“What the fuck is he doing here? Is this some kind of sick fucking joke, Coen? Take me home!” she shouts.
That’s when it hits me. I should know that fucking tool’s car anywhere. I’ve been so wrapped up in Lexi that I’d forgotten.
“Lex, I’m just as fucking surprised by this shit as you are. Give me a sec—” My phone rings. It’s Derek.
“Dude, dickhead’s watchdog just texted me the address of where he is today.”
“Too late, D. I know exactly where he is. I’m going to find out what in the actual fuck is going on. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Shit. Call me if you need backup, man. Is Lexi with you?”
“Yeah, I got her. Thanks, man.”
I slide my phone back in my pocket and look over at Lexi. She’s gone from looking like she saw a ghost to looking like she wants to rip someone’s throat out.
“This is some fucked up shit, Coen. Why is he here? Do you think your aunt is okay? We should get in there and check on her.”
I shut the car off and run my hand through my hair with a deep breath.
“Maybe you should wait in the car.”
“No way, Coen. I owe him a piece of my fucking mind,” Lexi argues.
“Fucking damn it, Lex!” I shout, slamming my hands against the steering wheel.
Her jaw drops in shock.
“Don’t you dare shout at me,” she yells back.
I look toward the house and see Aunt Sarah standing at the front door with her hands on her hips. She’s smiling and waving for us to come in. I haven’t seen that woman smile in years. Something seriously messed up is going on here.
“I’m sorry, Lex. I just don’t want anything to happen to you again.” My voice is quieter this time. “Stay close to me. This won’t take long.”
She nods in agreement and with her gripping my hand tight, we head inside.
Ten
Lexi
I have a death grip on Coen’s hand, though I’m not sure if it’s because I’m scared, nervous, pissed off, or all of the above. It’s most likely the latter. The slight nerves I had about meeting his aunt are now overpowered by anger, anxiety, and wondering why Patrick’s car is here. Did he come here looking for me? How did he know we would be here? We’re just about to approach his aunt at the door when it dawns on me. Patrick must be the person she wanted Coen to meet. But why?
I squeeze Coen a little tighter and he brushes his thumb against the back of my hand to try to comfort me as we make our way up the porch steps.
“Hello, Coen dear.” She smiles, not seeming as horrible as I expected her to be. “And Lexi, is it? It’s nice to meet you.” She extends her hand to greet me.
Before she even stops shaking my hand Coen pulls me closer to him.
“Coen!” his aunt and I say in unison.
“Where is he and what the hell is he doing here?” he grits through his teeth.
Sarah’s brow furrows and she tilts her head, looking at Coen like he’s completely insane.
“That’s no attitude to have to meet your long-lost cousin, now is it?”
My jaw drops and Coen’s eyes about bug out of his head as we carefully follow her inside. Sitting there on the couch is Patrick. He jumps to his feet right away; his cold, gray eyes feel like they are burning a hole right through me. The expression on his face is eerily similar to that of the Joker’s: a huge fake smile hiding pure evil.
“Have you completely lost your fucking mind?” Coen bellows.
“Watch your language in my house,” Sarah orders. “This is Patrick, my son.”
“Your son? YOUR SON?” Coen lets go of my hand and paces the floor a few times before stopping in front of his aunt and running his hands through his hair. “Please explain to me how this useless, fucked up, piece-of-shit, sorry excuse for a man is your son.”
I cross my arms and back myself up against the wall closest to the door in case I need to make a quick escape. The tension in this room is palpable. Patrick doesn’t dare move from the spot he’s standing in. I’m willing to bet he knows that if he so much as breathes too close to me Coen will rip his throat out.
Sarah takes a step toward Coen, and he sticks his hand out for her to not get any closer. He’s pissed off and confused. She walks over closer to Patrick and places her arm around his shoulder.
“When I was fifteen, I was madly in love with a boy who was about to head off to college. At least, I thought it was love at the time. Anyways, to make a long story short, I became pregnant. Since he was leaving for medical school, and I was so young, I decided it was best to put the baby up for adoption. That baby was Patrick, Coen. I’ve been in touch with the adoption agency over the last few months. Last week they called and said they had found him, he lived close by, and was interested in meeting me, too. I don’t understand why this is upsetting you so much. Do you two know each other already?” She looks back and forth between Coen and Patrick waiting for one of them to answer.
“Yeah, Coen, what’s wrong?” Patrick taunts with a Cheshire grin.
Coen closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He’s cracking his knuckles and stretching his neck from side to side. When he opens his eyes, he looks over at me and subtly shakes his head while clinching his fists at his sides. He’s trying so hard to not fly off the handle right now. He grits his teeth and looks Patrick straight in the eyes.
“Why don’t you tell her how fucking special her new son is, Patrick?” he says, pointing at his eye that is still slightly bruised.
Sarah huffs. “You can’t possibly be serious, Coen. Patrick wouldn’t hurt a fly. Would you, Patrick?”
I see he’s already pulled the wool over her eyes.
Just you wait, lady, the real asshole will show himself soon enough, I’m sure.
“He’s my ex-boyfriend,” I pipe up from my safe spot near the door.
“I’m dead fucking serious, and this,” he says and points to his eye again, “isn’t even half as bad as what this loser has put Lexi through.”
He turns to me and starts to walk toward the door.
“Come on, Lexi, let’s get out of here.”
“Coen, stop right there,” Sarah insists. “I demand an explanation right now. You are being extremely disrespectful and rude in my home and I won’t stand for it.”
“Me? I’m disrespectful? I’m rude?” he scoffs. “Your perfect son here gets his fucking rocks off on belittling women to make himself feel better about his pathetic little life. But that’s not all—his most recent favorite thing to do is kidnap them on their way home from work, tie them up and gag them in a cold, damp, abandoned warehouse and smack them around, all while being drunk off his ass. Yeah, real fucking prize son you have there, Aunt Sarah.”
Patrick is laughing like he’s gone completely mental.
“Don’t you know, Coen? Your slutty little girlfriend here likes being tied up and told what to do.”
I suddenly feel nauseated. Just as I’m about to bolt out the door, Coen turns around, grabs Patrick by the throat, and slams him into the wall. The sound of breaking glass fills the room as a few picture frames and knickknacks come crashing down. Sarah and I both shout Coen’s name in sync, but he ignores us. His face is so close to Patrick’s that their noses are almost touching. Patrick sneers, still pinned to the wall by Coen’s tightening grip on his throat. He could easily snap his neck right now if he wanted to.
“Coen! Let him go this instant!” Sarah shrieks.
He doesn’t flinch. I can see his shoulders rise and fall from his heavy breathing across the room. I’m surprised he hasn’t put his fist through Patrick’s face yet.
“Lexi, go start the car.” Coen snaps his head around to look at me. His green eyes are now cold and hard and the prominent vein in his arm is pulsing. He’s angry and I’m scared, but I don’t want to leave him in here alone. I feel like I’m frozen in time and everything around me is moving in slow motion, but there’s nothing I can do to fix this. Any of it. “Now!” he demands, no
strils flaring.
“Don’t do anything stu—”
“Damn it, Lex, PLEASE. GO. NOW.” He tosses me the keys to his Hellcat.
As the door is closing behind me, I hear what I’m pretty sure are Coen’s knuckles cracking against Patrick’s face and more shouting from all three of them. I run out to that beautiful blue beast, hop into the passenger seat, and start the car. The engine roars to life and vibrates through my entire body. I roll the windows down and start to sift through my bag to find my phone when the car door is jerked open. Coen starts to slide in beside me. He’s holding his left hand close to his chest and his mouth is bloody.
“You drive,” he pants.
“Coen, I—”
Sarah runs out onto the porch and yells at the top of her lungs.
“You aren’t welcome here anymore. I want nothing to do with you. I never wanted anything to do with you. It’s your fault my sister is dead! They couldn’t wait until morning to see their precious, pathetic little boy. If they had just gone home and picked you up the next morning like they had originally planned, they would still be here and my life wouldn’t have been ruined having to raise you. I did it for her, Coen. I never gave a shit about you.”
“Don’t worry,” Coen shouts back. “I never gave a shit about you either. Don’t come crying to me when your son shows you his true colors.”
“Get off of my property. I don’t ever want to see you again.”
“Lex, I can’t drive right now,” he says, shrugging the shoulder above his injured hand. “I’ve seen you drive, you can handle her. Now just go.” He bumps me with his hip to nudge me into the driver’s seat.
I quickly adjust the seat, fasten my seatbelt, and reverse out onto the main highway. The tires squeal and I throw it into drive and floor it the hell out of there. I’m not waiting around or taking the chance of Patrick or Sarah calling the cops. My hands are shaking and my heart feels like it’s about to beat out of my chest as I dodge traffic and run red lights.
“Fuck!” Coen throws his head back against the seat as I try to keep my eyes on the road.
“Holy shit!” I swerve, dodging a large pickup truck that pulled out in front us. “Where are we going, Coen? I need a destination here.” I make a sharp right turn followed by a quick left.
“Go to Derek’s. I’ll text him to have the garage door open and ready so you can pull the Hellcat in.”
Thank God we’re only about five blocks away. My palms are sweating and my knees are shaking.
“You got her, Sweet Cheeks. We’re almost there.” Coen’s phone chimes. “Derek’s ready for us.” Perfect timing too, as I squelch the tires around the last corner.
Derek is standing outside waiting as I ease the Hellcat into his garage and he immediately hits the garage door button.
I throw the car in park and slump into the seat. Coen reaches over and pats my leg with his good hand.
“That’s my girl.”
We both turn to look at each other, huffing and puffing as we try to catch our breath. Coen lets out a heavy sigh and closes his eyes for a moment. When he opens them again, his beautiful green eyes stare intently and his lips slowly part. I think he’s going to kiss me, but instead his deep voice cracks as he starts to speak.
“I love you, Lexi.” His voice is barely above a whisper.
He loves me? He loves me.
Before I get a chance to reply, Derek is standing in front of the car with his arms crossed and breaks the awkward silence.
“One of you two care to tell me what the hell is going on?” he says before ripping a piece of beef jerky with his teeth.
Eleven
Coen
As if my life hadn’t already been fucked up enough, now I’m related to the piece of shit that assaulted and abused my girlfriend. Whom I may have just freaked out because I said those three little words. I haven’t said those words to anyone in a very long time. I could try and convince myself that it was just a knee-jerk reaction to the moment, but the truth is, even though I’ve only known Lexi for a short time, I’ve come to realize she’s what I’ve been waiting for my entire life. She’s my family now; her and Derek. I don’t need anyone else and I don’t want anyone else.
Her eyes search my face and her lips part, until Derek’s voice breaks our silence. Sometimes that guy has the worst timing. Lexi and I both get out of the car and I explain the whole thing to him.
“And now we’re here in your garage.”
“That is some fucked up shit, dude,” Derek says after swallowing the last bite of his jerky. “So, what’s the plan now?”
I force out a breath and run my good hand through my hair.
“I don’t know yet.”
Derek nods toward my sore hand.
“Did you break it on that asshole’s face?”
I slowly open and close my injured fist.
“Nah, I can move it. I think it’s just bruised.”
“I’ll get you some ice and something to clean your face.”
When the door to the house closes behind him, Lexi walks over to me and wraps her arms tight around my waist and gives me a hug. I lean down and bury my nose in her soft hair. She still smells like my shampoo. She smells like home. I never meant to fall so hard and so fast for her, but I can’t imagine my life without her, nor do I want to.
“Are you okay, Coen?” She lifts her head up to look at me, still holding me close.
“I’ll be fine in a couple days. It’s not the first time I bruised my knuckles.”
“I’m not talking about your hand. I’m talking about what happened at your aunt’s.”
“I’ve been waiting for her to disown me for years, Lex. She never wanted to raise me; she only did it because my mom wrote it into her will asking her to. Aunt Sarah and my mom were inseparable and when Mom died, Sarah changed. She wasn’t the same woman anymore. As for the whole Patrick thing, I’m not sure what to think about that. It’s like something out of a TV show. But you know, the way this past week or so has been, I shouldn’t be surprised.”
“It has been a whirlwind of a week. That’s for sure.” She stands on her tiptoes and cradles my face in her hands. “But I’m so thankful for one good thing that has come out of it.”
I rest my forehead against hers.
“Oh yeah, and what’s that?” I tease.
“My sexy knight in tattooed armor.” She kisses me on the cheek. “I’ll kiss you proper later after your face is cleaned up.”
“Would you two like some more time?” Derek had come back into the garage but neither of us notice until he speaks. He tosses the ice pack and washcloth at me. Thankfully I manage to catch them with my good hand.
“Thanks, fucker.” I laugh.
“So…” Derek crosses his arms and leans against the workbench along the wall of the garage where all of his wrenches and tools are hanging.
“So…what?” I ask, as Lexi cleans up my face with the washcloth Derek brought me and I hold the ice pack on my knuckles.
“What’s the plan, chief?”
Lexi pauses and waits for me to answer Derek.
“The plan is…I challenge him to a race.”
Lexi and Derek both look at me quizzically.
“Have you lost your fucking mind? We need to keep an eye on him.” Lexi sounds a little angry.
“Lex, are you scheduled to work tomorrow at the restaurant?”
“No, I requested the day off tomorrow a few weeks ago. It’s Brea’s birthday and we always go bowling and have dinner.”
“Call her and tell her you need to postpone it and that we’ll make it up to her this weekend.” I tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I have an idea, Sweet Cheeks. Trust me?”
She looks away, closes her eyes, and nods. I kiss her forehead.
“D, can you make a phone call? Tell the watchdog to tell that dumbass to be at the track tomorrow evening. I have a proposal for him I think he’ll be interested in.”
“Uh, sure man, whatever you need.
” Derek crosses his arms and strokes his chin like Santa does his long beard.
“But…?” I know there’s a “but.” I can tell by the look on his face and the way he’s rubbing his chin.
“But, isn’t Sulley going to be pissed if we open the track for personal reasons?”
“He owes me a favor. Plus, I am pretty sure once I explain the situation and my plan, he’ll help us out.” I give them both a smirk.
Derek, Lexi, and I spend the rest of the evening discussing the plan over pizza and a few beers. Just in case the cops are still out looking for me, we leave the Hellcat parked in Derek’s garage and Lexi and I will sleep over at her place tonight.
This asshole is going down. I’m done playing.
***
The next evening the three of us head over to Sulley’s Raceway. We’re high on adrenaline and praying we can pull this thing off. Sulley, the owner and my boss, agreed to allow me to use this place for the night as long as we don’t do anything drastic, and I gave all the maintenance workers the night off, just in case anything goes awry.
Derek is standing at the entrance gate, and Lexi and I are on our way up to the press box. When we get to the top, I show her where she can sit so she can see everything. She’ll be safer up here, away from everything.
“Coen, I’m not so sure this is going to work.” Lexi stares out the big square windows overlooking the track and down at my Hellcat that is parked in the pit.
“Hey, come here.” I lift her up by the waist, sitting her down on the table in front of me as I stand between her legs and place my hands on either side of her face. “Have I let you down yet, Sweet Cheeks?” My thumbs gently caress her freckled skin.
“No, but what if—” she starts.
“No buts, no what-ifs. We have to have faith and trust that this will work, Lex. I’ll challenge him. He will lose. He’ll flip his shit and Derek has the cops on speed dial.”
Static comes across the walkie-talkie, followed by Derek’s voice.
“You ready to feed this twerp your road dust?”
“Be right there,” I answer back. “Please, stay here, Lex. I’ll have Derek come and get you when it’s safe.”
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