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“The look on his face,” I say. “Yeah, that would be something, Mia. I want to make him feel weak and powerless. That probably makes me sound pretty messed up.”
“No, screw that. No more feeling guilty about this. You saw what he did. It’s time to twist the knife, but I have an idea. I want you to be safe doing this.”
“Okay…”
“You don’t have to tell Colt everything, but it involves him.”
CHAPTER 26
Colt
Monday afternoon, I sit outside the Chrome Carriage Club in my car. It feels like it’s been two weeks since I saw Lexi, but it’s only been two days. She was with Mia on Saturday. On Sunday, Dante and I had to drive out to meet a few towns over. It was an easy gig, just sitting there and looking tough, but it meant I was back late.
Now, I wait for my woman, feeling the tension pump through me, the anticipation rising. I can taste her already, feel her warmth already.
When she appears in the showroom, I spot her straight away. She’s at the periphery of my vision, but my instinct drags me right to her. She’s wearing black pants and a shirt, baggy, nothing form-fitting, saving her shapeliness for me. Even with those clothes, I can remember her curves, her perfection.
She walks to the center of the showroom, addressing a sleazy-looking man in a suit. There’s something about the way he stands, looking at Lexi, that makes me hate him. I can’t tell what it is exactly. It’s instinct. It’s the primal beast in me.
I know I need to relax. It’s just her boss, her coworker, whatever. Then I decide to torture myself, thinking about this man hurting my Lexi. For no reason, my heart starts to pound hard. My head clouds as I imagine wringing his neck and buckling the body of any man stupid enough to try and cause my Lexi pain.
But…
Relax. It’s not happening. They’re just talking.
Then she hands him her phone.
Lexi
It took way more courage than I thought it would to hand the phone over to him. He laughs dismissively, looking down at the still screen at the start of the video. From his red face and the way he’s subtly shaking all over, I can tell he knows what it is. His sober mind has pieced it together. He didn’t drink too much.
Now, he laughs again, but it’s forced. “What the fuck is this?” he snaps, keeping his voice low because customers are walking through the showroom floor.
“I watched the whole thing, Ralph,” I tell him. “What were you going to do with her, huh? You sick freak?” My voice breaks. “What were you going to do?”
Ralph sneers, not a single shred of remorse in him. He actually holds his finger up, clicking play on the video. I have to curl my hands into fists to stop from reaching out and snapping his damn finger. Finally, he thrusts the phone back at me.
“Very clever, Lexi. You should be so proud of yourself, but do you really want to talk about videos?”
“Shut up,” I snap. “You’re a liar.”
He takes a step forward, lowering his voice to a vicious hiss. “The whole time, Lexi, I had a camera in my closet.”
He stares at me, that sick grin on his face, the one I remember so well. Then something snaps in me. I throw a full-power slap at his face, feeling the stinging against my palm. It actually knocks him off balance.
Sting. Now the customers are looking, and there are pathetic tears in my eyes.
Ralph raises his hand to his cheek, glaring at me. “You’re fired, bitch! Fired!”
I turn and run from the showroom, sprinting across the lot until I feel Colt’s hands on me from behind. “Lexi,” he says, spinning me around and pulling me against his chest. “Lexi. It’s me. It’s okay.”
“Colt,” I whisper, unable to fight the tears anymore, the past rushing up to me.
“I’m here. I’m right here. Whatever it is, we can fix it, okay? But first…” He leans away.
“You’re leaving?” I say, rubbing the tears from my eyes, forcing away another sob.
He turns toward the showroom. “I need to take care of something. Then we’ll talk.”
Colt
I find the rat bastard sitting on one of the chairs in the entrance lobby, his phone in his hand. He’s got a big red mark on his face from where Lexi laid one on him. From what I know about my woman, the goodness of her heart, there’s no damn way she did that for no reason.
“Who’re you calling?” I say, standing over him.
He looks up at me slowly, his mouth falling open as if trying to work out whether or not he’s ever seen a man my size. There’s this look in his eyes, a cold one I’ve seen before, and not Family-cold. I’ve met plenty of evil men, and he stinks of it.
