Salvation (Angels Halo MC Next Gen Book 1)

by Terri Anne Browning

  Standing, she shook her head when her blue eyes fell on my cheek. “Your mom is going to burn the police station down to get to Murphy when she sees you. I almost feel sorry for the bastard. Almost.”

  I already knew that, which was why I wasn’t looking forward to seeing her.

  Hand on the doorknob, Aunt Flick suddenly turned back to face me. “Right, the reason I came in here in the first place. Theo Volkov called me a few minutes ago. He said all his texts to you keep not delivering. Thought something was wrong with you. I see you’re alive and mostly well, but you should check on why your phone is blocking your friend.”

  Promising her I would, I waited for her to close the door before pulling up my texts.

  Only to find Theo’s text feed wasn’t there. Frowning, I pulled up my contacts, but Theo wasn’t there either.

  “Damn it, Ben!” I whisper-shouted to myself.

  Luckily, I remember Theo’s number and added the contact information back. But when I tried to text him, I quickly realized I needed to unblock his number. Angry that Ben had been looking through my phone and deleted my best friend from it, I sent a text to Theo assuring him I was fine before pulling up Ben’s contact.

  As I’d expected, his number was already unblocked, and I hit connect, waiting impatiently for him to answer.

  “Good morning, beautiful,” his deep voice purred in my ear. “Did you sleep well?”

  “Stay the hell out of my phone!” I raged in as quiet a voice as I could while still getting the point across. “You had no business erasing Theo’s information from my contacts.”

  “Who is this guy anyway?” he asked, his voice immediately losing the purr.

  “He’s none of your damn business. We aren’t together, and even if we were, you had no right even looking at my phone, let alone blocking and deleting people from it.”

  “I’ll concede to the phone thing. That was a mistake on my part. My only excuse is that I was jealous…am jealous of this Theo idiot. I’ll try not to let it get the better of me again. But you’re wrong about us not being together. You came all over my face last night, baby.”

  Heat filled my face, a mixture of embarrassment and remembered need that was suddenly making my body ache for a reason other than Murphy’s rough treatment. As I glanced at the window, a piece of me hoped I would see him on the other side, ready to come in and take care of the throb deep between my thighs once again.

  Red fingerprints on the window frame caught my attention, distracting me completely from the naughty thoughts of Ben’s mouth on my pussy. Was that…blood?

  “Ben,” I whispered as I jumped out of bed and rushed over to the window, examining the stains. “Were you bleeding last night?”

  “I might have had to go to the emergency room after I left you this morning for some stitches,” he informed me, his tone making it seem like it wasn’t important.

  “What?” I exclaimed, feeling dizzy all of a sudden. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “But why did you need stitches?” I demanded. “Did you come here bleeding, and I didn’t even realize?”

  “I busted my knuckles last night,” he hedged.

  “On Murphy’s face?” Oh Lord, he was going to lose his job because of me. I dropped down on the edge of my bed, putting my face in my free hand.

  “No, baby. I haven’t had the chance to deal with that… It’s nothing. Just a few stitches in three of my knuckles. It happened before I came over last night. Don’t worry about me. How are you feeling? Do the bruises hurt?”

  “I’m fine,” I gritted out, knowing he wasn’t telling me what happened on purpose. If he wanted to be in a relationship with me, he needed to be honest. Even about the small things.

  But this wasn’t small.

  He’d gotten hurt somehow the night before and wasn’t telling me how.

  “I have to go,” I told him, already back on my feet and walking into the bathroom to get the Windex to clean up the blood smears. If Dad or Mom came in and saw the blood, they would freak, and Mom would check my body from head to toe for life-threatening injuries.

  “Lexa, don’t be mad,” he tried to soothe.

  “I’m not mad,” I assured him, fighting tears for some reason. “Just disappointed that you aren’t being honest with me. Guess we aren’t together after all if you can’t even tell me what happened that would require you having to get stitches. But whatever.”

  “I punched a damn wall last night, okay?” he growled. “I didn’t want you to know that I… Hell, I get these moments when I can’t control the rage that seems to live inside me, Lexa. Last night, I lost control and punched the wall and split my knuckles open.”

  “Why didn’t you just say that?” I demanded.

  “Because I didn’t want to scare you or make you think you have to worry about me ever losing control with you. I would never hurt you, baby. Never.”

  The anger draining from me, I closed my eyes. “It would take a hell of a lot more than you punching a wall to scare me, Ben. I’ve seen some evil things in my lifetime. You’re not evil. Rage or no rage, I feel safe when I’m with you.”

  “Good, because I would kill anyone who tried to hurt you.”

  “I know that,” I told him softly.

  “Lexa…” He broke off, and I heard a voice in the background. A female voice. “Hold on, baby,” he told me before his voice and the female’s became muffled. I knew then exactly who was talking to him.

  Paige.

  Fuck, I’d completely forgotten about her.

  Ben could so easily make me forget everything but him and me, it was crazy. I didn’t understand how he could make me block out everything that didn’t revolve around the two of us being together, but he did, and I hated it.

  With each passing second he made me wait, my jealousy only grew. I cleaned up his bloody fingerprints and then made sure there weren’t any other signs he’d been there the night before. I didn’t even remember him leaving. Of course, he’d put me in a postorgasmic coma, so it was all his fault I’d passed out and didn’t hear him.

  While I waited, Theo texted me back.

  Theo: Are you sure you don’t need me?

  “Lexa?” Ben’s voice filled my ear once again. “Something just came up, baby. I want to see you later. Have dinner with me tonight.”

  “No thanks,” I told him coolly.

  “Lexa,” he growled.

  “I already have plans for this evening, actually.” Not a lie. I did have plans. They just involved an accounts book for Hannigans’. “Have a great day, Sheriff. I’m sure it will be now that your ex is in your office.”

  “Don’t be jealous, beautiful,” he murmured in that purr again, but I wasn’t going to fall under his spell again. “I swear, this will all be over soon, and she’ll be gone.”

  “How sad for you. Then you won’t have anyone to play with.” Another text from Theo came in and I grinned. “Ah, would you look at that? Gotta go. Theo is so sweet. Offering to fly all this way just to hold my hand.”

  “Lexa.” There was pure malicious rage in his voice now, and it only made my grin bigger. “Don’t play with me.”

  “I’m not the one who plays games, Sheriff. That would be you. I have the text right here in front of me with him asking if I need him, and he’ll be on the first flight out if I do. Should I screenshot it and send you the picture? Hmm, maybe I should take him up on his offer. He could keep me company while you wrap everything up with Paige.” I tapped my chin with my index finger, pretending to give the idea some serious thought, but I knew I wouldn’t ever let Theo leave his family even if I did feel like I needed someone in my corner. Ben’s reaction to the thought of someone else in my life was plenty enough satisfaction for me.

  “Lexa,” he snapped, and I had to swallow a laugh. “I’ll see you tonight. We’ll discuss this more then.”

  “As I said, I have plans for the evening. And they don’t include you. Stay safe, Sheriff. I heard there’s someone c
razy chick going around taking baseball bats to police cruisers.”

  “Lexa, I swear, you’re so damn stubborn. You’re going to give me an ulcer or something. I’ll see you tonight.”

  “No. You. Won’t.” Satisfied I’d had the last word, I hung up and stomped into the bathroom.

  It was only when I caught sight of my nakedness in the mirror that I remembered I wasn’t wearing any clothes. I couldn’t believe I’d just had that entire conversation nude. Even if he couldn’t see me, it was unlike me. My scar had always made me too self-conscious about the rest of my body, not just my face. Yet, I completely forgot while I was on the phone with him.

  Turning on the shower, I nearly groaned when I received a new text.

  Ben: See. You. Tonight. And tell Theo you don’t need him for anything. You have me.

  Before I could type out a reply, another one popped up.

  Ben: Your car is parked in front of your house. I dropped it off on my way to work this morning. Drive safely if you need to go anywhere.

  Ben: PS. I miss you.

  Chapter 15

  Lexa

  Walking into the kitchen an hour later, I was surprised to find Mom chopping vegetables while Uncle Jet stood close by, drinking his morning coffee and looking all out of humor.

  “Morning, honey,” Mom greeted, barely lifting her head from her task. “I’m so glad you’re up. I was hoping you could run to the grocery store for me and grab a few things for this chili I’m mak…ing.”

  When she finally got a good look at me, the knife dropped out of her hand, clanging loudly against the countertop. She was in front of me before I even realized she was in motion, worrying me with how fast she’d moved in case she hurt herself.

  Fingers trembling, she skimmed them over my cheek, and I did my best not to flinch. Tears filled her eyes as she quickly took stock of the rest of my body that she could see. When she lifted my arms and examined the bruises, the tears dried instantaneously and flames flashed in her green depths.

  “Who?”

  One word. That was all she said, but it was enough.

  No “what” or “when.” Just “who.” All I had to say was Murphy’s name, and I knew he would breathe his last breath while she watched. And just knowing she would kill anyone who harmed me had my throat tightening with emotion, but I wouldn’t supply the name, wouldn’t be the one responsible for a man’s death and risk Mom losing her freedom.

  “So…” I cleared my throat, trying to lace my voice with amusement. “I was kind of arrested last night. Long story. I might have caused some county property damage by taking a baseball bat to the sheriff’s work cruiser. In the process of getting arrested, I struggled, and this was the aftermath. No biggie.”

  “Davis did this to you?” she seethed.

  Panic that she was now planning Ben’s death had me quickly shaking my head. “No, no, no, Mom. Ben didn’t arrest me. It was Mur—” I broke off before I could finish the name, but the damage had already been done.

  “Murphy?” she guessed. “Does your dad know anything about all this?”

  “Yup,” Jet supplied from where he was still leaning against the sink, sipping his coffee calmly like his baby sister wasn’t about to explode with rage.

  “And Murphy is still breathing?” she gritted out between clenched teeth.

  “As far as I know.” He shrugged his shoulders, but Mom’s gaze was locked on the scrapes on my cheek and didn’t see him.

  “Our daughter is arrested, harmed by some pussy Barney Fife wannabe, and he doesn’t tell me? What the hell else has he kept from me?” She touched my cheek again, and when I couldn’t hide my flinch this time, her tears returned. “Baby, I’m so sorry. I haven’t been around for you enough lately. Please forgive me.”

  My eyes widened. “Mom, what are you talking about? You’re always here for me.”

  Two fat tears fell down her cheeks, and she shook her head. “No. You’ve been going through so much lately, and I’ve been so caught up in this damn cancer thing, I’ve lost track of everything going on in your and your brother’s lives.”

  She enfolded me in her arms, hugging me so tight I struggled to breathe for a few moments, but I hugged her back. Her tears were making my own rush to the surface, and all I wanted to do was comfort her.

  “Who am I killing, Rave?” Uncle Jet asked casually, putting his now-empty mug in the sink. “Murphy or Bash?”

  Mom gave me one last squeeze before walking back over to the chopping board. “No one,” she answered just as casually, and I shuddered. “If you touch either of them, I’m going to be pissed.”

  “Raven—”

  “I said no,” she barked. “I’ll deal with Bash and Murphy myself.”

  “But you’re supposed to be taking it easy.” She turned her head, giving him a look that had him shutting his mouth with a snap. They had a staredown, and I was seriously getting nervous when Mom returned to chopping the vegetables. “Lexa, do you feel up to going to the grocery store for me?”

  “Sure, Mom.” Anything to get out of there. Mom was making me nervous as hell. “Do you have a list?”

  She motioned with the knife to a Post-it on the fridge. “I think that’s all I need. Your brother mentioned wanting chili yesterday, and I woke up craving it.”

  “Where is Max anyway?”

  “He went to work with your dad this morning. Dad was pissed at him for some reason.” She narrowed her eyes on me. “Do you know anything about that?”

  “Mom, it’s Max we’re talking about. Dad could have been pissed at him for a hundred different reasons,” I reminded her, but I couldn’t help wondering if Dad was punishing Max for what he’d said to me about Mom. That still stung, but I wasn’t going to narc on my little brother. Mom was already unpredictable, and I didn’t want to risk Max losing a limb for a moment of idiocy.

  Grabbing the list off the fridge, I called a “bye” as I headed out. As Ben’s text said, my car was parked at the end of the driveway. My purse was still in the front seat, I saw as I got in. When I started it, I immediately noticed two things.

  I had a full tank of gas. There had been a quarter of a tank when I’d driven over to Ben’s apartment the night before, but it was completely full now.

  And there was a huge shirt folded under my purse that I could already tell smelled just like Ben. Grabbing it, I lifted it to my nose, inhaling deeply. I fell asleep with that scent filling my senses the night before, his arms wrapped around me, making me feel like there wasn’t a force in the world that could touch or harm me as long as he was right there holding me.

  Pulling out my phone, I texted Ben.

  Me: Thanks for the shirt and the gas.

  Smiling to myself, I drove to the grocery store. As soon as I walked through the automatic doors, however, the smile disappeared as all eyes turned in my direction.

  I realized then I was the headlining topic of gossip for the entire town that morning.

  Gritting my teeth, I got a basket and quickly grabbed all the things on Mom’s list. The last item on the list was sliced cheese from the deli. Mom loved thick slices for grilled cheese with soup and chili, and my stomach growled at the thought of a bowl with the gooey melted cheese sandwiches, reminding me I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet.

  There were two people already in line, both of them older women. Standing back at a respectable distance, I waited for them to finish ordering. The first lady was ordering the entire deli, it seemed, so I pulled out my phone to distract myself while waiting.

  Seeing I had a reply to my earlier text, I opened it, my smile returning.

  Ben: Wear it every night and dream of me.

  “…can’t believe she did that to his vehicle,” the woman in front of me was saying, pulling my attention from my phone to her.

  I narrowed my gaze on the woman even as I felt my cheeks heat.

  “I’m not worried about it,” the first woman assured the second, her focus on the selection of deli meats while the attendant beh
ind the counter sliced up her Cajun turkey. “I know he’s just trying to give Paige a hard time with that Reid girl until he finally forgives her and takes her back.”

  Every muscle in my body tensed, and I took a closer look at the first woman. After a moment, I realized who she was and felt my stomach bottom out.

  Hannah Davis.

  Ben’s grandmother.

  “I mean, seriously, I know my grandson,” she said without turning. “He was miserable after breaking up with Paige. That was why he came back to Creswell Springs in the first place. To start over. He’s on top of the world now that she’s back.”

  Suddenly, I was glad I hadn’t eaten yet, because I knew I would have vomited then and there if I had.

  “I like the Reid family, don’t get me wrong. That Sebastian does one heck of a job on my car every time I need something done to it, and he is always so cordial. And Raven is a decent girl. I hate that she’s going through so much with her health right now. But their daughter… Well, she’s not exactly who I would want my only grandchild to be with. Look how unstable she is. Taking a bat to a vehicle with or without provocation tells me right there how crazy she is. Just like her biological mother, if you ask me. I heard she was…”

  Her voice trailed off as she turned to look at the woman behind her and finally noticed me standing in line.

  All the blood drained from her face, and I figured it only matched my own. My hands felt ice cold as I clenched them around the handle of the basket and my phone. Only a minute before, I’d been smiling down at my phone like a fool, happy, even though I was embarrassed as hell to be out in public after my actions the night before.

  Now, all that happiness had drained away, and I realized how crazy I really was. Crazy to think Ben and I stood a chance.

  “Close your mouth, Mrs. Davis,” a voice I knew and loved commanded as I felt a soft hand touch my back. “You’ve more than said your two cents. Now it’s my turn.”