Home > Redwood (Linear Tactical #11)(8)

Redwood (Linear Tactical #11)(8)
Author: Janie Crouch

Lexi stared at her reflection in Mac’s tiny personal bathroom attached to his office in the back of the kitchen. She swallowed the panic threatening to consume her.

Was it really possible that her luck could be this bad? That the man she’d stolen from in an act of desperation was the actual sheriff—or acting sheriff, whatever that meant—of the town where she’d had no choice but to make her home?

An unfamiliar face looked back at her from the mirror. Between the broken nose eighteen months ago that hadn’t healed correctly and the makeup caked on that changed the entire appearance of her chin and cheeks, she was looking at a different person.

That was the point, wasn’t it?

The only thing she hadn’t been able to change was her eyes, so distinctly green. She’d tried wearing contacts but they’d bothered her eyes so much she’d looked like she was crying, which had drawn more attention than her eye color ever would.

But the person staring back at her was a stranger in more than just appearance. It was the fear that permeated the air around her and leaked out of her pores that made her seem so unfamiliar, even to herself.

That fear was such a constant companion now that she should be used to it. But she wasn’t. She’d spent her whole life being strong, and now she was terrified of damned near everything.

Especially that sheriff sitting out in the bar now, Gavin Zimmerman. She’d remembered his name every day, even when she’d wanted to forget it. Remembered his face. Remembered the warmth of his body as his arms had wrapped around her.

Everything in her told her to run now. But she couldn’t. She couldn’t afford the time it would take to reestablish herself somewhere else. She had money she owed that would cost her her life if it wasn’t repaid.

Plus where was she going to go? Mac had given her a job here without any questions, based on his grandnephew’s request. Nobody else was going to do that. And even though her ID was supposed to hold up through an electronic search, she didn’t want to take the chance.

She couldn’t run.

She gripped the sink in front of her to stop her hands shaking.

“You’re tired. You know the crash is coming, but you have to hang on,” she told her reflection.

She’d been pushing herself too hard, and her body was about to give out. This wasn’t anything new. Her battle with insomnia had started more than a decade ago, and it wasn’t something that had changed when her life had fallen apart a year and a half ago.

She wouldn’t sleep until eventually her body shut down. But she couldn’t let it happen here. “You’ve made it through worse, and you’ll make it through this. You’re not going to run. You’re going to go out there and find a way to work the problem.”

That was the full extent of her motivational speech.

She forced herself out of the kitchen bathroom and back out onto the main floor of the bar.

She didn’t have any money saved up yet, but maybe she could offer Gavin the tips she’d made today. It might mean she only ate peanut butter sandwiches for the rest of the week, but maybe the peace offering would be enough. Maybe he wouldn’t tell Mac what she’d done, wouldn’t arrest her.

She was thankful that Amber, the other weekend-shift waitress, had already gotten Gavin and his friends their beers. Lexi went over to the other side of the room to take orders. Distance wouldn’t save her if Gavin decided to get out his kinky sheriff handcuffs, but she could at least stay out of his direct line of sight.

Until she saw Gavin talking to Mac a few minutes later. Should she go over there and defend herself? Should she run out the door?

Honestly, she wasn’t sure how much Mac knew about her. He hadn’t studied her face when they’d first met, like he was trying to meld together who she was now with who she had been. Mac didn’t seem like the type of man who watched a lot of entertainment news, so he might not be aware of her entire situation.

But then again, his grandnephew Markus, the one who’d arranged this job for Lexi, had been part of her life for years as a member of her security team. So even though she looked completely different, Mac had to have an idea of who she was.

But if he did, he hadn’t said anything to her. And she’d been thankful for it. And honestly, maybe Mac truly thought she was just an old friend of the grandnephew he hadn’t seen in years but had been willing to do a favor for.

She watched Mac talking to Gavin now, pressing a fist against her stomach, willing her body to calm down. If Mac told Gavin about her tie to Markus, she had no doubt Gavin would dig deeper. And if he put pictures of Alexandra Adams and Lexi Johnson side by side, there was no way he wouldn’t be able to tell she was the same woman.

No matter how many times she broke her nose, no matter how skillfully she applied contouring makeup, there was no hiding it.

So much of her life was out of her control. All it would take was one deep breath and this house of cards would collapse everywhere.

But she was an actress. And she could at least act like she wasn’t about to vomit and run out the door. She made the drink order for a couple who’d just come in and walked it over to their table. She forced herself to put on a smile and act like nothing was wrong.

She kept that smile on her face for the rest of her shift, staying far away from Gavin and his friends. When they finally left, with not another word from Gavin and no side-eye glances from Mac, she could finally breathe.

At least for tonight.

It wasn’t until the end of her shift, as she was gathering glasses to run through the industrial dishwasher, that Mac caught her, helping her stack them in the crate.

“You’re looking a lot less sickly since the Linear Tactical boys left. I suppose you know they were asking about you. Gavin Zimmerman in particular.”

Yeah, she knew. But she forced a neutral expression onto her face. “Was he?”

“He’s afraid you may be taking advantage of me. May be trying to get control of the bar and cut me out of the profits or some such shit. Wanted to know how we knew each other.”

She closed her eyes for a second before pushing the pan of dishes into the metal box and closing the door. She’d thought she was safe, but maybe she wasn’t.

“Did you tell them about Markus?”

Did you tell them your grandnephew used to be my bodyguard when I was a face anyone would recognize? Until I almost got two people killed and ended up in jail myself?

That would end her stay in Oak Creek pretty quickly.

Mac leaned back against the counter. “No, I figured I didn’t actually owe them any insight into my personal business, especially since they were insinuating that I couldn’t make my own good decision. People around here are too damn nosy. And it’s none of their business how I know you. So no, I didn’t mention Markus or how he might have known you in a previous profession.”

Her shoulders sagged as she slid the other crate of dishes that had just come out of the washer down the counter so they could cool. “That makes my life a lot easier, so I appreciate it.” She shook her head. “You know they’re just looking out for you, right? They’re not trying to be nosy.”

Mac let out a grumpy sigh. “I don’t need looking out for. It’s not like you’re going to steal all the plates and glasses and run off.”

“Of course not. That’s crazy talk.” She winked at him. “I’d take the silverware. That’s much easier to carry.”

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