Page 26 of Lennox Lane

Lennox rubbed a hand over his jaw. She was right. That was the part bothering him most. He could dress it up as protection, but beneath it had been something else. It had been fear, possession, and jealousy. He could find anything on anyone except his own damn sense.

“I should have told you,” he said.

“You should have asked,” she corrected.

“You’re right, I should have,” he acknowledged.

That made her pause. He didn’t like the surprise on her face. It told him she had expected an argument that justified his poor behavior.

“I was wrong for that,” he said. “I still would’ve put protections in place if I knew there was danger, but I should have told you. I should have asked.”

Lane looked away through the windshield with her jaw tight. The parking lot lights painted soft shadows across her face. Anger still sat there, but beneath it was hurt.

“You don’t get to decide what parts of my life you have access to without my consent,” she said quietly.

“I know.”

“Do you?” She asked.

“Yes.”

The silence was loud until Lane’s phone buzzed inside her handbag. Lennox’s jaw tightened before she even reached for it. He knew who it was and Lane did too.

She pulled the phone out, glanced at the screen, and her entire body changed. Her shoulders stiffened as her thumb hovered. Her face became still in a way he hated. Lane didn’t say anything as she locked the screen without opening the message.

Lennox’s voice dropped. “That’s part of why I did it.”

Her eyes lifted slowly. “Excuse me?”

“Your mother.”

The temperature in the car seemed to go cold as Lane’s fingers tightened around her phone. “Do not.”

“Lane—”

“I said DON’T!”

“She’s escalating; this shouldn’t be taken lightly,” he warned.

“I know what she’s doing.”

“No, you know what she’s sending you. I know where it’s coming from. What accounts she’s using. Who she’s talked to and the first two blogs she tried to contact,” Lennox added.

Lane blinked, her anger shifting into unguarded fear that allowed rage to come back to cover it. “You had no right,” she admonished.

“I know, but I didn’t dig into your past. I only kept track of current threats.”

Her laugh was bitter as she questioned why she should believe him, and he let her know that he was the best at what he does, so if he had dug deeper, her mother might not be living. His words weren’t a threat. They were a confession.

Lennox turned in the seat, giving her the full weight of his attention. “I saw the messages. I traced the threat. I found Jeanette because she got sloppy, not because I went looking through your life. I didn’t open anything from when you were seventeen. I didn’t pull old records. I didn’t search your name in places I know would hurt you. I could have,” he said, “I wanted to, not because I wanted ammunition. I needed to understand what made you look like that when your phone lit up, but I didn’t. Your story belongs to you, and I want you to share it with me when you feel safe to do so.”

Her mouth parted slightly, but she stayed quiet. He knew she’d heard him and he could tell she believed them. For a second, Lennox wanted to reach for her hand, but decided not to, feeling like another choice he hadn’t earned yet. Instead, he kept still.

“I’m handling Jeanette,” he said.

Lane’s eyes sharpened. “What does that mean?”

“It means she can’t leak anything tonight to anyone, including the two blogs she thought would bite. It means I’ve locked down what I can. I’ve documented what she sent and put enough pressure in the right places that she’s going to realize she’s not as invisible as she thinks.”