“You never have to apologize for that, but we’re cutting it close. You want me to give you a ride to class?”
She shook her head. “No, we’ll end up making out in your truck or while standing next to your bike. This class is closer than my others, so I’m good to walk.”
“You’re sure?”
“Very,” she said with a nod.
“All right. I’ll see you when you get back.”
Her brows furrowed. “What are you going to do while I’m gone?”
I smiled. “Gonna chat with your building manager. Then I’m hitting Home Depot. I may not switch out your locks again, but I want you to have another set just in case. After that…maybe I’ll hit a grocery store so I can make you dinner.”
She twisted her lips to the side. “I’m pretty sure there’s a lie in there. That or else you’ve left something out. If you’re going to be running that many errands though, let me give you my key so you can lock up.”
She twisted her key off the ring and handed it to me.
I nodded. “Thanks. Not to rush you, but it’s seven-fifty-one, Lex. You better get moving.”
She gave me a quick peck on the lips. “Behave yourself. See you around noon.”
Once the door closed, I grabbed our coffee cups off the breakfast bar and rinsed them in the sink. Lex had my number. I had left something out earlier, which was a lie by omission, but since I wasn’t sure how to find Brantley, it might not have been a lie at all.
I planned to rummage through Ines’s room to see if I could find anything that might point me toward Brantley’s address. It was one helluva long shot, but it seemed like the only shot I had.
My phone rang, and I picked up from the counter, seeing Blood’s name on display.
“Hey, Blood.”
“Prospect. Cal says he wants you with Alexandra for a few days.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Did anything of hers get stolen in this break-in?”
“Not that she can tell. Her roommate isn’t here, but she didn’t think anything was taken from her room either.”
“Right. When is she coming back to Jacksonville?”
I sighed. “This weekend, maybe. She wasn’t planning on it at all… until yesterday.”
From the shift in Blood’s tone of voice, I could practically see the sinister smile on his face. “Yeah… I’m guessing that has something to do with you finally making your intentions clear with her.”
“I don’t know what you mean by ‘finally,’ but yeah, I have something to do with that.”
“You fuck with her, Cal won’t get a chance to teach you a lesson, because I’ll kill you.”
I took a deep breath, realizing why Lex found it overbearing when the brothers got so protective of her. “Yeah. If I do her wrong, I’ll deserve that.”
“Did you teach that asshole ex-boyfriend a lesson?”
My head wobbled as I thought about it. “I think so. He strikes me as the type who might have to learn the hard way… but he definitely understands that I’m not gonna take any shit from him.”
“Good. You need bail money, be sure to call me, not Cal.”
I nodded, a smile threatening. “Got it.”
“Keep us posted. I may send another brother down there.”
