Chapter 51 Dex
DEX
Everything in me had gone numb—the kind of numbness that caused a faint buzzing in your ears. It spread, entering my body and limbs, but it wasn’t the vibration I’d grown used to around Brae. Nothing that made me feel alive. This was sheer panic and had everything in me turning off.
“Brae’s fine.”
That was how Wylder had started the call. But I knew something had happened. Brae wasn’t truly okay.
I wound my way through the throng of tourists. There’d been no parking anywhere close, and now, so many people crowded the sidewalk that it was hard to navigate. Some whispered in groups, and snatches of their conversations hit my ears.
“…woman attacked…”
“He had a knife…”
“You would think it would be safe in a place like this.”
I shut them out. Just like I ignored everything else, I pushed through everyone until I reached the entrance of the Boot. Various deputies and other officers were on the scene, even the fire department.
As I started for the entrance, a familiar, barrel-chested man stepped into my path, a smug look on his face. “This establishment is closed.”
My hands fisted at my sides as my gaze picked out at least half a dozen pressure points that would drop this asshole to his knees. Probably not a good idea if I didn’t want to get tased or shot. “I’m here for Brae.”
Grady’s smugness only intensified. “I’m afraid I can’t let you through.”
My fingers twitched at my sides, rolling into fists. My hold on the rage that lived inside me was tenuous at best.
“Stop being a fuckwit and let him through.” Roger stepped out into the sunlight, glaring at Grady.
Grady’s smug look turned to a scowl. “Law enforcement only.”
“He’s her boyfriend, and you know it. So stop trying to exert dominance just because no one wants to suck your dick,” Roger snapped.
Red splotches appeared all over Grady’s face. “You’re gonna get what’s coming to you one of these days.”
“Can’t wait,” Roger called, giving Grady a little finger wave as he stalked off. “Come on. She’s back here.”
“Talk to me.” My words were strangled at best, spoken through gritted teeth and a throat so tight it was a miracle any air made it through.
“Vincent Faber is now in custody, sitting in a cell at the station. He came up behind Brae and tried to get her to go with him. Used a knife as motivation.”
The word knife had blazing ice blasting through my system, the kind of coldness that burned.
“Mav came up on them,” Roger continued. “Vincent held her at knifepoint, but Brae broke his nose and likely a few toes for good measure. Got a fighter there.”
I couldn’t think about what a badass she was because it only reminded me that she’d had to defend herself in the first place. All I could manage to say was her name. “Brae.”
“Got a bit of a cut,” Roger said carefully. “Mav’s tending to her right now.”
I saw her then, a flash of blond hair as she sat, straddling one of the bar chairs so her front was to the wooden slats. Her Boot T-shirt was tucked up under her bra, her back and side exposed—a side that Mav was currently sewing to-fucking-gether.
Fury. Fear. Guilt. Shame. It all swirled together in an ugly stew. I hadn’t been there. Brae had needed me, and I hadn’t been there.
I stalked toward the woman who had somehow come to mean everything to me. I rounded Mav, coming to Brae’s front and dropping to my knees. She was a little pale, but her eyes were bright. I couldn’t stop myself from touching her, my hands lifting to those too-pale cheeks.
“Hellion.”
“Hey,” she whispered, forcing a wobbly smile.
I pressed my forehead to hers. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not yours to be sorry for.” Her hands wrapped around my forearms, gripping tightly.
“I should’ve been here,” I rasped.
“You’re here now.”
It wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. “I want to rip him limb from limb.”
“Little Badass did a number on his nose if that helps,” Mav said, pulling the medical-grade thread through Brae’s side.
“Not good enough,” I snarled.
Brae’s fingers dug into my forearms. “Hey, I’m okay. Just a little cut. And this will get him out of my and Owen’s lives forever.”
“Already called Maren Robinson,” Wylder said, his expression unreadable. “She’s adding to the filing as we speak.”
Guilt still swarmed that I hadn’t done more already—more to end Vincent for good. But I’d been distracted by Nova’s case and whoever had been taunting Brae, and missed the threat right in front of us.
“Honestly, I should thank the asshole,” Brae muttered.
“Don’t joke. Not about this.” My forehead dropped to hers again. “I need you to be okay. Safe.”
“I am,” she whispered.
I felt her warm breath mixing with mine. Something about that soothed, as did the hint of red currant and vanilla that swirled around me. Brae was okay.
“And I’m all done,” Mav said, forcing me to pull back from Brae, even though it was the last thing I wanted to do.
Mav taped a piece of gauze over the wound. “I put some antibiotic ointment on it. You’ll want to wash around the wound twice daily, but try not to get the stitches wet. Replace the covering and reapply the ointment. I can get you everything you need.”
Brae tugged her T-shirt down. “Thank you, Mav. I really didn’t want to go to the hospital.”
Mav held out his fist for a knuckle bump. “I got you covered, Little Badass. These should be able to come out in about a week.”
They talked about wound care some more and what to look out for, but all I could do was stare at the blood soaking the pale pink shirt—Brae’s blood. It spread over a good portion of the side.
My back teeth ground together.
Wylder cleared his throat. “Uh, Brae?”
She looked up at him in question.
He tossed her one of the tees that usually lived by the hostess stand. “May want to change into this so Dex’s brain doesn’t explode.”
She looked from the new tee to the blood on the one she was wearing to me, understanding blooming. “I’m good, Buttercup. No need to kill someone with death-ray eyes.”
“He. Hurt. You.”
Brae’s hands lifted to my cheeks. “And I’m still here. I hurt him back. I got away.”
“And I dislocated his shoulder,” Mav cut in helpfully.
Brae’s mouth brushed mine. “I’m all good.”
A throat cleared, making us pull apart. Roger stood there with a newly arrived Travis. And they both looked…furious.
I was on my feet in a flash, Brae rising behind me.
“What?” she asked. “What is it?”
Travis looked between us. “We found something in Vincent’s hotel room.”
I wrapped an arm around Brae’s shoulders, pulling her gently to my side.
“There was a computer,” Travis went on.
Of course there was. And I’d been all over that system, gathering as much dirt as possible on the douchebag. I’d be anonymously dropping the evidence in the Juniper County District Attorney’s email as soon as possible to add some time to Vincent’s sentence.
“It was a secondary one,” Roger added, his gaze moving to me.
He knew me too well. Knew I’d have already been in every system I could get my hands on.
But I hadn’t seen any signs of a secondary system.
Vincent’s email address was logged in four places.
His phone, iPad, laptop, and work desktop. Nowhere else.
Travis shifted from one foot to the other. “It was one of those cheap deals. Not connected to the internet. More of a file server.”
“What kind of files?” I gritted out.
Travis’s focus flicked to me and then to the woman next to me. “Brae. It was all Brae.”