Fearless (12 page)

He wanted his first time with her to be special, memorable, but it was clear he was going to be useless in the bedroom tonight. After his talk with Ashley, rehashing the past, dredging up a lifetime of mistakes and regrets, he wanted to hold Lexi in his arms and forget about yesterday and tomorrow. He just wanted to live in the here and now.

He saw Marisa talking to Tim by the bar. “Sorry to interrupt. Have you guys seen Lexi?” He wasn’t too drunk to take note of the fact that Marisa looked upset.

She settled her hands on her hips and turned on him. “She just left with Mark. Don’t count on seeing her anytime soon, if ever.”

He pressed his forefingers to his temples. “What are you talking about?”

She grabbed his arm and shoved him through the French doors leading to the patio. The kids were gathered by the pool, so they were blessed with relative quiet. “What the hell is the matter with you, Josh?” She folded her arms across her chest, glaring at him.

He knew he must have done something to warrant her anger, but in his altered state, he had no idea what that might have been. “I can’t deal with this right now. Just tell me where Lexi went.”

She tapped her sandaled foot against the patio stones. “Why should I tell you anything?”

He dragged his hands over his face. Normally, he would have had the patience to deal with Marisa’s impervious attitude, but not tonight. “Listen, I’m not in the mood for this. I need to see Lexi, now!”

“Really? Maybe you should have been thinking about Lexi when you snuck off with your ex-wife.”

He knew he wasn’t thinking as clearly as he should have been, but Marisa seemed to be talking in circles and he was too dim to follow her path. “I didn’t sneak off with Ashley. She was just trying to help me get my shit together before the boys or one of their friends saw me in this state.”

“Is that why you told her you wished you’d never let your marriage fall apart?”

“I was just...”He struggled to remember what he’d said to Ashley moments before. He couldn’t defend himself if he had no memory of the conversation. “How the hell do you know what I said to her?”

“Lexi heard you.”

He dropped his head into his hands. “Shit.” He struggled to remember his exact words. He knew he’d been feeling sappy and sentimental tonight. It may have been because his kids had reached a milestone birthday or maybe because his own life was in turmoil. Whatever the reason, he’d probably said plenty of things that Lexi could have misconstrued. “Okay, I need to fix this.”

“It’s too late to fix it, Josh.”

“What do you mean?” He felt the panic rising in his throat. It couldn’t be too late.

“Lexi’s heading back to Arkansas tonight.”

“No!” He got up too fast and staggered. He hated feeling incapacitated, especially at a time like this, when he needed to maintain his focus to set things right with Lexi.

She pushed against his chest until he fell back into a chair. “Sit down; you’re not going anywhere tonight.”

He knew he was in no state to drive, but he could ask Trey for a ride back to his house to talk to Lexi or maybe the airport. He had to act fast or risk missing her. “I need to go and talk to her.”

“Mark is taking her to the airport.” She consulted her watch. “Her bag was already packed. She’s probably left by now.”

“Mark? Don’t tell me he’s going with her?”

She shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not.”

He jumped up and grabbed Marisa by the shoulders. He loved her like a sister, but this was his life she was messing with. “Tell me now, Marisa.”

She shook him off. “He’s not going with her. He’s just driving her to the airport.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. At least she wasn’t going to be spending the night in bed with another man to get even with him. “Why is she going back there?”

She sank into a lawn chair beside him. “I can’t tell you. She swore me to secrecy. Let’s just say I warned her against it.”

He knew Marisa valued loyalty, but she wouldn’t compromise her friend’s safety to maintain her secret. “Is she in danger?”

She looked at him a long time before responding. “She could be.”

His heart sank. For years, it had been his job to protect strangers. Now he didn’t even have the power to protect the woman he loved, at least not without knowing the facts. “Please, you need to tell me what’s going on, Marisa.”

She looked torn and he knew she was battling an internal war between loyalty and fear. “I’m scared for her, Josh.”

He suddenly felt stone-cold sober. Adrenaline kicked in and his instincts took over. “Okay, just tell me what’s going on.” Marisa hesitated and he reached out to grab her hand. “I know you want to protect your friend and you know I can help you do that.”

She sighed and looked at their joined hands. “She’s going back to Arkansas to testify against her ex-fiancé.”

His gut lurched and he knew it wasn’t because of the alcohol he’d consumed. “What did he do?”

“He beat his wife to death,” she whispered.

He dropped Marisa’s hand and let his head fall forward. It could have been Lexi. She could have been the woman he killed had she not found the courage to leave him when she did.

Marisa’s hand stroked his back. “I know. It’s awful, isn’t it? I had no idea he’d been abusive to Lexi until today when she told me about it.”

He was trying to come to terms with Lexi’s decision to testify while trying to find a way to protect her from herself. “Why didn’t she tell her sister about this?”

“Sierra can’t deal with this kind of stress right now, not with a high-risk pregnancy. She wanted someone to know what she was doing in case...”

He knew there was more to the story, more that she was afraid to tell him. “Go on.”

“Chris’s family are very powerful, influential people. She’s received death threats, Josh. If she testified against him at the trial, told the jury about what he’d done to her, they swore they’d kill her. She came here to get away, hoping she would feel safe at Trey’s with all the security, and I think she felt safe with you. She knew you would never let anyone hurt her.”

He would have done anything to protect her, had she trusted him enough to let him. “Why is she doing this? Why put her life at risk?”

Marisa shook her head. “You know Lexi, Josh. She’s not one to run away from a fight. She left because was afraid, but she went back because she was ready to face her fear.”

The thought of what they could do to her made him want to wretch. He was proud of her and furious with her at the same time. “When does the trial start?”

“Monday.”

“I need to catch the next flight. I’m gonna stay there with her until this is over.”

Marisa’s eyes filled with tears. “Promise me you’ll keep her safe?”

He reached over to put his arm around her. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to her, sweetheart.”

Marisa lured Trey outside to explain the situation while Josh took a minute to collect his thoughts. Protecting people was what he did; it was who he was. He’d always prided himself on being able to keep a cool head, whether it was a hostage negotiation or the threat of a terrorist attack. It was the reason he had been promoted to detective inspector in less than ten years. But this was different; this was the woman he loved. He had already broken his cardinal rule about becoming emotionally involved in the outcome. If anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself.

“Hey, what’s goin’ on?” Trey asked. “Marisa said you needed to talk to me.”

He gestured to the chair across from him. “Have a seat, Trey. There’s something I need to tell you.”

Trey looked wary as he sat down. “You’re not going to quit on me are you? Because we have this tour coming up and I need you...”

Josh held his hand up to silence his friend’s rant. “No, this isn’t about me. It’s about Lexi.”

Trey leaned forward. “What about Lexi?” He waited for Josh to speak; when he didn’t, he said, “What the hell is going on? You’re freaking me out, man.”

Josh tried to find the words to make it sound less dire than it actually was, but he finally decided to just come out with it. “Lexi’s life is in danger, Trey.”

Trey shot out of his chair. “What the hell are you talking about? Who would want to hurt Lexi?”

Josh tried to maintain his composure, but every time he thought about what that bastard had put her through, was still putting her through, it made his blood boil. “Her ex-fiancé was abusive. He beat her.”

Trey sank back into the chair, looking stunned. “I don’t believe it. I always thought Chris was a jerk, but I never would have pegged him for a...”

“It’s true, man. Lexi told both Marisa and I recently. She didn’t want Sierra to know because of the risk to her pregnancy.”

Trey nodded. “No, she was right to want to protect her. If Sierra knew about this, she would go ballistic.” He turned to Josh. “I still don’t understand why her life is at risk. Is this guy still coming after her?”

Marisa sat down beside Trey. “Apparently, he’s been charged with the murder of his late wife.”

Trey raked his hands through his hair. “I don’t believe this.”

“I know. It’s brutal, buddy. The prosecution has asked Lexi to testify against him at trial to establish the fact that this was a pattern of behaviour. When Lexi agreed to help them put him away, his family started coming after her, threatening her. They have enough money and power to make good on the threats.”

He stared at Josh, obviously still trying to process this information. “Okay, this is your forte. So what can we do to keep her safe?”

“I’m gonna need some time off.”

“You got it. Anything you need, just say the word.” He looked at his sister. “It would kill Sierra if anything happened to Lexi.”

Marisa grabbed his hand. “Nothing is going to happen to her; Josh is going to keep her safe.”

He nodded. “Right, okay. What can I do to help?”

“I don’t know yet, Trey. I need to assess the risk. I’ve got a call into a buddy on the force in Arkansas. He should be able to give me some more information about the case and this dirtbag’s family.”

“Okay.” Trey dropped his head into his hands. “Shit, I can’t believe this.”

Marisa stroked his back. “I know. But Lexi is strong; she’ll get through this, honey.”

“I saw her leave a little while ago with that Mark guy. Where is she now?” 

Josh grimaced. “She’s on her way back to Arkansas. The trial starts Monday.”

“So what are you doing sitting here?” Trey asked. “Shouldn’t you be at the airport?”

“I’m just gonna say good-bye to the boys and head inside to pack a bag.”

“Good, okay.” He stood up. “Stay as long as you need to, man. Just make sure you bring my sister-in-law back here in one piece.”

“That’s the plan, buddy.” Josh stood and shook Trey’s hand. “Thanks for everything.”

“Are you kidding? I love Lexi; she’s family. I’d spend every dime I have to keep her safe. Just remember that, okay?” 

Josh smiled. It was good to have friends like Trey in his corner. “You got it. I’ll touch base with you when I have more information.”

Trey slapped him on the back. “Make sure you do. You need a ride to the airport?”

“No, I wouldn’t want Sierra to start asking questions.”

“Don’t worry, Trey. Tim and I can take him to the airport. You just go on inside and take care of your wife,” Marisa said.

Her drew her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. “Thanks, kid.”

Josh wandered down to the pool area to find his boys. He hated to leave in the middle of their birthday party, but they had been the kids of a cop long enough to know that when duty called, he had no choice but to respond.

He finally found Jay talking to a group of his friends. “Hey, buddy, can I talk to you for a minute?”

Jay walked toward him. “Sure, Dad, what’s up?”

“Is your brother around?”

Jay rolled his eyes. “He went for a walk with Samantha McAllister.”

Josh smiled. “Okay, I guess I’ll have to tell you and ask you to relay the message.”

Jay frowned. “What message? What’s goin’ on, Dad?”

He was torn between being honest with him and trying to protect him from the truth. Not to mention the fact that the more people who knew, the more it compromised Lexi’s safety. “I’ve got to leave town for a while.”

“I thought the tour didn’t start for a couple of months. Is this publicity stuff?”

Josh shook his head. He knew it would be an easy way out, but he had never lied to his kids and he didn’t intend to start now, not even for the greater good. “Lexi is in some trouble. She’s headed back to Arkansas and I need...”

Jay grabbed his forearm. “Are you serious? You’re gonna drop everything to chase after her even though you know it’s not going anywhere with her? Come on, you’re just setting yourself up, Dad.”

Josh took a deep breath. He just wanted to see Lexi, to make sure she was safe. “Jay, this is complicated. I can’t get into it with you right now. You’re just gonna have to trust that your old man knows what he’s doing.”

Jay looked at the ground. “Okay, sure whatever.” He looked up, looking Josh in the eye. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt, Dad.”

Josh would have hugged him, had it not been for the fact that dozens of his friends were standing around.  “Thanks, buddy, I appreciate your concern, but I’m gonna be fine.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I like Lexi, a lot.  I just don’t want you to...”

Josh held his hand up. “Say no more, I get it.”

Jay hugged him. “I love you, Dad. I just want you to be happy.”

For the second time that night, his son almost brought him to tears. Instead, he clapped him on the back and cleared his throat. “I love you too, Jay.” He took a step back. “Okay, explain to your brother for me. I’ll ask your mom to lock up when the party’s over.”

Jay nodded. “Any idea when you’ll be back?”

Josh shook his head. “Not yet, but I’ll call you when I know more, okay?”

“Okay, just be careful.”

Josh smiled. “Don’t worry; I can take care of myself, kid.” 

Chapter Ten

Lexi could hear the phone ringing as she unlocked the door to the house she had called home for the past three years. She had lovingly restored the turn-of-the-century house to its original splendour, hoping she would be able to enjoy the fruits of her labour for many years. But it was not to be. In less than three weeks, the tenants would be moving in and she would be moving out.