Tell Me Lies (11 page)

“his” apartment.

Another time he’d grabbed her so hard he’d causes bruises to bloom al over her arms.

He always apologized, always told her he was sorry.

It went on like this for years.

Until last week.

She’d stayed late at school to have a parent/teacher conference with the father of a boy who’d been having problems with his schoolwork. The father had been helpful and understanding, and along with the school psychologist, they’d come up with a plan that Alexis had felt good about.

She was humming a little tune as she drove home and singing along with the radio. When she pul ed into the parking lot of her apartment complex, she realized that Leo was behind her. She wondered what he was doing home from work so early.

Maybe he’d taken some paid time off. He liked to do that sometimes in the spring, when the weather got nicer.

She pul ed into a spot and cut the engine.

She’d just stepped out of the car when she felt his hands grab her shoulders.

“Who the fuck was that, Alexis?” he screamed, spit flying out of his mouth.

“What?” She was so confused that it took her a second to realize what was happening.

“Who the
fuck
was that guy you were with?”

“What guy?”

He slammed her up against the car so hard her whole body shook.

“The guy I saw you coming out of the school with!”

“That was a parent,” she said.

“Why was he touching you like that? Why were you guys smiling and laughing?”

“He wasn’t touching me.”

“Liar!” He slammed her up against the car again.

“Stop,” she said. “Leo, please, you’re scaring me.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, pul ing her close. But it didn’t have the same effect on her as it usual y did. She didn’t feel sorry for him. She didn’t feel like she wished things were different.

Al she felt was disgust. “I’m sorry, Alexis.” Leo was stroking her hair, and bile rose in her throat.

But she didn’t pul away. She couldn’t pul away – she knew that if she did, it would just make him more upset. So instead, she said, “It’s al right. Why don’t we go inside and have some dinner?”

“Okay.” He stepped back and shook his head, then ran his fingers through his hair. “Dinner. Good idea.” He took her hand and started pul ing her toward the apartment.

She kept up the charade while they ate and watched a movie. At around nine o’clock, she told him she was going to take a shower before bed. As soon as she was in the bathroom, she pul ed out her iPhone and checked her bank balance.

She knew there wouldn’t be much in her checking account.

After paying her half of the bil s (Leo had long since stopped paying for everything), there wasn’t much left of her paycheck. But every month she would deposit a little money into her savings account. Last time she’d checked, about two weeks ago, she’d had around six thousand dol ars.

But now, her savings account was showing only three hundred and eighty-three dol ars. A sick feeling settled in her stomach. How was that possible?

She scrol ed down through the withdrawals. Someone had transferred the six thousand dol ars into her checking account, and then, over the past three weeks, had been taking it out in increments at different ATMs.

It had to have been Leo. He must have known her banking password and her ATM password. But how? And what was he doing with the money? Spending it? Or had he taken it just so she wouldn’t have a way to leave him?

It was a scary thought. Her pulse began to pound, and her heart fluttered in her chest.

She needed to leave him. But how?

According to her iPhone screen, she had about fifteen hundred dol ars in her checking account. She could get somewhere on that, but then what? The money would only pay for cheap hotel for a couple weeks. Definitely not enough time to get a job.

Maybe she could rent a room from someone, she thought. If she did that, she’d be able to keep her costs down. But where?

There was a knock on the bathroom door. “Honey?” Leo cal ed. “Do you want me to save this chicken? Or just throw it out?”

“You can throw it out,” she said, quickly exiting out of her banking website. She didn’t think he would come in, but she wasn’t going to take any chances.

It was okay, she told herself. Tomorrow she’d go to the bank and open up a separate account. She’d make sure he didn’t know about it. She’d start building her savings up, and after a couple of months, she’d leave. Anytime he’d had an episode like this in the past, he’d always been better for a while afterwards.

But that night, when they’d crawled into bed, he’d done something that had made her toes curl.

“I’m sorry,” he said, kissing her softly on the forehead, “for how I was earlier. I just get upset when I think about you leaving me for someone else.”

“I know,” she said. Her heart was pounding in her ears and adrenaline coursed through her body.

And then he reached out and grabbed her wrist under the blanket. He squeezed it so tight that for a moment, she was afraid he might break it. Then he let go. And in the darkness of the room, she heard his voice.

“If you ever did leave me,” he said quietly. “I’d kil you.”

The next morning, she was on the train to New York.

Chapter Eight

Reid hadn’t said anything the whole time Alexis was talking, and once she’d finished, he stood up. His lips tightened into a straight line, and he pul ed his shoulders back. “I’l kil that asshole,” he said. “You said he’s here?” He started looking around the room, like he was thinking he might find Leo lurking around somewhere.

“I don’t know where he is
,”
she said. “The message just said ‘sorry I missed you.’ He cal ed and left it, but who knows where he cal ed from? He knows I’m here.

So if he’s not here, I think he wil be soon.”

Seeing Reid’s reaction was actual y making Alexis feel better. She hadn’t told anyone about Leo. Ever. So now that she’d confessed what had been going on, and Reid was acting like he wanted to go and confront Leo head on, it made Leo seem a lot less intimidating.

“I’l beat his ass,” Reid said simply. “So don’t worry about it.”

She shook her head. “Thanks,” she said. “But I real y don’t think that’s going to help.”

He sat down next to her. “I wish you’d told me this before,”

he said. “You don’t have to worry about anything.”

She felt tears wel up in her eyes. Just hearing those words made her feel so much better. But they were just words.

The bottom line was that Reid didn’t know Leo. Hel , he hardly even knew her.

“Alexis,” Reid whispered. He’d moved closer to her on the bed, and he pul ed her close. She buried her face into his chest and let herself cry.

“It’s okay,” he said. “It’s okay. You’re fine, it’s going to be okay.”

They stayed like that for a few minutes, until she pul ed back and wiped her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I hate crying. It’s so useless.”

“It’s not useless.” He stood up and ran his fingers through his hair. “Okay,” he said. “I’m going to order room service, and then we’re going to figure out what to do.”

“Okay.” She looked down at her hands and took a deep breath. “I’m going to take a shower before the food comes.”

She headed for the bathroom, and once she was under the hot spray, she closed her eyes and let her muscles relax.

And for just one second, she pretended that everything was going to work out.

***

Reid ordered macaroni and cheese, chicken potpie, and a huge plate of mashed potatoes. He knew Alexis needed to eat, and lobster and caviar wasn’t going to cut it.

She needed comfort food.

“Are you trying to put me into a carb coma?” she asked when she saw the food.

She was coming out of the shower, her long blonde hair tied back in a ponytail.

She was wearing a tank top with teeny tiny straps and a pair of shorts that revealed those long, tan legs. He knew he shouldn’t be having such wicked thoughts about her when she was in the middle of a crisis, but he couldn’t help but think how easy it would be to slide her clothes right off and have his way with her.

“You need soothing food,” he said. “And wine.” He poured her a glass.

“I’m going to become a fat drunk,” she complained. But she was taking the glass and sipping from it.

“Better?” he asked after a few minutes.

“Better.”

“Good.”

He took a plate from the tray and loaded it with food, then set it in front of her.

“Eat.”

“Yes, sir.” She did a mock salute and then took a bite of mac and cheese. “It’s good,” she said.

“It better be, for fifty dol ars.”

“Fifty dol ars for macaroni and cheese?”

“There’s lobster in it.” Just because they were having comfort food didn’t mean they couldn’t class it up just a little bit. He took a bite of his own food. He was sitting at the desk a few feet away from where Alexis was sitting, Indian style, on the bed. He didn’t trust himself to be close to her without trying to strip her naked. The last thing she needed right now was for him to be al over her. But God, it was testing his self-control to want her so bad and not be able to do anything about it.

They ate in silence for a few minutes.

“Listen,” she said final y. “I want you to know that I’m real y thankful that you listened to everything I said down there.

But I also want you to know that I’m fine. I can handle things by myself.”

“Oh, real y?” he asked. “You can handle things by yourself?”

She nodded.

“How?”

“I’l make a plan.”

“Uh-huh. And what kind of plan, exactly?”

“I don’t know. One where I change my name and head into the witness protection program?”

“Oh, good idea,” he said, rol ing his eyes. He set his fork down on his plate and looked at her seriously. “I think we need to think about getting a restraining order.”

“A restraining order?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “That way Leo won’t be able to come near you.”

She shook her head. “A restraining order won’t stop him.”

“Maybe not.” He wasn’t an idiot. If someone was crazy enough to want to hurt you, they probably wouldn’t care about a piece of paper they told them not to. But stil .

It was a way to make sure that if Leo came near her, Alexis would at least have some recourse. “But you stil have to do it.”

“Yeah.” She gazed off into the distance and took a deep breath.

He went and sat down next to her on the bed. “Look,” he said, “you don’t have to do it on your own. I’l help you.”

She shook her head. “You don’t have to help me.”

“I’m going to take care of it. I have a lawyer, he can give us some advice.” He pul ed his phone out of his pocket. “I’m going to go cal him and I’l be right back.”

***

Alexis watched Reid walk out into the hal way, not knowing exactly what to do.

Part of her wanted to push him away – it was too confusing, him trying to take control after what she’d been through.

How could she let someone do that? She needed to face this thing with Leo on her own, to stand up for herself for once. Didn’t she?

When Reid returned a few minutes later, he looked determined.

“Okay,” he said. “So here’s the deal. You have to file restraining orders in the state you live in. So that means you’re going to have to go back to Pennsylvania. Then, there wil be a hearing in ten days, where you present your case to the judge. And he’l issue the permanent order.”

Alexis shook her head. There was no way she was going back to Pennsylvania.

No fucking way.

“I’m not going back there,” she said.

“I’l go with you.”

Her eyes met his. She wanted to fight, wanted to tel him that she didn’t need him to go with her. But she was too tired and too relieved. Reid made her feel protected.

She didn’t have the strength to go back to Pennsylvania and face Leo on her own.

Suddenly, she just wanted to forget about al of it – Leo, the restraining order, Pennsylvania, everything. So before she could think about what she was doing, she moved toward Reid and brushed her lips against his. His eyes widened in surprise.

“Alexis,” he started.

“Shh,” she whispered. “Please.” She kissed him again, and this time, he kissed her back. Desire overtook her body, blotting out everything else – the stress, the worry, the fear.

Al she could feel was the heat coming off Reid’s body, and the burning ache to be close to him.

The kiss deepened and became more intense, and Reid reached down and pul ed at the bottom of her shirt, his hands sliding up under the fabric and over her breast. Her nipple hardened under his touch and her breath accelerated.

They fel back onto the bed, his mouth moving from her lips down over her neck, tracing burning kisses on her skin. He moved al the way down, kissing over her stomach and then giving her a wicked grin as he tugged her shorts off.

Alexis moaned, writhing on the bed in delicious pleasure.

She’d never wanted anyone so badly in her life.

Reid moved his hands slowly down over her hips and looked up at her, his gaze penetrating. His eyes never left hers as his tongue moved over her panties. Electricity burned through her body in a hot current.

Her breath caught in her chest as Reid reached up and slowly pul ed her panties over to the side. She felt his breath against her clit, and Alexis moaned again, louder this time.

Slowly, deliciously, he moved his mouth back toward her, his tongue moving in slow circles as his hands held her hips.

“Reid,” she moaned. “Reid, I can’t… I’m going to come.”

He moved his tongue faster until the rhythm matched the thrusts of her hips. Her orgasm overtook her, and Alexis thrust her head back as the delicious waves rol ed through her body.

He slid back up her body, kissing over her stomach, her breasts, and her neck until he final y reached her lips.

She felt him slide inside of her, moving faster and faster until they both came.

Then he col apsed on top of her, kissing her forehead as he pushed her hair softly out of her face.

He pul ed her close and held her until they both drifted off to sleep.