Armed and Fabulous (Lexi Graves Mysteries)

by Camilla Chafer

  "You could stay with Jord?"

  "Have you seen his apartment? Bachelor hell. It's covered in sports equipment and his roommate's girly magazines."

  "You could take Lily. That would put her off Jord."

  We laughed and took a moment to think about that. I wasn't sure what would put Lily off Jord, but after seeing her get-up for working the door at Flames, I didn't think a few editions of skin magazines would put her off in the least.

  "The moment I disappear, or leave to stay with one of you guys, anyone who is watching me will smell a rat. Right now, all I can do is try to be normal. Go to work, go home, hang out," I explained. "Just be normal."

  Garrett slammed the wheel and the horn honked, making us both jump, then laugh again. "I want you to get a tracker and keep it on you, along with an alarm. Then I'm going to talk to Maddox. Next time you see him, he might have two black eyes and be walking funny."

  "I'll buy some ice." I didn't tell him that Maddox already bugged my cell phone.

  "Let's get you home. I want to check the security on your place."

  "It's shit," I told him. "But I have a carving knife."

  "You ever carve anything with it?"

  "No, but it's under my pillow, just in case I get the urge to slice something in the dark."

  "Jeez."

  Garrett brought me home, staying for a long while to poke around my apartment and make a list of all the security improvements it needed. Everything, apparently, needed securing after seeing the way he rattled the windows and played with the door locks. After he left, muttering under his breath, Serena called in a panic and asked me to stop by her house, hanging up before I could ask why. Lily poked her head out of her door when I was on my way downstairs, so I figured that made it okay to strong-arm her into coming with me.

  "Want to go out for dinner on the way back?" she asked.

  I did. I really did. I wanted to go out and have a nice meal and a few glasses of wine and arrive home, feeling warm and safe. Unfortunately, after Garrett's lecture, I also had a healthy dose of paranoia and I wanted to lock my doors and hide in the closet, right after I made sure no one else was already in there.

  "Let's pick something up," I suggested. "My treat. Chinese?"

  "You're on."

  Lily drove, seeing as she had to run a couple of errands on the way. "What does Serena want?" she asked.

  "She didn't say. Just that it was important."

  When we got there and knocked, I heard Serena weakly calling, "It's open!" so I pushed the door and went in, saying, "Hello?"

  "Kitchen!"

  "What's wrong?" I asked, clipping along the hallway, Lily at my heels. Serena stood hunched over in the kitchen, hands on thighs, breathing hard, a puddle of water by her feet.

  "My water broke."

  I looked down at the puddle around her toes. "Actually, I think you smashed a glass."

  Serena looked up and frowned, then tried to look over her sizeable bump. "Are you sure? My belly is really tight."

  "Maybe you're having those Braxton Hicks thingies?" suggested Lily. “It’s too early to go into labor.”

  "Oh. Maybe." Serena levered herself into an upright position and blinked. "I guess if that was labor, it was a lot easier than I thought it would be."

  "You'll know when you're in labor," said Lily, taking Serena by the arm and guiding her to the living room. Meanwhile, I plundered the cabinets for a dustpan to brush up the glass and a dishcloth to mop the floor.

  "Is this why you called me over?" I asked. "Where's Ted? You should have called him if you thought you were in labor."

  "Yes, and I don't know," Serena replied as Lily settled a pillow under her back. She also moved the footstool so Serena could put her feet up. "I called him and he said he had a business dinner and couldn't make it."

  "You told him you thought you were in labor, right?"

  "Yes. He told me the dinner was too important to miss and I'd have to cross my legs and wait it out."

  Lily pulled a face. "He knows babies don't care about dinners, doesn't he? And if you were in labor this early, you would need to be in the hospital right away?"

  "More importantly, does Ted know he's an asshole?" I asked.

  "He really is an asshole, isn't he?" Serena groaned and stretched.

  "Yeah. And anytime you think you're going to pop, call me first. I'll come straight over. You won't have to cross your legs for as long." My only hope was that Ted would arrive before it got gory.

  "Thanks. I appreciate it."

  "Aww. I'd hug you, but I don't think my arms can fit around you," I teased, but it was partially true. Serena was huge.

  "Raincheck. I'll be skinny in a few months again. I've already booked post-pregnancy boot camp."

  "What the hell is that?"

  "Military-style weight loss and toning. I can even bring the baby."

  "Sounds awesome." Sounded hellish, but that was Serena for you. "Can I get you anything before we take off?"

  "No. I'm fine. Sorry for calling you out here for nothing."

  "Not a problem."

  We climbed back in Lily's Mini and buckled up. "So," she said. "Chinese?"

  "Yes. I'm starved."

  "Wing's?"

  "You bet."

  Lily backed out of Serena's driveway and pointed the car towards Wing's, both of us lost in our own thoughts momentarily. Mine were mostly on the menu, which I had half memorized.

  "You ever wanted to be a mom?" asked Lily, surprising me.

  "I don't know. I guess." I pondered that some more. I had a crappy job, an okay car, a nice apartment, below market rate thanks to Lily's parents, and a distinct lack of commitment from a man. "Not any time soon though."

  "Me either, but one day. I want to be a stay-at-home mom. It sounds nice."

  "Nicer than working the clubs, eating out, drinking cocktails and sleeping in?"

  "A different nice."

  "Better than being skinny?"

  "There's boot camp and I have great genes."

  "I can see you being a mom."

  "Me too. I bet Maddox would make beautiful babies."

  "You want to have babies with Maddox?" My voice came out an octave higher than intended.

  "No! Besides, he wants to make them with you."

  "He might want to have sex with me. I don't think babies are on his agenda."

  "What about Solomon?"

  "I suspect he eats babies."

  "Eugh!"

  "Not really. I don't see Solomon as the type to change diapers and wear a Snugli. He's silent and dangerous."

  "He's sexy and dangerous."

  "You think too much about Maddox and Solomon."

  "At least I'm thinking."

  Wasn't I thinking about them too? I was probably thinking too much. So far, Maddox had starred in enough dreams that I’d lost count. Solomon had popped up in one, startling me enough to wake me up, panting. But back to real life, both had kissed me, and both held me when I needed them, their arms like steel girders around me.

  I considered myself a powerful, in-control woman, since I hadn't gone in for a sneaky squeeze or given them the come-on. Well, I might have given them some indication that I liked them. But when I thought about that, I remembered Maddox kept inviting himself over, and the way he angled to get closer to me didn't strike me as strictly professional. Of course, that made me think about Solomon and his slow, sexy smiles. The way he looked at me with smoldering eyes and had no hesitation about crashing our not-a-date, or rescuing me when I needed him.

  "What's the sigh for?" asked Lily.

  "I just saw Wing's," I lied, firmly relegating Maddox and Solomon to the back of my mind while Lily parked in the lot. We ordered, loitering in the small, tiled, lobby area while it was being prepared. Then, with the hot paper sack filled with dinner in hand, Lily yawned, handed me the keys and we climbed back into her car.

  For some reason, the main road into West Montgomery was all snarled up, so instead of twiddling our thu
mbs in traffic, I drove away from home and used side streets. We managed to bypass the majority of the traffic, backtracking and rejoining where it petered out and pointed towards home.

  I pondered the Maddox slash Solomon thing as I drove and Lily snoozed, her head nodding towards the side window. Glancing in my rearview mirror as I switched lanes, I noticed a large, black car making the same maneuver. Perhaps they were just impatient, but like a good spy, I glanced in the mirror every few minutes. I signaled left but didn’t turn, and slipped through the light traffic, while watching as the car matched our movements.

  Hmm. Suspicious!

  The SUV had tinted windows and I couldn't see who was driving, or the passengers. Now, however, I thought this was becoming less exciting and more scary, especially as Lily's Mini was just the right size to be their car's baby. I put my foot down and accelerated, trying to ignore the dial on the dashboard as it crept over the speed limit. The SUV never left us.

  "Lily?" I whispered, "Lily?"

  "Uhhhnn-err," snorted Lily.

  "Lily!" I hissed, a little more loudly this time, finally shouting, "Lily!"

  Her whole body shook as she jumped, her eyes flashing awake. "What? Was I talking in my sleep? I swear to God, none of it is true!"

  "No, you weren't, but I think we're being followed."

  "Whaaat?" Lily started to turn, but I shot my arm out, blocking her.

  "Don't turn round. They'll know we're onto them."

  "Why would anyone be following us? Are you speeding? You are so paying the ticket!"

  "I'm not speeding." Actually, I was, but that wasn't the problem as I eased up on the gas. The problem was the car that stayed a regulation three vehicles behind us, kept weaving through the traffic whenever I did, and speeding up whenever I went faster.

  "What's going on, Lexi?"

  "I don't know what you mean."

  "Don't play dumb with me, missy. I've known you too long. There were two dead dudes in the street last night, and now someone is following us." Her suspicious face, combined with the dark sky, infiltrated by the flashes of streetlamps ahead, made me shrink lower into my seat. Her mouth dropped open. "Oh my God! They really are following us!"

  "They might not be following us," I squeaked.

  "Tell me the truth!"

  I broke. "They probably are following us."

  Lily spoke slowly, in the no-nonsense voice she usually reserved for people trying to creep past the bouncers to get into one of her clubs. "What really happened last night?"

  "The dead guys are the men I saw getting rid of my boss' body and now someone has offed them and Maddox said they might want to kill me." I sucked in a breath. Wow. Getting that off my chest felt so much better. "And I promised not to tell anyone!"

  "Maddox wants to kill you? Cute Maddox who isn't your boyfriend?"

  "No, he doesn't want to kill me, and yes, that Maddox. Is there any other?"

  "Huh. What else haven't you told me?" To Lily's credit, she didn't say a word until I finished filling her in on the extra details from the ominous note to the creepy screensaver at work. "Holy crap," Lily said at last. "Someone is after you."

  "So, you believe me?" Hell, I wouldn't have.

  "And now you think this car is following us?"

  I glanced in the mirror. Yep, the car was still behind us, and thanks to the traffic snarling up again, we were still far from home. "I'm sure," I replied. "It's been on our tail for a while."

  "What are we going to do? What are they going to do?"

  "It depends who they are."

  "Maybe they're from Maddox. Maybe he's got someone watching over to make sure you're okay?"

  "I guess." But they were being kind of obvious about it and I thought Maddox was more subtle than that.

  "We need to call him." Lily reached round, careful not to look up and grabbed my jacket, pulling my cell from the pocket. She tapped in my pin number, ignoring me when I scowled, open-mouthed, at her. "You're not exactly discreet with the pin. It's also the same as both your credit cards."

  "I'll change them on Monday."

  "Do not change them to the same code as your laptop."

  Drat. That was the first sequence I thought of.

  "It's ringing." She listened, for a moment, then, "Hey, Adam Maddox? It's Lily, Lexi's friend. Yes, she's fine, but we were just wondering... Arrrrgh!" Lily didn't finish because right then, the Mini suddenly hurtled forward, the wheel sliding through my hands as the SUV rammed us from behind. Instantly, we were both screaming and Maddox was shouting, his voice sounding tinny through the phone's earpiece. My future flashed before my eyes: Serena screaming at me for ruining her baby's birth by dying; my parents' sad faces at my imminent funeral; and Lily in the hospital, injured, because I couldn’t ever think of her as dead.

  Then the SUV came at us again, ramming for a second time.

  Chapter Fourteen

  "Breathe," screamed Lily. "In! One, two, three. Out! One, two, three. Are you with me? Breathe, Lexi. Breathe!"

  "I'm breathing," I screamed back, the wheel securely under my hands. I gripped it so hard, my knuckles went white. Slapping my foot down and pressing the pedal to the metal, we shot forward as fast as Lily's little Mini could manage. Unfortunately, that was no match for the SUV bearing down on us. Somehow, I became vaguely aware of Maddox still shouting my name, his voice sounding from somewhere near our feet.

  "Maddox!" I yelled, then to Lily, "Ask Maddox what to do!"

  Lily grappled for the phone, pressing it against her ear then turning it the right way up. "We're okay," she screeched, "But the car rammed us. Uh, a big, black one. No, I can't see, it's got tinted windows. It's not yours? No shit! Yes, we're going faster!” In a calmer voice, she said, “Lex, he wants to speak to you."

  My first thought was, "I'm driving," but considering we were now fifteen miles over the speed limit, and I'd just pulled through lanes without signaling, speaking on a phone while driving probably didn't even count as an offense anymore. I inclined my head and Lily pressed the phone against my ear.

  Maddox's worried voice exclaimed, "Lexi? Thank God you're okay."

  "For now! Adam, are they trying to kill us?"

  "Ohmygodthey'retryingtokilluuuuus!" Lily screamed.

  "Breathe!" I snapped, then concentrated on Maddox. "What do I do? There isn't a turnoff for miles and we're in a Mini being rammed by the equivalent of a tank."

  "Keep going forward."

  "Good thinking, Adam! Keep 'em coming." I could barely avoid the sarcasm in of my voice.

  "You're going to have to anticipate their every move and outsmart them until I can get someone out to you."

  "How am I supposed to do that?"

  "You've got to put as much distance between you and them as possible. As soon as you see them start to turn, you've got to use that to your advantage..."

  "Lexi... Lex... Uh..." Lily gestured frantically behind us as the SUV sped up, dodged past a car that had slid in front of them, into the inside lane, and jumped in right behind us. I swerved into the right lane, causing the car behind to honk at us, and put my foot down, jetting us forward as the SUV got stuck behind a slow moving truck. Lily put the phone back to my ear.

  "What happened?"

  "I lost them behind a truck. What now?" I asked Maddox.

  "Put your foot down, Lexi. I'll have someone meet you at the next junction."

  "Who..." Then Lily and I were both screaming again as something blasted through the rear window and lodged into the dashboard. The phone tumbled to the floor. We looked at each other in horror as it registered that whoever was following us wasn't content just to take us off the road. They were now shooting at us. Simultaneously, we both slunk lower in our seats until I could barely see over the steering wheel.

  "A few minutes, Lily. That's how long we've got to the junction. Just a few minutes." I could only hope we would last that long.

  "Lexi, I just want you to know that you're the best friend I ever had and I'm really sorry for r
uining your purple dress."

  "You're my best friend too. And I'm sorry for taking your yellow bag and never giving it back."

  "It suits you better anyway." Lily sounded so horribly resigned that I risked taking my hand off the wheel to reach over and give her a little squeeze. "Get us out of here and you can keep it," she said.

  "You got it." I would have sounded so much more confident if my words hadn't turned into a scream as I slammed on the brake with scant seconds to spare before the SUV tried to sideswipe us into the guardrail. Instead, sparks flew off their side. I pulled hard on the steering wheel, taking us into the next lane and sped past while Lily flipped them the finger.

  "The turn's coming up." Lily pointed to the sign indicating how far before the road would split away.

  I crossed my fingers on the wheel, hoping with every last bit of my body that Maddox had come through for us as we sailed past, the SUV increasingly gaining on us. My mirror glances were every ten seconds now as I tried to anticipate what they would do next. That was how I spied the motorcycle hurtling forth from nowhere. It came veering out from behind the SUV. The rider drew a gun, pointed, aimed and my heart stopped.

  Then the SUV slowed, and wobbled slightly as it sped onto the side, clipped the guardrail, bouncing a bit before entering into a spin. We pulled away, the distance finally growing between us. The motorcycle, however, was gaining, but I saw the rider putting the gun away into some kind of sling over his shoulder and he... he signaled to us. Lily leaned forward, frowning.

  "Hello, Nighthawk," she said; then to me, "I think we're supposed to follow."

  "You sure?" I asked, blood rushing in my ears.

  She shrugged. "He didn't shoot us. He shot them."

  Good enough for me. The rider waved again before pulling in front of us, slowing down to the speed limit and forcing us to as well. We followed him as he pulled off into a gas station and drew to a stop in the parking bays off to one side. I pointed the Mini at the furthest bay, leaving the engine running, just in case we were duped and about to get an unwanted hole in our heads. We watched silently as the rider swung one leather-clad leg over the bike and strode purposefully towards us, sliding the zipper of his jacket down. By gosh, that was sexy. He reached for his helmet, pulled it off, and I realized I hadn't even taken a breath.