Page 70 of Finding Lexie
“He’s on the phone with the police?” Lexie asked, confused. “But you guys are on a boat in the middle of the ocean.”
“Exactly. Which means I can’t get to you as fast as I’d like. So the next best thing is sending in the police. Now tell me what’s happening so I can tell Pid, and he can tell the officers.”
“Oh, well… I think things are good now. Most of the people here left when the fight got nasty. Jack and Pika have two of the guys who were being assholes in headlocks, Ashlyn is talking to Theo and—oh shit.”
“Oh shit, what?” Midas asked impatiently.
“Natalie got her shotgun out. She keeps it back in her office. She’s keeping the other two guys from doing anything stupid. I need to go help!”
“No! You need to stay right where you are, hopefully well out of range of that shotgun or some asshole’s fists.”
“I’m okay, Midas. It’s fine. Natalie’s got the situation under control. I’ll call you when everyone’s calmed down.”
“No, Lex, don’t—”
But she’d already clicked the off button. She felt guilty about hanging up on Midas, but she really did need to help her coworkers and not hide under a table, completely useless.
She scooted out and walked to the other side of the room, heading for Ashlyn.
“Is he all right?”
“He’ll have a hell of a black eye, but damn, I had no idea Theo could fight like that,” Ash said.
Lexie looked at Theo—and this time she did take a step back when she saw the look on his face.
He. Was. Pissed.
At her? She couldn’t tell. The amount of anger emanating from the man was scary as hell. Despite that, she couldn’t take her eyes from his, and they stared at each other for a long moment.
A noise at the door broke the weird connection she and Theo seemed to have and when Lexie turned to look at the entrance, she saw half a dozen police officers headed her way with their guns drawn. Without thought, she lifted her hands in the air, letting them know she was unarmed.
She saw Theo mimic her out of the corner of her eye, but the policemen and women didn’t seem concerned about them. All their attention was on Natalie.
“Drop the weapon!”
“Put the gun down!”
Several seconds went by in confused chaos as the officers ordered Natalie to disarm, while she and Jack tried to make sure the cops knew what the hell had happened.
Thirty minutes later, Lexie was sitting at a table watching an officer talk to Natalie, another taking notes as Pika explained what had happened, and a third and fourth attempting to talk to Theo, who was sitting on the floor against the wall staring straight ahead, not talking at all. The four men who it seemed had started the altercation had been taken away to the police station. From what Lexie understood, three had active warrants and the fourth man tried to deck one of the cops, so he was arrested on the spot as well.
She’d already given her statement to an officer when the front door burst open once more.
The officers all turned to face whatever the new threat was, their hands on their weapons, but all Lexie could do was sigh in relief.
She had no idea how in the world Midas and his team had gotten downtown so quickly, especially if they’d been on a boat in the middle of the ocean somewhere, but she was so damn happy to see them, she immediately began to shake.
Midas took in the room, and the second he saw her sitting at the table, he headed in her direction. Mustang reassured the officers that they were from the Naval base as Midas hauled her up out of the chair and into his arms.
He buried his head in the crook of her neck and squeezed her almost to the point of pain.
“Ease up, Midas,” Aleck said. “You’re squishing her.”
Lexie felt his arms loosen a fraction, but he didn’t let go of her for several moments. Then he eased back, but only far enough so he could meet her gaze. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” she said, running her hands up and down his arms soothingly.
“Fuck,” he muttered.
