Chapter 9 #2
Confusion had her frowning. “But it’s just a broken windshield.
” From as far away as she was, she couldn’t see any other damage to her Kia.
However, she’d bet good money that aside from the windshield, she was going to find body damage to either the roof or the hood.
Or both. Something big must have fallen on her car to cause so much damage.
Then Xander’s words registered.
Her frown deepened. “What do you mean by ‘precaution’?”
Worry stirred in her belly, and her gaze swung back to her car. What else could have caused so much damage to her windshield?
“Just an occupational hazard, Frey. I won’t investigate further until my client is secure. In this case”—he squeezed her hand—“you’re my client.”
She met his gaze. The steel and determination staring back at her both soothed her nerves and sent a heated zing surging through her.
Completely inappropriate time and place?
Absolutely. However, there was no stopping it.
Or denying it. “I’m not in any danger. I’m sure it was just a branch or something—”
“I need you safe before we figure out what happened to your car. It’s just you and me out here. We’re not going near your car until we have more security with us.”
Any other protests died on her lips, and that zing spread.
She’d never been a fan of the damsel-in-distress thing, but if Xander was the one looking out for her, she’d go with it.
Not only did the man work in security, but the protective vibe he was projecting was doing something to her insides. She’d follow his lead.
“Oh, okay. That makes sense.” She internally cringed. Not her best response, but he had her fumbling for words.
Scanning the parking lot, he asked, “When were you at your car last?”
It took a split second for his words to register. “Um, this morning. I got to work just before nine.”
“You didn’t swing by your car during the day?”
She shook her head, grateful for his questions.
She could focus on answering and not on how he made her stomach flip.
Or how he was still holding her hand. And most definitely not on how she wanted to lean into him and let him take care of everything.
“I had back-to-back appointments all day. This is the first time I’ve been back to my car. ”
“Mr. Bonetti,” a voice behind them called out.
Xander turned, releasing her hand. While keeping her close, he angled himself in front of her.
She swooned a little. She couldn’t help it. No one had ever been this protective of her.
He quickly crouched down and tucked his knife into some hidden holder under his pant leg, and when he stood, he retook her hand. As they strode toward one of the resort’s security guards, she shook her head. Focus. He’s keeping you safe like a client. Don’t read more into it.
“Mr. Bonetti, I’m Andres Adam, head of evening security. Kwon is on his way.” Andres’s eyes glanced at their joined hands before he asked her, “Are you okay?”
She nodded, and as if on cue, Michael Kwon rushed into the employee parking lot.
After a quick greeting, she gestured to her car. “It looks like my windshield was damaged.”
“We haven’t gotten a close look at the car yet,” Xander clarified. “I wanted her secure first.”
“Understandable.” Kwon turned to his colleague. “Call Croft and have him join us out here. The two of you can check the rest of this lot and the main lot for any other damaged cars.”
Andres nodded and pulled his walkie-talkie from his hip. “Will do.”
Kwon gestured to her car. “Shall we?”
Xander squeezed her hand, and she glanced at him. “Stay beside me. Please.”
Nodding, she tightened her grip on his hand and followed his lead.
Keeping Freya’s hand in his, Xander walked toward her car. His eyes darted around, taking in the employee parking lot.
She’d mentioned the possibility of a branch falling onto her car, but he didn’t buy it.
The weather today had been surprisingly good for mid-November in the Pacific Northwest. It had been a rare sunny day.
Crisp? Yes, but not at all windy. There was no debris in the parking lot from the surrounding trees.
There looked to be some damage to the car to the right of hers, but none to the one on the left where the majority of the damage on Freya’s windshield was.
Most importantly, a familiar twitchy feeling tickled his gut. He’d learned to trust that feeling. Hell, it had saved his life—and those of his friends—numerous times over the years.
Yes, he tended to immediately go to worst-case scenario—he wasn’t lying earlier when he’d mentioned occupational hazards—but there was no denying things looked suspicious.
If he were being honest with himself, he hated that Freya was beside him.
If it were up to him, he’d put her in a bubble and tuck her away so he knew she was completely safe.
Then he’d figure out what happened to her car, determine if there was any remaining threat, and take care of everything for her.
But Xander had enough strong women in his life to know that would be a dick move.
He didn’t know Freya very well yet, but knew her well enough. She wouldn’t appreciate the caveman routine. She’d want to be involved because she was a capable and smart woman. And it was her damn car. He’d just have to work extra hard to ensure her safety.
Stopping a few feet from the trunk of her Kia, he gave her hand one last squeeze before letting go. “Give me a minute to look?”
She nodded and crossed her arms over her chest.
From where he was standing, he took in the scattered glass on each side of the car. The safety glass sparkled against the packed gravel.
He caught Kwon’s gaze, and in unspoken agreement, Xander walked to the passenger side while Kwon took the driver’s side. The glass crunched under his boots, and he met Kwon at the hood.
The car beside Freya’s sat next to the temporary light pole and had a similar circular hole in its windshield, identical to the one on Freya’s passenger side. His first thought was someone had struck the glass with a hammer. That was the only damage to the neighboring car.
Freya’s vehicle was another story entirely.
The passenger side of the windshield had the hammer hole, but the glass on the driver’s side was basically gone.
As if someone had tried to knock the entire windshield out but had only gotten halfway through the job.
The windshield frame on the driver’s side had numerous dings.
It had been something substantial, most likely metal, that had done the damage.
Taking a closer look into the Kia’s interior confirmed his initial assessment.
There was no tree branch inside her car.
No large rocks. No indication that something natural had taken out her windshield.
In fact, there was nothing in the interior of her car aside from shattered glass and a yellow Yeti tumbler in her cupholder.
His frown deepened, and that twitchy feeling in his gut intensified.
“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Kwon asked.
“More like not seeing.” He exhaled and planted his hands on his hips. “Have cameras been installed yet?”
“Wouldn’t that have been nice,” Kwon murmured, “but negative. The cameras for this lot are scheduled for Sunday. Permanent light poles for the following week.” He sighed, glancing around. “I’ll call the sheriff’s department.”
Leaving Kwon to make his calls, he rounded the car to where Freya stood worrying her lower lip, her arms still tightly crossed over her chest. He wanted to pull her into a hug but instead placed his hands on her shoulders and squeezed.
“Kwon’s calling the police. I’m sure they’ll want to know if anything is missing.
I wouldn’t touch anything before they get here, but do you want to take a peek? ”
She pursed her lips, and her gaze searched his. “It’s pretty bad, isn’t it? I mean, by the look on your face and Mr. Kwon’s, I’m assuming it wasn’t a fallen branch?”
Giving in, he ran his hands down her arms and tugged her close, pulling her into a hug.
Her arms immediately encircled his waist, and she leaned into him, hugging him back.
A feeling he didn’t recognize swamped his senses.
Protectiveness? Yeah, but it was more than that.
It was something he couldn’t quite define.
“No, sweetheart,” he murmured, dropping his chin to the top of her head. “It wasn’t a branch.” What it actually was, he didn’t know. But he was determined to stay beside her—if she let him—until they figured it out.
Running a hand up and down her slim back, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head before letting her go.
“After the sheriff’s department comes and does their thing, you still want to grab dinner with me?
I figure you deserve an extra one of those blue drinks you said you liked after this mess. Or maybe three.”
A smile lifted her lips, and his insides warmed. He’d done that. He’d gotten a smile out of her after all the chaos.
“That sounds great.” Her eyes darted to her car and then back. “That is, if you don’t mind driving me.”
“Not at all. I can drive you home after too.”
“Oh, that’s okay. I live downtown, so I can walk.”
“Ah, that’s right.” After a moment, she frowned, and he took a guess. “You have to work tomorrow, don’t you?”
She nodded, and her forehead scrunched.
So. Damn. Cute. “Well, I don’t, so I can give you a lift to work in the morning as well.”
Her jaw dropped, and she was shaking her head before he’d finished speaking. “Xander, I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You’re not asking. I’m offering.”
Her lips pressed together again, but they tilted up at the edges. Like she was fighting a smile. “How about we grab dinner first. If you can still stomach me after food and multiple cocktails, we’ll revisit this conversation.”
He couldn’t get a read on her self-deprecating comment.
Was she being funny? Or did she seriously believe he’d be sick of her after he’d already spent the last however long with her?
Or was she fishing for a compliment? He mentally frowned and nixed the last option.
She wasn’t the type. But if it were either of the first two, he was determined to show her how much he enjoyed her company. Fucked-up circumstances or not.
“That’s fair, I suppose.” It wasn’t, but he’d play along if it made her more comfortable. “We’ll shelve this conversation as ‘to be continued’ then.” He inclined his head toward her car. “Shall we take a peek?”
She grimaced. “May as well. The faster we get this over with, the faster I can get a cocktail in me.”
He bit the inside of his cheek and kept his expression neutral.
There was an inappropriate retort in there somewhere.
He was sure of it. But he dragged his thoughts out of the gutter and focused on the tasks at hand.
They needed to figure out if anything was missing from her vehicle, get a police report filed, and then get her car towed and squared away.
Because he couldn’t stand beside her and not touch her, he took her hand and walked her to the side of her car.