Chapter 16
Lexie was more than ready to head home by the time the mess in the kitchen had been cleaned up. She just wanted to see Midas and not think about anything for a few hours. She slung her purse over her head and walked toward the door.
Angry shouts from outside made her stop in her tracks.
Looking over her shoulder, she saw Jack was nowhere in sight, and Pika had left fifteen minutes ago. There were a few part-time employees around, but they all seemed busy with other people.
“I’ll walk you home,” Magnus said from her right, making Lexie jump in fright.
She chuckled nervously. “I didn’t see you,” she told him.
“I noticed. I would like some time to talk to you anyway. I am sorry I haven’t been able to talk to you much today.”
“It’s okay,” Lexie said. “You’ve been busy. Besides, you aren’t here to hang out with me, you’re here to work. I hope the audit is going okay?”
“It is fine. Come on, it sounds like someone isn’t happy out there. You should get home.”
“Thank you,” Lexie said. She was beyond relieved she wouldn’t have to walk home by herself. Especially with whatever was going on outside.
“Wait here a moment,” Magnus said as he headed for the door. He disappeared out onto the sidewalk, and Lexie shifted nervously where she stood. He was back within two minutes and held out his arm to her.
Lexie hooked her arm with his and they headed out into the humid Honolulu evening.
Looking around, she didn’t see anyone who might’ve been making the ruckus she’d heard.
Relieved, she glanced up at Magnus. He looked just as prim and proper as he had when he’d arrived earlier.
His white shirt was still crisp and his tie was still perfectly knotted.
His back was straight as he walked, his gait somewhat stiff.
“What do you think of Hawaii so far?” she asked as they walked.
“It’s hot. And humid,” Magnus said.
Lexie laughed. “Yes, it is. But today was very unusual. It storms in the afternoons a lot, but most of the time they don’t last very long and the sun comes out again. Are you going to get some time to go to the beach or sightsee?” she asked.
“I doubt it. There’s a lot of work to be done for the audit and my plane leaves in three days.”
“Yeah,” Lexie said. She knew his schedule. She wasn’t sure why he hadn’t planned more time. But he seemed much more uptight and…proper than his brother had been. Dagmar had also been businesslike, but Magnus seemed constantly on edge for some reason.
“Do you want to go out to dinner one night with me and Midas?” she asked. “There are a few amazing Hawaiian restaurants we could take you to.”
“We will see,” Magnus said with a nod.
Hmmm. She’d hoped for a more enthusiastic response. But maybe he was just tired. Wracking her brain to try to think of something else to say as they walked, Lexie jerked in surprise when a man yelled from what seemed like right behind her.
“Hey, bitch!”
She turned to see a large man with a scruffy beard standing way too close.
“Yeah, you,” he said when he caught her eye. “You got any money? I need money.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t,” she said honestly. She never carried cash, it just wasn’t safe in this part of town.
“Liar!” the man exclaimed. He reached for her, but Magnus pulled her out of the man’s reach.
“It’s time to go,” he told the man.
But the scruffy man just sneered. “Ooooh. The big bad protector. What about you? You got any money?”
“Ignore him,” Magnus said, turning his back on the man and heading back down the sidewalk.
Lexie wasn’t sure it was a good idea to let the man out of their line of sight, but she followed Magnus’s lead.
The guy followed behind them, verbally harassing them as they walked.
“Nice ass. I bet you’ve got a pretty pussy too. You can’t like that stick in the mud. I bet he’s got a tiny dick. My cock is huge. I’ll fill you right up.”
Lexie winced. She wasn’t comfortable at all. She’d never experienced anything like this kind of sexual harassment here before, and it seemed so out of place. Not to mention, it was very scary.
“Back off,” Magnus told him, but kept walking.
“I’ve seen you,” the man said. “All that pretty hair. Walking home alone. I can be your boyfriend. I’ll take care of you.”
Shivering, Lexie didn’t like the fact that he’d watched her. She felt vulnerable, and she hated it.
Without a word, Magnus turned and stepped toward the man. Lexie let go of him and watched in disbelief as he punched the guy in the face.
He went down with a thud, laughing as he looked up at them. Blood dripped from his nose as he said, “That all?”
“That’s all,” Magnus growled.
“Bitch is probably frigid,” the man retorted, then staggered to his feet and went back the way he’d come, toward Food For All.
“Holy shit,” Lexie exclaimed softly. “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” Magnus said. “Come on, let’s get you home before anything else happens. This is not a good part of the city.”
“It’s not usually this bad,” she said.
“I have been here one day and there has been much…excitement,” Magnus countered.
“I know, but seriously. I’ve been here for a while and no one’s ever come up to me like that.”
“You can’t trust people,” Magnus told her as they walked a little faster toward her apartment building. “I would think you would have learned that after what happened.”
“I prefer seeing the good in people,” she said.
“Sometimes there is none,” Magnus countered.
Lexie frowned. She didn’t like that anyone thought that way, but especially someone who worked for Food For All.
Too often the people they met had been discriminated against and had many strikes against them.
Some had been in prison and were trying to get back on their feet, others were alcoholics or addicted to drugs.
And while Lexie was aware that not everyone had good intentions, she still preferred to give people the benefit of the doubt.
They reached the doors to her building and Magnus turned to her. She saw he had some blood on his knuckles. “You should get that cleaned up.” For some reason, she didn’t offer to let him come up to her apartment to do it.
“I will,” he said. “Look. I am sorry about that man scaring you. But there are many like him who would want to hurt a pretty woman like yourself.”
“He was an anomaly,” she insisted stubbornly.
“Like him?” Magnus asked, turning and using his head to gesture across the street.
Lexie looked where he’d indicated and saw an alleyway. She was about to ask what he was talking about when she saw movement. A man stood up and stared at her.
“I believe that is…Theo?” Magnus said. “You told me about him in our correspondence. You said he scared you.”
“It was just that once. Things got intense in the fight,” Lexie said a little nervously.
“Then why is he watching your apartment complex? Lurking in the dark, following you?”
Lexie didn’t have an answer to that. She wanted to protest, saying Theo was probably just staying in the alley for the night.
That it was a coincidence he was there. But the truth was, she didn’t know that for a fact.
He had a tendency to leave before her in the afternoons, and she had no idea where he went or what he did at night.
He was usually one of the first people there in the mornings for breakfast. Sometimes he stayed all day and other times he left right after he ate.
“He is not right mentally,” Magnus said gently. “It is not good that he is here. He watches you. I saw it today. And you told me earlier that he’s always waiting in the morning for Food For All to open, right?”
“Yeah.”
“And you’re usually the first one to enter the building. He could overpower you when you get there. You need to be careful, Lexie.”
Lexie nodded and pressed her lips together in agitation.
For the first time in months, she didn’t feel safe.
She’d had no problems walking around Galkayo by herself.
She’d roamed the streets of Berlin and New York on her own.
She’d even lived in East Saint Louis for a time and had made friends with the people she’d interacted with on a daily basis.
And not once had she ever felt as nervous as she was right now. She hated the feeling. She needed to get inside. “I will. Thanks for walking me home,” she told Magnus.
“It was my pleasure. You will be there in the morning, like usual?” he asked.
“Yes. Why?”
“Natalie has given me a key, so I can come and go as needed to make sure I have enough time to finish the audit. I’ll think I’ll also go in early, to keep an eye on you.”
Lexie nodded, feeling only slightly relieved. “Okay. I’ll see you then.”
“Goodbye. Until tomorrow.”
Lexie let out a relieved breath when the doors closed behind her. She reassured herself that Theo didn’t know what apartment she lived in. Besides, Midas would be there soon. She was fine. Safe.
But the goose bumps that rose on the back of her neck belied her positive thoughts.
Midas tapped his foot impatiently as the elevator rose to Lexie’s floor. He’d hated not being able to pick her up earlier. The meeting with the commander was important, but he’d wanted to be there to see how her meeting with Magnus had gone. She’d been looking forward to it for weeks now.
The elevator opened and he strode down the hall toward her door.
He’d texted Lexie to let her know he was on his way up.
Most of the time she met him at the door and had it open before he even got there.
But for some reason that wasn’t the case today.
Midas knocked, concerned about the change in their routine.
He was even less happy when he got his first look at Lex, when she finally opened the door.
There were dark circles under her eyes and she looked stressed way the fuck out. He didn’t get much time to examine her before she threw herself into his arms.
Midas walked them into her apartment and locked the door behind him before he took her shoulders in his hands and backed her up so he could look into her eyes.
“What happened?”