Page 17 of Redemption

He looks at the much larger man with narrowed eyes. “Different how?”

“Like an asshole, honestly. The way you talked to Lex and Noah at the clinic… man, that’s not you. What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” He won’t understand. No one understands.

Maybe if you gave them a chance…

He growls at his brother’s voice as Felicity walks up and wraps her arms around Ky. “Hey, Colt. Woah, what’s with the growl?”

“Nothing.”

“Uh, sure, okay. Is Lex coming tonight?”

“Yep, she sure is.” He can’t keep the smirk from his face, and it earns him suspicious looks in return. “I’d give her another five minutes, max.”

“Why does it seem like something bad’s about to happen?”

“Because it is,” Ky says and turns around, pulling his wife to settle between his legs and wrapping his arms around her waist. “It’s going to be really, really bad.”

The front door bursts open, and Lex storms over to him. Something about her looks different, but he can’t place it. She wears sweatpants and a zip up hooded sweatshirt. While she’s still the most beautiful woman he’s ever laid eyes on, something isn’t right.

“Where are my kids, Colt?” Lex demands.

“Don’t you meanourkids?”

Felicity looks to Ky with wide eyes. “What’s going on?”

She looks around as the room falls silent. The music stops, as has all conversation around them while everyone stares. “Where are they? We have an arrangement, and Karmen said she didn’t know where the kids are. You weren’t home when she stopped by, and I’m about thirty seconds away from losing my fucking mind,” she says, turning back towards him.

“They’re with someone we both trust. We need some time alone to talk about everything, and the kids are an excuse. There’s nothing to stop us now.”

“No,” she says, waving a hand in the air. “No, I’m not doing this.”

“You didn’t give me a choice when you made your decision, so I did what I had to do. We’re going to talk, Alexis.”

The room gasps as he uses her full first name, and Felicity steps forward, causing Lex to step back. “What’s happening? Lex, are you okay?”

Melanie stands and walks over to them with concern written on her face. “Lex, baby, what’s wrong?”

“This isn’t how this works,” she whispers to him. “Where are my kids, Colt?”

“They’re at our house for a sleepover,” her half-brother, Zane, says. “Lex, what’s going on?”

“Thank you, Zane. Can you let Lane know I’m on my way to pick them up?”

She turns to leave, but Colt grabs her wrist and turns her back around to face him. Like the night outside Karmen’s house, she yanks it back as though he burns her with his touch. The entire room gasps again. For the first time, he sees the broken woman his mother told him his wife is.

It finally hits him. The reason she looks off is because she’s lost about twenty pounds, and her skin is so pale he can see her veins. Large bags rest under her puffy eyes, and she fights back tears as she avoids looking at him.

“Just let me go, Colt. I don’t want to do this here.”

Again, she makes the decisions, and he gets angry again. “What’s the point of keeping it a secret, then? If you’re not going to talk to me about what’s going on, why don’t we just tell everyone exactly what you did,” he calls.

“Colt,” Ky warns. “Abort. Abort!”

Standing, he faces the room. “The reason my wife needed to find out where our children are is because she left me. We have a fucking custody agreement, and she refuses to talk to me. Won’t let me know where she’s staying with my kids, and we’re communicating through my mother. Of all the fucking people to choose, she chose Karmen.”

“I can find her for you,” Brock Bradshaw says. “If you need.”

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