Pawned Virtue - #wattys2015 BK4 TPBS - Completed 1st draft

-69-

Not edited.

Simeon took over the situation at Maccas. It was obvious that Lucas was in a tail spin and getting Ellie out of there without her running off was touch and go but the threat of a gun to her back had her walking out with him as if she was his girlfriend with his arm wrapped tightly around her shoulder.

A shake of her head had her little minions standing back. They may have had something planned but the manpower that Lucas called in soon put a stop to anything they may have thought of. Many of the men were family guys so a fight with anything other than hands wasn't thought of when everything had been handled so quietly.

Ellie's new home was a small room at the bottom of the main house. Bars, locks and a lack of luxuries were to be her norm for the next few weeks.

After racing to the restroom thinking the worst was about to happen Lucas found that his Tara had the whole entire situation under control. He stood with his brothers at his side, each prepared  to do whatever was necessary to protect Tara. Where the hell that side of her was hiding he'd never know but hell... to see her stand up to Ellie was a pride filled moment that he would never forget. It was one that made him realise just how much fire there was hiding beneath the surface that Tara kept buried.

The restroom itself was small enough that if he had to intervene it would have taken less than two steps for him to come to Tara's rescue.

He didn't need to. He watched as Tara held Ellie by the throat and wanted to drag her away, far away.

But he didn't and he was glad he'd made that choice. Ellie was a vicious woman who thought of no one but herself. She rarely did the dirty jobs herself even though she was more than capable of doing so.

Maybe she was worried it would chip the polish of her nails? Either way she didn't retaliate apart from the scratches and for Ellie, that was saying something big about her opponent.

He was stunned as he watched. Gobsmacked. Floored. Astonished... he was in love and he needed to talk to his wife!

If only he could get near her. They were back at the beach house and everyone was crowding around both for relief that she was ok and like him they were all showing the pride they had for how she handled the whole situation. Her arms were wrapped temporarily to help the antibiotic cream the doctor used on her do its job.

He wanted to drag her away and just... hold her. Hold her close. Hold her in his arms and never let her go. To keep her safe.

But he couldn't take this moment from her. She deserved every moment of this accolade. She'd come so far from the young girl she once was and now she was a young woman with a mega bite.

The guy I love.

He couldn't get those words out of his mind. Over and over again he heard the intense emotion in her voice as she warned Ellie and said those words.

The guy I love.

She loved him. She really loved him.

How? What made him so special? Not that he was complaining but trying to understand what it could possibly be about him that would have her so passionately explaining her love for him.

She wasn't Maria. Maria had never made him feel this way. If he was to be truthful then he'd admit that Tara's declaration, in that one moment, meant more to him than every time Maria had said that she loved him when you added them all together.

Now he stood back with a smile and watched the giggles his wife was sharing with their family. The expressions her face proclaimed melted away the the anxious worry that had been there for so long.

Ellie wasn't going to see the light of day again. Her reign of torment was over and Tara could live again. Live freely... with him!

She started to cry. NO! He wouldn't allow that. She had nothing to cry about. He pushed his way past his brothers and pulled Tara away from the table and into his arms.

"Baby... why are you crying?"

"I'm not."

Lucad raised his head to look down at her.

"I'm pretty sure you are."

"No I'm not" she sobbed as she clenched his shirt in her fists.

He looked at Maggie with wide eyed pleas for help.

Maggie simply shook her head. Lucas would have to work this one out himself.

He looked at Keiran who just grinned back at him.

Every person he looked at smiled and shook their heads.

Goddammit! Why the hell was she crying?

He was sinking. Damn it! His girl was crying and he had no idea how to stop the tears. So he held her. Just held her close whispering words of pride and affection until finally the sobs slowed and became small hiccups.

"Baby" he whispered "can you tell me now what made you cry?"

She looked up at him with red puffy eyes and choked out words he didn't expect.

"I'm happy."