Salvation (Angels Halo MC Next Gen 1)

But I’d fucking find out.

The front door was about to close when I grabbed it and pushed it open enough to enter the house. There were tears in her eyes, and I nearly fell to my knees then and there to plead with her to tell me what was wrong.

Instead, I cupped her face, wiping away the tears with my thumbs. “Baby, talk to me. What happened that made you cry? If I said something wrong, tell me. If someone hurt you, I’ll take care of them. Just please, don’t cry.”

“You’re right,” she murmured, stepping back so that I was no longer touching her. “You’re not worth my tears. Not you, and not your grandmother.” She started up the stairs. “You did your job. I’m home. Now get the hell out of my house.”

“Goddamn it, Lexa!” I exploded, feeling like she was really walking away for good, and that made me panic. “What the hell did I miss this time?”

“Maybe you should ask your grandmother,” a new voice suggested from behind me.

Reluctantly, I looked away from Lexa’s retreating back to face the woman who’d just spoken. Willa Masterson stood in the living room, two glasses of what looked like iced tea in her hands. Offering one to Felicity Hannigan, who was seated on the couch, Willa put her free hand on her hip and glared at me, while the other woman watched me with wide eyes.

“What does she have to do with any of this?” I demanded, exasperated.

“Like I said, ask her.” Taking a sip of her drink, she sat down beside the other woman, crossing her legs. “Bitch was lucky I didn’t scalp her on the spot,” she muttered to herself as she got comfortable.

“I’m asking you,” I said, moving into the living room so I could face them both.

Willa grinned, but it was the kind of grin that probably would have scared the hell out of a lesser person. “He thinks he can intimidate me, Flick.”

She laughed. “Yeah, you can tell he hasn’t been around long if he thinks that is possible with any female in this family.” Sipping her drink, Felicity smirked up at me. “I suggest you go talk to the dear, sweet Mrs. Davis. And while you’re there, tell her the Angel’s Halo ol’ ladies would love to have a sit-down with her whenever she gets the chance.”

“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath. “I can’t leave Lexa.”

Willa snorted. “Excuse you? She’s not alone. She’s got us and her mom right upstairs. Trust me on this, Sheriff. You’re going to want to talk to that old hag tonight.”

There was no way in hell I was leaving with just three women to protect what was mine. Pulling out my phone, I hit my grandmother’s number, staring Willa down as I waited for an answer.

It rang half a dozen times, which was unlike her to let it ring for so long before answering. “Um, hi, sweetheart. How…how was your day?”

The hesitancy in her voice had my eyes narrowing. “What did you do?” I demanded, immediately knowing she had, in fact, done something. And whatever it was, that was why Lexa was so upset with me.

“Are you hungry? I got all those deli meats I know you love so much. You could come over and have a sandwich… Or I’ll pack you some and bring them by the station tomorrow. We could have lunch together.”

“Gran,” I snapped, cutting her off before she could go on and on about damned deli meats. “I asked you a question. Answer it.”

I heard her exhale heavily. “I’m so sorry, Ben. I was in the grocery store this morning, and I was gossiping with Denise Hallbeck. You know how she is, always amping me up about you. She was talking about how that Lexa Reid girl was chasing after you and how she took a baseball bat to your cruiser yesterday… And… And…”

“And what?” I bit out, feeling my blood turn cold.

“And I said you were only playing with Lexa until you finally gave Paige another chance. I-I knew I was just blowing smoke, but Denise looked so condescending, and I couldn’t stand it. Well, I didn’t know Lexa was standing right behind us in line at the deli.”

“That’s why she asked if you knew me so well,” I muttered to myself. “I confirmed you knew me better than anyone, and she automatically thought you were right.”

“I really am sorry.” Gran sounded older all of a sudden, fragile. But that didn’t stop me from being pissed off at her.

“I’ll talk to you about this later. Right now, I have to go fix this mess you made.”

At least, I hoped I could. The way Lexa had acted earlier, I wasn’t so sure I could this time.

I ended the call even as Gran was apologizing again. Felicity and Willa looked up at me with raised brows, waiting expectantly.

“Told you that you would want to ask her,” Willa groused.

“Yeah, you fucking told me,” I agreed. “Now maybe you can tell me how to fix this.”

Both women laughed. “Oh, honey, you think you can play games with our girl and stomp all over her heart, and when she finally—fucking finally—sees the light, that you could just snap your fingers and fix this shit?” Felicity shook her head, amusement shining out of her pansy-blue eyes.