War of Shadows

10 Dollar Bets

Chapter 7

Two days later, I’m sitting across a glossed wooden table from Lauren at a local favorite restaurant. Carter had returned to college after his Thanksgiving break, but thankfully Lauren went to school locally and could keep me distracted from the lingering nervousness of the DNA results. I had kept in touch with Eli, who wasn’t pleased with my decision to go home but reluctantly provided me with some space to process things. We hadn’t discussed the matters at hand with the Alliance with Ikraim, but he assured me that he was working on it with Diane. Diane had been more than willing to scheme with Eli, which earned her a couple bonus points in my opinion about her. As requested, I left it all in Eli’s hands considering he had more training on politics than anyone else I knew.

“You’re trying to tell me that you didn’t see a single hunk to set me up with in that place?” Lauren clicked her tongue and dipped a chip into our salsa bowl.

“I was a little distracted,” I tease. Lauren wiggled her eyebrows at me while she chewed. Lauren had been….upset to say the least when I returned home. She raged that I had been kept against my will, forced to be the other woman. I managed to convince her that I wasn’t brainwashed, and walked her through the two days I spent with Eli…my mate. The term still sent a flutter through my belly, and I suddenly yearned to see him again.

“So when do I get to meet Prince Charming?” Lauren inquires.

We’re interrupted by the buzzing of my phone on the table. “Speak of the devil,” I mutter before answering. “Hey, I’m at lunch with Lauren. Can I -“

“Stella, I’m coming to pick you up.” The tone of his voice sets me on edge and I glance at Lauren. “I have a shift tonight, what’s going on?” Laura peaks at me over her soda and c***s her head.

Eli sighs over the phone and I can almost hear him run his hand through his hair, a nervous tick that he was unaware of. “Can you call in?”

“No, I can’t. Are you gonna tell me what’s going on?”

“I’m sending Jacob to watch you until I can get over there, we’ll take you to my place after your shift.”

“Eli,” I start to lose my patience. “I don’t need a babysitter, I need to know what's going on. You’re scaring me.”

“Baby I’m sorry, I’m just-“ Eli pauses before continuing in a softer tone. “I can’t tell you over the phone, we just need to talk. You met Jacob the night you met me, and I trust him with my life. You can give him hell for shadowing you, just please trust me.” I vaguely recall the man that had seemed upset with Eli that night. “Keep your phone on you, and send me your location so Jacob knows where to go. You won’t even notice he’s there, it’s just to make me feel better really.”

I pause to control my annoyance. “Fine. I’ll send you my location, you know where I work.”

I hang up as the waiter brings out a sizzling tray of our food and Lauren raises her eyebrows as she digs in. “Let the drama commence.”

*********************

As promised, Jacob had been a shadow for the rest of the day. Lauren *reluctantly* parted ways after dinner, but not before tossing Jacob flirtatious wave and a wink that made me groan. Jacob had tailed me home and insisted on sweeping the home before I walked inside.

The sun had set for the afternoon, and I had gotten ready for work.

My long auburn hair was loosely curled and left to fall down my back, with a microbraid tied near the front of my head on either side to add some more texture. I lathered my skin in a glittery lotion, shimmied myself into a thin, stretchy micro dress that tied together along the sides, leaving holes of skin from below my arms to the middle of my thighs. I finished the look with some contour, highlighter, winged liner, a touch of red eyeshadow, and some false lashes.

I walk to the mirror to check myself And add some extra spray to my hair. I stood at around 5’5, and a few extra pounds filled out the dress perfectly to fit my curves. My nose stud was switched to a silver hoop, and I hooked on a pair of matching silver hoops.

Perfect.

I head downstairs, to meet Jacob in the living room. Even lounging on the sofa, it’s not hard to tell that Jacob is well built, with cropped light brown hair, a dark 5 O’clock shadow along his jaw, and dark brown eyes shielded by dark lashes. He looked up and gave me a puzzled expression, the most emotion he’s shown tonight.

“Bartender,” I say, popping up a shoulder. “Better tips than when I wear a sweater, had to learn the hard way.”

I walk over to the loveseat, where a pair of black airforces sat after I tossed them off after my last shift. I would love to pair the look with something a little nicer, but unfortunately function overrules fashion in this circumstance. I slide them on and turn back to Jacob. “I’m ready to head out, are you driving me or… I guess I don’t know why you’re here to begin with so I’m not sure what the plan is here.”

Jacob stands and jiggles his keys, motioning me to the doorway. “After you, ma’am.”

I narrow my eyes and move past him, grabbing my purse and my jacket before walking out to Jacob’s navy blue truck. Thankfully, it’s not lifted so I don’t struggle much to swing in. Jacob turns over the ignition and backs out of the driveway before heading to the bar that I worked at.

“So,” I start to fill the quiet. “I’m Stella, by the way. I know you know, but I figured I’d introduce myself properly.” Jacob nods but doesn’t respond. “Are you and Eli close?”

Finally, Jacob glances at me from the corner of his eye. “Recently, yeah.”

“Cool.” God, this is so awkward. “Do you know why I need a babysitter? No offense or anything, I know it’s not your fault it’s just….strange.”

“He didn’t tell me.” Jacob glanced over at me again. “I was gonna leave as soon as Eli gets there, but now I think I might end up babysitting him instead.”

“What do you mean?”

“With you looking like that, he’s bound to ring at least a couple of necks tonight. Might have to call in backup and place some bets.”

I chuckle. “I’ll take the compliment. He’s a big boy, I’m sure he can manage.”

He sucks air through his teeth dramatically. “I give him 30 minutes until he wolfs out; Five bucks.” He holds out a hand to shake.

“Ten says he sits in the corner and broods, maybe the occasional growl.”

Jacob laughs as I shake his hand. “Deal.”

Jacob drops me off in front of the bar and I briskly head to the back door and inside the black brick building. The night was still a little early for the weekend rush to begin, but a few early birds lingered in the main room at the end of the hall beyond the swinging door.

“Hey Stels!” Don, our manager, yelled as I passed his door.

“Hey Don!” I sweetly sing back as I hang up my coat and purse in the back room and punch in. Swinging through the doorway, I’m greeted by Maria, her bone straight inky hair brushing against her shoulders, bronzed skin glowing and onyx eyes creasing as she smiles at me. Ian squeezes my shoulder as he brushes past me while double checking stock before the rush, and I watch his cropped blonde head disappear around the corner.

I busy myself with cleaning, prepping, stocking, and serving the early birds until the building fills to near capacity and the bustling crowd leans casually over the bar for drinks. I’m all smiles and giggles, completely morphed into my flirty service personality, bouncing from one person to the next. Every once in a while, I catch a glimpse of Jacob in the back casually watching the crowd.

While I wipe away a spill on the counter, I feel the presence of a man lean over in front of me. I look up into glittering golden eyes, and any frustration I had with Eli earlier today fizzles into nothing as I feel my shoulders relax from tension I hadn’t realized I had been carrying. He hadn’t shaved since I left, leaving a dark shadow across the bottom of his face where he flashes me a white grin.

“Hi love,” he mouths. I ignore the flutter in my heart at that beautiful smile and brace my hands on the counter.

“What can I get for you?” I ask my fake service voice. Eli slowly drags his gaze down my body and I feel as though he can see right through the fabric. His eyes flicker for a moment and he sucks on his teeth.

“Just you.” Rolling my eyes, I pour him my favorite drink and slide it over to him and he hands me a 10 dollar bill. “It’s on the house,” I tell him but he simply walks away and heads toward Jacob, drink in hand. I smirk at Jacob and rub my thumb and fingers together, knowing I’m winning our bet- and I did.

Throughout the rest of my shift, I glanced over to find an amused Jacob teasing and taunting Eli, who seemed to struggle to stay in his seat. Surprisingly, despite the glaring, jaw clenching, and murderous looks, Eli stayed put until the last drunkard had waddled out and the doors were locked.

I introduced Eli to everyone as my boyfriend, earning a smirk from both him and Jacob, his hand resting respectfully on my upper back and those tingles erupted under his fingers. We all talked for a little bit before Eli and Jacob left to leave us to finish our closing duties to head home.

After tossing the trash in the dumpster in the alley, Ian and I head back inside to clock out and grab our things. Don usually stays late, so we waved our ‘good nights’ on our way out and I pull my jacket tighter to keep away the bite of the chilled air. Eli leaned against his car, hands in his coat pockets while he stared me down with a predatory gaze.

“Ready to start your babysitting shift?”

Eli pushes off and meets me and takes my face in his warm hands and kisses me hungrily. I melt into him and lean into the warmth his body provides, his hungry hands roaming and squeezing my sides and my hips, moving lower.

“Mine,” he groans into my mouth and bites my lower lip.

“You did well tonight,” I tease. Eli scoffs and opens the door for me and I hope in.

“You’re gonna be the death of me,” he grumbles before closing the door.

Eli was quiet on the drive to his place.

“While I love the peace and quiet after a shift, I would also love for you to tell me what’s on your mind.”

Eli takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out. “That was rough. I know it’s not real,” he rushes out, “but watching you smile and giggle at those men was a little hard to watch, especially since I know exactly what they’re thinking about you. I’m not upset or anything, it’s just…a new feeling for me.”

I rested my hand on his arm and felt the tension loosen under my palm. He knew it was all fake and I knew he didn’t need reassurance, as much as he just needed to express himself. Eli shifted and pulled my fingers, bringing my hand to his lips. “I wanted to gut them because of the way they were gawking at you.” A smile pulled at his lips and he clasped our hands in my lap.

Still, I remind him. “I’m sorry you had to watch that, I don’t think I would have handled it as well as you did. It’s not real, it’s just playing the game….I’m yours, Eli.” He glanced at me with enough emotion in his eyes to make me grateful that I was already sitting. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it off before the words could escape. I decided not to push him on the subject.

That being said, there was another one we had to address.

“So what’s going on and why do I need a bodyguard?”

“Technically I don’t need a reason to be protective of you.”

“Right, but there is a reason and I want to know why.”

“We’ll talk about it later…. You’re going to meet my father.”

I stare at him, dumbfounded. “Eli, if I’m in danger then I deserve to know why when I ask. This is not your problem if I need a bodyguard, so you’re going to tell me what’s going on.” My voice had gradually began getting angrier by the word and I held the anger at bay as much as I could. Why was he being so evasive? It was frustrating that he felt the need to protect me, but I didn’t even know what I was being protected from.

Eli heaved a heavy sigh and tightened his grip on the wheel. He knew I had a right to know. “We did some digging on your family and we…” his grip on my hand tightened. “We found out who your father was….and your mother.”

The blood drained from my face as my heart leapt. I opened my mouth to respond, but the words were beyond my reach and I struggled to form a thought. Wait, did he say ‘was’?

“Is he… where is he?” I ask, watching him warily.

Eli finally pulls around the circular driveway of his home and parks the vehicle. He turns to me and brushes my hair behind my ear. “How about we get you showered and changed, and then we’ll talk?”

“Okay,” I responded reluctantly. I need a minute to prepare myself before I hear anything else.