He was halfway to the door when Derek burst through the doorway again, holding a single paper. This time, he wasn’t smiling.
“What is it?”
“I was diggin’ for dirt on our guy. Cross referencin’ any credit cards with the name of Rob or Robert attached to them that had been used at Joe’s in the past six months.”
“Okay...” Trevor’s voice trailed off.
“There were only two. One belongs to a seventy-seven year old man who goes there every morning for breakfast and coffee.”
An uneasy feeling began to churn in Trevor’s gut. “And the other?”
“The second belongs to a guy named Robert Lockwood.” Derek handed him the sheet. “It’s him. It’s our guy, and he as a record. Battery, assault, resisting. It’s all there.”
“Damn,” Trevor muttered as he scanned over the man’s rap sheet. He hated the thought of this guy being anywhere near Lexi. “Guess we were right about him, huh?”
“That’s not all, Trev.”
Hearing the worried tone in his friend’s voice, Trevor glanced back up. The level of concern in the other man’s eyes left him holding his breath.
“While I was lookin’ into Lockwood, a new arrest warrant notification popped up on my screen.” Derek swallowed before continuing. “The charge is assault. It was time stamped fifteen minutes ago, and...”
Trevor’s heart dropped, terrified of what he was about to hear. “Tell me.”
Sympathy filled Derek’s eyes. “Trevor, Lockwood just attacked Lexi.”
****
“Are you sure I can’tget you somethin’ else? A coffee or soda?” Detective West asked for the second time.
Tall with light brown hair and green eyes, the man spoke with a slight southern accent. He wore navy pants, a white dress shirt, and a powder blue tie. A shiny gold badge was clipped to his belt near his right hip, and his gun was securely fastened in the holster at his left.
He’s a lefty.
The thought was random, but if she kept her mind focused on random facts like that, she wouldn’t have to think about how scared she’d been in that parking lot. So Lexi tried to focus on everything but the fear still making its way through her veins.
Like, despite the fact that Detective West’s long sleeves covered his arms, she could easily tell he was in excellent shape. With no wedding ring and as handsome as he was, he’d no doubt had many women drop their panties for him. Maybe more than one at a time.
Not that she was interested in becoming one of them. There was only one man who held her interest in that way. Of course, after tonight, Trevor was probably a lost cause.
With her elbows resting on the table, Lexi held the water bottle in front of her with both hands, mindlessly rubbing her thumbs up and down its smooth ridges. She gave the detective a small smile.
“I’m good. Thank you.”
He tilted his head slightly.” It won’t be much longer, Miss Hamilton. Your statement is being typed up right now. Once that’s done, you’ll just need to look it over to make sure everything is accurate, sign it, and you’ll be free to leave.”
“Thank you,” she repeated quietly.
“We’re going to find Lockwood.” He assured her. “Officers are out looking for him as we speak. I promise I’ll call you the second he’s brought in.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that.”
Sincerity filled the man’s eyes when he kindly asked, “Would you like for me to call someone to come get you?”
Yes, please. His name is Trevor Matthews.“No, thank you. I drove myself here.”
This time, when Detective West smiled back at her, she was hit with a strange feeling of familiarity.
“Look, I’m not tryin’ to be pushy here, but...what happened to you...somethin’ like that can really shake a person up.” He shrugged a shoulder. “Might be best if someone else drove you home.”
