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“If you find yourself needing somewhere to lie low, you know where to come,” Dodge tells me, and I appreciate it.
But I don’t plan on needing it. I have a reason to keep my calm and think before I act.
She’s in the same spot as when I left eight hours ago. She hasn’t even turned the lights on, and the sun set two hours ago. I’ve had enough.
“We’re having our talk now.”
Dumping my keys on the table, I take the laptop from her and set it on the table. She sits forward, groaning when the pain reminds her why she can’t move so quickly anymore, and fails to snatch it back.
“Not yet.”
“I don’t get it. Why?”
“Why does there have to be a reason I don’t want to tell you something?”
“I’m not good with how relationships are meant to be, but I do know you’re not supposed to keep shit from each other.”
“I’ve been pretty open with you since we met. I went through something that only I can work through and deal with. I’m not stupid, if I give you a name, you’ll tell Louis, and then the both of you will go after them. I don’t need the extra grief on top of everything else. There has been too much violence in my life, but it ends now.”
Softening my temper, I sit beside her on the couch and take hold of her hand.
“You’re asking me to go against who I am.”
“I’m not asking you to do anything but listen to what I want and respect it.”
Days are blurring into one and though she’s still mentally and emotionally miles away from me, I still don’t regret making the move to Eastford for her.
“No disrespect but babe, you’re starting to stink.” I drag the covers off of her and toss them on the floor. “You’re getting in the shower. Get up.”
I walk around the bed and help her to her feet and lead her into the bathroom. She strips down as I turn the shower on, and I take her hand to help her step into the tub.
Without having to ask, I strip down and join her. Her bruises have turned from black and purple to a light greenish in colour and the cut running down the side of her face is nearly healed and beginning to scar. She tips her head back under the water and I turn her around and wash her hair for her. Without a murmur, I soap her body, wanting her to feel everything I want to tell her. We’re still to have our talk and my patience is still running, though it’s low, but I’m still waiting for her to come to me.
Chapter Twenty
Lexi
The club is leaving on a run in a couple of days and Vincent has gone out to pick up a part for his bike. He did tell me what it was but when he talks motorcycles and engines, I zone out. So, when someone knocks at the door, I check to see who it is before opening the door while I’m here alone. I peer through the peephole to find my brother on the other side. I unlock the door and let him inside.
“You’re looking better,” he points out.
“I feel it.” I smile. “You want a cuppa?”
“Nah, I just wanted to stop by and check on you before we leave town. Since the cunt who hurt you is still out there, I’m not happy about being out of town again, regardless of what you tell me.”
I’ve heard this a hundred times from Vincent over the last few days. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t expecting it from Louis. They care, I get it, but it’s getting real old, real fast, them not listening to me.
“It won’t happen again. I’ll be fine. Honestly, you don’t need to worry about me.”
He narrows his eyes and I feel the pressure of his mental probing.
Sarcastically, he asks, “Tell me, sister, how the fuck can you be so sure?”
I know what he wants. He wants me to give him every detail so he can take revenge on my behalf. But it’s not going to work. “I’m not telling you who it was, Lou. You need to let it go.”
Darkness waves over him and he grinds out, “Never. No one hurts my fucking sister and lives to tell the tale.”
“I don’t know what else to say. You and Vincent are going to have to deal with it.”
