The Man Behind The Beast (BWWM) ✓

Chapter 24: Prepare The Food To Bad News

Been in a super shitty writing slump. This chapter is shit. You have been warned.

I could feel Stefan's hands begin to tighten at my sides as he stared blankly back at Lumiere.

"Explain." He replied so cooly, that it sent shivers down my back.

"I-It's all here." Lumiere nodded hesitantly, handing Stefan the tablet which he conveniently placed in front of the both of us. The photo was a 3D rendering of the room Stefan and I were in earlier the night before, along with the surrounding perimeter of the family branch that the charity event was held at. As Stefan zoomed out, my eyes grew large from the insane distance between where we were and where the bullet was shot from. It showed where the sniper was perched up by, in the trees.

"There are very few who can take a shot like that." Stefan commented, zooming in on the vantage point.

"What we really need to know is how they knew you two would be at that room within that time frame. Clearly, the sniper knew exactly where he needed to be stationed so someone had to of been informed." Lumiere added.

"Are you insinuating there is a leak within our organization?" Stefan asked. His voice dropped to a warning tone.

"I'm not insinuating anything. These are facts, Stefan-"

"It's Mr. DeGramont." Stefan replied with such a sharp edge, it took even me by surprise.

Lumiere cleared his throat. "I'll inform you on any updated news we can find. Right now, this bullet looks Russian. What I need to know, before we can jump to that situation, is, do you have any enemies Elle?"

"Enemies?" I asked, giving him a blank stare. "I once reported a semi-trucking driving on an interstate because he cut me off without a turning signal."

"That's not exactly what we had in mind. Have you taken out any loans, pissed off questionable people, anything like that?" Stefan asked, turning to me again. His voice instantly got softer and more welcoming as he noticed how frigid I had become.

"I-I-I'm a cook, Stefan, just a cook." I replied.

"Well I can tell you this much," Lumiere admitted, "if it's the Russians, this isn't good. It would've been much easier if it was an enemy of yours."

"I need to assess the full situation before any real decisions can be made." Stefan announced, handing the tablet back to Lumiere, "until then, I want men on you, Elle. You don't leave the estate without someone and extra details will rotate around the house round clock. I also want extra men at Gracie's, and on Mrs. Potts, along with Chip. I don't care if you need to hire more men, do whatever's necessary, but make sure their credentials check out."

"I'll get on it." Lumiere nodded, giving me a warily smile before leaving.

-

Stefan's POV
"What the absolute bloody hell are you doing home?" Mrs. Potts demanded, as Elle gently helped me up the stairs of our home.

"The surgery was successful. Everything is fine." I assured her, unable to miss the sheer relief that shone in her eyes.

"You were shot not even 24 hours ago Stefan!" Mrs. Potts fired back, helping me up from my other side as both women led me to my study.

"There are preparations for tonight that need to be taken care of." I replied.

"Preparations?! You better sit your arse right in that firm chair of yours and rest the hell up because I am not the one. If you thought you were just going to bounce back from a surgery in 24 hours, well, you thought." Mrs. Potts replied, laying me gently into my study chair. I could feel the annoying aching pain that carved it's way into my back, but I did everything I could to make that from the two women who meant more to me than I could cry to admit.

I couldn't remember much of the actual events after bullet hit me. In fact, I didn't feel it until I felt my body stumble into Elle. Apparently I had lost consciousness a few moments after, but all I could recall was the sound of my name on Elle's tongue as she shook me in panic. Next thing I knew, I was lying in a hospital bed, being greeted by Lumiere.

"The doctors did you were really lucky the bullet hadn't struck a major artery." Elle sighed, reluctantly letting go of me as I got settled in my seat. I heard something in her voice that made my body tense up, but before I could comment, Mrs. Potts beat me to it.

"None of this is your fault, child. Absolutely none." Mrs. Potts confirmed, looking firmly at Elle.

"But I was the intended target. I clearly did something to someone..." She trailed off.

"OR, Stefan did something to someone which resulted in you being a target. This is also the most probable." Mrs. Potts replied, cutting me no slack as she ruthlessly dragged my name through these streets with those accusations.

I sighed again, shifting to ease some of the pressure on my back as the pain began to nag at me again. "She's right, Elle. Don't blame yourself for something you had no control over."

She nodded silently at me. "I'm going to go get started on the meal prep for the day." She announced, before pushing herself up from my desk and heading out the study doors.

I glanced back to Mrs. Potts as soon as Elle disappeared around the corner. "How bad is it?" I asked her. I knew from her actions and tone, something was definitely wrong.

"The shooting. Lumiere reached out to me about half an hour ago with new news. Apparently, there is a bounty on Elle's head." Mrs. Potts admitted. I could feel my body tense instantly.

"The Russians?" I asked.

"That's what we hear..." Mrs. Potts replied, trailing off. "There's something else, Stefan." She added, "something that makes this situation much more difficult."

"What? What's going to be the cherry on top of this already shitty day?"

"The bounty Stefan... It's 1.3 million dollars."

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