As soon as the door clicked shut, he squared his gaze on Alexis. She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead like she had a headache. From the looks of her, everything probably ached. His chest tightened. Even battered and bruised, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on. The moment he’d met her, some long-dormant part of his heart had opened up, and he hadn’t been able to get her off his mind since.
Meeting his gaze, she flashed a half-hearted smile. “Hi, Bryce.”
She’d seemed fine at the wedding a few months ago. What could have caused her to spiral down so quickly? “What happened to you?”
“I…got in an accident.”
He narrowed his gaze. “The report says you jumped from an electrical tower, trying to kill yourself. They pronounced you dead.” Simply saying the words aloud caused the weight on his shoulders to press down harder, threatening to crumble him. First his neighbor, and now Alexis. He couldn’t handle losing anyone else he cared about.
“No, the report is wrong. I didn’t fall from that far up, and I was conscious the entire time. I…” She ran a hand down her face. “It was stupid, and I never should have tried to climb it, but I swear I wasn’t trying to kill myself.”
The urge to take her in his arms and hug away the hurt overwhelmed him, so he shoved his hands in his pockets. “You’re gonna have to give me more than that.”
She gazed at the IV in her hand and shook her head. “I got into a little bit of trouble and had an accident.”
He could think of one kind of trouble that would leave a woman this beaten and scared, and his hands curled into fists as he pulled them from his pockets. “What’s going on? I can help you.”
“No, you can’t. I’m about to be released; it’s no big deal.” She gripped his hand, and his fist relaxed. “Please, Bryce. Promise me you won’t tell Macey.” Determination offset the fear in her eyes.
He sank onto the edge of the bed. “Alexis, if this wasn’t a suicide attempt. If someone did this to you, I can help. You need to get the police involved.”
“No one did this.” She folded her hands on her stomach. “It was an accident, and I’m going to be fine. I feel better already. Macey’s got enough on her plate now; I don’t want to worry her.”
“She’s your sister. She would want to know.” He knew his ex-partner well, and if there was anything she could do to help her sister, Macey would do it. As strained as their relationship was, she loved her.
“Everything will be fine.” She blinked up at him, her emerald eyes pleading. “Please don’t tell her.”
He chewed the inside of his cheek. Her bond with Macey was rocky at best, so who was he to insist she confide in her? His brother had been his best friend, and look at what had happened. He took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. This was going to come back to bite him in the ass somehow.
“All right. I won’t say anything.” Yet. For some reason, he believed her story that the report was wrong. Eye-witness accounts were often inaccurate and conflicting, and his gut told him to trust her that it wasn’t a suicide attempt. He’d bet his left nut the bruises hadn’t been put there by accident though. “Can I do anything for you? Tell me what you need.”
“I need my stuff.” She picked at the lint on the blanket. “They took my clothes and put me in this stupid gown, and the nurse keeps saying she’ll give them to me, but she hasn’t. Can you get them for me? I want to be ready when they release me.” She laid her arms by her sides. “I hate hospitals.”
“I can get your stuff.” He put his hand on hers, and her gaze flicked to where they touched. “Where will you go when you’re released? Where do you live? I can give you a ride.” Anything to make sure she didn’t go back to the man who’d done this to her.
“I…nowhere right now. I’ll figure something out.”
“Nowhere? You’re homeless?”
She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m resourceful. I’ll find somewhere to stay until I can go back to work.”
He didn’t doubt her resourcefulness; she’d been taking care of herself since she was a kid. But there was no reason for her to be homeless when she had people who cared about her. “If you don’t have anywhere to go, stay with me.”
She pulled from his grasp. “What? No.”
“I’ve got plenty of room at my place. You can stay with me until the trouble blows over. I won’t say a word to anyone.”
She pursed her lips and gave him a quizzical look. “That’s very sweet, but you don’t need to be involved in this.”
“I already am.” And, damn it, he wanted to be. She may not have needed a knight in shining armor, but she did need a friend, whether she wanted to admit it or not. He could be that for her. He could be anything she needed him to be.
“Thank you. But getting my clothes will be enough. I can take care of myself.”
“You sound just like your sister.” Macey had been his partner for seven years. She was independent and stubborn as a mule. It appeared to run in the family.
He slipped out the door and made his way behind the nurse’s station. Alexis’s personal effects sat in a plastic bag on a shelf. He tucked the parcel under his arm, grabbed a pen and a sheet of paper, and strode toward her room.
Ducking into a bathroom across the hall, he examined the items in the bag. A pair of jeans, a dirty, black T-shirt, a car key, and a matching set of blue satin unmentionables. His cheeks flushed with warmth as he shoved them back into the bag.
He scribbled his address and phone number on the paper and slipped it, along with his house key, into the pocket of her jeans. The temperature would be near freezing tonight, and she’d have to go somewhere. He’d sleep better knowing she was safe and warm. Shoving everything into the bag, he took it to her room.
She sat up when he walked in, a smile lighting on her lips as she eyed the bag. The bruise around her eye was already fading. Or maybe her smile made it less noticeable.
He tossed the package onto the bed. “My offer stands.” Plastering on a fake grin, he winked. “Most women would jump at the chance.”
She rolled her eyes. “Keep telling yourself that.”
He paused as the ache in his chest grew stronger. “I can stay with you until you’re released.”
Clutching the bag, she shook her head. “That’s okay.”
“Are you sure? I don’t—”
“Go home, Bryce.”
Inhaling deeply, he held her gaze. The logical part of his brain barely overruled his intense desire to scoop her into his arms and carry her home with him so she’d be safe. But he recognized the stubborn set of her jaw. Like her sister, when she set her mind to something, there was no use arguing. If the woman didn’t want his help, all the charm and wit he could muster wouldn’t be enough to change her mind. “You just…be careful.” He turned and left the room.
Chapter Four
Bryce parked his car on the curb and climbed the steps to his half of the two-story duplex on the outskirts of the Garden District. Growing up, his family had barely scraped by in their three-bedroom rental on the wrong side of the tracks. He’d always dreamed of owning one of the big mansions in the area. While sharing a split-level with another family didn’t exactly count as owning a mansion, at least he was in the right neighborhood.
A single massive oak tree filled the small front yard and shielded most of the yellow and white house from the street. Karen and Michael had wrapped the thick trunk with twinkling white lights for the holidays. That was as festive as Bryce was willing to get.
He lifted a fake fern out of a clay pot on the landing and grabbed his spare key from the bottom. Sliding it into the lock, he pushed the door open.
“Sam, I’m home.” He stepped into the living room and braced himself for impact. His eighty-pound Siberian husky leapt from the couch and barreled toward him. He bent his knees to receive the goofball of a dog with open arms, and Sam showered his face in kisses, whining and wagging like he hadn’t seen his owner in days.
“All right, boy. Calm down. You missed your walk today, didn’t you?”
Sam woofed.
“You go do your business in the back yard, and I’ll walk you after dinner. Deal?”
The dog licked his hand and darted to the back door.
“Out you go.” Bryce flung open the door, and Sam raced onto the terrace and scrambled down the steps into the small back yard. He left the door open a crack and watched through the window as Sam chased a squirrel into a tree. “Crazy dog.”
He grabbed a beer from the fridge and leaned against the counter, appreciating the peaceful silence of his home as he took a long drink. The effervescent liquid cooled his dry throat, and the quiet calm soothed his frazzled nerves.
The events of today had hit way too close to home, and while most of the guys on the team liked to let off steam at a crowded sports bar or night club, Bryce sought refuge in the solace of stillness. Michael would be okay, and Alexis…
He was done being the badass cop for today.
As soon as Sam came back inside, Bryce popped his last frozen dinner into the microwave and sighed. A trip to the dreaded grocery store was in order.
As he finished his last bite of Salisbury steak, he rinsed the plastic container and tossed it in the recycle bin. His favorite book sat on the end table, begging him to read it, but he’d promised Sam a walk after dinner. It was the eighth time he’d read The War of the Worlds, anyway. The Martians probably wouldn’t change their plan of attack while he was out.
He picked up the leash, and Sam wagged his tail so hard his hind end could have fallen off. “Let’s go, boy.”
Sam darted out the door, dragging Bryce down the steps. The husky’s tongue lolled from his mouth as he pranced down the street, sniffing and hiking his leg on every tree and bush he could find.
Normally, a cold, crisp night like this would clear Bryce’s mind, but Alexis clouded his thoughts tonight. The official report said attempted suicide. A sickening feeling formed in his stomach. He couldn’t live with himself if he’d left her there alone to enable another attempt. He twisted his brother’s ring.
Stop second-guessing yourself. She’d sworn she wasn’t trying to kill herself, and he believed her. In all his years as a detective, he’d gotten good at spotting a lie. This wasn’t one. She had gotten into trouble though, and damn it, he promised he wouldn’t tell her sister. Macey would want to know if someone had hurt Alexis. Now he was stuck between a boulder and a brick wall.
Macey trusted him explicitly. If he didn’t tell her, she’d never forgive him if something happened to Alexis. But if he did tell her, who knew what kind of mess he’d stir up between the sisters? Alexis would probably never speak to him again. He hardly knew the woman, but based on the way his heart raced when she was around, he wanted to know more of her. A lot more.
Alexis double-checked the address Bryce left in her pocket and climbed the stairs to the second floor. Sharp pain shot through her knees with each step as she clutched the wooden railing and dragged her aching body up. She hesitated on the landing, toying with the key in her hand. This was a bad idea.
But what else could she do? Her sister would’ve been happy to help, but she couldn’t get Macey involved. Eric was right. The Crescent City pack couldn’t help her stop his sadistic plans. Their territory ended where Eric’s began. All they could do was report it to the congress, and nobody listened to a rogue.
She had to handle this herself. Her life depended on it, and going to Macey would put her in danger too. Worse than that, Alexis would have to admit she’d gotten herself in over her head.
No, she’d figure something out. She needed a safe place to lay low for a while, at least until she recovered enough to shift. Then she could get her car from the parking lot in Pearl River and at least have her clothes and her phone back. After that… Eric’s father might listen to her. If anyone could put an end to his scheme, it was David.
She put on a mask of resolve and knocked. No answer. She chewed her bottom lip. Bryce wouldn’t have given her a key if he didn’t want her to use it, so she slipped it into the lock and opened the door.
Warm air enveloped her as she stepped inside, relaxing the tension she carried in her shoulders. She expected the place to be a pigsty, typical of the cocky smartass type Bryce appeared to be, but this was no standard bachelor pad. The countertops gleamed like they’d been freshly polished, and the furniture looked brand new. The living room smelled of lavender with a slight undercurrent of dog fur so faint she could barely detect it. The place had such a homey feel that she found herself standing in the entry, brow scrunched, unable to move for a moment.
“Bryce, are you home?” Soft carpet squished beneath her boots as she tiptoed through the living room and down the hall toward the bathroom. A bedroom door hung open, and she resisted the urge to peek inside to see where he slept. Her mouth went dry. She’d imagined him in the sack plenty of times since she’d met him, and seeing his actual bedroom would add fuel to the fire she was trying to extinguish.
A second door stood shut, and curiosity got the better of her. She gave the knob a twist and found it locked. What secret was he hiding in there? As long as it wasn’t another soundproof room, it didn’t matter. As soon as she recovered, she’d thank him for his help and be out of his life. Let the man have his secrets.
Avoiding the bathroom mirror, she stripped out of her blood-crusted clothes and stepped into the shower. Warm water cascaded from the showerhead, the droplets stinging as they pelted her bruised skin. The purple marks were already fading to a greenish-yellow, but they hurt like hell. Everything hurt.
She turned off the water, stepped out of the shower, and stared at her reflection in the mirror. What the hell was she doing here? Bruised and broken, she’d barely escaped from one arrogant male, and she’d run straight into the home of another one.
Sure, Bryce was handsome. Smoking hot. She’d felt something stirring deep inside her soul the moment she’d met him, but she’d squashed the sensation like dead bug as soon as she’d caught it wriggling its way into her mind. A rogue couldn’t be tied down to a human. Especially to a cop. She had a hard enough time following supernatural laws; being near Bryce would force her to consider human ones too. It would also force her to face her feelings for him.
If he really had lost most of his family like Macey said, he’d have deep emotional scars. Wounds like that hardened men, and every time she scratched away the sexy, self-assured surface, she found an asshole underneath. Maybe Bryce would be different, but…
She sighed. It didn’t matter. Getting close to him would end in heartache. Either she’d leave like she always did when she started getting comfortable somewhere, hurting him, or he’d turn out to be an asshole like all the other men she’d fallen for. It would never work.
Still, she couldn’t deny the spark she’d felt when she shook his hand over Macey’s hospital bed last year. It wasn’t the spark of magic that she always felt when she touched someone with supernatural abilities—Bryce was all man—but looking into his bright, hazel eyes had made her heart stutter and her wolf howl.
And when Macey was hurt, he’d stayed by her side like she was family. He seemed to genuinely care. Macey trusted him, and that was the reason she’d come to his house for refuge. But he was a man, and Alexis was done with men…no matter what her wolf—or fate—had in mind.
She chewed her bottom lip. Speaking of fate…a vague memory of waking up in the ambulance rattled through her mind. She remembered clutching the EMT’s hand and feeling a buzzing, supernatural energy seeping from her skin. The rhyming rhythm of a healing spell knocked around in her brain, but she couldn’t remember the words. It was no coincidence she’d ended up in a witch’s ambulance.
She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her chest. She didn’t need to justify her decision to come here—to herself or anyone else. Once she could shift, she could run back to Pearl River and get her car. This arrangement was temporary—like the rest of her
life.
Bryce paused on the terrace with his hand on the doorknob. He remembered locking it when he left. His pulse quickened as he gazed in through the window. Light illuminated the hallway, but he always turned them off. Keeping Sam close by his side, he slipped inside and took his pistol from a drawer in the kitchen. It could’ve been Alexis, taking him up on his offer of refuge. It also could’ve been an intruder, and he wasn’t taking any chances.
He padded into the hallway to find the bathroom door ajar, the scents of soap and shampoo wafting out with the dissipating steam. Widening his stance, he held the gun by his side. “Come out where I can see you.”
The door opened fully, and he couldn’t help but focus on the pair of shapely legs stepping through. He dragged his gaze up, over the midnight blue towel that covered her torso, and regarded the most disarming set of green eyes he’d ever seen. “Alexis.” His posture relaxed, and a strange mix of relief and hope fluttered in his core.
A sly smile curved her lips as she raised her hands. “Don’t shoot.”
Sam lunged, yanking the leash from his hand. The dog whined and barked, shaking his whole body in excitement as he danced around her feet.
She grinned and reached down to pet him. “Some guard dog you got here.”
“Sorry. He’s not used to visitors.” He picked up the leash and pulled Sam away, ducking into his bedroom to set the gun down.
“It’s okay. He’s sweet.”
He returned to the hall. “Anyway, a badass cop like me doesn’t need a guard dog.” He winked and unhooked the leash. “Go to the living room, boy. Go.”
Sam whimpered and looked at Alexis.
Bryce raised his voice. “Sam…Go.”
The dog reluctantly sulked away, and Bryce focused on Alexis.
Damn. His chest tightened. Even the mottled bruises covering her body couldn’t take away from her beauty. She stood about five foot ten, and her legs had to be a mile long. The towel barely covered the important parts. Heat flushed through his body, probably turning him ten shades of red. He was staring, but his brain couldn’t seem to form a coherent thought to break the trance.
Bound by Blood (Crescent City Wolf Pack Book 3) Page 5