Page 13 of Love Above Law

"All I'm asking for is a—." I interrupt her, stopping the conversation from going any further.

"Where's Chris?"

"He has the night shift," her hand reaches out grabbing mine. Pulling away, I draw the hat over my head.

"Lex," she becomes a little bolder and presses her body against mine.

I take a step back. "Go home, April," and leave her standing there.

Stepping out into the cold night air, I take in a deep cleansing breath. I'm trying to clear my mind and find a little clarity when Leyna comes to the forefront of my thoughts. I wonder how she is doing? Is she safe?

Instinctively I pull my phone from my back pocket and pull up the number to the cell phone I gave her when I dropped her off.

Me: Everything okay?

.

.

.

I start walking and wait for her reply.

.

.

Leyna: I'm okay.

Me: They treating you well?

Leyna: They are my family. Yes, they are treating me well.

Her words bring a smile to my face. She's sassy. I like that.

Me: I'll check on you tomorrow.

.

.

Leyna: Okay.

I turn the corner then cross the street heading toward my apartment building. My cold fingers continue to type without thought.

Me: Goodnight, beautiful.

I hit send then realize I had typed out beautiful. Shit. Ten minutes pass before my phone pings again. I pull my hand from my coat pocket and look down at her reply.

Leyna: Goodnight, Lex.

8

Leyna

Lying in Gabriel's bed I can hear murmured voices coming from behind the closed door. I've been awake for over an hour but have yet to force myself to get up and face reality. The past several weeks has felt like a nightmare and the last twenty-four hours I have felt like I've been in a constant daze. My emotions are being pulled in a dozen different directions. I don't quite know how to process them. The moment Lex drove off last night, my brother whisked me inside and to his room. I knew he could sense my tension and wasted no time falling back into his big brother protective role.

Pulling me close, he led me straight inside, up a set of stairs and to his room. Not once did he ask me any questions. He didn't grill me for information. Though I could see the battle to do so in his eyes. For that I was thankful. I had already been interrogated by Agent Stamos and was not in the mood to go through the same line of questioning with my brother. Instead, no words were spoken as he tucked me into bed. My brother sat next to me and held my hand until I fell asleep. He gave me exactly what I needed.