Page 47 of Entangled By You
Something’s wrong. Lexi’s in trouble, and she didn’t send me an alert. If I’m too late and I lose her, lose the baby, I’ll burn the fucking world down. I thought losing Branson was the worst thing to happen in my life. But losing her would end it.
The words beat against my skull with each passing second. Streetlights blur into streaks of green or maybe they’re red, it doesn’t matter. I’m not stopping for anything. Roadside shadows snap past so fast they hardly hold shape. Every car in my lane is a threat, stealing more time than I can afford to lose.
I lean hard into the last curve, the back wheel skidding just a breath before catching again, the danger feeding into my desperation to reach her.
Lexi’s voice filters through my head—angry, laughing, sinful, telling me about the way the baby kept her up with heartburn. And now, something’s happened. I know it deep in my gut. She would have used the tracker if she could; the bracelet was around her wrist when I left her.
My stomach flips, cold dread washing over the murderous rage. If she can’t use her hands…
The house comes into view. Our usually quiet street crackles with the roar of my engine. I’m off the bike, not bothering to pull my keys from the ignition or stand it upright, before my feet take off for the front door.
Unholstering my pistol, one I rarely have to use, but am intimately familiar with, I pull the lever on the front door. It’s unlocked, something Lexi never does when she’s home. I squeeze my eyes shut, drawing in a steadying breath before pushing it open slowly.
The sucker punch comes from my right, sending me crashing into the wall as I reestablish my surroundings. I keepa grip on my gun, throwing my elbow back with full force into a bone that crunches under my assault. It’s enough to distract whoever’s got a death wish to get a shot off into his leg and keep him down on the entryway floor.
I rush further into the house, gun drawn, and stop short when I see her. My entire world turns on its axis, throwing off my center of gravity. She’s tied to a chair, gag forced haphazardly in her mouth, a black eye blooming on her beautiful face.
Her skin is bright pink and tear-stained, blood runs from a cut in her lip, and if it weren’t for the man currently standing behind her with a knife to her throat, I’d be at her side in a millisecond.
“I’d say this is unexpected, but my men have seen you everywhere lately,” the smarmy voice states, and my eyes fly from Lexi’s to the man sitting across from her.
He’s at ease, relaxed back in the chair, as if he’s here for tea while the mother of my child is in mortal danger.
“What the fuck is going on here?”
“Here, come take a seat.” He waves to the open couch pushed off to the side. “Maybe you can talk some sense into her.” He shifts his attention back to Lexi before adding, “It doesn’t have to be like this. Just tell me where you hid the files and I’ll be on my way.”
Files? So, this isn’t about Evan?
A loud crash comes from the back of the house, and my head snaps that way. Maybe Silas and Harlow finally made it, noticed my bike tipped in the front yard, and are coming in through the back. But I didn’t hear their bikes approach. It doesn’t mean they didn’t; I’ve just been a little distracted with more important things since I arrived. Yet, no one comes down the hall.
The man of the hour. The one I knew we should have madea move on as soon as that two-cent PI told us he was after her, quirks an eyebrow at me.
“Don’t mind my men. They’re just doing… a little redecorating.”
I put my gun away, throwing my hands up, before taking slow and steady steps toward Lexi. No one stops me when I squat down in front of her and pull the gag from her mouth. The knife still hovers against the delicate columns of her throat. The sinister look I throw over her shoulder doesn’t spook the guy in the least. If anything, it pulls an even more smug smile to his lips.
“Baby, shh,” I coo, reaching up to wipe away her speedy tears, while avoiding the bruises against her pale skin. “I’m here, everything’s going to be okay, I promise.”
“I wouldn’t go making promises you can’t keep, boy.”
Clenching my free hand to keep myself from doing something rash that could harm Lexi in any way, I stand and steel my spine.
“Tell me what files he’s talking about, Lex.”
THERE GOES MY LIFE
LEXI
Pierce looksdown at me expectantly, like this should be an easy move to get us out of this situation. What he doesn’t know is that those files are the culmination of everything I’ve gone through in the last six years; I can’t just hand them over.
Even if I do, this man isn’t dumb enough to think it’ll be the only copy—they’re not. I do have a copy here in the house, hidden in one of the many hiding spots Harlow left behind, but there’s another set at Silas’s, and another in a lock box downtown at the bank, and those are just the physical copies.
Call me paranoid, but I always knew this was a possibility. One doesn’t put the pieces together I have without creating a chip on their shoulder. I just never expected Evan to be clever enough to catch on and tell his father what I’d done.
“Come on, baby. Just tell me, and we can end this.”
I can’t help the slight shake of my head. It’s a reflex, my internal war pouring free. “I can’t, Pierce.” I choke on the words and the sting of the blade knicking my flesh.
