Picking at her pizza, she asked, “Why do you care so much, Trevor? We barely know each other.” She glanced over at him as she waited for his answer.
“The truth?”
She nodded. “Always.”
Trevor looked her square in the eye and told her God’s honest truth. “I don’t know.” He couldn’t read her expression, so he tried to better explain himself. “I’ve always been protective, Lex. It’s who I am. It’s...” He shrugged. “It’s what I do.”
“Have you ever been hurt on the job?”
“I have,” he laid it all out for her. “Between my time in the Army and then with R.I.S.C., I’ve been shot twice. Stabbed once. Had some broken ribs and a couple minor concussions, and more bruises and scrapes than I could ever keep track of. Nothing a couple stitches and a few days’ rest didn’t cure.”
Trevor held his breath as he waited for her response.
“Wow.” She blinked a couple times and let a out slow breath. “And here, I thought having to deal with guys like Rob once in a while was bad.”
Hearing the other man’s name, Trevor reflexively squeezed her knee a bit more. She looked down to where he was touching her, making him realize he needed to ease the hell up.
“Sorry.” He loosened his hold. “I just can’t stand the thought of you being treated that way.”
Her expression softened, and Lexi laid her hand over his. “I know. I still don’t quite understand it, but I get it. And I’m okay. Really.”
Needing to know everything she’d gone through, he said, “Tell me what happened tonight, Lex.”
After a few seconds, she did.
“I was at the grocery store buying stuff for our dinner. I’d just made it to my car and was trying to get my keys out when Rob walked up behind me. He startled me and I dropped one of the bags. The bottle of wine I’d bought broke, and I was trying to save what I could...” she paused, lost in the memory.
“What happened next?”
“Rob started giving me a hard time. Asking about the wine and if it was for a hot date...that sort of thing. I thought”—she licked her lips and swallowed—“I thought maybe if I told him I was seeing someone, he’d finally take the hint, you know?”
“But, he didn’t.”
Lexi shook her head. “It just made him more belligerent. He basically tried to make me feel guilty for going out with you and not him.” She quickly added, “I didn’t tell him it was you, I swear. He just assumed.”
Trevor realized she was worried he’d be upset. “It’s okay, Lex. He probably saw us talking at the diner.” His thumb caressed her knee through his sweats. Nodding to her arm, he asked, “How’d you get the bruises?”
Lexi swallowed hard before answering. “Rob made a crude comment about the two of us. It made me really mad, so I yelled at him. When I tried to leave, he got in my way, so I pushed him. Just to get past. He got really angry then and grabbed my arm. He twisted it behind my back, then he pushed me up against my car, and...”
Her breathing picked up and the fear in her eyes was back.To hell with this.
“It’s okay, Lex. You can stop.”
One corner of her mouth raised, her smirk surprising him. “If I stop now, you’ll miss the best part.”
“Yeah?”
Lexi nodded. “I kicked him in the balls as hard as I could. He dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes, and I got into my car and drove to the police station.”
Trevor barked out a laugh. “You’re right. That’s most definitely the best part of that story.” After a few seconds of silence, his smile faded as he asked, “Why didn’t you call me?”
Sitting a little straighter Lexi sighed. “I hate drama, Trevor. Always have. The whole junior high, mean girls scene? Yeah, I stayed as far away from that as I possibly could.”
He started to say something, but she cut him off at the pass.
“I’d already screwed up our first date with the flat tire and then forgetting to call and cancel the tow truck. I didn’t want to have to explain that I was breaking ourseconddate because some idiot couldn’t take no for an answer.”
Drawing in a deep breath, she exhaled slowly. “Honestly, I was afraid if I made that phone call to you, then you’d decide I wasn’t worth the trouble. I mean, what if Rob does come after me again? You can’t sit there and tell methisis how you want to spend your nights with someone you just started seeing. I’m still shocked you even came to the police station in the first place, let alone invited me to stay here tonight.”
