ReBoot (MAC Security 4)

“Stop… shouting,” she whispers, cracking her eyes open and wincing as she moans, clutching her head. “That hammer is in my head.”

I chuckle and help her out of the car, shutting the door behind her as she leans against the side of the hood.

“Where are we?”

I clear my throat. “Work and home,” I tell her simply.

I wave my hand in the air to tell her to follow me and walk past her; she follows me but then I hear a bang. I spin around to see her leaning against the front of the hood. “Shit.” I take a step toward her and scoop her up into my arms without a second thought. Her hands go back around my neck and I pull her closer, loving the way her body fits in my arms but berating myself for thinking about that right now. She’s hurt, and here I am, loving the way her face presses against my chest.

I manage to pull the door to the warehouse open and step inside, walking over to my work station and placing her down gently in my chair. “Stay here,” I tell her, holding my hands up.

I walk backward over the mats until I get to the office door and push it open to see Luke and Ty sitting on the sofa talking.

“I need your help.”

They both look at me and stand up, their bodies on high alert. “What happened?” Ty asks, his eyes wandering down to the blood that coats my t-shirt. Damn! This was one of my favorites!

“It’s not me,” I say quickly.

“Kay? Kitty?” Luke asks, his feet already following me out of the office and into the warehouse. He stops all of a sudden in the doorway, his head slowly turning toward me. “Who’s that?”

I clear my throat and look over at Lexi who is sitting staring at the three of us, her face pale and her hands clutched in her lap.

“I bled on your floor,” Lexi blurts out, cringing when Luke keeps staring at her. I try to push past him, but his hulk of a body won’t let me past as he blocks the way.

The sound of the warehouse door opening gains his attention and he moves slightly, finally allowing me to push past him.

“I work with her at the community center,” I tell them, walking across the mats and crouching down in front of her. “How do you feel?”

She looks behind me and then back at me, her eyes clashing with mine. I can see the nerves and apprehension in her hazel orbs but when I give her leg a small squeeze, she steels herself and tries to straighten up. “My eye and head hurts.”

I chuckle. “That’s what happens when girls DIY.” I wink and give her a cheeky grin. Her answering snort tells me that she got my joke—something that Geena never would have got. Nope, don’t think about her right now, Evan.

“Can you stitch her eye up?” I ask, standing up and facing Luke.

“Take her to the emergency room,” he growls, shaking his head and taking a step away from us.

“Please,” she softly pleas. “I—I can’t go there, the blood—I just…”

I cut my eyes at Luke, my nostrils flaring. “Fucking stitch her up.” My fists clench at my sides, my muscles growing taut the longer he refuses to help her. I don’t know why I’m so insistent, I don’t know why I brought her here, it just felt like the right thing to do.

Luke stares at me for five seconds—I know because I count them in my head. He may think that I can’t take him, but he’s never seen me pissed, and right now, I’m pissed.

“Who is she?” he asks, his voice a rumble echoing throughout the warehouse.

“I just told you, I work with her at—”

“No.” He steps toward us. “Her name.”

“Lexi.”

His gaze flicks to Lexi, raising his brows and waiting while she watches us, still with that nervous look in her eyes.

She takes a big breath and opens her mouth. I can tell she’s about to lay it all out, and as much as I like the fact that she’s nothing but honest, I can’t help but cringe because I know the reaction she’ll get.

“I’m Alexis Deacon. I moved here six weeks go after I was released from prison. I’m an ex-con, and I’m guessing by the flaring of your nostrils and the murderous look in your eyes that you’re not happy about that?” She stops, catching her breath and then turning to face me.

I give her a small reassuring smile. This girl—woman—has nothing to hide. She’s an open book, and I think that’s what draws me to her. There’s nothing secretive about her, she just blurts out what she thinks, having no brain to mouth filter.