Page 3 of Dancing With Guilt

Lincoln circled his sister and Roxie into a hug that he’d almost thought he wouldn’t get to give. Both women were chattering, asking him questions, crying, and laughing all at the same time. Normally this kind of display would have him running for the hills, but Lincoln wasn’t the same man he’d been the last time he was in this house.

This Lincoln wanted to hold and be held, even if it was only for a little while. He brushed June and Roxie’s tears away, assured them he was real, and finally managed to talk them into letting him sit down. He sank onto the couch with a sigh of contentment. It was nice to sit on something soft and not a concrete floor.

“I’m going to go call Mom and Dad, and Emily, and whoever else I can think of,” June said and scampered off. Lincoln suspected it was so he could have some alone time with Roxie.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” she whispered, wiping at her face with a tissue. She sniffled before she spoke again. “What happened? How did you get free?”

“I promised to pay that asshole what he wanted. I’m having it all put together now, as we speak,” he answered, not going into detail about what he’d put in motion already. “I have a plan, Roxie, don’t worry.”

“But what if he comes back?” Roxie prodded, obviously not ready to let it go yet.

“He won’t. Kai’s working on it with Tanya, I promise. Now can I just hold you for a minute, please?” He pulled her close to his side, enjoying the smell of the sea and her perfume as she came to snuggle against his chest. “I’m home, and everything is going to be fine from now on, I promise.”

“You promise?” She asked, and he knew that even if he promised, she still wouldn’t believe it. Neither would he, if he were her.

He knew better now than to walk around as if he didn’t have a single enemy to worry about. Of course, he’d thought he was protected, that nobody and no one could get to him because of the protections he’d put in place. Nathan had proved him wrong.

But that was for another day. Today he just wanted to be at home with the people that mattered to him.

“I’m going to leave you long enough to take a shower, change my clothes, and make myself feel human again. Why don’t you order us some food?” Lincoln asked with a nudge. “I’ve not eaten properly in ages.”

She narrowed her eyes at him and he knew she had questions. Her face cleared after a moment where she scrutinized every feature of his face. The questions would wait until later.

Lincoln hugged her once more before he left to trot up the stairs. He was about to collapse from exhaustion, but there was no way he’d let either Roxie or his sister know that. Getting away from Nathan had proven easy in the end, but the hours and days of waiting had taken a toll on him. Neither of the women downstairs had shied away from him but he knew he smelled awful. He felt as if his skin was about to crawl off his own body, he was so dirty, but they hadn’t minded.

He made quick work of undressing, jumping in the shower, and lathering himself up twice, before he stood under the powerful flow to let the last remnants of his time in that storage building drift away. The last few minutes of his time with Nathan came back to him as he stood there under the hot water.

Nathan had stood near the rollup door of the storage unit, twitching almost uncontrollably. Lincoln stood strong, waiting, his eyes taking in the mess before him. A mess that used to be a man that Roxie cared about. Now, no traces of that man remained.

“I can end this, Nathan. Stop fucking around and let me put an end to this.” Lincoln’s words had been steady and even, despite the fact that his legs protested at being used.

“What do you mean?” Nathan replied, scratching at his neck as if he’d suddenly developed a bad case of fleas. “I want the money. I don’t care how I get it anymore. I have to get out of here.”

Lincoln smiled a victor’s smile, knowing he’d won at last. “Give me a phone, let me go, and I’ll arrange a safe place for you to go while I get the money you want in a truck that can’t be traced to either one of us.”

“And there won’t be any funny business? You won’t fuck me over?” Nathan’s eyes wouldn’t stay still but they did keep coming back to Lincoln. The man was at the end of his rope, ready to bolt. That desperation would serve Lincoln well.

“I won’t fuck you over,” Lincoln lied smoothly, his smile gentle now, full of compassion. “You’ll get away free as a bird, no cops involved.”

“Okay,” Nathan said petulantly, as if he were a child that was finally getting his way after a tantrum, letting go of his anger slowly. When he swiped his wrist across his nose, he completed the image, and Lincoln had to fight not to laugh at how easy this all was. “I want it today, though. Not tomorrow.”

“Whatever you need, Nathan. Can we get out of this storage unit and outside now, please?” Lincoln slowly walked towards the restless man, his hands out to show he meant no harm.

“Yeah, okay. Here, use this phone to do what you need to do.” Nathan handed Lincoln a smartphone with a picture of a teenage girl with her arms wrapped around a boy on the home screen. He’d stolen it then. That didn’t matter to Lincoln a bit, he just wanted to call Kai.

The smell of fresh air took his attention for a moment, once he’d left that awful room behind and he stood still, inhaling the faint scent of the ocean. It was good to be free.

“You can leave once I’ve made the arrangements, Nathan. Stick around for a minute,” Lincoln said before he walked away for privacy.

“Listen, there’s some information you might want. You can have it, for a price,” Nathan had stuttered out, his eyes shifting back and forth, never still.

“What information?” Lincoln asked, never expecting the answer.

“It’s about Roxie and a secret she didn’t know I knew.” The malicious grin on the thin man’s face nearly chilled Lincoln to the bone. This man had once professed to love Roxie, but it was clear that had been a lie. Or it had become one as his addiction grew.

“Give it to me, and I’ll decide what it’s worth.” Probably not a lot, Lincoln decided, but who knew?

“I’ll give it to you once I’ve been paid. I’ll email you.” Nathan hopped from foot to foot, grabbing at his crotch.