Chapter Ten #2
He stared at me for a long time then unexpectedly, he threw his head back and started laughing.
I just looked at him, trying to understand what I said to make him react that way.
I repeated the words in my head until finally it dawned on me.
I couldn’t help smiling. “When you say hard on, I think you mean Agent Wallace wants to fuck me.”
Rex lifted beautiful, blue eyes to mine and then started laughing again. All I could do was sit there until he finally stopped. He reached out to cup my cheek. “Sometimes you’re so sweet, you know that?”
I smiled at him, leaning into the palm of his hand which felt wonderful on my cheek.
The rest of me, however, felt ugly, covered with blood and who knew what else.
I reached up and grabbed the palm of his hand, looking seriously at him.
“Rex. I need a shower.” I looked down at my stained clothes. “And I need to change.”
“You’re right. I’m so sorry.” He dropped his hand as he stared at my hair and then lowered his gaze to my disgusting shirt and pants.
“Let me get you home so you can do that.” Without another word, he started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.
He drove straight to his house in West Hollywood, pulling into the driveway twenty minutes later.
I was so relieved to see his sunny, yellow house with the white fence, I could have jumped for joy.
I couldn’t wait to get out of these clothes, though it was hard to imagine what I would change into.
Rex was at least eight to ten inches taller than I was and built much larger.
Any of his clothes would make me look like a little boy wearing his father’s clothes.
At the moment, I put all those thoughts aside as I followed him up the path to his front door.
I smiled as he unlocked the door because Lola was barking excitedly on the other side.
The minute we walked into the house, Lola looked up at Rex, wiggling with excitement.
She wasn’t in her little wheelchair but instead wore a wrap around her body.
Rex put it on her in the morning so she could pull herself around the house and go out to the yard through her little doggie door to do her business.
Rex immediately bent and scooped her up, cooing about what a good girl she was.
“Look who I brought to see you, Lola.” Instead of wiggling like she’d done before, she barked and then started whining, ducking her head when I stepped close and held out my hands.
“Damn.” Rex looked at me. “She smells all the blood. You need to go take that shower. Leave all your clothes on the floor. I’ll take Lola out and then bring you some clean ones. ”
The relief I felt at that moment was overwhelming. “Thank you, Rex.”
He smiled, gesturing at the hall with one hand. “You know where the bathroom is.”
“Gracias.” I headed down the hall, hearing him at the back door just before I stepped into his big bedroom.
I went straight to the bathroom and sat down on the toilet to start pulling off my shoes and socks.
My shoes were sticky with blood, and I knew they were useless.
There was no way to get them clean and even if there was, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t want to wear them again.
Not after this. Every time I put them on, I would remember what had happened in Bel Air and those were memories I wanted to scrub from my mind forever.
I dropped all the disgusting clothes on the ground then looked under the sink, relieved when I found a box of trash bags.
I stuffed everything in there, including my shoes and pulled the drawstring closed, before climbing under the hot water.
I cleaned everything off me, trying not to notice the way the water ran down the drain, stained red.
I washed my hair four times and then scrubbed my entire body until the water ran clear and I finally felt human again.
I heard the bathroom door opening just as I shut off the water.
I stuck my head out from behind the shower curtain and found Rex standing in the doorway with a pile of clothes in his hands. He looked sheepish.
“This should fit you. I pulled these clothes from a bag of stuff I collected from people at the office. They’re donations we collect once a month for the church that Patsy and Napoleon go to. I’m real sorry they’re secondhand but I don’t have anythin’ else that’ll fit you, Cachi.”
I felt tears burning at the back of my eyes. The gesture was so thoughtful that I wanted to kiss the man. How could I have thought anything bad about Rex? I’d been so stupid. “Rex, I-I…thank you,” I said.
He stood there looking awkward, until he came in and set them down on the counter. “I’ll just let you change then.”
Before I could say a word, he was gone, closing the door behind him.
I stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel, drying off, and then rehanging it on the rack to dry.
I quickly walked over to the pile of clothes he’d left.
A blue T-shirt which had gone through the washing machine many, many times, sat on top.
It was very soft and had a USC logo printed on the front.
It would fit a little tight since it was made for a child, but anything would be better than the horrible blood-soaked white polo I’d been wearing all day.
The black sweatpants fitted me very loosely but I used the drawstring to tighten them as much as I could since the pile of clothes hadn’t included any secondhand underwear.
When I thought about that, I was actually relieved.
I pulled on a pair of socks, ran my fingers through my hair until it looked semi-normal in the mirror, and then left the bathroom carrying the bag of clothes and my shoes.
Rex and Lola were sitting on the bed when I stepped out of the bathroom. I hoisted the bag.
“These are my clothes and shoes.”
“Give ‘em to me. I’ll wash ‘em.”
I shook my head. “No. I no want them, Rex. I can’t wear them again and the shirt was from Agent Steele. He give me for working.”
“He gave it to you for the valet job.”
I nodded. “Si. He give to me.”
“Okay, but your shoes…I’ll wash ‘em.”
“I don’t want them. They’re…no.” I shook my head vigorously. “I no wear them again.”
He frowned. “Are you sure?”
“Si. I just think about what happen.” I tore my gaze away from the bag and looked down, feeling my stomach do a slow roll as the images of the cartel guy’s head exploding filled my mind.
“I understand. Come on. Let me feed you some dinner and then I’ll take you home.”
As he started to turn away, I grabbed his forearm. “No, Rex. I eat at home. You no need to cook for me.”
He smiled, covering my hand with his. “I have some lasagna already in the fridge. It just has to be heated up. Come on.”
I hesitated because the thought of sitting and eating a meal with him held great appeal. I really wanted to find out why he hadn’t come to pick me up like he’d promised but I also didn’t want to scare him off by acting needy. “Okay, Rex.”
He dropped his hand and I followed him to the kitchen where he put Lola down by her bowls.
She happily started gobbling food at her dish.
She looked up at me and began wiggling, making little yipping sounds that sounded absolutely adorable because her mouth was full of food.
I wanted to reach down to pet her, but I was afraid she’d bite me because dogs didn’t like it when you bothered them while they were eating.
Instead, I squatted down and started talking to her in Spanish while Rex went to heat up the lasagna.
Lola abandoned the food and crawled over to me.
I held out my hand, let her smell the back of it, and waited until she started wiggling.
I grinned and scooped her up, pressing kisses to the top of her fuzzy head.
I was telling her what a beautiful, little girl she was when the microwave beeped.
Rex grabbed our food and laid it on the table as I set Lola on the ground.
I watched her crawl back to her bowl and then turned to find Rex watching me.
I grinned. “I love her.”
He nodded. “Come on. Sit down. What’d’ya want to drink?”
“Water.” I was so thirsty. I’d barely had anything to eat or drink since morning and I was dehydrated. I normally drank at least three bottles of water a day and my body felt weak from the lack of it.
Rex walked back into the kitchen and returned to the table with two bottles of water as I pulled out a chair and sat at the table.
He handed me one and I cracked the top, then drank it all down as he watched.
When I lowered the bottle, he was smiling again.
I let my gaze roam over his face, taking in the chiseled features, the little dimples partially hidden by the stubble that covered his cheeks, reacquainting myself with just how gorgeous he was.
“You really were thirsty. Let me get another bottle.” He started to get up but I stopped him by grabbing his arm.
“No, we eat. I’m hungry, Rex, and this smells so good.”
He settled himself back in the chair and picked up a fork. “I hope you like it.”
“You made this?” I asked, picking up my own fork and starting to eat.
“Yes. I love to cook.”
The food was amazing, seasoned perfectly with oregano, tons of fresh basil leaves, and a garlicy tomato sauce.
The mozzarella and ricotta cheeses were creamy and delicious.
I ate like I hadn’t been fed in years which seemed to make him happy.
I put all memories of the terrible scene in Bel Air completely out of my mind.
When I was finished, I sat back and used a napkin to wipe my mouth. “That was so good, Rex. Thank you.”
He smiled. “It’s the least I could do.” I watched his face as his expression grew serious. “I still don’t know what Wallace was thinkin’ by keepin’ you at the office so long. You should’ve gone home with your friend and all the others.”
I nodded. “Why he keep me, Rex? He think I’m cartel?”