Page 37 of Karma
“Please,” Hailey says.
Her eyes never leave her reflection as she twirls from side to side. She’s never felt prettier in her life.
“What’s going on?” Hailey asks, running up the front porch to find Lucas waiting for her.
She’d just gotten back to Gavin’s apartment when Lucas sent her an SOS text message, demanding she come to the house. There was no hesitation, and she expected something with Lex’s new half-brother.
“They’re fighting. Like, actually fighting,” Lucas says as they walk inside.
Lex tosses her hands in the air. “You can’t punish her for this!”
“This is about your safety, Lex!” Colt shouts back.
“What the hell?” Hailey asks, her eyes wide. “Why are you fighting?”
Holding a shaky hand up, Lex shakes her head. “You’re getting married where you want to get married, Hailey. I made you a promise, and we are keeping it.”
“It’s not safe!” Colt shouts. “Hailey, I’m sorry, but having the wedding anywhere other than the clubhouse is out of the question. Until we find Phillip, it won’t be safe for Lex.”
Her stomach drops. She wants a wedding with a color scheme that clashes with the color brown. One that doesn’t quite fit in the clubhouse that is brown on brown on brown. Something a little less depressing for such a happy occasion.
“Lex, I didn’t even think about this situation with your crazy brother trying to kill you.”
“No!” she shouts and points at Colt. “She doesn’t get penalized for my father’s mistakes, okay? She wants a wedding outside of the clubhouse, and we’re going to make that happen for her.”
Turning, Colt punches a hole in the wall. “Damn it, Lex!”
Lucas grabs Hailey’s arm. They’ve seen this before. Many times before. “Lex, seriously, it’s okay—”
“No, Hailey, it’s not. I’m not going to let my fucked-up family tree mess with what you want. If you pick your partner right, youonly do this once. You deserve to have what you want,” Lex says. “And we’re going to give that to her, Colt.”
“Why do you have to fight me on this?” he shouts. “You’re not safe, Lex. We have protection detail following you everywhere you go besides the fucking bathroom! And you want to have a big event somewhere we can’t secure? You just want to ignore the serial killer hoping to get you?”
“This isn’t about me. And it’s not about you. It’s about Hailey and Gavin.”
His knuckles bleed, but he doesn’t seem to notice as he rubs a hand down his face. “And what if he decides to snatch you from the banquet room of the hotel? Or push you off a fucking cliff if they want an outdoor wedding? How does that make their day not about you?”
“Hailey means it when she says it’s fine,” Lucas says. “We’d rather you be safe, Mom.”
A frustrated sob escapes Lex, and she pushes past Colt down the hallway. He reaches out for her, but she avoids his grasp.
“I’m sorry, Hailey. I would love to give you the wedding you want, but I just can’t risk Lex. We haven’t shared this with everyone yet, but her brother, the guy who showed up here, is the real De-Identifier. And he’s killing women who look like Lex. She’s his target.”
She gasps. Gavin never said anything. Hell, Lex never said anything. She knew Lex had a crazy brother who showed up out of the blue, but Lex just listened to her cry about the waitress when she has a serial killer after her.
“What? The reason we have at least two members with her at all times isn’t just because her half-brother’s crazy and just popped up? He’s the serial killer? And he… wants to kill his sister?”
“Yeah, and he told Lex they have to do this together. She’s pretty sure he means death,” Lucas says.
“I don’t want to put her in danger. I’ll talk to Gavin. Waiting isn’t ideal, but if we have to wait, we can do that, too. If we think having a wedding is too dangerous for her, I can wait.”
“But you won’t,” Lex says and walks out holding Hailey’s wedding dress. “Look at this, Colt. This is not a clubhouse wedding dress.”
Colt sighs. “Baby—”
“She deserves this, Colt. I’ll be fine,” she whispers. “Please don’t punish her because of my father. That’s not fair. To any of us.”
The self-sacrifice is nice and all, but Hailey shakes her head. “Lex, seriously, I didn’t know how bad it was. If it’s not safe—"
