Page 18 of Stalwart Ridge Security: Murray
Ballard throws his hands up and snaps, “If no one is doing anything I’ll take action.I’m going to stake out Royce’s place to see if Nolan is there while I dig into his daughter’s background.We need to know every single detail we can find about this chick.”
“Did you not hear me say he’s under investigation, asshole?”Seamus grits.
Murray stalks to Ballard who is now standing near the door.“He’s right.Give it at least a day to let Seamus talk to Orson.He will also do some more digging about Royce’s daughter, right?”
Seamus nods.“Definitely.But you need to stay put, Ballard.”
The defiant look on Ballard’s face tells me he won’t do what Seamus is suggesting.If anything, I think he’s going to do what he thinks should be done.
“Ballard will stay with us,” I state, earning all eyes to land on me.
Murray instantly backs me up.“Solid solution.If Royce is indeed under investigation, we can’t risk any vigilante shit, Ballard.Having them come to us, the way both Burk and Nolan did, gives us the advantage of self-defense.Besides, staying outside to stake out the place is an option at a later time, preferably when we have more details.Both from Orson, and about Royce’s daughter.Who knows, we might need you to talk to Royce as if you’re on that fucker’s side because you’re not linked to Jaxie in any way yet.Not like Seamus is married to her while I’m protecting her best friend.”
Tension fills the room while the guys stare at one another.
“Fine,” Ballard eventually grits.“Give me your laptop.I’m going to do some research about the cunt for myself.”
“Don’t call her a cunt, it’s degrading,” I snap.
Jaxie signs and I instantly reply, “Right, like Jaxie said, she could hate Royce and is working in her own way to get him behind bars.Why else would she come here and ask Orson to dig into stuff?If she’s part of it, she wouldn’t do such a thing because it draws unwanted attention to Royce, and the company.”
“That’s what I’m going to find out.Though, sharing that backstabbing asshole’s DNA is enough for me to hate her ass.I’m telling you, the bitch can’t be trusted.”Ballard stalks to the dining room table where Murray’s laptop is.
I stare at his back when I grumble, “I do hope he’s wrong.”
“If he’s right then we’re all fucked,” Murray states.
“We’ll know soon enough.For now, keep a close eye on Ballard.We can’t have him stalking Royce, not until we know what Orson is working on,” Seamus tells Murray on a whisper.
I walk to Jaxie to give Seamus and Murray some privacy.
She pulls me close and whispers, “H-how are t-things between y-you and M-Murray?”
With a smile I tell her, “Not as good as you and Seamus, but we’re definitely enjoying each other and are no longer forced roommates who need to endure awkward tension on top of the danger hanging over our heads.”
“Good.Y-you deserve h-happiness too.A-and s-sex.”Jaxie grins.“L-lots...”
I smack her shoulder.“Shush,” I demand before she can mention sex again.
A soft chuckle flows from her before her face turns serious.“Seamus t-told Royce t-that I hired M-Murray to b-be y-your bodyguard.An o-official a-assignment.S-sticking to c-company rules.Royce is on a w-war path to g-get the c-company.”
“Fucking asshole.I wish I could shoot him the way I handled Burk.”
Jaxie reaches out to touch my arm.“No, you d-don’t.”She switches to signing when she adds, “You’ve been through enough, Elodie.I will forever regret the fact that you’re pulled into this.Goat...along with another human life you had no choice but to take.”
We fall silent.There’s no need for her to say more.We’ve been friends for years and bonded through the trauma we both lived through.She knows what happened to me, and how the nightmares still come and go, no matter how long it’s been.
Though, there’s a huge difference between the two situations.“There wasn’t really a choice the first time I killed a man.It was a split second, life or death situation.I might not have had a lot of time to react the second time, but I’m sure it would have given me some extra mental damage if I did nothing and watched the man who protected me die in front of my eyes.Both are moments I’d love to erase from my memory.I could definitely do without the nightmares.”In an effort to make a heavy topic lighter I add, “Besides, having someone impale himself on the knife I was holding felt way harder than pulling a trigger.”
“What the fuck?”Murray snaps right beside me.
Shit.I close my eyes and take a deep breath before I face Murray.My mind is still trying to come up with what I’ll say, but I’m roughly grabbed and pulled against his hard chest.His strong arms wrap around me, momentarily stunning me into silence.
“No wonder you reacted the way you did when it happened,” he rumbles.“I knew there was something rooted in your past, but I didn’t want to pry.”
I wrap my arms around his waist and let him hold me.
“We’re leaving.I’ll give an update as soon as we have one,” I hear Seamus mention and right after a door falls shut.
