CHAPTER TWENTY.

Lexie "Should I ask why you smell like a garden and look like you were playing in the dirt? Or is this some kinky s.h.i.t you and Duke have going on?" Cherry asked playfully.

Lexie looked down at her hands and shook her head. She had soil caked under her nails and her clothes were in need of a wash. "We found the evidence Mom had on Stodden. She buried it in the garden." Lexie walked back over to the table and began straightening everything into a neat pile. Having the very evidence that Stodden was willing to kill for spread out on top of her table made her very nervous. An irrational part of her was terrified he knew they had it and it would only be a matter of time before he came to collect it.

"This is all the s.h.i.t that mad man has been after, huh?" Cherry said, picking up one of the floppy disk and examining it with a frown.

"Yeah." Lexie walked into the living room and opened a closet her mother used for storage. Lexie grabbed a box off the top shelf and opened it up. It was mostly empty other than a few old photo alb.u.ms. Setting the box on the table, Lexie removed the alb.u.ms and placed the files and disks inside the box.

"Look at you," Cherry said, opening one of the alb.u.ms. "You looked like candy come to life." Cherry smiled at the photographs as she flipped through the pages. Lexie knew the alb.u.m well. She was five and six years old in most of the pictures.

She remembered the outfit Cherry was referring to, it had been her favorite.

"Mom let me pick out my own clothes," Lexie explained the mismatched colors and patterns that made up her unusual outfit.

"I think it was very fashion forward of you," Cherry mused.

Lexie laughed. "It was something, that's for sure." Lexie took the alb.u.m from Cherry's hands and ran her fingers over the picture of her sitting on her mother's lap. They were at the annual community picnic. She could remember the day very clearly in her mind.

"The other kids told me I looked like a cupcake that day. The name stuck for a while. I was called "Princess Cupcake" for a few weeks after that. At first it made me angry until my mother told me it was my superhero name. She even made me a cape to go with the outfit and baked a whole bunch of cupcakes that I decorated with my "magic" sprinkles." Lexie flipped further into the book until she came to the picture of her running around the front yard in the same outfit with a bright pink cape."

"You're mother sounds like she was quite the woman," Cherry said as she patted Lexie on the shoulder.

"She was," Lexie responded as she wiped her eyes.

"I'm gonna make some tea before I head back to sleep. Do you want some?" Cherry asked, walking into the kitchen to fill up the kettle.

"I would, but I have to get in the shower and get this dirt off me," Lexie said as she set the alb.u.ms on top of the files and closed the box. She tucked the box into the closet and walked back toward the table where she had set Jackson's gun.

"Take it with you, you'll feel safer. Trust me. I have slept with a gun under my pillow for years."

Lexie nodded and picked it up. "Goodnight, Cherry,"

"Goodnight, Princess Cupcake," Cherry called after her as Lexie started up the stairs.

When Lexie walked into the bathroom, she closed the door and turned the lock. She looked at her reflection and tried to pick out all the characteristics of herself that reminded her of her mother; the shape of her eyes, her cheekbones, her blonde hair, and her lips. These were the parts of her that she would cherish. Every time she looked in the mirror she could see the part of her mother that was still alive in her. Lexie didn't let herself think about what she shared with her father because it terrified her. She was scared to admit that a part of her was made up of evil. She desperately hoped she was strong enough to overcome it.

Lexie turned on the shower and waited for the steam to start filling the room. Now that they had found the evidence John was looking for, she hoped it gave them the power to finish this. She wanted to be free of the shackles John had bound her with. She wanted to leave everything to do with him in the past and move on.

Lexie showered quickly. She suddenly felt exhausted and wanted to crawl in bed and wait for Jackson to return. Lexie wrapped herself in her mother's favorite robe that was still hanging on the back of the bathroom door. It still smelled like her as Lexie held the fabric to her nose and breathed in the scent. She towel dried her hair and ran her fingers through it before heading to bed.

Lexie smiled when she walked into her room and saw a hot cup of chamomile tea sitting on the nightstand next to her bed. "Thank you, Cherry," she whispered as she picked it up to take a sip of the warm, comforting liquid. Lexie pulled on a pair of her favorite sleeping shorts and a tank top and hung her mother's robe up on the hook next to her closet. She ran her fingers over the silky floral material. "I love you, Mom," Lexie whispered.

Lexie checked her phone for messages before she picked up the gun she had left on her dresser. Lexie slid it under her pillow before crawling into bed. Cherry was right, she did feel better knowing it was close. Lexie wrapped her fingers around the hot mug and savored the stillness around her.

Lexie looked around her room. Her mother had kept all of her photos up on the walls. Lexie's room was still the same as when she lived here other than the fact that it didn't have all of her things cluttering the surfaces of the furniture. It was familiar and strange all in one, like a ghost from her past.

Lexie set her tea down and noticed the framed picture on her nightstand looked different. Frowning, she picked it up to get a closer look. Lexie could feel her stomach curl into a ball of lead as realization dawned on her. A picture was tucked inside the frame. It was a still of security camera footage. It was from the hotel room that Stodden had kept her in. She must have missed one of the cameras when she had searched. The picture was of her and Flint the night she had taken his phone, it made her stomach roll with nausea.

Lexie covered her mouth and threw the picture across the room. It hit the wall and the gla.s.s shattered. Lexie grabbed the gun and stood up in a panic. The room spun as she stumbled, grabbing for the side of the bed. Her feet suddenly wouldn't obey her and she slid to the floor. The gun felt heavy as she struggled to hold it up. Lexie willed her body to get up but it was no use. The floor felt uneven and swayed like it was fluid as she pushed against the floor.

Lexie heard footsteps coming up the stairs and panic burned her throat. "Cher..." Lexie tried to call out but her tongue felt swollen and too large for her mouth. She couldn't get her words to pa.s.s. Lexie heard the footsteps come to a stop at the entrance of her door. She could feel her fear fill the entire room until it was suffocating.

Flint filled the door frame. "Did you miss me?" His cold voice crawled over her skin.

Lexie managed to raise the gun enough to aim. She pulled the trigger but only an empty click sounded from the gun.

"Looking for these?" Flint raised his fist and opened his hand. Bullets dropped from his open palm and scattered over the floor. Lexie gasped in despair.

Flint shook his head with a click of his tongue. "After what we shared, you're so quick to pull the trigger. I'm disappointed."

"Don't..." Lexie managed to push through her numbing lips.

"Don't what?" He tilted his head.

Lexie had no more strength as whatever drug he had put in the tea took all her strength and her ability to move. Lexie had no choice but to submit as she laid her head against her bed. She watched in horror as Flint knelt down beside her.

"You're much more vicious than you look, Lexie. So soft." He ran his fingers over her cheek and down her neck. Lexie wanted to scream and pull away but her body was no longer her own. "You betrayed me. I'm not a man that forgives easily."

Lexie wished she could respond to his repulsive words. She wanted to tell him what she thought, instead she had to submit to the torture of letting Flint do whatever he wished.

"I can see in your eyes that you have so much to say; always such a fighter. It took me a while to perfect this concoction. Don't worry, you'll stay conscious the entire time. I wouldn't want you to miss out on any of the fun. There's something very appealing about being able to do whatever I want with someone while they watch helplessly locked away in here." Flint pressed his finger against her forehead. "I'm looking forward to our time together."

Lexie wanted to shove him away when he leaned in to place a kiss on her lips but she couldn't move. Her hands remained lifelessly in her lap, allowing him to kiss her and dip his tongue into her mouth, tasting her as he moaned. She still had enough sensation lingering in her skin to feel his touch and she wanted to claw his eyes out.

"You telling John about our time together was a very bad thing. You better hope he believes me over you. Your father is not a merciful man. Lucky for you, you found me a little bargaining chip that will make my proposition more appealing." Flint wrapped his fingers around her neck. "If that doesn't work, I want to make sure I enjoy what time I have left, and that includes making you suffer." Flint pressed his face into her neck and took a deep breath. "And I will enjoy every moment of it."

She felt the floor disappear from underneath her as he picked her up and swung her over his shoulder. Lexie caught a glimpse of her mother's open door and then his black shoes as he descended the stairs. She wanted to reach out and grab the railing and struggle against him. It was so close but her hands wouldn't cooperate.

Lexie tried to scream when she saw Cherry on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. She was so still and blood dripped down her face from a gash on her head. Her inner voice screamed as fear exploded inside her. She tried to allow her anger to burn through the fog that was calling her to sleep. She needed to help Cherry. She wanted to fight Flint and make him stop, but all she could do was be swallowed by the nightmare of being paralyzed. She was completely helpless.

CHAPTER.

TWENTY-ONE.

Jackson When Jackson came to a stop in front of Mike's parents' house, there were no lights on, nor any house on the entire street. It was a quaint little street with white picket fences and well-manicured lawns. It looked more like a scene from a movie than the reality that he had known as a neighborhood growing up. Even the stars seemed to shine brighter over this town. They were all blissfully asleep, and that was exactly what Jackson wished to be doing as he hauled Mike out of the trunk. Low moans escaped him as Jackson heaved him up on his shoulder and walked toward the front steps. Jackson noted the porch swing and decided to let Mike sleep it off on the front step rather than disturb his parents.

Jackson set Mike down on the wooden seat as gracefully as he could manage and headed back toward his car. He was anxious to get back to Lexie. He didn't like leaving her without his protection. It was easy to fall under the illusion of safety when the danger was not currently on your doorstep.

Teddy and Dane had to head back to Westford to help Giles and he was left without another option for taking Mike home. For some reason, Lexie wanted to spare him the embarra.s.sment of involving the local authorities, and he felt he should respect that, despite the fact that he despised Mike. He knew exactly the type of man he was. The only reason he felt comfortable enough to leave was because he knew Stodden was still in Belhaven. He had been in touch with Max, who had given him as much information he could. It wasn't much, but enough to allow him to believe they still had time.

Before Jackson could grab the handle of his door, he heard a loud thud. He turned around and noticed Mike was lying face-first on the porch below the swing. It was only a matter of seconds before a light turned on inside the house. Jackson slid into the car and drove away. He did not want to face Mike's parents too; he didn't have the patience for it.

Jackson was barely off the street when his phone lit up the dark interior of the car.

"h.e.l.lo?" Jackson answered.

"Jackson, there's a change of plans," Haffey said.

Jackson knew immediately that something terrible had happened by the tone of her voice. She sounded defeated, something he thought he would never hear from the woman who was an unstoppable spit-fire from the moment they met.

"What happened?" Jackson questioned.

"Stodden has my brother..." Haffey trailed off. He could hear her try to conceal the fact that she was close to tears. "I have no way to prove it's him. I received an untraceable video that shows Carlos being tortured," Haffey gasped into the phone. "The b.a.s.t.a.r.d cut his f.u.c.king finger off. The man in the video was wearing a mask but I bet my life it was him. The threat is pretty clear. "

"s.h.i.t, Haffey." Jackson said. "Send the video to Teddy. He'll try and pull anything from it. What do you need from me?"

"If I make any move, Stodden will kill him. I have to back off, I don't have a choice. His men are watching me and it's probably best we don't talk from here on out."

"Understood," Jackson confirmed. He was fully aware how Stodden worked. Haffey was getting too close and this was his way to extinguish the threat. "Do you still want Stodden alive?"

"Honestly, I don't care what you do with that motherf.u.c.ker as long as he's stopped," Haffey said. Her guard was down and she was desperate, Jackson could tell by the sound of her voice how broken she was. "Terence Masten was killed before I could get any information out of him. I can't prove it, but I know Stodden was making sure he didn't have the opportunity to talk. No matter what I do that G.o.d d.a.m.n motherf.u.c.ker is always two steps ahead of me."

"Sounds about right," Jackson agreed.

"Jackson?" Haffey asked.

"Yeah?"

"Get my brother back," Haffey said.

"I will," Jackson a.s.sured her before he ended the call. Jackson dropped his phone in the console and rubbed the side of his face. Jackson shook his head. He was always the cop that everyone labeled as the "bad cop," but as soon as the s.h.i.t went down, everyone looked to him to clean it up.

Jackson had just received the green light to go after Stodden. There were no longer any lines drawn in the sand that he was forbidden to cross. Haffey had just released his ties and unofficially told him to burn Stodden to the ground and he had every intention to do so.

Jackson stepped on the gas. If Stodden now believed he was free of the barriers Haffey had placed around him, then it wouldn't be long before he made his move toward Lexie. Jackson tore through the quiet streets. It felt all too convenient that Jackson wasn't with Lexie right now. A sick feeling settled in his stomach as he drove like his life depended upon it.

When Jackson neared the street, he pa.s.sed an unfamiliar car, a black Mercedes. Jackson took note of the model as he pulled onto Lexie's mother's street. There were only a few cars on the road this time of night in the small town and not many Mercedes, let alone on this street. He read a partial off the plate but the car turned before he could get a good look.

Jackson pulled into the driveway and jumped out of the car. He headed toward the back door and jogged up the steps. His stomach dropped and his fears were reinforced when he noticed the door wide open. Jackson barrelled in the door with his gun raised. He noticed Cherry on the floor as soon as he entered.

"Cherry," Jackson called to her. He scanned the room for anyone else. "Lexie!" Jackson hollered as he dropped down next to Cherry's body and felt for a pulse. As soon as Jackson felt the steady beat of her heart, he let out a sigh of relief. "Be right back, Cherry," Jackson said before he bolted up the stairs. "Lexie!" he hollered.

Jackson pushed her mother's door open and cleared the room before heading toward Lexie's room. He kicked something as he neared her door that rolled across the floor. Jackson bent down and picked up a bullet, a quick glance around and he saw the entire chamber of rounds were scattered on the floor.

When Jackson walked in, he noticed the gun sitting on the floor. Jackson raked his hand through his hair and kicked the nightstand. A cup of tea sitting on top tumbled to the floor and shattered. He knew he was too late. Jackson ran back down the stairs and into Evan's room down the hall and slammed the door against the wall. Evan jerked awake from the noise, squinting his eyes groggily.

"Get the f.u.c.k up!" Jackson hollered, pulling the pillow from beneath his head and throwing it across the room.

Evan pushed himself up and rubbed his face. "What...huh?" he yawned.

"Lexie was taken and Cherry is hurt. Get the f.u.c.k out of bed now!"

Evan tumbled out of bed and rushed to his feet behind Jackson as he returned to Cherry, who still hadn't moved.

Jackson dropped on his knees beside her. "Cherry," Jackson nudged her shoulder. "Wake up."

Cherry moaned and lifted her hand to her head. "What the f.u.c.k?" she said when she pulled her hand away and noticed the blood. "Oh Jesus." She tried to sit up but Jackson placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Just give yourself a moment or you'll pa.s.s out again. What happened?"

Evan ran into the kitchen and grabbed a dishtowel. "Here," he said, pressing it to her head.

Cherry looked at her shaking hand covered in blood. Tears filled her eyes. "I didn't see him come in, Jackson. I, ah...I turned around after pouring tea. I only got a glimpse of him before he hit me. Where's Lexie?" She looked up at him with fearful eyes. "Oh G.o.d. Where's Lexie?"

"He took her," Jackson said tightly. He clenched his jaw so tight his jaw ached. "Tell me everything you know."

Cherry closed her eyes. "Um...he wore a shirt...a white one and he had a closely trimmed beard with a bit of grey. I didn't see his eyes."

"Any tattoos?" Jackson asked.

Cherry shook her head slightly and cringed. "I didn't see any, but he had a long sleeved shirt on."

"I didn't hear anything, Jackson. I'm so f.u.c.king sorry," Evan said, completely terrified and confused as he ran his hands through his hair.

Jackson pushed to his feet. "f.u.c.k, he must have taken the files and s.h.i.t too," Jackson said, noting the bare table. Jackson didn't blame Evan because he had screwed up too. He should never have left her. Now Lexie was gone and the evidence they needed against Stodden as well.

"What files?" Evan asked.

"We found the s.h.i.t Stodden is after," Jackson answered, rubbing his neck in frustration.

"How long have I been asleep?" Evan blurted in confusion.

"Lexie tucked it all away in a box on the top shelf," Cherry said, pointing toward the closet in the living room.

Jackson walked over to the closet; the door was swung closed, but not latched. A few items rolled out when he opened it and Jackson knew the top shelf would be empty before he even laid eyes on it. Jackson slammed it closed with a curse. He had screwed up worse than he could ever forgive himself for. The two most important things he had in his possession he'd failed to keep safe.

He was already too far behind to try and track down the car he pa.s.sed. Jackson pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed Teddy's number.

"What's up, man?" Teddy answered with a yawn. Teddy was used to receiving calls at all hours from Jackson and probably didn't even consider it urgent.

"I need you to track a vehicle for me right now," Jackson said, giving him the details he knew.