“Where are we going?” I whispered, glancing around to make sure no one was watching us as she pulled a key fob out of her pocket and unlocked the doors with the press of a button.
She tossed me the fob. “You drive. I’m still not supposed to.”
Brows lifted at her, I got behind the wheel. “Really, Mom? You just ran like we were being chased by the devil himself. Pretty sure you’re not supposed to do that either.”
“I’m attempting to be good,” she said with a snicker.
I started the truck, but I had no clue where to go. “Any particular destination in mind? Or am I going to drive aimlessly?”
She plugged an address into the GPS and sat back. “There you go.”
Sighing, I started following the directions. “Where did you get this truck?”
“A friend of mine left it there for me,” she said evasively.
“A friend,” I repeated, unable to keep the skepticism out of my voice.
“Yes, a friend. Don’t sound so surprised.”
“Mom, I know every single friend you have, and none of them would have left a truck for you to sneak out in. Not right now when they know you’ve just had surgery.”
“Lexa, by now, you should know I have friends, and then I have friends. Big difference, baby girl. Trust me.” With a wink, she turned on the radio and scanned through the channels until she found a classic rock station.
Shaking my head at her, I focused on driving, fighting a grin.
It wasn’t until I was pulling up in front of an older, one-story house that I even guessed where we were. The police car in the driveway gave it away.
“Shit, Mom,” I groaned. “This is Murphy’s house, isn’t it?”
“Of course it is. Drive down the block a bit. We’ll walk back through those trees over there.”
Not for the first time, I blew out a heavy sigh, but I did as instructed. I drove several houses down, and then we sat for a few minutes, making sure no one drove or walked by before getting out. Mom led the way into the bank of trees that went along the backs of the row of houses, using her phone to see by.
Sticking close to her, I debated calling Dad to snitch on her, but I quickly vetoed that option. Whatever Mom was going to do, she would do it whether my dad made threats or not. And I honestly couldn’t handle the backlash of her being upset with me even if I did call him.
Plus, I kind of wanted Murphy to get whatever punishment Mom dished out.
When we reached the one-story house again, I realized there was a six-foot privacy fence encasing the backyard.
“Give me a boost,” Mom whispered.
I helped her so she could see over the fence, and for a few minutes, she scanned the yard before telling me to lift her a little higher so she could climb over. Once she was on the other side, I jumped up and over it. My height came in handy on some occasions, it seemed.
My landing was anything but perfect, but Mom caught my arm, steadying me. When I started to thank her, she put her finger to her lips, indicating for me to keep quiet, then nodded toward the back porch.
Nodding, I fixed my shirt and followed her as she stealthily moved to the rear door. It was a sliding French door that led into the kitchen, and of course, it was locked. That didn’t hinder Mom any, though. She pulled something from her pocket, and I watched with my mouth gaping open while she picked the lock.
Two minutes later, the door slid open silently, and we entered the house.
The sound of male laughter alerted us to where Murphy was, but it also gave me pause. He wasn’t alone. At least one other man was with him, from what I could tell. Mom and I locked gazes, and she shrugged, letting me know she had no idea who else was there.
“Santino’s men will be here tonight,” a voice I only vaguely recognized said through his amusement. “They’ll take the whole house by surprise and get the girl. I told him not to leave a single one of them alive.”
The laughter came again before Murphy spoke. “What’s he planning on doing with the girl?”
“Why?” the other man jeered. “You want a turn with her before he gets his hands on her?”
“Damn, man, have you seen her? That body is perfect even if the scar turns my stomach.”
I froze in place, realizing he had to be talking about me. That could only mean they were talking about this Santino guy breaking in to my house and killing my family.
Mom reached back, her fingers cold as they clutched at mine. But even as she locked her hand around mine, I saw the gun she pulled from a holster strapped to her ankle.
“Of course I want to have a turn. See what all the fuss is about since fucking Davis can’t stop freaking out over the bitch,” Murphy continued.
“Wouldn’t mind a round or two with her myself,” the other guy told him.
My stomach turned as they so casually talked about raping me like I was nothing more than a sex doll they wanted to put their dicks in. I felt Mom starting to shake, and I knew her rage was about to cause complete mayhem.
Knowing I couldn’t let her do it without a weapon of my own, I glanced around the kitchen. Spotting the knife block, I grabbed the biggest handle, earning me an approving nod from Mom.
“Stay behind me,” she mouthed, and because she had the gun, I reluctantly agreed.
The men were still talking about how they both wanted to fuck me—rape me, because there was no way in hell I would ever let either of them touch me willingly. Mom released my hand and got down on all fours, crawling into the living room. Of course, I followed behind her, crawling as stealthily as possible considering I was a freaking giant.
Murphy and his guest, who I recognized as Royce Campbell as soon as I saw the side of his face, were sitting on the couch. Knowing it was the dirty DA who was talking about me only made me want to puke.
Using sign language—something she’d taught both Max and me when we were younger so we could communicate when speaking wasn’t possible—Mom told me she was going to put the gun to Campbell’s head, then instructed me to either slit Murphy’s throat or put the knife to it. I was going with the latter for the moment.
Lifting her hand, she counted down from three, and then everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. She jumped up, putting the gun right at Campbell’s temple. Before Murphy could even react, I grabbed his hair in one hand and had the butcher knife pressed flush against his throat with the other. If he so much as swallowed hard, he would get a smooth shave.
“What the fuck is this?” Campbell bellowed, yet he didn’t move. “How did you two get in here?”
“I have my ways,” Mom said, her voice sounding bored even though I could see the fire burning in her green eyes. “I only came to show my respect for Murphy here and got a bonus in the process.”
“You—” He didn’t get to finish whatever he was saying because she moved the gun from his temple to his mouth, shoving it in, making him whine in pain when I heard a few teeth actually crack.
“I’ll do the talking, motherfucker,” she seethed before turning her gaze on Murphy. “Hi, Deputy. How the hell have you been?”
“Mrs. R-Reid,” he stuttered.
“Now, you tell me, Murphy. Was it really necessary to treat my daughter so roughly last night? You left physical proof you weren’t playing fair.” She shook her head in disappointment. “I wouldn’t even be here if you had arrested her without bruising her. But that scrape on her cheek, man, that’s going to cost you even more.”
“I-I’m sorry, Mrs. Reid. Really…I was… I was only doing my job, ma’am. She put up a…a fight. I had…” He swallowed roughly, and the sound of the blade of my knife scraping over his throat filled the room. “Please don’t kill me.”
She laughed, the sound making the deputy actually tremble and goose bumps to rise on my arms. “I won’t kill you if you tell me everything Santino has planned. Deal?” He tried to nod, but my blade didn’t give him much room. “Good boy.”
T
he laugh stopped cold when she looked back at Campbell. “You, on the other hand… Oh, I’m going to kill you. And Murphy’s going to help me do it. That way, if he walks away from this, he can’t rat me out without telling on himself in the process.”
--
There was blood on my shirt that wasn’t my own. It had a strong metallic scent to it that made me want to gag, but I stopped myself before I could every time.
Murphy stood over Campbell’s dead body, his face covered in more blood splatter than my shirt. With the knife I’d brought from the kitchen, he’d slit his boss’s throat while Mom held a gun pointed at his heart. He hadn’t even flinched as he’d done it, but Campbell had begged like the pussy he was.
“Now,” Mom said as she stood over the DA’s lifeless body, the gun still pointed unwaveringly at the deputy. “About Santino.”
Face white as death, Murphy started talking in a voice several octaves higher than normal in his anxiety. “They’re supposed to hit your house at two o’clock. I don’t know how many will be with them, but I know they are planning to take your daughter and then kill the rest of you. Santino wants Lexa for himself before he sells her.”
“Sells me?” I repeated, equal parts pissed and scared of what could have happened if we hadn’t gotten a heads-up like this.
“Santino’s into human trafficking,” Mom informed me. “He’s probably the top dealer right now.”
A shudder went down my spine, and I seriously couldn’t stop the images that filled my head.
“He’s not going to touch you,” she vowed when she noticed my reaction. “I can promise you that, sweetheart.”
Headlights flashed through the living room window as a vehicle pulled into the driveway, followed by two more. Mom muttered a curse and quickly put the gun back in her ankle holster before walking casually to the front door just as a pounding fist knocked.
“Raven!” Dad shouted.
Murphy seemed to cower even more at the sound of my dad’s voice, but that was nothing compared to his reaction to Ben when he pushed through my dad and two of my uncles. Murphy seemed to shrink, trying to make himself as small as possible.
“Lexa,” Ben breathed my name when he saw me, his face relaxing somewhat. “Are you hurt?”
Before I could even answer, he was in front of me, his hands skimming over me to check for injuries. When he touched the still-wet blood on my shirt, his brown eyes became black in a heartbeat. “Are. You. Hurt?” he gritted out.
“No, of course not,” I rushed to assure him.
“Then whose blood is this?”
“Not mine,” I said evasively, trying to pretend like I wasn’t enjoying every second of his hands on me. Why did my damn body have to betray me and melt for him every time he was this close? It wasn’t fair.
That was when he took in the rest of the room and finally noticed the dead man lying on Murphy’s floor. “What the fuck happened here?” he raged.
“What do you think happened, Sheriff?” Mom countered with a question of her own.
Ben’s eyes went from Campbell to her, to Murphy and the knife lying at his feet where he’d dropped it. Ben took it all in within a matter of seconds before answering her. “It looks like you two paid Murphy a friendly visit, but Campbell interrupted and tried to ambush you to take Lexa. Murphy had no choice but to defend you with the only weapon on hand.”
Mom’s grin was bright enough to light up the whole world. “Smart man. That’s exactly what happened. Right, Murphy?”
“Y-Yes, ma’am,” he whispered, his voice trembling just as much as his body was.
Dad, Uncle Spider, Uncle Jet, and Uncle Hawk were all in the living room with us now, making the small space feel almost claustrophobic.
“Bash, I have to tell you about Santino,” Mom told him. “He’s planning a hit on the house tonight. We need to get Lexa to a safe house until we get this bastard taken care of. I don’t know why he’s suddenly got his sights set on her, but he does.”
“I’ve got it covered, baby,” Dad told her, but instead of soothing Mom, that only made her take several steps away from him.
“What do you mean, you have it covered? I only just told you…” She narrowed her eyes. “You knew already. You fucking knew, and you didn’t tell me our daughter was in danger?”
“I can explain,” he started, but she backed away from him until she was standing only inches from me. “Raven—”
“Don’t Raven me!” she screamed at him. “You don’t get to play God with our child’s life. I’m sick, not dead, you dickhead. If something is going on with one of our kids, I have the right to know.”
“I didn’t want you to worry. The doctor said for you to take things easy. Fuck, babe, you snuck out to come to Murphy’s house, and look what the hell happened. Davis and I had it under control.”
It was my turn to narrow my eyes. Ben met my gaze, but I didn’t see a single ounce of remorse in his eyes. He was going to keep the fact that I was on some sadist’s list from me? Fuck, I didn’t think he could hurt me more than he already had, but I was wrong. I always seemed to be when it came to him.
“I have a suggestion.” A voice I recognized immediately, yet couldn’t believe was actually there, spoke up for the first time, and I turned my head to find Theo leaning in the open doorway.
“Theo!” I cried and jerked away from Ben and pushed past two of my uncles to get to him, wrapping my arms around his waist. “What are you doing here?”
“Something told me I should check in on you. Your texts said one thing, but I got the feeling they meant something else.” He hugged me back, kissing the top of my head.
“You have a suggestion?” Uncle Jet reminded him.
“Yeah. The Vitucci jet is at my disposal. It’s at the airport right now waiting on me since I only planned to stay a day or two. I can take Lexa back to New York with me—”
“No fucking way,” Ben growled from right behind me, but I refused to even look at him.
“—until you get the Santino thing dealt with,” he continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “She can either stay with my parents or with Cristiano and Anya. There’s no way Santino could touch her there.”
“He’s right,” Uncle Jet confirmed. “Cristiano will ensure she’s safe, and we wouldn’t have to worry about her while we deal with this.”
“It’s Lexa’s choice,” Dad said after a tense moment. “If she wants to, she can go. If she doesn’t, we have safe houses she can stay in.”
I was surprised he was even giving me a choice, but it wasn’t me he was looking at when he made the offer. He was doing it in an attempt to soothe Mom, but she didn’t seem to be appeased. It was going to take a lot to get him out of the doghouse this time.
Ben’s hands were heavy when they landed on my shoulders, forcibly turning me to face him and pulling me away from Theo. His eyes were back to that same brandy-brown I loved so much as they implored me. “Stay here,” he commanded in a hoarse voice. “I’ll protect you, I swear it. Santino won’t dare to touch you. But, please, just stay.”
Chapter 20
Ben
Holding my breath, I waited for Lexa’s answer. If she went with Theo, I knew in my gut, I would never see her again.
That thought alone made me break out in a cold sweat.
Stepping back, she forced me to release her yet again. “Did you mean it, Dad?” she asked Bash. “Do I really have a choice in this?”
“I mean it.”
She closed her eyes and blew out a heavy exhale. “Then I choose neither,” she told him. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Lexa—” Bash started.
“Lexa, you have to,” Raven spoke over him. “Honey, Santino doesn’t bluff. He will come after you.”
She shrugged. “I’ll take my chances, but I’m not leaving you. You start chemo soon, and I’m going to be right here with you while you go through it.”
“I would feel better kn
owing you were safely away from that bastard’s grasp.”
“He said I have a choice. This is what I’m choosing,” Lexa stubbornly informed her mom. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Let’s get her moved to the clubhouse,” Bash instructed Masterson. “Her, Raven, and Flick. Now.”
“On it,” the enforcer said with a nod.
“Felicity will pack them each a bag,” Jet said as he texted rapidly.
Her choice didn’t make me feel smug. She wasn’t staying for me, but fuck, it was a relief just to have her agreeing to stay at all.
“What do you need me to do?” Theo asked, still standing in the doorway.
“I’ll let you know,” Bash said.
My gaze went back to Campbell’s lifeless body lying on the floor, the blood pooled around him from the gaping slash across his throat. I didn’t know how the two Reid women had gotten Murphy to kill the DA, and I wasn’t about to ask. The less I knew of the truth, the better.
Murphy himself looked like he was about to vomit or pass out, maybe both. I didn’t know if it was because this was his first kill, or if he was just so scared right then, his body couldn’t take it. Either way, the pussy needed to man up.
“I have to deal with this, and then I’ll meet you at your clubhouse,” I told Bash, reluctantly agreeing to let him take Lexa with him.
I could get a statement from her and Raven later. For now, I needed to call the coroner and get Murphy dealt with too.
“I’ll let the men at the gate know you’re coming,” Bash said as he motioned for Raven and Lexa to leave.
Raven flipped him off as she passed him, then put her arm around Lexa’s shoulders and walked with her out to the SUV Bash drove. I’d called him when I realized neither Lexa nor her mom was in the house, and he’d nearly burst my eardrum when he’d started yelling and cursing. He told me where they would probably be, and somehow, we’d gotten there at the same time even though he’d been farther away at the Hannigans’ bar.
As the house slowly emptied of people, I pulled out my phone and called in the dead body, already thinking of how I was going to explain this so it would seem like a legit self-defense kill. I knew I could come up with a story that would fit everything. The problem was, would Murphy corroborate it?
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