Page 101 of Finding Lexie
When she didn’t say anything else, Midas kept probing. “You said it was a lot of things. So what else?”
“The sink. Magnus. Not seeing you before now. Theo. Walking home…” Her voice trailed off.
“Walking home?” he asked, not liking how she’d stiffened when she’d said that.
“I’m fine,” she said.
“What happened?”
“Magnus walked me home because there was some sort of ruckus outside right before I left. A guy followed us for a while. He said some mean things. Magnus hit him and that was that.”
Midas felt helpless, and he hated the feeling. Knowing Lexie was downplaying what happened wasn’t helping. “And Theo?” he asked.
“He was in the alley across the street. Magnus said he’d seen him staring at me throughout the day. I don’t know why he was there, but what if he’s been following me home for a while now? I just… I hate feeling afraid of anyone we help at Food For All. It’s not like me, and it’s unfair to them.”
“It’s not unfair if someone is an actual danger to you,” Midas said.
Lexie didn’t say anything, just stared up at him.
He could see the frustration in her eyes. One of the things he liked best about Lexie was her positivity. Her sunny outlook on life. What he’d seen as naivety at first, something that had concerned him, he now recognized as her innate kindness, a natural part of who she was. She balanced out his overly cautious, cynical self. He also knew she wanted to trust Theo…but that didn’t mean he had to.
He wasn’t all that surprised that Theo had been lurking around in a dark alley, watching her. And he definitely wasn’t happy about it either. “I’ll pick you up from here on out,” he told her.
She shook her head against him. “We both know that won’t always be possible. Look at what happened today. You’ve got work and stuff you can’t get out of.”
She was right. “Fine. But if I can’t pick you up, I’ll arrange for someone else to.”
Lexie picked her head up and put her hand on his cheek. “I appreciate that. More than I can say. But I’ve never relied on a guy for anything before in my life, and I don’t want to start now.”
“I’m not just some ‘guy,’” Midas retorted. “And there’s no fucking way I’m gonna let you keep walking home by yourself when men are harassing you, or if Theo is out there watching you.”
“I usually have Jack or Pika walk me home if they’re available,” Lexie told him. “And Magnus was really a great help today. He hit that guy and didn’t act like it even hurt him at all. I know it had to, because that guy was huge and Magnus’s knuckles were bleeding. I love that you want to protect me, but you can’t always be with me. I need to figure out how to keep myself safe. Today was just…a lot. I’ll be my usual positive self tomorrow. Promise.”
Midas picked up the hand on his cheek and kissed her palm before resting it on his chest. Lexie put her cheek against his shoulder and snuggled into him.
He’d heard what she said, but he was still going to do whatever he could to take better care of her. She was right, he couldn’t always drive all the way downtown from the base to pick her up when he was working, but he knew a lot of people, he could call in some favors.
Hell, he bet if he told Baker what was going on, the man would drive down from the North Shore every day to pick her up and take her home.
“What are you smiling about?” Lexie asked suspiciously.
“I was just thinking about asking Baker to pick you up when I can’t.”
“The Baker? Yes! Do it!”
Midas blinked in surprise. “I thought you’d put your foot down and tell me I’m being ridiculous,” he admitted.
“Okay, it is ridiculous. But I’ve heard a lot about him from Elodie, and I’m curious.” She shrugged a little sheepishly.
“You want to meet him?”
“Well, yeah. Of course.”
“Then I’ll make sure that happens,” Midas said. The more he thought about it, the better the idea seemed. Baker wasn’t a man who suffered fools easily, and he’d be more than happy to keep his ear to the ground for any threats against Lexie. He hated violence against women, and Midas knew once he found out what Lexie had been through, she’d have another champion.
“Why do I suddenly feel uneasy about this?” Lexie asked, giving him the side eye.
“I don’t know. Baker’s cool.”
