Shades of Resolution (Distortion #3) Page 13

  “It might be just the breeze, or over my overactive imagination.” Lexie said, rubbing her arms. “Is this a first for you? Digging in the middle of the night?”

  Jackson frowned for a moment. “Actually, no. It’s not even my second.” Jackson tossed some dirt up onto the top of the growing pile.

  “Should I even ask?” Lexie raised her brow.

  “Probably best you don’t,” Jackson admitted. The hole was getting larger and larger and Jackson could tell Lexie was starting to get disappointed. He was not so easily deterred; if there was the slightest chance they would find the evidence Lexie’s mother referred to, he would dig up the entire yard.

  When Jackson’s shovel met resistance, he immediately began to uncover something that looked like a box. Lexie leaned down to get a closer look as Jackson cleared away the dirt.

  “Oh my god,” Lexie said, looking at the box.

  Jackson grabbed hold of it and pulled it free. Finding the box was like a weight being lifted off his shoulders. It was a plastic container about the size of a milk crate and didn’t weigh much. He hoped whatever was inside would be something that would give them the weight they needed to make John Stodden’s reign crumble beneath his feet.

  Jackson stepped out of the hole and dropped it in front of Lexie. He pried the cover off and looked inside. Lexie held her phone up to shine a light inside. Jackson picked up the contents that were sealed in a plastic bag and heavily taped. It looked to be dry and Jackson was hopeful whatever was inside would be in good condition.

  The sound of a branch snapping alerted them both. Lexie shoved her phone in her pocket to hide the light. They both listened for any other noise but their surroundings were suddenly too quiet and Jackson did not like the uneasy feeling that suddenly crawled up his spine.

  “Let’s get inside,” Jackson suggested as he grabbed Lexie’s hand. “I’ll fix this in the morning.”

  Once inside, Jackson closed the door and turned the lock. He pushed the curtain aside on the small window to make sure it was clear before he joined Lexie at the kitchen table.

  “Do you think someone is out there?” Lexie asked, looking nervously at the door.

  “We’re good.” Jackson tried to ease her concern but the truth was he wasn’t sure.

  Lexie grabbed a pair of scissors from the kitchen and began cutting the tape. Jackson walked up beside her and watched as she opened the bag and pulled out files and a handful of floppy disks.

  “How are we supposed to find out what’s on these?” Lexie looked at the stack of disks.

  “Teddy got a bunch of info off some of these my dad had stored away,” Jackson said, turning his attention toward the files.

  “I don’t know what any of this means,” Lexie confessed.

  “I do,” Jackson said, taking the file as Lexie passed it to him. “This one is business transactions.” Jackson flipped open the other files. “Contacts; it looks like John had background checks on everyone he dealt with…bank account information…holy shit, no wonder John wanted these back. It may be only pieces of the bigger picture and out of date, but there is no way he can avoid prosecution with this evidence presented against him.” Jackson picked up the file with the contacts in it and skimmed through the names. He didn’t stop until he found the name he was looking for—Mark Rosh.

  “Son of a bitch,” Jackson cursed. He knew Rosh was guilty, but seeing his name in print was still painful. Jackson dropped the file on the table. “Who knows what’s on those disks, but whatever it is, it will only make this case stronger. I have to call Haffey,” Jackson said as he took pictures of the papers with his phone.

  “The cop?” Lexie asked with a frown.

  “I promised her I would keep her informed. It was the only way to keep her from reporting me and using you and Stephanie as witnesses. She knows I can get closer to Stodden than she can. Not to mention that I may have told her we had this…” Jackson waved his hands to the files. “It may have been the convincing factor,” Jackson admitted.

  “I know this is none of my business, but were you and this detective ever a thing?” Lexie asked with a slight crease forming between her brows.

  “A thing?” Jackson asked with a raised brow. He could see the color crawling up Lexie’s neck.

  “I’m just curious. The past is the past, but it’s just…” Lexie trailed off uncomfortably. “Never mind.”

  “I slept with her, once, before you. It was a mistake, but other than that, our relationship is strictly business,” Jackson confessed truthfully. He didn’t want to keep any secrets from Lexie. He hoped that because she asked, she was ready for the truth. He wasn’t quite sure how she would feel about knowing.

  Lexie shook her head and blew out a breath. “The idiot was right.”

  “What idiot?” Jackson questioned.

  Jackson barely had the words formed when they both heard a loud bang on the front step. Jackson pulled his gun out and headed toward the window. “Stay back,” he told Lexie as he pushed the curtain aside to look on onto the porch. He didn’t see anyone there, but the rocking chair on the front step was knocked over; it now lay haphazardly against the house. Jackson opened the door and slipped outside. Holding up his gun, he surveyed the front yard for any sign of anyone.

  Jackson stepped back inside. “Stay here, I’m gonna look around outside.”

  Lexie jumped and grabbed for the pair of scissors on the table when she heard the door handle of the rear door rattle. Jackson darted into the kitchen. Lexie was gripping the scissors so tightly her fingers were white as he motioned for her to step back into the kitchen and away from the door.

  Jackson used the barrel of his gun to push the back door curtain aside to see who was on the back step. Mike was standing on the other side and began hitting his fist against the door. “I know she’s here,” Mike called out.

  Jackson opened the door enough that Mike could see him. “What the fuck do you want?”

  “I know Stephanie’s here. She hasn’t been home. She’s with him, isn’t she?” Mike said accusingly.

  “She’s not here,” Jackson said sternly. He could tell Mike was drunk, his bloodshot eyes were glazed over and his shirt was torn. There was even dried blood on his lip and Jackson suspected he had gotten into a bar fight before wandering this way.

  “Let him in.” Lexie relaxed her hand with the scissors but still held onto them. “This is the idiot,” Lexie said with a shake of her head.

  Jackson looked at Mike and wondered how the hell this drunken piece of work came up with the fact that he had slept with Detective Haffey. Him mentioning it to Lexie only succeeded in making him dislike him more.

  Mike pushed his way past Jackson and stumbled into the kitchen.

  “She’s not here, Mike.” Lexie stepped in front of his path.

  “Her parents went back home…said she was staying with you,” Mike said angrily. “I need to talk to her.”

  “She needed to get away for a while. She’s not here. Go home, Mike.” Lexie raised her hands and Mike slapped them away.

  Jackson grabbed him by the back of the shirt and hauled him backward. “She said to fucking leave.” Jackson shoved Mike back against the wall and pressed his gun under his chin.

  “Jackson,” Lexie said, clearly uncomfortable with the situation.

  “Oh Christ, what’s happening here?” Cherry walked out into the main living area as she pulled the strings of her robe tighter.

  “Mike was just leaving,” Jackson insisted.

  “I’m not leaving until I speak to Stephanie,” Mike bit off. He was clearly too drunk to register the threat of Jackson’s gun. Mike began to struggle, giving Jackson no option but to knock him out. Lexie gasped when Jackson delivered the blow and Mike’s body collapsed against the wall and slid down to the floor.

  “You just knocked him out!” Lexie gasped in surprise.

  “Should I call the cops?” Cherry asked with a raised brow.

  “No,” Lexie answered. “He just ne
eds to sleep this off. He gets irrational when he’s drunk. Did you notice if Evan was awake? We might need him to take Mike home.”

  “I gave him some sleeping pills. He’s out like a baby until morning,” Cherry said.

  “I’ll take him home,” Jackson suggested. “You two call me if anything―even the wind―sounds funny.” Jackson watched Cherry walk closer to Lexie and wrap her arm around her.

  “We’ll be fine,” Lexie insisted. “Thanks, Jackson.”

  “Take this.” Jackson held out his gun toward Lexie. She wrapped her fingers around the hilt. “Don’t take any chances and don’t open the doors. I won’t be long.” Jackson grabbed Mike’s heavy body and hauled him up to his feet. Mike was dead weight and difficult to maneuver, but he managed to get him over his shoulder and outside. He reeked like stale beer and smoke, and Jackson prayed he could hold his liquor, because the last thing he wanted was to have Mike lose the contents of his stomach in his car.

  Jackson opened his truck and dropped Mike inside. He gave a slight moan of complaint but he didn’t rouse. He wasn’t taking the risk of having him wake up when he was driving. Mike was obviously out of control, and the last thing he wanted was to give him the opportunity to do something stupid. Jackson closed the trunk and jumped into the driver’s seat. He didn’t want to be gone any longer than necessary.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Lexie

  “Should I ask why you smell like a garden and look like you were playing in the dirt? Or is this some kinky shit you and Duke have going on?” Cherry asked playfully.

  Lexie looked down at her hands and shook her head. She had soil caked under her nails and her clothes were in need of a wash. “We found the evidence Mom had on Stodden. She buried it in the garden.” Lexie walked back over to the table and began straightening everything into a neat pile. Having the very evidence that Stodden was willing to kill for spread out on top of her table made her very nervous. An irrational part of her was terrified he knew they had it and it would only be a matter of time before he came to collect it.

  “This is all the shit that mad man has been after, huh?” Cherry said, picking up one of the floppy disk and examining it with a frown.

  “Yeah.” Lexie walked into the living room and opened a closet her mother used for storage. Lexie grabbed a box off the top shelf and opened it up. It was mostly empty other than a few old photo albums. Setting the box on the table, Lexie removed the albums and placed the files and disks inside the box.

  “Look at you,” Cherry said, opening one of the albums. “You looked like candy come to life.” Cherry smiled at the photographs as she flipped through the pages. Lexie knew the album well. She was five and six years old in most of the pictures.

  She remembered the outfit Cherry was referring to, it had been her favorite.

  “Mom let me pick out my own clothes,” Lexie explained the mismatched colors and patterns that made up her unusual outfit.

  “I think it was very fashion forward of you,” Cherry mused.

  Lexie laughed. “It was something, that’s for sure.” Lexie took the album from Cherry’s hands and ran her fingers over the picture of her sitting on her mother’s lap. They were at the annual community picnic. She could remember the day very clearly in her mind.

  “The other kids told me I looked like a cupcake that day. The name stuck for a while. I was called “Princess Cupcake” for a few weeks after that. At first it made me angry until my mother told me it was my superhero name. She even made me a cape to go with the outfit and baked a whole bunch of cupcakes that I decorated with my “magic” sprinkles.” Lexie flipped further into the book until she came to the picture of her running around the front yard in the same outfit with a bright pink cape.”

  “You’re mother sounds like she was quite the woman,” Cherry said as she patted Lexie on the shoulder.

  “She was,” Lexie responded as she wiped her eyes.

  “I’m gonna make some tea before I head back to sleep. Do you want some?” Cherry asked, walking into the kitchen to fill up the kettle.

  “I would, but I have to get in the shower and get this dirt off me,” Lexie said as she set the albums on top of the files and closed the box. She tucked the box into the closet and walked back toward the table where she had set Jackson’s gun.

  “Take it with you, you’ll feel safer. Trust me. I have slept with a gun under my pillow for years.”

  Lexie nodded and picked it up. “Goodnight, Cherry,”

  “Goodnight, Princess Cupcake,” Cherry called after her as Lexie started up the stairs.

  When Lexie walked into the bathroom, she closed the door and turned the lock. She looked at her reflection and tried to pick out all the characteristics of herself that reminded her of her mother; the shape of her eyes, her cheekbones, her blonde hair, and her lips. These were the parts of her that she would cherish. Every time she looked in the mirror she could see the part of her mother that was still alive in her. Lexie didn’t let herself think about what she shared with her father because it terrified her. She was scared to admit that a part of her was made up of evil. She desperately hoped she was strong enough to overcome it.

  Lexie turned on the shower and waited for the steam to start filling the room. Now that they had found the evidence John was looking for, she hoped it gave them the power to finish this. She wanted to be free of the shackles John had bound her with. She wanted to leave everything to do with him in the past and move on.

  Lexie showered quickly. She suddenly felt exhausted and wanted to crawl in bed and wait for Jackson to return. Lexie wrapped herself in her mother’s favorite robe that was still hanging on the back of the bathroom door. It still smelled like her as Lexie held the fabric to her nose and breathed in the scent. She towel dried her hair and ran her fingers through it before heading to bed.

  Lexie smiled when she walked into her room and saw a hot cup of chamomile tea sitting on the nightstand next to her bed. “Thank you, Cherry,” she whispered as she picked it up to take a sip of the warm, comforting liquid. Lexie pulled on a pair of her favorite sleeping shorts and a tank top and hung her mother’s robe up on the hook next to her closet. She ran her fingers over the silky floral material. “I love you, Mom,” Lexie whispered.

  Lexie checked her phone for messages before she picked up the gun she had left on her dresser. Lexie slid it under her pillow before crawling into bed. Cherry was right, she did feel better knowing it was close. Lexie wrapped her fingers around the hot mug and savored the stillness around her.

  Lexie looked around her room. Her mother had kept all of her photos up on the walls. Lexie’s room was still the same as when she lived here other than the fact that it didn’t have all of her things cluttering the surfaces of the furniture. It was familiar and strange all in one, like a ghost from her past.

  Lexie set her tea down and noticed the framed picture on her nightstand looked different. Frowning, she picked it up to get a closer look. Lexie could feel her stomach curl into a ball of lead as realization dawned on her. A picture was tucked inside the frame. It was a still of security camera footage. It was from the hotel room that Stodden had kept her in. She must have missed one of the cameras when she had searched. The picture was of her and Flint the night she had taken his phone, it made her stomach roll with nausea.

  Lexie covered her mouth and threw the picture across the room. It hit the wall and the glass shattered. Lexie grabbed the gun and stood up in a panic. The room spun as she stumbled, grabbing for the side of the bed. Her feet suddenly wouldn’t obey her and she slid to the floor. The gun felt heavy as she struggled to hold it up. Lexie willed her body to get up but it was no use. The floor felt uneven and swayed like it was fluid as she pushed against the floor.

  Lexie heard footsteps coming up the stairs and panic burned her throat. “Cher…” Lexie tried to call out but her tongue felt swollen and too large for her mouth. She couldn’t get her words to pass. Lexie heard the footsteps come to a stop at the entrance of her do
or. She could feel her fear fill the entire room until it was suffocating.

  Flint filled the door frame. “Did you miss me?” His cold voice crawled over her skin.

  Lexie managed to raise the gun enough to aim. She pulled the trigger but only an empty click sounded from the gun.

  “Looking for these?” Flint raised his fist and opened his hand. Bullets dropped from his open palm and scattered over the floor. Lexie gasped in despair.

  Flint shook his head with a click of his tongue. “After what we shared, you’re so quick to pull the trigger. I’m disappointed.”

  “Don’t…” Lexie managed to push through her numbing lips.

  “Don’t what?” He tilted his head.

  Lexie had no more strength as whatever drug he had put in the tea took all her strength and her ability to move. Lexie had no choice but to submit as she laid her head against her bed. She watched in horror as Flint knelt down beside her.

  “You’re much more vicious than you look, Lexie. So soft.” He ran his fingers over her cheek and down her neck. Lexie wanted to scream and pull away but her body was no longer her own. “You betrayed me. I’m not a man that forgives easily.”

  Lexie wished she could respond to his repulsive words. She wanted to tell him what she thought, instead she had to submit to the torture of letting Flint do whatever he wished.

  “I can see in your eyes that you have so much to say; always such a fighter. It took me a while to perfect this concoction. Don’t worry, you’ll stay conscious the entire time. I wouldn’t want you to miss out on any of the fun. There’s something very appealing about being able to do whatever I want with someone while they watch helplessly locked away in here.” Flint pressed his finger against her forehead. “I’m looking forward to our time together.”

  Lexie wanted to shove him away when he leaned in to place a kiss on her lips but she couldn’t move. Her hands remained lifelessly in her lap, allowing him to kiss her and dip his tongue into her mouth, tasting her as he moaned. She still had enough sensation lingering in her skin to feel his touch and she wanted to claw his eyes out.