Page 14 of Cursed Fox (Willow Creek Security #4)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Nancy

The door slammed behind Lex as he stormed out of the small apartment. I took a deep breath as I climbed off the floor and settled on the lumpy couch.

I wasn't sure what to do. It was obvious Lex wasn't ready to listen to reason.

I wasn't sure who he was referring to when he screamed about everyone insisting he was innocent, but apparently he was talking to someone about his nightmares.

That was good at least, because after tonight, I doubt he would be talking to me again.

I was still trying to best figure out how to help Lex when a knock on the door caught my attention. I debated ignoring whoever was on the other side, but then thought better of it. Maybe it was just Lex and he was locked out.

"Who is it?"

"Maverick. Lex's boss," a deep voice from the other side of the door answered.

I knew who Maverick was, or at least I’d heard of him a lot when he was starting up his business. Wes had told me to make myself available in case his friend needed any help. Thankfully, Maverick seemed to be more capable with technology than Wes ever was and never needed my help.

Getting up from the couch, I slowly made my way over to the front door. Opening it only a crack, I got my first look at the man my boss had described to me. And holy hell was Wes right. The man did look like Santa Claus.

"Hey." Maverick gave me a soft smile. "Do you mind if I come in?"

"Sure." I opened the door wider. "But I should warn you that Lex isn't here. He stormed out a little bit ago and I haven't seen him since."

I looked out the door to see if maybe I could get a glimpse of Lex, but he was nowhere in sight.

"He actually called me and asked that I come over to sit with you for a bit."

"Ohhh." I practically deflated right in front of the man. Lex was pushing me off onto someone else.

"Don't worry, he'll be back eventually."

I scoffed. "I'm not so sure about that. I think I pissed him off."

I imagined the look Maverick was giving me was the same pitiful look I had given Lex not too long ago. "He gets pissed when he has to talk about his time in captivity."

It was hard to hide the surprise in my tone. "He told you why he left?"

Maverick gave me a sad smile. "I make sure he calls me any time he has a night terror. I just didn't expect him to ask me to come here and stay with you."

"Did he tell you I tried to wake him up?"

Maverick nodded. "He did. Not the smartest move, but I understand why you did it. It's hard to listen to someone go through that and not want to help them."

It sounded like he knew from experience, which I guessed maybe he did. "I know I shouldn't have, but I just wanted to help. And look where that got me."

"You frightened him when he woke up with his hands around your neck."

I brought my hands up to the spot where Lex had been holding. He hadn't hurt me. In fact, he hadn't even squeezed that hard. I doubted I would even have any kind of bruises come morning. A few red marks maybe, but no bruising.

"I didn't mean to, and trust me, now I know better in the future. That's if he ever comes back. I get the impression he doesn't want anything to do with me anymore."

There was that sad smile again. "I wouldn't give up on him just yet. The fact that he asked me to come here says a lot about how much he cares. The Lex I've known for thirty-five years would've just walked away and been done with it."

Maverick's answer gave me some hope. "Lex mentioned something about being responsible for his parents’ deaths. What did he mean by that?"

Shock was written clear as day on Maverick's face. "He mentioned them?" When I nodded my head, Maverick whistled. "He never talks about his parents. Except to Olivia."

"Who's Olivia?"

I tried to keep the little green monster under control, but for some reason the thought of another woman getting any piece of Lex made me jealous.

"Maisie's niece. Her parents recently died at the hands of a greedy son of a bitch. The two bonded over their shared trauma."

My heart broke for the girl who’d lost her parents, and for the younger version of Lex who’d lost the same.

"How can I help him?"

A huge smile broke out on Maverick's face. "Just continue doing what you're doing, because it's working. I'm already seeing the difference."

I could do that. As long as Lex let me.

Lex never came back that night after he stormed off. At some point, I caved and went back to bed, only to wake up with Maverick still hanging around. Since there was no food in the apartment, he offered to run to the bakery to get some for us.

Despite declaring that I wasn't hungry, it was hard to pass up the scones he brought back. I was adding meet Maisie and visit Wickedly Delicious to the top of my list. For not one, but two reasons. I wanted more scones and I wanted to meet the little girl who’d captured Lex's heart and devotion.

First, I needed to get back to my house so I could once again pack clothes since my suitcase was still at Jimmy's. I was getting sick of wearing other people's clothes and using their products. I wanted to smell like vanilla again, dammit.

"You're awfully quiet over there."

One side of my lips turned up in a smirk as I thought about Lex. "I guess I just got used to the silence while in a vehicle."

Maverick chuckled. "Yeah, Lex isn't much of a talker." Not much? That was an understatement. "Besides, it's a little hard to have a conversation when the wind is constantly blowing through the Jeep."

This time I laughed. "It was a little hard to hear unless Lex yelled. I can't imagine why he would want to ride around like that every day."

"The guys and I like to tease him that it was his midlife crisis purchase.

Most men go for sports cars, but not Lex.

" Maverick cleared his throat. "But the truth is, I think it's more than that.

I think he purchased the Jeep because he couldn't be confined inside a regular vehicle after everything that's happened to him. "

That made sense. I couldn't imagine how much it changed a person to be tortured. "You don't seem to mind."

We stopped at a stop sign just outside of Divot and Maverick turned to look at me.

"Lex had it worse than the rest of us, and I don't just mean being forced to kill that woman.

For some reason, they tortured him more than the rest of us.

I think that, paired with the death of his parents at a young age, just broke him. "

I looked down at my hands in my lap. "Do you think he can eventually heal?"

"I think with the right woman in your corner, any man can heal."

I wasn't sure if Maverick was still talking about Lex or himself at that point. And it wasn't my place to ask, so I kept my thoughts to myself and waited until we pulled into the driveway of my house.

"I don't need long. Just a quick shower and to pack another bag." I wanted to make this quick just in case Lex came back while I was gone.

Unlike when I came here with Lex, I wasn't worried about how my place looked. I wasn't trying to impress Maverick. He was a means to an end while Lex was being stubborn.

"Take your time. I'll just work from the couch if you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all," I hollered on my way up the stairs.

I rushed through a quick shower, then pulled out the matching suitcase to the one that was at my son's apartment. This time I took care to pick out my outfits, even stuffing a few of my nicer pair of undies into the bottom. I’d learned my lesson from the last time.

There was no way I was going to accidentally let Maverick or anyone else see what I wore under my clothes.

I glanced around my bedroom and made sure I didn't miss anything before heading back downstairs to find Maverick in the same spot I’d left him.

"Is that everything?" Maverick looked up from his phone when I hit the bottom of the stairs.

"I think so. Let me just take a look around."

I didn't make it very far before I saw the messenger bag on the floor. I’d forgotten I brought it home. I’d been in such a rush after meeting Lex, I’d completely forgotten I wanted to work while I was away. It was a good thing I hadn't brought it to Oklahoma. Otherwise it would still be there.

Picking the bag up off the floor, I started to bring it over to the couch. "I need this as well." Unfortunately, the old bag had seen its last day and the bottom fell apart, allowing everything inside to tumble straight onto the couch next to Maverick.

"Shit!" I scrambled to clean up the mess when a particular envelope caught my attention. "What the . . ."

There was no return address, and while the white envelope was addressed to me, it was sent to my place of employment. I wasn't sure why this particular piece of mail set off every one of my alarm bells, but something about it was off.

"What's wrong?" Maverick was off the couch and leaning over my shoulder in a heartbeat.

"I'm not sure."

Flipping the envelope around, my hand shook as I ripped the flap open and took the piece of paper out.

You should never have given birth to such a worthless piece of shit.

I read the words over and over again. Each time becoming more and more angry at whoever had the audacity to send such a nasty note.

"What the fuck?" Maverick snatched the letter out of my hand. I didn't even have it in me to argue because I didn't want to be holding the garbage anymore.

I watched on as Maverick pulled out his phone and began to make a call. I didn't have to wait long to know who.

"Wes, I need to borrow your office."

I didn't hear what my boss had to say, but based on Maverick's response, it was something along the lines of “why?”

"Nancy received a nasty letter and I would like to talk to your teams about it."

I tried to interrupt and explain that I didn't want Charlie or Bravo Team to know what was happening, but Maverick continued to steamroll right over me. "Yeah, we'll be there shortly."

I waited not so patiently for Maverick to hang up and then I let him have it. "What the hell do you think you're doing telling everyone my business. I purposely didn't want the guys I work with to know anything about this."

Maverick didn't seem to care one bit about my outburst. "Wes said as such, but I think we’re long past that. Whoever threatened you knows where you work."

I threw my arms up in frustration. "Everyone in the area knows where I work. It's a small damn town."

"Yes, but the person who mailed this isn't local." Maverick held the envelope up to my face while pointing to the corner where the postage was located. Whoever sent the letter wasn't from Texas, but from Oklahoma.

"Ohhh," was all I could manage to say in response.

"Yeah. Ohhh. They know more about you than we realized. Now let's go. I have some calls to make on the way."

I obediently followed along and wondered if one of those calls would be to Lex. Then I remembered he left without his phone, which meant he didn't want anyone getting ahold of him.