Hard to Handle (Caine Cousins #2)(71)

But if one more person weighed her down with a sympathetic look, she was going to scream. And maybe that was selfish, but she couldn’t bring herself to care right now. She wasn’t a fragile doll they could wrap in cotton and set high up on the shelf until the danger was gone. She needed to be a part of this, to feel as though she wasn’t the one putting everyone else in danger.

“But you are,” she told her reflection.

Her face crumpled and the cycle started all over again.





30


__________


Lynx watched from the sidelines as Curtis Walker gave Billy a good talking-to.

It was pretty impressive to watch, if he was being honest. The man didn’t raise his voice, he didn’t talk down to Billy, he merely told him how it was going to be. Apparently, Curtis had a major issue with a man letting his mouth get away from him when there were women present. He was relaying that in lengthy detail to Billy.

“Lynx.”

Turning at the sound of his name, Lynx saw Tammy moving toward him. “Can we talk?”

He instantly peered in through the diner window, seeking Reagan. He wasn’t even sure why he did it, but he had to know where she was, that she was all right. Not that he thought Tammy would do anything. The woman might’ve been a shitty wife, but she wasn’t a bad person at heart. How she’d gotten mixed up with Billy, he didn’t know. Nor did he want to know.

“What?” he asked, keeping his attention divided between Tammy, Curtis, and Reagan.

“I’m…” She sighed. “I’m really sorry for this. I didn’t know you’d be here.”

He shrugged one shoulder. “Why would that matter?”

“I don’t know,” she said, her eyes locked with his. “I just thought maybe it…” She shook her head. “I thought maybe it’d bother you to see me with Billy.”

“It doesn’t,” he said honestly. “But why would that even matter to you?” He was sincerely confused. He lowered his voice. “You were screwin’ him when we were married, Tammy. You didn’t seem worried about it then.”

She blushed, her eyes not meeting his. For whatever reason, having Tammy’s confirmation didn’t help matters. Although he hadn’t loved her, it still pissed him off that she would treat him that way. He’d done his best to do right by her from the beginning.

Tammy took a step closer, lifting her head so that she met his eyes. “I really am sorry.”

“Don’t sweat it,” he said, trying to keep his tone neutral.

When he looked up, he saw Reagan watching him through the window. Something that looked a lot like pain flashed in her eyes, and he instantly regretted standing there talking to Tammy. Not that he was doing a damn thing that she should be worried about, but he had to put himself in her shoes. If he saw her talking to Billy, he’d probably be in a jealous rage right about now.

Sure, it would’ve been an irrational reaction, but Lynx couldn’t deny he didn’t want her anywhere around that asshole.

“Look,” Lynx said, peering down at Tammy once more. “I gotta go.”

Tammy nodded.

“And if it’s worth anything, you might consider keepin’ your distance from Billy. He’s not gonna do right by you. No matter what he tells you.”

“And you did?” she snapped, her eyebrows darting down.

Lynx’s gaze shot to hers. “Yeah. I did. Or I tried anyway.”

“If it really mattered, you would’ve tried harder.”

Feeling as though he’d just walked into some sort of twilight zone, Lynx took a step back. He stared down at the woman he’d once been married to and shook his head. Clearly she didn’t remember things the way he did.

“On the other hand,” he said, hating that he was stooping to her level, “maybe you and Billy will work out.”

With that, he spun on his boot heel and headed inside. He knew the Walkers had this situation with Billy under control and he really needed to see Reagan.

Once inside, Lynx glanced around at all the familiar faces, searching for Reagan. He found her sitting in a booth across from Amy.

“Everything okay?”

Reagan peered up at him, her expression cool. “Yeah.”

He noticed that Amy didn’t look up.

Rather than ask Reagan if she was ready to go, Lynx slid into the booth beside her. He knew she was upset with him, although he didn’t know exactly why other than she’d seen him talking to Tammy.

Knowing better than to toss his arm around her and pretend nothing had happened, Lynx rested his elbows on the table and glanced between the two women.

“I’m really okay,” Amy finally said, obviously noticing they were both staring at her. “I just hate that this is happening.”

“We know,” Reagan said reassuringly. “But it’ll get better. Soon.”

“I agree with Reagan,” Lynx added. “Trust Wolfe and Rhys. They won’t let anything happen to you.”

This time Amy nodded and it appeared she believed that much.

“I just want him to go away. I’m so tired of having to worry about him, thinking he’ll pop up any second and steal this life from me.”

Lynx didn’t bother to tell her that was a real possibility if the man pulled a stunt like he’d pulled at the bar. On the flip side, the guy might be smart, but he wasn’t invincible. He would be caught. Eventually.