Always Running (MATURE CONTENT)

CHAPTER 30

Lucas had been quiet on the way home. He had gripped the steering wheel so tight his knuckles had gone white. He wouldn't look at Nessa and he wouldn't utter a single word or make any type of sound.

Was it possible that Lucas was angry with her? Had she made a mistake telling him, well, sort of telling him that Channing was a predator? She hadn't used those words precisely, but she had asked for Zane and Travis.

Nessa had tried to speak to Lucas in the restaurant after Channing had left, but Lucas had grabbed her by the arm, gentle as always and had escorted her to his truck. She had tried to start a conversation on the way home. Lucas would not even look at her. His jaw was locked tight and the vein in his neck pulsated.

Once they had reached the house, Lucas had escorted Nessa inside, kissed her lips passionately like he always did, and he had walked out again leaving her guard with specific instructions that she was not to be left alone not even for one second.

INFORMATION. Nessa sat at Lucas' desk in his home office searching for Channing Marshall on the internet. Lucas had done a background check on the man as well as a check for any police records and nothing had come up. She was convinced that men like Channing always made a mistake somehow or somewhere and were very good at hiding them. All she had to do was find the right information and she could hand it to Lucas, so he wouldn't be angry with her anymore.

Nessa put her computer skills to work and began digging in the archives of sealed records for Channing Marshall. When nothing came up, she looked in the office of the registrar for any name changes to Channing Marshall. There had to be something on a man like him. Men like Channing left trails. Perhaps not many, but they left trails. After looking for hours she came up with nothing. The only thing she had to go on was the tattoo she had focused on when the bastard had been choking her. Suddenly a grand idea filled her head. She began to pull up all the tattoo websites and searched for the picture of the tattoo Channing had. It wasn't an exclusive tattoo. She was sure of that. When the image came up on ten of the tattoo sites Nessa printed the information out on each shop and put them in a file folder. She would hand the information to Lucas and fix whatever mistake she had committed...yet again.

When the clock struck three in the morning, Nessa was in tears. She sat in the middle of her bed crying into a pillow. Her hormones were still out of whack because of the pregnancy and add to that the miscarriage then add to it coming face to face with one of the men that had harmed her so much and then having the man she loved freeze her out it was enough to reduce even the strongest of women to tears.

Lilian had sat with her for two hours consoling her, telling her that Lucas was not upset that he was working; Nessa didn't believe it.

Her mind started to wander off to places it shouldn't wander. Her insecurities began to rear their ugly heads and she did the best she could to get a handle on them, it was just too much to ask of her.

After the fifth time she called Lucas, and having it go to voicemail, Nessa had had enough. She had to find him and talk to him. She had to explain why she hadn't told him right away about Channing Marshall. She had to make things right, although she didn't understand how she had made a mistake that time.

Nessa showered and dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and a periwinkle top with a plunging V neck that showed just the right amount of cleavage. She put her knee-high black suede boots with a three-inch heel on and headed out of their room with her hair in a ponytail. She wore no make-up.

It was early. The birds hadn't even started to chirp yet, and Maggie, Ryder and Blake were ready to go as always. They drove to the building where the Escort business in Harbor City was located and where Reagan lived to be close enough to manage it when she was in town, otherwise she had her permanent lodgings in New York.