Page 111 of Finding Lexie
So he turned around without the coffee, already thinking of ways to make it up to her as he headed back downtown.
There was a parking space not too far from the front of Food For All, which he took as a sign to stop, coffee or no coffee. It was silly to come back so soon after dropping her off, but it had become a small tradition between them, and besides, he loved being around her. Even if it was only for an additional five minutes each morning.
Midas strode toward the building, his thoughts going to the night before. He and Lexie were extremely well-matched, in bed and out. He’d never enjoyed sex as much as he did with Lex, but more than that, he loved sleeping with her. Loved how she draped herself over him and used his shoulder as a pillow. It reminded him of when they’d done just that for hours in Galkayo. Of course, now they were much more comfortable, and no one was trying to hunt them down.
Smiling at the memory of her grumbling as he shifted too much under her this morning, Midas reached for the door to Food For All, preparing to knock…
But the knob moved easily under his hand. The door was unlocked.
Frowning, he entered—and immediately, all loving thoughts fled from his mind.
A bloody trail led from the middle of the floor toward the small hallway leading to the kitchen.
Midas reached for his KBAR knife, and swore when he remembered he was in his PT uniform of a T-shirt and shorts. He had no weapons other than his hands.
He didn’t immediately see the source of the bloody trail on the floor, and he moved silently toward the hall, praying harder than he’d ever prayed in his life that it wasn’t Lexie’s blood.
As he turned a corner, Midas saw a man attempting to drag himself toward the kitchen, and immediately recognized him. Theo.
Midas knew he had a habit of coming in first thing in the mornings. Even though it made him leery, Lexie had reassured him that she was never alone with him, that if something did happen, one of her coworkers would be there to help her.
But something had definitely happened, and clearly Theo wasn’t the aggressor. The man hadn’t stabbed himself in the back, and Midas was one hundred percent sure that Lexie hadn’t done it. She didn’t have it in her.
That meant someone else was there.
Midas stopped long enough to put a hand on Theo’s shoulder. “Easy,” he said in a toneless whisper. But Theo heard it. He looked up, and Midas could see blood coming from his mouth. Whoever had stabbed him had most likely hit a lung. He was lucky they hadn’t hit his heart, which Midas guessed had been the plan.
“Lexie!” Theo whispered in a tortured tone.
“I’m gonna get her. Hang on.”
Theo didn’t respond, just collapsed on the floor with a long sigh.
Midas crept on the balls of his feet toward the kitchen and peered around the door. He didn’t immediately see anyone, but he heard a deep voice, indicating someone was inside.
Knowing the element of surprise would definitely work in his favor, Midas moved quickly. He stalked around the edge of the counter—and even before his brain could process what he was seeing, he was moving.
His training kicked in and Midas leapt toward the man straddling Lexie.
He wrapped his arm around the man’s throat and wrenched him away from his woman. He had surprise on his side, and the man let out a startled cry as Midas hauled him backward.
He had a single moment to register the fact that bruises were already forming around Lexie’s throat, and she was utterly still, before the man in his arms began to struggle.
“I was trying to help her!” he yelled. “Let me go!”
Magnus.
Midas might not know what was going on, but he knew with one hundred percent certainty Magnus had not been trying to help Lexie.
The two men wrestled, but Midas had fear for the love of his life on his side. Both men struggled to their feet, though Midas hadn’t loosened his grip. Magnus flailed and tried to buck Midas off his back.
Midas could barely contain him. The man might be in his fifties, but he possessed the kind of strength only a fucking insane person could have. He fought hard, not making it easy for Midas to subdue him or knock him out, so he could get to Lexie.
The fight was strangely quiet, both men concentrating on trying to get the upper hand. Magnus grunted and growled while Midas fought in silence as he’d been trained. After what seemed like ages but was likely just a few minutes, Midas’s military hand-to-hand combat training began to win out over the other man’s desperate struggles.
Then Magnus suddenly sagged, making Midas stumble backward as he instinctively tried to hold up the man’s dead weight.
Magnus used the opportunity to grab a knife that was sitting on the counter by the sink. He wildly threw his arm back, aiming for any part of Midas’s body he could reach. He swiveled, and Magnus missed, immediately swinging blindly once more.
