Chapter 13
I squeezemy legs tighter together as Xavier drives over another pothole.
“I really, really, really need to pee. How much longer until we get there?”
“Probably a few more minutes. I don’t have an actual address, so I can’t be exact on the arrival time.”
I look out the window at the setting sun and sigh. There are no houses out here. Two minutes might as well be twenty minutes or even an hour.
“Just pull over. I’ll pee on the side of the road.”
Xavier turns his narrowed gaze at me. “We need to blend in. You peeing on the side of the road is the opposite of blending in.”
His attention moves back to the road ahead before he turns right onto a dirt road.
“There’s no one around here. No houses, grocery stores, or businesses. Hell, we haven’t seen a car in almost ten minutes, so I don’t think peeing will draw attention to us.”
“You’re not peeing on the side of the road. End of discussion.”
He’s just like Dad, treating me like I’m still a child. Well, I’ve had enough of the men in my life treating me this way.
Not that Xavier is my man, or anything, but he’s in my life. And trying to control me.
Would Xavier be different in a relationship? Would he be more loving and caring?
Or would he still be aggressive and broody?
I shake my head. There’s no way he would change that much, even in a relationship. He would stay the same grumpy, take action kind of guy that he is.
I bet he’s great in bed.
Why am I even thinking about Xavier in that way?
Mom’s advice comes to the forefront of my mind. “The best way to get over someone is to get under someone new.”
I was mortified when she pulled me away from my conversation with Xavier and told me that. The way she wagged her eyebrows at me and nodded at Xavier left my cheeks beet red.
Now, I can chuckle to myself and let my mind picture who my someone new would be. There’s only one person I’d remotely consider, and Mom had already hinted at him.
Xavier.
I know the sex would be explosive. After all, angry hate sex usually is. Or at least that’s what I’ve heard.
Besides, his take charge attitude might be what I need to get my sex life back on track. Sex with Austin was subpar and often left me needing to finish myself off after he fell asleep or left.
“What are you chuckling about over there?” Xavier’s tone is full of curiosity, but his small smile and his raised eyebrow won’t get me to spill my secret thoughts.
“Nothing that concerns you.”
“Hmmph.”
I stare out the windshield as he turns onto a gravel road. At least the thoughts of having sex with Xavier helped keep my mind off my need to relieve my bladder.
Trees pass in a blur as we head further down the one lane road. The gravel road narrows as we make our way over a small wooden bridge.
I’d hardly call it a bridge, but the small beaten up sign read “Old Deep Creek Bridge”, so I guess it is officially a bridge despite the three boards it took to cover the creek.
The gravel road opens up in front of a small one-story house that’s surrounded by trees. The wooden wrap-around porch looks inviting enough with several rocking chairs lined up, but there isn’t anything but trees to look at.
I probably won’t be sitting outside much.
Xavier parks the car at the end of the gravel and stretches his neck from side to side. “We’re here.”
“I figured.” I say before getting out of the car.
Leaving my bags in the trunk, I head up the steps to the front door while Xavier walks around the side of the house.
Squeezing my legs together, I pray he gets this door open soon or else I’m going to be popping a squat and peeing in the yard like an animal.
Motion inside the house causes my heart to race.
Did Xavier go through the back door, or is someone here waiting for us?
I squeeze myself between two rocking chairs and press my back against the vinyl siding as I concentrate on my breathing.
The front door opens revealing a very confused Xavier.
“Bri? Brianna?”
I step out from between the rocking chairs.
“What the hell? Why were you hiding?”
“That should be an obvious answer from all the shit I’ve witnessed. Where’s the bathroom? My bladder is about to bust.”
He points the way to the bathroom, and even though I know he won’t come in while I’m in here, I still lock the door behind me.
The bathroom is pretty large for a guest bathroom. The mint green paint is old and chipping, and the double vanity needs updating, but the tiled shower is spacious.
My gaze wanders over to the small window where the red and orange sky disappears behind the trees. If this house was bought as a safe house, why is there a window in the bathroom?
Did Dad assume since it’s so remote that no one would snoop around or look inside?
When my bladder is empty, I wash my hands with the scent free soap and stare at my reflection in the large mirror.
My normally bright eyes and tanned face look dull and hollow, like a part of me has already given up. Why should I continue to fight my dad and Xavier when they always get their way in the end?
It’s only been a few hours since we’ve left home, but it feels like it’s been days.
The silent car ride didn’t help pass the time.
How does Dad expect me to last God knows how long with Xavier here when he doesn’t speak much?
I need people to talk to. I’m a social butterfly. At least that’s what Mom calls me.
Xavier’s voice sounds from the other side of the door. “Brianna, are you alright?”
Tearing my gaze away from my reflection, I turn off the water and dry my hands before opening the door.
His expression is blank, but his eyes search mine.
I push past him and say, “It takes women longer to pee than men.”
“Not five minutes.”
Was he timing me? Did he think I jumped out the window?
I ignore his statement and let my gaze wander around the living room. This house isn’t as nice as I expected, or as nice as Dad let on.
The furnishings are solid wood, but outdated. Everything needs a new fresh coat of paint to make the house look fresh and clean. A thin coat of dust covers everything, but it’s not twenty-five years of dust, meaning Dad has been here before.
Or someone else knows about this place and keeps it semi cleaned.
The flowery couch faces a stone fireplace. The mantle is empty. There are no family pictures, knickknacks, or any personal items showing who owns the house.
This is just another actual sign I am in a safe house right now. The walls, end tables, and mantle are all bare.
Xavier doesn’t speak as I wander around the house.
The kitchen is just as outdated as the rest of the house. The floor, counters, and cabinets look like they came from the eighties.
They were probably the original ones when the house was built. At least the refrigerator is newish.
I open the door to the stainless steel refrigerator, surprise crosses my face when I see it fully stocked.
Before I can let my thoughts spiral out of control about someone knowing Xavier and I are here, I spot the empty cooler next to the small dining table.
Xavier must have come prepared. There’s enough food to last several days, if not a full week.
When I walk back into the living room, he is setting up a laptop on the coffee table.
So much for no electronics.
I open the remaining doors. One is set up as an office with a small L-shaped desk, and the other is a bedroom with a full sized bed in the middle of the room. My bags are at the bottom of the bed.
Xavier must have brought everything in from the car.
Turning around, I ask, “Where are you going to sleep since the only other bedroom is an office?”
Does he think we are going to share the bed? Is there another bedroom hidden somewhere?
He doesn’t look up from the laptop. “The couch.”
I size him up while imagining him stretched out on the flowery couch. “It’s pretty small.”
He shrugs. “It’s bound to be more comfortable than other places I’ve had to sleep.”
I plop down on the opposite end of the couch, wondering what we are going to do to occupy our time.
There’s no television, no board games, and no video games. There’s nothing to keep us busy.
Do not think about sex.
I feel my cheeks flame, as my thoughts morph into all the places Xavier can take me.
Shaking those thoughts away, I think about how my life has changed in such little time.
I broke up with Austin. And was cheated on.
The attempted kidnapping the night of said dumping.
The car chase and almost accident.
Witnessing a murder.
The storm and losing power.
Being shot at.
And now stuck in a tiny safe house in the middle of God knows where with nothing to do.
Nothing but imagining
How can life get any worse?
Movement out of the corner of my eye drags me out of my misery. Xavier is staring right at me. Or is he staring through me?
When he doesn’t blink, I say, “Stop staring at me.”
He blinks several times. “What?”
“I said stop staring at me. I’m not a basket case. I will be just fine if you leave me alone.”
Maybe if he steers clear of me, my thoughts won’t be about undressing him, or having him undress me.
Or how good it felt to rest my head against his chest as he comforted me.
No, I’m definitely not going to think about that.
He smirks as if he knows what I was truly thinking. “Sorry, Princess, but I can’t leave you alone. Now that the killers know who you are, you’re at risk.”
I clench my jaw and take a deep breath before saying, “I already told you once I’m not a fucking princess.”
“Oh, I know that. You’d have to be sweet to be a princess.”
My heart pounds and my breathing races.
Before I can come up with a retort, Xavier’s phone rings.
With a quick glance at his caller ID, he says, “It’s your dad.”
I roll my eyes and stand. “This can’t be good. Or he’s checking to see if we made it here safely.”
He gives me a sympathetic glance before answering Dad’s call. I head into the bedroom while he’s distracted on the phone.
Sure, I might want to know what they are talking about, but I’m pissed at Dad.
How could he have a secret past that Mom and I didn’t know?
How could he lie to us for two and a half decades?
Does Xavier know about dad’s past? Would he keep it a secret if he did know?
I plop down on the hard mattress and stare up at the ceiling. As soon as I get an opportunity, I’m going to sneak out and get a cab back home. If I can make it to my car, I can go anywhere.
Maybe I’ll start a new life somewhere.
Maybe I’ll meet a guy worth getting to know and fall in love.
I scoff to myself. Clearly, I’m bad at picking men. Austin cheated and was a huge disappointment, and Xavier is grumpy, argumentative, and secretive.
A knock sounds on the bedroom door a second before the door cracks open. Xavier pokes his head inside. “Do you want to play cards while dinner is cooking?”
“That’s for kids.” Who plays cards these days unless it’s during a storm and we are without power?
A smile forms on Xavier’s face. It’s a genuine, not forced, smile. “Actually, it’s a good way to pass the time. We played all the time when I was in the military.”
I am shocked. I sit up fast and look at him. “You were in the military?”
He narrows his eyes at me. “Did you not know?”
“No. I mean, I thought about it once or twice when we first met, but after hearing about the bar fight and your vague description of how you and Hudson met, I thought you just got out of jail.”
He stares at me with a blank expression, like he’s in disbelief.
I chuckle and shrug. “Well, with your hair cut short that way and your ripped body, it was an assumption. Guys work out a lot while in prison.”
My cheeks flame as I feel embarrassed. I don’t think I’ve misjudged someone this bad before.
Xavier leans his head back and guffaws, like I just told the funniest joke.
I can’t help but join in.
After several minutes of laughing, Xavier says, “Prison? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
With tears in my eyes from laughing so hard, I roll my eyes and say, “Well, you showed up randomly, got into a bar fight, and then showed up at my Uncle Zach’s restaurant immediately after a shooting.”
If I were the police, I’d investigate him because he’s got horrible timing.
Or the best timing, if he’s in on whatever the hell is going on.