Page 72 of Lavender and Lightning

“The day I told Lucas I loved him for the first time,” Lex goes on, and Lucas ducks his chin, though not fast enough to hide the pink flush of his cheeks from me.

“And the day you agreed to join our family,” she finishes.

With the way we’re positioned, I can’t turn to face her, but the warmth in her voice catches me entirely off guard. My heart flutters in my chest, and my face is suddenly very hot. She doesn’t elaborate any further, curling more fully around my back. Lucas and I catch each other’s gaze, and I see the same question in his eyes that I know is in mine.

How did we get so lucky?

thirty

Lydia

Therainpeltsthestore windows, filling Wila’s with the soothing pitter-patter sound. The classic rock radio station fills the spaces between the drops, and I lean heavily on one fist, trying not to fall asleep. As August winds down, hurricane season is starting up. This isn’t a full storm, just the leftovers from a system that blew through the Gulf Coast a few days ago. It’s been miserable for a while, but it wasn’t enough for the Waffle Houses to close or anything.

I reach toward my pocket, but stop short. The instinct to text Jason when I’m bored hasn’t gone away even after almost two weeks of silence. I still get to send him the occasional check-in message through Rhett, but it’s not the same. The longer this goes on, the grouchier I’m getting over it, even if it is working. I haven’t received a single message from my mother or Darren since making the choice to go no-contact with Jason. And that stings the worst of all. It’s confirmation that they’re using my little brother to get to me.

“You okay?” Caleb asks, interrupting my one-person pity party.

I sigh heavily and shrug, not willing to commit to more than that. He chuckles and stands from his stool by the door, stretching slightly. It’s been a slow day, hardly a customer willing to brave the storm for the sake of flowers. So when I notice the blurry shape of a car pulling into street parking outside, I sit up. The driver exits and rushes across the sidewalk, ducking inside. It takes me a minute, but when the newcomer turns, the dark hair and casual smile belongs to Lee. He’s out of uniform, which is why I didn’t recognize him right away.

“Does anyone know where I can find an ark?” he jokes, running a hand through his hair to shake out some of the water.

I chuckle, my shoulders relaxing. “We’re fresh out, but I heard there might be one or two left at Rosa’s.”

Lee laughs back, shoving his hands into the pockets of his gray zip-up hoodie as he approaches the counter. Caleb shadows him, moving so casually that Lee doesn’t even notice.

“Is there something I can help you with?” I ask, hopping off my stool to stand at the counter.

“Actually, I just wanted to drop by and give you an update on your case,” Lee replies, his smile slipping slightly.

A shiver runs up my back and I swallow hard.

“The good news is that Mr. Fischer is being more than cooperative. I guess it didn’t take much for the DA to flip him to be a witness,” Lee starts, angling his body to look between me and Caleb as he leans against the counter.

“Witness?” Caleb asks sharply.

Lee nods. “When we started going through the evidence, we found records that show Mr. Fischer wasn’t acting on his own. He was hired.”

My heart stops for a moment, and I cough. It’s not that I hadn’t thought Davis was working for Seth, but hearing this confirmation strikes deeper than I thought it would.

“Who was it?” Caleb asks when I don’t.

Lee sucks his teeth and sighs. “I really can’t get too deep into specifics, unfortunately. The DA is putting his case together.”

But the significant look he gives us makes it pretty easy to read between the lines. They have proof that Seth hired Davis to stalk me. I’d expected to feel relief, knowing that Seth might finally see some consequences for all the shit he’s been putting me through. But all I feel is sick to my stomach. Before now, I’d felt almost detached from the events of the last two months, like they were happening to someone else. But this news, that Davis is willing to turn state’s witness against Seth and there’s proof of the connection between them makes everything feel real. I stumble back a step and find my stool, sitting down as my mind drifts, the sound of the rain feeling like it’s coming from the other end of a tube.

“Have you found any proof of the connection between her ex and this whole situation? Something we can use to get a restraining order put in place?” Caleb asks Lee, even though his gunmetal-colored eyes are fixed on me.

“There were some group chats to a blocked number, photos being sent, but I don’t know if we have enough to prove it’s the ex,” Lee says solemnly.

“Photos? What kind of photos?” I ask, voice a dry rasp.

“I’m not sure I’m allowed–”

“They were photos like that one from the night of the accident, weren’t they? Of me during intimate moments with my pack?” The question comes out more like a statement, and it only takes one look at Lee’s face to know I’m right.

Cold fear washes over me. Knowing Darren has pictures of me,explicitphotos of me in his possession, and has been stewing on them for weeks strikes me in a place I’d thought I’d long since buried. Memories flood forward, of nights spent trying to endure baseless accusations of cheating, of dodging fists and anything not nailed down, all the while trying to prove my loyalty to an alpha who never deserved it. In Darren’s mind, I’ve proven all those accusations correct.

“Caleb, please give me my phone,” I say suddenly, holding my hand out.

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