No Strings Attached

Chapter Thirteen

Happy Holidays to all who celebrate! Here's an update to get you through your family gathering! xx

The first light of dawn filtered through the curtains of Alex's room, painting it in a soft, golden hue. Alex was the first to stir, the sharp pull of pain in his chest waking him from the light slumber he'd managed. Norma woke moments after, her bleary eyes landed on him as he rubbed his face with a tired hand, his other arm still tucked safely against his chest.
"Morning," he greeted her, his voice deep and rough with sleep.
The sound sent a ripple through her, unearthing a memory she had buried but not forgotten. The night they shared in his motel room, the way he had looked at her, the way he had held her. For a moment she was there again, in that motel room with him, the air between them charged with desire.
But then Alex shifted, a hiss of pain breaking through his lips before he could stop it as his hand flew to his chest. The sight snapped her back to reality.
"Alex," she says with worry as she sits up quickly. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he muttered through gritted teeth, though the tension in his face said otherwise.
"No you're not. We need to change your dressings anyways," she tells him, already sliding off the bed. "I'll go grab the kit."
Before he could argue, she was gone, her footsteps retreating to the living room. When she returned with the kit, Alex had managed to prop himself up against the headboard, his face pale but composed.
"You'll need to lift your shirt," she said firmly, sitting on the edge of the bed beside him. He grabs the hem of his shirt, slowly lifting it to uncover his wound.
The bandage from last night was stained with his blood, and she swallowed a lump in her throat as she got to work. Her movements were tender, much like last night, as she peeled away the old dressing and began to carefully clean his wound again. Thankfully, it didn't look nearly as gruesome as it had last night.
As she worked, the question that had been nagging at her since last night finally broke free. "Why did you leave the hospital?"
Alex was silent for a beat, his jaw tightening as he began to weigh how much he wanted to tell her. "I...had to take care of something."
Her eyes flickered up to him as her hands stilled. Her tone was steady, though her eyes showed a hint of panic. "What did you do?"
She saw his jaw muscles flex again, which she had learned was his tell for when he was keeping something from her. "A complication came up, and I took care of it," he tells her firmly, making her panic grow.
"Why are you not telling me what happened? I mean after everything, I think I've earned a little trust here," she pushes, not understanding why he still felt the need to shut her out.
"It's for your own good-"
"Bullshit, Alex. I'm a big girl, I can handle it," she shot back, her eyes narrowing, as if daring him to push back. Finally, he exhaled, the sound heavy.
"A man named Marcus Young came to see me. Bob hired him to gun for my job as sheriff," Alex begins, making Norma lean towards him slightly, hanging onto every word.
"He told me that Bob's done with me. Can't use me anymore, and wants me dead."
Norma let out a sharp gasp at this, her brows furrowing with worry and guilt as she realizes all of this is because of her. She never realized the domino effect that would occur from one stupid meeting.
"He told me that he thought I was too valuable. Said that if I work for him, he could get Bob off my back."
This made Norma relax slightly at the thought of a potential solution to the Bob problem. At least they would have this Marcus guy on their side too.
"So I killed him and left his body in his car parked at the end of Bob's driveway," Alex finishes, making Norma's eyes shoot back up to his with panic.
"You what?" she asks with disbelief. "Alex, why would you do that?"
"I'm not working for anybody, Norma. Especially not that guy," he tells her firmly, hating the way she was looking at him. "This is the way things get handled. If Bob wants to send me a message, I'll send him one back."
Her eyes searched his face for a moment, her mind trying to comprehend how Alex could've managed to kill someone in his condition, with a fresh bullet wound in his chest. It was then that she began to realize that Alex was a lot tougher, and a bit more dangerous, than she gave him credit for, and a part of her found herself a little more attracted to him because of it.
"You should still go back to the hospital," she says as her still trembling hands finished taping the gauze to his skin, her touch lingering a moment longer.
"I don't know, I think the service here is pretty nice," he says with a slight smirk, his tone light, a stark contrast of their previous conversation.
She sends him a look, but a smile playing on her lips betrayed her.
"I'm serious, Alex. I'll take you after we get dressed," she tells, already sliding off the bed to grab her clothes.
"Actually you can just drop me off at my car. Should still be at the grocery store in town."
The drive to the grocery store was quiet, the only thing filling the silence between them being the soft hum of the car engine. Norma stole glances at Alex every chance she could, worry etched into every line of her face.
He sat stiffly in the passenger seat, his jaw tight, though he tried not to show how much every movement jostled his wound.
When they pulled into the parking lot, Norma's stomach dropped as soon as her eyes landed on his car. One of the rear windows was shattered, shards of glass on asphalt glinting in the morning sun. Blood stained the pavement near the back of his car, a dark reminder of the previous night's violence.
"Alex," Norma began, her grip tightening on the steering wheel as she parked right behind his car.
But before she could voice her concern, he cut her off. "I'm fine, Norma," he said, his tone calm but firm.
Her eyes flicked between him and the scene outside, her lips pressed into a firm line. "Fine? Your blood is all over the ground, Alex. You could've-" She stopped herself, the words catching in her throat.
She'd already realized how close she had come to losing him, but seeing the scene with her own eyes drove the realization home in a way nothing else could. She could feel the weight of it pressing down on her chest. The sight alone filled her with a bone chilling fear. She couldn't begin to imagine the terror he must've felt living through it.
"I barely felt it," he lied smoothly, as if reading her thoughts. "Adrenaline does that."
She wasn't convinced and her silence said as much. Alex sighed and turned towards her, his voice softening but losing none of its resolve. "Norma, listen to me," he begins, pulling her gaze away from the blood stained asphalt back to him. "It'll take a lot more than a bullet to kill me. I promise."
Her expression wavered, her worry clashing with his stubborn insistence. She wanted to argue, to force him to let her help more, but the look in his eyes told her he wouldn't let her.
So instead, she let out a reluctant sigh. "You'd better keep that promise, Alex Romero."
"I always do," he replied with a ghost of a smirk.
"You should go home," he said gently as he unbuckles his seatbelt. "Go see your boys, get some rest. I'll try to swing by soon to check in later, okay?"
Norma simply nodded, her bottom lip caught firmly between her teeth as she watches him open his door to leave. Before he could move to get out of the car, Norma couldn't help herself as she gently grabbed the side of his face, firmly pressing her lips to his cheek.
The gesture was brief, but it sent a warm feeling through them both. Norma pulled back, her eyes lingering on him for a moment before she forced herself to let go of him.
"Be safe," he managed to tell her before stepping out of the car completely, shutting the door behind him.
Alex stood by his battered vehicle, watching her until she disappeared from his view. A faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, the feeling of her lips on his cheek lingered, a quiet reminder of the connection that seemed to grow stronger with every moment they shared.
Unbeknownst to him, a shadow shifted nearby, hidden in the overgrowth just beyond the edge of the parking lot. A subtle glint of light reflected off something metallic, a camera lens, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared.
Alex turned toward his car, completely unaware of the unseen eyes following his every move.