Missing Lynx by Fiona Quinn Read Free Book Online Page A

Angel.”
    “No. Of course you didn’t.” I took a minute to gather up some bravery. “You know, Spyder was darned impressed with you. He told me so many stories of your exploits before I even met you, I had a huge case of hero worship.”
    “And when you met me you found out I wasn’t a hero at all.”
    “That’s an opinion.”
    “Right. I guess hero is in the eye of the beholder.”
    “Mmmm. Here’s the thing, I met you lots of times while I worked for Spyder, only you weren’t meeting me.” I turned in my seat and leaned my head back against the side window. I was a boy named Alex with an ingénue’s mad crush on the mythical Striker Rheas.” Striker opened his mouth to say something. I could see his mind working hard. I held up my hand to stop him; I needed to get through this. “I had these adolescent fantasies about saving the day, I’d take a bullet and be laying on the ground. You’d rip open my T-shirt to stop my bleeding only to discover I was really a girl, and you’d tell me I was awesome and brave and strong. You’d fall in love with me, and we’d live happily ever after.” I laughed at how ridiculous this all sounded.
    “I don’t know what to say. I had no idea, you know. I really had no idea you weren’t who Spyderman said you were.”
    “Yeah. But I need you to understand this is more complicated in my head than boy-meets-girl, and Angel isn’t the only reason.”
    “Chica, there isn’t one damned thing about you that isn’t surprising or complicated. I’ve learned to let the wilding river flow.” Striker shot me a teasing grin, wanting me to laugh. I couldn’t give him what he wanted.
      Striker seemed to realize this because he dropped the smile and said, “Lexi, you don’t need to burden yourself trying to figure out how I fit into your life, right now.”
    “What about you? What do you want from me?”
    “Nothing you’re not willing to give.”
    “I guess it’s also a question of what you’re willing to give and how you think this will play out.”
    “Yeah.” He took a deep breath in. “You’re right. I don’t have an answer for you,” he said on the exhale.  
    “We’ll go slow and figure this out?” I asked.
    “We’ll go slow.”
     

Six
     
    A FedEx waited for me on the porch when I got back to my house. I picked it up and opened the door to the joyous cacophony of Beetle and Bella. Deep had brought them home for me. “Hey, sweet girls, let’s get you something to eat.”
    “Lexi, why don’t I feed the dogs? I’ll take them for a walk while you relax in a hot bath. You look done in.”
    “Okay, thanks. I’ll take you up on that.” I gestured toward the kitchen, “I set a cassoulet in the fridge to defrost, and you’ll find some bakery rolls in the bread box. When I’m out of the tub, I’ll just make a salad. You’re going to stay for lunch, aren’t you?”
    “Yes, thanks.” His cell phone vibrated. He held up a finger for me to wait. “What’ve you got?” Striker listened for a minute then glanced over at me. “Are you up to Gater coming for lunch? He needs to go over some things with us about the Schumann case.”
    “Yeah, sure, that’s fine. I’d like to hear how it’s going.” I glanced at my watch. “Tell him to come at twelve thirty-ish. The food should be ready by then.” Striker finished his conversation and headed for the kitchen with the girls prancing after him.
    Twelve thirty on the dot the doorbell rang, and I opened it to Gater’s smiling face. “Ma’am, I can smell your good cooking all the way out on the sidewalk. What Kitchen Granny are we doing today?”
     
    When I was an un-schooler one of my mentors, Snow Bird Wang, decided that if I were to have a worthy husband, I would need to develop honorable wife skills. Snow Bird rallied the other grandmothers in my apartment building to step forward and help. Five women signed on as my Kitchen Grandmothers each adopting me for one day of the work week. While