Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
XAVIER
Everything is going to be fine.
Just because things went bad the last time I left Lucy alone doesn’t mean it’ll happen again.
And anyway, she’s not alone. Sarah and Rambo are with her. If there’s a problem, Sarah will call right away. If I’m running full-out, I can cover the distance from the west wing—where our offices are—to my apartment in under a minute.
But what’s that saying? Don’t borrow trouble? My soccer coach back in high school used to say it whenever someone on the team was worried about something. Like when I was a nervous wreck waiting for my ASVAB scores, convinced mine wouldn’t be high enough to qualify for Special Forces training once I was eligible.
“Don’t borrow trouble,” he told me. “There’s no point in worrying about something until it actually happens.” And then he patted my shoulder and gave me a smile that was more fatherly than my actual dad ever was. “And anyway. You’re a smart kid, Xavier. I’m certain you did just fine.”
He was right. For all my worrying, I scored well above what I needed. But at the time, the stakes were so high—a guaranteed path away from my disaster of a family—it was hard to keep things in perspective.
It’s the same now.
Lucy is so important to me, and the need to protect her is so great, it’s a battle to focus on logic and not emotion.
I can tell myself all the reasons she’s fine, but it’s still not enough to ease my worry.
She has Sarah with her. Sarah’s not just an amazing person, but she’s also a social worker who counsels people for a living. Not that she’s spending time with Lucy in an official capacity—she’s just there as a friend—but if something goes wrong, Sarah would know how to deal with it.
And while it’s only been two days since her flashback, Lucy’s already doing better. She had two online sessions with a counselor, which she admitted were hard but helpful. Erik came over to do light yoga with her and go through some mindfulness exercises. And during a tearful FaceTime session yesterday, Lucy finally told her parents everything.
“I felt terrible,” Lucy told me afterwards, “because they were so upset. But once I got everything out, it was such a relief.”
I think our date helped, too. It put a light in Lucy’s eyes that I haven’t seen since she was abducted. Having that chance to really talk, to open up about what happened to Rhiannon and the guilt I’ve felt about it…
And then the most important part—hearing her say she’s falling in love with me.
Every time I think about it, I can’t help smiling.
After thirty-eight years, I met the most incredible woman in the world and fell in love with her. And by some stroke of luck, she’s falling in love with me, too.
“Hey, Xav.” Niall nudges me, a teasing glint in his eyes. “Why are you grinning all of a sudden?”
I try to work my face into an expression more appropriate for our weekly team meeting, but my lips keep twitching up. Elbowing him back, I retort, “Am I not allowed to smile?”
Rhiannon looks at me with an assessing gaze. Her lips quirk. “I think I know.”
“I think I do, too.” Niall grins. “Something to do with your date the other night? Jade mentioned that Lucy said it went well.”
“It was fine.” As they both stare at me, I amend, “Okay. It went really well. What’s up with wanting to know about my dates with Lucy, anyway? You never asked before.”
Niall’s expression sobers. “Because we know she’s been struggling. And you have, too.”
Rhiannon reaches across the table and pats my arm. “We’re not trying to be nosy?—”
Erik snorts from one end of the table.
“Okay, a little nosy,” Rhiannon admits. “But only because we care about you. I know it’s been hard for both of you, so when I see you smiling… I’m glad. That’s all.”
“But if you don’t want to talk about it,” Matt interjects, glancing up from his laptop, “that’s fine. Don’t let these two pressure you?—”
“It’s okay.” Casting my gaze around the table, I add, “She’s doing better, I think. We talked about some things, and now Luce is seeing a counselor. It’s still early, but I think it’ll help. And setting up the barn to have a date like we used to… it was nice. So, yeah. I’m pretty happy about it.”
Erik lifts his chin at me. “Good. Glad to hear it.”
Dante meets my gaze. “You know we’re all behind you. Both of you. Anything you need…”
Niall nods. “Absolutely. Lucy’s part of the family. So if there’s anything we can do, we’re happy to.”
Emotion makes my voice rough. “Thanks. I really appreciate it.”
After a moment of silence, Dante clears his throat. “Well. We’ve got some important stuff to go over today, so…”
Right. The actual reason we’re here.
Squaring my shoulders, I give Dante a quick chin lift. “Of course.”
Around the table, everyone’s postures shift, straightening to attention. Matt grabs the remote for the projection screen and turns it on, and a second later, his desktop appears on the display. He nods at Dante. “Ready whenever you are.”
“Okay.” Dante glances at his tablet. “So, before we get into Lucy’s case, I just want to go over a few upcoming jobs. We’re coordinating security for that charity event in Atlanta next week, and originally, we planned to have Rhiannon, Erik, and Xavier go. But given everything going on with Lucy?—”
“I can go,” Niall volunteers quickly. “It’s no problem.”
I flash him a grateful look. “Thanks.”
Dante lifts his chin at Niall. “That works.” He pauses. “So, you three will fly out Monday night, meet with the event coordinators on Tuesday, stay for the event on Wednesday, and fly back Thursday morning. It should be a pretty simple job. No known threats to any of the attendees at this time.”
Rhiannon nods. “Works for me.”
“Sounds good,” Erik says. To Niall and Rhiannon, he adds, “We can meet this weekend to go over schematics and plans.”
“Perfect.” Dante checks his tablet again. “We also have a potential pro-bono client in Galveston—a woman who claims she’s been framed by her ex-husband for theft so she’ll lose primary custody of their daughter. I spoke with her on the phone, but I’d like to meet with her in person before deciding to take her case. I’m thinking I’ll head there Saturday, unless someone else really wants to go.”
Matt shakes his head. “Not me. I’d like to stay here to keep working on Lucy’s case.”
Rhiannon looks at Dante. “Why don’t you take Sarah? Make a weekend out of it? I know how much you guys enjoyed going out that way last time.”
His lips lift. “That’s not a bad idea. I’ll talk to Sarah about it. If we go, would one of you mind watching?—”
“I’ll watch Rambo,” Erik interjects. “I’m supposed to go to the community center this weekend, anyway. The kids would love it if I brought him along.”
“Okay.” Dante gives Erik a quick jerk of his chin. “If Sarah ends up coming with me, I’ll let you know.”
As they’re talking, my phone vibrates in my pocket, so I take it out to sneak a quick glance at the screen. It’s a selfie of Lucy grinning while Rambo licks her cheek, along with the message, We’re doing great! Don’t worry!
As if it’s that easy. I’m not sure I ever won’t worry about Lucy. It’s something I’ve discovered about love—it can be both wonderful and terrifying. Wonderful in how happy it makes me, how complete I feel, but I’m also terrified of losing it. Of losing the one person in the world who makes me feel whole.
Before I put my phone away, I quickly send a reply.
Glad you’re having fun. I’ll see you soon.
And the last sentence I keep to myself.
I love you .
“Okay.” Dante catches my gaze, and from his small smirk, I know I’m busted. But he doesn’t call me on it, perhaps remembering his own struggles to focus when Sarah was the one in danger. Instead, he says, “Now, let’s talk about Lucy’s case.”
He turns to Matt. “Since you’re the one who found the information, do you want to share it with everyone?”
Matt nods, his expression sobering. “Okay.” He glances around the table as he says, “So I found a video. Of another captive.”
My gut twists. “Shit. Are they?—”
“Still alive. Fortunately, this woman hadn’t been there very long. She still had most of her food left.” He taps the mouse pad a few times and a video appears on the projection screen. In it, a young woman is crouched in the corner of what looks like a concrete basement, and it’s so similar to how Lucy looked, bile rises in my throat.
Erik bites out a low curse. “Can we find her in time?”
“I already did.” Matt gives a thin smile. “Fortunately, I was able to trace the video feed the same way I did with Lucy’s. So I shared the location with the police in Fredericksburg, which is where this woman was being held. They rescued her early this morning.”
Rhiannon casts an appreciative smile at him. “Oh, Matt, that’s great.”
His cheeks go pink. “It’s something. But it’s slow going. Whoever’s behind this game is smart. They’ve tried to hide the videos behind overlays and lock screens with pin codes. So it takes an extra step to even find them. But I worked with Leo to design a web crawler that searches the dark web for suspicious posts and videos. That’s how we found this one.”
“It’s really good, Matt,” Dante says. “Not only are we finding victims before it’s too late, but each video gives us another opportunity to find the people behind this.”
Niall looks at Dante. “What about the FBI? Have they had any luck?”
“Well.” He hesitates long enough to know the answer isn't going to be good. “They’re actively working on several leads. Some hackers who are suspected of orchestrating sex trafficking rings, drug exchanges…” A muscle in Dante’s jaw twitches. “But they haven’t found anything substantive yet.”
“And?” I pin him with my gaze. “What else?”
Dante grimaces. “They found a body. Or, a woman walking her dog did. North of Waco.”
“And they think it’s connected to this game?”
“I talked to Cruz this morning, and he unofficially gave me the details. The victim was twenty-eight, emaciated, with marks on one wrist and ankle. While they need to do an autopsy, it looks like he starved to death. And this man, he matches a missing persons report from a month ago. So—” He exhales heavily. “It sure looks like it.”
Fuck.
It feels like all the air has been sucked from the room. My chest squeezes.
That could have been Lucy.
“Fuck.” Gritting my teeth, I ask, “Did they find any evidence?”
“I don’t know,” Dante replies, his features shadowing as he meets my gaze. “But Cruz said he’d keep us updated.”
“I’m sorry, Xav.” Regret clouds Matt’s expression. “I’m working on it. So are Leo and Beth. It’s just?—”
Guilt sweeps through me. Matt has been working nearly non-stop on Lucy’s case. And honestly, he’s made a lot more progress than I have. All I’ve done is stay at Blade and Arrow, watching Lucy like a hawk. “Don’t apologize. You’re doing more than I could.”
He doesn’t look convinced. And I know Matt is blaming himself for not figuring this out yet, just like he did when Sarah had all her identity theft shit going down.
Dante looks across the table at his long-time teammate and friend. “We’ll figure it out, Matt. Just like with Jade and Sarah.”
“And Lucy’s safe here,” Erik adds. “So that’s the most important part.”
After a beat, Matt says quietly, “Yeah. That’s true.” Then he forces a small smile as he looks over at me. “That reminds me. I finished checking Lucy’s laptop. It’s clean. No spyware or any sign of tampering. I’ll bring it by later.”
“Thanks.” Wanting to do something to cheer him up, I add, “If you want to stop by around dinner, we could order some pizza. Lucy’s been talking about it. Maybe play some poker, too?”
Matt makes a face at me. “Poker? Against you? I’d like to keep my money, thanks.”
“Actually, you should see Lucy play. I’ve been teaching her, and she’s gotten really good.”
“Has she beaten you yet?” Niall asks. “Because I’d pay money to see that.”
Some of the tension in my shoulders eases as I chuckle. “A couple of times.”
“I guess we can end the meeting, since we’re talking about poker now.” Dante leans back in his chair, signaling a shift of mood. He grins at me. “So. Whenever Lucy’s up for a poker night, I know I’d love to see her kick your ass.”
“I’ll ask her,” I reply with a smile. “If she’s feeling up to it, maybe tonight we can have a poker night. I’ll let you know.”
Would I have considered asking Lucy about having people over a few days ago? Probably not. And while I still want to wrap her in bubble wrap and keep her protected from everything, having our date the other night reminded me that she needs normalcy, too. Dates. Evenings with friends. And maybe soon, if she’s ready, we’ll get back to our old sex life, too.
As we leave the meeting, I’m feeling surprisingly optimistic considering some of the news we just received. But I’m trying to focus on the good things—a woman was rescued, Matt’s making progress, Lucy’s safe and slowly improving.
Plus, she’s falling in love with me. I can’t leave out that part.
And when I get home, Lucy’s enthusiastic greeting makes everything even better. The moment I walk through the door, she leaps up from the couch and runs over to me, flinging her arms around my neck and kissing me hard on the lips.
For a minute or two or ten—when I’m kissing Lucy, time loses meaning—all I think about is the feel of her in my arms, the swell of her breasts against my chest, her soft lips and her wicked tongue, and the small sexy sounds she makes when she’s aroused.
I let my hands drift to her ass, palming her sweet curves and gently squeezing. She groans low in her throat and presses close, her nipples pebbling into taut peaks that I can feel even through layers of clothing. I’m hard already, jutting insistently into her belly, and a desperate need builds, a longing to feel her slick heat wrapped around me.
Then, a loud cough.
“Well,” Sarah announces, laughter in her voice, “I guess it’s time for me to leave now.”
Lucy leaps away from me, her cheeks flaming. Nearly stuttering, she says, “God, Sarah. I’m sorry. You’re a guest, and here I am?—”
Catching Lucy’s hand, I tug her back to me and wrap my arms around her, making sure she’s standing in front of my very obvious erection. “It’s fine, Luce,” I soothe. “Sarah doesn’t mind. Right?”
“Nope!” Sarah beams at me. “I don’t mind at all!” There’s a knowing glint in her eye that tells me she knows exactly why I have Lucy in front of me. “Anyway, I have to get some work done. So I’ll just take Rambo and head out.”
Still pink in the cheeks, Lucy says, “Thanks for coming over, Sarah. And Rambo, too. Maybe next time, you and Dante can come for dinner.”
“Absolutely.” Still grinning, Sarah practically bounces to the door. “Enjoy the rest of your morning.”
Once she leaves, Lucy makes an aggrieved noise and buries her face in my chest. Her voice is muffled as she says, “I’m so embarrassed. Making out like that. Right in front of her.”
“It’s fine.” I gently pry her away from me and look down to meet her gaze. “There’s nothing wrong with it. And trust me, Sarah’s happy to see you feeling better.”
She scrunches her nose. “If you say so.”
“I do.”
Guiding her over to the couch, I sit down and pull Lucy onto my lap. I kiss one heated cheek, then the other, before pressing a soft kiss to her lips. “So. You had a good time with Sarah?”
“Yeah. We watched some old episodes of Virgin River . She likes it too, so that’s nice. And I played with Rambo. He’s so smart. He can roll over and play dead and balance a treat on his nose.”
My heart swells. “I’m glad you had a nice morning.”
Lucy smiles, and her eyes sparkle with bits of silver and sapphire. “I really did. Sarah’s great.” She pauses. “Oh. And I talked to my parents.”
“Are they doing okay?”
“Yes. My mom still wants to come home so she can see me, but I reminded her why it’s safer for them to stay at their apartment in Paris.”
“I know you want to see them. But it really is safer if they stay far away from Texas for now. ”
It sucks, and I know Lucy desperately wants to see her parents, but as a team, we determined it would be safer for them to stay at their Paris apartment once they finished their Antarctic expedition. If they came back to San Antonio, it would be too easy for the people who took Lucy to target her parents as leverage. To take one of them, hoping Lucy would give herself up in exchange.
“No, I understand.” Lucy looks at me with a steady gaze. “I want them safe. And if Paris is the best place for that?—”
“We think it is. And we’re monitoring the security at their apartment. So if there’s anything suspicious, we’ll get them to a safehouse immediately.”
She nods, then goes quiet for a second. “My dad wants to pay Blade and Arrow. For protecting me.”
My response is immediate. “No, Lucy. There’s no way. I’m not taking money from your parents for protecting you. You’re my girlfriend. Not my client.”
She strokes my forehead, tracing her fingers along the lines I can feel forming there. “I know that, Xavier. And that’s what I told my dad. But he said his money could go towards helping a pro-bono client. So it’s more like… a donation, really.”
I’m torn. On one hand, I’m adamantly against taking money from Lucy’s parents. Not for this. But on the other… her dad is right. We could use the money for more pro-bono work. “Let me talk to the team. See what they say.”
“Okay.” She snuggles against me. “That’s fair.”
And then she asks the question I’ve been hoping she wouldn’t.
“How was the meeting? I know you can’t tell me everything, but… is there any news?”
Shit. The last thing I want is to ruin Lucy’s mood. But I also don’t want to lie to her.
After debating the gentlest way to say it, I finally settle on, “We had good news and bad.”
“Oh.” Her teeth worry her lower lip. “Well. Can you tell me?”
I stroke her hair, running my hand down the length of it. “I can. But I don’t want to upset you.”
“Xavier. I’d rather know than wonder. And I can handle it.” She pauses, then amends, “I’m getting better at handling these things. Plus, I have an appointment with my counselor later. So I can talk to her about it. Will you just tell me?”
My gut cramps, but I say, “Okay. The good news is Matt found another victim and the police rescued her. She’s alive.”
Lucy exhales. “Oh. That is good. I mean, not that she was taken at all. But that Matt found her. That she was rescued.”
“Yeah.”
“So, what’s the bad news?”
Fuck. I really don’t want to tell her this. “The FBI found someone. A… body. They think…” I trail off as a shudder runs through her body. “I’m sorry, Luce. I really am.”
She puts her head on my shoulder. Her shoulders rise and fall in a careful rhythm, which I’m pretty sure is the box breathing technique Erik showed her the other day. “I’m sorry, Luce,” I repeat, still stroking her hair. “I’m sorry.”
After a deep breath, she lifts her head and meets my gaze. To my relief, her eyes are pink and slightly glassy, but she’s not outright crying. “That sucks. A lot.”
“Yeah, it does.”
Another deep breath and a slow exhale. “But I’m not going to let this break me. I’m stronger than that. Or I will be.”
I press my lips to the top of her head. “You already are.”
She lifts her chin, more defiant than beaten. “I’d like to meet her. The woman they rescued. If she’s open to it… I think it could help both of us.”
Oh, Lucy.
My throat goes thick. “I’ll talk to Cruz. See if he can work out a video call once she’s feeling better.”
“Okay.” She swallows hard. “And the person who—is it a woman?”
“A man.”
After a pause, she says, “If you could ask Dante, or Cruz… I’d like to offer to help his family. With… expenses. Food while they’re dealing with this. A scholarship fund. Just… something. I don’t like to use my parents’ money, but for this, I think it’s okay.”
For a moment, I don’t trust myself to speak.
Then I hug Lucy closer, my love for her so intense it feels like it’s bursting out of my body. “I think that’s a really great idea.”