In Her Sights (27 page)

She breathed. Just breathed, and it passed.

Her head ached to the point she couldn’t think through the
throbbing. The memories had kept coming, kept washing over. She’d never just
let them take her like that. She’d always done something to stop them first.
Changed rooms. Left the house. Walked. Showered, anything but relive that, but
now it was back and fresh in her mind. It all just crawled over her head.

She covered her face and still, there was one of Mom’s arms
with a silver bracelet. A rope chain with a flat surface the length of her
wrist and wide with an inscription. The memory kept fading in and out, staying
just long enough so she could see letters but wasn’t able to read them.

The room was still a blur, and sleep called hard. She
relaxed on the floor, ready to give in to the exhaustion.

“Lexie?” Clayton’s voiced seemed far away, but he was right
there. Bending at her side. Out of focus, but there. He looked up, somewhere
away from her. “I have some juice in my refrigerator.”

Her tongue was thick in her mouth, throat dry. She pushed up
on her hands, but her shaking elbows gave out.

“Just take it easy. You passed out.”

She rolled to her stomach and tried again. This time using
her hands and knees. She shook her head. She hadn’t passed out. She’d done
something else. Got lost in memories. Thoughts and ideas that tried clawing out
of her. Feelings about her life. She started to push to her feet, but wobbled.

Clayton caught her by the shoulder. “Just wait a second.
Reid will be right back with some juice.”

“I’m okay.”

“Your speech is slurring.”

It sounded fine to her. He caught her by the cheeks and held
her face in front of his. There were two of him. She reached up, trying to find
which was him and which was the double, but her arm was just numb and it
dropped back to her side. Muscles in her back faded, and she couldn’t
help it. She just fell.

Clayton caught her as she tipped, put a hand to her back,
and lowered her to the floor. He pulled sweaty hair away from her face. “Just
take it easy.”

She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of his voice.
Smelled his calming scent.

His knuckles swept against the corner of her eyes and wiped
away the last of her tears. “I’m sorry.”

She turned her face into his hand. His palm was big and
warm. “Me too.”

“I don’t know what to do with you.”

She reached up and covered the back of his hand with hers. “Just
don’t be afraid of me.”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “When you’re like this,
that’s easy to do.”

A voice cleared, and Reid walked in with a cup of orange
juice in his hand.

“See if you can sit up now.” Clayton held her by the elbow
and pushed her up with the other hand.

The room had stopped spinning. The fogginess cleared out of
her head, but she sipped the orange juice so they wouldn’t worry.

Reid put his hand to her head. “Little clammy. Looks like
low blood sugar.”

Yeah, she’d go with that. She took another drink. “I haven’t
had anything since yesterday evening. You’re probably right.”

“Give it a minute, then you should be fine.”

She nodded, feeling better by the moment. She drank more of
the juice and pushed to standing. Every muscle in her body rejected it. Knees trembled
and legs shook, but she managed it. And felt better once she was up. She looked
between the two men, then at Clayton. She wanted to know so much that was going
on behind those dark blue eyes, but she couldn’t ask with Reid there. “Do you
mind if I take a quick shower?”

Clayton stood, but his motion didn’t come easily. He grunted
and winced and managed to get to his feet. “Yeah. Let me get you a towel.”

“I can find it.” She looked at Reid. “What did you decide on
his ribs?”

His eyes crinkled at the corners with his smile. “Haven’t
looked yet. By the way he’s moving, I’d say bruised, though.”

She gave them a nod and slipped from the room. She grabbed
her bag from the living room and took a quick, cool shower. Whatever that had
been about with the punching bag, it was over now. It would be fine with her if
she never had to live through that again.

Another set of shorts and shirt was in her bag, and she pulled
them on. Clayton’s bedroom was empty. She peeked her head out, and voices came
from his office. Instead of interrupting, she laid down in his bed and pulled
the covers up around her chin. Finally, for once, her head hit that pillow and
all she wanted was sleep.

She yawned, settled in his sheets, snuggled against his
pillow, and relaxation claimed her. She smiled in the dim light coming through
the window and breathed in his scent.

“Do you need anything?”

She lifted her head to see him standing in the doorway. “Just
to rest. Wake me when y’all are done.”

He pulled covers and blankets up, tucking them around her
shoulders. “We might be a while, so you might as well sleep. You’ve probably
been up all night, too.”

She laid there a moment. Secured in his bed. Comfortable.
Warm. She didn’t know how long it would last, or what conversation would happen
when she woke, but for now, she slept.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Lexie woke to rain beating down the roof and sheeting across
the windows in Clayton’s bedroom. The clock flashed ten thirty. She rolled to
her back and lay there a long moment. Her arms were sore and stiff, but his bed
was comfortable and just cradled her achy shoulders. As much as she wanted to
hide, she knew she couldn’t.

If she hadn’t been so sleep deprived, she could have handled
last night better. Not that she had any ideas on how to do something different
in hindsight. Escaped out the window? And to what? Risk running into the
police, that’s what.

She headed to the bathroom and splashed her face with water,
used her finger as a toothbrush, and headed down the hall. Male voices brought
her to a stop. Was Reid still here? She eased down the narrow way toward his
office. The door was cracked open.

“Do the police have any leads yet on how she got out of town
last night?” Clayton asked.

Her breath might have stopped then and there. Or maybe it
was just time itself.

“No idea. There’s some mixed chatter coming through. Some think
she’s long gone. Others think she’s holed up in someone’s house. Honestly, with
the way she’s won over the general public, especially in that area, three
quarters of the town would probably take her in and hide her.”

That sounded like Livingston’s voice.

Clayton cleared his throat. “Keep digging. See what you can
find. So long as we’re dealing with this dagger and that gang, I want to know
how she got out of Gillette last night. And stay up-to-date on what she’s
doing.”

Sounded like they could be wrapping up, so she slipped back
down the hall and ducked in his room. She dug through drawers in the bathroom,
then bedroom, and finally came out with a bottle of aspirin. That’s when
footsteps started down the carpet. She stood, left the drawer open, and was
ready when he stepped in.

Or as ready as she could be. She shook the bottle of aspirin.
“Hope you don’t mind. I have a headache and didn’t want to interrupt.”

He held a glass of water, and his gaze fell from hers. “I
heard you moving around. Reid’s still here, but we had Livingston on speaker
phone. No juice this time.”

She muttered thanks, took the pills, and set the cup aside. Now
what. She sat on the edge of the bed, clasped her hands together at her knees
and was at a loss. She had nothing. Lexie Olympia who was supposed to be
prepared and ready to take on anything had absolutely nothing. It was a strange
and cold feeling.

He pointed over his shoulder. “You can sit with us.”

She shook her head. “I listened from the hall for a bit. I
think I’ll skip.”

He pushed the bedroom door closed and sat next to her. They
didn’t touch. Four inches or so of space was between their hips. He leaned
over, rested his elbows on his thighs. “I didn’t know you were awake this
morning. On the couch.”

She bit at her lip because she didn’t have an answer.

He rubbed over his face and sighed, then dropped his hand
and entwined his fingers with her. “Making that choice has made me change
everything I thought I knew about right and wrong.”

She swallowed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want that to happen.”

He was silent for a long moment. She had nothing to say to
fill the void, and he finally sighed. “Where do we go from here?”

“I don’t know.”

“We need to talk about this.”

She took a moment to breathe and hoped an answer would come.
It didn’t. “I’m not sure what to say.” She rubbed her arms. “After they leave,
then we can talk. I’ll answer questions the best I can.”

“Sure you don’t want to listen in? Livingston was just
getting to what you were doing last night.”

“I already know the story.” She soothed her thumb along a
bruise marking his side. “What did Reid say?”

Clayton stared toward the ceiling. “Just bruised.”

She lightly traced a different mark, and he sucked in his
breath as she reached his side. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“It’s fine.”

“Doesn’t seem fine. You’re jumpy.”

He swallowed. “Because we’re half dressed, we’re in my
bedroom alone, and you’re touching me.”

She pulled her hands back and straightened. “Oh.”

He scrubbed his face. “I know it’s weird. And after this
morning, I shouldn’t even be…thinking about it. Or trying to think about it,
but—”

She clasped her hands together and kept them to herself. “It’s
fine. We’ll talk. And figure something out.” She slipped back in his bed and
pulled the covers up. “I’m going to try and rest more while y’all finish.”

Before she got settled, the doorbell rang.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Clayton cursed under his breath and stood. He had to put a
shirt on to answer the door. He pulled a t-shirt from a drawer and when he
lifted his arms, he felt the pull.

“Let me help.” Lexie was at his side. She dropped the shirt
over his head and he worked his arms down one sleeve, then the other.

He headed for the front and, through the peephole, saw two
officers standing on the doorstep. He immediately thought of last night, but
that wasn’t possible. Even if they’d managed a small sample of his blood before
the rain washed the crime scene away, it wouldn’t have already been processed
so soon.

He only opened the door partway. “Can I help you officers?”

The one on the left started. “Rough eye.”

“Boxing.” Since Reid hadn’t seen anyone in the time they’d
split up until when Clayton was able to call him, no one knew they’d been in
Gillette last night at all. Unless they did manage a blood sample, as far as
the world was concerned, he hadn’t stepped foot in Gillette last night.

The other officer gave him a friendly smile. “Afternoon, Mr.
Addison. Your office said we could find you here.”

“Yes.”

“We need to speak with Lexie Olympia to get some questions,
and her house said she was with you.”

“She’s asleep.”

A throat cleared behind him and Lexie appeared at his
side. “I’m okay. I heard the doorbell. You have questions for me?” She raked
hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. “I’m afraid I’ve been asleep
all morning with a terrible headache. I’m not sure what you need.”

“Just a few questions, ma’am. Have you been with Mr. Addison
all night?”

“Just since this morning.”

“Did anyone try to contact you?”

She frowned at them. “Why is the police department concerned
about my private life?”

Whether the officers saw it or not, Clayton spotted what was
coming a mile away.

The officer kept up his friendly smile. “There was an
incident last night in Gillette.”

“What incident? Did something happen to the clinic? Is
everything okay?”

The two looked at one another. “Everything is okay with the
clinic and other work you’ve done there. It was an incident with a gang member.”

Lexie’s eyes widened. Her hand went across her chest and she
took a half step back. Clayton did his best not to just stare at her.
Her performance was flawless. “I think I want to talk with my lawyer before
saying anything further.”

And there it was. Like any smart girl, she played the lawyer
card.

The second officer closed his notebook. They both thanked
them for their time, and Clayton shut his door. “You shouldn’t have gotten up.”

“It’s fine. I was up anyway. Do you have a package of
crackers or something small? I saw a bunch of health snacks in your kitchen. I
took that aspirin on an empty stomach.”

“Peanut butter?”

She nodded. “I’ll get them, then lay back down.”

He headed back to his office and eased into his chair next
to Reid. “Where were we?”

Livingston’s throat cleared through the phone. “Getting to
last night. The only new thing I have is that when Artemis asked about a dagger
with ivory, gold, and silver, Joe gave the name Janet Parker.”

“Find out who Janet Parker is.”

Reid stood up as they disconnected. “You sure you’re all
right?”

Clayton nodded. He hadn’t told his friend everything about
Lexie, but the man was smart. He had all the facts in front of him, knew Clayton
had needed help getting out of Gillette, and, lo and behold, Lexie just
happened to be here this morning. “Just tired. Been awake all night.”

“Get some rest, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I’ll probably stop by the office this evening.”

Reid shook his head. “Or you can get some rest, like I said.”

Clayton smiled. “Or I can get some rest.”

As Reid left, Clayton was alone with her again. He was still
in his office, and she was in his bed.