Page 4 of Dancing With Guilt

“Fine, whatever,” Lincoln answered, rolling his eyes as he turned away.

Lincoln sent a text message to a number he’d memorized long ago. The phone rang soon after and Lincoln answered.

“You okay, Lincoln?” Kai asked, his voice calm.

“Yep, I’m good. Send a car to me please, and arrange for a safe house while you’re at it. Fill a truck with the money Nathan asked for and have it ready to go.” Lincoln paused while Kai tapped words into a keyboard.

“Got a place, I’ll send you the address. I’ll have a car there in five minutes,” Kai answered brusquely, always efficient under pressure. “Good to hear your voice again, Lincoln.”

“And you, Kai. I’ll see you at the house later.” Lincoln ended the call and glanced at the phone to see that Kai had already sent the address. Good man.

“Go to this address.” Lincoln showed Nathan the address and continued. “In three hours, a truck will be there, ready for you to go.”

“Thanks, man. You’re a lifesaver,” Nathan sighed, sagging into the passenger seat of the car he’d stood against while Lincoln talked to Kai. “I’ll be so glad when this is over.”

Lincoln stared at the man, wanting to punch his face in, but he wanted to see him in prison even more. A beaten face wasn’t much of a deterrent. Nathan might come back and take Roxie next time. Prison bars would keep this broken man from coming near her again. Kai’s connections in the judicial system would see to that.

“I’m sure you will be,” he finally said, still fighting the urge to at least kick the man in the balls. Lincoln sighed in frustration and turned to watch for the car Kai would send. He didn’t want to talk to the man anymore.

The car arrived, brought him home, and dropped him off. In the meantime, Kai was working on setting Nathan up. In another hour or so, Nathan would be in police custody, with a shedload of stolen goods, cocaine, and whatever else Kai could get his hands on hidden in the back of the delivery truck. Nathan would be riding away with a lot more than money he’d extorted, Lincoln thought with a smile as he came back to reality.

It was good to be home and back in control.

Lincoln dressed in a pair of gray lounge pants and a gray v-neck t-shirt then walked back down to find Roxie waiting for him.

“Your sister’s gone back to the grocery store. She wants to feed you.” Roxie stood up to embrace him in front of the sofa, her head falling to rest over his heart. “I can’t believe you’re home.”

“I am, Roxie, I’m here. I’ll never leave you again,” he promised, meaning it.

He’d never been the settling down kind of guy, but Roxie had changed all of that. She was an enigma, a puzzle he couldn’t solve, but he didn’t care. If he spent the rest of his life trying to figure her out, he wouldn’t mind a bit.

“Listen, there’s some things I need to tell you,” Roxie said, pulling away, but he put a finger over her lips.

Kai came into the house, disrupting whatever she might have said.

“I’ve brought you a new phone.” Kai handed the phone over and put the accessories on the coffee table. “Everything’s set up.”

“Good. Thanks man.” Lincoln meant for far more than arranging everything and the phone.

If Kai had burst into the storage unit with a group of men, they would still be looking for Nathan. This way, Nathan would go to prison for a very long time, and everything would work out the way Lincoln wanted it to. Lincoln was thanking him for waiting.

“No problem,” Kai brushed off the thanks and looked over at Roxie. “How are you, Rox?”

“I’m good, happy to have him home.” She put an arm around Lincoln’s back and snuggled into him.

“I’m back,” June called out as soon as she came in, her arms full of bags. “Lincoln, you need to eat, honey, and I’m going to make sure of it.”

“Yes, Mom.” Lincoln smiled, teasing his sister.

“You can mom me all you want, she’ll kill me if I don’t feed you.” June glared at him but then smiled. “You’re just lucky she’s in Paris or she’d be here force-feeding you.”

“Thank goodness she’s in Paris then.” Lincoln followed her into the kitchen, hunger now a gnawing pain. “What are you feeding me?”

“I thought pancakes with blueberry sauce, some sausage and bacon, and a few other things,” June answered, distracted as she emptied bags.

“That sounds heavenly,” Lincoln said and sat down at the table, the place they all seemed to be drawn to when anyone was here.

“I got sliced fruit and cheese for breakfast,” Roxie said, teasing June. “It was nice, but I’d have preferred the pancakes.”