Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
Lynx
I watched from the sidelines as Curtis Walker gave Billy a good talking-to.
It was pretty impressive to watch, if I was being honest. The man didn’t raise his voice; he didn’t talk down to Billy; he merely told him how it was going to be.
Apparently, Curtis had a major issue with a man letting his mouth get away from him when there were women present.
He was relaying that in lengthy detail to Billy.
“Lynx.”
Turning at the sound of my name, I saw Tammy moving toward me. “Can we talk?”
I instantly peered in through the diner window, seeking Reagan.
I wasn’t even sure why I did it, but I had to know where she was, that she was all right.
Not that I thought Tammy would do anything.
The woman might’ve been a shitty wife, but she wasn’t a bad person at heart.
How she’d gotten mixed up with Billy, I didn’t know. Nor did I want to know.
“What?” I asked, keeping my attention divided between Tammy, Curtis, and Reagan.
“I’m…” She sighed. “I’m really sorry for this. I didn’t know you’d be here.”
I shrugged one shoulder. “Why would that matter?”
“I don’t know,” she said, her eyes locked with mine. “I just thought maybe it…” She shook her head. “I thought maybe it’d bother you to see me with Billy.”
“It doesn’t,” I said honestly. “But why would that even matter to you?” I was sincerely confused. I lowered my voice. “You were screwin’ him when we were married, Tammy. You didn’t seem worried about it then.”
She blushed, her eyes not meeting mine. For whatever reason, having Tammy’s confirmation didn’t help matters. Although I hadn’t loved her, it still pissed me off that she would treat me that way. I'd done my best to do right by her from the beginning.
Tammy took a step closer, lifting her head so that she met my eyes. “I really am sorry.”
“Don’t sweat it,” I said, trying to keep my tone neutral.
When I looked up, I saw Reagan watching me through the window.
Something that looked a lot like pain flashed in her eyes, and I instantly regretted standing there talking to Tammy.
Not that I was doing a damn thing that she should be worried about, but I had to put myself in her shoes.
If I saw her talking to Billy, I'd probably be in a jealous rage right about now.
Sure, it would’ve been an irrational reaction, but I couldn’t deny that I didn’t want her anywhere around that asshole.
“Look,” I said, peering down at Tammy once more. “I gotta go.”
Tammy nodded.
“And if it’s worth anything, you might consider keepin’ your distance from Billy. He’s not gonna do right by you. No matter what he tells you.”
“And you did?” she snapped, her eyebrows darting down.
My gaze shot to hers. “Yeah. I did. Or I tried anyway.”
“If it really mattered, you would’ve tried harder.”
Feeling as though I'd just walked into some sort of twilight zone, I took a step back. I stared down at the woman I'd once been married to and shook my head. Clearly she didn’t remember things the way I did.
“On the other hand,” I said, hating that I was stooping to her level, “maybe you and Billy will work out.”
With that, I spun on my boot heel and headed inside. I knew the Walkers had this situation with Billy under control and I really needed to see Reagan.
Once inside, I glanced around at all the familiar faces, searching for Reagan. I found her sitting in a booth across from Amy.
“Everything okay?”
Reagan peered up at me, her expression cool. “Yeah.”
I noticed that Amy didn’t look up.
Rather than ask Reagan if she was ready to go, I slid into the booth beside her. I knew she was upset with me, although I didn’t know exactly why, other than she’d seen me talking to Tammy.
Knowing better than to toss my arm around her and pretend nothing had happened, I rested my elbows on the table and glanced between the two women.
“I’m really okay,” Amy finally said, obviously noticing we were both staring at her. “I just hate that this is happening.”
“We know,” Reagan said reassuringly. “But it’ll get better. Soon.”
“I agree with Reagan,” I added. “Trust Wolfe and Rhys. They won’t let anything happen to you.”
This time Amy nodded and it appeared she believed that much.
“I just want him to go away. I’m so tired of having to worry about him, thinking he’ll pop up any second and steal this life from me.”
I didn’t bother to tell her that was a real possibility if the man pulled a stunt like he’d pulled at the bar. On the flip side, the guy might be smart, but he wasn’t invincible. He would be caught. Eventually.
However, I truly believed that we needed to take care of it sooner rather than later. Before someone else got hurt or, God forbid, killed.
The bells over the doors jangled and Amy’s gaze swung over instantly. I twisted to see who was coming inside. I wasn’t surprised to see that Billy wasn’t with the group. Apparently, Curtis had talked a little sense into the man. How long that would last was anyone’s guess.
“I’m gonna go talk to them for a sec,” I told Reagan. “Then you ready to head out?”
She nodded but didn’t make eye contact.
Forcing myself to my feet, I wandered over to where the others had gathered. I shook Curtis’s hand, then said my good-byes to the others, letting them know I'd meet up with them tomorrow.
A strong hand on my shoulder had me turning, coming face-to-face with Wolfe.
“Hey, bro. You good?”
Wolfe shrugged. “Will be. When this is all over.”
“Soon,” I assured him. “In the meantime, let me know if you guys need anything.”
“Yeah. And … thanks. For backin’ us up.”
“That’s what family’s for,” I said with a smirk.
I got a genuine smile from my cousin in return.
After finishing up with Wolfe, I turned to find Reagan, realizing the table we’d been sitting at was empty.
“You see where Reagan went?” I asked Wolfe.
My cousin glanced around, then shook his head. “No. You see Amy?”
A sense of foreboding took hold of me, my insides going cold as I frantically searched for both women, not seeing either of them anywhere.
“I’m gonna go look outside,” I told Wolfe, trying to keep the panic down.
“I’ll have Donna check the restroom.”
I nodded, then headed toward the front doors.
My heart nearly came out of my throat when I saw Reagan talking to Darrell in the parking lot. Taking a deep breath, I pushed open the door and stepped out into the warm evening air.
Without pausing, I walked right over to Reagan, this time putting my arm around her shoulder. I didn’t give a shit if it made me appear possessive. I had to touch her in that moment, my fear subsiding somewhat.
“Thanks,” Reagan told Darrell, smiling. “I really appreciate all that you’re doin’.”
“Thank this guy,” Darrell said, nodding to me. “He’s definitely lookin’ out for you.”
Reagan peered up at me and this time she didn’t appear angry. A little more tension left my shoulders.
That somewhat easy feeling didn’t last long when Wolfe came barreling out of the diner.
“You see Amy?” he yelled.
I looked at Reagan, hoping she had an answer for him.
“She was at the table when I left her,” Reagan told Wolfe. “She’s not inside?”
“No,” Wolfe growled.
A second later, Rhys came storming out the door. “She’s not out back.”
“Where the fuck is she?” Wolfe hollered, clearly not talking to anyone specific.
And for the first time in my life, I saw true terror on my cousin’s face.
Reagan
I steered the truck into the parking lot of the Cedar Door store.
“Stay here,” Lynx ordered. “Lemme grab Cope and then we’ll keep lookin’.”
Before I could get it in park, Lynx was hopping out of the truck, running toward the side entrance.
As though it would help, I scanned the area, looking for Amy. After another trek through the diner, searching high and low, we hadn’t been able to locate her. It was as though she’d vanished and everyone was in a panic.
I wasn’t sure I'd ever seen grown men look as terrified as my brother and Wolfe had.
Not even the Walkers had tried to console them.
Instead, everyone had gone their separate ways, hopping in trucks so they could start scouring the area.
No one had bothered to say what everyone was thinking, though. If that madman got his hands on Amy…
The door to the truck opened, and my head snapped over, my heart slamming against my ribs until I realized it was only Lynx and Copenhagen.
“Where to?” I asked, hoping he didn’t hear the quiver in my voice. I put the truck in drive and steered out of the lot.
“What did she say when you talked to her?” Lynx asked, his focus obviously still on locating Amy. It was the same question Rhys and Wolfe had asked me at least a dozen times after we realized Amy was gone.
“Nothin’. Seriously. She just said she was worried, hated that this was happenin’.”
“Do you think she would’ve left?” Lynx was watching me. “Maybe she thought disappearin’ would help matters.”
I shook my head, although I wasn’t exactly positive about that.
The way Amy had been talking did have me thinking just that.
But I couldn’t see her doing it. I didn’t know the woman all that well, but I knew her enough.
Enough to know that she loved Wolfe and Rhys, that I wouldn’t want to hurt them like that.
“Maybe she went back to your house,” Lynx said.
It was a stretch, but we really had nothing to go on, so rather than question his logic, I pulled out onto the main road and put my foot to the floor.
I was surprised that Lynx had wanted me to drive.
But when he had grabbed his phone, it made sense.
He started calling people, asking for their help.
It took a tense twenty minutes to get to my house. We were walking up to the front porch when Lynx’s phone rang.
“Yeah?” he barked into the phone.
I turned to look at him and the relief that settled over his features made me realize I'd been holding my breath.
“They found her,” Lynx told me, his words coming out in a rush. He turned his attention back to the phone call.
When he looked over again, I asked, “Where?”
“She walked around to the side of the building.”
I frowned. The side of the building? And she didn’t hear people calling her name? Really?
“Yeah, Wolfe. Thanks. Lemme know if you need anything.” He disconnected the call.
Fully expecting him to finish the conversation, to explain what Wolfe had told him, I was surprised when Lynx reached for me, jerking me into his arms. I went willingly, the stress from a few minutes ago leaving me feeling slightly dizzy as I processed everything that was going on.
When Lynx moved over to one of the rocking chairs, pulling me into his lap, I went willingly, snuggling against him, resting my head on his shoulder.
We were both silent for a few minutes, the only sound the rapid thump of my heart as it tried to slow.
“When I couldn’t find you earlier,” Lynx finally said, his voice barely above a whisper, “I thought I would lose my mind.”
I lifted my head and stared at him. “I didn’t go anywhere.”
“You were outside,” he stated. “Talkin’ to Darrell. I thought you were inside with Amy. When I couldn’t find you…”
It was clear he’d been worried. The hard lines on his face told me he was still reliving that moment. I slid my hand up to his cheek, trying to smooth them away.
Lynx gripped my wrist, pulling my hand to his mouth. He kissed my palm, then pulled me against him, our mouths melding together.
I sighed, the events of the evening dissipating and leaving nothing but the two of us. Here. Alone.
I wasn’t thinking about the madman on the loose, not about seeing Billy and Tammy together, or even about watching Lynx talk to his ex-wife. None of it seemed to matter right then.
It all faded away, leaving me with a contentment I hadn’t known before.
This.
Being in Lynx’s arms.
It was the only thing I wanted.
Now and forever.