Chapter 4
LEXI
Monday morning came too fast.
Brax was sleeping on the couch in the living room.
I felt bad about that, but I couldn't dump too much on Leo all at once and even though he had his own room now, I couldn't risk him finding his mom in bed with a man.
Not just yet.
I could smell bacon and eggs cooking the minute I woke.
As I shuffled out after yet another peaceful night spent dreaming about the cook in the kitchen, I was greeted by the sight of Brax in a T-shirt and shorts.
The only thing better would've been naked, but that wasn't an option, so I'd take all the skin I could get.
Maybe when Leo had one of the promised sleepovers at the club without me, I could get pancakes from a bare-ass chef.
"I'll take Leo to school," Brax said.
The look on my face must've been obvious because he quickly followed it with,
"Or you can. You can take the van."
"No, it's not that," I said. "I've been meaning to tell you something."
He stopped what he was doing and turned to face me, holding up a coffee cup as a question.
I nodded.
He started making the coffee while keeping one eye on me.
"Leo doesn't actually go to school," I said.
He looked confused and rightly so.
I mean, he'd seen Leo coming out of the school that first day.
I'd dropped him off every morning and picked him up every afternoon.
“I enrolled him last week,” I said. “I told them I was his mother and gave them a fake address. They’re still waiting for records I can’t give them.”
When I finished explaining, Brax just nodded.
"We can fix that."
That was it.
No judgment.
Then he handed me a coffee.
"I can take you and him to the park today if you like."
"You're amazing."
"I know."
I laughed as I wrapped my hands around the mug.
God, how much my life had changed.
"Just a sec," Brax said as we got ready for our day out.
Leo was bouncing off the walls with excitement.
My stomach dropped when Brax told me he needed to make a call first.
And that call was to Jenny.
Was I jealous?
I didn't think so.
She seemed really nice when she'd caught us kissing.
But the two of them still seemed close.
He'd told me they were friends.
They had a son together.
Of course they were going to be close.
Were they friends with benefits?
Did they still do stuff together?
Because he certainly didn't seem rusty in the sack.
Did they do stuff together with other people?
Oh, fuck.
Were they the sort of couple who had threesomes and I was about to become number three?
My head was spinning.
I felt like I might faint.
Brax had wandered outside to make the call.
I tried not to listen.
Then tried very hard to listen.
All I got were mumbles and the occasional laugh.
Then right at the end I heard him say,
"Love you."
My heart stopped.
"And yeah, she's going to love you too."
Oh fucking hell.
They're swingers.
He's about to tell me they want me to join them in bed.
I can't do this.
I don't know what to do about this.
Breathe, Lexi.
Just breathe.
Enjoy the day.
Because at this rate you'll be back sleeping in a church by tomorrow.
"I've got something exciting to tell you," Brax said when he came back inside.
Yeah.
Exciting for you and Jenny maybe.
Not for me.
Was I a prude?
I knew a lot of younger people were into this sort of thing these days, but I was thirty-two.
He was thirty-eight.
Did age matter?
When I'd told him about Leo not actually being in school, he'd been completely chill about it.
So I decided to stand my ground and get this out of my head.
"I don't do threesomes, swapping, girl-on-girl or anything kinky, so..."
"What?" He frowned. "Where's this coming from?"
"You, Jenny and me."
He stared at me.
Then burst out laughing.
"You think that's what the conversation was about?"
"No. Not that conversation. I didn't hear a word."
His eyebrows shot up.
"But enough to come to that conclusion?"
"No."
I paused.
"Well... maybe."
He grinned.
"That'd be kinda hot, wouldn't it?"
"No, it wouldn't."
"Maybe just a little hot."
"No."
"Not even slightly curious?"
I folded my arms.
"No. Are you trying to sweet-talk me around or something?"
"I'm just having fun."
I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Jenny and I are once-ers."
“Once-ers?"
"Yeah. One person at a time and never during that person's time."
"Well, I've never heard it called that before, but I'm happy to hear it."
I laughed.
"I'm the same," I said. "One man or no man."
"Cool."
He nodded toward the hallway.
"Let's get the little man ready for a big day out."
Relief washed through me.
Phew.
I'd forgotten what it felt like to have fun.
Real fun.
Not the kind where you pretended everything was okay for your kid's sake.
Actual fun.
Leo was racing around the playground with a pack of other children while Brax and I sat on a blanket beneath a tree sharing fries from a paper bag.
The Skulls van was parked nearby.
The sun was shining.
My boy was laughing.
And I wasn't thinking about any bad shit for once.
I looked over at Leo as he climbed to the top of a play structure and threw his arms in the air like he'd conquered Mount Everest.
Then I saw him.
The breath caught in my throat.
My stomach dropped.
Every good feeling vanished.
Brax immediately noticed.
"What's wrong?"
I swallowed.
"It's him."
His eyes narrowed.
"Who?"
I nodded toward the far side of the park.
Rough-looking, sitting astride a Harley beneath a tree, watching me.
"Carlo," Brax said.
I nodded.
Brax started to get to his feet.
I grabbed his arm.
"Don't."
His eyes stayed fixed on Carlo.
"Lexi—"
"Not in front of Leo."
That got his attention.
He looked at me.
"He doesn't know who his father is."
Brax blinked.
"What?"
"He left when Leo was born. And now he's back."
Brax's jaw tightened.
"Why?"
I looked away.
"Because he knows what I did."
"What did you do?"
"I'll tell you later."
His eyes searched mine for a moment.
Then he nodded.
"Okay."
He pulled out his phone.
"What are you doing?"
"I'll get him gone."
My heart started hammering again.
"Brax—"
"Trust me."
I watched him type out a message.
Then he slipped the phone back into his pocket and returned his attention to Leo as if nothing had happened.
Ten minutes later three Skulls rolled into the parking lot on their Harleys.
They parked near Carlo and walked over.
I couldn't hear from where we were but I didn't need to.
As the three big bikers surrounded Carlo, one pointed toward the exit.
Another folded his arms.
The third looked ready to rumble.
A minute later Carlo started his bike, stared across the park at me one last time, then he rode away.
“Didn't lift a finger,” I heard Brax say as I watched Carlo leave.
“Thanks.”
"But I'll break every bone in his body if I need to."
And I believed he would.
The drive back from the park was quiet.
Leo had fallen asleep in the back of the van, worn out from a day of climbing, running and being a kid.
Brax kept one hand on the wheel.
The other found mine.
I stared out the window.
Thinking and fretting.
Trying to find some words to say.
By the time we got back to the cottage, Leo was still asleep.
Brax carried him inside and settled him on the couch.
When he came back outside, he found me sitting on the steps.
"You ready to tell me?" he asked.
I nodded.
"No."
He sat beside me.
"Okay."
That made me smile.
Not because it was funny.
Because he wasn't pushing.
Carlo would've pushed and demanded an explanation.
Brax just waited.
So I started talking.
"When I met Carlo, I thought he was exciting."
Brax snorted.
"Bad boys usually are."
I smiled sadly.
"Yeah. Turns out some of them are just bad."
I stared across the yard.
"We were living in an old shack out in the middle of nowhere. One room. No running water. No real electricity. The sort of place people forget exists."
"Sounds rough."
"It was."
I folded my arms.
"I got pregnant before I knew who he really was."
Brax glanced at me.
"Then one night he came home drunk and proud of himself."
Brax straightened his back.
"He told me about the robberies."
"The robberies?"
"He and a few others were hitting places all over California. Small businesses mostly. Cash jobs."
I looked away.
"One went bad."
Brax stayed quiet.
"Security shot one of the guys."
"Damn."
"Carlo was the driver. He drove away and left him there to die."
“Fucker.”
“Yeah. I should've left then."
"But you didn't."
I shook my head.
"No. I was pregnant, scared and stupid."
His hand found mine.
"You weren't stupid."
Maybe.
Maybe not.
"Then I found the money."
His eyebrows rose.
"He'd hidden it beneath the floorboards in a little storage shed attached to the shack."
"How much?"
“A lot.”
Brax whistled.
"Then I told him about the baby."
I laughed without humor.
"He wanted me to get rid of it."
Brax's expression darkened immediately.
"What did you say?"
"I told him no fucking way.”
"And?"
"And he told me he'd make the decision for me if I didn't."
We sat in silence before I said:
"That's when I started planning."
His thumb stroked the back of my hand.
"You took the money."
"I took the money… And burned the place down."
He laughed at that. I’d never considered it funny till now, but as I was telling him it did sound kinda crazy.
"Not just the shack. The storage shed too."
His eyes widened slightly.
"Jesus."
"I made sure I wasn't anywhere near it when it happened. Called him from the train station two towns over while a freight train was rolling through."
A small smile touched my lips.
“You’re a sneaky little one, aren’t you?”
I smiled, and he added, “I’ll have to watch my back.”
"He spent years believing the money burned with everything else."
“Till now?”
“Till now.”
I shrugged.
"It bought diapers. Food. Motel rooms… sometimes. Whatever Leo needed. It kept us alive."
I rubbed my face thinking about the journey Leo and I had been through.
"What changed?" Brax asked.
"Someone posted a photo on Facebook and we were in it.”
“Fucking social media.”
“Yeah. He started looking.”
I swallowed.
"Then he figured it out. The money. The fire. Everything."
I felt my stomach knot.
"He realized I'd fooled him."
"And now?"
"He wants the money back."
I laughed bitterly.
"With interest."
"And Leo?"
My throat tightened.
"He wants him too."
Brax's jaw flexed.
“The money’s gone,” I said as a tear slipped down my cheek.
“He can be gone too,” Brax added. “Just say the word.”
A chill ran up my spine.