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I could assure Dax that I’d never condemn him, but I wasn’t sure he’d believe me. Not after comments he’d made to me in the past, and not after all that Brooks had explained to me. It would need to be something IshowedDax—possibly over a period of time.
Intending to start that right now, I said,“Okay. Just don’t get caught.”
His eyes raked over my face, absorbing every detail, most likely searching for some hint of uneasiness—or maybe even plain ole deceit. Finally, he shoved his car door open a little wider and said, “I’ll be home in a couple of hours. Eat without me.”
As if I’d do that when he was out there avenging a slight to me. “I’ll wait until you come back. We’ll eat together like we always do.”
Again, he gave me a long, searching look. With a curt nod, he then got into his vehicle and left.
Sure I’d be on pins until he returned, I knew it would be best to keep myself occupied. So I finished scrubbing away the stains from my car, took a shower to rid my skin of the astringent scent of the cleaning products, and then vented about the Blaise incident to my sisters and Sabrina via video call while I sat around in my sweats.
They were all as furious as they were certain that Dax would retaliate on my behalf, but I didn’t confirm that he was doing exactly that as we spoke. Not even to the people closest to me would I ever say anything that would incriminate him.
When I saw through the living room window that Dax had returned, I ended the call and slipped off the sofa. I padded into the hallway just as he walked through the front door. I took stock of him. Unbelievable as it might seem, he was the picture of unruffled.
There was no anger in his eyes. No wrinkles or stains on his suit. No indication at all that he’d just had a violent encounter—not even marks on his knuckles. Whatever he’d used to beat Blaise, it hadn’t been his fists … unless he’d somehow covered them.
“He won’t bother you again,” said Dax, his voice as cool and calm as the vibe he exuded. He slipped by me, strolled into the living room, and poured himself a whiskey at the vintage liquor cabinet there.
Much as I’d like to prod him forsomedetails, I saw no point—he wouldn’t tell me jack. “He might report you to Lowe.”
Dax knocked back some of his drink. “No, he won’t.” A confident statement.
I felt my brow crease. “I know people generally don’t speak up against you. But Blaise is different. He believes Lowe is his guardian angel.”
“Blaise considered himself untouchable before. Not now. Tonight was probably the first time in his life he’s ever truly been held accountable for his actions. He wasn’t expecting it. Didn’t know how bad it could be. Now he does. Now he knows he isn’t ready to take me on.” Dax took another swig of his whiskey. “He won’t want me to come for him again. I warned him I would if he talked.”
Hopefully Dax was right to be so certain. And hopefully he’d one day stop looking at me the way he was looking at me right now—like he was expecting both rejection and condemnation.
Did Ilikethat he’d taken the law into his own hands and beat the piss out of someone? No. But nor did I blame him.
“Thank you for dealing with it,” I said. “He would have kept this shit up if you hadn’t, and it would have been worse next time.”
Something flickered in Dax’s eyes. Surprise, maybe.
“Felicity and Grayden will guess it was you,” I added. “It won’t matter if Blaise insists you weren’t responsible, or if he doesn’t tell them about the gas station incident—something which would definitely give you motive—because not a lot of people would ignore his connection to the sheriff.”
Dax conceded that with an unconcerned tilt of his head. “I suspect I’ll be contacted by Felicity at some point this evening. She might not be the most pleasant of individuals, but she loves her children; she’ll want to have her say, though I doubt she’ll come here.”
Yeah, she wasn’t quite that brave. “She has your cell number, right?”
“No.”
“But you’ve called her in the past.”
“I withheld my number each time. She and Grayden both have my business email address, however.”
It didn’t seem likely to me that she’d be satisfied with simply sending an email-rant to Dax, given her motherly protective instincts would be on fire. “It’s a shame she wasn’t able to get him under her control. Then it would never have come to this. But maybe a life lesson will do Blaise’s warped inner child some good.”
Dax gave a loose shrug. “Maybe.”
Watching him toss back another gulp of whiskey, I asked, “Are you ready to chow down some dinner?”
His eyes went slitted. “You waited for me?”
“I told you I would.” He apparently hadn’t been so certain I’d actually do it, though.
After several moments of silence, he pursed his lips. “I could eat.”
