Worry raced through his mind as he urged the car faster and faster across the frozen river. Every 30 seconds he would whip his head around expecting to find the fancy cars the Mafia drove, getting closer and closer. He could hear his stolen treasure making clinking noises in the back of his car. After 10 minutes of pure self-induced terror he had reached his speakeasy.
Elle opened her eyes to find her parents hovering over her, their faces creased with worry.
"Have you seen Elliot?" Her mother, Isabella demanded.
Elle too sleepy to register the seriousness of the situation replied,
"What so you think? I have been sleeping."
"Elle Arianna Paris do not use that tone with your mother." Her father Ian thundered. "Your brother has been gone all night and ever since he and Cade opened that speakeasy, we have done nothing but fear for his life." Ell now awake asked,
What are you talking about? He is right over there."
She gestured to Elliot's still empty bed on the other side of the room they shared.
"Wait-he is not there. Well where could he have gone?"
Elle was now thoroughly worried. Her brother despite being 17 was strangely terrified of spending the night away from his home. It was something he has had from childhood.
Almost as soon as Elle finished her sentence, she heard the loud racket of a door opening and slamming and feet running up the stairs. A few seconds later Elliot burst into the room, panting. Elle's parents ran to him and nearly choked him with a hug. Elle had to cover her mouth to stifle a gasp. Elliot's arms had bruises that looked like human hands on them and his face had a long cut on it from a knife.
After they released him and he got a chance to regain his breath, Ian demanded to know what happen to him and where he was all night, while Isabella went to go get ice packs for his bruises. Finally Elliot began his story,
"It was about 8:00 PM and we were getting ready to close the bar when these two men burst in and demanded to know where Elliot Paris and Cade Phoenix were, so we told them "That's us." Then all of a sudden both of them lunged at us, pinned us against the wall, and asked, "Where is the alcohol?" At first I thought they were insane and told them that we were closed and they could come back tomorrow, then the guy slapped me and yelled in my face" Don't play games with me. Where is the alcohol you stole from Mr. Capone?" I opened my mouth to say something but her pulled out and knife and pressed the blade against my cheek and said" You have two days to return the alcohol to Mr. Capone. If it is not returned by that time, you will both be killed."
Upon hearing that last statement, Elle's mother went as pale as a sheet and almost collapsed.
"Did you steal it?" Elle asked.
"No, of course not. Elliot snapped. "No one is dumb enough to think that they can steal alcohol from the Mafia and get away with it."
Isabella, after her regained the color of her face questioned,
"Then where were you all night?"
"Cade and I searched the bar for any crates of extra alcohol that someone might have put there, but there were none."
"We will have to contact the police then." Ian said, believing in what little power the police had over the Mafia,
"You can't! You so that and The Whispering Cat will close and we will have no money." Elliot said.
"Your mother and I have talked about this. She will get a job and we will close the speakeasy. We have spent too many sleepless nights worrying about your safety."
Elliot thought for a moment with a troubled look on his face then said,
"Okay I agree we will close The Whispering Cat and contact the authorities and tell them that the Mafia threatened to kill me for no reason."
Elle could not believe what she was hearing. That speakeasy had been their main source of income for the past year and a half. It was the reason they had an apartment instead of living on the streets, and now it was going to close."
Before she could utter a word in protest, her parents whisked her out of the room, leaving Elliot quiet time to sleep.
Unfortunately it was a school day and before she knew it, she was out at the bus stop. When the bus came in sight, a devious thought came into her mind. She could skip school and try to find the alcohol. As quickly and quietly as she could, Elle dove into the bushes that surround the sidewalk before the bus driver could catch a glimpse of her. After she deemed it safe to leave the bushes, she took the short cut to The Whispering Cat.
As she unlocked the door with her key, she stepped into the darkness of the room. In her search for the light she managed to trip over a chair, ran into a table, and from that, received a large bruise. Finally she found the light switch and flipped it on to reveal a normal empty bar.
Elle was so engrossed with her search of the entire speakeasy the next time she checked the clock it was 3:30 PM. She was supposed to be home a half hour ago. As soon as that thought finished echoing through her mind, she was already half way out the door and starting to sprint home.
When she got to her apartment, she slipped the key in the lock as silently as it would allow her. Elle got in all right but the moment her stepped into the living room she was caught.
"Where have you been?!?" Isabella exclaimed
Elle quickly tried to save herself by saying,
"Our bus was late, it ran out of gas before it got to the school so we had to wait."
"That is a lie Elle and you know it. We were at the bus stop to pick you up so we could head to the police station together and talk to the police about your brother's situation and you never got off the bus." Isabella retorted.
Elle defended herself,
"Ok, you're right I did not go to school. I went to The Whispering cat to search for the alcohol and I lost track of time."
Elliot stepped in,
"Elle, give up okay? Neither me or Cade stole that alcohol so you wont find it."
"Elle you are grounded until next week and we forbid you to chasing after the alcohol. Now go to your room immediately." Said Isabella.
Without a word of protest, Elle dragged her feet all the way to her room.
The next morning Elle was carefully supervised as she went to the bus stop and got on the bus. After what seemed like forever, she got off the bus and started to walk home. Halfway there she got and idea, she could go to Cade's house and talk to him for his side of the story and about what they should do. Right after that thought she came to the grim realization that she was grounded and her parents would never let her go to his house. Elle walked another three feet before she saw Cade walking with his hands in his pockets and his head down on the other side of the road. She quickly crossed the road and ran up to him.
"Cade I have to talk to you about something." Elle said.
Cade turned his head to all sides as if looking to see who was listening. Then he said,
"Elle I know what you're going to ask me. I did not steal the alcohol and I am in a hurry so if you have any more questions ask me later."
"Just one question?" Elle persisted.
"No. I have things to do like I said and they do not involve answering your pointless questions so I will see you later."
Elle was flabbergasted as she crossed the road again and watched Cade's shadow fade into the distance. Cade was never mean and it seemed like he was on the edge. Also, how did he know what she was going to ask him? All of that was so unlike Cade. Elle puzzled over this as she restarted her walk home.
Shortly before reaching her apartment she realized that two large men where following her. She immediately panicked and started walking fast and going down different streets trying to lose them.
When she was confident that she lost them, Elle stopped to take a breath. Then she realized where she was. She was in one of the worst neighborhoods in New York, Clinton. And to top it all of her was in an ally. If those men somehow managed to follow her she was doomed.
Elle's fear reached an all time high as the two men stepped into the ally. She tried to make a run for it but before she reached the street into of the men grabbed her and shoved her into the wall.
The other man spoke,
"Elle we know you have been messing around in your brother Elliot's and his friend Cade's affairs."
Elle always curious even in the face of danger questioned,
"How do you know my name?"
"Your not in the place to ask questions, now are you?"
And with that last statement the man who shoved her into the wall pulled out a small handgun.
When Elle saw that gun all thoughts in her mind just stopped and she stared at it.
"Now we want you to stop trying to help your brother, this is between him and Mr. Capone. Do you understand that?" The man asked.
Elle nodded her head to scared to speak.
"If you quit helping Elliot we will leave you alone. If not…. well if that happens we will talk about it."
And with that last cruel statement the two men left the ally leaving Elle to cower in fear over what they just said.
Elle finally gathered up her courage, left the ally and walked home, but this time checking to see if anyone was following her.
When she got home she did not need to worry about her parents asking why she looked so shaken up because they were out to dinner and Elliot was at Cade's house. She walked over to her bedroom and threw herself onto her bed. Elle, too tired to even think, quickly fell asleep.
She woke up to see the sun trying to poke thorough the blinds and the birds chirping. She should have felt happy because today she had no school, but she didn't. She felt strangely depressed. Elle went down to breakfast after brushing her teeth.
Her parents and Elliot were gathered around the table deep in discussion. They stopped their conversation as they realized Elle was standing there. Elliot was the first to speak,
"Elle, last night when I was at Cade's house the police came and arrested him."
"What for?" Elle asked.
"Someone ratted to the police that Cade might have owned a speakeasy." Elliot said.
It was at this time that another devious thought popped into her mind suggesting that she skip her trip to the library, which even though she was grounded could attend, and search Cade's house.
"Mom, can I go to the library? It is the day for me to go."
"Don't you want to stay home this week? It has been very hectic." Isabella said.
"That is exactly why I want to go, anyway I need something to read."
Isabella gave in,
"Okay. Do you need a ride?"
Elle quickly declined, ran out the door and sprinted most of the way to Cade's house.
The first room she searched after she found the spare key and got in, she found nothing. As she did with the next two rooms. After an hour of searching she had found nothing. Elle moved on to the next room: Cade's bedroom.
Elle walked into the room and immediately opened the closet. Nothing. She walked across the worn carpet to the pile of stuff in the corner of the room. She dug through it but once more she found nothing. She checked her watch. It said 1:00 PM, one hour until Cad's parents got home from their weekly mini golf course trip they took with Cade's little sister Amber. Elle looked in one last place, under Cade's bed. She lifted up the bed skirt and looked under. There she saw a large dark shape. She reached under and dragged it out. Elle peered inside; it was filled with toys and other various little kid things form Cade's childhood. Filled with displeasure, she shoved the box under eh bed and in the process hit something and it made a clinking noise. Once again Elle reached under the bed to pull out a crate filled with bottles of a brown liquid. She selected one and looked at the label it said Jack Daniels Liquor. It was the stolen alcohol the Mafia wanted. Cade had stole it after all. When she went to put the bottle back into the crate she found that something was obstructing the bottle. She reached in and pulled it out. Elle recognized to be Cade's watch. Putting he watch on his desk she headed over to the phone and called her house. Her mother answered the phone,
"Hello?"
"Mom it's me Elle, I need you to pick me up at Cade's house."
"What are you doing there? No one is home." Elle's mother asked.
"I found the crate of alcohol under Cade's bed." Elle replied.
After a couple seconds of silence Elle said,
"Hello?"
But no one was there. Her mom was already on her way to Cade's house.
Within five minutes her mother showed up with her father and brother in tow. As soon as Elliot saw her he inquired as to where the alcohol was.
"In Cade's room. It was under his bed." Elle said.
Elliot headed to Cade's bedroom without another word while her mother and father added a week to her sentence for lying about where she was going and for breaking into Cade's house. Elle tried to tell them that it was no breaking in because she found a key but they did not listen.
Elliot emerged form Cade's room with the crate and proceeded to call the Mafia to set up an arrangement to give them the alcohol. After that, he got into his car and setoff for the meeting place. Elle's parents drover her home where she went into her room to read. A couple of minutes later her mother came in to tell her that she called Cade's parents and told them about the alcohol and to tell her that his parents told her that Cade got off because it was only a minor charge and the jails where full and there was no proof.
When she left Elle put down her book, looked out the window, and watched the sun go down. It had been a pretty good day, she found the alcohol and Cade did not have to go to jail. The only downside was that she was grounded, but it was worth having Elliot unhurt and The Whispering Cat open. With the last thought Elle picked up her book again and began to read.