Sunday, June 26, 2016
Trey's House
20 weeks...
He sighed heavily as he pulled open the door to his bedroom. He'd had to inform his security of course to keep an eye on Lexi from afar, while some of those who'd flown in from London kept eyes on Ethan, Leander, Nicolysse and Valerie.
Closing the door, he padded to his bathroom to wash down and brush his teeth before returning with just a towel wrapped around his waist. He entered his closet and came back wearing boxers only while he used the towel to dry his hair.
After depositing the towel in the bathroom, he went over to his bed and flopped on it, only to receive a pained exclamation. He slid out and grabbed his phone to turn on the room's dim lighting. "Lexi?"
"Expecting someone else?" she grumbled, sitting up.
He ran his hand through his still damp hair, absolutely horrified. "Have you been here this whole time?" he asked in wonder, truly surprised as to why he hadn't spotted her.
"Yes, but I can leave."
"No," he rushed out. " Did I hurt you?"
"A little," she admitted, cupping her bump. His eyes followed the movement.
"Do we need to go to the hospital?" The panic in his voice was palpable.
"No. Your hand just hit my back. It's fine," she assured him. "It just caught me off guard."
He stood. "I still would've preferred it if you'd warned me. I didn't know you were going to be sleeping here now."
She thought about it for a moment. "It's not a big deal. I can just go to my room."
"I'm not driving you out. Just saying, we could've avoided this mishap," he murmured, coming to sit in front of her. "I still wish we'd go to the hospital."
"Trey," she said firmly, brushing his cheek. "We're fine. Okay? Don't blame yourself, and whenever I want to sleep here, I'll let you know. Better?"
"Much," he answered, leaning into her touch.
"Now lay down. You need to rest," she requested. He hesitated, but crossed over to his side to lay down, inviting her into his arms.
"I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair when she snuggled next to him.
"If you apologize one more time, I'm going to flip." He chuckled, breathing in her scent. "Talk about something else if you're not sleepy."
"What do you want to talk about?"
"More like what I want to know," she corrected, holding her breath for an answer. She knew he'd decided not to involve the girls in the case anymore, so it might be hard on him.
He was quiet for a couple of seconds. "Hit me."
She lifted her head to look at him. "You're not going to ask which category it falls in?"
He brushed her hair back as he looked up at her. "You're my wife. You deserve to know what I'm up to—I want you to know. I'm not hiding things from you anymore, remember?"
She smiled in appreciation and gave him a peck on the lips. "Thank you." She didn't wait for his reaction; only set her head back on his chest as her face flamed. Why on earth was she behaving like a hormonal teenager?! "Tell me about the visit to Leander today."
"What do you want to know?" he asked, not knowing where to start from.
"Everything. From the start."
"Well..." he trailed off, gathering his thoughts. "The door was already open when we got there, so we went in. He offered us something to drink—"
She lifted her head and turned so fast that her hair whipped him in the face. "What do you mean 'something to drink'? Did you take it?"
"I mean..." he murmured, rubbing his face, "yeah."
"You're going back to the hospital," she proclaimed, turning to scoot off the bed. "You're going to get a full body exam and lab tests and—"
"Lexi," he said with a chuckle, his heart warming at how much she cared about him. "It was just water."
"Still—"
He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back down, tucking her into himself. "Tap water," he specified, smiling down on her.
She sighed audibly before tensing up again. "He could've wrapped a cloth containing poison or some drug around it and the water flowing would still be doused."
"True, but there was nothing like that. His kitchen is open, so I watched him. He even drank some himself so no worries there." She grumbled incoherently and he continued. "So, he answered a few questions, and guess what?"
"Are you really going to make me guess? Just tell me," she responded, eager to hear what he had to say.
"Now where's the fun in that?" he teased, making her groan. He chuckled, then placing an arm under his head, he turned serious. "Things really weren't as we thought they were."
"What do you mean by that?" she asked quietly, confusion lacing her words.
"Well..." he trailed off, "he admitted to murdering his wife, the lover and the others. But not as a deranged man who went around killing people because he'd lost mind after losing his wife. He was a contract killer," Trey explained somberly.
Her eyes went wide. "Those things exist in real life?"
"Yes, very much—especially with people who for the sake of their reputations want someone who would do the dirty work for them." He pulled his arm from under his head and combed through her hair with his fingers. "He was hired to kill; that is what he channeled his grief into."
"Grief over someone he himself killed?" She scoffed. "He's a psychopath alright. Didn't one of you say he was taken to a psych hospital?"
"Well yeah, that's what it says on the file. But according to him, his judge was bribed to send him there with the excuse of him being mentally unsound when he committed all those murders.
"Two perfectly sane men had been declared insane earlier too just so they could escape prison sentence because they had 'unfinished business'," Trey said, making airy quotes with his fingers. "So, that was his last assignment as a contract killer—to get there and end their lives."
"He doesn't have the right to do that," she said, disagreeing strongly with his methods.
"You might not think the same if you looked at it from this perspective," he murmured, his hands still stroking her hair. "Those two men who went to the psych institution were sane and actual serial killers. They planned on pretending they were getting better with each passing day till they were released to continue."
He paused, not believing he was about to say his next words. "Leander kind of did all of us a favor. These men had no particular motive; they killed for the thrill and fun of it. One of the men had a type—blonde women. So forgive me for being selfishly glad they're no more thanks to Leander."
"God," Lexi mumbled, seriously considering if she wanted to hear more about this.
Trey looked down at her with a small smile then went on. "He sent the proceeds from the last assignment to his sister who had taken his daughter under her care, then he went to prison to serve his sentence."
He paused, wondering if he should add what he wanted to. "That's when he heard of us. He knew what it was like to go off the deep end when you get cheated on and..."
"He wanted to help because he thought I was cheating on you and didn't want you to turn out like that? Am I correct?" she completed, waiting for clarification.
"Yes, except, he didn't hear of us himself. Keep in mind that it'd been some time after he'd threatened Dustin that everything had gone downhill," he said quietly, and when she nodded against his chest, he continued.
"Ethan had gone to him because he knew that with his past, he would agree. But when he found out the truth and tried to pull away, Donovan held his daughter over him," he muttered, returning his hand to her hair.
She was quiet for a second or two, then asked, "So, now what?"
"Now, we get evidence to back up what we know of Ethan being behind it all. Leander is going to help with that," he told her, adjusting his position. She lifted her head to make it easier, returning it when he beckoned her to.
"Leander? Trey, I don't like this," she whispered. "It's too smooth; too perfect."
"I know," he whispered back, burying his nose in her hair. "I've got eyes on him. I don't trust him as much as you don't—if not more. But if he comes through, we'll hand over the evidence to a court and wash our hands off it."
She let out a relieved sigh. "I'm so glad you're finally leaving it to the law. You've done enough and I'm so grateful. Just. . . be careful."
"Don't worry about it." He placed one hand on the bump, caressing it. "You just focus on being healthy for you and our babies, hm?" She hummed in response and closed her eyes, feeling loved.
They lapsed into a comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Trey knew he couldn't trust Leander yet but he was willing to take a gamble with it. Because what if he really did want to help?
He'd made it clear to Leander that he wasn't going to free him, and he planned on standing by that. But like Lexi had pointed out, the meet had been too smooth; too perfect.
And the added bonus of Ethan arriving at that time was too shady—almost like he'd been notified. What if he had been notified? But then why let them escape if that was the case? Nothing was adding up.
Looking down at the woman in his arms, he smiled, loving the fact that they were both trying to fix the wedge that had been driven between them. Yes, he couldn't kiss her as much as he wanted to, nor could he touch her however, but he was grateful for the effort she was making.
*
Monday, June 26, 2016
Trey's House
20 weeks....
Trey was dishing up the finished part of breakfast when he heard Lexi call for him. He turned to find her rushing down the stairs, a hand under her bump. "Slow down," he told her as he brought the food over to the dining table.
She gave him a swift nod that said she'd heard him, but the joy radiating off her did not diminish even as her speed did. When she reached Trey, she was grinning widely.
"Well, someone's happy," he said as he pulled her into his arms and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "Good morning. Sleep well?"
"I did," she responded, "but this morning has made me much happier than the extra sleep."
"Tell me what made you happy," he said, smiling at her.
Her eyes went bright again, with that sunny smile he hadn't seen in a while back in place. He wondered what had made her this happy, but didn't have to wonder for long. "I felt the babies kick!" she whispered, not wanting anyone else to know yet.
His eyes went wide with amazement. "You're serious?" She nodded frantically, grabbing his hand to place on the bump. "I don't feel anything," he muttered with a frown when he didn't feel any movement for a few seconds.
"Shh," she hissed, looking down at her bump. "Come on you two. Kick for daddy," she cooed, and Trey couldn't help but smile. It surprised him often how she managed to stay happy after all the things life had thrown her way. The smallest of things made her happy and he loved that the-
Thump.
Thump.
He looked up at her, his eyes growing wider than before. He'd known by her bump that she was carrying their children. But feeling them kick made it all the more real. His hand slid to her back as he lowered his head to kiss the bump.
"Daddy loves you so much," he whispered, fighting the tears that wanted to come up. "Stay healthy for us, okay?" They kicked simultaneously as though in response to his request, and he looked up with a full heart to find Lexi looking down at him with a smile.
He raised his head and grabbed the back of her neck. His lips next to hers, he whispered, "Thank you Lexi. I love you," he muttered, pressing his lips to hers gently.
He pulled away reluctantly and rubbed the bump once more, a goofy smile on his lips. "I'll finish making breakfast. So, go wash up and come back downstairs okay?"
She cocked her head to the side. "Are you saying I stink?"
He laughed. "Maybe you do, but I would never tell you that," he said seriously, laughing when he saw the surprise on her face. "I'll be waiting," he told her, turning her in the direction of the stairs.
She looked back when she got to the stairs and found he was still in that same position, smiling at her. It made her feel like things were going back to normal between them again.
Going back upstairs, she thought to herself that maybe love was worth chasing after.