“Rex’s wife, but I knew her before they were together.”
“Did you date her?” I sound suspicious.
Winger chuckles darkly like the thought is funny. “No, and I never wanted to, plus Rex would have killed me. He was obsessed with her for years before he…”
“He what?” I prompt impatiently.
“I’m trying to think of the right word, or one that doesn’t make him seem like a psycho but…” Winger glances down at me meaningfully. “Rex is—”
“Crazy?” I supply before he can finish.
“By most people’s standards,” he agrees.
“I’m not most people,” I tell him, thinking most people would think I fall into the same category.
“I know, but he’s very protective of her, dangerously so,” he warns seriously, and I take the hint. Don’t fuck with Lucy because Winger doesn’t think he could protect me from her husband.
“What’s she like?” I’m curious about her, because I know Winger likes her.
“His complete opposite.” He settles down a little more, stroking my side. “Sweet and naïve. She was only sixteen when we met her at the club.” I’m pretty sure he feels the tension in my body when he adds, “She came in looking for a job to save her farm.”
“Her farm?” I question, dumbfounded.
“Or ranch, whatever. She raises horses.”
“In Detroit?” This story is enthralling.
“No, she lived way outside of the city, still does. Her mom was paralyzed in a rodeo accident, and her dad was already gone. She needed a job that paid well and would allow her to be at home to help her mom during the day and take care of her horses.”
“Damn, she was only sixteen.”
“Yeah. He hired her, and we made sure she was safe. Nobody fucked with her, and he watched her.” He peeks over at me again, probably trying to see if the info is going to freak me out.
I’m not quite sure how I feel about this Rex guy yet, so I keep my features relaxed.
“He introducedhimself to her after she turned eighteen, and they have been together ever since.”
Does the fact that he waited until she was eighteen make it better? “How long?”
“Around five years, I think. They have been married for three.”
“Wait, you said introduced. She didn’t know him from the club? You said he hired her.”
“He had me hire her, and he never came back while she was there. He must have known from the first moment he saw her.”
“Known what?”
“That she was his.” He looks down at me, searching my face.
“But he stayed away from her for years?” I argue.
Winger smiles. “And damn, was he an asshole for it. I actually made her leave the club. I tried to force her to get another job out of the city because I started to worry he would hurt her.”
“Why would he hurt her if he loved her?”
“I didn’t say he loved her, I said he was obsessed with her. I didn’t even know he was capable of love before Lucy.”
“He loves her now though?” If this guy forced her to marry him or something, I’m not going to be able to just drop it.
