Page 8 of Shielding Lexi (Temptation)

Reaper lets out a growl and turns away from the table, his fists rounded, his knuckles white. A muscle ticks in his jaw from the effort of clenching it tightly shut.

Hawk takes his place at the table and narrows into me gently with his hand still on my back. “Do you remember where you met Brick?”

My head spins and pulses like it’s gripped in a vice as I shake my head.

“He could’ve picked her up anywhere,” Hawk says, looking back at Reaper whose hands have moved to the back of his head as he paces the front of the cabin. His thick-soled boots thump heavily on the wood floor and echo in the silence.

“But he didn’t. She’s a part of all this somehow… just wait and see. I’m telling you.”

A crash of thunder hits close to the cabin and I jump, suddenly realizing how exposed I am just sitting at the dining room table in a bikini. My skin ripples with gooseflesh and I rub my hands along my upper arms for relief. Self-protection or self-soothing, I don’t know or care which one it is. I don’t know what I need, but I need something.

“We don’t know that,” Kane says standing to try and calm Reaper.

It doesn’t work, he walks out into the now pouring rain, slamming the door behind him and I nearly vomit, knowing I held the worst of what I remembered in.

4

Reaper

Kane follows me outside, trying to reason with me, but I don’t want to hear it. I knew exactly where this girl came from before she’d even opened her eyes.

“Why would she tell us she knew Brick if she was trying to pull some shit on us? It doesn’t make sense,” Kane says, sitting beside me on the front porch as a heavy rain falls.

I look toward him for a second, then back out at the water, watching the palms bend and sway with the wind. There are white caps in the distance, as the wind picks up pace. I wouldn’t want to be out on open water right now. “I think she really did forget. I bet she jumped, or some kind of altercation happened and now they’re looking for her. It’s the only thing that makes sense. But it doesn’t mean I trust her. We’re only speculating and making up shit because we don’t know for sure.”

“Okay,” Kane says. “Then why are we worried? I’m sure she’ll remember more in the next few days. Either way… if she jumped or she fell, she isn’t here to mess with us.”

“Or that’s what she wants us to think. She wants us to get all cozy with her so she can trick us into giving her some piece of information… something. They’re looking for something from us, and I swear I’ll kill them all befo—”

“It’s okay, man,” Kane says, throwing his hand on my back. “I know things haven’t been easy since Julie, but—”

“But what? But I just forget my sister is dead? I just forget that Brick killed her? I just befriend everyone in his group? How do I know Lexi didn’t have something to do with Julie’s death too?”

My teeth begin to grind against one another and I know it’s time to stop talking. I’ve gotten to this place before and it never fares well. I stand from the porch and open the door.

“Where are you going?” Kane asks. “You’re not ready to go inside yet.”

I don’t answer, only pull open the door and step back inside. Hawk is still cutting vegetables at the counter. This time peppers. We let him take care of dinner most nights because he cooks better than the rest of us, but tonight he’s slow as hell.

“Why don’t you take the night off,” I say, grabbing a knife from beside the stove. “I need to keep my hands busy for a bit.”

He nods and tosses the kitchen towel he had slung over his shoulder onto the counter without a word. Apparently, I’m bullying everyone today. It’s not my intention, but it’s what’s happening.

“Can I help with anything?” Lexi asks, leaving the bathroom. She’s wringing her hands through the bottom of one of Hawk’s old Harley t-shirts from Arizona.

I’ll give her credit, she has to have some balls to ask me anything right now.

“I’m good,” I say, grabbing the tongs from the drawer. “Maybe Kane or Hawk need help. I think they’re—”

“But I wanted to help you,” she says, her voice shaking. “I think we should talk. I’m confused and you seem upset. If I have to stay here, I think we should sort this out.”

I pick up the bowl of marinating meat, the tongs, a clean plate, and my hands are full. “Fine, I guess you could grab that bottle of barbeque sauce for me.”

She picks it up and slides open the patio door for me, stepping to the side to let me through before sliding it closed again. It’s still pouring, but the back patio is covered, and the breeze feels nice as opposed to the stuffy, humidity in the cabin.

“Are those banana trees?” she asks, pointing to a grove in the distance.

They are in fact banana trees, but if anyone is going to be asking questions this time around, it’ll be me. My eyes narrow as I click the grill into an on position and twist the propane tank open.

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