On the Sly : The Grange Complex Book 2
On the Sly: Chapter 19

Ellie

I didn’t want to believe that Mack was involved with drugs, so after tossing and turning for most of the night, I decided to confront him. After all, I felt connected to him and couldn’t just forget about our amazing moments together. I woke up early, just after five, knowing that I needed to see if he was hiding something. The stranger who was blackmailing me didn’t call again and that was worrying. I didn’t want to be surprised with another scandal. Phil would fire me straight away and I wouldn’t be able to afford to live in the complex, not without steady income.

I drove through the empty roads to the location that I set up on my iPhone yesterday. It was an industrial part of the city, located close to the docks. I parked my car on the side street, in front of semidetached run-down houses. I had learnt that this location wasn’t particularly safe, but Mack would be just finishing his night shift and I needed to speak to him.

This morning the depot looked busy. There were trucks coming in and out. A few dodgy-looking guys were smoking outside. I yawned, dreaming about strong coffee, hoping that Mack would tell me the truth. We had been through this conversation many times. Now he needed to come clean.

For about ten minutes I sat in the car, using my phone to make notes about cars that were arriving and leaving. If Adrian was really supplying drugs, then I had something. On top of that he knew Andrew, and that didn’t make much sense. After all, I didn’t really know my ex. Obviously everyone here knew him as Johnny Hodges. Jordan was interested in him. We hadn’t spoken since that night when my father had confronted me in front of him. I wondered how he would react if I told him that I discovered his little secret.

In a few minutes I had enough photos that would go well with my article. I was already imagining police raiding the warehouse. As long as my name was on the first page, I didn’t care. A knock at my window startled me. I lifted my head up, seeing some old guy asking me if I had a cigarette.

“I don’t smoke,” I said, pointing out to leave me alone. He seemed about fifty with an old worn leather jacket and long shaggy beard. He was smiling, and I noticed that he was missing half of his teeth. A few of minutes later, he was gone and I exhaled with relief. I rolled my window down and opened the door, thinking that maybe it was a good idea to look around. Suddenly someone shoved me towards the door. I gagged at the strong odour of cigarettes and alcohol.

“This isn’t a very good place for such a pretty lady like you,” the attacker growled, moving his face close to mine. He was much younger than the first guy. He had a pale face and a gold front tooth. Fear scorched through me. I didn’t want to move in case he was planning to be violent towards me.

“Let go of me,” I shouted, but his grip was tight around my wrists.

“What’s in your handbag?” he demanded.

“Nothing. I don’t have anything there, just some notes and makeup,” I mumbled.

“Van, check it, and make sure you take her phone,” barked the tattooed guy to the older one, who opened the car from the passenger side. I tried to push him away shouting, aware that I would lose all my notes and my phone. The youngster slammed me over the car, and sharp pain shot down my back. I was so fucking stupid, sitting here and pretending that I was some fancy reporter, working undercover. Now I couldn’t even fight back.

“eReader and an iPhone. Darren, she’s loaded,” croaked the other guy.

“We need cash, pretty girl. Have you got any?”

“No, I’ve nothing on me,” I said and spat all over his face, trying to push him away, but I didn’t get far. A few steps and he was on me again. My heart kicked in my chest when he wiped his face and squeezed my arm tighter, nearly breaking my bones.

“I’ll show you how to behave in a moment, you bitch,” he shouted and then slapped me. I didn’t have a chance to react. In one moment I was by my car and the next I was on the pavement. My cheek was burning and my vision was blurry.

“Put that fucking bag back on the seat; otherwise I’ll break his scrawny neck, you old bastard.”

A loud, deep voice startled me. I pushed my hair away from my damp skin and saw Mack. He had his finger clenched around the youngster’s neck and it looked like he was slowly suffocating him. I scrambled off the floor, taking sharp deep breaths, my heart racing away.

“All right, mate, fine, no problem. Let him go. We don’t want no trouble,” mumbled the greasy older guy who’d approached me first, dropping my handbag on the seat. Mack’s face was tense, focused on me. The youngster was waving his hand, his eyes bulging out of his sockets. I looked around; the sun was slowly rising. I couldn’t bring any attention to myself, not right here. When Mack finally let go of his grip, the youngster crashed on the ground, taking long rough breaths.

“Now get the fuck out of here before I lose my temper and fuck you up!”

I had never seen anyone pick themselves up so fast. That young guy couldn’t be any older than eighteen, but he cursed and stumbled away. The old guy followed him, glaring at us from time to time.

“Ellie! Are you all right?” Mack asked. He was beside me within a moment. I didn’t want him to touch me and I didn’t want to look at him. I needed to talk to him first, confront him about what I saw the other night.

“I’m fine. I don’t need your help, thank you very much,” I snapped back, trying to pick my stuff up off the floor. His touch sent tingles of awareness down my spine, but I told my reasonable side to dismiss it.

“What the hell are you doing here at this time in the morning?” he demanded and squatted down to help me with my paperwork.

“This is none of your business. I saw you with Lurkin last night and now I understand everything,” I said, snatching the papers away from his hand.

He looked surprised, astonished even, but I didn’t give a fuck anymore. I saw the package and I heard Adrian in the club; he was a drug supplier. Mack shook his head, exhaling. He was in casual clothes, wearing old jeans and a dark jacket. He worked for Adrian. Maybe I was making a big deal out of nothing, but I knew what I saw. He was protecting Adrian, thinking that I wouldn’t guess that he was one of the bad guys.

“I’m mad, Ellie, furious, and right now I want to punish you,” he growled. “But it’s not safe here. That’s why you’re coming with me. We are not talking here.”

He grabbed my elbow and started pushing me inside the passenger door. I was trying to resist, but he looked like he was going to explode.

“Stop manhandling me, I’m not doing—”

“Shhh, Angel. I’m literally on the verge of losing control and taking you right here and right now. Put your seat belt on; you’re risking your life exposing yourself like that,” he cut me off, shutting the door and walking around the car. I stopped breathing when he got in the driver’s side, overwhelming the space with his anger. His sharp eyes were looking around. Goose pimples shot down my arm and I swallowed hard. I was pretty shaken up, slightly apprehensive about what happened.

I couldn’t fight with him even if I wanted to and right now he looked like he was ready to smack me.

“Keys,” he ordered with that domineering tone that I recognised instantly. My heart was skipping beats while I looked for them. Tension zoomed through the air, and I felt beads of sweat running down my spine.

“Take me home right now,” I said, when I finally handed him the ring of keys. The engine roared to life and he drove off, pretending like he didn’t hear me.

“Fuck, Ellie! How could you be so foolish? Anyone could have seen you there,” he shouted, pressing his lips in a hard line. Mack had lost his mind. He was driving like he was crazy, passing cars on a double line. It was very early morning, and the streets weren’t busy, but still. I wasn’t ready to die.

“Me foolish? You’re selling drugs and helping Adrian. You’re a hypocrite!”

“You don’t understand anything. We need to talk, but I’m done with your bullshit. I have tolerated it long enough.”

“You tolerating me? Ha!” I said, not believing what I just heard. “You’re lucky that I didn’t go straight to the police!”

He didn’t say anything to that, but that vein on his neck was pulsing dangerously fast. The awkward silence stretched until we reached the city centre. Mack didn’t take me home. He put his foot down and stopped in front of the Hilton hotel. His face was tight, muscles tense, and I was going crazy, wondering what he was planning.

“You have two options, Ellie: I either carry you to the room or you go yourself like a good girl,” he said, pausing and looking directly into my eyes. “So what’s it going to be?”

Mack

I left the depot just before six. Lurkin was running a distribution network around Edinburgh and he had his people around the area, watching and letting him know if the police came sniffing around. I was heading straight to my car when I saw Ellie with some tattooed youngster on the street. It looked like she was just about to get mugged. I lost my head. Anger took over my body and I was ready to strangle him.

I had no idea what on earth she was doing here, but then she mentioned that she saw me and Lurkin here. She was relentless, determined to carry on investigating when I clearly told her to stay away. Fuck, now I had no choice but to explain myself to her.

“You won’t dare to carry me inside the hotel. I’ll tell them that you kidnapped me.”

“Well, then I’ll tell them that you’re sick, that you have taken some LSD and I’m here to take care of you,” I said putting on a concerned voice. Ellie folded her arms over her chest, glaring at me with fury. Oh yes, I wasn’t letting her go anywhere, until she told me what she knew and saw.

“Don’t fight with me, Angel. I want to talk. I promise that I’ll let you go once I explain everything.”

“You’re so twisted. I can’t believe I didn’t see it earlier,” she spat and I smiled to myself. Yeah, I had issues, but right now I was ready to kill someone. She was making me crazy.

“We are wasting time. Let’s go. The sooner we get on with this the better.”

Ellie was obedient in the bedroom, but she didn’t like to be told what to do on the street. She fought with me when I tried to take her hand, and then, pleaded for me to take her home again. I couldn’t just let her go, not now. We had been playing this cat and mouse game for a while, but now she put herself in real danger. The reception was slow, so checking in took a bit longer than necessary. I was anxious, wondering if anyone had followed us. She didn’t look at me or talk to me in the lift.

On top of that, my dick realised she was near and woke up. I was thinking about punishment, about how much I wanted to take her again. I didn’t care about her fucking job. She put herself at risk, and not for the first time.

I unlocked the door to the stylish room. We both walked in, and the images from the other night started floating back to me again.

“I’m still waiting, Mack. Explain how come you don’t think that you’re one fucked up son of a bitch,” she said, dropping her handbag on the bed and unzipping her coat. Hell, this whole thing was going to end badly and I was getting turned on.

I was beside her before she could take another breath, slamming her into my chest. It was my anger and impulsive nature that took over.

“You have pissed me off being so reckless and stupid and I’ll punish you for it,” I growled, my lips inches away from her. Her perfume was intoxicating, her lovely skin wanted to be caressed. She trembled under my hands, but the anger didn’t fade, her eyes were focused and sharp.

“Let go of me. I’m not playing this game. You’re just like Lurkin.”

I wanted to laugh. Lurkin was a piece of shit and her voice was low and hoarse. She couldn’t fool me. I bet she was so wet for me that her pussy was throbbing with want and need. Instead of arguments and explanations, I pressed my lips over hers and kissed her. She fought with me, trying to pull away, but her skin felt amazing.

“Stop it, Angel. I know you want me to punish you,” I said and held her in my arms. Her body slowly began to relax and finally she was kissing me back, moaning into my mouth. I fucking loved that sound, and I was soon in a daze, kissing and pulling her mouth.

Ellie was still trying to fight, but we both knew that she was mine and I wanted to be inside her tight wetness.

“Mack, oh please, I want you,” she mumbled. I took my jacket off, kissing her neck. When I was free from my heavy clothes, I grabbed her hips and pulled her closer, nibbling her skin. She groaned, but I was still furious, still afraid that someone could have snapped her neck.

I pulled away, breathing hard, my cock painfully hard. Ellie was flustered, lips swollen and she looked fuckable.

“You put yourself in danger, made me mad and fought with me. You can’t even imagine how much I’m going to enjoy punishing you,” I stated. “Take your clothes off, but leave the underwear on.”

I was slipping into my old self and this wasn’t a request, it was command. She obeyed me straight away. I waited, watching with fascination how she took her clothes off. I needed to remember that she was the only person that could pull me away from my misery, but right then I was so fucking furious with her that all I wanted was to possess her, hurt her, all because she disobeyed me.