Page 85 of Deception
She continues to convince him he’s at risk until Julian finally blurts the name out. Shocked, Lex nearly drops her phone.
Of course.
Griffin’s Beach
Colt
“What’s going on?” Venom asks as he sits across from Ky. “Lex got answers?”
Only Jennings and TK join them this time, and Colt’s more than happy not to include his father-in-law in these meetings anymore.
“I’m not sure,” Colt says. “Just got a text saying to gather the troops. Her plan either worked, or it failed.”
The conversation they had yesterday weighed on her last night, and he felt guiltier than he has in a while. Whatever plan she has cooked up kept her out until after he fell asleep, and when he woke up, she had an ice pack on her hand. He worries she took her anger out on something that caused her to harm herself.
The Chapel doors open, and he’s immediately on his feet when Lex and his mother stumble into the room. “Baby, what happened?” he asks as he takes in her ashen complexion.
“What the fuck happened to your eye?” TK asks, jumping up and gently cupping his wife’s face.
Lex holds her hand up to show off her swollen knuckles. “I punched her last night.”
“You what?”
“I told her to. We had to sell it,” Karmen says. “I feel gross.”
The men all look at each other, waiting, but Lex bends down to rest her hands on her knees as she takes deep breaths. Based on the way she looks, Colt would believe she ran from wherever she was.
“Baby, talk to us. What’s going on?” Colt asks.
He’s not sure how to feel about the fact his wife punched his mother in the face. And what does it mean that they had to sell it?
“We know who it is,” Lex says, finally speaking between gulps of air. “I should’ve known. Deep down, I think that I did, but I didn’t want to believe it.”
“Who is it?”
Handing him her phone, he moves to allow the other men to watch as he presses play. His mom sits on a park bench with Julian, his hand on her knee.
“He thinks I hit you?” TK cries.
“It was the only way to convince him,” Karmen says. “Lex, baby, you okay? You look sick. Or like you might pass out.”
She nods and rests against the wall. “I feel like hurling.”
“Once TK’s locked up with the rest of the club, I can move on to someone who treats me better. Assuming my son and daughter-in-law aren’t fucking with you.”
“She approached me. She said she’d give me information as long as I spared her man, which I said I’d be more than happy to do. I want to fuck your husband and son… er… you know what I mean.”
“Who did?”
“Autumn.”
Colt stares at the phone in shock as everyone stays silent.
“I should’ve put it together. Mel overheard Autumn telling Rocco that she wanted them to leave the club. She’s been pulling away, but I knew she’d never risk Rocco like this. I overlooked making a deal with the devil.”
“This is new territory,” Jennings says. “We’ve never had a woman rat on us.”
Looking at Lex, Colt sees her heartbreak. No matter where Lex and Autumn stand, they used to be friends. And it has to cut deep that her friend tried to take down her entire family.
