CRASH (A Logan Brothers Novel) (18 page)

“
So what's the next step,”
asked Kyle.

I hadn't really involved him in
things as of yet. Frankly, he didn't need to be included. But now,
now there was something I really wanted him involved in. Something
that would prove his loyalty to this family, to my father, to our
future.

“
The next step, brother, is to
right a wrong.”

He looked at me curiously. “What
wrong?”

“
The death of our father.” I
said it with malice, a glint in my eye, a lust for revenge.

His eyes were different though.
They widened as I looked at him, as I spoke of our father. He took a
small step back, looking suddenly alarmed.

“
What do you mean?” His
words shook, lacking their usual calm.

“
Lithgow.” I said. “I
didn't tell you before because we still needed him to secure us the
investment. But now, now there's nothing that will protect him.”

Kyle's eyes morphed from worry
to confusion. He clearly had no idea what I was talking about.

“
It was Lithgow Kyle. Lithgow
ordered the hit on dad.”

He looked slightly shocked,
taken aback by my reveal. I mean, I could understand that. He'd
probably wanted to know just as much as me. He probably wanted
revenge as I did.

“
But how, why?”

“
Apparently Lithgow and dad
were old business rivals. Do you remember the murder of a guy called
Michael Cooper about a month before dad was killed?”

He nodded, his eyes deep.

“
Well, Cooper was also a
business associate of fathers. They fucked him over - Cooper and
Lithgow - and dad was getting revenge. He was the one who ordered
Cooper killed...”

“
How do you know that?” His
words were rushed, cutting me off.

“
Oh, that was Jones' doing
again. He tracked this old stripper down - Jen - who admitted to
doing it for him. I guess she must have worked for you down at the
strip bar?”

He looked like a thousand
memories were just rushing back towards him. “I remember Jen,” he
said solemnly.

“
Well, anyway. Turns out
father ordered the hit on Cooper and was about to do the same to
Lithgow until he took out dad first. Now that snake's gonna get what
he deserves.”

A voice came from behind, Jones
joining the conversation.

“
Well, lets not forget Crash
that we are speculating slightly.”

“
What do you mean?” I said.
He hadn't spoken of any doubts before.

“
Well I never found any direct
evidence that Walter Lithgow killed your father. Nothing links anyone
to your fathers death. But, I do believe that Lithgow was to blame.”

I smiled. “That's good enough
for me. I trust your judgement. And, in any case, he deserves it for
what he did to dad years ago, for pulling the plug on that deal. The
guy's a snake in the grass, and needs his head taken off.”

I took a swig of champagne from
the bottle, my glass now empty. I had an insatiable lust inside me to
see someone sent to the grave for my fathers death. Lithgow ticked
all of the boxes. It was him, I had no doubt about it.

“
So you're really going to
kill a man without any evidence?” It was Kyle. “I don't know
Crash. Dad killed Cooper, Lithgow kills dad. Where does it stop?”

“
You're saying we should let
him get away with it?”

“
No, no, I'm not saying that.
It's just, I don't know. If you kill him, then who's to say someone
won't come and take you out. It's an endless chain.”

I shook my head. “No, it's not
endless. It ends with Lithgow.”

I could see Kyle's head
dropping, his eyes deep with some sort of guilt or sorrow or
something. He looked like he didn't want to be involved.

That's exactly why he had to be. 

Elle

I could feel the nerves
beginning to spread through my body. They'd been building for days.
Now they were coming to a crescendo.

Lexi stood beside me, a wide
smile on her face. She didn't look worried at all. Quite the
opposite, in fact. The brightness of her eyes made it clear that she
relished this. I guess anyone who had the confidence to work as a
stripper wouldn't worry too much about this sort of thing.

We were about to step out
together onto the stage alongside the rest of our dance troupe. This
wasn't like before. The only other time I'd danced publicly was when
we did an impromptu performance in Trellers Square in the center of
town. That had been nerve racking enough, but this was another kettle
of fish.

The intention of that gig was to
build a bit of interest in us. It had worked. Someone there had
enjoyed the performance so much that they'd booked us in to perform
again. This time it would be for real.

We stood together now, behind
the curtain, listening to a man talking on the stage in front of us.
I'd stupidly popped my head around the side earlier, looking at the
swelling crowd gathering in the hall. I could feel my legs going weak
at the thought of that curtain raising in a few moments. I'd never
been so terrified in my life.

I could barely hear what the guy
was saying. My mind was lost now, trying to focus on my moves, on the
performance.
Get in the moment Elle. You'll be fine.

A bit of positive self-talk was
just what I needed.

I noticed the lights going down
behind the curtain as the man's speech came to an end. The crowd
began applauding as the curtain slowly rose, revealing us standing
there in our black and white tights.

A spotlight shone down on the
stage, blinding me from anything else. I could make out shapes and
figures in the crown but there was nothing specific. I knew that
hundreds of people had their eyes on me but I couldn't see them.

The performance began as my eyes
slowly started adjusting to the sudden change in light, the crowd
hushing as the music began playing. We set into our routine, our
movements as one, everything so well choreographed.

We'd practised for days, weeks,
making sure we'd get everything right, ironing out any potential
problems to make it all perfect. If we performed well here, it might
open the doors to other opportunities for the group.

The thought had enticed me
greatly. Maybe, just maybe, we could become a proper professional
outfit. Maybe I could dance for a living, make my passion my work.
The idea made me even more nervous, even more anxious to do a good
job.

One thing was for sure, though.
If I was to start performing more often, I'd have to get to grips
with this stagefright.

My nerves began to fade as we
moved deeper into the performance. It was all a beautiful blur, a
complete silence in the crowd as they watched on at our bodies
sliding over each other in graceful movements.

My eyes continued to adjust to
the light, faces at the front of the crowd beginning to come into
view. They looked on, entranced, their eyes following me around the
stage.

I began to feel more nervous,
knowing that so many sets of eyes were on me. Every time I twisted
and turned towards the crowd I couldn't help but glide my eyes across
them, the faces all blurring together as they looked at me.

But one stuck out as I glanced.
One face I knew. One face I never wanted to see again.

I thought I saw him, sitting
there at the front, his eyes gleaming as they watched me. They were
eyes I used to love, eyes I now hated.

Eyes that belonged to Brad.

I could feel myself losing my
focus as I turned once more from the crowd, other girls moving around
and in front of me. I took position, facing to the back of the stage,
my heart now beating furiously.

Had I seen Brad? Was he
really here?

The choreography of the dance
led me back towards the crowd, my eyes turning back on them. I
glanced across the front row once more but saw no one I knew. None of
the faces stood out. Brad wasn't there.

I must have just imagined it.

The performance continued,
building to a climax as I began to refocus. The crowd began clapping
and standing, an applause that sent shivers of satisfaction through
my body.

The lights came up, the room
coming into clear focus. I stood there now as the other girls
gathered in a line towards the front of the stage and bowed. I looked
again at the faces at the front, sliding my eyes from one to the
other as my pulse began to settle.

I couldn't see him. He'd never
been there.

....

The buzz was incredible as we
all gathered together backstage after the performance. For many of
the girls dance was their lifelong ambition, something that they'd
always wanted to do since they were kids.

No one epitomized this better
than Lexi. She was so balanced and graceful, every single movement so
precise. If she didn't make it as a dancer, no one would.

The girls were looking to
celebrate with a couple of drinks after, but I needed to get home. I
had exams coming up and had plenty of revision to get done. She tried
her best to persuade me otherwise, but I wasn't going to relent.
Honestly, after what happened last time I drank, I didn't want to
touch a drop of alcohol for a while.

I stepped from the venue and out
into the evening air. There was a crispness to it, a warmth that had
been spreading in for the last few weeks. Summer had well and truly
arrived now, the evenings growing lighter and longer under the
lingering sun.

I walked down the street, a
dorky smile on my face. I couldn't hide it, I couldn't remove it. The
feeling of exhilaration was palpable. I must have looked slightly mad
to anyone who passed me by.

I turned into the underground
parking lot where I'd left my car. It was dreary in there, my
footsteps echoing around and bouncing off the wide walls.

I approached my car and pulled
my keys from my handbag. I fitted them into the car door and turned,
hearing the lock click loudly. Then, piercing the silence, a voice
reached my ears.

“
Still driving that thing?”
The voice was cold, sending a shiver down my spine.

My heart froze as I turned
around, my eyes widening at the man in front of me.

“
Brad...what are you doing
here?” My words shook, threatening to break.

I could feel my breathing
intensify and my pulse begin to soar as he looked on at me, that
creepy stare that I thought I'd escaped forever on me once more. He
smiled a wide smile, his entire face lighting up. But it wasn't a
warm light, it was cold and distant, weird and sinister.

“
I'm here to see you Elle. Why
did you leave without saying goodbye?” His eyes were turning
mournful and hurt. The sudden change in his expression was completely
unsettling.

I saw his hand reaching into his
pocket and took a step back, pressing against the door of my car. I
reached for the door and pulled, opening it slightly behind me.

“
I really can't talk now Brad.
I have to go.” My voice trembled with nerves like my body.

I had no idea what to say to
him, no idea what he'd do.

“
You never did have any time
for me did you? Not in the end. Not with all your new friends.” His
eyes were beginning to harden again.

“
That's not true Brad. You
know what happened. You know why I left.”

His face stiffened hugely. “What
did I do? Propose to you? Love you? What was wrong with that?!” His
voice was more intense now, his words shattering the silence and
cascading around the walls.

He seemed unstable, like a
volcano that could blow at any minute. He looked even more erratic
than he had before, his eyes full of fire and jealousy and rage.

“
I don't know what you want me
to say Brad. We grew apart. I'm sorry.”

I had to be careful with my
words. I had no idea what he'd do in the state he was in.

“
All I ever wanted was you to
love me like I loved you. We were so good together and then you just
abandoned me. You left me alone.”

I slid to the side and began
opening the door to the car.

“
I can't say anything except
I'm sorry,” I said carefully, trying to calm him down. “I never
wanted to hurt you.”

His eyes drifted towards the
door of the car as it slowly opened.

“
Trying to escape again are
you? Why do you always run from me? I love you Elle. I would never
hurt you.”

The way he said it made me think
the opposite, his words sliding over one another likes snakes. I
could feel my hand shaking on the door. All I wanted to do was jump
inside, gun the engine, and escape.

I turned from him and stepped
slowly into the car, as if I was dealing with a wild animal, as if a
sudden movement would cause him to strike.

I felt his arm grab at my
shoulder, pulling me back and pushing me up against the car. I
couldn't talk or think or move as he leaned in closer, his eyes
boiling over.