Page 38 of Crossing Lines

“Fucking peachy.” I went to the dresser and pulled out a few onesies and some pants for the baby. I set to dressing him. He was only mildly fussy now. That could be due to hunger. He was dry, so I knew it wasn’t a wet tooshie. The room was silent as I moved from the bed to the closet. I pulled out the diaper bag Dani Lynn had given me, quickly filling it with diapers, wipes, his travel necessities, and a few more changes of clothing.

“Stella, Trace, I need to know what happened here.”

I looked up to meet Drew’s assessing gaze. I shrugged. “Someone busted out the sliding door. I chased after them, which according to my fiancé was stupid. The ass got away when Kruger and Hulk snuck up on me. They went after him. I came back in. I’m going to get Ethan and me a bag packed, and I’m going to go somewhere else for the night since the door is broken. Y’all figure this shit out, since apparently women can’t think or do things on their own without a man’s permission.”

I was being a bitch. Yes, I knew that, but his words stung more than I wanted to admit. He was partially right, and that just chapped my ass. I hadn’t thought about any of it; I’d just reacted. I should have stayed upstairs and calmed Ethan down. Let the police handle this shit, that’s what they got paid to do. I knew no more now than I did when it all went down, so really, it was a waste of energy. I’d made Trace worry for nothing. It was a cluster of fucks that I wanted to drop kick into oblivion.

I glanced at Trace as I left the baby’s room. His scowl was still in place. “I love you,” I said and left. The atmosphere in our bedroom had gone from a warm and loving place to a feeling of cold dread. My stomach hurt from all of the intense emotions.

He didn’t try to stop me. He was just going to let me leave?

I sighed. I yanked on my jeans, but they hugged me a little too tight. Grumbling, I pulled them off and exchanged them for sweats, a T-shirt, and slid on a pair of flip flops. No time for much more. With regret churning in my stomach, I pulled the diaper bag around me, shoved my Glock in its side pocket, and grabbed my keys.

My gaze went to the room down the hall. Long ago we’d made a promise to never go to bed angry—that was already flying out the door. My heart was thrumming with painful beats as the tears started to slide down my cheeks. It wasn’t fair. I’d known we—our relationship—would changewhen he found out I was pregnant. With that sour thought, I left the house.

Chapter 16

Tracey

I’d been ignoringthe phone, seeing as it wasn’t Stel, for the last day...or was it two? Damn, I couldn’t even remember.

Chip, Tank, Tipp, Phoenix, AJ, and a host of other names had popped up on the screen. It wasn’t my girl, so they could wait. I dozed off, my eyes feeling so heavy, but a banging noise brought me slowly back around. I closed my eyes again, ignoring it too. A loud bang made me stiffen where I lay.

I guess I’d better try to wake the hell up. Jesus. Footsteps moved closer. Had Stel come back?

“Tracey Everett Daniels!”

The volume of that voice jerked me up in the bed, my bleary eyes half open, my hands clutching my head. Nope, that was not Stel; it was a banshee. I pushed in at my ears to hold back the shrieking.

My very pissed off, ready-to-tear-me-a-new-one sister, barreled through the half open door, slamming it against the wall. The noise was so loud I winced. She was scowling at me, hands on her hips. Her favorite shadow, her dog and his drool-covered jowls, was right at her side. He too just stared at me, frowning.

Nausea rolled through my gut as pain shot through my head. What in the hell had happened to me? I moved, and then it all came back to me. Stella had left, and I’d started drinking, wallowing in my own stupidity. The bottle laying at my side hit the floor with a thump. The sound sent a stab of pain through my head, then my stomach churned at being fully in the upright position. If I didn’t lose my dinner—I had to take in slow, deep breaths.

“Please, don’t scream,” I begged as pain lanced through my head.

“Scream? Oh, brother mine, you best be glad I don’t take a bat to you like Stel did ya truck. What is…for fuck’s sake! Drinking? Like that solves a fucking thing!” She yanked at the covers and stepped back. “Disgusting. I willnotlet you turn intohim. Get ya ass up out of that fucking bed and shower off the alcohol and stank. When I come back up, you best be clean and dressed!”

“No. I’m not doing a damn thing. My girl is gone…” I sounded like some lovestruck boy whose balls haven't dropped yet.

“I swear—You haven’t been answering your phone. Did you think we were just calling you for the hell of it? Fucking men, I swear you’re all dumber than a box of fucking rocks. Couldn’t function without someone to follow you around. Well, I ain’t wiping your nose or your ass. Get up and do as I say. We have shit to do. Though, maybe I should let your ass rot in here. How could you do this? Just like that no good…” she trailed off, disappearing down the hall.

What in the hell was she on about? I blinked, staring at the doorway. Her dog just stood there, glowering at me. He barked when I didn’t move. The sound echoed, reaching the deepest creases of my inner ear. It sounded like he was right in my ear canal. I winced, falling forward as I tried to get to my feet. I was stiff, sore.

My leg was throbbing, but I had a feeling if I didn’t get up and start moving, she might come back with a frying pan or something worse.

AJ had a problem with drunk people. I got it. She’d had to deal with an alcoholic friend for a few years. She’d tried to do anything and everything to help him. When it became too much, she’d had to step back and let him go out into the world and make his own choices. If he hadn’t been a drunk, like his father before him, he might have been a good guy.

It was after that kid that she met Tom. That relationship had been doomed from the beginning. She’d gone from a drunk to an asshole abuser. When she left him, he’d started stalking her. Until he’d had enough and came to teach her a lesson. He’d been the one to get a lesson. He’d also never bother her again.

We didn’t talk about any of it much now. Times like this, it was a sore subject. I’d never hurt her on purpose by bringing it up. Though I seemed to be able to hurt people even when I didn’t mean to.

I was batting ten today already.

“NOW, you stank ass man!” AJ screamed from downstairs. I jolted, pain exploding in my head as something down there slammed. Jesus fuck.

“What?”Why was she even here?I shuddered, my stomach rolling again. With my feet now firmly pressed against the floor, I moved towards the bathroom. Pain radiates up my leg as I hobble inside. I got undressed and started the water for the shower. I sat on the bench in the stall and cursed as the heat wrapped around me. The sounds of others in the room next door made me groan. I could still hear my sister growling and slamming things. She was going to skin me alive; I just knew it.

The shower seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, but at least it woke me up. Puking up what I’d drunk over the last few hourssure helped too. It didn’t make me feel any better, but I could deal. Now I just had to go out there and get dressed.

---