by C. L. Stacey
Her face was already wet with tears, black mascara running down her cheeks. She was hysterical. “We were just dancing!”
“At what point did she get like this?” I reword my question, my eyes falling to Lexi’s face. She fights to keep her eyes open, but they keep drooping.
Bethany shakes her head, using her hands to dry her cheeks as she tries to think. “Minutes ago. She told me she was tired and needed to sit. One of the guys offered to take her home. She said no, but her condition was worsening, so I spoke up for her, and I was insistent about it, but he and his friend began dragging her away anyway. That’s when I saw you standing on that table, so I ran toward you, and…” She pauses, stopping to cry. “We didn’t accept anything from them, we know better than that. They must have slipped it into the one she already had while we weren’t looking.”
The doors to the club burst open again, and Chad comes rushing out with his guards. “Jackson, what happened?”
I barely give him a chance to finish when I point my finger in the direction of the building. “Two men. Black hair. Tanned skin. Visible tattoos along their arms. One has on a black button up, sleeves rolled halfway. The other has on a grey T-shirt. Both are most likely bleeding from the face, one possibly unconscious. They drugged her. I want them arrested.”
“They what?”
“Just do it!” I clip. “Now, Chad. Go. Before I kill them myself.”
Chad doesn’t say or ask anything else, just takes his two guards with him back inside.
I dig into my pocket for my phone and dial Daniel before bringing it to my ear. He picks up on the first ring. “Pull up.”
“Right away, Mr. Anderson.”
We hang up and I place a gentle hand over Lexi’s head, moving the hair that’d fallen over her face to the side. She’s in and out of consciousness, her eyes blinking occasionally, but they remain closed longer than they stay open.
“Jackson, I’m sorry,” Caleb apologizes to me.
“You damn well better be!” I snap at him, my tone coming out an angry growl.
“Hey!” he shouts back at me. “It was an accident! As shitty as it is, you know this kind of shit happens all the time!” Knowing well that that was the exact wrong thing to say to me in that moment, he takes a second to recollect before trying again. “I’m just as fucking pissed as you are. I care about what happens to her, too, Jackson. Okay? I tried keeping an eye on her most of the night.”
“Until you didn’t,” I say. “You think you’d have been more careful after—”
Caleb’s head jerks back, his eyes regarding me with warning. “Be very fucking careful of what you decide to say next.”
If it weren’t for Lexi’s head resting on my lap, my conversation with Caleb would’ve taken a drastic turn. I could fucking kill him right now for letting this happen. “You are to never bring her here again, do we have an understanding?”
I don’t wait around for an answer when I see Daniel pull up with the car. I lift Lexi into my arms and carry her away from the club.
Daniel helps me lay her across the seats, and I round the car to get in from the other side.
“Where to, Mr. Anderson?” Daniel asks as he holds open my door.
“Lexi’s,” I say before hopping in, pulling Lexi to me so her head is resting on my lap again.
As soon as we’re on our way, I pull my phone back out, select the contact I need, and bring it to my ear. She picks up on the fourth ring.
“Hello?” A sleepy voice fills the line. “Jackson, God, do you have any idea what time it is?”
“Jessica, I need you.”
I hear her shuffling around in her sheets, her voice more alert now when she asks, “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“I’m fine, but I need a favor. Will you come?”
“Yes, of course I will! Come where?” she asks, ready to help.
I give her the address and hang up.
The car stops when we arrive at Lexi’s building, and my gaze lands on the side of her face.
Despite the shitty situation, she looks peaceful, and I can’t help myself from running my fingers through her silky hair.
“Mr. Anderson. What can I do?” Daniel keeps his voice low, loud enough to be heard, but soft enough not to disturb her. Not that he could.
I look out the window. “Notify Walter of the state Lexi is in so he isn’t alarmed when I’m carrying her inside. Keep the details brief, I just don’t want anyone stopping me on my way to the elevator.”
“Yes, sir.” Daniel unbuckles himself from his seat and quietly exits the car.
I close my hand over Lexi’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.
A small line forms between her brows when they pinch together, but she doesn’t wake. I trace the deep groove with my thumb, and I feel the corner of my mouth lift into a weak smile when I see it disappear.
“Come on,” I whisper down to her, even though she can’t hear me, then I lift her body onto my lap and lay her across my arms.
Lexi turns into me, her face seeking the comfort of my chest. “I’m sorry,” she whispers, and my heart constricts. Not by her actual words, but from the pain hidden underneath them.
My arms tighten around her, holding her closer to my chest. “I’m here. It’s okay.”
Daniel’s back at my side of the car, and I carefully step out when he opens the door for me. “Walter understands that Ms. Moore’s had too much to drink, and I’ve also notified him of Ms. Jessica’s visit. He will send her up when she arrives,” he informs me before I even have to ask.
I nod. “You can go home, Daniel. I will call you in the morning.”
“You’re staying here?” he asks, failing to mask his shock.
“She’s going to need someone to look after her. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”
He’s stuck between decisions. I can read the struggle in his eyes when his mind battles the decision to either say something about my horrible idea or just stay quiet to avoid angering me. He goes for the latter, answering with a silent bow of his head.
“Goodnight, Daniel,” I call over my shoulder.
In a defeated tone, he replies back, “Goodnight, Mr. Anderson.”
I earn a few looks from people as I make my way to the elevators. I’m not sure if any of them recognize who I am or not. Maybe they do, and maybe there’ll be talk about this in the morning, but I don’t have time to give a shit about that right now.
My main objective is to get Lexi home, safe in her bed.
When I finally get us to Lexi’s door, I gently set her down to retrieve her keys from her little purse. I locate them easily, unlocking and pushing the door open wide enough for us to walk through.
Just as I’m getting ready to cross the threshold, I hear someone calling for me. “Jackson!” Jessica’s voice comes in a loud whisper from down the hall as she runs toward us.
“Shh!” I shush her. “I texted you after we hung up, asking you to bring your medical bag. Did you?”
Jessica holds it up to show me.
“Good, get inside.” I nod into the home.
Jessica takes a long look at Lexi. “Do you need help?”
“No.” I hoist Lexi up into my arms, and she returns to the position she was in before, face buried in my chest. “Get inside,” I say again. “Her bedroom is at the end of the hall, the one with all the butterflies. Can you please look for something you can change her into?”
“She’s pretty,” Jessica stalls.
A switch inside me flips. The last thing I want is to draw more unnecessary attention toward us, and we’re still standing around in the middle of the open hallway because Jessica decided to tell me what I already fucking know. She’s wasting my time.
“Jessica, for fuck’s sake!” I hiss. “Get your ass inside.”
“I’m here to help you, Jackie-Boy,” she so kindly reminds me. “Don’t you dare take that tone with me, mother taught you better than that.”
I take a deep, calming bre
ath in, but it barely does its job when I can still feel my temper simmering underneath. “Someone drugged her at the club. That’s why I called you here.”
Jessica’s face falls, all trace of humor gone. “Oh, my—”
“Yes. So, please, get your ass inside.”
“Okay, I’m going!” Jessica runs inside, heading straight to Lexi’s room.
By the time I enter the bedroom to join her, Jessica has the clothes she’d soon change Lexi into ready in her hands.
“Did you make sure the man was properly dealt with before you left?” she asks, assisting me when I set Lexi down at the edge of her mattress, helping me hold her up.
My anger resurfaces following Jessica’s question. “They’re going to jail,” I grate. “I will make sure they do, don’t worry. Are you good here?” I ask, nodding down to Lexi’s lifeless body.
“Are you crazy? I can’t do this by myself!”
I stare at her, unblinking. Then I point down to Lexi. “You want me to be in here for when you—”
Jessica shakes her head. “She’s unconscious, Jackson. I can’t hold her up and change her myself.”
“I called you here, a woman,” I clarify, “so that you could change her yourself before you check her out.”
“Goddammit, Jackson, just hold her up for me! I’m not asking you to freaking draw her like one of your French girls!” she quotes her favorite movie to me.
I bite down hard, glaring daggers in her direction. “Be quick,” I say.
“Of course.”
I bend at the waist until I’m more leveled with Lexi, then I grab the hem of her dress and shimmy it up over her hips to make it easier for Jessica to pull off. I quickly avert my eyes when I notice that in doing so, I’ve exposed her red lace panties.
No matter the situation we’re in, Lexi deserves her privacy.
“Hold on, give me a second.” I nod down to Lexi, signaling Jessica to take over for me. She does. I round the bed to the other side and come up behind Lexi, then quickly avert my eyes again when I catch a glimpse of the back of her thong.
Jesus Christ. No matter where I go I end up catching something I’m not supposed to.
My hands drop to Lexi’s shoulders to provide support. “Change her quickly, Jessica,” I say impatiently.
“I’m trying, but you keep running around her!” she snaps. “Hold on.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, moving my hands for the brief moment it takes for Jessica to pull the fabric over Lexi’s head. The dress comes off, she tosses it aside, and I return my hands to Lexi’s shoulders.
When a brush of what I recognize as a cotton T-shirt touches the top of my hands, I move them out of the way so Jessica could pull the fabric down past Lexi’s shoulders, then I reopen my eyes in time to watch Jessica pull each of Lexi’s arms through the shirt.
My sister shoots a questioning glance up at me, confused by my odd behavior, and I shake my head. “It feels wrong to look.”
“It would be, if your intentions were wrong,” she defends me. “You’re just trying to get her to bed, Jackson. Interns and nurses do this at the hospital for sick patients all the time.”
“Right, but I’m not an intern or a nurse. She deserves her privacy.”
“My brother, the honorable one.” Jessica chuckles, and we both work together to lay Lexi down, gently resting her head against the pillow.
A small gasp from my sister prompts me to look up, and my heart drops to my stomach when I see that she’s noticed the pictures on Lexi’s nightstand.
Fuck.
“Jessica…”
She picks up the one with the clearest view of Eli’s face. “This is…” Her finger presses against the glass face of the frame. “Isn’t this?” She taps her finger noisily.
“Jessica, yes. Quiet.”
“This is the kid that—”
“Jessica!” I clip, finally gaining her attention. “Quiet.”
“Oh, God…” she utters under her breath. Her eyes fill with tears when they take in the photo again. “She’s…” Jessica stares down at Lexi, then back to the photo.
“Yes, Jessica.” I sigh, fighting to remain patient. “I’m aware of who she is.”
The look on her face is no longer a helpful one. She’s angry. Irate. Livid. “What the hell do you think you’re doing here with her? I can’t believe you asked me to come here. I can’t believe that you’re here. Have you lost your damn mind?” she hisses at me.
I hold out a steady hand, signaling for her to calm down. “I’m trying to help her, I can help her.”
Jessica answers with a huff. “You’ve officially gone insane. Help her? Help her how? She won’t understand any of this, Jackson!”
“So I will explain it to her. Everything.”
“And she will come after you until you have nothing left!”
“But I’ve already lost everything, Jessica!” My voice nears a shout, the sensitive subject bringing tears to my eyes. “I have nothing…” I whisper, my gaze lowering to Lexi, still sound asleep. “Helping her is all I have left.”
“You said not to say anything… I helped make sure no one would come looking for you,” she reminds me.
I shake my head as I comb my fingers through Lexi’s hair. “She found me.”
“She doesn’t know what she’s found, Jackson!” Jessica returns the photo to the nightstand, the contact between the frame and hard surface resulting in a loud noise. “Walk away from her,” she advises strongly. “It’s not too late, she knows nothing.”
When I notice Lexi’s duvet is still folded down neatly at the end of the bed, I pull it up and over her shoulders.
“Jackson, walk away,” she insists again, nearly tipping me over the edge.
I plant my hands firmly against the mattress and hang my head between my shoulders, breathing through my urge to scream at my unknowing sister. I’m trying to keep myself together here, not fall apart. “I tried that already,” I state as calmly as possible.
Jessica’s patience has also reached its limit with me, more nonexistent, at this point. She wouldn’t understand, no sane person would. “And?”
I shake my head again. “I can’t, Jess.” My eyes pick back up to meet my sister’s, and I see the tears that cloud her own. “I can’t do it. I need her.”
Someone’s shaking me awake. And it hurts. Everything hurts.
“Stop,” I grumble.
They’re still shaking me.
“Wake up,” a hushed whisper commands me, shaking me awake again. “Wake up, you whore!”
Harper.
I’m having a moment where my eyes are moving, but my lids refuse to lift. I’m tired, but I’m awake.
“Your eyeballs are moving,” Harper accuses me of what I already know. “Don’t pretend to be asleep.”
“I can’t open my eyes,” I mumble sleepily. Half a second later, I feel Harper’s cold ass hands on my face before her fingers force my lids apart.
The sunlight feels like it’s burning my retina, the pain shooting to my brain. I want to scream, but nothing comes out, just a pathetic groan.
Harper’s staring down at me with a smile she wears when she knows I’ve been hiding something from her. “You sneaky slut…”
“I’m not hiding anything…” I whisper, too afraid to speak any louder, and I clutch my aching head.
“Oh, really?”
“Seriously, Harper, shut up…” I plead. “Your voice is doing things to my brain.”
She folds her arms over her chest, her Chanel dangling from her arm. “If you’re not hiding anything, then what…” She points in a direction I don’t bother looking in, “is that? And why haven’t I seen him before?”
I lift my hands, my eyes focusing on the ceiling. Him? “Sit me up,” I command, holding my hand out to her. She takes it, pulling me up to a sitting position. I gasp. “Oh, my God!” I hiss, my voice still no louder than a whisper.
My hands yank the comforter up to reveal what I was hoping I wouldn’t se
e.
Someone changed me. Was it him?
“Ohmygod, ohmygod, OHMYGOD!” I go from frantic to angry, spitting the words through gritted teeth.
Harper finds the situation quite amusing, chuckling to herself. “What? One-night stand here’s got a conscience? He stuck around and fell asleep on the chaise? Calm your tits, sweets, I doubt you two bumped uglies. If you had, he’d be in bed with you.” She smiles in Jackson’s direction, shaking her head. “It looks more like he stuck around to take care of you. I hope you didn’t puke.” She makes a disgusted face. “That couldn’t have been pretty. Just how much did you have to drink last night?”
I think about it, but don’t remember much of anything. “I don’t know. More than I should’ve, apparently.” Then I look up at her. “What are you doing here so early?”
The question prompts Harper to return her attention to me, brow arched. “Early? It’s noon. And you texted me at five in the morning: Bring me soup. You mentioned you were going out last night, so I figured you were looking for some hangover cure.” She shrugs.
“Texted you?” I frown. “I never texted you last night.”
Harper takes my phone off the nightstand and hands it to me. “Maybe you drunk-texted me. Didn’t we have a talk about how dangerous that can be?” She regards me with a disapproving look.
I check my messages and see that I did indeed send her that ridiculous text. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Harper looks at Jackson again, and her head tilts to the side. “So who is he? He looks familiar, very pretty.”
“He’s my client.”
In just a matter of seconds, Harper’s face morphs from curious to creepy. Her mouth drops open in shock, but her eyes are smiling at me at the same time. “He is your client? You’ve been dressing and undressing this man?!”
“Not undressing,” I clarify first. “But yes, dressing. And he looks familiar to you because he’s Jackson Anderson.”
This time, Harper doesn’t just turn her head. She rotates her entire body to face me directly. “Jackson fucking Anderson? Are you kidding me?”
I motion toward him with my hand. “Um, no.”
A light goes off in her head, the evidence of it shining through her eyes. “I’m going to wake him.”
