Fighting Conviction by Greer Rivers

Chapter Fifteen

Devil’s truck skidded to a stop and he stormed out, slamming the door and yelling in frustration as he made his way inside the park. He never entered situations half-cocked, but lowlifes and dealers frequented Hatcher Gardens Park. He was alone so intimidation was more important than stealth. Announcing his presence as loudly as he could would hopefully scare them away, leaving Ellie safe.

Tucking low, Devil held his firearm at a ready stance. Whatever Ellie had gotten into, he sure as fuck wasn’t about to be caught without a weapon. He scanned the park, checked his phone for Ellie’s location, and cursed before stuffing it back into his pocket.

He was in the right place, but the app wasn’t precise enough to get a good hit on her location. He blew out a breath, attempting to calm down before scanning the park. A gust of wind pushed at his back and the sound of footsteps several yards northwest brought his attention in that direction.

“Ellie!” he shouted her name so harshly it grated against his throat. Devil could see a faint light bobbing up and down away from him. If whoever was over there was anywhere near Ellie, he hoped his angry bellow scared the shit out of them. He sped his steps, forgoing caution in favor of catching the faint glow.

With about ten meters between them, the flashlight clicked off entirely, and it took a second for his eyes to adjust. When they did, he saw a short, wide silhouette run off into the thicket and Devil broke into a sprint after it. Whoever it was, sure as hell wasn’t Ellie, but it was the only lead he had.

The figure stupidly tried to bulldoze through the brambles, probably attempting to hide, so Devil slowed to a stop outside the bushes. He tapped the trigger on his Glock as he assessed which way the person—a man, if the grunting and cursing was any indication—would escape.

The branches stilled and Devil held his breath as he tried to access all of his senses. When he heard a whimper, he tilted his head to listen. It’d sounded like it came from the large tree behind him.

Devil gritted his teeth and considered waiting out the man, but his ears were tuned into the soft cries coming from… above?

Was it Ellie? Was she hurt?

He waited another beat for the man to come out, before cursing under his breath at another sniffle. Backing away from his prey, he prowled backward to the tree.

Immediately, there was movement and rustling in front of him, and Devil bit back a groan, knowing the shady shit was clambering out of his hiding spot. He considered following the unknown target, but the medic in him was being pulled to check on the person crying behind—

“Dev?” The tentative whisper above him made the hair on the back of his neck stick up and settled his decision for him.

He kept his eyes forward to make sure the runner was fleeing in the opposite direction before he answered. “El? That you?”

“Yeah, it’s me. I-I want to get down but I c-can’t see.”

“Down?” His gaze shot up and he retrieved his phone from his pocket to shine the flashlight up the tree. Blonde tendrils hung like tinsel from a crude makeshift platform in the tree. A head peeked over the edge and relief coursed through him when Ellie peeked over and shielded her eyes from the light. “Fuck, Ellie. What the hell are you doing up there?”

She disappeared from view, and after some rustling, yellow and pink tennis shoes slid into view, reaching down for the platform underneath it.

“Careful, angel.” She was already halfway down and Devil still held his phone up to shine a path for her while scanning the park for threats again. He hadn’t cleared the area and despite the fact he’d been below a teammate fast roping out of a chopper hundreds of times, covering for Ellie as she descended the tree made him edgy.

“Psh. I did this a million times growing up. Now that I’ve got light I’m good to g—” Ellie yelped as her foot slipped on a branch.

Devil cursed and positioned himself under where he thought she’d fall. Ellie yelped and groaned as she hit two branches. He shifted his weight to his back foot and bent his knees slightly, holding out his arms in preparation for her plummet.

His angel landed in his arms with an oof and Devil had to take a steadying step backward to keep from falling. When she was secure, he cradled her to his chest, bending his head low to smell her fresh spring scent in her hair until his rapid pulse slowed its painful beat. He brushed his lips over her forehead so lightly she probably didn’t feel it. Too bad for her. His hold couldn’t be that gentle.

“Ow, Dev, that’s a little tight.”

Devil loosened his grip, only easing up enough to make sure he wasn’t contributing or exacerbating any injury she’d sustained. “You hurt?”

Ellie groaned. “Kinda.” Her head lolled to rest against Devil’s chest. He closed his eyes briefly in reverent thanks before making the trek to his truck.

“You can put me down now, ya know.”

Devil grunted in response. “What’re you doing in the park alone? At night? Are you fucking insane?”

Golden orbs shone silver in the moonlight before she averted her eyes. “I-I… I don’t know, can’t you put me down?”

“So you can do something stupid again? Not a chance in hell, angel.”

“Excuse you. What right do you have to call me stupid?”

Devil shook his head. They’d finally reached his truck and he balanced Ellie against his chest to open the passenger door with the hand under her legs.

“Dev, this isn’t necessary. I’m sore but I can—”

Devil raised her up into the truck and plopped her into the seat, making her grunt again.

“Really, Dev? You’re being—”

Devil slammed the door on whatever she was going to say. On some deep level, he knew there had to be a logical explanation as to why he’d had to save her from the park in the middle of the night. But in that moment, when sweat was still fresh on his skin from the fear and anxiety threatening to boil past his defenses, he couldn’t help but wonder how she could’ve been so careless.

When he slid into his truck and pulled out of the parking lot, he sure as fuck didn’t expect the attitude radiating from her side of the cab.

“Mean.”

He whipped his head in her direction. “What?”

“That’s what I said. You’re being mean.”

Devil tightened his grip on the steering wheel and ground his teeth, trying to keep his cool. “Mean, huh? Well, I think you’re being a bratty idiot. What the fuck were you thinking, Ellie?”

Ellie gasped and crossed her arms. “I know I said you could curse in front of me, but you can’t curse at me, Dev. There’s a difference. Try again without being a jerk.”

He tried to focus on the road, and not on her tantrum. They were both reeling with adrenaline and he still didn’t know what had happened. Ellie kept her face turned toward her window and absentmindedly picked bristles from her clothes with her still crossed arms.

“And I can smell your truck, by the way, even though I’m covered in pine needles. It smells like a sweaty homeless man chewing Big Red.” She turned to face him, and her nose scrunched in his peripheral vision. “And wearing bad perfume.” Before he could stop her, she leaned in to sniff him and wiped at his sleeve until he swatted her hand away.

“What’re you doing?”

“Is that glitter?” She peered closer. “Oh, God, what happened to your lip? It’s swollen!”

Devil growled. Hell—the fuck—no, they weren’t talking about where he’d just left. “Stop trying to change the subject.”

Ellie eyed him, and he could practically see her gears turning. He sat stock-still until she stared back out the front windshield. She huffed out a breath. “Right. Let’s go back to you apologizing for calling me a ‘bratty idiot’.”

“I’ll apologize as soon as you explain to me how you’re not being a bratty idiot. What the hell are you doing in a park in the middle of the night? This park, no less. It’s dangerous, Ellie.”

The cab fell into a pressurized silence, as if they were both about to blow up, but neither of them wanted to cause damage. They fidgeted against the stillness until Devil couldn’t take her quiet insubordination anymore. “Answer the question, Ellie.”

“I had a reason, okay? But then I fell asleep—” Devil scoffed. “—on accident, and when I woke up there was some type of drug deal going on or something.”

Devil’s hands started to sweat on the steering wheel. “Was that who had the flashlight when I got there? Were you able to see them? Did they have any identifiable characteristics?”

Ellie nodded and looked out the window. “Yeah, that guy was the one buying I think. I wasn’t able to see them or anything. I don’t know much about those things but like I said, it seemed like a deal or something. The other guy—the dealer, I think—took off before you got there, but my donut fell—”

“Your donut?”

Ellie held up her hand. “I’ll explain, I promise. My donut fell and I guess he noticed it. He stayed there and he, um… he threatened me.”

Devil paused mid-scrub of his chin unable to keep from interrupting again in a low voice. “He fucking threatened you?” He tried to remain still and calm by channeling his breaths to keep from exploding. But her words were detonating in his mind and they made him physically itch to shield her from danger. “What’d he say?”

Ellie squirmed in her seat. “He… he made me… made me show my face, or else he’d shoot me.”

The truck halted as Devil reflexively tapped the brake, almost as if his entire body was trying to keep the conversation from heading where he was afraid it would go.

“Did you do it? Did you see his face?”

Ellie nodded in the moonlight. “Yeah, I showed him. I didn’t think I had any other choice. I didn’t see his face though… the flashlight made it too bright. I thought about trying to ignore him, but then he shot the tree and—”

“He fucking shot at you? That’s it. You’re coming back to BlackStone, your brother’s gonna want to hear about this. And you’re never going back to that damn park again, you hear me? Especially not at night.”

Ellie crossed her arms. “I’ll call Jason tomorrow, but I want to sleep in my own bed tonight. You can’t tell me what to do, Devil.”

Devil. Not Dev. She’d only added two letters, but they were a one-two punch into his stomach. That, plus her insistence on staying at the dorm, was making him nauseous.

“I’ll sure as hell tell you what to do if you can’t take care of yourself! First you went to that stupid party and got taken, and now you were nearly shot to death—”

“Hold up.” Devil stopped immediately at the command in her voice. “Are you seriously blaming any of this on me?” Ellie’s voice raised steadily. “When I was kidnapped? Really? And just now? All I did was fall asleep. I went there when it was daytime and perfectly safe. It was an accident.”

The pain in his stomach flipped in a dizzying sensation. He’d fucked up, but it was too late now. “Ellie, I…” He glanced over at her to see her eyes glistening back at him, wide with horror after his accusation. “Of course I don’t think any of this is your fault. I just wonder sometimes if you paid more attention you’d realize when you’re in danger, maybe you could prevent—”

Ellie’s hand shot up. “Don’t.”

He shook his head and blew out a breath through his nose. “Ellie, I—”

“No. Don’t, Devil. I already think it. I can’t hear it from you, too. I just… I can’t. Not from you. And not today.”

Silence weighed heavy in the air, crushing the stone heart in his chest. He wracked his brain to connect the words left unsaid.

“Why were you there, Ellie?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’ll tell you if you swear to take me back to my dorm.”

“Ellie,” he growled.

“That’s the deal. Besides, the guy just saw my face, it’s not like he knows where I live or anything. It was probably just some junkie.” Something about her voice made him wonder if she believed it herself, but she was so earnest, it was hard not to see how much she needed what she was asking for. “I want to sleep in my own bed, not the BlackStone guest room.”

“I thought you didn’t like your dorm,” he hedged, genuinely curious by the change.

She sighed. “I didn’t. I don’t really. It’s so… small. But I’m trying to do things that scare me.” He could tell she’d turned to face him, but Devil kept his eyes on the road, trying not to read too much into her words. “Please, Dev. This is important to me. I finally got Jason to leave me alone. He convinced the university to let BlackStone install top-of-the-line security, which, if I’m right, BlackStone has access to the camera feeds. Yes, tonight scared the crap out of me, but I need to try to feel normal as best as I can.”

Her wavering voice shook his resolve and he scrubbed his beard as he considered a compromise.

“I’ll take you back to your dorm. But I’m texting your brother and telling him something at least. And I’m gonna sit outside and make sure no creepy asshole goes in.”

Ellie scoffed. “Right, like some guy parked outside the dorm isn’t creepy.”

“Fair enough. You live in one of those fancy suites, right?” At her nod, he continued. “I’ll sleep on your living room couch, then. Deal?” She opened her mouth to argue but he interrupted her with a tsk. “BlackStone or your couch, baby. Gotta pick one.”

“Fine,” she huffed. “You can stay on our couch. But I can’t be held accountable for your psych bill if Virginia drives you crazy.”

He barked out a laugh. “I think I can handle it for one night.”

“‘Mkay…” Her exaggerated shrug didn’t make her seem convinced, but Devil wasn’t going to let her sidestep the conversation.

“That’s the deal. Now talk.”

Ellie's shoulders sagged back against the leather seat. For the longest time, he wondered if he was going to have to prompt her again, but then she finally spoke, and the raw, broken part of him he’d hidden since he was seventeen, almost wished she hadn’t.

“It’s Sasha’s birthday.” The crack in her voice stabbed his heart. “We went to our tree all the time growing up. It got less in high school, but we made sure to go at least every birthday.” She pulled her ponytail to the front and picked out pine needles. “Ugh, my fingers are sticky from all the sap.” She flicked the thin green sticks from her hands and chuckled as she brushed the two together to get the remnants off. “Back then, Sash and I didn’t care too much about getting dirty from climbing. It didn’t matter that the tree bark stuck to us like glue. We’d been thrilled when Jason secretly made a ‘treehouse’ for us—”

“Jaybird called that a treehouse? In a public park? How’d he get away with that?” Devil interrupted. “It was nothing but some two by fours slapped together.” He shook his head at Jason thinking that shitty hack job was safe enough for his sister.

Ellie’s laughter came out like a whisper. “It was enough for us. We practically lived in it. She lived in the Hatcher Gardens Neighborhood before it got to be the bad part of town.” She sighed. “I wanted to be as close to her as possible today. I got us our birthday donuts—it was tradition—and I celebrated with her up there, the only way I could.” Her voice trailed off softly and she leaned her head against the window.

Devil’s stomach twisted at Ellie hurting. He could take pain, thrived off of it. But the emotional turmoil radiating off her and into the cabin of his truck was going to be the death of him.

Ellie turned her head. “Earlier… were you really mad at me?”

He glanced at her, longer than driving should’ve allowed, but there was no one on the road. “No, angel. I wasn’t really mad at you. I was…”

“Annoyed?”

“Scared.”

Her breath hitched. “But you’re usually so… I guess I’ve never seen you lose your cool before. Jason says you don’t feel anything.” The last part was a tentative question more than a statement, but the indictment against his characteristic lack of reaction cut him as sure as the slice of a knife, but he didn’t know why.

His lips tightened before he answered as honestly as he could muster considering the topic. “Not when it comes to you, angel.”

She nodded, as if she could possibly know the hold she had over him. She laid her golden hair back against the bench seat and squared her vision on Devil.

“I won’t go at night anymore. The daylight got away from me today. But you can’t expect me not to ever go there again. I was close to her for the first time since… a long time.”

He shook his head, she had no idea how alike they were.

“Listen,” he began, determined to get his point out before the memories threatening to tear down his peace of mind broke free. “I get what you’re going through more than most. I had a friend, growing up. Troy. He was going through it at home. He started getting moody and turned into this angry kid. I didn’t understand why at the time, just thought he was being an asshole. Come to find out, his parents were abusing him.” The quiet hiss of breath beside him made him want to get the words out as quickly as possible. He’d kept the guilt in too long. Maybe getting some of that poison out of him would help.

“Their abuse drove him to abuse drugs. I lost my friend right before my eyes. I let him go, too. I thought he was the one who was fucked up, that he was a failure. Not that everything around him, including me, had failed him.

“We got into a stupid fight, I can’t even remember what it was about anymore except that it was the last one. I let my emotions get the best of me. I lost control and let being angry and prideful distract me from seeing every sign right there in front of me.”

Devil choked and cleared his throat, blinking his eyes several times to see the dark road better. Ellie patted his thigh, close to his knee, but he faced the street for the next sentence. He didn’t want to get sidetracked. It was easy when he’d never wanted to be on the path in the first place.

“His emotions got the best of him, too. I lost him and… I found him.” A creaking fractured his memory as the nightmare he’d lived at seventeen swayed on its rope in his teary vision, like a morbid transparent backdrop on the windshield. He clenched his hands around the steering wheel hard, until all he could focus on was the pain in his fingertips. Not the agony of seeing his best friend hanging from the ceiling.

“He took a bunch of whatever medication his parents forced him on and when that didn’t work, he took matters into his own hands. I never got to say sorry. I never tried to help him. Maybe I could’ve but—”

“You had no idea that was going to happen. You were just a—” Ellie paused and looked at him when he leveled his gaze on hers. “Just a kid.”

“Yeah, baby.” Devil nodded. “We were just kids.”

The way she got to the point he wanted her to understand, it sounded so simple. Even if he didn’t believe it himself, he hoped she did. She didn’t deserve the same guilt he’d suffered.

It was Ellie’s turn to sigh and she faced the road as he did. “Last week after I freaked out… is that why you did too?”

He jerked his head ‘yes’ even though he wasn’t sure she saw. “You make me lose control, angel.”

“And you think that made you miss the signs of my panic attack.”

“I know it did.”

“You didn’t. But I’m sure.” She sighed. “Losing control… I think that’s why I got scared, too. I like things… regimented now. It helps me not have to think. Being in control now, I guess, makes me feel less guilty about giving in to feeling helpless then. I felt like I lost control of my body again in that moment and I think that’s why I had my panic attack.”

She felt like she didn’t have control?So much of what she’d said fired off synapses and made connections in his brain. But the last was what sparked an idea in Devil’s mind, one that wasn’t fully formed but he wondered…

“She was cremated, you know.” The sentence snapped him back to the conversation at hand. “There’s nothing at her grave. Not even ashes. If I’m gonna be able to feel Sasha when I need to, I have to be where I remember us the most, where I remember her the best.

“The park… the tree. That was ours. Our safe haven. It saved us from all the stupid boys on the playground. We won every dang manhunt and hide-and-seek game.” Ellie’s voice became watery. “We became best friends in that treehouse.”

Silence blanketed the cab of the truck, and Devil waited for her to finish. His body ached and he realized he’d been rigidly sitting on the edge of his seat cushion since they got in the truck. He settled back against the seat and glanced at Ellie, her eyes drifting closed as the lights of campus shone in the darkness. From the stressors she’d experienced, her adrenaline must’ve been through the roof. She’d been working herself to the bone lately. He was surprised she had any energy left at all.

She inhaled deeply before continuing softly. “It’s something that helps me remember the good, even when everything else totally sucks. Don’t you have anything like that?”

Her words drifted and he wondered if she was falling asleep. He grasped her small hand resting on the seat between them. His thumb traced her knuckles and he reveled in the softness of her skin. She scooted to his side, morphing to him in a sleepy daze, all the while still in his grip. The comfort in the simple touch soothed him.

“Yeah, angel. I’ve got something like that.”