Lost for You (13 page)

He laughs. “Well, Victor’s one to talk, isn’t he. It’s not something you want to know Brax, mainly because it involves your mother.”

“Leah?” I ask in shock. Leah’s the only mother I’ve really known, so it’s pure instinct that she is the first person that comes to mind.

“No, Brax. The woman who gave birth to you.”

“The woman who you abandoned after knocking her up, who then dumped me in the foster system? That woman?” I scoff. “I don’t give a shit about her.”

“Brax, you don’t know the full story. Lately, I’ve been reconsidering my behavior towards her all those years ago. Family has always been important to me, son. That has never changed. “

“What’s the deal, father dearest? You getting soft in your old age?”

He cracks up laughing. “You always were a smart ass, even as a baby. It’s a long, sordid story, and to be honest, she has closer connections to you than you even know.”

“What the fuck does that mean? I’ve tried finding her and came up empty handed.”

“She changed her name when she got married.”

“But you know where she is?”

“I’ve made it my job to keep tabs on her, Brax,” he adds.

This is all starting to make sense now.

“You’ve known all along?” I ask, shocked at his admission.

“Of course. Loose ends and all that.” I can hear a slight softening in his voice. Damn, don’t tell me that Evans has a heart buried somewhere?

“Look, son. What do you need from me?”

“I need something on Brimstone to bring him down. Concrete, irrefutable proof. I need to get him out of Brightlight, and out of Elle’s life, once and for all.”

“You really love that girl, don’t ya Braxton?” he says, reverting to my full name again. I can tell he’s trying to sound gruff and formal again to make up for his earlier admission. “And what do I get in return from you?” he adds.

“My gratitude. And maybe if you ever sort your shit out and go straight, you might get a chance at redemption.”

“Me and straight don’t work well together, son. You know that,” he sighs down the phone.

“Yeah. But I also know that despite the gruff exterior, at one time you did give a shit about my birth mother. Hell, you probably even used to give a shit about me and Devon. I don’t think you would do wrong by me, not now.”

The phone line goes deathly quiet. I pull it away from my ear to check that he hasn’t hung up. After another thirty seconds he replies, saying the words I don’t expect to hear.

“I’ll be in touch.”

I saw him leave, that big tough boyfriend of hers slinking out before dawn. He looked worn out, and it makes my stomach churn thinking of what he was doing with my girl all night.

That’s who she is. My girl. My destiny. The one loose end left to tie up. And I will. I will succeed at this. I’ve waited a long time, but soon I’ll have her right where I want her. She’ll be on her knees in front of me, begging me to put her out of her misery. Just like those who’ve gone before her.

No one has ever stuck with me as long as she has. Not once has she left my mind.

I won’t be able to escape this demon that has continued to haunt me for so long now until I free her from this world.

Once and for all.

It’s been a week since he’s been gone. Since that night where everything I thought I knew came tumbling down when Brax uttered the words, “
There are some things I need to tell you.”

Although I haven’t seen him,
Brax has delivered a white lily to the front desk every single day, and asked Luis to call me after he’s gone. With each flower, there has been a note with a gift. After the first day with the café serviette, the next day there was a takeaway vanilla latte with my name written on the side from the same cafe. That one made me smile because he somehow remembered that I had ordered a vanilla latte on that first day too.

Delivery number three was our favorite Chinese takeout menu and a DVD copy of Pitch Perfect, the movie we watched when he came over to my apartment for the first time. That made me smile, what guy would remember something like that unless it meant something to him. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face all day after that.

Day four, it was a photo of our bed and our bathroom. I’d recognize those two things anywhere. I instantly blushed when I realized he was remembering when we made love for the first time. His dedication and memory astound me.

I’ve been spending so much time with doctor’s visits and catching up with school that I haven’t had much time to think about the things he still has to tell me. We need to talk, that’s a given, but I don’t know where we go from here.

What I have done today is make calls to Brightlight board members, asking them whether they would support me calling an extraordinary board meeting. If Harry Brimstone is dead set on buying the company, at any cost, I’m going to beat him to the punch and oust him as CEO. Fortunately, my financial adviser has told me that I’m in a position to buy him out. To be honest, I can’t think of anything my father would have liked more than for me to be the sole owner of his company. I want it to stay in the family. My family.

By day five, I’ve caught on to what Brax is up to with his daily gifts, especially when the flower was accompanied by the photo booth photos from Shay’s party. I blushed instantly remembering the exact moment the photos were taken.

It’s time to see his beautiful face again.

A week is too long to live without him, and I want to hear what he has to say. I know he’s been parked outside the building every night since I sent him away. No wonder Shay used to always ‘work’ weird hours; he was doing surveillance on me. Every night that he hasn’t been here, I’ve made it a point to go to the window to look out for him. Every night we’ve locked eyes, my green globes boring into his baby blues, the eyes I love to lose myself in. He’s not hiding what he is doing anymore, so I figure that it is time to let him back in.

Elle: Can you come over this afternoon? I’m ready to talk.

Brax: Name a time and I’ll be there, sweetheart.

Elle: 2 pm?

Brax: See you then.

Knowing that he’s coming over today, I want to make myself look good for him. The last time he saw me was at my worst, and part of me wonders if that is part of the reason why he has stayed away. Whatever the reason, I want to make damn sure I’m at my best when I see him again. I want him to know that whatever he tells me won’t change the way I feel, now or ever. And that’s how long I want him to stay in my life, forever.

The boys reached LA a few days ago and have been staying in the one of Victor’s apartments. They’ve managed to track down a bodyguard that has recently been let go by Harry Brimstone. He told them he was fired because he asked too many questions about the things Harry was doing and planning. Shay has also been in contact with Victor who told him a couple of days ago that any trace of his involvement in Brightlight had been taken care of. He gave us the go ahead to do whatever is required to bring Brimstone to his knees. I wish I knew what Victor’s beef with Brimstone was because then I’d know what not to do. The boss man is proving yet again that you do not want to get on his bad side. Ever.

My phone starts to ring and when I see Shay’s name flash up, I’m glad he checked the time difference.

“Hey, man. How’s it going?” I say, answering the call.

“Hey. All good here. That bodyguard I told you about had some good stuff for us. Felt more forthcoming when he saw the money we were flashing around. What do you make of that?”

“I’m not sure. Interesting that Brimstone would dare use anyone from Brightlight to go against Elle. You’d think that would attract too much attention.”

“You think Elle has made some calls since I told her that Brimstone was a threat?” he ponders.

I think on that. I can’t be sure because I haven’t spoken to her for a whole week but knowing how determined she was to hold on to her father’s legacy, anything is possible. “She might have. I’m going over to see her this afternoon, so I can ask her then if you want.”

“She called?” he asks, not hiding the hope in his voice. I love that he really wants us to work through this.

“She sent me a text actually. Wants to talk. It can’t be a bad thing right?” I ask cautiously.

“Not at all, bro. You talked to Victor today?”

“Not yet. Why’s that?” I’m wondering why Victor didn’t call me first.

“All evidence of his involvement in the company has gone. If anyone was to take a closer look, the only money trail they would find would lead to one person. Take a guess?” he adds with a chuckle.

“Our friend Harry Brimstone?”

“You got it. So, once we’ve found out everything we need, we’re set to call it in.” Shay sounds almost giddy with excitement.

“Finally we’re gaining some ground. I spoke to Evans, and he said he’d get back to me, but I have a feeling any help from him is going to come at a cost far too high for me anyway.” I murmur the last bit because I’m still not sure how far I’m willing to go for his help. If it puts Elle in any danger, he can forget it.

“Well, let me know what he comes back with. Would be good to have some more ammo up our sleeve. Out!” he says before ending the call.

I go to put the phone down and notice that a text has come through while I was on the phone.

Victor: Sylvia Brimstone is heading your way.

Brax: Why?

Victor: Not sure.

Brax: She’s not with Harry anymore. Why are you telling me this?

Victor: Sylvia may be from LA, but she wasn’t born there.

Brax: WHAT?!?

Victor: Hope you’re ready, son.

This is too much, too soon. I was only talking about her earlier this week and now she’s coming here.

Then it comes to me. Elle called her. She’s the closest thing Elle has to a mother now, and she would have been the person she turned to when she found out about all of this. Fuck!

Brax: Elle must’ve called her. Shit!

Victor: Just keep yourself in check. You never know what she might be able to tell us.

I check my phone and see it’s 1.30 p.m. Time to head over to the apartment. My heart has been beating out of my chest all morning. This is make or break time for us. I’ve already decided that I’m going to be an open book and lay it all out for her. I want her to see that this is not just a job for me, it’s now personal. To be honest, it’s always been personal. It’s always been about one person. Elle.