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I swing my gaze back to Lex. “You own that, too?”
The only explanation she gives is, “It’s a group effort.”
“What is?”
All four women answer in unison, saying, “Everything.”
Now I’m fucking overwhelmed. Lex runs Fox Hollow. Or she at least runs it with other…women? Yeah, she runs it with other women, including my—Includingourfamily. That’s why they renamed Silvy’s to Gwen’s.
After Charlie arrives, and we all catch up over gluten-free muffins, I join Lex in the kitchen where she’s drinking from a mug of dark liquid. It’s not black and it doesn’t smell like coffee, but I don’t think it’s that disgusting tea that’s for her thyroid either. She told me last night she’s still in remission and isn’t as strict with her diet as she was. Thanks to her doctor, Charlie’s also in remission. Where Lex’s thyroid was overactive, Charlie’s was apparently underactive.
“So your security system isn’t just for looks?”
“The second you stepped on the property, I deactivated the house alarm.”
“You gonna tell me you smelled me out there?” It’s a big property. Several acres at least.
Over her mug, Lex’s gaze touches on every person before she says, “Before Cyrus’s untimely death, he had a will made, generously leaving everything to his stepdaughter.”
I almost snort. No way he did that, but I’ll bite.
“Everything?”
She turns her head to look at me directly. “Everything. And while most people don’t know who his stepdaughter is, some have strong memories and even stronger grudges, so my house is protected with sensors on every window and door, along with motion detectors both inside and out that alert me to anyone approaching whether the alarm is set or not. I knew the moment you got here because the entire property’s monitored by twenty-four-hour trail cams, but I knew you were coming because…”
“Because your spy told you?”
“Because you’re loyal.”
“I didn’t come out of loyalty.” I don’t want her thinking I sought her out with a happy reunion on my mind. My thoughts were far from that when I showed up last night.
She smirks. “Yes, you did, rook. Even when you lost sight of me, you were loyal to me. I was completely gone, missing from your life, but you still found me.”
“Sunflowers,” I murmur, remembering that conversation.
Lex’s tone changes, grows more serious as she says, “I am in a different place than the last time you saw me. I wasn’t worthy of being anybody’s sun then, but I’ve worked hard these past couple years to make myself worthy of being yours.”
Her chest tattoo.
“You were always worthy to me, Lex.”
“Until I believed it for myself, I wasn’t able to take anyone else’s word for it. I still don’t do everything right, but what I do wrong, I do for the right reasons.”
I think she did them for the right reasons before, too. She just didn’t let anyone see it, not even herself.
“What do we do about the police chief? If he—”
“Chief Hull, along with half of the FHPD, were forced to resign after it came out that they had been taking bribes from notorious crime lord, Cyrus Andeno, for years leading up to his untimely death. They were also some of his best customers. News stations around the state were sent copies of Cyrus’s personal records of meticulously detailed receipts listing every transaction, including any and all services they were provided at The Playground.”
“How long ago was that?”
“I can’t remember the specific date, but a little over two years ago.”
Jesus. She is a goddamn apex predator. That’s what’s above her. Absolutely nothing.
As Breck’s preparing to leave to go look at possible locations for a new domestic violence shelter, she asks, “Can anyone take Primrose to her Mommy and Me swim lessons this weekend for me? I’m in my luteal phase and unwilling to wear a swimsuit in public during this difficult and confusing time.”
I have to laugh. I never thought I’d miss hearing about period cycles.
