Page 10 of Redemption

“Well, I’d say your father-in-law has to know based on the fact he still looks like he wants to make Klaire an only child,” Ky says and closes the door. “What’s going on?”

“Lex left me.”

His face deadpans. “That’s not funny.”

Colt sits in the chair usually reserved for Diesel, facing Jennings’s seat at the head of the table. Leaning back, he rests his hands behind his head. “Tell me about it. I spent the weekend with the kids because that’s my time with them. I can have them whenever I want, but she felt she had to force the time.”

“Where is she?”

“I don’t fucking know. She won’t tell me. Left her phone and both trackers from the car on the kitchen table the night she left. The only communication I have with her is through Karmen. Of all fucking people, she chose Karmen!”

Ky sits in the seat to his left and faces him. “What happened? Lex wouldn’t wake up one day and decide to leave you. The girl would legitimately die for you. And I know without a doubt she’d kill for you. Already has.”

“She’s blown things so out of proportion, man. Yes, I’ll own my part with not being around that much lately, but shit’s been going on. I thought she, of all the women, would understand that, but apparently not. And now she’s using it against me for other shit.”

Narrowing his eyes, he shakes his head. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, Colt. What other shit?”

“You know that bunny, Diane?”

“Their VP’s step-daughter, right? Or someone’s step-daughter?”

“Yeah. Apparently, she’s been sending texts to Lex and calling her and shit.”

Leaning his chin forward, he stares expectedly. “And?”

“Telling her all this shit about how she’s fucking me and plans to take me away from her and the kids.”

“You didn’t,” he says, leveling him with a knowing look.

“No!” he shouts and stands, turning his back to his best friend. “No! But she sent a fucking letter to Lex talking about how she wanted to tell her woman to woman I’m hers now. That I’ve been wanting to leave for a while, but I wasn’t sure she was strong enough to handle it and shit. Which, let’s be real. That’s complete fucking bullshit for anyone who knows Lex.”

His best friend leans back and stares at him. “Colt, this isn’t adding up. Lex would fight.”

“She sent a bunch of pictures. Most of them were her sitting next to me or telling a joke in my ear or something. The bitch hangs all over me. Sure, I like the attention a bit because at home it’s all kids all the time. But I never touched her!”

“We’re still not quite at the point where two plus two equals four, bud.”

“One night, I got completely shitfaced. I don’t know that I even knew my own name. She helped me to Psycho’s room to sleep it off, and she stripped me down. Took a picture of me and said it was the first night we had sex. Along with that, there was a sonogram with her name on it.”

Pushing his chair back, it scrapes along the floor, and the sound makes Colt cringe. “But you said you-”

“I didn’t fuck her!” he shouts, whipping around to face Ky. “I never even got close to it. Haven’t even kissed the woman.”

“You don’t really have to kiss them to-”

“Fuck you! The closest I got was that night she took that picture. And trust me, I couldn’t have fucked her if I tried. I was about three shots away from needing my goddamned stomach pumped. I wasn’t getting anything up other than the contents in my stomach. Which was most of a bottle of vodka.”

Ky’s cheeks balloon as he slowly blows air and contemplates everything he just heard. “Okay, I get that it looks bad. But Lex wouldn’t just leave because of that. She’d drop the kids off with Karmen, drive to Black Valley, and murder that bitch.”

“That’s where being in Black Valley gets thrown in my face. Apparently, we’re broken. We’re not on the same page, and she doesn’t believe me. Told me she doesn’t believe me when I told her I loved her. The fucking nerve of her!”

“Colt, there are still pieces missing. This isn’t Lex. And this isn’t you. If Lex left you a year ago, you’d be a lost puppy doing whatever you needed to get her back. Instead, you’re more pissed than upset.”

He paces and shakes out his arms. It does almost nothing to rid him of the anger, but he has to do something. Anything. “She just needs to cool down, and she’ll come to her senses. That’s why I’m not telling anyone yet. I want to save her the embarrassment of coming back and having to face everyone.”

Ky stares at him with narrowed eyes. “Who the hell are you? And did you forget who your wife was? Giving her time alone is the absolute worst thing for you right now. Her mind will be made up, and you won’t be able to talk her out of anything.”

Colt’s phone rings, and he pulls it out to see an unknown number. “Hello?”

---