting for an opening to get free, or for one of the goons to make a mistake so he could reap the benefits of that and dive something, but it ever happened.After hours of torture they were both put in makeshift cages. Nick was sitting in the corner of his protectively holding his hand. Pete hadn’t moved si
Elayna opened her eyes and within seconds realized she was back in her home in her husband’s bed. Had it all been a dream? She asked herself. She was about to sit up when she felt something stinging her left arm. She looked around then.She had been wrong. She was not in Bradley’s room but her own. She had an I.V. in her left hand. Her room looked like a hospital room. There were various medical machines and beeping noises. She felt the back of her head throbbing and touched it. It was wrapped in gauze. The sunlight poured into the room.She remembered the explosion and hitting her head. She also remembered who had caused it all. Last night had been real, she thought. She tried to get out bed once more and noticed she was handcuffed to the bed. She heard Bradley’s voice then. He was standing by the window looking out on their prope
That infuriated him and he tried to get out of the chair.“Fuck you !” He shouted, and was punched, this time in the face.Mr. King was finished with him, for now. He walked over to another male figure that was hanging from a metal hook tied up in the next chair. His vision was blurry but he didn’t need it. He knew it was pete.“You fucking traitor! I hope it was worth it !” he yelled.His goons moved quickly and lowered the hook that he dangled from. and latched his rope tied wrists on to it. His shirt was ripped open. He was covered in soot, ash, dirt and blood.Nick’s vision improved, but not by much and watched as Bradley pulled out a blade. It gleamed in the light.&nb
She hadn’t realized the explosion had knocked her out until she opened her eyes. She could hear nothing but a loud humming noise in her ears. She looked around through the dust and the smoke area. Something warm and sticky was running down the center of her forehead. She touched the liquid and saw it was blood. She wiped it on her jeans. She looked around frantically searching for Nick and Pete. She saw black cars pulling up in the distance. She still couldn’t hear, only the loud humming noise inside of her ears. She tried to stand up but was unable to, so she crawled over to Nick’s motionless body. Fear gripped her. She shook him frantically, and called his name.“Nick!”It was no use. His bloody face was motionless.She cried