CHAPTER 9: Prime Targets
After the pantry incident neither felt like staying in the house. Chloe freshened up and changed into the only clothes which had survived intact. They got into Lex´s Porsche and drove all the way to Grandville for dinner.
¨Are you feeling better? ¨asked Lex sweetly, enclosing her hand in his.
¨I am, thanks. ¨
Lex knew that her memories were a double-edged weapon. They might help them solve the crime but, at the same time, they could put Chloe in a greater danger; and he wasn´t willing to take that risk. Funny how one´s life could take such a drastic turn in a matter of days. For the first time in years, someone had made him realise how self-destructive his self-imposed loneliness was, and he was enjoying the freedom of feeling again.
¨I won´t lie to you, Chloe. I don´t like the idea of you being a murderer´s target. ¨
¨Nobody but you knows I´m starting to remember things, Lex. ¨
¨Are you a hundred percent certain you´re ready to do this? ¨
¨I´m not, but there´s no turning back now. ¨
¨I understand. ¨
Even though Lex wanted to clean his mother´s memory, there was a part of him which wondered whether he hadn´t been wrong all the time. What would happen if Chloe´s recollections ended up proving his mother had something to do with Moira´s death after all? It was as thought he didn´t want to entertain.
¨Shall we? ¨said Lex after paying the restaurant bill and leaving a tip.
Chloe nodded and he helped her with her trench coat. The temperature had dropped a few degrees while they were having dinner, and it had started to drizzle.
Lex unlocked the Porsche and opened the passenger door for Chloe to get in. In the dark she looked fragile and Lex could barely rein his urge to shelter her, despite the fact that she had proven to him she was a strong and courageous young woman.
The delicate scent of magnolia perfumed the interior of the car and made it difficult for Lex to hold to his good intentions. He was aware that once she discovered who had killed her Moira, she would go back to Gotham and never come back. He should know better than to fall harder for her Lex cursed inwardly and stepped on the gas.
¨Wouldn´t you rather stay at the mansion tonight? ¨ he offered.
¨I´ll be all right. ¨
¨Then, let me check everything´s OK, ¨ he said, turning off the engine and getting out of the car.
Everything was just as they had left it. Chloe didn´t relish the idea of staying alone but it was something she had to do to prove she was not a defenceless female.
Lex didn´t like leaving her there at all but knew he had no choice. So once he had made sure there was nothing amiss, he walked back to the verandah where Chloe was hovering around. They stood in silence for a couple of minutes, his worried blue-grey eyes locked with her beautiful green orbs, just looking at each other, wondering who would make the first move.
Lex was the first to break the spell. His urge to feel her in his arms once again was too much, and he found himself wrapping her tender curves and tasting the sweetness of her lips on his. He brought their bodies flush and nibbled at her lower lip until she granted him access. She tasted of coffee and chocolate, and no matter what he had promised- it was already too late to shelter his heart.
Knowing that neither of them was ready to take the relationship to the next level, he finished the kiss reluctantly and got lost in the depth of her green eyes. It was then that he realised he had never felt that way for any woman in his life- and he doubted there´d ever be anyone like her in his life. In her he had found what he was looking for but was too afraid to voice.
He opened his mouth to speak, but a whistling sound and a sixth sense made him move to shield Chloe and push her to the floor. The window pane that had been replaced only that evening crashed with the first impact. Someone was shooting at them.
It wasn´t until a second and a third bullet pierced the air that Chloe realised why she was lying with Lex on top of her. It was deadly quiet, and the only sound she heard was his panting and her own hammering heart.
¨Lex, ¨she whimpered.
¨Are you hurt? ¨he whispered in her ear.
¨I don´t think so, ¨she responded shakily. ¨What... ¨
¨Stay down, ¨he ordered her, trying to maintain his cool but feeling his heart racing in his chest.
¨Wait, Lex! Where are you going? ¨asked Chloe, grabbing him by the sleeve.
¨Go inside and call 911, Chloe, ¨he said confidently before running away in the direction of the receding footsteps that could be heard in the distance.
Chloe stumbled inside, tears pricking her eyes, repeating the words ´Keep your cool. Lex is outside unarmed and the shooter´s at large. You need to get help. You can do it. You must get a grip on yourself. ´
¨911, what´s your emergency? ¨said the operator.
¨We´ve been shot, ¨answered Chloe with a strangled voice.
¨Calm down, madam. Tell me your name and your whereabouts, please. A police car will be there as soon as possible. ¨
¨My name´s Chloe Sullivan. I live at... God! I can´t remember the exact number... ¨
¨Don´t panic. I know where it is. Is there someone with you? ¨
¨Lex, Lex Luthor. ¨
¨Is anyone hurt? ¨
¨I´m unharmed but he... he´s run after the shooter... I don´t know if he... ¨she stuttered.
¨Take shelter. The police´ll be there in a few moments. ¨
Chloe saw the front door open and moved to grab a poker to wield and attack whoever came through it. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Lex in the doorway. He was unscathed and she felt a great sense of relief.
¨I couldn´t catch whoever´s made the shots, ¨he said breathlessly.
¨Whatever possessed you to do what you did, Lex? How could you run away like that?¨
¨I didn´t want to leave you behind but... ¨
¨Me? You weren´t thinking about me when you put yourself at risk! You were unarmed, Lex. What the hell would have happened if the shooter had... ¨she fumed.
¨But he didn´t, ¨he interrupted her. ¨I´m OK, ¨he added raising up his arms to show her no harm had come to him. ¨I´m sorry, Chloe. I acted on impulse, but what matters you aren´t hurt. Next time I will... ¨
¨Next time? Next time I´ll shoot you myself. Damn it! ¨she exploded, letting the tears she had checked trail freely down her cheeks. ¨There´s been too much death in my life already... ¨she sobbed when Lex drew her body close to his and she got lost in the circle of his arms.
He held her tight in the security of his embrace and soothed her with tender caresses and whispered words. Chloe put her head on his chest and listened to his steady heartbeat, thanking God because they were still alive.
¨Miss Sullivan, what was the emergency? ¨asked Sheriff Ethan wryly and Chloe felt the tension coursed through Lex and communicate to her.
¨Somebody shot at us while we were here on the verandah, ¨answered the blonde reporter.
¨What were you doing, Luthor? You seem to have pissed off some prudish neighbour. ¨
¨I´d advise you to think carefully before you speak, sheriff, ¨ said Lex tersely. ¨I wouldn´t like to remind you of the conversation we had a while ago. ¨
¨Sir, ¨ interrupted another agent, ¨there are three impacts. One went through the window and ended up in the living room wall; the other two are embedded in the outer wooden wall. ¨
¨Any ideas about who might have chosen to practise target shooting with you two? ¨asked Ethan to both Lex and Chloe.
¨I followed the shooter on foot but he must have got away in a vehicle, ¨volunteered Lex.
¨Were you able to see if it was a man or a woman? ¨queried the sheriff.
¨It was too dark and I only heard the receding footsteps I´m afraid, ¨added Lex was a sigh.
¨Sheriff, I´ve found two casings, ¨ informed the second agent.
¨Take them to the lab to dust them for prints and to see if they can identify the fireman that was used, ¨ordered Ethan ¨What have you done this time, Luthor? ¨he asked venomously.
¨Why are you always ready to think the worst of him, sheriff? ¨intervened Chloe with a scowl. ¨He´s done nothing wrong. If there´s anyone here to blame, that´ll be me. I´ve just dragged him into this. ¨
¨Care to elaborate, Miss Sullivan? ¨asked the police officer, raising an eyebrow.
¨I´m investigating my mother´s murder and he´s giving me a hand, ¨she confessed.
¨He´s ... giving... you.. a... hand, ¨he echoed, punctuating every word while looking at Lex´s face in disgust. ¨And what will you get out of this, Luthor? We know damn well what happened twenty-five years ago, don´t we? ¨
¨Sheriff... ¨warned him Chloe. ¨I´m aware that you were in charge of the investigation, but don´t you think it might be possible... ¨
¨What? That I made a mistake? No way! If you knew the Luthors like we do, you wouldn´t defend him so readily, ¨fumed Ethan.
Lex´s eyes were burning with hatred. Chloe saw his clenched jaw and tight fists and grabbed the hand which was closer to her to stop him from doing something he might regret.
¨We´re done here, ¨Ethan told his deputy. ¨Miss Sullivan, a word of advice, let things be. You´re young and have a long life ahead of you. Stop living in the past, ¨he added, putting his hat back on and walking to the patrol car parked in front of the house.
¨How can you put up this crap, Lex? ¨ asked an outraged Chloe.
¨I don´t, ¨he said grimly.
¨Have you ever answered him back? ¨
¨We Luthors don´t operate that way. ¨
¨What´s that supposed to mean? ¨
¨There are some things that you don´t need to know, Chloe. Trust me. ¨
¨I know that money´s power. I´m not stupid, Lex. ¨
¨I would never take you for a fool, Chloe. Let´s just say that Sheriff Ethan´s put the final nail in his coffin. Don´t worry- in spite of what they say, I´m not a murderer yet, ¨ he said ironically.
¨How can you joke like that, Lex? Why have you stayed in Smallville this long in spite of the way people treat you here? ¨
¨Because it´s the only place I can call home. It´s the place where I made my first real friend and proved to my father and to myself I could be more than just a rich spoilt brat, ¨said an emotional Lex. ¨Now, take whatever you need to spend the night. I´m driving you to the mansion, ¨he stated, holding her gaze and daring her to defy him. ¨Don´t worry about your nightdress. I´ll lend you something to wear until we go shopping tomorrow morning. ¨
How did you like this three-part instalment? Any hunches?