Eight
“ do you do this all day long?” Booker complained. “Dios mio. I’m gonna need a gallon of coffee to get through the next batch.”
Ellie laughed, her fingers flying over the keyboard as Owen Jennings’ voice filled the cab of the truck. She’d been working on and off for most of the day, thanks to Alec Martin’s technological expertise and Noah’s secure wifi device. Booker wanted to listen to the files anyway, so Ellie had decided to kill two birds with one stone. Regardless of what they found—which so far had been nothing unusual—she needed the income from transcribing the audio files.
Alec had worked his magic and downloaded the software to the laptop Booker said belonged to Noah, a former Marine who had served with him along with Roman, Sully, Ketcher, Brandon, and Adam. She couldn’t remember their last names, but Booker had told her all about the guys and how Ketcher’s girlfriend Regan dubbed them the deadly seven.
The nickname made Ellie nervous. It implied Booker had skills she couldn’t conceive. That the generous, loving man she had been married to was now a deadly force to be reckoned with.
He hadn’t answered her about killing the man who had hit him on the head, but Ellie suddenly had no doubt the man had died by Booker’s hands. The same hands that had given her pleasure last night.
The dichotomy between the two sides of him was staggering and she was struggling to wrap her head around it.
“What’s the deal with this guy, anyway?” Booker asked.
Ellie stopped the recording. She’d missed the last couple of minutes anyway and would have to go over it again. “What do you mean?”
“When did you start working for him?”
“Ten years ago.”
“Have you always worked from home?”
“No. I was Owen’s administrative assistant for the first two years.”
“What happened during year three?”
Ellie automatically reached for the locket around her neck. She thumbed the warm metal.
“My mom got sick. ALS.” Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a rare neurodegenerative disease with no cure.
The initial prognosis hadn’t been good. Five years, max, they’d said. Her mom had survived for eight.
When it became obvious her mom would need a full-time caregiver, Ellie gave up her apartment and moved back home. By then her mom had bought a modest house in a quiet Austin suburb. Ellie still lived there, but the house had become part of her mother’s estate after she died. Her mom didn’t have insurance of any kind and medical expenses had driven up the debt. At this point, Ellie wasn’t sure if she would get to keep the house. “She died six months ago.”
“Oh, baby,” Booker took her hand and raised it to his lips. The gentle kiss he placed on her knuckles melted her heart. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you.” Ellie hadn’t spoken to anyone about the years of taking care of her mother. Before she knew it, words were flowing out of her mouth.
“You knew my mom. She provided enough to keep the authorities from taking me away, but she wasn’t big on affection and time. We were never close and her illness made her bitter. The first few years were the worst. She hated everything and everyone. She complained about the doctors and nurses. I couldn’t do anything right. She threw things. She lashed out and yelled constantly.”
Ellie hated herself for it, but it was almost a relief when her mom deteriorated to the point she couldn’t use her arms or voice box anymore.
“Why didn’t you put her in a facility tailored to the kind of care she needed?”
“She was all I had. I might not have had a perfect childhood, but it could’ve been worse. I couldn’t turn my back on her. She provided for me when she didn’t have to.”
“The fuck she didn’t. Ells. She was your parent. That’s the very definition of have to.”
“I agree with you, but my father didn’t see it that way. He took off and never looked back. My mom could’ve done that, too, but she didn’t. And it wasn’t all bad. She made an effort to be there for me after you and I got married. She helped me decorate the house after you deployed. It wasn’t much, and she never stayed for more than an hour or two, but it was more than she’d done in the past.”
Ellie swallowed hard, hoping she hadn’t disrupted the peaceful ease between them by bringing up the past.
Booker squeezed her hand reassuringly. “I’m glad she was there for you, if only to rearrange furniture. A lot of the guys used to talk about how hard deployment was on the wives and families. I should’ve made sure my parents were there for you.”
“If I remember correctly, they had their hands full with Annabel.” Booker’s younger sister had been a terror after he joined the military.
“Anna’s poorly timed rebellion was no excuse. I should’ve paid more attention. Been more sensitive to what you were going through. I am sorry, Ells.”
“Thank you, but you don’t need to keep apologizing. I forgave you last night.”
He shot her a wink. “And again in the shower this morning.”
Her thighs clenched at the reminder and she shot him a look. Had it only been a day and a half since he’d come back into her life? It felt as though they’d never been apart.
“Annnyway,” she said. “We were talking about Owen and why I started working from home. Mom had no income, so I had to keep my job. I explained the situation and Owen was happy to accommodate. I took over all of the transcription duties for the office, since that was the only task the firm needed that I could do remotely. It wasn’t easy, but eventually I adjusted to living on little sleep.”
Even now she had trouble sleeping for more than a couple of hours at a time.
“Owen was very patient during those first months while I found my way. He’s been good to me, all things considered.”
“All what things considered?”
Ellie shrugged, not sure where to begin. She had struggled to transition into a world where there was no one to care for but herself. For a few weeks, she hadn’t tried. She stuck to the same routine, using the time she would’ve spent caring for her mom to rid the house of her mom’s illness. She returned medical equipment and tossed leftover supplies. She cleaned. Rearranged rooms. All the while dealing with the legalities that came with the loss of a loved one.
Legalities Owen had offered to help her through. Owen had been more than her boss. He encouraged her to get out of the house. He took her out for coffee. He’d been a friend. A confidante.
Until everything changed.
“After Mom died, I didn’t know what to do. There were so many debts. Owen offered to handle all of the legal aspects of Mom’s estate, and I said yes. I knew Owen felt more for me than I did for him, but it was innocent, you know?”
“How innocent?”
“For years, he didn’t proposition me or do anything to make me uncomfortable. He was … friendly. He checked up on me. He tried to help with Mom, but that’s where I drew the line. He was my boss, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t nice to have someone who cared.”
Booker kept his gaze on the highway. A muscle in his cheek twitched. “And then what happened?”
“About a month after Mom died, Owen changed. He became more demanding, more possessive. He wanted to know where I was and who I was with. He started making declarations and referring to our lives together. I humored him to a point, because I need my job, but I immediately began searching for new employment.”
“Humored him how?”
Booker’s calm, quiet tone made her shiver. Instinct told her to tread lightly.
“I went to dinner with him on occasion. I answered his questions about my schedule, because I didn’t see the point in not. I didn’t balk if he put his hand on my lower back and guided me through a restaurant. But that’s as far as it went. Whenever he tried to kiss me or pull me into a hug, I resisted. In the last few weeks, his insistence has grown to an uncomfortable level.”
“You think he will stop taking no for an answer.”
It wasn’t a question, but Ellie answered anyway. “That’s my fear, yes. He’s arrogant. I have no doubt he believes he will have me whether I want him or not.”
“You think he would rape you? A man with lofty political aspirations?”
“He’s also a highly intelligent, well-respected attorney with a list of powerful clients. I’m just a typist. Do you think anyone would take my word over his?” Ellie shoved her fingers through her hair. “I want to believe he wouldn’t hurt me, but I just don’t know.”
“He’s not going to hurt you, Ells. I promise you that. And no matter what we find on those flash drives, you might as well go on and give notice. You’re done working for that prick.”
She sighed. “It’s not that simple.”
“The hell it isn’t.”
Ellie turned in her seat to face him. “I’m going to quit—”
“Good.”
“—But not before I find another job.”
“Ellie—”
She put a hand up, cutting him off. It had been bothering her since last night and she had to get this off her chest.
“I don’t know what’s going on between us, but at some point soon I’ll have to go back to Austin. I have responsibilities and I need to work. And there’s my mom’s estate to consider. Like it or not, Owen is the gatekeeper of information until I can make other arrangements. If I end up losing the house, I’ll have to pack everything and figure out where I’m going to live.”
The details were overwhelming. She took a deep breath. “I will quit. I will. But like I said, it’s complicated.”
“So un-complicate it.”
She snorted. “I wish I could.”
“You can,” Booker insisted.
“Oh, really? How do you suggest I do that?”
“You can quit your fucking job and stay in Montana with me.”