Page 16 of Redemption

Oh, men like to see what they want to see, don’t they? “She started calling Lex. Telling her she was going to take her man. Then she sent her a video of herself sitting on the arm of Colt’s seat while he played poker and ignoring Lex’s call. Which he did most of the time, by the way. But then she sent the loveliest of care packages.”

TK closes his eyes and rubs them with his fists. “Good God, what did she send?”

“A letter telling her how much Colt hates Lex. That he’s in love with her and fucking her every night. How he hates the domesticated life he has with Lex, and that’s why he never answers her calls or comes home. Told her to get prepared to set up a drop off schedule for the kids.”

“That’s not good, but that’s not that bad.”

“There was a picture of Colt completely naked in bed with a note saying it was from the first night they slept together. The bitch knows about his tattoo and what it means. Told Lex that Colt complained about how long it took her to get pregnant with Calla, and that he started to wonder if she was broken. But the real kicker was the sonogram with Diane’s name on it.”

His eyes pop open. “He said he never fucked her.”

“When your man spends more time away from home than with you, especially when they’re as sexually active as we know they were, it’s not hard to question what’s true. Mix that with her knowing his wife’s deepest insecurity on top of the fact he stopped paying any attention to her, it sounds more like the truth than not.”

“I’ll talk to Psycho. He’ll know what’s going on out there. Jennings needs to know what’s going on, and I’ll tell him Colt’s done going out to Black Valley. At least until we get this shit settled.”

Her hand reaches out to touch his, but she pulls it back before making contact. He hasn’t touched her since the night Autumn’s stalker tried to abduct Klaire. “Thanks, TK.”

“I still think Lex should have fought harder.”

“If you look at her, and I mean really look at her, you’ll see she fought as hard as she could for as long as possible. That girl is defeated. And at some point, you have to cut the cord that hurts you, even though it also hurts. I can see this whole situation kills her.”

He shakes his head. “I don’t know.”

“She had to decide which pain was worth it, and she did what I couldn’t. She looked at her daughter and realized she was setting the example of how to allow a man to treat her. And trust me, if a man treats Calla the way Colt’s been treating his wife, he’d murder that motherfucker.”

“Do you feel the same way about me? That I’d kill a man who treats Klaire the way you feel I treated you?”

Swallowing, she looks at the table. “It’s a moot point considering how everything played out. But I’ll tell you I sheltered her from it all. I never let her see the pain I felt when we were together, and I never let her see Rush with me until after you and I split. As far as I know, she never knew he was there.”

“That doesn’t exactly make me feel better.”

“She doesn’t have any examples of how a man should treat her other than the fact she’s a princess. That’s all that matters,” she says. “Thank you for looking into this and possibly talking to Colt. I don’t want what happened with us for them.”

Chapter 7

Griffin’s Beach

Colt

Colt leans on the bar top with his elbows and faces the front door the following Sunday, much like Lex always used to. It became her signature stance, and he finds it entertaining to do to her what she’s done to so many others.

The rest of the club isn’t privy to their separation, and he’s planning on putting an end to all this bullshit tonight. Tonight, they’re going to talk, and they’re going to figure out how to move forward. Together. He’s done playing games.

His plan has worked perfectly so far. He figured out a way to get Lex to the clubhouse and for her to talk to him. They’ll figure out their problems, and she won’t be able to run. This has gone on long enough, and she’s made her point. It’s time to move forward and stop acting like teenagers.

Ky sits down next to him. “Why do you look so smug?”

“I came up with a plan to get Lex to talk to me. And to get her into the clubhouse like everyone’s been asking for,” he says, his smirk wide.

“You really think all that at one time, in public, is a good idea? I thought you wanted to keep the situation under wraps while you two figured out what you’re doing.”

“We just need to get into a room and talk things out. That’s all.”

Signaling for a beer, Ky shakes his head. “You realize whatever plan you came up with is gonna backfire, right? Your plans never actually work.”

“Go away with that negativity.”

“What’s up with you lately, man? You seem different.”

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