In Her Sights (24 page)

His one good brow dipped. It was muddy to on her ears. She
just couldn’t come out and say he couldn’t use her phone because she was a
contract killer. This specific phone was a private line that was linked to Kyle
for one, and the burner phone she’d left for Joe, as well. It was getting
destroyed at the first chance she had to get rid of it.

She gripped the steering wheel. “Why were you there? On that
street?”

“Livingston picked up a tip from a source. The dagger is
circulating the police department. We didn’t hear about it until late. We got
the location and headed that way.”

“But you were out of your truck.” And blocks away from the
meeting point, but she just couldn’t manage to get that part out.

“We parked and split up. We wanted to walk in and see what
we could overhear without being seen. I was supposed to come in from the East
side, Ried on the West. I didn’t make it far before they jumped me.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Lexie pulled in Clayton’s driveway and turned off the engine
of his truck. Now that they were here, well out of the way of danger, she had
to ask herself what in the hell she had been thinking. Her fingers curled in
and more than anything she wanted to slip out of the truck and disappear. The
gun dug against her hip. Knife handle on her back and the bow on the console.
Everything she’d worked for to keep protected and hidden and it was all laid
out. Right there with Clayton a seat over and just staring at her.

Truth was, she hadn’t been thinking. If she could do it all
over again, she knew for a fact she’d do it the same way. She stared at her
lap. Being on the rooftop and helpless while Clayton was unfairly being
attacked, there was nothing else she could have done. The thought of leaving
him like that was worse than the nerves churning in her stomach.

Clayton reached up and hit a button, causing the garage door
to lower and seal them inside.

She glanced at him and found his back nearly against his
door while he faced her. She unbuckled and looked his way. “I’m not going to
hurt you. Do you believe that?”

“I think if that’s what you wanted, you would have left me
there.” He shook his head and looked ridiculous with napkins sticking out his
nose to stop the blood. The crimson staining the white tissues and red streaked
over his cheeks were no laughing matter. “How were you there? You just
appeared.”

She didn’t know how this could work, but she didn’t have a
choice now. The sun was coming up, so trying to run from him to home, dressed
as she was, would only get herself caught. They were in this together somehow,
and she needed to make sure they stayed on the same thought. “I saw them
attacking you from a rooftop. That’s how I knew where you were.”

He lifted his hand by his head and brushed over his hair. “I
keep seeing an arrow go through that man’s chest. I keep looking at you and
seeing that bow and I just can’t make myself believe it.”

She should probably be shaking to give the pretense that
killing a man had gotten to her, but her trembling fingers had nothing to do
with the man she killed. Through everything, Lexie just couldn’t fake this with
Clayton. He’d seen too much. It was only a matter of time before he put it all
together and there was nothing she could do to stop it. All she had to offer
were the facts. “He was standing on you and crushing your chest.”

“Yeah. He was.” He sighed with a touch to his chest and got
out of his truck. “I have to call Reid.”

The door slammed shut. She blinked at tears. Things she’d
overcome in life always seemed difficult, but this moment was hard. She wasn’t
ashamed of what she did, but the way Clayton had stared at her with his face
just blank like he didn’t know her at all punched her in the gut. She dropped
her head in her hands and allowed a tear to seep from the corner of her eye.
She did not want to have this discussion later, but they would. And she didn’t
know how everything would come out in the end.

He walked around the truck and stood there. She rolled down
the window. “Do you have any cameras in this garage or in your house?”

“No. It’s all outside.”

She rolled the window back up, pulled the key, and slipped
out with the mask in one hand and dropped the bow back across her chest.
Everything else was still on her. She kept her distance from him while he
stared. His gaze covered her.

She ran her thumb under the shoulder strap of the bow. “We
need to get inside and look at your eye and the rest of you.”

“I have questions for you.”

“I know.”

“I just can’t comprehend what I want to ask right now
because what I’m seeing doesn’t make sense for what I know.”

There were more of those stupid tears again. “Just give me a
chance to answer before calling the police about tonight.”

“All right.” He opened the door and stood back as she walked
into a kitchen.

The walls were tan, the ceilings angled to a high, pointed
roof. A large island stretched through the center, and some boxes of healthy
snacks laid atop it.

She turned through an archway and stepped into his living
room. A large stone fireplace with a gate in front of it took up one wall.
Oversized leather couches, a recliner, and a big ottoman covered the hardwood
floors. Much in the same colors as his offices. A few shelves flanked a big-screen
TV and held pictures and magazines. A big dining room table was beyond the
living room. To the other side of her was a wide set of doors and a covered
patio. A big grill was by the edge, and padded furniture was set out.

Then the most impressive of it all, Clayton, who stood a few
feet away. Bloodied, bruised, but still alive.

“Bathroom? I want to look at your eye.”

He pointed. “Down that hall. My bedroom door is open. I have
stuff in there in the second drawer to the right of the sink. I need to call
Reid and make arrangements for him.”

She passed through the living room into a carpeted hall. No
pictures were here, though. The light, cream-colored walls were bare. White
doors were closed. She peeked in one of them, but found the big room empty. She
pulled the door closed. The hall turned a corner. Along the left was an opened
door. This room had hardwood floors. A kickboxing bag hung from the center. A
couple of weightlifting machines were along the wall. She backed out and kept
going, looking for his bedroom. At the far end of the hall, dim light glowed
out from another room.

The hall continued around the corner, but she stepped into
what must have been his bedroom. A lamp on a bedside table was on. A watch,
handful of change, and a pocket knife were by the light. The bed was unmade.
Sheets twisted and turned back over the blue bedspread. A pair of jeans were in
a heap on the floor.

She entered the bathroom and flipped on lights. A big marble
bathtub was along the wall, a large glass shower next to it. At the back, the
door to a big, walk-in closet stood open.

She faced the wide mirrors over the sink. Dirt circled her
eyes, mouth, and nose. Places where her mask didn’t cover. The top of her hair
was mashed and matted over her head. Bangs wadded and crinkled. She found a
washcloth under the sink and cleaned her face, wet her hair around her temples,
and across the top of her head. A hand towel was under the sink, and she dried
off.

A comb was left on the counter, and she untangled her hair
until it was smooth and the wet strands slick against the top of her head.
There was nothing left to do but wait. She gripped the edge of the counter and
hung her head a minute.

Just a minute was all she had before a shadow passed over
her shoulders. She didn’t have to look. She could smell him. Spicy. Complex.
Something that turned on her mind, made her nerves sit up and take notice.

“I used your comb.” She closed her eyes.
I used your comb
.
That was the best she had, and that was a scary place to be.

“That’s fine.”

She turned and leaned against the counter. With him against
the doorframe, only the width of the bathroom separated them. Five feet at the
most. It wasn’t much, but enough that he was keeping his distance. The gun was
heavy on her hip, the bow still across her chest. She moved back to his room
and left all her weapons in a pile out of the way. She eased back in the
bathroom and found him sitting on the counter.

Peroxide, cotton balls, and towels were by his hip. The
napkins that had been in his nose were gone. She stood close enough so she
could work. Close enough that her hip was against his thigh. “I’ll be as easy
as I can.”

“Just do it.”

His voice was harsh as his gaze moved away. The broken skin
over his eye wasn’t deep. Head wound. They all bled that way. She cleaned with
a wet rag, wiping around his eye first. His lashes were long and stuck together
with blood. She wiped, cleaned the rag, and wiped more, clearing it all away to
the cut below his brow. This much silence was about all she could handle. “It’s
about a quarter of an inch. Do you have any small bandages?”

“Third drawer. Some antiseptic in there, too.”

She soaked a cotton ball with peroxide and dabbed it to his
eye. It bubbled and foamed as much as she expected. No doubt from one of those
bastards’ fists. Or a foot. His shoulders tensed and she stepped closer, cupped
his head, and blew cool air on the spot.

She stroked under the mark as fresh blood came to the
surface. She got another cotton ball and pressed it to the cut. “Hold some
pressure on that if you can.”

“I have it.”

“Did you get a hold of Reid?” She quickly opened a bandage and got some antiseptic on it.

“Yes. He’s got a ride coming. He’s planning to stop here to
make sure I’m okay, but it’ll take him about two hours to get here.” Clayton
took a deep breath and let it out slow. “He was an Army medic.”

Two hours. She could do something to make reasons for her
being here in that time. He moved the cotton ball as she swiped the bandage on
his eye. She rewet the rag, cleaned the last of the blood from his cheek and
neck then wiped around his nose. “Okay. Let’s look at your chest.”

He lifted his arm and gave a grunt. She caught him by the
bicep and stopped him. He shook his head. “There was a good shot to my left
side.”

Just to his left? He had been taking kicks all over when she
came around that corner. “Let’s just cut the shirt off.”

“Look in the same drawer. There’s a bunch of stuff in there
and should be a pair of scissors.”

She pulled the drawer open and flipped through bandages of
all kinds. Sterile cloths and alcohol wipes. She flipped under those things and
found some small scissors at the bottom. She pulled the tail of his shirt out
and cut straight up. Ugly bruises crossed his chest and stomach. Around his
sides. She cut the sleeves off and dropped the black shirt on the floor. She lightly traced his ribs again just to settle her fraying nerves. As long as he was okay, that’s all that mattered. He was walking and talking. The odds of something
seriously broken were slim, but there could still be a fracture.

He grunted as she touched. “I think they’re just bruised.
Reid can confirm in a couple hours.”

She stepped back as he eased off the counter and stood before
her. Beaten, bruised, and bloodied, in this bathroom, he seemed to tower over
and around her. There was nothing weak looking about him.

“I need to take a shower.”

She tossed the handful of items into the small trashcan. “Do
you need any help?”

He watched her, his breath held and hers maybe a little,
too. He finally shook his head. “I’ll be fine.”

She washed her hands. Right. What was she planning to do?
Shower with him? “Just leave the door open and I’ll be nearby if you need
anything. I need to call the house.”

“Okay.” She started out, but he called her name, stopping
her. “Thanks for being there and doing something.”

“I’m glad I was.” She eased out, pulling the bathroom door,
but left a small crack. She made it as far as the end of his bed, where she sat
and dropped her face in her trembling hands.

They couldn’t keep dancing around it. He had to know what
her bow meant. It was her calling card. He had to know what she…what she did.
At least, what she did locally. She’d never used the bow on a paid assignment.
There was nothing like that he’d uncover, but she had killed two other men
years ago and left an arrow as a warning.

She had no answers. Had no idea what she might say to any of
his questions. The shower water turned on, and she pushed from the bed and
called her house from his phone.

Julia answered before it finished the first ring. “Lexie
Olympia Estate.”

“It’s me.”

“Are you okay?’

“I’m fine. I’m at Clayton’s house.”

“But what about….”

Being here didn’t just put her at risk. It put her employees
at risk, too. If something ever happened and she was arrested, she wouldn’t
take Alex, Julia, and Mike down with her, but they could try and pin a link on
them. “I need some things. Pack me a small bag. Comfortable clothes like I
would wear around the house. Give it to Mike. I’ll send you an address in a
minute. I don’t know why yet, but someone is watching the house.”

“We know. Alex already spotted it and he’s keeping watch. It’s
an older model, blue car. They’ve been sitting there for an hour now.”

“It’s just the police, so no need to worry. Tell Mike to
take one of the cars with blacked-out windows that I would normally be driven
in. If he’s not followed and not stopped by anyone, tell him to go directly to
the address I’m about to give you. The garage will open. He needs to pull in, I’ll
come get my bag, then he’ll need to leave. Tell him to go to the grocery store
or whatever he needs to do. If anyone asks, he brought me to that address.”

She gave Clayton’s address, hung up, and sat on his couch.