“Seriously?” She tilted her head and glanced over at me.
“I don’t need his money, or his lifestyle.”
We came to a stop, and I realized that we were finally here. Jess killed the engine and turned to me again, her uninterrupted gaze piercing through mine.
“Let’s get one thing straight, you and I. I happen to think that you’re a smart woman with a great head on your shoulders. I know you’re not after his damn money! Do you think I’d have let him go near you if you were some kind of piece of shit gold digger?”
I went silent as the car came to a stop. While I deliberated on these thoughts, I followed Jess into the station. She opened the door for me, and we walked up to the front desk clerk. With bushy gray hair and a stern face, the clerk seemed faintly familiar, but I couldn’t place him.
“I’m here for Alexander Lambert,” Jess confidently informed him. “He should be incarcerated here somewhere for drunken disorderly conduct of some sort.”
The clerk glanced up from his desk.
“British guy, right?”
“That’s the one!” She chirpily smiled
“Right. He won’t be able to leave just yet,” the clerk responded, glancing through a file on his desk. “We’re waiting to see if the young man he assaulted wishes to press charges.”
“I’m sure that an amicable solution can be found,” Jess responded instantly, her smile unwaveringly strong.
“Be that as it may… we still need to keep him here while we finish receiving eyewitness accounts. There’s an officer taking down notes as we speak.”
“May I speak to this kid? I’m sure I can make an arrangement with him to handle this without tying up your valuable time…”
“Afraid not,” the clerk told us. “We haven’t found him yet. We’re interviewing witnesses as we speak.”
“…Virgil?” I asked, letting it all come back to me. “Virgil Higgins, is that you?”
The clerk blinked a few times, and then recognized me. “Riley Ricketts… didn’t expect to see you here. What brings you in here?”
“My boyfriend appears to be in your jail,” I shrugged. “This is his friend, Jess. We’re trying to figure out what to do about this alleged act of his. Is there anything we can do?”
“Nothing outside of wait for a phone call,” the clerk noted hesitantly.
As if on cue, the phone on Virgil’s desk rang, and he paused to answer.
We caught part of a one-sided conversation, although he cupped the receiver in his palm at one point and turned away. Both of us leaned closer to hear, although it was of no use.
He hung up and turned back to us.
“Looks like it’s your lucky day… Detective Donovan has three witnesses that say the other guy threw the first punch, and one of them just backed up Lex’s story that the kid made off with his wallet. We’re gonna go ahead and drop the charges. Your boyfriend is free to go,” Virgil told us. “Now, normally he’d wind up at the back of the list, and get out late morning… but for you, darling, I can expedite him out shortly.”
“Much obliged, Virgil,” I smiled.
“Not a problem. My wife loves the paintings you’ve put in our living room. She swears by your work.”
“Happy to contribute. Tell Mary-Ann that I send all of my love.”
“Will do, darling.”
We waited outside in the sedan for a few minutes. Finally, an officer escorted Lex out of the building and removed his handcuffs, pointing towards our vehicle.
When he climbed into the car, he gave me a quick glance of acknowledgment. I wasn’t sure how much of my irritation to convey, so I simply kept a strong, impartial face.
Jess, meanwhile, immediately slapped him.
“Do you have any idea how difficult you just made my job for me, with that bullshit stunt of yours?”
“A… little?” Lex asked, nursing his cheek.
“Arrested! Arrested, on battery charges and disorderly conduct! What the fuck, Lex? How the shit do I spin that to Brett Barker?”
“Maybe he doesn’t have to know. They dropped the charges Jess.”
“They’re going to know. They’re probably printing up tomorrows tabloid as we speak. ‘Lex arrested for beating American youth!’, what the hell were you thinking?”
“There’s something you don’t know,” he elaborated, his eyes still focused on her. “I was setup. Alistair Pritch was in the crowd, and he knew exactly what was happening.”
“Alistair Pritch… is here?” Jess asked.
“The one and only,” he continued. “He was there in the crowd, grinning like a goddamn fool. He paid that kid to start a fight with me and take a fall. He played me like a damn fiddle.”
“You’re certain,” Jess asked.
“Yeah. Why?”
“Because Alistair should be in England right now… I’m going to have to check in on that and see what I can pull up…”
“Who the fuck is Alistair Pritch?” I finally asked. Whoever he was… if he was here in town, and they were that bothered by this fact, then I figured I should have a little knowledge about him.
“Alistair is one of my teammates,” Lex answered. “He’s an old rival from back when we were on opposing teams. Right now, he’s a subordinate on the National team, but he’s clearly angling for my sponsorship contract… and he’s followed me here to set me up.”
“Why would somebody do that?” I asked.
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Jess said. “Last time the tabloids had a spread on Lex only two people knew where he was holed up, me and Alistair. It was no coincidence the paparazzi showed up.”
“He wants my sponsorship… And he’s going to get it.”
They spent the car ride back discussing a plan of action for containing the aftermath of the arrest.
Worries for another day, he’d said, although Jess seemed rather less than convinced.
Jess dropped us off at the curb by my apartment. “It’s only a brief walk if you need to come back,” she told him before giving me a wink. “Try to keep him from getting into any more trouble tonight, yeah?”
“I’ll do my best,” I responded.
She headed off into the night, and the two of us stood in silence at the door to my apartment building. Lex scraped the toe of his sole against the pavement, wrists in his pockets. He looked so different now. Was I really going to do this? Could I really just let all of this go and invite him up?
“So…” Lex spoke, glancing up at my building with that trademark smirk of his returning. “I just got out of jail… Fancy a fuck?”
That accent… The words dripping off his lips… Yeah, I fancied it just fine, but I couldn’t go through with it. Not like this.
Maybe he’s not so changed after all.
“No,” I answered, unsure whether or not I believed the word as it came out of my mouth.
I turned my back on him, ascending the stairs to my apartment building. Half of me expected him to grab my wrist – and I’d snap at him over it, but maybe, just maybe, I’d let him pull me into a furious embrace and breath the fire in my lungs...
As I turned behind the door, I saw one last glimpse of Alexander Lambert. He stood at the edge of the curb, staring at me like a broken man. We made eye contact for a fraction of a second before the door fell shut.
Chapter 14
Lex
Two days later, I stepped off of an airplane into the Heathrow International, crushed beyond recognition. I looked like such a mess that, even with just a thin hoodie and a pair of sunglasses, nobody recognized me as I navigated towards a taxi and back home.
It had all come crashing down around me.