The look that washed over her face gave me pause. The anger that flooded her eyes had nothing on the panic that twisted her lips. I furrowed my brow as she stood to her feet, exposing her naked body to me before she quickly gathered her clothes.
And I noticed that she was shaking, so I reached up for her hand. “Lexi, talk to me.”
She pulled away. “I’m not arguing with you. I don’t have the energy. Either do what I’m asking or let me go so I can figure it out.”
I got myself onto my feet. “If the cartel spots you and figures out where you live, you’re fucked. I’m just trying to protect you, and I can protect you if you stay here.”
“I’m not staying here, okay!?” she exclaimed.
I didn’t want to rock the boat any longer, especially after the beautiful moment we had just shared. I watched as she fixed her clothes back onto her body, and as she continued drawing in deep breaths through her nose, I knew there was something she wasn’t telling me. Something she had back at her place that was much more important than her safety. I wanted to know what it was. I wanted to know what the hell was worth risking her life over. But I knew I couldn’t force it out of her.
If anything, that would push her further away.
So, I simply offered her my arm. “Then, let me get you back to your car. I’ll follow you home to make sure no one tails you, if it’ll make you feel better.”
She wrapped her arm around mine. “That would be just fine, thank you.”
The ride back to the hospital was silent. Not that it could be any other way, but even if I had those fancy-ass speakers in my helmet I was pretty sure neither of us would have said anything. I pulled up to her car and she hopped off my bike. She handed me her helmet before digging out her purse, then she quickly hopped into her car. I did as I told her I’d do and I followed her back to her apartment complex, and when she parked her car, she got out and waved at me.
And after she disappeared up the steps, I eased my way toward the entrance gate.
Before I saw a low-riding car pass behind me in my side mirror.
“Oh, no you don’t,” I growled.
I passed through the gate only to whip back around, but I didn’t kick up my engine unless I had to. I walked my bike back up the hill and perched in a parking space with a clear view of Lexi’s apartment complex while making sure I was hidden by some fake-ass bushes. The low-rider car eased by her street but turned around and paused right at the entrance to the dead-end road her building sat on.
And as I looked up the facade of the building, I tried to figure out which apartment she was in.
Just in case someone had been waiting for her once she got inside.
I found shadows moving behind a curtain and a shiver ran down my spine. Someone threw the curtains open before peeking outside, but it was a woman around Lexi’s age that I recognized. That was Chloe. I’d know that face anywhere without a shadow of a doubt. A smile spread across my face at the idea that Lexi hadn’t been alone all this time. It also made me happy that the two of them were still friends.
Then, I watched as Lexi came to the window.
At first, I thought they had spotted me, so I ducked behind the bush on my bike. But, once they turned away from the window, I saw a small pair of arms wrap around Lexi’s neck.
And when she picked a young girl up into her arms, my jaw hit the floor.
Lexi’s got a kid?
I squinted my eyes as I pulled out my phone. I opened the camera and aimed it at the window, then zoomed in as much as I could. I took pictures as the little girl’s face peered out the window as well, and as waves of emotion crashed over my body, I realized something.
She had my same ocean blue eyes.
“It can’t be,” I whispered to myself.
There was no way in hell. Lexi couldn’t have children. That was what she told me. Hell, that was what we both knew. I stuffed my phone back into my pocket and waited until the low-rider vehicle made its way out of the neighborhood before I drew in a deep breath. I tried to come up with any reason as to why that kid wasn’t mine. Sure, she hugged Lexi, but that didn’t mean it was Lexi’s child. Chloe had blue eyes as well. Maybe Chloe had a child.
Or maybe Lexi’s married.
As long as I sat there, though, I didn’t see any signs of a man in the house. But that certainly didn’t mean there was one. Lexi had never been the kind to cheat. Her mother had cheated on her father, and it rifted her family so badly that the divorce almost sent her spiraling into a mental breakdown. She’d never do something like that to someone.
Right?
“God damn it,” I grumbled.
Either way, there was a child involved, and that raised the stakes even more. That low-riding car had been staring up at that window about as long as I had been, which meant the person driving the car had probably seen the child as well. And as my phone started vibrating against my hip, I knew what I had to do.
