Page 65 of Redemption

She can’t help her curiosity about what Zane may have said out of anger with Colt because he really does only seem to tolerate her, at best, most of the time. And if she hadn’t helped save his relationship with Lane, he’d probably still hate her.

“It’s the same old conversation. You know what I’m talking about.”

Does she? If she had to guess, it’s probably about her childhood. And that’s something she wants to talk about almost less than admitting what she did to Shep and the lengths she went to save her marriage. “It’s getting pretty late. I should head to bed. Are you okay out here on the couch?”

The look he gives her creates a desire pooling in her belly that makes her knees weak. “Do I have a choice?”

Her body screams to let him in. All the way in. “No, not really.”

“Then it’ll do just fine.”

Lex walks into the bedroom, and her body burns for her husband’s touch. The only thing hotter would be setting her on literal fire. And it burns in such a delicious way she doesn’t know if she can handle him out on the couch for an entire night. With him so close but denying herself feels like torture.

No matter how much she wishes he’d storm into her room and take her, she knows it would only ruin all the progress she’s made. She can finally be around him without bursting into tears, but she knows she’s not in a place where she can sleep with him and not have it mean anything.

The events of the day and all the pent-up emotions hit at once, and the tears fall as she buries her face into the pillow to muffle her sobs. The last thing she needs is him hearing her cry her eyes out. As much as she wishes it would knock her out, it won’t. The only thing that works these days is alcohol, and she can’t trust herself intoxicated with Colt on the couch. So, instead, she lies there. Crying and thinking.

The sobs subside, but her mind refuses to shut off. As does her body. She hums like a magnet, wanting to connect with another lying out on the couch in her living room. That’s basically what it is with them, right? Well, used to be.

Something bumps the side of the house right by her head, and she turns to see the clock reads three in the morning. Listening, she hears footsteps continue outside her window. Her heart races. The men who shot Grayson could be outside right now, ready for attack number two. But where are Becket and Brian?

Chapter 24

Griffin’s Beach

Colt

Colt lies on Lex’s couch staring at the dark ceiling. Everything in him screams to go and join her in her bed. Remind her they’re husband and wife, and he wants her. Needs her. But when he walked to the door to do just that, he heard her sobbing into her pillow, and his heart broke. He wanted to walk in and comfort her, but he knows it would have made everything so much worse. So, here he lies. Awake, devastated, and fucking horny. It’s been too damn long since he’s been with his wife.

He hears footsteps in the kitchen, and he turns, sitting up immediately when he sees Lex in the darkness, the dim light from a streetlamp reflecting off the metal of her gun. Grabbing his own from the holster on the ground, he stands, ready.

Her wide eyes stare at him as she points to her bedroom, and they both pause. Neither breathes, and he hears the footsteps outside. Where the hell are Beckett and Brian?

“The kids,” she whispers.

“They’re going to be fine,” he assures her. “You watch from in here, and I’m going out there.”

Her head nods, and hope fills him. She still trusts him to protect their family, but he pushes it aside as he slips out the back door. He can only deal with one situation at a time right now.

The darkness gives him a safe cover as he sees a man he doesn’t recognize lurking outside Calla’s room. He watches for a few moments, and just as his hands reach up to the window to open it, Colt lunges and tackles him to the ground.

“The fuck?” the man grunts and hits him back.

The sting of skin breaking on his cheekbone spreads along his face. If only this guy knew pain only motivates Colt. “Motherfucker,” he says and punches the man twice, a cheekbone cracking beneath Colt’s knuckle.

The man laughs, his eye drooping, and Colt sees red. He punches the man on the left side, hitting his ribs, cracking at least one, and swings with his left fist to pummel the man in the belly. As he bends over, Colt grabs him, pulls him into a headlock, and chokes him.

“Let me go,” the man grunts, his elbows swinging back and hitting his ribs just enough to hurt, but Colt refuses to loosen his grip.

“You picked the wrong fucking family to attack,” he growls in his ear before twisting his head, snapping his neck, and letting his dead weight fall to the ground at his feet.

He pulls out his phone, and Psycho answers on the second ring. “Colt?”

“You still in Griffin’s Beach by chance?” he asks, his voice quiet.

“Yeah, why?”

“I got a dead Slasher outside Lex’s place.” Walking around front, he finds Beckett and Brian on the ground. He reaches down and finds a pulse. At least it wasn’t one Slasher and two Drifters dead. “The guys out front look to be knocked out. Both still alive, though.”

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