Blind Loyalty with the Enforcer

Chapter 8: On the Road Again

Eleanor's POV.

“Back on the road… again," I say as we hit the interstate.

I woke up this morning begging the bright morning sun to hide behind a cloud. I hoped it would give us a precious few more hours together in the hidden safety of the quaint little rundown hotel.

Waking up to the feeling of a weight across my stomach of Pauly's arms. Something he had apologized for profusely. Apparently cuddling wasn't a part of the heavy makeout session. For hours we lost ourselves in the abandoned kissing session. It had left me breathless and craving more.

“How did you sleep?" Pauly asks me as the car picks up to the high speed of the cars driving alongside of us.

“Wonderfully. You?"

“Better than I have in a long time." His reply makes my heart soar. I'd like to think that I might have some small part in his peaceful slumber.

We slip into our normal silence as the unfamiliar sights slip by us at quick speeds, easing into the rhythm of the midmorning traffic of small little towns. I can't help my attention being drawn back to the strong man next to me.

My mind ignites with memories of the night before. The feeling of his lips on mine still causes mine to tingle, even the morning after. My body reacted to the way he made it feel alive. His long hands wrap around the steering wheel. The very same ones that had been wrapped around my body exploring it, learning it, mapping it out.

No longer able to keep my hands to myself, I push back against the nagging self-doubt that last night was just a one-time thing forced purely by the fact that we were two lonely people sharing a bed. Gently touching his arm, his eyes glance between me, my hand, and the road. I trail my hand up his strong corded arm pulling his hand gently off of the steering wheel. I pause for his reaction before the tension in his body relaxes. As if the connection between us eases him.

“I'm finding myself fighting against this urge to pull the car around. Give into the temptation and return to that shitty hotel and hide out there for the rest of our lives." Pauly shocks me slightly with his admission.

“Paul. Cheska isn't going to—"

“It's not Cheska," Paul replies stroking my thumb with his. “It's everything else."

“Marcell?" I ask, unsure of how to even frame the question, especially when I'm unsure of exactly what it is that Paul has to do in Philly.

“I've never done this before. I've never done what he's expecting me to do in Philly. Be who he needs me to be. As… As human as Marcell is, he's still the Don of the Syndicate. He's still a dangerous man." Paul's words strike worry in my heart as the severity of what lies before us becomes a hell of a lot clearer.

“What does he want you to do, Paul?"

Paul sighs at my question, leaning his head against the headrest.

“Change is coming. A change we all started in Chicago. A change you were a large catalyst in beginning. You and Olivia showed Marcell and Diego what could be done above the table. But in order to do it correctly, we have to have proof of the men who are corrupt. We have to have evidence," Pauly explains.

“He wants you to build a case against the Philadelphia Syndicate? How are you to do that?" I ask. The palm firmly held in Paul's starts to sweat.

“It wasn't easy in Chicago. You saw first-hand how complicated it got, and how quickly it all turned to s**t. We had connections in Chicago, too. Connections that were nurtured over years. Decades. We had men who were willing to cash in favors. Men like Ren, Hal, and Marcell. All willing to put their lives on the line to help flush out the corruption. Men don't just volunteer to throw themselves in front of bullets, Eleanor. They have to feel loyal to the cause. Loyalty like that is earned. Earned over years."

“Marcell wants you to go to Philadelphia and completely overturn the Syndicate?" I ask stunned.

“He wants me to give them an opportunity to choose. Submit to the new organization. Or face the consequences," Pauly responds.

“He expects you to do this on your own?"

“With the weight of my position, and a few contacts in Philly. The hope is the reputation of what happened in Chicago will cause them to fall in line. Marcell and Diego don't want ultimate control. They just want the old habits to stop."

“The men in Philly, Paul? Are they… are they worse than the men in Chicago?" I ask the question, sounding lame coming from my lips.

“I can only go off of what my contact in Philly has told me, coupled with Ren's report. But I can see why Marcell chose Philly first. If Philly falls in line, it'll only be a domino before the rest of the Syndicate will follow suit."

“Have you spoken to Ren since we left Chicago?"

My question causes his hand to tighten around mine, his body stiffening in the driver's seat.

“No. Besides a few emails updating me with names and contact information, we haven't spoken much." His clipped response doesn't do anything to ease my worry.

“He's a friend, Paul. Ren. He… Understands me and… My mother. What being raised by a controlling parent does to someone and how it affects their decisions. My reactions. There's nothing between us Paul. Not like what's between us."

“Men. In this world, Eleanor, they're used to getting what they want. They take it, with our without consent or permission. Regardless of if that person is attached to someone else or not. I've seen it. It terrifies me what I would do if someone tried to take you from me."

Paul's confession makes my heart ache.

“Ren isn't going to take me from you," I insist.

“I'm not just talking about Ren."

“People will try to tear us apart, Paul," I quietly say. “People from your world. People from mine. But they'll only succeed if we let them."

“I won't let them," Paul vows and squeezes my hand.

“I know you won't."

“When we get all of this settled. The Syndicate. Cheska. All of it. I want to talk about what this means," he says, using his index finger that's holding my hand to refer to the two of us.

“Why wait?" I ask, confused.

“I want to give this a fair chance to succeed, Eleanor. Not in the middle of constant pressure."

“Well then, we'll just have to hope that all of this ends quickly. That the Philly men aren't good bosses, and their men aren't loyal," I say, leaning back.

There was no denying that I was gut-punched. I was deflated by the shift that had changed everything so quickly. There was no mistaking the fact that we are undoubtedly attracted to and connected to one another.

The commitment I have been craving has now been pinned to the success of the business in Philly. A time frame that has no end date to it. No promise of when it would actually happen. There were a lot of unknowns. The major one was if he was even going to survive the trip.

“As soon as this is done, Eleanor Hart, I plan on properly pursuing you." His words were meant to ease my aching heart. But their impact of them was just the opposite.