Chapter 25 Lies of the broken
LIES OF THE brOKEN
LEXI
It’s like I’ve sucked every molecule of oxygen from the room. No one moves, no one says a damn word. My skin crawls from their eyes, focusing heavily on me from around the room.
After everything I’ve just aired out for them to ingest, this is what gets their backs up. And then it dawns on me, if three dead bodies and a murder mystery solved, like Sherlock, didn’t result in this reaction, what the hell’s happened with Evan?
“What happened to Evan?” I ask again.
A second beats by, then two, I expect Pierce to say something finally, but it’s Harlow that shifts, catching my attention.
“I—” she starts, but Pierce butts in.
“Evan’s gone. He’s been dealt with, and he’s never coming back.”
“South America?” My tone drips with sarcasm, knowing damn well that’s not the truth.
“A little further south, if you catch my drift.” Pierce tries to lighten the moment, but there’s nothing light about the last twelve hours.
“When?” I choke because pieces are starting to fall into place.
“Do the details really matter? All you need to wo—”
“When, Pierce?” I ask again, because it does matter, it matters so fucking much if this means what I think it does.
“The night Harlow found you.”
My blood runs cold.
He knew Evan was gone. He knew he wasn’t coming back. He could have calmed my nerves every time I felt like someone was watching me with a few simple words.
All those nights I drank myself into a drunken mess just to shut my brain down, to calm the panic that would rise in my chest anytime the sky turned black and the house got quiet. He knew.
“Did you two know this whole time! Did you lie to me?” I yell at his coconspirators.
“Lexi, it’s no—”
“They didn’t know. They weren’t involved.” Pierce tucks his hands in his pockets—something he used to do to hide his fidgeting fingers when he lied.
“You lied to me. You knew what I was going through, and you fucking lied. When I confided in Si that I didn’t feel safe and he ordered your ass into my space, you could have told him, could have told me!”
I’m spiraling. I’m a train on a downhill track with no brakes to keep it from crashing into the abyss.
He moved in.
Invaded my space.
Broke down my walls.
Made me think we were finally moving past everything between us.
I thought I could finally love again. But this… It’s too much.
“You lied,” I whisper, not sure if he can hear me, but I’m too tired to care right now.
I need space—time to think and process. I push myself up from the chair, ready to say just that, but his deep timbre stops me in my tracks.
“You lied, too, Lexi.”
It’s a gut punch. A big, plain as day, you fucked up too. He’s right, I did lie, but that was years ago. This is now.
“Then maybe there are too many lies between us. Maybe we’re too broken to repair.”
A vein ticks near his temple, carrying the tension through his tightening jaw. I swear I hear a gasp from Harlow, but if I look up and see her emotional, I’ll crack.
I need out of here right now.
With nothing left to say, I do the only thing that makes any sense to me right now: I flee for the front door.
The blaring orange glow of the low fuel light taunts me. I can’t keep driving around all night. I need to decide what I’m doing, and I need to do it fast before I wind up stranded on the side of the road. That’s just what my pregnant ass needs.
It took me all of two seconds after logging into my bank account to know a hotel room was out of the question, shit, I couldn’t even afford the crusty motel on the edge of town that truckers stop at.
There’s really only one good option left.
My tires crunch across the gravel until I pull into a spot at the front of the clubhouse. I don’t know if they’ll let me stay, but it’s a last resort. If they don’t, maybe they’ll at least let me park here overnight so I’m somewhat protected.
I draw in a deep, settling breath and unfold myself from the car. There’s old rock playing loud enough to welcome me, but it’s not as rowdy as when a full-blown party is raging.
Thank God, I don’t think I could handle that sort of energy tonight. Then again, it’d make it a hell of a lot easier to sneak right in, find an empty bedroom, and lock myself away until morning, leaving the guys here likely none the wiser.
Since the garage door isn’t up like usual and the front door’s closed, I wonder if I should go right in and see if one of the guys I recognize is around or knock and pray someone hears it.
The courage to barge inside isn’t in me tonight, so I knock. Nothing happens for a beat. They probably didn’t hear me over the music. I lift my hand to pound a little harder this time, but it pulls open instead.
A tall man with a thick mustache and a bandana tied around his head looks me up and down before yelling over his shoulder to someone I can’t see, “Who invited the pregnant Girl Scout?”
Hardy Har, I think to myself, but can’t help looking down at my outfit. There’s nothing Girl Scout about it. I’m still in sweats and a T-shirt. Pierce must have gotten me into them at some point after I passed out earlier.
The only redeeming quality is that it’s his T-shirt, the one I wore here last time, the one with the club’s patch on it.
Before I can respond, the door pulls open wider, revealing Tank—one of the older guys in the club. He works closely with my brother, and I know he recognizes me the moment our eyes meet.
“Lexi?”
“Hey.” I wave awkwardly.
“Uhh...” he stutters, lifting his tatted hand to rub the back of his neck. “Si’s not here right now.”
“I’m not looking for him.”
“Pierce ain’t here either.” He looks nervous, which only makes me more anxious to answer.
“I know.”
“Ooookay, what are you doing here then? This ain’t a ladies’ night, and no offense to ya darlin’, but even if it was—” His eyes drift down to my pregnant stomach.
Yeah, I get it. I’m not much to look at these days. Damn, he sure knows how to make a woman feel good about herself.
I can’t help it, not tonight, the tears fall.
“Ahh, hell. Don’t go startin’ up with ‘em tears, now. I hate seeing women cry. Makes my skin itch.”
“I’m sorry.” I sniffle. “I was just… kinda hoping I could… maybe stay here for the night.”
His eyes bulge at my request. The other guy I don’t recognize looks a little too interested in the prospect, but I doubt he’d be stupid enough to try anything.
“You want to stay here? Without Pierce? I don’t think he’d like that, Lexi.”
He’s not pointing out anything I don’t already know. But I don’t want to go home. I’m not ready to see him, and know this thing that was starting to bud back into life is already ending. And I sure as hell can’t fathom facing my brother now that he knows the truth.
“Just for tonight, please, Tank. I have nowhere else to go.”
“Fuck me.” He sighs, throwing up his arms. “You can stay in one of the free rooms. But just for tonight.”
I nod because I’m not going to argue with the man. I need some sleep, and in the morning, with a clear head, I can make a plan.