Chapter 21
“Lexie! Phone!” Wade’s bellow reached her across the crowded restaurant where she was placing a hearty meal in front of a tipsy patron who badly needed it.
“Be right there,” she called back, though she doubted he heard her.
Her feet, back, legs—everything, really—screamed at her every step of the way to the bar where she grabbed the receiver and put it to her ear. “Hello?”
“Miss me?”
The sound of Nico’s voice made her smile and go all soft and gooey inside.
“Hey. What are you doing?”
“Well, right now I’m questioning my ability to make rational decisions.”
“Aren’t we all.” She noted Frank’s disgruntled comment in the background and frowned.
What were the two of them up to?
“I tried your cell,” Nico said. “What are you still doing at work?”
Lexie had thought about driving home to her dark, quiet house surrounded by miles of uninhabited wilderness—a fact that, until recently, she’d adored. Nobody would hear her scream if she needed help . . . Nobody would know . . . A chill tingled down her spine. “Ask me a less complicated question?”
“Shit,” he muttered after a moment. “I’m sorry. I should have taken you home myself.”
“I’m perfectly fine,” she said tartly. “Anyway, it’s not like you’re my boyfriend, right?”
“Right,” he said, drawing out the vowel to a ridiculous length. She got the feeling he was buying time to think. “We could change that, if you wanted to.”
“Is that what you want?”
His laugh was heaven, sending tendrils of desire right down to her toes. “Let me put it this way, if it was legal to drag a woman by her hair kicking and screaming back to my lair where she would spend her life giving me lots of lovin’ and babies, that’s exactly what I would do with you.”
“Easy, caveman,” she heard Frank scold him.
Lexie laughed. A real one. It rose from her belly and chortled out until her eyes watered. Some people even turned away from their dinner to stare at her unexpected outburst. “Stop it, you’re making me blush,” she said once the giggles subsided. “But you can pump the brakes there, Prince Charming, because I’m only interested in your body.”
“Really?” he replied. “Which part?”
“Whichever part tastes the best.”
“Ah, you’re killing me.”
“You’re killing me,” Frank whined. “Probably literally.”
“Okay, where are you?” she asked, now slightly concerned.
“I’ll tell you everything when we get back.”
“Back from where? When?”
“Tonight. Late.” After a notable pause, Nico asked, “Are you really that afraid to go home?”
Now it was Lexie’s turn to go quiet, the truth sticking to her insides, refusing to come out.
“Never mind,” he said, to which she exhaled her relief at not having to admit such a childish thing. “Look, there’s a spare key to my cabin hidden in a small lock box under the bottom step of the porch. I’ll send you the combination. You’re welcome to go there if you want. No strings attached.”
“Really? None?”
“Well, of course, nudity is preferred, but not required.”
“Nico, are you sure? I don’t want to invade your space.”
“Of course, I’m sure. You must be exhausted. Go put your feet up. I can take you home later.”
Lexie’s aching bones pleaded for her to accept. She’d been on her feet for over twelve hours. “Thanks for the offer. I’ll think about it.”
“You do that. I gotta go.”
“I don’t know what you’re doing, but I feel the need to say be careful.”
“I will. Bye, baby.”
“I’m not your baby.”
“But you loved the way it sounded, right?”
And with that, he disconnected.
Lexie kept the phone to her ear a few seconds longer, listening to the dial tone while she contemplated their conversation. When she eventually hung up, Annie was standing behind her, arms crossed.
“ ‘I’m not your baby?’ ”
Lexie groaned. “Don’t start.”
“That man is hotter than a jalape?o dipped in lava, and you’re holding him at arm’s length.” She tilted her head, reminding Lexie of a bird. “Why?”
“Looks aren’t everything, you know,” she replied, picking a notch in the timbered bar to avoid making eye contact. This conversation felt distinctly like one they’d had before.
“Oh, right,” Annie said, using her fingers as a checklist. “Let’s not forget that he’s also got the charm of James Bond, the wit of Chandler Bing, and the culinary skills of Gordon Ramsay. He’s a triple threat, and he’s only got eyes for you. Yet, for some reason, you’re stalling.”
“How do you know he can cook?”
“He’s Italian, which means his mother is Italian,” she said, like the answer was obvious. “He knows how to cook, trust me.”
Lexie took a minute to process Annie’s scolding, arriving at the same conclusion. What was she doing? She had every right to take up with whomever she chose, regardless of how Kyle would react. He was a disease in her life that required swift and brutal excision, no matter the consequence. She knew it, had known it for a long time. The problem was, she’d been here before. Feeling brave. Confident. Ready to take him on. Right before he’d choked her in her own home just for kissing another man. The time before that, he’d gone after Dalton, an innocent guy who never stood a chance against Kyle’s hateful violence. She felt like a deer entering a meadow, taking two steps forward, one step back, another step forward, then retreating into the safety of the tree line the second a twig snapped nearby. It was ludicrous, and no way to live. Constantly afraid. On edge. If she kept going like this, her body might survive, but her spirit would die.
She refused to let that happen.
Lexie felt a smile spread across her lips. “You’re right. I should be with him.”
Annie seemed to sense the shift in her. Instead of squealing or cheering or bouncing up and down in celebration—like Lexie expected—she hugged her tight and whispered, “I know it feels like every time you get up, you get slapped down again, but you don’t stop getting up, okay? You never stop.”
Lexie squeezed her back. “I won’t.”
“Besides,” Annie said once they’d separated. “Taking a chance on something unexpected is exactly how I ended up with my own Prince Charming.”
“Speaking of, how are things between you and Paul?”
“Better.” Annie’s eyes swung to something in the distance as she thought about it. “He’s been traveling a lot, though. Kinda makes it hard to work on things when he’s never here.”
“Did you talk to him about going with him sometime?” Lexie asked.
Annie pouted. “He said he’d love that, but he’d be too busy to spend any quality time with me, so we’d be better off taking a vacation together once all the craziness has passed.”
“Who would have thought that an IT guy would have such a packed schedule?”
“He’s a data architect,” Annie corrected. “He’s not the guy who comes to fix your software, he’s the guy who creates it. Big difference.”
Lexie shrugged, indifferent. “So, when is he home?”
“In another day or two, depending on how things go with the roll out of some new system he’s installing.”
Vikki had returned from her break while they’d been talking and—after hearing Annie’s last sentence—eased her way into the conversation by quietly asking, “You don’t really think he’s cheating on you, do you?”
Lexie wasn’t aware that Annie had shared her concerns with anyone else.
“I don’t know,” Annie replied. “I just have a bad feeling, you know? Like something isn’t right. I just can’t put my finger on what it is.”
“I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation.” Lexie put one arm around Annie’s shoulders and gave her a rough jostle.
“Said every best friend of an adulterated woman in history,” Annie sulked.
“I don’t think you’re using that word right.”
“Whatever,” Annie replied. “It’s right up there with ‘I’m sure he just lost your number.’ ”
Lexie tried not to laugh. “Point taken. Listen, if he turns out to be a cheating POS, I’ll buy you a dozen eggs and we’ll coat his car in yolks. Sound good?”
“Make it three dozen and you’ve got a deal.”
“I hate to interrupt whatever social gathering is happening over there,” Wade called from the other end of the bar as he poured a beer. “But I got a business to run here.”
“Sorry, Wade,” they all said in unison, then got back to work.
Kyle came in sometime around nine p.m. Lexie heard his obnoxious laugh waft over from the pool tables in the back and couldn’t help but feel like the universe was testing her by placing him directly in her path, daring her to stand her ground. Her face fell, but not in defeat or fear. No, what she felt emanating from her very core was much stronger than that. It was a potent emotion she couldn’t quite define. Something raw. Savage. Like a caged beast that’s finally hit its limit and is ready to break free. It was exhilarating.
“Just stay away from them,” Wade said, reading her face. “I’ll handle those tables.”
“No, it’s okay,” she replied. Kyle had been sneaking glances at her, trying to bait her into coming over. Well, asshole, she thought fiercely, buckle up.
Lexie straightened her back and walked right up to him, not letting herself think or waver. She remembered what it was like to have his hand wrapped around her throat, watching the predator inside him roar as he’d attempted to choke the fight out of her. She thought of their marriage, how awful it had felt to have him enter her night after night as roughly as he pleased with no regard for what she wanted. How he’d manipulated her, toyed with her, gaslighted her until she believed that she was the villain. All of it playing on the screen of her mind like the worst flashback montage in history. It was exactly the motivation she needed.
Ignoring Kyle’s entourage—mostly former high school football buddies—she stopped in front of him and said, “Can I talk to you?”
“Not sure I’m open to an apology, yet.” His clothes were rumpled, and his breath stank of liquor.
“An apo—” The word wedged in her throat like a swallowed wishbone. “That’s why you think I came over here?”
“Well, that, or maybe you’re here to bring us some fresh beers. We’re running low,” he said, waving a bottle in her face. “We can talk later. Maybe I’ll swing by your place for a chat.”
His cronies grinned, reveling in the spectacle.
Cowards.
Lexie took a few seconds to calm herself, then smiled in a sort of serene way. He didn’t know what was coming, but she did, and it felt wonderful. “You know what, Kyle? I feel sorry for you. I do. I can’t imagine what it must be like to walk around lacking the basic human decency that makes a person worth something.”
Kyle’s squinted like he’d misheard her, but she knew he hadn’t.
“I know people think that being born a Garrett makes you lucky, but not me. I think it makes you weak. Spoiled. Unlovable. I think you know it too. And I think it terrifies you.” She looked at him like he was the most pathetic creature she’d ever seen. “People don’t respect you, they don’t even like you. Come on, do you really think these guys hang out with you because they’re your friends? It’s because you pay for their drinks, numbskull.” She paused to relish in his reaction, to watch him squirm as her words found their mark. “I may not have money, or status, or any of the other crap that you think is so important, but at least I can say that I’ve earned my way through this life. That I never relied on mommy and daddy to bail me out of trouble. That I grew up loved. That I’m proud of the person I am. Can you say any of those things?”
Judging by his face, Kyle had gone from amused, to shocked, to outraged, to downright embarrassed as Lexie’s tirade poured out of her mouth without any filter whatsoever. For too long, she had censored herself around him, not wanting to make waves or cause trouble. Now, she wanted to rock the boat. Hell, she wanted to sink the damn thing. She had her back to the crowd, but she knew people were staring, she could tell by the way Kyle kept flicking self-conscious glances over her shoulder. Let them look, she thought. Let them see him for what he truly is.
“I want you to hear me when I say that this hold you have over me is finished,” she told him. “First thing tomorrow, I’m filing for a restraining order. After that, I’m going to hire a lawyer and get my divorce with or without your signature. Oh, and I think I’ll get myself a dog too. Maybe a Great Dane or a Doberman. I’ll get him professionally trained, so that he’ll attack on command. What do you think of this one: Rip Kyle’s testicles off?” She twisted her face and shook her head. “No, that’s too long. Don’t worry, I’ll think of something. In the meantime, are you starting to get the point that I’m making here? Have I made it clear enough for you?” The question was rhetorical, of course, so instead of waiting for a reply, Lexie took the bottle from him and smiled sweetly. “I’ll be right back with those beers for you. Oh, and one more thing,” she whispered, leaning in close. “If you think I’m bluffing, I dare you to test me. You’ve taken everything from me. My confidence, my self-worth, my freedom,” she growled. “I have nothing left. How dangerous do you suppose that makes me?”
When she pulled back, Kyle was white as a ghost. She’d humiliated him, cut him to shreds in front of his peers, the lot of them standing there with open mouths as she turned to walk away.
“You bitch—” Kyle grabbed hold of her arm but she snatched it back just as quick.
“No!” she shouted, giving him a mighty big slap across the face. In her peripheral, she noted that the whole restaurant was watching. Wade had laid a baseball bat atop the bar, ready to use it if he had to. Only the soulful sound of Tracy Chapman’s voice wafting from the jukebox broke the tense silence. “That is enough,” she said, infusing finality into her voice. “You don’t control me anymore. You don’t touch me ever again. We are done. Sign the divorce papers and leave me the hell alone.”
This time, when she walked away, he didn’t dare stop her. Lexie didn’t look back, didn’t pay any heed to the dozens of eyes trained on her. All she cared about was getting out of there as fast as she could. Her heart pounded. She felt hot. Maybe it was just adrenaline, but she was suddenly hit with the most intense urge to find Nico, to kiss him until they were both gasping for air, then demand that he take her right then, right there.
“I’m sorry about that, Wade,” she said, untying her apron and tossing it in the dirty linen basket.
“Don’t sweat it,” he replied with a wink.
“And thank you for the extra hours, but if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got somewhere to be.” She swung her purse over her shoulder and sauntered out the door.
“Yeah, you do,” Annie jeered as she left.
Once in the quiet stillness of the parking lot, Lexie took a brief moment to luxuriate in what she’d done, before unlocking her car and climbing in. Her first instinct was to go straight to Nico’s cabin and wait for him, but when she looked down at her uniform—wrinkled, sauce-stained, and probably smelling of sweat—she decided she should go home and shower first.
Then, she got an even better idea.
“Sorry I dragged you into this,” Nico said, tentatively touching a particularly sore spot on his cheek. He couldn’t make out much from the glow of lights on the dashboard, but he was fairly certain the moisture that came away on his fingertips was blood.
“Are you kidding?” Frank replied from the driver’s seat. “That was hella fun!”
Nico frowned, then winced as the movement made the cut on his face sting.
They were almost home. In hindsight, there were probably a hundred better ways they could have gone about acquiring the sample currently sitting in Nico’s pocket, ways that didn’t include getting their asses handed to them by a bunch of burly mountain men, but all of them were either too time-consuming or too reliant on local cooperation to work, something they were never going to get. He didn’t think—at least, he hoped—none of them had had any intention of killing a couple of cops when they caught them snooping around their community, but they sure made it clear that they weren’t welcome. Luckily for Nico and Frank, their presence hadn’t been discovered until after they’d succeeded in what they went up there to do. Needless to say, it had been a hasty, messy exit.
Grunting at the dull aches and sharp pains that it took to move, Nico dug the little plastic bag out of his pocket, the tiny flecks of red dust inside shifting around as he dangled it in front of him. He’d used a pocketknife to scrape the dried remnants off the tailgate, thankful it was still there to be collected.
“You think we’ll get anything out of this?” Frank asked, eyeing the bag. The man was practically giddy.
“God, I hope so,” Nico said. “In the meantime, this nev—”
“Never happened,” Frank finished. “I got it.”
The town was quiet when they drove through. Nico stared out the window as they passed the business district, still pretty even at night with it’s warm glowing streetlamps and twinkle lights in the trees, not a harsh LED to be seen. A gentle summer rain had started falling from the sky. According to the weather report, they were in for a damp and unseasonably cool few days.
Frank dropped him off at his cabin. They agreed to keep the chief in the dark while they waited for the blood results to come back, though whether they could lie their way through the barrage of questions about what had happened to their faces was yet to be seen. After unlocking and going inside, the first thing Nico did was toss his jacket over the nearest chair. He trudged to the kitchen, grabbed a glass, and poured himself two fingers of whiskey. There was enough light coming from a lamp in the corner to see what he was doing, yet not enough to confirm or deny if he’d over-poured. If he did, it was purely accidental. At least, that’s what he told himself as he pulled a bag of frozen peas from the freezer and collapsed onto the couch with a sigh. Nico knocked the whiskey back and as the burning liquid warmed his insides, he immediately wished he’d brought the whole bottle over. Lifting the peas to his face, he began icing his sore parts in order of whatever hurt the most.
He’d really done it now. West would probably demand he be stripped of his command and sent packing when he found out about this. He guessed that wouldn’t be so bad. He’d never intended to stay here permanently, anyway. Then again, he also hadn’t planned on Lexie, the perfect stranger he was dangerously close to falling in—maybe not love, but something—with. At the thought of her, Nico remembered their conversation earlier. Like an idiot, he looked around to make sure he hadn’t missed her, as if she might be sitting silently somewhere in the room, before coming to realize with a twist of the gut that she’d obviously declined his offer to come here and wait for him. He was starting to ask himself why when a small noise came from the bathroom. His heart leapt. He felt himself smile as the knob turned and the door opened into the blackened room.
Nico dropped the packet of peas onto the coffee table and squinted through the gloom. “Lexie?”
“I’m here,” she said.
He smelled her signature scent of vanilla and stood. Why wasn’t she coming out? Why weren’t there any lights on except one lonely lamp? Why did her tone indicate nervousness instead of ease? Something in him stilled and went on alert as all the possible answers to those questions made themselves known in his mind.
“Lexie?” he asked again, his voice more cautious than it had been a few seconds ago. His gun was hanging in its holster with his jacket. He could make it there in two seconds, maybe three.
He heard movement again. Something dropped to the floor, something light. Fabric? Then Lexie stepped out of the shadows.
If he’d died right then and there, Nico decided he would die a happy man. The sight of her standing in his living room, not a shred of clothing on her, was the most perfect thing he had ever seen. Lexie’s porcelain skin was smooth as silk, the dull light caressing her body like a lover, accentuating every curve, every delicate contour. The blonde waves framing her face were damp, tumbling across her shoulders and down her back like a waterfall of liquid gold. His eyes lingered on her breasts, her stomach, her toned legs, all of it an exquisite blend of grace and strength. The apex of her thighs was almost hidden by her intentionally modest pose, but he saw enough to send his pulse racing. The room seemed to hold its breath as his gaze locked onto hers, piercing blue orbs taking him deep into her soul. Her chest moved up and down rapidly, her mouth parting to let the shallow pants in and out. It was not lost on him how vulnerable she was in that moment, how trusting.
Nico swallowed. “Come here.”