Page 82 of Stone Vows

I should have kept my mouth shut. I told him I would go live with Caden. I reminded him that Caden was doing well in minor league ball and would soon be called up to the majors. He’d be able to easily afford to take care of me. I told him I didn’t need him anymore.

That’s when Grant told me what he would do if I ever left him and ran to Caden. He said he would break his arms. Break his legs. Make it so he’d never be able to play ball again. He said he knew people that would do it for him no questions asked. It would be as easy as making a phone call.

I knew he wasn’t bluffing. I’d seen some of the people he associated with. Cops mostly, but working in narcotics, he was around criminals. Gangs. Probably even mafia.

So I stayed. I stayed to protect my little brother. I stayed because without going to Caden, I had nowhere else to go, Grant made sure of that. He made sure our only friends werehisfriends. He even made sure I never got a job—sabotaging any interview I’d ever gotten by making sure I couldn’t show up because he knew I wouldn’t—not with a black eye.

I stayed until one day, I threw up for no reason. Then I peed on a stick and the stick turned pink, and I knew I had someone else to protect. Then I picked up my purse and walked out the door on my life.

The bedroom door cracks open and a sliver of light shines through, illuminating more of the room as Kyle peeks his head in to see me sitting up.

“You’re awake,” he says. “Do you need anything?”

“No,” I whisper, looking down at Ellie. I’m not sure why I tend to do that. A freight train couldn’t wake her up. It looks like she’s down for the night. “Is Caden still here? I heard voices.”

“Just left,” he says. “He’s coming back after his practice tomorrow.”

I get up off the bed and put my pillow alongside Ellie, just as someone had on the other side of her so she wouldn’t fall off the bed. I walk out to the living room with Kyle, leaving the door cracked so I can hear if Ellie wakes.

“What do you mean he’s coming back?” I ask.

“I want you to stay here, Eliz—uh, Lexi. This building is secure . . .”

He stops talking and studies me.

“What?” I ask.

“This building is secure,” he says again. “How did you get up to my door without being announced?”

I sigh. “I’ve gotten very good at being invisible.”

He looks at me sadly. “I’m so sorry,” he says.

He heard it all. Well, notallof it. But he heard enough. When Caden came to the door, I knew the jig was up. I told them how Grant threatened Caden and how he hurt me.

Kyle had to physically restrain Caden from leaving to go kill Grant. He even told us that when he left Kyle’s place earlier today, after finding out about me, he was plotting to get even. So, it’s a good thing I chose today to make an appearance. I can’t imagine what trouble Caden might have gotten into, getting tangled up with Grant and his cronies.

It took some convincing, but Kyle and I were able to reason with him. Grant is a cop. One with lots of connections. And right now, he doesn’t believe Caden had any hand in my disappearance. I begged him to keep it that way.

Caden told me that when I first disappeared, Grant came to him, asking lots of questions and acting strangely. There was a police investigation, of course, but that quickly became a cold case.

When I left, I walked out the door with nothing but my purse and a few changes of clothing that Grant wouldn't notice had gone missing.

I walked three miles to the shopping district, took a cab to a sleazy hotel where I cut and colored my hair, and then I made my way to New York on buses.

New York. Where I’d be close to Caden.

Kyle’s words about Grant being in town a few days ago flash through my head. My hand flies to my mouth to cover a gasp as the sudden realization hits me like a ton of bricks.“Oh, my God! What have I done?Caden is the one in danger now,” I cry. “If Grant finds out he’s helping me—”

“Lexi, he won’t find out. That’s why you can’t stay with Caden. Who knows if Grant is having him watched.”

“I’ve put him at risk,” I say, berating myself for my stupidity.

“Caden’s a big guy. He can take care of himself. He’s smart. He’ll take precautions. He’s coming back tomorrow so we can get your stuff and move it here.”

“You want me tomovehere? I thought you meant you just wanted me to stay here for the night.” My heart beats faster as I imagine being here with him. In his apartment. On his couch. In his bed. But then I think better of it. “I can’t move here, Kyle. I’ve built a life for myself. It may not be much to someone like you, but it’s nice. And I was starting to feel safe. Like maybe everything else was in the past.”

“Youcanmove here,” he says, giving me a no-nonsense look that says he’s used to taking charge. “You have to. Has it not sunk in yet that Grant was looking for you a few days ago? He’shere, Lexi. In New York. You are anything but safe.”

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