Her Mob Boss (Book Three Of The Brave Series)

19-The Rain Pours(pt. 1)

Elena burst through the front door, a humid air hitting her in the face as she nearly fell down the stairs in her heels. It didn't stop her though. She hurriedly made her way down to the sidewalk and around the corner, the sounds of her name being called causing her to speed up her steps. She just couldn't deal with whatever was happening right now between Rysen and her. Things just weren't making any sense right now.

      The sounds of thunder in the short distance surrounded her as she kept making turns, completely unaware of exactly where she was headed. Then soft droplets of water began to land on and around her as she came to what looked to be a small park in the neighborhood. Her feet throbbed from running around, and when she looked around her and saw no one there she decided to take a break. As she let out a deep breath, thunder struck hard over head, a streak of lightning lighting the dark night sky. As if that bolt opened the floodgates, the rain felt hard. Like pelting ice as it soaked her nearly instantly.

     With a yelp, Elena ran to the playground, underneath the large canopy that covered it, keeping it safe from the storm around her. She nearly collapsed on the black stairs that led to the slides the neighborhood children would use. She rang out her hair, water dripping from the long strands. She slumped down then, her mind racing.

      What was happening to her life? It had been a giant roller coaster since she could remember leaving the orphanage. Nothing had been stable in her life, living with Jackson had made her terrified of men, scared of every quick movement or gesture. Living with the Santigo's had been helping her heal. Then Rysen's girl, or whatever she may be had nearly gotten her killed. She was stuck for the moment because there was no where she could go, all she could do is just stay in the house that she lied to Rysen's parents in. Where the kind body guards joked and laughed with her, unknowing of the fact that she would not be constant soon. Where Harry and Chase, though they knew the truth, had somehow become her friends. Where the man she cared for even against her best interests, stayed.

     Gang members and leaders...all kind to her, opening their hearts and homes to her...while she sat there and lied to them all. Where she hurt, knowing Rysen was with someone else.

      "Ahhh! Damnit!" she cried as thunder sounded around her again, the sound of the rain drowning out her cries, her tears falling from her eyes, warm against her cold skin. She curled into herself, tucking her legs in as she wrapped her arms around them.

      Her phone rang, causing her to jump. She grabbed it, seeing the caller ID as Amy. She sighed, knowing Amy would be upset to know she'd left without telling her. She answered.

      "Hey Amy, I'm sorry I left b-"

      "I'm getting tired of this running away from me act." Rysen growled on the other end. Elena froze, her words caught in her throat.

      "Where are you Elena? This isn't a joke, there is a storm and it's night time." Elena wanted to believe that there was worry in his voice, but his actions this past week proved otherwise. He just wanted to make sure his lie stayed intact until he could get out of the arranged marriages his father had tried to set up.

       "Please...just leave me alone." her voice cracked as a sob left her body unwillingly. She didn't want him to know he had broken her like this.

       "Elena...what's wrong?" his voice changed instantly, softening to the point that she couldn't take it. The sobs came from her freely.

      "Why do you do this to me? You act like I'm different from the other girls...but I'm not. you're using me like you use them, just in a different way. You make no sense. You seem to worry about me...but you shouldn't, because I am just a means to an end for you. So please, just, just leave me alone. I can't do this anymore...I just can't." she cried into the phone, pulling it from her ear. That last thing she heard before she hung up was Rysen calling out her name. The phone dropped from her fingertips, landing on the foam padding that the playground used for safety.

     She stayed there, her tears falling to her already wet jeans. That is, until she heard a soft whimper. Her head came up, and Elena wondered if she had just imagined the noise. Then she heard it again, louder this time. Wiping her tears, Elena leaned down, picking up the phone from the ground as the soft whimpers continued. She followed the sounds around the playground to the slides, turning on the flashlight on her phone. The sounds were right in front of her, and when she walked around the slide she felt her heart melting.

     In front of her was a small puppy nearly small enough to fit in one hand. It was soaking wet and shaking like a leaf as it cried. When it saw her it jumped up, trying to back away, growling softly and weakly.

     "Aww poor baby. What happened that you're all alone?" Elena said, sitting on the edge of the slide a couple feet from the animal, reaching out to it. It growled louder, only to whimpered as a shiver wracked it's body. Elena's hand landed gently on the pup's head, petting it gently. Elena felt it's wet fur, completely soaked through and shivering. It's body was dangerously skinny, showing that it was simply a stray. There was no way this little one was going to make it through the night.

      Elena took off her jacket and gently grabbed the pup, its whimpers and growls mixed together.

     "It's okay little one, I'll take care of you." Elena said as she wrapped her jacket around the puppy and lifting it into her arms. She pulled out her phone and got directions to the house, then unclipped her heels and took them off, tucking her phone in her shirt where it would stay dry and started her trudge to the house. Rain pelted her as she tucked the pup tighter into her arm, her heels in the other.