Rescuing Baylee (Nightshade #3)

Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Landon was bored out of his mind.

He was still kind of amped up from the night’s events, and he didn’t really have a release for the energy. Normally, on nights like this, he’d stop by the gym on the way home from work. Or if he was really desperate, he’d go for a jog. Not his preferred method to burn off energy, but it worked in a pinch.

Every time he thought about what Baylee had told him, his blood pressure crept up.

Nightshade had happened years ago. So, the fact that she was still dealing with the aftereffects what had been done to her, eleven years later, pissed him off on her behalf. Baylee seemed to have a kind heart, and she definitely had a hopeful personality. The thought of someone laying their hands on her…

Sitting back in the chair, he took a deep breath. There was nothing he could do about those men or what happened to her. What he could do was support her now, in any way he could.

Was he turned off that she’d been raped? Hell, no. He only worried about how it affected her now. Was she able to have sex without being traumatized? Did she even want to have sex? He’d caught a few looks from her that made him think she was interested in him. And the sensual tension was definitely there, on both sides, he thought. The kiss had knocked him on his ass.

Could he realistically deal with a woman that had been attacked that way? For several minutes, he thought about the question, and he eventually decided she was worth trying for.

It would just have to be up to her to make the moves. Which would be hard for him, because he was usually the aggressor in most relationships.

Aggressor. That word had just taken on a very different connotation.

He would have to take it slow and not let his libido get out of hand.

Landon slept a little, but it wasn’t a comfortable sleep. The chair wasn’t meant for sleeping, per se. So, he moved to the couch. It was even worse. This place was not built for comfort.

By six, he was up and moving around. The place did have a coffeemaker, which he desperately needed today.

When Baylee walked into the kitchen a few minutes later, she gave him a sidelong glance. “You all right?”

“Yeah,” he growled, pulling the cup from the coffee machine. Luckily, creamer had been on Morgan’s list, and he poured some in, liberally. He needed something to sweeten his mood today.

“I’m sorry. I think you should take the bed tonight. I didn’t sleep well either.”

Landon glanced at her. There were bags beneath her pretty eyes, and lines grooved around her mouth. “Why didn’t you sleep?”

She gave him a wry smile as she opened the fridge. “Well, I kind of have a list.”

Yeah, she probably did.

“Well, is there anything I can ease from your mind?”

She’d grabbed the carton of eggs to set on the counter, and her back was to him. “Not really.”

Landon wasn’t sure he believed her answer. Moving to the counter beside her, he leaned down enough to catch her gaze. “That didn’t sound very convincing.”

She shook her head, her hands pausing. “I think… I think yesterday was a lot. Between the anxiety of being here, and then telling you about the rape, it’s been a little overwhelming. A lot overwhelming, if I’m honest.”

“I understand that,” he said, reaching out to tug on the end of some of her hair. It was down right now, and he looked at the long lengths. “Why do you wear this up in that messy ponytail?”

Her eyes flicked down as he let her hair drift through his fingers. “Because it’s easy. And I don’t care what anyone thinks about it. When I went back home, I cut most of it off. It’s taken years to grow this long.”

“It’s beautiful,” he said simply. “The color especially.”

“Thank you,” she said, looking down at the egg carton. “I thought I would scramble some eggs.”

“You don’t have to cook for me,” he said, tilting his head to catch her eye again.

“I know, but I like to have something to do with my hands.”

“Okay. While you cook, why don’t you talk to me about what else you’re worried about.”

She huffed out a breath, pulling a bowl from the cupboard. Then she reached for a fork from the silverware drawer and started cracking eggs into the bowl. “Well, technically, I’m supposed to go back to work in three days, and I don’t know if this will all be over by then. There are two funerals that I really feel like I should be at…”

Her voice trailed away, and her eyes filled with tears. Landon set his coffee cup down. “I’m gonna hug you. Is that okay?”

Nodding, she let him wrap his arms around her, and he pulled her tight, their hips leaning against the counter. “You know there’s nothing you could have done to save them, right? You did more than any average citizen could ever be expected to do.”

“I know,” she breathed, “it’s just hard.”

He held her for a few minutes, stroking a hand down her back and across her shoulders. The silence stretched for a few minutes, but he was content not to move. She was a very nice armful. It was obvious she was hurting, though. “When I was on the road, I had a buddy work one of my shifts. My sister was coming in and we were going to a ball game. Anyway, my buddy works my shift and gets this roadside assistance call.”

Baylee drew back a little to look up at him. Landon had only told this story once before, to Cass when she’d been his partner.

“It was just some random call,” he shrugged. “Old people needed help with a tire. He was helping them when a guy doing ninety slammed into the ass end of his cruiser. It slammed into the broken-down vehicle, and my buddy was hit. He didn’t even make it to the hospital. Tony died on the side of the road.”

“I’m so sorry, Landon,” Baylee breathed, and she rested a hand on his chest.

Taking a deep breath, he looked down at her. “You can’t second-guess your actions over and over again. There’s no sense in it. It could have just as easily have been me, kneeling in the road, changing their tire when that truck hit. When fate says it’s your time, I don’t think it matters what you’re doing or where you are. That’s it. It took me a long time to get over feeling like I’d killed him.”

Baylee drew back, her eyes concerned and her face pale. “You know you can’t think like that.”

Landon gave her a pointed look. “It’s easy to tell someone that, but it’s really hard to put into practice. We’ve both dealt with situations like this.”

She was silent for a long minute, then she glanced up at him. “It was really hard when I came back from Nightshade,” she said, her eyes going distant. “There were ninety-six people stationed on Nightshade, including forty-one injured Marines. By the time it was all over, thirty-two of us survived.”

Landon remembered reading those numbers when he’d been researching Nightshade.

“The guilt that we felt was… massive. Of the thirty-eight that came home, six have taken their own lives because they can’t live with the survivor’s guilt anymore.”

A sudden flash of fear hit him, and he scanned her face. “You don’t feel like that, do you?”

She shook her head immediately and gave him strong eye-contact. “I wouldn’t do that. I was one of the lucky ones. My two best friends and I made it through together. I don’t have guilt for surviving. And I don’t think Olivia or Rex do either. They’re both in amazing relationships now, and I don’t see hardly any markers for depression. Actually, Olivia just had a baby.”

A beautiful smile flashed across her face. Her relationship with her friends was obviously very important to her.

“Good,” he said, voice firm. “Hang onto your friendship.”

“Oh, we do,” she said, her expression the most lighthearted he’d ever seen it. “I talk to Olivia weekly, and Rex almost as often. We survived hell together, and I’ll never let them go.”

Landon grinned at the bull-headed look on her face, and he couldn’t resist dropping a kiss to her lips. “You’re cute when you get tenacious like that.”

Snorting, she pulled away and reached for the eggs again. “Whatever,” she said.

Landon paused her movements with his hand on her own. He waited until she looked at him. “I’m serious, Baylee. I know you don’t want to think someone could overlook your scars to think you’re cute, but I guarantee you, I do.”

Her lips clamped tight, but she nodded. “Thank you. It may take a while to sink into my brain, but I appreciate you telling me that.”

Landon moved back a little to give her space to move around, but he stayed in the kitchen while they talked about inconsequential things. She fried up some sausage patties, sending the scent through the house. Even Siggy stalked in to see what smelled so good.

“So, what’s his story,” Landon asked, looking at the beat-up old cat.

Baylee giggled, and his gaze snapped up. Okay, that was the cutest fucking sound. It made him want to laugh with her. It made him want to make her laugh more.

“He’s at least twelve, the shelter said. But Siamese and Siamese mixes can live into their twenties. They pulled him off the street and thought he would be adopted quickly, because of his coloring. He’s a dick, though, and he’d been returned three times by the time I got him. I think he recognized a kindred spirit.”

She made a vague motion with her hand to her face, and Landon almost growled at her not to do that. He needed to quit with the gut-reaction shit. It would take a while to build up her self-confidence.

And he didn’t think she meant it in a denigrating way. She was scarred. It was just the way she was, and she’d resigned herself to it. “Can I ask an indelicate question?”

“Yes,” she said slowly, like she regretted giving him permission.

“Have you thought about plastic surgery? I’m not saying you should, at all. I think you’re beautiful. But for your sake, and the way people deal with you?”

Her mouth quirked, and she turned to face him, leaning back against the counter again. “I’ve thought about it. A lot. But the people that matter to me don’t care what I look like. And the scars… they’re part of me, now. I’m not averse to having them minimized, but down the road maybe.”

Landon nodded, taking in her words. He wondered if she didn’t keep them as a reflection of how she felt inside.

“Thank you for answering.”

“I don’t mind curiosity. That’s why I like working with the kids so much. They just ask, rather than whispering and being snide.”

Turning, she went back to scrambling the eggs.

The phone rang, and Landon turned to pick it up from the table. “Yeah, Morgan?”

He listened for a moment, and his eyes flicked to Baylee. “Well, isn’t that interesting. Okay. Right. Yes, definitely.”

He pushed the button to end the call and slipped the phone into his pocket.

“Hector is missing. They found the car abandoned a few blocks away from his mother’s house. The keys are in it, as well as his phone.”

Baylee’s eyes went wide. “That seems suspicious.”

“I know,” he said, voice calm. “Morgan is canvassing the area.”

His phone rang again less than a minute later, and he pulled it from his pocket. “Yeah, Morgan?” His brows shot into his hairline. “You’re joking?”

He listened to him talk for a few seconds. “Okay, keep me posted.”

Baylee’s hands were clutched in front of her. “What’s going on?”

Landon cocked his head, obviously thinking. “They found Hector’s body in the dumpster behind his mother’s house. Killed Mexican Mafia style. Stabbed to death.”

Her mouth dropped open. “No way.”

Landon shook his head, more than a little shocked at the direction the case had just taken. “He’s sending me a note that was attached to the body.” His phone beeped with an incoming message, and he pulled it up. “ Tell the pretty nurse she did us a favor, and now we did her one. Don’t worry about Luis. ”

Baylee blinked, her brows almost to her hairline. Landon was feeling the same shock.

“So, does that mean all this is over?” she waved a hand at the house.

“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “Let’s see what Morgan figures out.”

Baylee turned back to the stove and finished the eggs, setting two plates at the table. She’d cut up her strawberries from the farmer’s market as well, and they ate in silence. Landon didn’t know how to feel about the information that Hector was dead. He hadn’t even seen the man or spoken to him. Luis was even more of a ghost to him. He’d seen mug shots, of course, but that was it.

He ate his eggs and berries, stealing glances at Baylee. “Are you okay?”

She nodded, frowning. “It just seems abrupt.”

“Yes. Well, we’re not out of the woods, yet.”

They finished breakfast, and Landon washed up the plates, setting them in the dish drainer. Then he paced. Baylee sat on the uncomfortable couch and stroked the cat. “What did they mean, I did them a favor?”

Landon sighed. “Well, Chino Vega may have aspired to be bigger than he was. Tango Blast has a lot of members in Austin, but there are other gangs trying to take over. Maybe they planned to take him out, and you helped them. Gangs and gang members sometimes have a weird value system.”

“And maybe they didn’t want Hector in there at all.”

“Well,” he said, leaning back against the chair, “the Vega family was making a lot of noise and drawing a lot of attention to them. They don’t want that. They prefer their operations to fly under the radar. Shooting up a hospital and chasing cops around the city isn’t doing that.”

Baylee frowned, and he could understand why she was at a loss. This operation had taken on a life of its own, and now, suddenly, it seemed like it was going to be tied up in a neat little bloody bow.

It was too easy. Even when the information rolled in, he was going to look at it with an extra-critical eye.

Baylee pushed her plate aside. “So, if they did put a stop to the hit they had on me, what do we do?”

Sighing, he shrugged. “I have as many questions as you do right now, but I think we go home.”

“Can we take their word that they’re done with me?”

He huffed out a breath. “I wish I could answer you. I don’t know, honestly. What we would probably do is keep a few people posted on you for a while, just to make sure there are no more incidents. We listen to the chatter on the street. And we go back to real life.”

Baylee frowned. “It seems too easy.”

He winced. “I know. We just need more information.”

They got that information an hour later when Cass knocked on the front door. Landon gave her a shoulder hug as she came in, Gunnar at her side.

Siggy hissed at the dog, but the dog didn’t even seem to notice the cat. Cass let him go and he immediately went to Baylee for scratches. Landon chuckled as the cat streaked up the stairs.

Cass looked tired. Knowing her, she’d been up for days tracking down leads and talking to her informants. The woman had been the best partner he’d ever had, and he appreciated the extra work she’d put in on this case.

“Have a seat,” he said, waving her to the couch.

“Can I get you something to drink?” Baylee said. “We have water or water.”

Cass laughed, her voice raspy. “I’ll take a bottle of water. Thank you.”

Baylee retrieved the bottle, handing it off before sitting on the opposite end of the couch. “So, is it real?”

“The murder? Yes. The note? Yes. The message? Yes. It all seems legit.”

Landon eased out a breath. His former partner was one of the few people he’d trust the word of. “So, you think we could go home?”

She held up a cautioning hand. “Give it a few hours and let them finish the murder investigation. I think we’ll know more later today.”