Chapter 13
"I'm wide awake
Yeah, I am born again
Out of the lion's den
I don't have to pretend
And it's too late
The story's over now, the end."
It had been a week since the 'incident'. Five days of sadness, guilt and a hint of self-loathing. Not all from him, but from the entire team, since the Hayes family had seemed to cut ties with all of them. Not that he could blame them. What should the team have expected? They were criminals. Even now, helping the people they did, they broke the law on a regular basis. And he was, point in fact, a killer.
They hadn't had any cases since it happened, but to be honest, it didn't seem as if Nate or Sophie were even looking for one. They most likely realized that none of them would be in the right frame of mind or have the concentration needed. Parker was the worst it seemed. Not even Hardison had been able to pull her out of her funk. She had spent most of the last few days repelling off of any building she could.
As for himself, after the first day of easy acceptance, because he had been secretly expecting it all along, the rest set in. In her absence, his life abruptly became a little too empty, too quiet…too lonely. He really hadn't realized until that moment how integral a part of his life she had become.
Not anything as sappy as needing her to live or anything on that level, but….he missed her. He missed being able to vent after a rough job, being able to cook next to someone who understood the joy of it like he did, someone he didn't have to pretend around. And the thought of never being able to talk to her again made something inside him clench almost painfully. He wanted her in is life. Pure and simple. There was no doubt, no second guessing.
And that scared the crap out of him.
But not enough that he would put the rest of the group in danger. He had no doubt that Patrick Hayes meant every word of his threat. Maybe after a short time period he would go to see the Hayes patriarch and have a heart to heart. Maybe then…and if he couldn't, well…he didn't want to think of what that might mean at the moment.
Fate however, had other plans though, as he exited the elevator on his floor and turned down the hall to his apartment to immediately freeze at the sight that greeted him.
"He's not answering his door Olive. Yes, thank you for that observation. I am aware that he might be ignoring it. What should I do? Do you think I should call him?" The frustration of the situation was clearly causing her stress. Something tightened in his chest. "Alright, I'll try calling him. I just wanted to do this in person. A phone call seems so impersonal." She hung up, looking a bit dejected, before picking up the two bags at her feet and turning toward the elevator. She stopped suddenly, not six feet from him, looking unsure for a moment before a tentative smile graced her face. "Hey you," she greeted cautiously.
How the hell….
"Hey," he replied, after the brief moment of shock passed. "Have you been waitin' long?"
"Not really. Maybe ten minutes? I knew I was taking a chance on whether you would be home or not. I almost thought…" she trailed off, biting her lower lip.
"That I was ignorin' your knockin'?" She looked up quickly in surprise. "I heard you talkin' to Olivia."
"Oh," she went silent and stood there looking unsure of her next move.
He started moving past her toward his front door. "You wanna come in?"
She turned toward him with a hopeful expression on her face. "I would love to. I didn't want to assume…I mean, I would understand if you didn't want me to."
He looked at her in confusion as he opened his door and then reached out to take the bags from her. "What's all this?" Looking in the bags he discovered a six pack of his favorite beer, a large bag of his favorite chips, a bucket of what looked to be wings from his favorite bar, and a container of what suspiciously looked like her apple and whiskey tarts that he loved so much.
She looked sheepish. "I wasn't sure how to go about…well….I asked Kieran what I could do to show a male friend that I was...my mom always said the way to a man's heart was food," she chuckled nervously. "And Kieran...he suggested beer and porn, but there was no way I was going to bring…that."
Eliot had to fight back his laughter.
"So I settled on some of your favorites and a recording of the MMA fight that wasn't available for pay per view that you were talking about last week."
He was still staring at her in confusion as he put the bags on the kitchen counter. His silence must have spoken volumes.
"They're my attempt at a peace offering," she concluded.
His continued silence prompted her to add, "For the way I acted a week ago."
His brows furrowed in obvious confusion. "What…"
"Olive pointed out that I was letting my dad dictate my life again. And after internally berating myself for falling back into old habits, I had a hard discussion with my dad. I told him that my relationship with you and the rest of the team is just that, MY relationship. And that while I appreciate that he is worried about me, it is my decision on whether to continue said relationship. Needless to say, he's not very…pleased with me at the moment."
"I'm still breakin' the law, doin' what I do with the team," he pressed.
"But it's to help people. You take down evil people and only kill when absolutely necessary to protect yourself and the team, right?'
"Yes."
"And you would never go back to that kind of life now that you've grown and found a new way."
"If you mean killing people without question for a payout…yes."
She smiled. "The thing is, I believe that a person's past helps define who they are in the present. I enjoy spending time with you. I've never felt anything but safe and comfortable with you. There's no pressure around you to be someone else, and you make me smile."
"I'm not a good guy Ally."
"I don't believe that for a second," she quickly replied, with an assuredness that made his breath catch. "And I'm sorry if I made you feel like I thought that. I'm not proud of my reaction when I found out. I promised that your past wouldn't change how I felt about you, and I didn't reflect that when I walked out the door with my dad. In my defense, however weak, I found out that one of my best friends was once a….contract killer. That deserves a little processing time. I quickly realized though, that even though I was shocked and bothered by your past, it paled in comparison to how much I would miss you in my life. I'm sorry I made you feel otherwise."
Of all the different ways he imagined this conversation going…a conversation that he never believed would even happen…those were NOT the words he expected to hear from her.
"You didn't…" he began, only to have her interrupt him with a smile.
"No lies between us Eliot. You might have to portray yourself a certain way when working, or occasionally with Uncle Nate and the others, but not with me. I want you to be yourself around me as well. It works both ways. "
It was as if a one hundred pound weight was lifted off his shoulders and the vice squeezing his chest released, allowing him to take in an utterly relieved and content breath for the first time in a week. "Alright."
"Good. And I truly meant it when I said that you could talk to me about anything."
"You might change your mind about that later."
"We'll see," she smirked. "So how about we eat what I brought before it all gets cold?"
"Are those your tarts in that container?" he grinned.
"Possibly," she teased.
He didn't even question walking around the island and pulling her into his arms. She immediately melted into his embrace, wrapping her slender arms around his waist and sighing contently. He knew how she felt.
"How did you get that MMA fight?" he asked curiously.
She chuckled against his chest before pulling back enough to look up at him. "I had a friend that owed me a favor."
"Well you won't hear me complain." He released her and grabbed the food and the beer, directing her over to his couch. "We're eating the tarts first," he declared, making her smile.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
The next night he arrived at Nate's for the dinner that Ally had arranged to make amends with everyone. When he walked through the door however, it was to find Sophie and Parker sitting on the couch on either side of Ally, Nate angrily pacing behind the couch, and Hardison typing furiously on his laptop with a pissed off expression on his face.
"What's goin' on?" he asked.
Without missing a beat, Parker's eyes landed on his wearing a murderous expression as she growled out, "Josh is a dead man is what's happening."
The hitter's eyes hardened as his gaze zeroed in on Ally. Her eyes were red and watery, indicating that she had been crying. His whole demeanor shifted to murderous intent though, when he saw the reason she was cradling her wrists gently. "What…happened?" he was doing his damnedest to reign in his anger, as he took in the darkening, purple bruises. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her.
She looked up toward him with tear filled eyes. "I broke up with Josh."
(1 hour earlier)
She had a little time before she was due to be at Nate's for dinner. Having just got off the phone with the restaurant, confirming their reservation, she walked down the hall toward Josh's apartment intent on having a difficult discussion. They had been on their way towards mending their relationship, at least, she thought they had been, until she found out that he was the reason for the background checks her father had received that day. She hadn't talked to him since, doing a great deal of thinking on what she wanted to do.
She wasn't happy with him anymore. To be honest, she wasn't sure if she ever had been. The harsh reality that she allowed herself to acknowledge, was that she continued to be with a man that didn't respect her or treat her as an equal, all because her father set them up. And the last thing she had wanted to do once upon a time, was disappoint her dad. She felt she had owed it to him. But the truth was, she owed it to herself to not remain with someone that didn't treat her the way she deserved to be treated. And she was finished doing what was expected of her. It was time to do what was best for her.
He was supposed to be at work, which is why she was surprised when his assistant told her that he had left for the day. Not being able to get an answer when she called, she decided to try his apartment. It was going to make this worse if she had to do this when he was ill, but she was still determined to do so.
She let herself in with her key and quietly closed the door. "Josh? Are you home?" When he didn't answer, she decided to try the bedroom to see if he was resting. Halfway across the living room, she tripped over something on the floor. Gently picking herself up, she reached for the item, to discover it was a silk blouse. She froze, looking toward the hallway to his bedroom. Bringing out her cane, she slowly made her way to the hall, catching another item on the tip of it. Upon picking it up, she discovered it to be a woman's bra. She sucked in a breath, but realized that while upset, she wasn't as hurt as she would have thought she would be in this situation. Squaring her shoulders, she made her way to his bedroom, where she finally heard unmistakable sounds through the closed door. Opening it, she was bombarded with the smell of sweat and sex that permeated the room.
"Sorry to interrupt," she stated aloud, startling the couple on the bed.
She heard a feminine squeak of surprise, the bed squeaking and the sound of sheets rustling. "Allyson! What are you doing here?" Josh managed to get out between calming his labored breathing.
"I was coming over her to break up with you, which I must say, not a bad decision on my part."
She turned to leave and made it to the front door before Josh grabbed her wrist. "Wait Allyson, let's talk about this. It's not what you think."
Her head turned, an expression of incredulity on her face. "You're going to go with that? I thought that was only done in movies. Please release me Josh."
"No," he growled, "you're going to listen to me."
Planting her feet she reared back with her left fist and punched him in the face, like Eliot had taught her. "I will never listen to you again. Now let...me…go," she stated, with a small amount of shake in her voice.
Josh made a threatening sound low in his throat as he grabbed her other wrist and slammed it against the wall. "I said no. What did you expect would happen when you started disagreeing with me? Everything was fine before your little…'revelation'. You were soft spoken, you didn't argue. You were perfect." She tried to push him away, but he pressed her harder against the wall, tightening his grip even more. "You don't move until I say you can."
Her eyes were watering up from the pain. "Josh, you're hurting me."
A feral grin appeared on his face. "Good. Maybe you need a little pain to remember your place. Why couldn't you just do as I asked? We would have eventually gotten married and I would have moved up in the company. I would have continued my dalliances in secret of course, but you would have been taken care of. Now you're full of yourself, thinking you know what's best. Well you don't. How could you? You're blind Allyson. What other prospects are you going to have?" He demanded softly, leaning in to rub his nose against her cheek.
She refused to cry in front of him as she tried to figure out how to get out of his hold. She went to knee him in the balls, but he blocked her attack and slammed her back against the wall, causing her to cry out.
"Josh? Oh my god! What are you doing?!"
The blonde's head jerked toward the other woman. "Get back in the bedroom Marissa. This doesn't concern you."
"You're hurting her. Look, I didn't know you had a girlfriend. This is bullshit. Let go of her now or I'm going to call the police."
"Don't you dare you little bitch," he raged, loosening his grip on Ally's wrists, while turning toward the other woman. "Now get back in the…"
Having used his distraction, Ally wrenched her hand from his hold, and punched him as hard as she could in the kidney. Josh immediately released her and dropped to his knees. She frantically searched in her purse for the device she knew was there, and pressed it to his side immediately. Electricity coursed through his body as he screamed out in pain and fell to the floor in the fetal position.
Taking in a shaky breath, she glared down at him. "My place, is NOT in your shadow. My place is NOT being someone that you treat like a doll. I don't need anyone to take care of me, you ass. If you ever come near me again, I will have you arrested." She looked toward the woman who was standing there in shock, half dressed, with her mouth hanging open. "I suggest you get your things so we can get out of here. I don't think you want to still be here when he recovers."
The woman quickly threw her blouse on, grabbed her shoes and purse and exited the apartment with Allyson. When they got in the cab, the adrenaline left her in a rush, and she began shaking as she broke out into tears, while Marissa rubbed her back trying to comfort her.
"I'm gonna kill him," Eliot stated simply, once she had finished the story.
"No Eliot, he's not worth it," Ally told him tiredly.
"The hell he ain't. He laid his hands on you," the hitter growled.
"Trust me," she retorted, holding up both her wrists, "I know. I just want to go to dinner with you all. It's over; I'm never going to see him again."
Eliot wasn't so sure of that.
"Let's get you freshened up," Sophie announced, standing and gently pulling Ally up with her. "Parker will you get my purse?"
The thief quickly retrieved the Louis Vuitton bag off the counter and rushed back over to them. "I told you that taser would be handy," she announced, wrapping her arm around Ally's waist.
"Yes you did," Ally smiled softly. "Thank you for giving it to me."
Once the girls were in the bathroom, doing whatever they were going to do to 'freshen' Ally up, Eliot turned to Nate. "We should tell her father and her brother."
The mastermind sighed. "I don't think that's the best course of action."
"What the hell do you mean not the best course of action?!" the hitter snarled.
The older man looked at him in understanding. "It's not our place."
"Ah HA asshole!" Hardison exclaimed, finally finishing whatever he was doing and leaning back with a satisfied expression.
"What the hell have you been doin' over there? Your friend is over here tellin' us how that bastard hurt her and you're what!? Playing video Games!"
Hardison's expression hardened. "Listen man, I get you're angry, which is why I'm gonna let that pass. And no, I wasn't playing video games. I was making Josh's life a little more interesting," he announced with a scary grin.
Nate's interest was piqued. "What did you do?'
"Awww I just hacked into the company's servers, bypassed their firewall, found his network credentials and gain remote access to his work laptop. From there I created a duplicate email from the company and made the attachment into a Trojan virus that gave me access to his home computer. I then changed all his passwords, including the ones to his email and home router, and limited the speed of his home internet to dialup speeds. Plus I turned his apartment into a faraday cage, he won't be getting cell phone reception there anymore. There are a few other surprises, some that might involve jail time if he gets pulled over while driving, but let's just say he is NOT going to be lovin' life," the hacker concluded with a proud papa, shit eating grin.
Both Nate's and Elliot's eyes widened briefly, before Nate nodded in appreciation. The hitter had to give him credit, albeit silently, you didn't mess with Alec Hardison's friends. He wondered briefly what the 'other surprises' were.
"Alright gentlemen, we are ready for your compliments," Sophie announced as they came out of the bathroom fifteen minutes later.
Ally looked much better, her hair had been brushed and styled and her eyeliner had been cleaned up and reapplied. Her eyes were no longer red, so he was guessing eye drops were used, and a bit of blush and a light gloss had been add to give her some color. The turquoise dress, that he now took notice of, was much different than the straight laced, professional style he was accustomed to see her wear. It had a bohemian vibe, with a ruffled, floral skirt and cut out shoulders, giving her a much more relaxed demeanor, not to mention making her look more like the twenty five year old she was.
"That's different than what you normally wear."
She looked a little unsure. "I wanted to try something different. Does it…look alright?"
"It's very you," he told her, earning a smile in return.
"I've already told her that I think she looks lovely," Sophie concluded. "Where have you made reservations for us dear? I must say, I'm quite famished."
Ally seemed to perk up. "It's an Italian restaurant in Cambridge. My friends have given it wonderful reviews, and they're supposed to have a pappardelle with wild boar that's to die for."
She did a commendable job of covering it up as she chatted happily with Sophie, but Eliot knew her better than that.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Josh entered the covered garage and started making his way toward his car. His head jerked toward a sound on the far side, before he silently berated himself. He had no idea why he was jumpy today. It was probably because his day had been hell. First, he had to have his work email completely reset, because all day everyone in the building had been receiving tasteless jokes and porn of all things, from his email. It was quite embarrassing. Then he received an alert from his credit monitoring, informing him that his credit score had dropped from a 755 to a 428, and that his cards had been frozen. He wasn't even sure how he was going to fix that. His phone signaled a notification from his bank, and when he looked, found an approval for the transfer of funds, while another one came in, thanking him for his fifty thousand dollar donation to the Battered Women of Boston shelter.
"What the fuck?! That's half of my savings! What the hell is going on?!" he screamed.
"Having a rough day?" a voice drawled.
The blonde's eyes jerked up to find Eliot leaning against his car with his arms crossed. His eyes narrowed. "What the hell do you want?"
"Wanted to have a little talk is all," the hitter replied lazily.
Josh smirked. "This is about Allyson." He chuckled darkly. "I mean, it's not surprising. You are her guard dog. Sadly, you can't do a damn thing to me. There are cameras recording as we speak," he gloated.
"That's the thing with electronics…" Eliot pulled away from Josh's car and took a step toward him, "you never know when they're going to malfunction."
Josh's eyes desperately went to the two cameras nearest him, only to find them broken. He swallowed hard as his breathing picked up. Eliot's grin turned predatory as he continued walking toward him, backing him into a concrete pillar. "Next time it might be better to wait inside the building until other people are leaving too. That way you don't make yourself such an easy target," he finished, stopping inches away and propping his hand on the pillar near Josh's head.
"If you t…touch me, I'll pre..press charges," he stuttered.
Eliot gave him a pitying look. "Oh, I'm not gonna touch you…today. I made a promise. I'm here to give you a warning."
Regaining a bit of his bravado, Josh sneered. "And what warning is that? Stay away from Ally or else," he mocked in a bad country drawl.
"You're not as dumb as you look," the hitter replied drolly.
"And if I don't?"
Eliot's expression went blank, and then he slowly leaned in and began whispering in Josh's ear. As he did, the younger man's breathing became labored and his heart rate sped up. The hitter was rewarded moments later by an unmistakable smell.
"Might wanna get those to the dry cleaners soon, they seem like nice slacks. Enjoy your day," he concluded with a nod, walking away and leaving the blonde pressed terrified against the concrete pillar.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
And so she's FINALLY broken up with Josh. Hope you guys liked it. =)
Still don't own Leverage & the quote above is from Katy Perry's Wide Awake.
Jen
