Her Mob Boss (Book Three Of The Brave Series)

20-Dangerous Lies

     20-Dangerous Lies

Elena woke with a start the next morning. She'd had another nightmare again. This one about Ronny, as if reliving the attack all over again. Elena sighed, it felt like she hadn't slept at all, her head throbbing painfully. Her mouth felt dry and her eyes were puffy and sore. What hap-oh. She paused remembering last night's events. The party, drinking, Rysen, running away, the rain, and...Elena flipped the covers up to find a small ball of fur cuddled up to her side. Last night it was such a soaked, shaking mess that Elena couldn't tell what color it was or what breed. Now as she looked at it, its color was that of a Rottweiler black, with brown markings. Its fur and was longer though, thick, and its ears were tall and pointed, like that of a Shepard's. A mixed dog. Elena smiled and pet the little pup. Its eyes opened and looked up to her. Then it turned on its back and she saw it was a boy. A small puppy, maybe old enough to have been weaned from the mother's milk and it had been all alone. Elena leaned down and gently pet him, smiling. It's face almost seemed to smile back as Elena cooed.

"Such a cute boy." She said watching his tail wag. In fact, he was so excited it seemed, that he couldn't contain himself, and peed a little on his own belly.

"Oh, someone needs to go out." Elena said, hurriedly picking him up , careful not to get pee on the bed, and made her way downstairs, ignoring the sudden wave of nausea she felt from standing. Walking through the living room, then the kitchen, she noticed Chase and Harry eating a bowl of cereal. She smiled at them. Harry noticed her first and smiled back.

"Nice hair." He said. Elena chuckled sheepishly. She could only imagine that mess her hair had become throughout the night, too focused on the puppy to notice. Chase's head shot up and he half-smiled at her.

"Nice bed-head, how's your brain feeling?" he asked. Elena shrugged.

"Like someone stabbed it. Fifty times. I'll be fine though." She responded. The puppy whined then, catching their attention.

"Oh sorry little fella, let's get you outside before you pee on me." She said. The boys chuckled as she opened the sliding glass door. She stepped into the back yard, the sunlight irritating her headache further but she ignored it. Setting down the pup, she watched him take off, running around the grass and tripping over his own feet. Elena couldn't help the giggle that came from her as she watched him.

"Have you decided on a name yet?" Elena jumped at the sound of his voice and turned around to find him leaning on the door frame. He wore his usual, tight white t-shirt and black jeans, motorcycle boots tucked underneath. Elena's heart hurt just looking at him. So she turned away.

"It won't matter, once I leave, I can't afford to keep him." She said, holding back the tears that surfaced. The sound of the door closing behind him caught her attention, as did his footsteps as he came to stand beside her.

"If you stay, you can keep him. The parents would love it I'm sure." He said, his scent wafting over her as he stopped mere inches beside her. She cleared her throat to get her mind straight again.

"Why would I stay?"

"Because you don't know everything, because if you did, you would understand." He said. Elena scoffed as the pup returned to her. She leaned down, picking up the fluffy boy and turned to Rysen.

"Thank you for helping me, but you're just like everyone else. You use people for your own gain. You make them feel something that," Elena caught her breath as the tears surfaced again, "something that they shouldn't have felt. And then you crush them like a bug beneath your feet." She finished. Rysen's eyes seemed to soften as he took a step towards her, making the distance almost insignificant.

"What did I make you feel?" he asked gently, his hand coming up to graze her cheek. She flinched away and took a step back.

"It doesn't matter anymore." She said as she turned to go back inside. That is until he grabbed her shoulder, turning her back to him.

"It does matter Elena." He said, his hands reaching up to cup her face. Her breath froze in her lungs as his eyes stared into hers. "It does matter." He said firmly. She looked back, the tears falling silently while the puppy, still in her arms whined gently.

"Why?" she asked simply.

"Because I-"

"Rysen, your dad is on the phone, needs to speak with you right away." Chase's voice broke the moment apart, allowing Elena to pull away and hurriedly make her way into the house once more where she could breathe a safe distance from him. She stopped by Harry who held out his arms.

"Can I hold him?" she nodded and handed the pup to him. He cradled it, petting him on the head and letting him lick his face.

"Father?" Rysen said, catching her attention. She looked up to him, watching him.

"They want what?" Rysen's voice turned worried as he looked Elena in the eyes causing her to freeze. What was Mr. Santigo saying on the other end of that phone?

"When?" he nodded and turned away.

"We'll be ready. And Dad, they will die if anything happens to her." Elena's breath froze as he turned back to them, his eyes angry.

"What happened Boss?" Chase asked.

"The McGreaves family found out that I declined their daughters hand in marriage because I have a girlfriend."

"Shit." Harry muttered, standing.

"Not good." Chase added. Elena had no idea what was going on.

"Why is it so bad? What's going on?" Elena asked, worried now herself. They all turned to her.

"They want us to meet tonight, a 'friendly' dinner there, tonight." Rysen said.

"What's so bad about that?" she asked.

"The McGreaves are one of the most notoriously vicious Irish gangs in the state. We've had an alliance with them, but it has always been rocky. With denying the marriage with their daughter, if they find out I've been lying, that you've been pretending, it will start an all out gang war." Rysen said. Elena's eyes went wide as she felt the blood in her body run cold.

"They'll kill me...won't they?" she whispered. Their eyes softened as they looked at her. Rysen's lips pressed tightly together as he nodded.

"And if we don't go?" she asked.

"They won't take kindly to the sign of disrespect." Chase answered. Elena felt her body begin to shake. She was going to have to go into a new den of mobsters. Ones that she didn't know, and were the most vicious? Tears came to her eyes as she felt a panic attack coming.

"I think I'm going to be sick." She said as she grabbed the chair closest to her for support. All three of them surrounded her immediately.

"Elena, are you okay?" Harry asked. She nodded fervently.

"I'm...I'm fine. I can do this...I think." She said.

"When do we leave?" she asked.

"At five." Rysen said. Elena looked at the clock. She had three hours to get her bearings and toughen up. This was her life on the line, Rysen's family, and everything she'd come to care about. She could do this. She had to. She took a deep steadying breath and looked at the three of them.

"I'll be ready then." She said as she pulled her phone from the waistband of her pajamas and dialed a familiar number. She whistled to the pup and he turned to her immediately. She began walking to her room, the pup in tow, as the phone connected.

"Hey girl, what's up?" she answered.

"How fast can you get here?" Elena asked.

"About an hour, why?"

"I need a crash course in being part of a gang family by five. Got dinner with the McGreaves tonight."

"On my way."

"Thanks Regina. See you in an hour."