Good Morning from Paradise (13 page)

Hi Diary,

I know I wrote earlier but this is a one off
entry before I do the craziest thing I’ve ever done in my entire life. I am
about to go and meet the savage who is keeping Dan hostage. The cops let me
come home to get ready, they told me to wear something slutty, I opted for a little
black dress. While I’m entertaining Darius the cops are going to move in on the
place they traced while I was on the phone. I know I’m putting myself at risk
but I’m never going to be happy until I get Dan back so I’ve kind of got
nothing to lose.

I’m shaking as my ride comes to take me to
Branigans. If this is the last entry at least I died fighting for the man I
love right? What else could I do.

Wish me luck.

Ella xx

As
the taxi takes me to my destination I think about the rules the cops gave me.
If he has already bought me a drink, don’t drink it, it could be drugged. Don’t
leave with him. Don’t go to any private rooms with him, there will be
undercover agents there but they can only protect what they can see. Don’t
anger him, which is going to be a tough one to achieve if I’m not allowed to
drink his drinks or go anywhere with him. Oh God, what have I got myself into?

I
was about to ask the taxi driver to turn around when he announced that we were
at the club. My heart pounding out of my chest, I paid the driver and headed
for the club. It looked like quite a posh place, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad,
have a couple of drinks and then leave. Give the cops long enough to get Dan
back. I walked up to the doorman and told him I was here to see Darrius, he
grinned at me like the Cheshire cat and then removed the red velvet rope that
was keeping the public out and escorted me into the club. Inside it was bright
and clean, more of a champagne bar than a club. People stood in groups
listening to the music and talking to each other. A large dancefloor occupied
the rear of the space and quite a few people were making good use of it. I was
taken up some stairs to the VIP area. Upstairs was a little darker, the
dancefloor was circular and around the edge were individual booths. Not great
for my ‘don’t go anywhere private’ rule. The doorman led me to a booth in the
centre, only really visible to those dancing in front of it. I hoped one of
those dancers if not all of them were undercover cops. The doorman left and I
was alone. The booth had black leather sofas around a chunky wooden table.
Above the table was an expensive looking chandelier giving off a low hue. I
would love this place if I were meeting Dan here. A waitress came in and took
my drink order. Score on the ‘don’t drink any drinks he buys you’ rule. Before
my drink arrives my date arrives.

“Hi,
you must be Ella, I’m Darrius.” He held out his and for mine. I offered him my
hand to shake but he took it to his lips and kissed it instead. I looked him
over. He was tall, not too bulky but not weedy either. His black hair was
combed back over with enough gel to keep it stuck that way forever. His face
seemed kind and I wondered what had happened to drag him into this lifestyle.
He didn’t look very old, maybe 25 max. He smelled nice and if it wasn’t for
what he had done to Dan I might have actually liked him.

“Nice
to meet you Darrius. I ordered a drink, I hope you don’t mind, I didn’t know
how long you’d be or what you like to drink…” his finger touched my lips to
stop me saying anything else.

“Don’t
worry, Ella. They know what I like here.” He moved his finger and I blushed.
He’s very self-assured for his age.

The
waitress brought our drinks and he started the conversation the same way Dan
had in Bali, by asking where my accent was from.  We talked for a while
and it wasn’t actually unpleasant. I needed to know what they had done to Dan
and why.

“What
made you take Dan away Darrius?” I asked out right, shy kids get nothing and
all that. I don’t think he liked my approach. I could see him getting angry but
I didn’t care about that, I wanted answers.

“Ella,
you shouldn’t be thinking about him, let’s just stay in this moment.” He tried
to lean in for a kiss but I leaned away and took a drink.

“I
need to know before I can move on.” I gave him an innocent look as I slowly
popped the strawberry from my champagne into my mouth and sucked my finger. He
seemed to like this.

“Ok,
ok. First of all, it wasn’t me who took Dan away, it was the boss and his gang
of brutes. The bosses’ girl called to tell him Dan was keeping her away from
him and she was having his baby blah, blah, blah” he drained the beer bottle
and pressed a button the table, the waitress came in and took away the empties.
We ordered another drink. I wasn’t ready to leave yet, not until I got to the
bottom of this.

“I
was put in charge of watching him while the boss decided what to do with him.
That’s when I found his phone, looked through his photos and found you Ella.
Beautiful, hot Ella.” He started to run his hand up and down my thigh. The
contact made me nervous but I played along for now.

“Is
he dead?” I asked, shuffling closer to make it look like I was enjoying his
touch. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and stroked my upper arm.

“Not
yet. He’s fucked up pretty bad but I’ve seen worse. The boss wanted to know why
he kept Rachael away but he argued that he never, that she said the baby was
his, he was trying to look after her. Rachael said he tried to get her to get
rid of the baby but she wouldn’t so he made her life hell so that she would
miscarry. The boss wasn’t happy ‘bout that. He wanted revenge. He’ll probably
have it by now. He’s was taking Dan to the warehouse where he works tonight,
gonna burn the place down. Looks like an accident that way. Boss gets his
family back, I get you, everyone wins.” He shrugged and took a swig of the
drink that had just arrived. I fiddled with the clasp of my tiny hand bag out
of his sight, I needed to move fast now. Darrius put his beer down, I looked
seductively into his eyes, he leaned in to kiss me.

I
pulled the syringe from my purse, stabbed it into his neck and loaded him full
of the strongest sedative I could find at the clinic. It took effect pretty
quickly, not before he managed a whopping backhander across my face. Wow it
stung. I held my face and stood before he could grab me, as he lunged for me a
second time the sedative kicked in and he ended up poleaxed on the couch. I made
a run for it, down the VIP stairs and out into the street where I found my
phone and called the police woman from this afternoon. I told her what Darrius
had told me and hung up. I needed to get over to the warehouse fast. I hope we
weren’t too late. I hailed a cab and panting for breath I asked him to put his
foot down. I called Kyle and Brit on the way, Kyle lived near so he could get
there quickly, maybe even stop them.  Panic over took my whole system now,
what if I had wasted too much time with Darrius and Dan was dead. As we rounded
the corner to the warehouse the light from the blaze confirmed my deepest
fears. I was too late.

The
blaze raged. Smoke plumed into the night sky. I couldn’t breathe for the tears
and the panic now. I could see a small gathering of people. The firemen were
working on controlling the blaze and ambulances and police cars were at the
ready. I raced up to the scene and found Amber and Brit. Both of them looked
panic stricken.

“Ella,
when we got here the fire was just getting started.” Brit held my hands as she
spoke. “We could hear him screaming El, it was awful. He was screaming for you.
Telling you not to meet him. Calling your name.”  she sobbed.

“Justin
and Kyle ran in there looking for him. None of them have come out.” Amber
cried. Oh shit. All three of us waited in anticipation for the men we loved to
come back to us. The police woman from this afternoon came over and wrapped a
blanket around me. I hadn’t realised how much I was shaking. I shared my
blanket with Brit and Amber and we huddled together, waiting. It seemed like
forever. The hush of night only broken by occasional cracks of burning wood and
firemen calling to each other. The minutes dragged as we stood silently sobbing
and praying for our men to be returned to us.

A
voice broke the silence. “Help” the fireman called as he came in to view
dragging a body along the ground.  We threw the blanket and went running
in. The paramedics beat us to it and helped carry the body to the ambulance. In
the light we could see that it was Justin. He was barely conscious. Brit stayed
with him as the paramedics got him into the ambulance to treat him. Amber and I
returned to the scene to see two firemen helping two men out of the flames. One
walking himself with his arm around the fireman’s shoulder, one being carried
over a fireman’s shoulder. Amber and I looked at each other. A strange mix of
relief and fear came over me. Relief that Kyle was ok and I could see him
clearly now, he was smiling at Amber running to him. Fear because I could now
also see clearly that the person being carried was Dan. He was limp and
lifeless. I followed them to the ambulance.

“I’m
his partner.” I told the crew. “I’m also a nurse.” I added as I started looking
him over. The paramedics checked for a pulse, gave him an oxygen mask and
handed me a load of sterile dressing. There were a few wounds and he was losing
blood fast. I started putting pressure on the wounds to stem the bleeding. An
IV line was set up to replace lost fluids and we were bundled into the
ambulance and on our way to the ER still working on him.

We
reached the ER quickly and he was whisked away from me. More waiting.

 Amber
and Brit joined me eventually as their men were brought in for treatment. Dan’s
parents arrived and rushed to me to see if I was ok. I realised then that I was
covered in blood. It wasn’t mine. I told them what had happened with Darrius
while we waited for news. Justin was wheeled out to us with his leg in a cast,
one of the rafters had fallen onto him and the fireman who dragged him out had
lifted the weight off him and saved his life. Moments later Kyle limped out and
sat with us. He greeted Dan’s parents and told us that Dan was alive when Kyle
and Justin found him. They were carrying him out between them when the rafter
fell onto Justin. Kyle and Dan had hit the floor pretty hard. The smoke choking
them when the firemen came and pulled them out. Moments passed. A doctor came
out and asked who was here for Daniel Anderson. When we told him we all were he
escorted us to a family room. He told us Dan was alive, he had suffered trauma
to his head and body, there was internal bleeding which they were about to
operate on to try and stem. He had lost a lot of blood. The next twenty- four
hours were going to be a fight for him. He was very weak. They asked if his
immediate family would like to have a moment with him before he went to
theatre. Dan’s mum and dad followed the doctor. Everyone else sat down.

 I
went over to the window for some air. This situation was becoming all too
familiar for me. Moments later the doctor came back.

“Is
there an Ella here?” he asked scanning the room.

“I’m
Ella.” I choked out.

“Ella.
He’s asking for you. His parents have given permission for you to visit any
time so if you would like to follow me please.” He held the door open for me to
follow. I was desperate to see Dan again, my stomach writhed with anxiety.

The
Doctor led me to a curtained booth and held the curtain aside so that I could
enter. His parents had gone. We were alone.

“Hello.”
I said quietly as I approached. He looked so tired and helpless. Tears poured
down my face.

“Hey,
gorgeous girl, don’t cry. Come here.” He held his hand out to me. I went to him
and held his hand.

“Are
you ok? Did he do anything to you?” he asked. My heart swelled with love for
this man.

“I’m
fine. He didn’t get chance to do anything before I jammed him full of sedatives
and left.” I chuckled. He laughed too.

“I
love you Ella.” He said kissing my hand.

“I
love you too Dan, now go and get better, ok. I’ll be right here waiting for
you.” I kissed his lips softly to avoid hurting him anymore.

“Promise?”
he asked.

“Promise”
I replied and I stroked his cheek as the doctor came in to take him to theatre.

Hi Diary

I have no idea of the day or time. Waiting
here is like being in limbo. Every time the door to the family room opens we
all look up to see if it’s the doctor with news. I have managed to clean most
of the blood off my arms and hands but my dress is soaked with it. My cheek hurts
like hell. I don’t care as long as he is still alive. Please God let him still
be alive

Ella xx

The
others took it in turns to go home and shower and change. The smell of the
smoke gradually faded. Brit must have known I wouldn’t leave so she brought me
a wash bag and a change of clothes. I had promised him I would be here when he
was feeling better and I’m not planning on breaking that promise. Justin had
discharged himself on the condition that he would remain in the building but he
would be here with his friends instead of sitting on his own in a room
somewhere. His leg was in a cast but the worry had been the smoke inhalation
and the affect that could have on his breathing.  I kept a close eye on
him and Kyle.  They were just discussing doing a breakfast run to the
local diner when the doctor from earlier came back into the room. They had
worked hard on him all night but he was doing well. They had managed to stop
all of the bleeding, patched him up and given him a blood transfusion. He had
responded well to the treatment ad was sleeping until they transferred him to a
room. The doctor said we could see him in about half an hour and advised us to
get something to eat before then.

I
cried, sobbed. He was alive, he was going to be ok. We could be together. It
was like all of my prayers had been answered. Best feeling ever. I couldn’t
wait to see him. I slipped off to the bathroom and washed and changed and met
the others back in the hospital canteen. They must have been relieved too. They
had pulled tables together and were tucking into pancakes, bacon, eggs, the
works. I stood back for a moment and looked at them all. My friends. My family.
A huge smile crossed my face.

“Ella,
come on honey, we ordered for you.” Dan’s mum patted an empty seat next to her
and I immediately joined them for breakfast. Brit showed me a text on her phone
from Jonathan. It said:

Hey Kiddo, remind me never to mess with Ella
Bella, she is one serious bad ass! My boys caught Michael, roughed him up a bit
and handed him in to the cops.
Hope
Justin and the rest of the gang are ok. Keep me updated.

Dad.

I
winced. Ooh Michael will have paid, Jonathans boys are all ex -navy SEALS.
He’ll be sore in the morning. I love that Jonathan thinks I’m bad ass, I’m a
pussy cat. Brit showed the message around and everyone was happy to hear
Michael was paying for what he had done to Dan, they also all agreed with what
Jonathan had said about me. Ha, if the only knew how scared I had been.

I
checked my watch after I had finished eating. It had been half an hour.

“Guys,
he should be ready to see us now.” I beamed with excitement.

We
made our way back to the family room. My stomach filled with butterflies just
at the thought of seeing him again. His dad wrapped his arm around me.

“Sara
and I are so thankful for what you did for him, Ella. What you risked to get
him back. It showed the true measure of your love for our son. Love like that
isn’t easy to come by, I hope you both share something so wonderful together. I
hope Sara and I get to see you more often. You are always welcome with us.” He
kissed my head and I felt loved.

“Thank
you Ted, I know I haven’t known him long but you’re right, I would give
anything for him.”  I smiled up to him.

“It’s
not about time Ella. Hell, Sara and I had only known each other for nine days
when I proposed to her, I just knew in my heart and my gut that I couldn’t live
without her, I didn’t want to try. I didn’t care what anyone else thought. It’s
your life Ella, you two should do whatever makes you happy and to hell with
everyone else.” He chuckled.

“I
hope we can be as happy as the two of you obviously are.” I smiled. I really
did hope that we could.

As
we approached the family room my phone started to ring. I didn’t recognise the number
so I instantly thought it was my mother calling to tell me she had lost
another
phone.

“Hi”
I answered expecting to hear her usual embarrassed apology.

“Oh,
hello. Am I speaking to Miss Eleanor May Stephenson?” a very quaint English
accent asked me.

Oh
shit. I didn’t recognise this voice. I cleared my throat and started again.
“Hello, yes, speaking.” I stuttered.

“Eleanor.
My name is James Benton. I am the solicitor dealing with your brother’s estate.
Are you ok to talk?” he asked.

“Erm,
sure. Will it take long?” I asked, eager to get to Dan.

“Oh
no, it will only take a moment. I just called to inform you that your brother
named you in his will as a beneficiary. The sum of £150,000 will be paid to you
as soon as probate is granted.” I stopped dead in my tracks. I know Lee
mentioned an inheritance in his letter but I had never even imagined it to be
that amount of money. I quickly converted the total to US dollars. Almost
$200,000. I started to perspire.

“Is
this some kind of joke?” I questioned him.

“I
can assure you Miss Stephenson, I am not a time waster. Once probate is granted
the money will be released to you. I have your address in San Diego, I will
forward the paperwork and a copy of the will to you, now I’m sure you can
appreciate it is late here so I will say goodnight and you’ll hear from my
office soon.” and he hung up.

I
was still in shock as we entered the family room. I didn’t tell the others just
yet. I needed it to sink in first.

The
Doctor came in and took Dan’s parents to see him first. The rest of us waited.
I didn’t mind this wait because I knew he was alive and well. Sara and Ted
looked so much happier when they came back.

“He’s
waiting for you Ella.” Sara kissed my cheek and smiled warmly. “He’s a little
tired but he’s ok.” She assured me.

“Thank
you.” I hugged her.

My
knees were shaking with nerves as I walked to his room. He was laid in bed, IV
still attached but nothing else. He smiled as I walked in.

“There
she is, my gorgeous girl.” He held his hand out to me. Tears of happiness
streamed down my face.

“Hey
baby, don’t cry. Come here.” I did as he asked and went to him. I told him they
were happy tears, I couldn’t help it, I was so relieved that he was alive. My
nursing instincts told me to check him over for myself, see if there was
anything they had missed or decided not to share with us. My girlfriend
instincts told me to hold him, to show him how much I love him. My girlfriend
instincts took over and I snuggled next to him on the bed. He kissed my head,
my face, my cheek. I winced at the contact. He pulled back as much as the bed
would allow to take a proper look at my bruised face.

“Have
you had that checked out El?” he asked gently stroking the area around the
bruise.

“It’s
fine, honestly. I’m a nurse remember. Plus, it’s nothing compared to what
you’ve been through.” I held his hand and gently leaned my face into it to show
that I was ok.  He looked into my eyes.

“Marry
me Ella?” he asked, his eyes never leaving mine. I took no time to think about
my answer, marrying him would be the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I
nodded.

“Yes.
I will marry you Dan.” I beamed, he pulled me down into a kiss. I have never
felt this happy. This was turning out to be quite a day.

“I’m
sorry… I haven’t got a ring or anything but… we can go and get one together… I
just needed you to say yes… I needed to know that you’re mine… that I can spend
forever with you.” He said between kissing me.

“I’m
yours, don’t worry about a ring. Let’s just get you better and go from there.”
I said running my hand through his hair. Kyle and Amber came into the room.

“Hey
buddy,” Kyle pulled up a chair and pulled Amber down onto his lap. “How are you
feeling?”

“I
was feeling pretty shitty until my beautiful girlfriend agreed to be my wife,
now I’m feeling kinda high.” His smile grew as Amber and Kyle congratulated us.
I felt giddy with happiness even though we were celebrating from a hospital
room.

“Hey
guys, we haven’t told anyone yet and my parents are out there so, if you could
keep it quiet we’d totally appreciate it.” he looked at me and it started to
sink in. We were a ‘we’. I sat next to him on the bed, holding his hand and
feeling awesome while the guys discussed the warehouse, or what was left of it
anyway. Kyle and Amber had been to check it out when they went to freshen up,
said it was pretty much gone. What was left might be salvageable but the cost
of that may outweigh the cost of levelling the place and starting from scratch.
Talk turned to costs, savings and loans. I suddenly remembered about my
inheritance. I would gladly give it to the guys to help get set up again. They
had some good clients on the books, they had a good team, the quicker we could
get everything up and running again, the better. I’ll tell Dan about the money
later. Right now he looks tired.

“We
should let you rest, you need to build up your strength.” I said, but I didn’t
want to leave. Kyle and Amber said their goodbyes and went back to the family
room, Dan asked them to give him an hour and then he wanted to see everyone
again, tell them our news. I stood to leave too.

“Oh
no gorgeous girl, I’ll rest easier if you’re with me.” He said pulling me back
to him. I lay beside him carefully so I didn’t cause him any more pain. It felt
so good to just to be near him, to be held by him. I knew I never wanted to be
held by anyone else.

“My
brother’s solicitor called me today. Lee had left me some money in his will.
It’s a long story involving my father too and I’ll tell you the whole thing one
day.  I will inherit almost $200,000. I want you to have it towards the
cost of a new warehouse.” I looked into his eyes so that he could tell I was
serious.

“Ella,
that’s your money. You should keep it. Kyle and I will find a way…”

“No
Dan,” I interrupted. “If we’re getting married then anything I have becomes
yours. I want you to have it. Your business will be our livelihood, something
for our kids, Kyle and Ambers kids to inherit one day. Besides Dan, if you use
our money it saves you from getting loans, interest rates and all that crap. It
makes sense.”

He
chuckled. “You’re so smart, and beautiful, and honest and sincere. I don’t know
what I ever did to deserve you Ella but I’m sure as hell gonna show you how
much I appreciate you every day!” he pulled me tight to him and we kissed,
chatted, laughed and made plans for a future together that we both couldn’t
wait for. That we both deserved.