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“Lexi? What’s wrong? Where are you?” I ask, panic in my voice. I grab a towel and dry off with one hand while listening.
“I’m hiding in a room,” she sniffles. “The bad man tried to take me.”
Where the hell is her aunt or her security detail? I grab the first thing I can, which is workout shorts and a white T-shirt. I slip on my flip-flops, grab my purse, and I’m out the door in less than two minutes.
“Do you know where you are? Are you at a hotel?” I stop at the stairs because I know I’m going to lose my cell service. My heart is about to jump out of my chest, it’s beating so fast.
“No, we came to a store.”
“What store, Lexi?” I’m pacing now.
“The one with two red circles.”
Target. It must be the one that is right by their hotel. At least I hope that’s the one. “Lexi, my phone is going to hang up, but I will be there in a few minutes. Do not leave your hiding spot. Do you understand?” I plead with her.
“The man told me not to leave. The secret word is tater tot.”
Man? Secret word? What the hell is going on?
I quickly tell her goodbye and run down the stairs, wrapping my dripping hair in a bun.
It’s May and still a little chilly at night, but the adrenaline running through my blood has me burning up. I have the cab park next to all the cop cars and throw some money at him. Jumping out of the car, I make my way through the crowd. The officers let me by when I flash my badge. I’m walking in as Damon is walking out.
“Damon, where is Lexi?” I quickly ask him, not stopping to hear an answer.
“She’s fine, Addison. She’s inside with …”
Once I hear she’s fine, I speed up to find her. I don’t care who she’s with, I just need to see for myself that she’s okay. When I get inside, I scan the place, looking for that set of caramel eyes.
What I find instead are emerald green eyes. My eyes widen in disbelief. I freeze and inhale sharply. Aiden. He’s holding Lexi, and she’s slumped over his shoulder. He draws in a ragged breath as his eyes drag their way up my body. The heat from his gaze spreads through me like an inferno. Feelings hidden deep inside slowly make their way out. When his gaze stops on my breasts, Aiden arches his brow and flashes a salacious grin.
The inappropriate timing of his perusal of my body shocks me out of my frozen state. I look down to see what the hell he’s so fascinated by. Oh, my God! I cross my arms over my chest as my face flushes from embarrassment. In my haste to get dressed, I seemed to have forgotten a bra. And my wet hair made my shirt a little wet. Wet hair, wet, white T-shirt, add the cold temperature outside, and it makes me look like I should be entering into a wet T-shirt competition. My nipples are on full display for everyone to see.
When I hear Aiden chuckle, my head whips up. “Really?”
He wags his eyebrows and grins. “Hi, Addison,” he says, his voice softening. When Lexi hears my name, her head bobs up, and she wiggles out of his arms.
“Addie!” she screams, running into my arms. I scoop her up in a tight embrace.
“Hi, sweet girl.” I close my eyes and let out a soft sigh. I take a deep breath, loving the smell of Lexi. When I open my eyes, Aiden’s eyes are trained on me, assessing me as he stands with his arms crossed. His expression turns serious.
“Hey, Tater Tot, is this your friend who you kept saying was coming for you?” Aiden questions Lexi.
Lexi releases her tight hold on me to looks at Aiden. “Yes. Addie, this is Aiden,” she says. “He helped me hide.” I look at Aiden and chuckle at her introduction. This is definitely not how I envisioned our first time seeing each other.
She leans her head on my shoulder. “My aunt is dead,” she whispers.
I sigh. “I’m sorry, Lexi.” My stomach knots, thinking what she went through tonight. How the hell did this happen? “Lexi, did you see the bad man?” She nods her head, still resting it on my shoulder.
“I’ve seen him before.” What? I wonder if she did see him the night her parents were killed or did she recognize him from somewhere else. Her head jolts up like something stung her. “I did what you told me to do, Addie,” she says, proud of herself.
“Did you fight and scream?” I ask. The words feel like sandpaper coming out of my mouth. When I told her that, I was hoping she’d never have to do it.
“I did. When I scratched him, he yelled. He was mad,” she says as her eyes get huge. “And then I ran. That’s when Aiden found me. But he used my real name.” She scrunches her little nose. I look over at Aiden. He smiles and shrugs.
“Lexi, you said you scratched him?” I say, putting her down. She nods. I grab one of the police officers walking by.
“Who’s working forensics?”
