Hard Drive Boxed Set

by Tricia Andersen

  “I watched you lock it,” Avery coaxed.

  “Me too. Plus he has Kinnick. He’s fine,” Chloe added.

  “Mark’s just fine. Derek isn’t there,” Avery said.

  “How do you know?” Lexi questioned.

  Chloe noticed Avery’s gaze was locked on the traffic behind them. “Because he’s two cars behind us. He’s following us,” Avery reported, a tinge of anger and fear in her voice.

  Chloe looked up at the rear view mirror and cursed under her breath. Lexi spun in her seat and whimpered, and Avery squeezed her hand tight.

  “Where are Max and Rico?” Avery questioned.

  “New Ulm helping Max’s dad out at the hardware store.”

  “I can call Mark,” Lexi volunteered quietly.

  “No, let him sleep. We’ll figure this out,” Chloe answered. “But that leaves Dan. Who left this morning for Chicago for a conference.”

  “Not exactly.” Avery whipped her phone from her pocket and started texting.

  “Who are you texting?” Chloe asked. She let out a small huff when she realized her friend was still concentrating on her cell as she spoke. She waited for Avery to hit send and then asked again.

  “My brother,” Avery replied. “Today is his day off. If he’s not busy…” She was suddenly distracted by the vibration of her phone. A smile bloomed across her face. “He’s home. Head over there.”

  The rest of the ride was quiet, the tension thick between them. Chloe wove in and out of traffic the best she could, trying to lose Derek. Her heart thundered in her chest the entire time. She wasn’t comfortable driving Rico’s Jeep like this. The vehicle was his baby. But she couldn’t let Derek catch up with them.

  She pulled up in front of her brother Lindsay’s house, the tires squealing to a halt as they hit the curb. As they all threw off their seat belts and jumped out of the Jeep, she caught sight of Lindsay standing on the porch. The Army Ranger was dressed in a pair of jeans and a white wife beater with a rifle cradled in his hands. Chloe turned to find Derek. He had followed them around the corner but then stopped. By the petrified look on his face, she knew he must have seen Lindsay too.

  Lindsay descended the staircase and crossed the yard until he stood among the women. He looked at his sister so she could see his lips. “Where is he?”

  Avery pointed down the street. Lindsay stiffened and clutched the gun closer. The movement elicited a reaction from Derek. His car roared as he raced down the street. As he passed them, he shouted a slew of derogatory names, targeting Lexi specifically. The poor girl shuddered.

  “He’s a keeper,” Lindsay snarled as he lowered the gun. He chuckled. “Girls, you can relax. It’s not loaded.”

  Chloe blew out a sigh of relief. She noticed the other two do the same. Lindsay motioned toward the house. “Let me get ready and I’ll take you lovely ladies to lunch.”

  “I’m sure we’re fine now,” Chloe began to object.

  “Nonsense. I heard all about this guy. I’m not letting you three go anywhere without me.”

  “From who?” Avery protested. “I didn’t tell you much.”

  “No, but your husband did.” Lindsay offered a gentle smile. “Rico called this morning before he left. I had a question but I think he was looking more for someone to listen. He told me about this bastard. And he told me about his uncle. If someone bothers my new little brother that much, it’s worth some concern. So why don’t you three make yourself comfortable inside. I’ll only be a second.”

  Lexi reached out and squeezed his hand. Tears brimmed her eyes. “Thank you so much for stepping in and protecting us from him.”

  Lindsay nodded toward her. “Anytime, hon. A friend of Avery’s is a friend of mine.”

  “Unless you want to date me,” Avery joked.

  They all started laughing as they made their way up the walk toward the house. Lindsay motioned to the couches and chairs in the living room before disappearing upstairs. The women found a spot to sit and waited quietly for him. Chloe was too shaken to speak. By the way the other two fidgeted in their seats she guessed they were too. No one had ever chased after her like that to do her harm. There was something seriously wrong with the guy.

  It wasn’t long before Lindsay reappeared in a T-shirt and pair of jeans. He grabbed his wallet and keys and held open the front door. “What sounds good to you ladies?”

  Chloe, Avery, and Lexi just shrugged. Lindsay continued. “There’s a new Thai place just down the road. A bunch of my buddies say it’s incredible. Feeling adventurous?”

  “Sure. Sounds great,” Avery answered. “Want to take the Jeep?”

  Chloe pressed the keys into Lindsay’s hand. “I’ll hop in the back with Lexi.”

  “Then after you ladies. We’ll eat. Then hopefully when we’re done, your husbands will be home so I can have a chat with them about this guy. And Mark too, even though I’m sure he knows all about him.”

  Chloe stepped out onto the porch with Avery and Lexi on her heels and strode to the Jeep. Lindsay locked the door after them and followed. He hopped into the driver’s seat and fired it on, causing Chloe to gasp as the vehicle lurched forward and sped down the street.

  Chapter Seven

  Lexi studied the gym around her suspiciously. Several guys were fighting each other already. Avery and her brother had already disappeared down the hallway toward the locker rooms. She frowned. He finds this fun? Why?

  She turned to Chloe as the brunette toed off her shoes. “Do you do this too?”

  Chloe grinned at her. “Yes, I do. So does Avery.”

  “And you like it?”

  “Of course. It’s relaxing.”

  “How so?”

  “Ever been so stressed out you just want to hit something?”

  Lexi cringed. She was always under pressure with Derek now in her life. The only time she felt peace was with Mark. And who knew how long that would last?

  Chloe cocked her head at Avery. “Maybe you should give it a try.”

  Lexi shook her head. “I don’t like violence.”

  “Are you insinuating I do?”

  Lexi looked at her as panic filled her. “No. I mean…”

  Chloe chuckled. “I find peace when I practice. I work myself to a point of exhaustion. All my troubles go away. It’s true that I train to hit and choke people. But that’s not all I take away from it. And with what I witnessed today, maybe it would be good to learn some self defense. That way if your ex tries something you can take care of yourself.”

  Lexi watched as Avery and Lindsay stepped onto the mat and faced each other. Avery fired off a couple punches and then landed a body kick into Lindsay’s ribs.

  Lexi’s eyes grew wide. “You train with men?”

  “Yes,” Chloe answered.

  “I can’t do that.”

  “They won’t hurt you. They may look dangerous but the guys here are the sweetest, most gentle guys I know.”

  “No. I mean I just can’t.” Lexi felt herself tremble. She had thought Derek was the sweetest guy she ever met. She couldn’t have been more wrong.

  Chloe laid a comforting hand on her arm. “How about just Avery and me? We could train on our own. We can even do it after hours if you want. I have an in with the owner. I’m kind of sleeping with him.”

  Lexi couldn’t help but laugh. “I’ll think about it.”

  “Good. Speaking of the owner, it looks like Max and Rico are back.” Chloe nodded toward the glass double doors. “And Mark is with them.”

  Lexi turned. A smile blossomed. Just the sight of Mark made her safe. He must have seen her because she could see his brow crease. He jogged ahead of the other two men and yanked the doors open.

  “Sweetheart, what are you doing here?” he questioned as he let the doors go. There were a couple grunts behind him. The rest of the gym stopped and stared at the word “sweetheart”.

  “Thanks for holding the door there, Mark,” Rico quipped.

  “Stop whining, Choate.” Mark took
Lexi’s hands in his. “Is everything all right?”

  Before Lexi could say a word, Lindsay and Avery strode to them. Lindsay tugged his gloves off as he approached. “Mark, Rico, Max, we have to talk.”

  “About what?” Mark looked at Lexi. “What’s going on?”

  Lexi’s voice was soft. “Chloe and Avery came over to take me to lunch. Remember?”

  “Vaguely. Things were hazy from sleep. I remember ‘lunch’ and ‘bye’.”

  “Well, Derek was outside. He was stalking us.”

  Lexi could feel Mark’s hands tense up beneath hers. “That son of a bitch.”

  “He followed Avery, Chloe and me as we drove away.”

  “Avery called me,” Lindsay interjected. “I instructed them to come to my house. I waited for them outside. He took off after he saw my gun but not without firing off some names at Lexi that no man should ever say to a woman.”

  Mark sighed then pulled a hand free to shake Lindsay’s. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”

  “Happy to help, Mark. But be careful. This guy is dangerous.”

  “I know. Believe me.”

  Lindsay nodded at both of them before he and Avery returned to the mat. Lexi looked up to find Chloe telling their story to Max and Rico. Max’s face was like stone. She didn’t even want to know what he was thinking about Derek chasing after Chloe too. Rico glanced at Lexi, his eyes softening. She remembered what Lindsay had said about his uncle. She had to admit, it was nice to have a kindred spirit, someone who knew what it was like to be terrified of someone they once cared about. She turned her attention back to Mark.

  “I meant to bring you here. What do you think?” he asked.

  “It’s nice.”

  “It’s probably not your cup of tea.”

  “I’m getting used to it. Chloe offered to teach me some things.”

  “That's awesome. Chloe’s great. I’m sure she’ll be in the octagon soon.”

  “You will be in the octagon soon, too.”

  Mark grinned at her. “In a couple weeks. My second professional fight. I’m competing for a number one contender’s spot.”

  “I remember the picture on your phone.”

  “Oh yeah. That’s right.” Mark blushed. “Want the grand tour?”

  “Of course.”

  She held Mark’s hand tight as he wove her through the building. He stopped to show her everything and he introduced her to everyone. There was no possible way she would remember all those names but Chloe was right. Everyone she met was polite and friendly.

  As they returned to the front desk, Mark pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “I need to get ready for practice. You can stay and watch and I can take you home.”

  “My parents will be home with Logan soon. They get him from preschool.”

  “Let me drive you home then. I can be a little late. I just need to toss my stuff in my locker.”

  “All right.”

  He jogged down the hall with his bag in his hand and returned a few moments later. He threaded his fingers between hers to hold her hand tight.

  “Mark, we start in a little bit,” Max reminded him. The couple glanced up to the walkway outside the office where he stood.

  “I know. I’ll just be a few more minutes. I’ll be back.”

  Before Max could say anything else they slipped out the door.

  »»•««

  The supermarket was unusually busy for a Wednesday afternoon. Lexi slipped the handles of the plastic sack onto her wrist and nudged the cart into its row. She glanced at the endcaps of potato chips, cans of pop and other picnic items. The weather was certainly warming up. A picnic with her two favorite guys sounded nice.

  She smiled contentedly as she stepped out of the store into the warm sunshine. She had slipped out of Mark’s townhouse a little early to do some shopping, leaving her own personal teddy bear to snooze happily alone. She wanted to pick up Logan and head back to his place to make him a special dinner while he was at Hard Drive.

  He was the best thing to happen to her since Logan had been born. He gave her courage to take back her life. She had ignored Derek’s calls for over a week. Not that he didn’t leave messages, vulgar and vile. But for the first time in years she wasn’t looking over her shoulder every time she left the house.

  As she was pressed up violently against the driver side door of her car, she wished silently to herself that she had looked over her shoulder this one last time. The plastic bag slipped from her hand. She could hear the glass jar inside shatter.

  “So you think you can avoid me, huh?” Derek growled in her ear.

  “Please, Derek. Just leave me alone,” Lexi begged.

  She heard him heave a heavy sigh. “Why can’t you see why I’m doing this, Lexi? I love you. The thought of being without you makes me want to kill myself. I tried when you divorced me. You don’t want me to die, do you? Because if you stay with him, I will.”

  Lexi started to shake. Of course she didn’t want him to die. At one point he had been the love of her life. But give up Mark, a man who truly loved her? Or did he? Her thoughts were a mess. All she could do was shake her head no.

  “That’s my good girl. Let’s go back to my place and talk. We can work this out.” Derek let up his pressure on her and wrapped his hand around her arm. Lexi’s nerves quaked. She stared at the trail of pasta sauce weaving a path out of the plastic bag and along the cement. She startled when Derek led her away to his car.

  “Derek!”

  Both Derek and Lexi’s heads shot up at the sound of his name. Two very large men snaked around the parked cars and made a beeline for them. “You son of a bitch! I know what you did to my car!”

  Lexi froze in her tracks as she stared at them in fear. Her feet scuttled across the ground as Derek yanked on her arm. The scene around her blurred. When she focused again, the two men were barreling down on them. She felt the pressure of Derek’s hand on her hip as he nudged her to shield him from them.

  “Just stay there, Lexi,” he warned from behind her. She tried to pull away, but he repositioned her in from of him. The pain from his fingers digging into her flesh forced her to obey.

  Lexi watched in terror as the men grew closer. When they were just a few feet away, Derek shoved her at them and ran. She let out a scream as a body flew by her. A pair of arms caught her before she hit the ground.

  She looked up into the face of the scarier of the two men. He smiled at her. “No worries, luv. My ma taught me to never hurt a woman. It’s too bad that bastard Derek didn’t learn the same thing. Are you all right?”

  Lexi steadied herself on her feet even though her knees felt like they were on the verge of collapse. “Yeah, sure.”

  “Fantastic.” The man gave her one last grin before he took off after his friend and Derek.

  Lexi watched him until he disappeared behind the supermarket. Then, trembling, she made her way to her car. She scooped up the sack of groceries lying on the ground, opened the car door, and set them on the floor of her backseat. She’d deal with the mess later. She glanced around at the eyes watching her. She couldn’t tell what they were thinking. Pity? Disgust?

  It didn’t matter. She had seen it all before. She hurried to the driver’s door and slipped inside. She pulled out her cell and stared at it. She should call Mark. Her finger hovered over his name on the speed dial. Then she cleared off her contacts from her screen and opened a browser. She typed in the search engine looking for a website. When it prompted up a phone number, she hit dial, pressed the cell to her ear, and waited.

  “Hard Drive,” a male voice on the other end announced.

  “Chloe…” Lexi’s voice trailed off. What was Chloe’s last name? She totally forgot it.

  The guy on the other end never noticed her confusion. “Hang on a sec. Chloe!”

  There was a noisy pause for several seconds. Finally a female voice popped over the phone. “Chloe Thomas. How can I help you?”

  Thomas. That’s it. “Hi, Chloe. It’s Lex
i.”

  “Hey, Lexi. What’s up?”

  “Remember that offer you made? To help me learn self defense?”

  “Of course.”

  “I’d like to take you up on it. I’ll pay you.”

  There was silence. “Did Derek try something?”

  “Yeah. He tried to convince me that I still loved him. He threatened to kill himself. Then he put me between him and two guys who wanted to beat the crap out of him. He used me as a shield. I’m tired of being scared.”

  “I don’t blame you. Yes, I’ll train you. And you get the friends and family discount. It’s free. How’s tomorrow night at eight o’clock sound? I’ll have Avery join us.”

  “Sounds great.”

  “Awesome. See you then. And Lexi?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Please stay safe. Go to Mark’s.”

  “I’m headed there now.”

  “Good. See you later.”

  “Bye.” Lexi hung up the call and flipped the key in the ignition. She sped down the road toward home. Taking a deep breath as her nerves quaked, she scrambled to think of what she would tell her parents. I don’t need their disapproval right now. I need to get Logan and go. I need Mark right now. The sooner I can get to him the better.

  She pulled into the driveway and hopped out of the car, heaving a sigh of relief when she found her mother and Logan in the flower bed in the front yard. She forced a smile on her face as she reached out for her son. “Come on, sweetie. We have to go.”

  Her mother frowned at her. “What’s the hurry?”

  Lexi’s mind raced. Suddenly she remembered the grocery sack on the floor of her car. “I’m making dinner for Mark. I want to surprise him when he gets home from practice but I need to get started.”

  “Mark!” Logan jumped to his feet and skipped to Lexi, wrapping his little hand around hers.

  Lexi’s mother cocked a grin at her. “That Mark is a lucky fellow.”

  “I think I’m the lucky one, Mom,” Lexi admitted. At least I hope I am. I thought I was lucky to have Derek too.

  “Well, I’m glad you have him. He’s a pretty good guy.”

  “You’ve barely met him.”

  “Yes, but he was a perfect gentleman the night we went for supper. And the way he looked at you? It was easy to tell that he adores you.”