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“Holy shit, Lex. That was amazing,” Maia gushed. “You need to teach me how to do that.”
Lexie didn’t respond to Maia for the moment, her focus entirely on Sam. “I shouldn’t have reacted to your words. You hit a nerve. I apologize, Sam,” she said, looking past him and not quite making eye contact as she stilled. “But if you think a scent match gives you the right to demand things from me or own me in any way, you can think again.
Her voice had gone quiet and was devoid of emotion, only amplifying the pain I could see etched on her face. “And nobody belittles my brother and the things he sacrificed for me.”
She heaved a breath that felt raw in our bond and finally looked Sam right in the eye while he was standing in shocked silence, one hand absently rubbing his arm. “This conversation is done until you figure out how to handle your shit. You also owe my brother an apology for dragging him into your juvenile tirade.”
Lexie turned to Leif, effectively dismissing Sam completely. I wanted to reach for her again, but I sensed she was only barely holding herself together. It felt like she was trying to cover all her messy emotions with metaphysical duct tape right now. I could see in her eyes she didn’t want to lose it in front of everyone. “How far out are Damon, Max, and their team?”
“About two hours,” I said gently, answering for him. “We circled and shadowed them as much as we could through the major industrial area in the helicopter on the way back. They had a clear run when we left them.”
“Perfect,” she said with a bright smile, as if she hadn’t just dropped Sam to the ground. I could tell the smile was forced, though. It didn’t reach her gorgeous eyes. “Family meeting after breakfast, in the dining room, tomorrow morning. I’m taking Ziggy and Pala to get something to eat, then taking Ziggy to his friend’s cabin and settling him in for the night.
“Dave, can you check in with your guys? Make sure nothing happened while we were all gone that we need to know about?” He just nodded, but his hard eyes were on Sam.
“Okay, people. Show’s over. Lights out and let’s move it,” Lexie ordered everyone else, and people quickly started moving.
She gave me a quick kiss and whispered in my ear, “Can you make sure he’s okay and meet me back at the treehouse?”
I just nodded at her, completely in awe of this woman. Sam had just said awful things to her and here she was, making sure someone took care of him, knowing she couldn’t right now. I realized in that moment, though, that Lexie kept busy to keep the world at bay. She cared deeply about the people around her. Yet her constant motion was like a bandaid and a force field at the same time. I was determined to give her a safe space to land.
“Have you guys eaten since you got back?” She asked, and I shook my head, giving her a soft smile. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it, trying to subtly convey everything I was feeling right now.
“I’ll bring you a snack. See you in about half an hour,” she said, as she squeezed my hand back.
“If it’s okay, I’d like to stay here for a minute,” Pala piped up as he stepped closer to us, but didn’t touch her. I think he could sense as much as I could how thin her bravado was right now. She gave him a more genuine smile that was also a little sad.
“Of course. Catch up with your friends. I’ll see you in a bit. I’ll bring you something to eat, too.”
“Pala, did you get the intel?” I asked. Pala nodded, and I gestured to Hunter. “Give it to him. He’ll get it to Max. Max has the tech and the genius to be able to sort through it quickly.”
Hunter stepped forward eagerly. “”Man, are we happy to see you back here. You risked a lot to get this and we’re grateful. I’m Hunter, by the way. Max has been on edge waiting for that. I can take it to him right now while Lexie sorts Ziggy.”
“Thank you, Hunter. I had my reasons for doing it,” Pala said as he handed it over, without question. Trusting me completely. He told Hunter the access code before he turned back to Lexie with a soft smile.
“Can I kiss you, my heart?” Pala asked Lexie in a calm tone, as if he was trying to gentle a wild horse.
Lexie gave him a small, tentative nod, and he leaned down to brush the lightest caress across her lips. It was more of a promise than a kiss, but it seemed to settle her. It was much more gentlemanly than the way I mauled her when she got back a few minutes ago.
Leif shot me a curious look, but I just shrugged and grinned happily.
She finally let go of my hand, turned, and sauntered away without looking at any of us again. I watched her ass as she disappeared into the night with Ziggy. Hunter shadowed them, but Leif stayed put. An ominous scowl on his face.
Seeing my childhood best friend kiss Lexie while I was holding her hand had done something unexpected to me, lighting me up with intense desire. My dick was achingly hard and begging for attention as I shifted uncomfortably. Lexie turned just before she disappeared completely, and gave me a cheeky wink, as if she could feel my need through our bond.
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. I reached out and put my hand on Sam, squeezing his shoulder in reassurance. We both needed the connection right now.
“I am so fucked,” he said, without looking at me. He was still staring down the road after Lexie.
“I know,” I sighed, and flicked my gaze over to a murderous-looking Leif as I subtly stepped between them.
twenty-six
Istoodquietlyaseveryone filtered away until it was just me, Pala, Dio, and Leif. One of the nervous guards had called Dave over and he’d gone reluctantly, shooting a warning glance at Leif.
Leif jerked his head toward the field and gestured for us to follow him, and we all did. We finally stopped in a cleared area under a tree that was out of hearing distance from the gate guards and Leif turned back to us. I felt like I was facing the firing squad.
Pala kept to the periphery, observing everyone and not making any sudden movements that would call attention to himself. I only noticed because I was watching so closely. I hadn’t registered him at first when they’d flown through the gate. My rage at the thought of anything happening to Lexie, and my fear that maybe she had left us, eclipsed everything else. My relief at seeing her alive and unharmed had caused the precarious leash I had on my dominance to slip. All my hangups about people leaving or being sent away had flared to the surface, and I had pushed before she could push me.
