It was true. She was drifting, and she knew it. She hadn’t done a very good job on her own. Maybe it was time to give something else a try. If this could get her out of the funk she’d been in the last several years, it would be worth it.
The doors opened to the lobby. The lobby of The Club was an elegant showcase. Part hotel lobby, part wealthy office space, it was streamlined and modern. As Lexi exited the elevator, she could hear the high-pitched whining coming from the front desk.
“I don’t care about what your job is. I want to talk to my fiancé. I know he’s here. I’m not going anywhere until I get escorted up to his room.” The blonde standing at the front desk actually stomped her foot.
She had big, platinum blonde hair. She wore white jeans and a tight top that showed off boobs that were far too large for her small frame.
“Mrs. Lodge.” The concierge was visibly relieved. “Thank you for coming down. I’m having a bit of a problem with this lady. She doesn’t seem to understand that we are a private club.”
The blonde’s scarlet red lips pursed. “And I explained that my fiancé, Aidan O’Malley, is a member here. He’s a rancher. He owns one of the largest spreads in Central Texas.”
“His dad died?” Lexi hadn’t heard that. She’d met the man a time or two. Aidan hadn’t been terribly close to his father. He’d lost his mom at an early age, and Conner O’Malley had been a bit distant, but it had to have hurt Aidan to lose his dad.
The blonde shifted her focus, and cool blue eyes narrowed. “Do you know Aidan?”
Dani stepped forward. “I would say she does. She was engaged to him once.”
Her nose turned up as though it had just caught a whiff of something vile. “You’re that Lexi person?”
Oh, she was going to be trouble. First, Lexi didn’t honestly believe that this woman was engaged to Aidan. Aidan had been a rat bastard, but he’d never lied to her. He wouldn’t have come after her and Lucas if he had a fiancée tucked away somewhere. “Yep, that’s me.”
“What are you doing here?”
Dani stepped up. “Lexi is a member of this club. Her stepfather is the largest independent rancher in the state of Texas. And she’s here because Aidan brought her here. Aidan is upstairs with my husband. He should be down in a minute. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to see you.”
That overly painted mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. “Well, he doesn’t know I’m here. I thought I would surprise him.”
She tapped her foot, and it finally clicked. Karen Wilcox. Aidan’s high school girlfriend. Lexi hadn’t had the privilege of meeting her. She and Aidan had only gone to Deer Run a few times. From what she could remember, Karen had been married to someone significantly older than she was.
“I think he’ll be surprised,” Lexi allowed. She was pretty sure he’d be pissed. A little kernel of evil joy lit inside her. She pulled out her cell phone. “Why don’t we give him a call?”
She dialed Lucas’s number. He answered immediately, his voice low as though he didn’t want to disrupt what was going on. “Lexi? Are you all right?”
“I am more than fine, babe. I’m down in the lobby talking to Aidan’s fiancée.”
“What?” Lucas practically screamed over the phone. “We’ll be down there in a minute.”
Lexi closed the phone and felt a smile split her face. “He’ll be down in a minute.”
Dani turned back to the concierge, shaking her head. “Paul, I think we’re going to need someone from the staff to go grab Mr. O’Malley’s and Mr. Cameron’s bags. Just give them to the valet. I don’t think Lexi is going to want to miss this.”
“Not for anything.”
“He dumped you,” Karen said. Her perfectly manicured nails curled around her purse. “He called off your wedding.”
“Yep,” Lexi agreed. “Which begs the question of why he’s dragging my ass back home to Deer Run when he has such a lovely fiancé waiting for him?”
Dani leaned over. “Does she come with a superhot, somewhat submissive, bi guy?”
“What is that? Is that some city talk?” Karen huffed a bit as though that was the worst thing she could think of. “It doesn’t matter. I just want to know what you’re doing with my fiancé.”
“Well, let’s see, he’s spanked me, forced me to undress in front of an audience, shoved a plug up my ass, followed me home, and now he’s kidnapping me.”
“Drama queen,” Dani said with a little grin.
Karen actually took a step back. “Aidan would never do that. He’s a former soldier. He served his country.”
“And soldiers don’t like to spank girls?” Lexi wondered just how sheltered Karen’s life had been. She turned to Dani. “And I had to take that plug out myself. I hope he doesn’t expect to see that one again.”
The doors to the elevator slid open, and the former soldier they were talking about stalked out. “What are you doing here, Karen? How did you even find out where I was?”
Karen’s whole demeanor changed. One minute she was the queen bee bitch of the world, and the next, she’d softened. “Well, I wanted to see you. It’s been a week since you came and saw me.”
Aidan’s face bunched up in confusion. “I came out to your place because I was dropping off a check for the charity dinner. I wasn’t seeing you.”
Karen moved closer to Aidan. Her voice was all breathy and pouty. It made Lexi want to gag just a little. “Well, we can fix that. Dwight let it slip where you were, and I tracked you down. What kind of place is this? Are you okay here? This woman is making all sorts of accusations about you.”
His head shook, and Lexi could have sworn he smiled a bit. “Yes, I’m sure she did. Lucas, will you escort Lexi down to the truck? We’re done here. Ben and Chase can come out to the ranch if they need anything else. I’ll deal with this one.”
Lucas seemed perfectly satisfied to take her by the arm and start to lead her away. Lexi wasn’t happy though. “Hey, I was enjoying that.”
Lucas slipped his fingers through hers. He leaned over and kissed her firmly on the lips. “Yes, I know. Now stop causing trouble, or we’ll both get spanked again.”
“Unfair! I’m not the one who hid my identity. And that whole shooting thing was not my fault.” She was arguing, but she didn’t put any heat behind it. Despite what she said, she really did feel safer now that they were leaving town. Someone had shot at her. She was putting on a brave front, but she was scared. And she couldn’t go to her mom’s place. She wouldn’t put her sister and brother in harm’s way.
And she could find out why Aidan was back. That was the worst reason of all to want to go.
“And the drinking?”
Lexi shrugged. She had no excuse for that. She leaned into Lucas’s strength. As they walked away, it struck her that Karen smelled like she smoked.
Maybe Deer Run wouldn’t be so safe. Either way, she was going to find out.
Chapter Nine
Lucas pushed through the double doors of the ranch house with a slightly reinvigorated lease on life. Lexi was sleeping peacefully in the ridiculously oversized bed Aidan had set up in the master bedroom. Lucas had never been to Aidan’s Central Texas ranch, and last night’s 4:00 a.m. arrival hadn’t told him much. However, he seriously doubted that the master bedroom had been in this elegant and oversized condition when Aidan’s father was alive. As far as Lucas knew, the elder O’Malley hadn’t been a ladies’ man, so he doubted he had required a custom-made bed with a delicate white quilt and three dressers. That room had been remodeled to fit a ménage.
Aidan was thinking positively.