Ultimate Nyssa Glass H. Burke (bookstand for reading .txt) 📖

If I bounce that off the blighter’s skull, he won’t be knocking anyone down for a while.

Trying to stay hidden behind the bench, she fumbled for the wrench. She stood. The man was face deep in her junk cabinet.

With a long breath, she hurled the wrench. It bounced off the back of the man’s head. He cursed, put his hands up, then whirled around, still very much conscious. Nyssa’s stomach dropped to her toes.

“That was your plan?” Ellis shouted.

The man stepped towards her then cowered back. He turned and bolted through the rear door. The doorbell jangled as the police officer burst in, Theo at his tail. Nyssa sank against the wall. Cold relief washed over her. Theo glued himself to her side, his eyes wide. She squeezed the boy’s shoulder.

The officer took after the thief. Mrs. H shrieked in the kitchen and something crashed. Shouts echoed through the workshop. Then another crash.

Ellis pushed his chair back up and pulled himself into the seat. He clamped a handkerchief over his head wound.

“Are you all right?” Nyssa whispered.

He gave a brief nod.

The officer returned, his coat rumpled and his face red.

“Did you catch him?” Theo burst out.

Nyssa swallowed. “Our housekeeper? Is she all right?”

“The lady is well, but startled. I told her to go sit down. As for the attacker, he got away, but I knew his face. He’s a frequent ‘guest’ in the local jail, usually drunk and disorderly but occasionally some petty theft. What did he want with you?”

“Whatever we had,” Ellis said, his hand still pressed to his forehead.

“When he found out the cash drawer was mostly empty, he blew his boiler and started tearing at the shop.” Nyssa hoped the explanation would suffice. She didn’t want to tell the police the man had tried to fence stolen goods. The more distance between herself and any criminal element, the better. Especially with Uncle Al lurking in San Azula.

“Well, we know to be on the lookout for him.” The officer’s eyes narrowed. “Robbing shops in broad daylight is awful bold, even for a repeat offender like Chester. Are you sure there isn’t anything else we need to know? Something that drew him here? A deal gone wrong, maybe?”

Nyssa stiffened. Blast you, Uncle Al. Now the police and the criminals both think I’m still in the business. Why can’t you let me go?

“Considering my colleague and I were just knocked near senseless by a known thief within our place of business, you’re interrogating the wrong individual,” Ellis said. “Excuse me. I need to bandage this wound.” He rolled out the back. The usually silent workings of his chair grated a bit, as if something had been bent out of alignment.

“I really should see to him,” Nyssa said. “Theo, would you check on Mrs. H for me?”

The boy nodded and ran off.

“I’ll be right back,” Nyssa told the officer. “There’s a video phone behind the counter if you’d like to call this in to the station.”

The officer nodded, still eyeing her suspiciously.

Down the hall across from the kitchen was a small washroom. Nyssa heard the basin running. She knocked. No answer. “Ellis?” she called. Still no answer.

Shock me, what if he passed out?

Clearing her throat, she pushed the door open. Ellis struggled to get a bandage over one eye, using the mirror for a reference.

“Here, let me.” She reached out to help him, but he jerked away.

“I’ve got it.” The edge to his voice made her recoil. Ellis finished applying the bandage and bent over the full basin. He splashed water onto his neck and face.

“It wasn’t a fair fight,” she whispered.

“That’s the thing though, I’ll never be in a fair fight.” His lips quirked.

She winced. “I’m sorry, that was stupid of me. What I meant is—”

“I know what you meant.” He sighed. “Look Nyss … I’m not angry at you. I’m angry at … so many things that aren’t you.” Dropping his eyes, he rested his hands on his thighs. “It’s passing. I just needed a moment to breathe.”

She pulled up a stool and sat beside him. “Ellis, by anyone’s standards, you’ve had a rough time. It’s all right to be upset. In fact, it’s a miracle to me how … pleasant you are with everything you’ve been through, between the accident and your father and … and this nonsense with my uncle. You’ve been a saint. It’s okay to be angry. You’re not a computer anymore.” She smiled, but his eyes stayed downcast.

“I can’t, though. My dad crumbled when things went poorly for him. He let it take him down, and he ended in a very dark place. That’s not me. I can’t let that be me.” His expression hardened. “I will not end up like him.”

“You aren’t going to go mad. Is that what you’re afraid of?” She leaned closer.

“Not afraid exactly. I am choosing to focus on what is good in my life, is all, and there is a lot of good. There’s so much good.” He stroked her cheek.

Her whole being warmed, and the world seemed to soften about the edges. He pulled her closer. Their lips touched, softly at first, then deeper. Her fingers worked their way into his hair, and a sigh escaped.

Ellis withdrew, a smile on his lips. “We better go show Mrs. H that we’re all right before she bursts in to mother us.”

“I’m sure Theo is keeping her busy, but you’re right. We need to put this household back together.”

My uncle’s tricks aren’t going to break me.

Chapter Six

Mrs. H apparently believed all emotional and physical trauma could be soothed by tea. Over the course of the next hour, Nyssa never saw the bottom of her cup. Mrs. H hovered over her and Ellis, clutching a steaming tea pot and fanning herself with a napkin.

“I can’t imagine. The brute scared the daylights out of me just running through the house. Are you certain we shouldn’t call the doctor, Master Ellis? You did take a knock to the