30
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Lynx watched from the sidelines as Curtis Walker gave Billy a good talking-to.
It was pretty impressive to watch, if he was being honest. The man didn’t raise his voice, he didn’t talk down to Billy, he merely told him how it was going to be. Apparently, Curtis had a major issue with a man letting his mouth get away from him when there were women present. He was relaying that in lengthy detail to Billy.
“Lynx.”
Turning at the sound of his name, Lynx saw Tammy moving toward him. “Can we talk?”
He instantly peered in through the diner window, seeking Reagan. He wasn’t even sure why he did it, but he had to know where she was, that she was all right. Not that he thought Tammy would do anything. The woman might’ve been a shitty wife, but she wasn’t a bad person at heart. How she’d gotten mixed up with Billy, he didn’t know. Nor did he want to know.
“What?” he asked, keeping his attention divided between Tammy, Curtis, and Reagan.
“I’m…” She sighed. “I’m really sorry for this. I didn’t know you’d be here.”
He shrugged one shoulder. “Why would that matter?”
“I don’t know,” she said, her eyes locked with his. “I just thought maybe it…” She shook her head. “I thought maybe it’d bother you to see me with Billy.”
“It doesn’t,” he said honestly. “But why would that even matter to you?” He was sincerely confused. He lowered his voice. “You were screwin’ him when we were married, Tammy. You didn’t seem worried about it then.”
She blushed, her eyes not meeting his. For whatever reason, having Tammy’s confirmation didn’t help matters. Although he hadn’t loved her, it still pissed him off that she would treat him that way. He’d done his best to do right by her from the beginning.
Tammy took a step closer, lifting her head so that she met his eyes. “I really am sorry.”
“Don’t sweat it,” he said, trying to keep his tone neutral.
When he looked up, he saw Reagan watching him through the window. Something that looked a lot like pain flashed in her eyes, and he instantly regretted standing there talking to Tammy. Not that he was doing a damn thing that she should be worried about, but he had to put himself in her shoes. If he saw her talking to Billy, he’d probably be in a jealous rage right about now.
Sure, it would’ve been an irrational reaction, but Lynx couldn’t deny he didn’t want her anywhere around that asshole.
“Look,” Lynx said, peering down at Tammy once more. “I gotta go.”
Tammy nodded.
“And if it’s worth anything, you might consider keepin’ your distance from Billy. He’s not gonna do right by you. No matter what he tells you.”
“And you did?” she snapped, her eyebrows darting down.
Lynx’s gaze shot to hers. “Yeah. I did. Or I tried anyway.”
“If it really mattered, you would’ve tried harder.”
Feeling as though he’d just walked into some sort of twilight zone, Lynx took a step back. He stared down at the woman he’d once been married to and shook his head. Clearly she didn’t remember things the way he did.
“On the other hand,” he said, hating that he was stooping to her level, “maybe you and Billy will work out.”
With that, he spun on his boot heel and headed inside. He knew the Walkers had this situation with Billy under control and he really needed to see Reagan.
Once inside, Lynx glanced around at all the familiar faces, searching for Reagan. He found her sitting in a booth across from Amy.
“Everything okay?”
Reagan peered up at him, her expression cool. “Yeah.”
He noticed that Amy didn’t look up.
Rather than ask Reagan if she was ready to go, Lynx slid into the booth beside her. He knew she was upset with him, although he didn’t know exactly why other than she’d seen him talking to Tammy.
Knowing better than to toss his arm around her and pretend nothing had happened, Lynx rested his elbows on the table and glanced between the two women.
“I’m really okay,” Amy finally said, obviously noticing they were both staring at her. “I just hate that this is happening.”
“We know,” Reagan said reassuringly. “But it’ll get better. Soon.”
“I agree with Reagan,” Lynx added. “Trust Wolfe and Rhys. They won’t let anything happen to you.”
This time Amy nodded and it appeared she believed that much.
“I just want him to go away. I’m so tired of having to worry about him, thinking he’ll pop up any second and steal this life from me.”
Lynx didn’t bother to tell her that was a real possibility if the man pulled a stunt like he’d pulled at the bar. On the flip side, the guy might be smart, but he wasn’t invincible. He would be caught. Eventually.
However, Lynx truly believed that they needed to take care of it sooner rather than later. Before someone else got hurt or, God forbid, killed.
The bells over the doors jangled and Amy’s gaze swung over instantly. Lynx twisted to see who was coming inside. He wasn’t surprised to see that Billy wasn’t with the group. Apparently, Curtis had talked a little sense into the man. How long that would last was anyone’s guess.
“I’m gonna go talk to them for a sec,” Lynx told Reagan. “Then you ready to head out?”
She nodded but didn’t make eye contact.
Forcing himself to his feet, Lynx wandered over to where the others had gathered. He shook Curtis’s hand, then said his good-byes to the others, letting them know he’d meet up with them tomorrow.
A strong hand on his shoulder had him turning, coming face-to-face with Wolfe.
“Hey, bro. You good?”
Wolfe shrugged. “Will be. When this is all over.”
“Soon,” Lynx assured him. “In the meantime, let me know if you guys need anything.”
“Yeah. And … thanks. For backin’ us up.”
“That’s what family’s for,” he said with a smirk.
He got a genuine smile from his cousin in return.
After finishing up with Wolfe, Lynx turned to find Reagan, realizing the table they’d been sitting at was empty.
“You see where Reagan went?” he asked Wolfe.
His cousin glanced around, then shook his head. “No. You see Amy?”
A sense of foreboding took hold of Lynx, his insides going cold as he frantically searched for both women, not seeing either of them anywhere.
“I’m gonna go look outside,” Lynx told Wolfe, trying to keep the panic down.
“I’ll have Donna check the restroom.”
Lynx nodded, then headed toward the front doors.
His heart nearly came out of his throat when he saw Reagan talking to Darrell in the parking lot. Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door and stepped out into the warm evening air.
Without pausing, he walked right over to Reagan, this time putting his arm around her shoulder. He didn’t give a shit if it made him appear possessive. He had to touch her in that moment, his fear subsiding somewhat.
“Thanks,” Reagan told Darrell, smiling. “I really appreciate all that you’re doin’.”
“Thank this guy,” Darrell said, nodding to Lynx. “He’s definitely lookin’ out for you.”
Reagan peered up at him and this time she didn’t appear angry. A little more tension left his shoulders.
That somewhat easy feeling didn’t last long when Wolfe came barreling out of the diner.
“You see Amy?” he yelled.
Lynx looked at Reagan, hoping she had an answer for them.
“She was at the table when I left her,” Reagan told Wolfe. “She’s not inside?”
“No,” Wolfe growled.
A second later, Rhys came storming out the door. “She’s not out back.”
“Where the fuck is she?” Wolfe hollered, clearly not talking to anyone specific.
And for the first time in his life, Lynx saw true terror on his cousin’s face.
Reagan steered the truck into the parking lot of the Cedar Door store.
“Stay here,” he ordered. “Lemme grab Cope and then we’ll keep lookin’.”
Before she could get it in park, Lynx was hopping out of the truck, running toward the side entrance.
As though it would help, Reagan scanned the area, looking for Amy. After another trek through the diner, searching high and low, they hadn’t been able to locate her. It was as though she’d vanished and everyone was in a panic.
Reagan wasn’t sure she’d ever seen grown men look as terrified as her brother and Wolfe had. Not even the Walkers had tried to console them. Instead, everyone had gone their separate ways, hopping in trucks so they could start scouring the area. No one had bothered to say what everyone was thinking though. If that madman got his hands on Amy…
The door to the truck opened, and Reagan’s head snapped over, her heart slamming against her ribs until she realized it was only Lynx and Copenhagen.
“Where to?” she asked, hoping he didn’t hear the quiver in her voice. She put the truck in drive and steered out of the lot.
“What did she say when you talked to her?” Lynx asked, his focus obviously still on locating Amy. It was the same question Rhys and Wolfe had asked her at least a dozen times after they realized Amy was gone.
“Nothin’. Seriously. She just said she was worried, hated that this was happenin’.”
“Do you think she would’ve left?” Lynx was watching her. “Maybe she thought disappearin’ would help matters.”
Reagan shook her head, although she wasn’t exactly positive about that. The way Amy had been talking did have her thinking just that. But she couldn’t see Amy doing it. Reagan didn’t know the woman all that well, but she knew her enough. Enough to know that she loved Wolfe and Rhys, that she wouldn’t want to hurt them like that.
“Maybe she went back to your house,” Lynx said.
It was a stretch, but they really had nothing to go on, so rather than question his logic, Reagan pulled out onto the main road and put her foot to the floor. She was surprised that Lynx had wanted her to drive. But when he had grabbed his phone, it made sense. He started calling people, asking for their help.
It took a tense twenty minutes to get to her house. They were walking up to the front porch when Lynx’s phone rang.
“Yeah?” he barked into the phone.
Reagan turned to look at him and the relief that settled over his features made her realize she’d been holding her breath.
“They found her,” Lynx told her, his words coming out in a rush. He turned his attention back to the phone call.
When he looked over again, she asked, “Where?”
“She walked around to the side of the building.”
Reagan frowned. The side of the building? And she didn’t hear people calling her name? Really?
“Yeah, Wolfe. Thanks. Lemme know if you need anything.” He disconnected the call.
Fully expecting him to finish the conversation, to explain what Wolfe had told him, Reagan was surprised when Lynx reached for her, jerking her into his arms. She went willingly, the stress from a few minutes ago leaving her feeling slightly dizzy as she processed everything that was going on.
When Lynx moved over to one of the rocking chairs, pulling her into his lap, Reagan went willingly, snuggling against him, resting her head on his shoulder.
They were both silent for a few minutes, the only sound the rapid thump of her heart as it tried to slow.
“When I couldn’t find you earlier,” Lynx finally said, his voice barely above a whisper, “I thought I would lose my mind.”
Reagan lifted her head and stared at him. “I didn’t go anywhere.”
“You were outside,” he stated. “Talkin’ to Darrell. I thought you were inside with Amy. When I couldn’t find you…”
It was clear he’d been worried. The hard lines on his face told her he was still reliving that moment. She slid her hand up to his cheek, trying to smooth them away.
Lynx gripped her wrist, pulling her hand to his mouth. He kissed her palm, then pulled her against him, their mouths melding together.
Reagan sighed, the events of the evening dissipating and leaving nothing but the two of them. Here. Alone.
She wasn’t thinking about the madman on the loose, not about seeing Billy and Tammy together, or even about watching Lynx talk to his ex-wife. None of it seemed to matter right then.
It all faded away, leaving her with a contentment she hadn’t known before.
This.
Being in Lynx’s arms.
It was the only thing she wanted.
Now and forever.