Black Dawn (10 page)

Bacon ran over to Lexi. She scooped the dog up and cuddled all the pug’s squirmy rolls, but Lexi kept her eyes on Matt. Maybe it was a mind game. He’d told her to think of her own punishment. Maybe this was part of that.

She squeezed Bacon tighter and whispered, “I’ll never let him hurt you.”

Matt reappeared with a beer and threw himself on the couch with her. “Sorry, peaches.”

Her heart stilled. She didn’t know if this was a test. She clung to her dog, uncertain how to respond. “You don’t have to say that.”

He took a swig off his beer. “Serious. I fucked up. Shouldn’t have done that—though you shouldn’t have put me in a place where I lost control. Maybe that car I saw wasn’t what I thought. But…” He shrugged and slugged back more beer. “But I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

“Okay,” she whispered.

“C’mere.”

Terrified, she inched across the couch and had to put Bacon down when the pup growled. Lexi perched against his chest like she knew he liked, and Matt tossed his arm over her shoulder and settled in to channel surf as if he hadn’t choked her earlier and she hadn’t run away with his friend. They watched TV until her stomach growled. Her mind went back to the pizza place, where Parker had ordered what she wanted without comment or question.

“You hungry, peaches?”

Lexi bit her lip. “I’ll start something. Sorry—”

“No, I got it. Just relax. You’ve had a hard day.”

She’d had a hard day? Because he’d choked her the day after he’d had sex with her when she hadn’t been a willing participant. “Matt, it’s not—”

“Sit,” he growled. “See, there. Why do you have to bring out the worst in me sometimes?”

“I’m sorry.”

He kissed the top of her head. “How’s spaghetti sound?”

“Really great.” She nodded enthusiastically, hoping to cover her confusion.

“Good answer.” Matt pushed off the couch and headed toward the kitchen. It was a semi-open floor plan, and she saw him putter around the pantry.

Over the next three nights, he made dinner, not letting her out of his eyesight except for very quick errands. It was confusing, and his condescending jabs were sandwiched between compliments. None of it made sense. He bought her flowers. He said he loved her. He did things that should’ve been sweet, but all they did was muddy the waters. She wanted to leave. She wasn’t in love, but every time she blinked at his words or responded too slow, Matt gave her lines that tied her down.

“I’d never leave you, peaches. Just like you’d never dare leave me.”

“Lexi, if you tried harder, last weekend would never have happened like that.”

“I know you better than you know yourself, peaches.”

And she couldn’t forget…
“It would be awful if something happened to Bacon, wouldn’t it?”

Everything he said reeked of manipulation, but she couldn’t entirely disregard the attention, the promises of love and to never be abandoned. She seriously needed a break. Just a breather, a few hours where Matt wasn’t watching her work or commenting about everything.

Facts of life dictated that Matt would have to leave her alone eventually. He had a new job lined up. She was counting down the days until he started. But while he had her on his hyper-vigilant crackdown, she was able to work through the last details that Shadow needed for Monarch. It also let her map out ways she could disappear so that if Matt hunted her down, she and Bacon would be far off the grid and unfindable. Interesting how she could find or hide anything on screen, but when it came to
her
, she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t even have her own transportation. Well, until she got her Gixxer back—how would that work with a dog? If it came to running, she’d figure it out. All part of the recover-Lexi plan.

Finally, it was the day. Matt had a new job, and it was still too early for him to get himself fired.

She sent Shadow some of what he needed and nervously putted around the house, psyching herself up to leave. Despite the days of Matt being semi-nice, she knew deep in her heart that even his nice words were caked with lies. Her bag was packed with a change of clothes, cash he didn’t know about, a roll of crackers, a jar of peanut butter, and dog food. She planned to take the bus to her sister’s, camp out there for the night, and disappear until she had to meet up with Shadow in about two weeks for the auction.

So far, Operation Get the Fuck Out was going well, despite the churning, guilty-excited nausea rolling in her belly. Even Bacon knew it was go-day. The pup never left her side.

She called Meredith, but there was no answer. The voicemail beeped, and she sighed. “Hey, Mere, sorry to leave this as a message. We need to catch up soon. I’m changing things for the better. Call me. I love you. And, Mere, I really miss you.”

Ending the call, she checked the screen. The clock flashed two o’clock. Matt would be at work for another couple of hours. If Lexi was on her normal schedule, she would’ve worked at the dining room table until she had to start dinner. Just like the perfect soon-to-be Mrs. Pindon.

She looked at her trembling hands. “Just walk out the door.”

Bacon yapped in agreement.

It was so close. Just feet away. Her escape that could change everything. Freedom tickled her tongue, making her blood rush with the excitement and anxiousness of the unknown. Lexi swallowed the last of her self-doubt and squared her shoulders. Of all days, today was the anniversary of their first date. How ironic and appropriate. She grabbed her bag and laptop and headed to the door with Bacon on a leash.

But it opened when she was still feet away.

Matt
.

Her stomach dropped. Panic rushed through her veins.

“Happy anniversary.” He smiled at her, then his gaze drifted. “What’s going on, peaches?”

“Hey.” She tried for a smile but knew it didn’t ring true. Faking it when so much uncertainty ran in her blood was near impossible. “Happy—” Her throat knotted. “Anniversary, baby.”

“I wanted to surprise you. I left work
for you
.”

“Awesome.” Bullshit. He’d been fired again. And on day one? God. What now? Please don’t let it be drinking…

His gaze locked on her bag. “What’s in there?”

“Nothing.” She took a step back as he took one forward. The scent of beer finally hit her. “I was headed to the grocery store.”

“With Bacon and your laptop?”

“We needed some air. I was going to work outside.” Waiting until the afternoon seemed like the stupidest move she’d ever made. “It’s nothing.”

She tossed aside her bag and casually dropped her laptop’s bag. She needed to distract him. An anniversary hug. Or a blow job. Something. Anything. That was her new, quickly made plan.

She stepped forward. “Glad you’re home.” She put as much sexiness into her voice as possible. “We can celebrate.”

“Open the bag, peaches.”

Lexi stepped toward him. “That thing? Why don’t I show you—”

Smack
. The back of his hand hit across her face. Blood seeped into her mouth as Bacon growled and attacked Matt’s leg. He kicked her dog, making the poor thing squeal. If Lexi hadn’t been numbly shocked, she would have screamed. Matt reached for the dog and hooked Lexi as she tried to run for the door.

“You’re on the couch—” He threw her down then stormed to the front door. “And you’re gone.” He tossed her dog, leash still on, out the front door, and slammed it. “Why do you make me do this?”

All she could think about was the bag. If he looked in it, she really would be dead this time. Lexi closed her eyes and waited for him to beat her until she blacked out.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Parker rubbed his eyes as he stared at the screens. The past few days, he’d run through his normal schedule but felt like a shell. Nothing much was happening, but he still liked to keep an eye on the Titan teams around the globe. Tossing a pen and ignoring his nearly all-consuming concern over Lexi, he flipped from screen to screen, doing absolutely nothing.

His cell phone rang, stealing his attention from the uninteresting screens, and he didn’t recognize the number. His thumb hovered over the button. For a brief second, he hoped it was either Lexi calling to explain or Jared with something to take Parker’s mind off everything. He accepted the call. “Hello?”

Nothing.

He checked the screen. The number wasn’t ringing a bell, and he remembered almost every phone number he’d ever seen. The line was still live. He tried again. “Hello?”

“Can you help me?”

The familiar voice was a sucker punch to his stomach. Lexi’s barely audible, tear-soaked whisper nearly leveled him.

“Lex?” He never should have let her get in that truck. He should’ve gone back to their house and done something. Anything. All his fury and anger was gone, his protective thoughts making his muscles twitch to get to her. “Lexi, where are you?”

“Please.” She sniffled. “There’s no one else I could ask.” Her voice shook. “Please.”

“Where are you?” But his fingers were already flying across the keyboard, calling up a program that would triangulate then pinpoint her exact location. The coordinates flashed on screen, and his heart jumped. She was calling from
his
home address.

Her phone cut off before she could respond. Parker ran out of Titan HQ and jumped in his Range Rover, bypassing anyone who asked what the hell was going on. When he pulled out of the parking garage, sleeting rain hit his windshield, and wind whipped his SUV. His mind processed a thousand questions that spider-webbed from a few basics. Why was she at his house, and where was Matt? He punched redial on his cell, but it went to voicemail.

Hey, it’s Lexi. Leave a message.

“I’ll be there in ten.” He coasted through lights, blew past the speed limit, used the shoulders, and when he finally hit his street, he floored it. Parker yanked the steering wheel, sliding into the driveway. In the whipping sleet, Lexi, without a jacket, sat on the front stoop of his house. Her dripping hair hung over her face, and she hunched over a package while cradling Fatso the dog. It took him a micro-second to snap out of his terror-fueled trance, and he moved fast.

“You okay?” No. Fuck. No, she wasn’t. “Goddamn it.”

The little dog growled and yapped and squirmed to kill him. Parker worked fast to open his door. He twisted the key, punched in the code, and disarmed the anti-asshole sensors as the biting rain slapped down. The rain howled as he quickly crouched in her line of sight. Lexi was doubled over, and her face was swollen. He grabbed her and the dog, dragging them, dripping, over the threshold. Her frozen body shook and trembled against him. There wasn’t time to ask how she’d gotten his phone number or if Matt had dropped her there like that.

A quick assessment said she’d been knocked around, and that was just what he could see on her face. The blue tinge of her lips didn’t help the bruises he saw on her cheeks. “Do you need to go to the hospital?”

She shifted her head slightly, barely signaling no. He went to touch her, and Fatso went berserk.

“Easy, Bacon,” she whispered.

Fatso was Bacon? Made more sense but still… water poured off of her, and her hair stuck to her face. She clung desperately to whatever that was in her arms.

“We need to warm you up. Get you guys dried off. Let’s go.”

She nodded. Her gaze finally shifted up, and he saw that her eyes were sob-and-slap swollen. There was blood on her shirt, as if her nose or mouth had been bleeding. The rain must’ve washed the evidence off her skin. He couldn’t tell what was blue from cold and what was just bruised.

Without thinking, he took the heavy, flat, plastic-wrapped bag from her hand, set it on the floor, and wrapped her in his arms, holding her so that he could breathe. The dog whimpered, and Lexi stiffened before she relaxed into his hug.

He apologized in murmurs but didn’t let go, running his hands over her soaked back. “I shouldn’t have let you go with him.”

Her frail shoulders bunched, but she didn’t speak.

“Come on, Lex.”

“Wait.” The faintness in her voice sounded like she looked. Weak, water-soaked, and wary.

“Yeah?”

“I need to—that’s my computer.” Her teeth chattered so hard, the words were barely intelligible. “I need—to make sure—it didn’t get wet.”

He blinked. If there was anyone who would get that, it was him, but that she’d said it caught him off guard. “Okay.”

Lexi peeled the plastic away with bluish, shivering hands and displayed a computer bag. She popped it open and smoothed her hand over a nice piece of equipment. He got why she didn’t want rain to touch it, but what he didn’t get was why she had something so high-functioning. It wasn’t for normal use. But that didn’t matter at the moment.

“It’s the most important thing I own,” she said as though reading his mind.

Interesting and curious. “You’re both still freezing. Let’s go.”

Parker tucked her against him, his eyes staying on the computer for a half second before her cold, tense body brought his focus back to her. She leaned against him, and he moved them toward the hall bathroom then thought of the one in his bedroom. A steam shower. Heated floor. The water could rain down, and he could make that room cook like a sauna.