When yet another curveball puts Andy and Lex's relationship into serious jeopardy, the stakes become higher than they've ever been, forcing the couple to fight not only for their love but also for their lives.
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Life see...
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A sharp pain lingered in my chest during the entire trip to the hotel, and then during the entire elevator ride to our suite. It was so acute and unyielding, I wondered a few times if I wasn't going into cardiac arrest.
My heart was broken, bleeding within, wounded by Lex's reaction. I'd known he would be pissed, but the way he didn't glance at me, not even a single time, told me I'd underestimated his wrath. The aftermath of my disobedience would be of astronomical proportions. And I wasn't equipped to handle it, nor mentally ready to sustain it.
I was reaching the end of my limits. In the past few months, I'd been shot, ripped away from my life, had seen my abuela almost die because of me, my mother had been threatened, I'd been confined... My sanity was hanging by a thread, and this might break it.
The tension in the air became unbearable when we entered the suite, the bodyguards remaining outside. I dropped my bag on the couch and proceeded to look at anything but Lex. We had a tough discussion – fight – pending, and as long as none of us spoke, it wouldn't happen.
I dared to look at him at the same moment he did me, and our eyes stayed locked for a moment, until his lowered to my freckle-less nose. Something dangerous and disapproving flashed behind his stormy irises. When he looked back up to mine, I read utter condemnation.
He said nothing about it, though, and threw his laptop, which he'd had in the car, on the couch. His gestures were stiff and rough, his body language betraying that he wasn't as contained as he was trying to pretend.
Although I didn't want the altercation that ought to happen, I was aware that the sooner we'd get on with it, the faster it would be over. Maybe all we needed were a few minutes of shouting and yelling, and then we'd be back to the way it should be.
Today, I'd bravely walked into our enemy's territory. I could find the courage I needed to talk to the man I loved.
I took a step in his direction, and then another one. Before I knew it, I was right by his side. He was facing away from me, staring at the wall, so I lifted a hand to rest it on his forearm. He shook it off with irritation and glared down at me when he turned around.
"I can't do this now."
"Why?"
"Because I need to calm down or I might strangle you," he grunted, lifting his hands between us, as if urged to wrap them around my neck.
Even though I knew he'd never hurt me, a flash of shock coursed through me. Lex would never lift a hand on me, unless I consented to it. But we all had moments where anger took over all that was rational. I wanted this to go as well as possible, so I refused to push him if he wasn't ready.
"I can't even look at you right now. Go take that shit off your face, Perdita," he commanded, frowning at the makeup I had on with disdain.
Indignation rose within me, breaking through the turmoil. "I get that you're pissed, but don't you fucking talk to me that way, Alexander!"
