“What? I’ll tell him and I’ll see you soon. Love you.”
“What’s up?” Lucas asked.
Kade’s brows furrowed. “Lexie and Kendall were supposed to meet Maxie for dinner. She never showed up, and she’s not answering her phone.”
“Shit.” He grabbed his own phone from his pocket and realized he must have turned it off at some point in the afternoon. He powered on the telephone and saw Lexie had called him not once but three times. “I’m out of here.”
He called her as he made his way out of the restaurant, but she didn’t answer. He dialed again as he waited for the valet to bring his car. She didn’t pick up, and it was a long drive home, or felt like one, as he hit every traffic light on his route.
He finally reached his apartment and let himself inside. “Lexie!” he called out, walking quickly toward the bedrooms, finding her in his room, where they slept.
“I am so sick and tired of Keith’s bullshit coming back to haunt me!” She threw a pillow across the room in frustration.
He bent down and picked it up, joining her on the bed. “What’s wrong?” he asked, concerned. He propped the pillow back against the headboard. “Lexie was looking for you earlier. She thought you’d come to dinner.”
“I tried. I was on my way, actually, when our friend Vincent Bernardi showed up.”
“What?”
“Apparently those numbers on the drive were for accounts, and when he went to get his money, it was gone. Thank you, Keith.”
“Fuck.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, a headache already forming.
“Exactly. And guess who he thinks should pay him back?” She met his gaze. “I’m just so tired of Keith coming back to haunt me. And he has no right to expect you to pay off your brother’s debts. It’s just wrong.”
Lucas shook his head. “I was wrong for thinking he’d just go away.” Anger filled him. “I’d pay him if I thought that would be the end of it. I’d do anything to protect you and you know it. I’m just afraid he’d be back for more and we’ll be in no better shape than we’re in now.” He let out a groan. “I think it’s time we did some digging into those accounts.”
“What? How?”
“I made a copy of what was on the drive.” He shrugged. “Call it habit, but I a
lways back things up for safekeeping. I’ll send it over to Double Down Security and see what they come up with. I’ll also give them everything I can on my brother. Maybe Keith had other accounts. One way or another, we need information to take to the police. This money isn’t legal, and that’s the only way to get Bernardi off our backs for good.”
She twisted her hands and nodded.
He pulled her into a hug, inhaling her fragrant scent. “I agree. And I’m reinstating security.”
She winced at that. “I hate knowing someone’s watching my every move. But it’s better than Bernardi coming near me again.”
“I know. And I’m sorry I called them off.”
“No, we both thought it was over. But I’m beginning to think it never will be.”
* * *
Lucas was this close to paying Bernardi and being done with it. The only thing that held him back was the obvious fact that if he paid the man once, he might come back for more. And more. He’d never be out of Maxie’s life, and that was unacceptable. Her safety was his ultimate priority.
So while Tyler Dare’s men searched, Lucas focused on things at home. And he knew something was bothering Maxie. Something beyond the obvious fact that they still had to deal with the looming threat of Vincent Bernardi, a hovering ghost over their emotional and mental states.
But he could sense her distraction was about more than Keith’s past haunting her. She was out of sorts, not in her usual good mood, and when he questioned her, she said she was just busy on the job and more tired than usual.
Too tired for sex.
He didn’t pressure her, instead immersing himself in work and waiting on information. They were working on decoding the information on the drive, and once they accomplished that, they were looking into each account they found.
Lucas was sitting at his desk three days later when he got the call from Tyler Dare.
“Thank God. What do you have for me?” Lucas asked, hoping for good news.