After the Storm (20 page)

He ripped the scissors from his arm and began stabbing her, and Lexi scrambled frantically to find where he’d dropped the gun even as weakness spread through her body. Raising the gun, she aimed it at his chest and pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

He threw his head back and laughed.

“Silly girl, do you think I would have a loaded gun around you?”

She was losing focus. The pain increased as he dug his fingers into the stab wounds the scissors had made in her. It terrified her to look into eyes that filled with delight at feeling her from the inside, at causing her excruciating pain. He closed his eyes and put his fingers in his mouth to lick her blood off them… and Lexi wished for death.

~*~

Noah stormed off toward his house. He couldn’t believe the things she’d said to him. It hurt him that she didn’t have the same faith in their relationship he did.

“The music is in your blood,” she’d said. Of course it was, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t do something different so that they could be together. He was sure someone would butcher something he did, but he’d get past it. There were more, important things on the line.

“I’ll take the pain for both of us.”

Life was full of pain. There was no way to get around that. Wouldn’t it be better to face everything together? He stopped walking and turned to stare back at her house. The words she’d used…

Blood. Pain.
“We have no future,”
she’d said. He felt that something wasn’t right.

“Fuck!” He started racing back toward Lexi’s house.

~*~

The door behind Jeremy burst open as Noah came through. With a vicious kick to Jeremy’s head, his weight was taken off her. She watched through blurry eyes as Noah stepped over her and grabbed Jeremy by his shirt, throwing him into the wall. The picture of her grandmother fell off the wall and crashed to the ground.

She could hear Noah screaming but couldn’t make out the words. She was so cold. Noah’s fists were flying, she could hear him connect with his target time after time, but everything was growing grey. “Noah,” she whispered.

The next thing she knew, he was at her side. She tried to focus on what he was saying, but the words weren’t making sense.

“Come on, Lexi. Stay with me. The paramedics are on their way. Come on, damn it. Fight. You can’t let him win. I love you. Fight for us. I’m not going to lose you.” Noah had tears running down his face.

She licked her lips. She had to tell him. “Noah…”

“No, don’t talk. Save your energy. It can wait. I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to protect you.”

“Not Anthony…”

“Lexi, don’t worry about that. I’ve knocked him out. He can’t hurt you.”

“That… that’s not… Anthony… Jer-Jeremy… Elli… Ellison… Anthony’s… in-innocent.”

Noah stared, as if he was not believing what he was hearing. “Lexi. I got it. Now save your energy. Please ,love. Come on, focus on me. No! No, don’t close your eyes. Open them. Look at me. Come on, you’ve got to look at me. Fight, Lexi. Please fight!” He was screaming at her, tears running down his face. But to Lexi, it sounded soft and faint and she never felt his tears dropping onto her skin.

Her head rolled to the side and she looked to where Jeremy was. Only he wasn’t there. The fight went out of her and she closed her eyes.

Feeling tightness around her. It scared her for a moment, then everything came rushing back. She was safe, but she was hurt. Trying to open her eyes, but couldn’t. The voices sounded as if they coming from far away. She tried to focus on what they were saying to give her a clue as to what had happened.

“How long has she been out?” Evie said as she rubbed the back of Lexi’s hand, anxiety stretched across her face.

“Too long for my peace of mind.” Noah was on the other side holding her other hand and playing with her hair. Exhaustion seeped from him.

“Have the doctors said when she would wake up?”

“They said some mumbo-jumbo about how she’ll wake up when she’s ready. Bullshit, if you ask me. Lexi’s a fighter—if she could wake up, she would.”

“There has to be something we can do. Maybe we should get the Trio up here to start flirting with you.”

Noah let out a half-hearted laugh. “Already tried that. The ladies are quick to the draw.”

Lexi tried to push through the darkness to get to them, digging down as deep as she could. These were the two people that meant so much to her. They’d met and were spending time together without her. She wanted to be a part of it. There were things she had to do.

She heard them gasp as her eyes opened. She looked first to Evie and tried to smile at her. She licked her dry lips, fighting to speak. “Don’t cry. You get all… ugly-face… when you… do.”

Evie lost it and cried hard while hugging Lexi’s hand to her chest. “I don’t care. You scared the shit out of me. What a way to get me up here to meet your guy. All you had to do was call. Which you should have, but we’ll get to that later. I’m so fucking happy.”

Lexi turned her head towards Noah, shocked by his appearance. It looked like he hadn’t slept or taken a shower in days. It scared her. She didn’t know how bad off she was or how long she had been here. Part of her wanted answers and the other part wanted to put it off for as long as possible. She did the only thing she wanted to do. “I… love you.”

“I love you, too.” He leaned over to lightly brush his lips across hers and leaned his forehead down to touch her own. “I’m never leaving you again.”

“I’m sorry I… scared you. He… said he’d… kill you. I couldn’t let him.”

“Hey, I’m the one that’s supposed to be protecting you, not the other way around. What made you think I could continue to breathe without you in my life? I don’t want to go back to that darkness ever again.”

They smiled at each other, quietly laughing when Evie’s sobs became louder. Lexi turned her head to Evie. “Why don’t you take it out in the hall? All that sobbing is distracting.”

Evie sniffled and grabbed the box of tissues when she stood up. “Fine, but don’t think you’ll get rid of me so easily next time.” She leaned down and kissed Lexi on the head before heading out. “Love you.”

“How much do you want to bet she is calling the Trio and they will all be in here within five minutes?” Noah said as he pushed her hair back behind her ear.

“I don’t want to take that bet.” She paused to build up strength. “Tell me what I need to know.”

Noah sighed and sat back down, never releasing her hand. “You’ve been out for three days. There was a lot of soft tissue damage and blood loss. Luckily the wounds weren’t too deep. You had an excellent surgeon who said you are going to be sore for a while. It will take time for your body to repair itself, but physical therapy will help.”

She frowned at him. “What else?”

Squeezing her hand gently he said, “The police are searching for a Jeremy Ellison. If everything checks out, then Anthony’ll be set free and his record wiped clean.”

“Shhh, it will be okay.”

She shook her head. “No it won’t. I don’t know if it will ever be right again. He was telling the truth the whole time. How could I help put an innocent man away?” Her breathing became more rapid.

“Lexi-love, you’ve got to calm down. You didn’t know. You did what anyone else would’ve done. Hell, a jury of his peers convicted him. If there wasn’t enough evidence, they would’ve never found him guilty.”

She looked deep into his eyes. Could she forgive herself so easily? “What about Jeremy?”

“He’s gone. There has been no trace of him. The police would like to talk to you as soon as you can to give them a statement about what he told you.”

Lexi looked away from him and out the window. Storm clouds covered the sky. It seemed to fit her mood. “I’m ready now, Noah. We’ve got to tell them everything he told me so they can catch him. Let’s get this moving. I want Jeremy caught and Anthony free.”

~*~

Lexi lay back in Noah’s bed breathing heavily, a scowl on her face. “Damn it.”

Noah stood with his shoulder propped against the door frame. “You shouldn’t be pushing it. You’re trying to do too much. Remember, you’ve only been out of the hospital for a couple of weeks.” He crossed the room, sat down next to her, and played with her hair. “Give yourself a break. You still need your rest.”

She turned her head towards him. “You know I can’t do that. I have to be able to stand on my own two feet. I hate depending on people, having them wait on me. I need to be prepared.”

“I know you’d rather do everything yourself, but you’ve got all these people who love you and who are willing to do whatever needs to be done. Just relax and enjoy it while you can. Before you know it, the Trio will be calling to have you bail them out.”

A small smile flirted across her face. “It’s got to be killing them that they have to be good.”

“They’re enjoying teasing Sam. I won’t even mention what they are doing to the guards.”

Lexi’s face turned serious. “I have to be prepared. We don’t know where Jeremy is or when he’s coming back for me. I can’t be this weak next time.”

Noah hated to see her like this, but he knew where she was coming from—the same place he was. He still hadn’t forgiven himself for not making sure Jeremy was secured before going to Lexi. He’d really thought the guy was completely knocked out.
How had he been able to move and get out of the house without anyone seeing him?
He wasn’t sure if the memory would ever stop haunting him.

Noah shook his head. “I understand. But you know we’re taking extra precautions. That wall you hated the thought of is almost finished. We’ve got security, not just here in the house, but on both our properties and even the water. He won’t get past us. You need to take the time to heal, otherwise you’ll just end up hurting yourself.”

Watching as she turned away from him he knew she would be beating herself up over what had happened. They’d spent many a night up talking, he knew her thoughts. He could almost hear them because she had said the words to him at one time or another.
She hated what she’d done to Anthony. She knew that there was no way for anyone to know that there was someone so completely twisted, hell-bent on destroying Anthony’s life, but she hated that she’d added to it. She hated how she’d reacted when she’d seen Jeremy in her closet. All those years of self-defense classes. All those years of thinking of worst case scenarios and what she would do if she was ever faced with something like that? Down the drain. Like it had never happened. She wasn’t as strong as she thought she was.

Noah leaned over and put his fingers under her chin so she’d look at him. He felt helpless, there was nothing that he could do or say to make her feel better. To make her stop blaming herself. He knew in time she’d get back to herself, he just had to prove to her he wasn’t going anywhere.

“I know what you’re thinking. There’s nothing I can say or do that’ll make you not blame yourself. Just know, I’m here for you, now and forever. You can lean on me. Let me be strong for you while you’re healing. I’m holding the pieces of you, keeping them safe, until you’re ready to put them back together.”

She opened her arms and Noah laid down gently beside her, gathering her up in his arms so that her head rested on his shoulder.

~*~

Lexi sat there trying to concentrate and at least act like she was enjoying the girl-time with Evie and the ladies. At the very least, she nodded at the appropriate times to reassure them she was there.

Things were going slower then she wanted. She wanted to be stronger, but most importantly, she wanted Anthony freed. She was scared about his reaction and what he might do, but she knew it wouldn’t be anything like Jeremy.

Evie leaned over and whispered into Lexi’s ear, “Hey, snap out of it. You can’t change the past, you can only work with today.”

Lexi could see the worry in Evie’s eyes and was hit once again by how much she hated that people were worrying about her. She hated the fact that she felt so hateful. This wasn’t her.

“So, Lexi, I was thinking.” Leigh paused to give Evie a cross look when she groaned. “I think we should get all of the guards in here. You know, just so we know what they all look like. We wouldn’t want to mistake them for the press. There are so many of them, I just can’t keep them all straight.”

“Leigh, that is a wonderful idea. I even have my camera with me. We could take pictures and get all of their information. You know, just to make sure we don’t miss anyone.” Evelyne bobbed her head up and down in excitement.

“And look, I just happen to have a notebook, too. Seems we’re ready. Come on, bring them in Lexi.” Marie sat with her pen poised over the paper and a hopeful expression on her face.

Lexi looked over at Evie and could see the excitement in her eyes, too. Maybe this was something they all needed—a way for the ladies to let loose without going to jail and for her to smile without feeling guilty. Besides, she’d been so caught up in herself she really hadn’t paid much attention to all the people around the property and she should. “Let me talk to Noah.”

Evie wiggled in her seat. “No need, I’ve already talked to him. As long as you were fine with it, the show should start any minute now.”

Lexi shook her head and sat back holding Evie’s hand for strength as the men started parading through the room. Noah must’ve had a good talk with them because most of them decided to have some fun. They stated their names and basic information, then added what they looked for in a woman, their turn-ons and -offs. Some of them even played music from their phones and danced.

Lexi glanced over at the personal body guard Noah had hired. Kat Snyder sat in the background, watching everything and not smiling. She didn’t share much about herself, holding herself back into pure professionalism. Lexi hoped she’d break through Kat’s shell since they spent so much time together now.

She thought the ladies might have a heart attack when a few of the guards entered at the same time with nothing on but their boxers. Lexi had to admit that they had great bodies but she missed Noah’s. It’d been so long since she’d appreciated his body with her hands and mouth and she took the faint stirrings in her belly at the reminder as a good sign. Looking over to the doorway, she caught him standing there, and felt the heat that passed between them.

Soon, she knew.

~*~

Lexi stood in the bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror. Physically, there were only slight pink scars where Jeremy had stabbed her. From a distance, you couldn’t see any of the external damage but her insides were something else. She was healing but knew there was still more that needed to be done, knew what her next step had to be. Noah was so afraid he would hurt her, and she feared he might no longer want her.

She took a deep breath and gave herself a pep talk, then stepped back, opened the door and walked into the bedroom naked. Noah’s eyes widened, darkening with hunger. He leapt out of bed and came over to her and she couldn’t stop her shiver.

Framing her face with his hands, he caught her gaze and kissed her softly, deepening the kiss when she arms wrapped around him. Running her hands over his skin she felt him shiver. He lifted her, never taking his lips off of hers as he walked to the bed where he laid her down. He fumbled with the bedside drawer before finally getting it open and rolled the condom on before they lost all control and dove into her.

For the first time in weeks, she felt she was coming home to herself in Noah’s arms. Her spirit started to fly. She let out a laugh it felt so good. Looking at the love she saw in Noah’s eyes, she knew everything was going to be okay.

They spent the night in each other’s arms, making slow sweet love, showing how much they meant to the other.

~*~

Lexi stood with Noah on her back porch, looking at the door. Her stomach was in knots—she didn’t want to go in there, but knew she had to. This was the first time she’d been to her house since the attack.

Noah rubbed her back. “You don’t have to do this, you know. We can wait until you’re stronger.”

She shook her head. “I can’t put it off anymore. I’ve got to take my life back.” She turned to him. “Thank you so much for everything you’ve done.” She held a finger up to his lips. “You’ve been so wonderful these past two months, never leaving my side, giving me everything I needed. Things I didn’t even realize I needed. Because of you, I can do this now.” She rested her head on his shoulder.

Lexi took a deep breath and stepped away from Noah, turned and opened the door, and went in. Everyone had made sure her house was put back together and cleaned up. They’d removed the cameras and bugs from her house and she smiled at the flowers on the table.
Her ladies
. They’d been so wonderful to her. At least one of them came to visit every day. They hadn’t gotten into trouble but she knew that wouldn’t last forever. Then there was Evie, who’d spent so much time by her side, her rock after the first attack and now again, after this one. What she would have done without her?