Chapter Four

Shade pov

The waitress returns turning all our heads. 

"She'll be expensive. A lot of people have requested private dancers before you."

Ryder sucks his cheeks in biting on the inside of his mouth. "We'll pay whatever you want in order to move to the stop of that list."

The waitress nods quickly. "Yes, sir. I'll come fetch you when she's ready." She curtsies before hurrying off strawberry coloured Ponyta swishing as she goes. It doesn't take long before the lights on the main stage darken and Lexie slips off the stage. Men boo and call out for her to come back while another dancer takes the stage.

Ten minutes later, the swishing ponytail came back and leads us to a private room off the left. The four of us follow her walking stiffly. We look as if we're heading to our execution. Faces grim and postures rigid. We're all scared. Terrified that it won't be her. Equally terrified that it will be. Longing for answers to our questions and afraid of the answers.

The room is dim. There's a small round stage with a pole on it in the middle of the room. A black couch sits in a half circle against the wall. I stay standing as Jem perches on the edge of it. 

Ryder leans back folding an ankle onto his knee. Hunter paces back and forth impatiently. New drinks are already waiting for us on the small tables spread out in front of the couch. 

Hunter downs his one swoop. Tossing the whiskey back and slamming the glass back down without making a face before resuming his pacing. 

It feels like hours before the door opens and Lexie saunters in. She heads for the pole slipping of the see through red tinted robe she wears as she goes. Tossing it to the ground she takes to the stage. She looks so goddamn professional.

The music stops and Lexie abruptly halts her movements, her back to us. I can't help but admire her ass. Then my gaze falls on the black and white lilies on her left thigh. I eye the faint scar beneath it. It's not really visible under the tattoo but the flowers aren't as long as the scar which goes all the way down to her knee. 

A flood of memories from that day surfaces. The way of my heart stopped as she pushed past us and jumped. How seeing her disappear beneath the waves made me sick with worry. How I went to jump after her but Hunter being the rational one stopped me. 

All of us raced to the beach and sprinted to the water. I've never felt such strong relief as I did when I spott her swimm toward us. We released a collective breath of relief. Our instict was to get her to a hospital but Lexie couldn't be able to afford it. 

So, we went to the den where one of the wolves that's ex military and has stitched people up before took care of it. With only oainkill in dull the pain Lexie gritted her teeth and cried silently as he brought the needle in and out of her skin. 

I remember wishing I could take her pain. Feeling useless I sat down and started talking about the Harry Potter books. Lexie used to love them, she could talk about it for hours and got me and Jem hooked. Ryder and Hunter only read them and got invested for her sake. I talked and talked, tried to make her laugh even as she cried and did anything to get her mind off of the pain. We went back to the beach afterwards, stole some choc ice cream which is Lexie's favorite and watched the sunset.

Pushing the memory back I draw my gaze away from the scar.

Slowly, Lexie turns on her heels meeting each of our gazes. The blank mask on her face could rival Hunters. It reveals nothing.

"Hello, boys." She drawls her voice deep and sexy as hell making my cock jump to attention. "Long time, no see." Her eyes rake over us. Noting all the changes. They linger on Hunter's long nearly white hair pulled back in a bun. Jem's little muscled form. Ryder's tattoo in his left arm. My height and hazel eyes.

"What did you do to your hair?" Jem blurts returning to the shy boy with zero game that he was the last time he set eyes on her.

She huffs out a short cold laugh. "It's been ten years and the first thing you're going to ask is what I did to my hair?" Her voice is icy and cuts sharply.

"It was the first thing I could think of," the poor msn mutters in defen lower his head defeatedly.

"Where have you been?" Hunter snaps stalking forward before coming to a halt at the edge of the stage. Lexie turns her icy blue gaze on him. Hunter meets the challenge in them head on.

"A lot of places, non of them good," she responds her lips curling up in a cruel smile. It makes my heart clenched. This isn't Lexie. This is not the girl we once knew.

"What happened to you?" Hunter snaps back his eyes scanning her face searching for the smiling girl who used to dream big. She always found the good in the world. In us. Brought it out too. Made us dream right alongside her. Our dreams were often the same as hers. They still are. Though it seems as if she's got new dreams now. Or none at all.

She sighs and turns away avoiding our eyes. Then she snaps her gaze back to Hunter. "Long story short; I survived."

Hunter's nose twitches the only outside sign of his aggravation. He resumes his pacing right in front of the stage and Lexie's narrowd eyes follow him.

"By stripping," Ryder speaks for the first time drawing Lexie's focus to him. She lifts one shoulder in response. Seeming totally unfazed by the dange power oozing fron the man. "Why are you back?" He questions. The man on the couch isn't my friend Ryder. It's Mr. Rux future leader of the pack and business man.

She shrugs again, "Was no better place to go."

His gaze narrows on her scrutinising every word. "How long are you staying?" Ryder goes on knowing when to push and when not to.

"Who knows," she raises a brow at him completely unbothered.

"Where are you staying?"

"None of your business."

Ryder nods realizing how this conversation will go and switches tactics. He rises from his place on the counch, Jem following. The three of us close in on Ryder recognizing the set of his shoulders and glint in his eyes. "Have you signed a contract?"

Her brows furrow slightly creasing the skin in between them. "What do you care?" Her voice is laced in suspicion.

That's a no. Quick as a viper. Ryder lunges grabbing her behind the knees and tosses Lexie over his shoulder. He wraps an arm around her thighs right beneath her ass keeping her locked in place as she kicks and slams her small first into his back.

"Ryder put me down!" She strikes sounding so muck like the Lexie I know that it brings a smile to my mouth. She's still there somewhere. We just need to draw her out. Hunter pulls his jacket off and hepls Ryder stuff it around Lexie's middle covering her almost naked form. Her fists swing for him and Hunter barely avoids a punch to the face.

Striding out of the room with a shrieking stripper on his shoulder Ryder pushes through the crowd with Hunter, Jem and me in tow. Workers and guests alike stare as we pass.

The commotuo has drawn Kai out of his office and he square off against us by the door. Protecting his dancers from anyth and anyon. "Put her down, Ry," he orders staring Ryder down. "I don't give a fuck that your father owns this town, you do not touch my girls." I admire that the man sticks by his morals even as he's faced with a man like Ryder.

"Alexa Johnson doesn't work for you anymore," Ryder states calmly and Ken's face flashes with a recognization at the name. Everyone who lived here when we grew up knows about our friendship with the beautifully wild orphan girl.

"What?" Lexie shrieks kicking her feet. "You can't do that!"

Ken sighs amd steps aside. "I'll send a check for tonight."

Ryder nodd pleased with that answer as Lexie shouts "traitor!" at Ken who only murmurs a "good luck" at us before going back to the office. He knows we'd never hurt her. Knowd that she's in good hands with us.

Excitement mixes with concern as Ryder dumps Lexie in the back of Jems truck who slips inside along with Hunter and locks the doors so she can't jump out. Hunter barks at her to put her seatbelt on fron the oassen seat. Lexie sticks her tongue out him and holds up her middle finger before crossing her arms and glaring out the window. For the first time tonight, Hunter laughs.

Hoping onto my motorcycle I wonder how Lexie will react when we get home. What she'll say when she sees the white house that she built in her imagination for us. There's always been a piece missing within those walls and it's finally being filled. Ryder and I exchange a knowing look. Both feeling the same thing as we start up our bikes and pull out of the parking lot behind the truck. Heart hammering in my chest, I race home.