"I am not my father!"
Ellie jerked around hearing her brother's gut wrenching shout. She shook her head. He and her mother must be at it again. Every time John Ross played a new gal, Sue Ellen accused him of being a whoremongler like her departed father had been.
She slipped into the den to find her mother, brother, cousin, aunt, and uncle engaged in an intense dispute, their faces etched with fear. This was more than her brother's debaucherous behavior. Something bad had happened or was about to happen.
"Uncle Bobby, if you would have allowed me to frack South Fork we would not be in this danger!"
"Don't go blaming my father when it was you who made the crooked deal with the cartel in the first place!"
"Christopher, your cousin was tricked. He had no idea until it was too late. It isn't fair to blame him. And you, John Ross, you know my momma's wishes! No drilling on South Fork, and even if we did there still would not have been enough time to cash in the oil." Bobby scolded both the young men, his palms extended playing his usual role as the family's peacekeeper.
Sue Ellen reached for a bottle of brandy with shaky hands.
"No, momma!" John Ross snapped, slapping her hands away from the bottle as if disgusted. "Why must you fall apart every time there is a crisis?"
"Why must you drive me to drinking? As I said you are your father's son!"
"Stop it!" Ellie screeched revealing herself from the shadows.
All eyes turned to her. Blushing with shame, Sue Ellen rushed toward her daughter. "Ellie, it is ok. We were just discussing some business."
"No, everything is not ok! Are you drinking again, momma? And what is this about the drug cartel?"
Now it was Bobby's turn. "It is nothing, dear. Do not worry yourself. It is late. Go get some shut-eye."
"I am not a child anymore! Do not stand before me and look me in the eye and lie to my face! I want to know what is going on!"
"Go to your room, Ellie!" Sue Ellen scolded.
"Stop trying to shield me! I have a right to know!"
"She is right, Sue Ellen. This affects her. She deserves to know. Ellie, last year when your brother was framed for murder and all that trouble went down with the cartel, he was forced into a deal with them."
"And now they have threatened if they do not receive all the money invested that they will punish John Ross the cartel way." Christopher chimed in. Her cousin failed to add that when the cartel punished it was usually the victim's family who paid the price.
Ellie flinched. She knew the Mexican Cartel never threatened, they promised. Having lived her entire life near the border, she took to heart every horrific slaying they committed. And no one had the power to stand up to them, not the government, no one.
Her eyes revealing anxiety, John Ross stepped forward collecting her tiny hands.
"You know big brother is going to take care of his baby girl. Don't you worry. I swear I will find a way to handle this."
Shaking her head radiating the fear brewing within, "Not even daddy could have made such a vow and he was the most powerful man in Texas!"
Gripping her chin, John Ross continued. "Ellie, sweetheart, I wont allow them to hurt you, not any of you. I will go to them and surrender before I allow that."
"No, brother!" Despite their differences, Ellie loved her brother sincerely. That was the Ewing in her. The family could tear each other apart, but let an outsider try it and they attacked together like a pack of rabid wolves. There was nothing stronger than blood to a Ewing.
"No, John Ross. There has to be another way, and together we will find it." Christopher said placing his arms around both John Ross and Ellie. "We were so close. If not for that scoundrel Tom we would be celebrating tonight."
"Tom? The British gentleman? What does he have to do with this?" Ellie asked, her gut glowing warm. She had smelled trouble on him.
Smirking, Christopher replied, "Gentleman? If that is what you want to label him...He is a powerful European crime lord with an unlimited supply of undocumented money."
Ellie bit her lip. It was unusual for her family to invite such a beast inside their home, but this desperate occasion called for extreme measures.
"He was supposed to purchase the arctic leases thus funding us enough cash to pay off the Mexican Cartel." John Ross snarled, slamming his fist into the wall angry at himself for not being the wise businessman his father had been.
"Is there anyone else?" Ellie asked, her mind mentally whirling around ideas.
"He is the only one with cash in hand, but his mind is set and there is no changing it."
The rest of her family's words grew muffled. There were always ways to convince a businessman to change his mind. Her father had been the best damn con-artist in the free world. Some of him had to flow through her veins and it was time she found him. Tom had obviously been interested in her and perhaps she could use that to her advantage. Her momma always told her that while women think with their brains, men scammed with their cocks.