Chapter 13 Frost #2
At first, I thought they had spotted me, so I ducked behind the bush on my bike. But, once they turned away from the window, I saw a small pair of arms wrap around Lexi’s neck.
And when she picked a young girl up into her arms, my jaw hit the floor.
Lexi’s got a kid?
I squinted my eyes as I pulled out my phone. I opened the camera and aimed it at the window, then zoomed in as much as I could. I took pictures as the little girl’s face peered out the window as well, and as waves of emotion crashed over my body, I realized something.
She had my same ocean blue eyes.
“It can’t be,” I whispered to myself.
There was no way in hell. Lexi couldn’t have children.
That was what she told me. Hell, that was what we both knew.
I stuffed my phone back into my pocket and waited until the low-rider vehicle made its way out of the neighborhood before I drew in a deep breath.
I tried to come up with any reason as to why that kid wasn’t mine.
Sure, she hugged Lexi, but that didn’t mean it was Lexi’s child.
Chloe had blue eyes as well. Maybe Chloe had a child.
Or maybe Lexi’s married.
As long as I sat there, though, I didn’t see any signs of a man in the house.
But that certainly didn’t mean there was one.
Lexi had never been the kind to cheat. Her mother had cheated on her father, and it rifted her family so badly that the divorce almost sent her spiraling into a mental breakdown.
She’d never do something like that to someone.
Right?
“God damn it,” I grumbled.
Either way, there was a child involved, and that raised the stakes even more.
That low-riding car had been staring up at that window about as long as I had been, which meant the person driving the car had probably seen the child as well.
And as my phone started vibrating against my hip, I knew what I had to do.
“This is Frost,” I said as I picked up the phone.
“Where the fuck are you?” Stone growled. “We have church. You should’ve been here--.”
I shook my head as I continued gazing up at the window. “I’m not coming to church.”
“What the hell did you just say?”
I maneuvered my bike to a concealed location. “I’m not coming to church. It’s a long story, but--.”
“Well, you sure as hell better start talking, otherwise you’re going to be in a fuckton of trouble when your ass gets back here.”
I closed my eyes and held my breath as the car eased on by. I wasn’t sure if that asshole had seen me or not, but I knew I needed to fill Stone in on what was going on. I knew he’d understand if I simply told him.
So, I drew in a deep breath. “The cartel knows where Lexi lives.”
He paused. “What?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I’m sitting outside her place right now. There’s a car driving up and down the main drag of her complex. And she’s got a child in there, Stone. There’s a fucking kid in that apartment. What would you do if it were Hayley?”
He didn’t skip a beat. “I already know what I’d do if it were her. You get her and that child back here, no matter what you have to do. They’re safer here, and we can keep an eye on them. Let them know that they won’t be alone.”
I swung my leg around my bike so I could get off. “Headed up now.”
“Don’t you come back without them.”
“Trust me, you won’t have to worry about that.”
I hung up the phone and shoved it into my pocket before I barreled my way up the stairs.
I came to her front door, and I took a small second to remember why I was there in the first place.
They were in danger. Things weren’t good.
And as I raised my knuckles to rap against the door, I steeled myself for whatever argument was coming.
But nothing could have prepared me for the flood of anger in her voice as she ripped the door open.
Her eyes widened. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Mommy, who’s that?” a little girl’s voice asked.
“Get in your room, sweetheart!” she exclaimed.
Then, she stepped outside and closed the door behind her before I could barge into her apartment.
“You’ve got two seconds to explain why you’re here before I call the police.”
“I know you have a child in there.”
She blinked. “That much was evident by her voice. My question is: what the fuck are you doing here and why do you think you have a right to be here?”
The revving of the engine outside leapt me into action and I grabbed her upper arms. I shoved her against the building and cloaked her with my body as she tried shoving me away.
Her voice started mounting with her struggle and I clapped my hand against her lips, trying to get her to shut up as I peered over the balcony of the staircase.
And when I saw that car inching past her exact building, I took both of us to the floor.
“What in the fuck is--.”
I placed my finger to my lips as I kept her pinned to the wall. “You, Chloe, and your little one are in danger.”
She furrowed her brow. “The cartel? Don’t tell me they’re here.”
I sighed. “Look, for once? Just listen to me, because I need to talk, and quickly. The three of you need to pack up everything you can muster so you guys can come with me. All right?”
“Dean, I don’t under--.”
“All right?” I asked curtly, stopping her in her tracks with a look.
Her eyes watered over before she nodded her head. “I’m on it. Give us fifteen minutes.”
“I can give you ten. Now, go.”
And as I helped her to her feet, she scrambled to get herself inside.
While I stood at the top of the steps and watched that fucking car drive back, and forth. Back, and forth. Back, and forth.
It’s time to protect the people I have put in danger.