The Hellman

Chapter 14

Eline opened her eyes. Where was she? Everything had happened so fast the night before that she couldn’t process it. Suddenly pictures of her parent’s dead body came to her mind and she screamed out. A hand reached out and held her as she cried and suddenly all the pain came rushing back. They were dead, and she was all alone in this world. The thought was crippling, and she wanted to die. In that moment he wanted to curl up right there and just die.

“Hush” she heard a voice say.

She opened her swollen eyes just enough to see a barely familiar face. It was Alexander’s mother and she was holding her. She curled up to the older woman and cried.

His father had rescued her which meant that they had known all along, and they had tried to shield her from the truth. The knowledge brought her comfort but now that she had been exposed she had no-where to go.

She could hear voices in the background and she strained to understand what they were saying.

“You knew all along and you didn’t say anything?” she heard Alexander say,

“She didn’t owe us anything,” his father said, “we owe her everything. We’re the reason they were even in Mexico.”

“What did you do?” Alexander asked

“They were my spies,” his father replied, “they did what they had to and then they lost their daughter. Instead of rescuing her I let her stay there and when she escaped they reached out. I didn’t get to her first, but she still ended up here and I thought well you of all people could see her for who she truly was.”

There was silence, and she felt herself slipping away again into a welcomed darkness.

The next time she awoke, there was light. She squinted but her eyes were still a bit swollen so the light burnt.

“You’re up” she heard Laura say from beside her.

She turned to look up at her, but the movement hurt and she remembered that she had been stabbed in her most recent fight.

“You shouldn’t move.” Laura said, “you’re still so feeble.”

Elaine smiled,

“What time is it?” she asked

“Well, it’s ten in the morning” Laura replied, “but you’ve been sleeping for nearly forty-eight hours.”

Elaine rubbed her eyes.

“You’re lying,” she said

“I wish” Laura replied, “Alexander has been here the entire time by the way. He left just now to shower and come back.”

The mention of Alexander’s name sent a sharp pain through her heart and she didn’t know if she wanted to see him. He had said horrible things about her, accused her of killing her parents and treated her like a criminal. It had been heart-breaking.

“Where am I?” she asked

The last time she had been awake, their mother had been the one at her side, but this time it was Laura an she wasn’t sure if she had been moved as she slept.

“You’re at my parents” Laura replied, “they insisted that you shouldn’t be anywhere but here.”

Elaine didn’t know what to think. She was at sea right now and she didn’t know where Charlie was or what she would do if she found out that the Hellmans knew of her parents and about her.

“I’m sorry,” Laura said, “I should have seen that Clinton wasn’t who he said he was.”

“It happens when you fall for someone.” She replied, “I’m sorry for bringing him into your life.”

“Is that what happened to you and Alexander?” Laura asked,

Tears stung her eyes and she bit her cheeks to stop herself from crying.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” She said, “I’m glad Clinton or whoever he is, got what was coming.”

“You took out one of the best killers in the states.” Laura said, “the department of justice is thankful.”

There was silence for a while and she heard the door opening. Laura reached out and squeezed her hand.

“He was only acting out of hurt” Laura whispered, “he loves you even if he won’t say it.”

With that, she released her hand and left the room.

She felt when Alexander sat next to her and she closed her eyes. There was no sound for a moment and she waited for him to say something. Although she was angry with him, she desperately wanted to hear his voice and see his face.

“I have no excuse for the way I treated you,” he said softly, “I acted out of hurt, jealousy, and anger.”

She was silent,

“I can’t imagine what you’ve been through or how you’ve had to live your life.” He continued, “I can promise you that you’ll be safe here with us.”

She turned to look at him and his expression was somber. She saw the bags under his eyes which told her he hadn’t slept and the way his body slumped in his chair made her sad.

“I’m sorry for lying to you” she whispered

His eyes met hers and he shook his head.

“Don’t be?” he said, “I understand now.”

“I wanted to tell you,” she said, “I wanted to tell you all along. You made me feel safe and I should have told you.”

He smiled,

“I’m your protector now,” he said, “we’re going to get to the bottom of this and soon you won’t have to live in fear again”

She nodded wondering what would happen to them. She truly believed she loved the man. There wasn’t a part of her that could deny it, but she didn’t know if he could still love her after learning about her past.

“What did your father tell you?” she asked wondering how bad it was.

“He told me about your parents.” He replied, “who they really were and why they were killed.”

“It was me wasn’t it.” She said, “I got them killed.”

A tear slipped down her cheeks and she reached up to wipe it away but felt his hand on her face.

“They were killed before you ran away,” he said, “they were trying to rescue you and got killed.”

“Doesn’t change anything” she replied, “I could have left, I should have run away when I got the chance.”

He was silent, and she was glad. There was nothing he could say to make her feel better.

“He told me that they trained you to be a killer.” He said,

“I’ve never killed anyone in my life.” She replied, “all that training and I still couldn’t save them.”

Alexander fell to his knees at her side so that they were both eye level.

“They died for you” he whispered, “they didn’t die because of you.”

She shook her head trying to stave off the tears. She felt when his hands caressed her face and then he kissed her. She felt as if maybe the world hadn’t ended and there was still some hope for them. He raised his head and looked down at her

“I want you to come and stay with me,” he said, “to live with me until we can make you safe.”

“Laura told me that your father wants to keep me here until things get better.” She replied, “don’t you think that’s a better idea.”

He was silent as he brushed his thumb against the spot where Clinton had hit her.

“I don’t want to be away from you.” He replied, “I want to take you home whenever you’re ready to come with me.”

She looked away so that he couldn’t see how much his words affected her. She hadn’t felt at home anywhere since she had been separated from her parents.

“Are you sure?” she asked, “I come with a lot of baggage.”

“I think I’m strong enough to carry it.” He replied, “if you’d let me.”

She wanted to say yes, it felt like the most natural thing but there were so many other things she needed to consider. His mother walked in at that moment and Alexander stood.

“I brought you some soup,” she said handing the tray to Alexander, “she needs to eat slowly.”

Got it.” He said taking the food from his mother.

“I have some clothes here that Laura brought over, you can have a shower and change whenever you’re ready.”

She blushed and waited until his mom was gone before she spoke again.

“I forgot what it was like to have a mother,” she said, “your mom is the best.”

She watched as he set the food on a nearby table before helping her into a sitting position. It was a bit painful to move and she reached down to feel the bandage on her stomach where she had been stabbed. The sound was healing fine.

“You should eat,” he said putting the tray across her lap.

“Have you really been sitting here all this time?” she asked taking a spoonful.

“I didn’t want to leave your side.” He said

She smiled trying to imagine how tired he must be.

“What’s going on at the office?” she asked

“Theodore took over” he replied, “Dillon is back in Mexico and so is William and Jamie. They’re monitoring the situation.”

She began feeling a bit anxious but the look in his eyes told her she didn’t have to worry.

“How bad is it?” she asked,

“Nothing big has happened yet.” He replied, “everyone is anxious to have you back.”

Suddenly her mind went to Charlie. Where was she and what did she think happened to her.

“Where’s my phone?” she asked

“We destroyed it.” He replied, “there was a tracking device in it.”

“You mean besides the one you put there?” she asked

She had figured it out the moment he arrived at her door holding a gun to her head.

“Yes,” he replied, “beside the one I put there. Sorry for that by the way. I should have asked when I first began to suspect.”

“I’ll let that one slip” she replied,

“Is there someone you need to call?” he asked

She assessed the question and decided that there was nothing she needed to hide anymore. She was totally at their mercy and they had proven worthy of her trust.

“I have a contact of sorts.” She said, “she helped me to set up here when I just came. She was supposed to meet me at the house that night.”

“We’ve been watching it for a few days now,” he said, “no-one showed up.”

Elaine sighed, maybe Charlie had come to see them taking her away, but she highly doubted it. Maybe she had decided not to come at all and leave her at the mercy of these people. Whatever the reason, she would have to find a way to let her know that she was alive.

“I’ll have to find her when I get better.”

“We’ll find her together,” he said, “I don’t want you going off on your own anymore. It's not safe for you. If that man was able to find you so easily, I wonder who else may have noticed you.”

“That’s true” she replied

It had been strange how empty her streets had been that night and how easily Clinton had gotten into her house without raising an alarm. He must have been watching her and he must have outdone her attempts to conceal her location.

Soon, she felt tired again and the desire to sleep became overwhelming.

“You need more sleep,” Alex said removing the food tray from her lap,

“I can move in with you.” She said fighting the sleep, “only if you get into this bed right now and get some sleep.”

He paused and looked down at her, but she was too tired to say much more.

“It’s up to you.” She said flashing him a smile

He sat at the edge of the bed and pulled off his shoes. He climbed into the bed next to her and she felt his body heat as he gently pulled her towards him. She rested her head against his shoulder and let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you” she whispered as she drifted off to sleep.