Tough Love

Chapter Fifty-Two

Chapter Fifty-Two

Eli

As soon as I am out of the house, I can't hold it in any more. I have to release this pressure that's built up within me. I lower my body down the wall outside Dani's door and I break down. There's no sobbing or heart wrenching noises coming from my body, just silent tears streaming down my face. It breaks my heart that people could treat Dani this way; that they can treat anyone this way. I am determined to find as many of them as I can and bring them to justice. I just have to figure out how to get the information out of Dani without her figuring out what I am doing. I know she doesn't want my pity, but that poor, poor girl. If that memory wasn't even a scratch on the surface, then I can fully understand why she was an addict and why she can't forget the tormenting flashbacks. It doesn't take a genius to piece things together and figure out what he did with that metal rod. I'm not naïve; I know how these things go. What a sick piece of trash. I can't believe he was in my parents' house! He knows where they live and if he wants to let the Russian mob know where Dani is, all he has to do is follow me back here. I have to be extra careful and make sure no one is tailing me from now on. I'll have to warn my dad as well. I can't keep something like this from him.

I don't know how long I sit there, but it's long enough for the rage to build up within me all over again. I grab my cell and text Ash. It's just a simple, 'It's that time now.' But he'll know exactly what that means. Not even 20 seconds later my cell buzzes. I pick up but I don't need to say anything. Ash quickly says, “I'm on my way. Be at Dani's in 5.”

I hang up, amazed that he's that close already. Something tells me he didn't go very far after mine and Dani's quick escape from dinner. Almost exactly 5 minutes later, Ash is standing in front of me. He grabs my arm to pull me up from the floor and he asks, “Where do you want to go? Bar or gym?”

“Gym, then bar.”

“Sure thing.”

We head to his car. He won't drink tonight. An unspoken rule between us. Whenever one of us is like this, the other doesn't drink. I suppose it's so there's a designated driver but also in case things get out of hand and a level head and sober body is needed. The sober one usually stops fights from happening. We can't have that after the last set of fights I got myself into. The Cap would never allow such a thing again.

As Ash and I hit the gym, we end up sparring on the mat. Once the blows start, I feel the rage take over again and I just see red. I floor Ash in what feels like seconds. I don't hurt him, but I do knock the wind out of him. He doesn't complain; he just gets back up and goes again. We 'battle' on the mat for a long time, and with each passing minute I feel the anger disperse somewhat. Once I'm almost out of energy, Ash says, “Ok, Eli. I think you've had enough now.”

I let out a deep breath and hit the floor. I just lay on my back, trying to catch my breath. Ash does the same, and we lay there in silence for a few minutes.

Eventually Ash breaks the silence, “Want to talk about it?”

There's no way on this earth that I can keep this to myself. My dad and Ash need to know about this. I don't need to tell them what he did, but I do need them on board for this. I need to keep Dani safe and I can't do that on my own now. “He brought him to my parents' house...”

“Who brought who?”

“Ty. He brought him to the house...”

“That guy? Dani knew him, didn't she?”

I nod and Ash jumps up. He starts pacing, “I knew something was wrong. She'd been pretty ok the whole time we were there and then she freaks out just out of the blue? At first I thought it was Ty turning up, but it didn't seem right. Is he the one who hurt her?”