Chapter 38
Hayley struggled desperately, kicking and clawing, but Nick was too powerful. As she thrashed around violently, he managed to keep her pinned down and the pillow clasped firmly over her face. She couldn’t breathe. She knew it was only a matter of minutes now before she would get light-headed from lack of oxygen and lose consciousness.
Just like when she thought she was going to die in the freezer, Hayley thought of her children and how horrific it would be for them to find out they had lost their mother so close to Christmas. She couldn’t bear the thought of them going through that. It just made her fight harder.
But Nick was twice her size. And twice her strength. She was not going to win this one.
Suddenly she heard a man yell, “Nick, what the hell are you doing?”
Within seconds Nick loosened his grip and then let go of her completely. Someone was hauling him off her. There were sounds of a scuffle: two men punching each other. One let out an earsplitting war cry. It sounded like Nick.
Hayley threw the pillow off her face and gasped for air. She turned her head to the side just in time to see Nick scoop up one of Lex’s crutches that had fallen to the floor during the melee. He raised it up to bash it into Lex’s skull, but Lex was too fast for him. He delivered a roundhouse blow to Nick’s right cheek.
It was a sickening, crunching sound. A tooth flew out of Nick’s mouth as he spun around and dropped to the floor.
Dazed.
Barely conscious.
Lex grabbed the shiny plastic black belt Nick had used to tie around the waist of his Santa suit. He flipped Nick over on his stomach and pulled his arms together, using the belt to tie his hands. He left him there, writhing on the floor, and hobbled over to the bedside to check on Hayley.
“Are you okay?” He placed a gentle hand behind her neck and helped her sit up.
She nodded, still gulping in air. “Lex . . . ,” she panted. “How did you know?”
“I didn’t. I just came by to confront Nick about the damaged wall, maybe strong-arm him into confessing. I had no clue he was throwing a Christmas party. Someone downstairs said she saw him heading upstairs, so I came up to find him and just walked in on him trying to . . .”
Hayley stood up, but she was still woozy, and Lex had to steady her. “We better call Sergio and tell him what happened.”
Nick was on the floor, groaning. “It was an accident. . . .”
Lex was already on his cell phone, calling the police station.
Hayley walked over and stood over him.
He flopped around a bit like a desperate trout on the deck of a fishing boat. “I never meant to hurt anyone. . . .”
“Maybe you didn’t intentionally kill Garth,” Hayley said, feeling no sympathy. “But you lied and you covered it up, and that’s just as bad, if you ask me. Plus you tried to kill me twice. You’ll always be a murderer in my book.”
Hayley watched as Nick groaned some more and struggled against his bonds, but it was half-hearted because he knew in his heart that it was over. He was going to prison for a long time.
Sergio left Officers Donnie and Earl to deal with the car accident and raced back to town in his cruiser to place Nick Ward under arrest. After scolding Hayley for charging into a dangerous situation without any backup, he tossed Nick in the back of the squad car and spirited him off to jail.
Hayley found Lex leaning against the flatbed of his truck, staring up at the stars as she was heading back to her car to go home to her kids. His face was pale. His shoulders sagged. The crutches were propped up next to him.
She walked over to him; and when his eyes met hers, she gave him a comforting hug.
“He wasn’t just my employee. He was my friend. I trusted the guy with my life. How could he have done such a horrible thing? How could I not see it?”
“It’s not your fault, Lex. You can’t blame yourself.”
She could tell he was tormented. Nothing she could say was going to make him feel better. It was going to take time.
All she could think to do was give him another hug. He latched onto it like a lifeline. He held her there, tight in his arms.
Perhaps a moment too long.
His embrace felt warm. It felt safe to be in his big arms again.
Finally she let go.
He leaned in, savoring the moment, with his lips puckered.
Hayley reared her head back a bit too fast to avoid the kiss.
That stopped Lex cold.
And it was at that moment that he finally knew and accepted it.
Hayley had made her choice.
His arms dropped back down to his sides and he forced a smile. “Merry Christmas, Hayley.”
“Merry Christmas, Lex.”