Chapter 7
Shane
He’d been following me for the past two blocks now.
I’d felt his presence the moment he began tracking me.
X, while damn good at remaining in the shadows and not being seen, couldn’t hide from someone like me.
I was always aware of my surroundings, sometimes almost too aware, and there was something about X that stuck with me.
Only a fool would fail to remember the unnerving way he stared at people.
He wanted me, that much was obvious. There was an obsessive gleam in his eyes when he looked at me.
He wanted me badly enough to uncover secrets no civilian should ever know, and his dumbass had put his innocent boyfriend in the middle of it all.
X could probably mostly handle his own, if his busted knuckles were anything to go by.
He was clearly some kind of fighter, more than likely illegal.
But Preston? Nah. He had that whole good boy thing going on, and his hands were clean as fuck and soft as a baby’s skin.
Probably had never seen a drop of bad blood in his life.
I paused and uncapped my water, tipping my head back to guzzle some. After capping it once more, I turned and crossed my arms over my heaving chest. “I know you’re there, X.”
For a moment, he didn’t show himself, though I could still feel him watching me.
But finally, he slipped out from between two buildings.
He was wearing a pair of blood stained joggers, black Forces, and a blood-stained t-shirt.
Dried blood lingered on his cheek from a cut, and he had a bruise near his temple.
His lip was split, and he looked like he hadn’t been home yet.
I cocked my head to the side. “You look like shit,” I mused.
X smirked. “What—you don’t like the rough look? Thought it’d be right up your alley, Ghost,” he taunted as he came closer.
I simply arched a brow at him. He sighed and rolled his shoulders. Tension was riding him hard, like he was barely holding on by a thread. He shoved his hands into his pockets and stopped a few feet from me, his jaw ticking as he stared back at me.
He was still obsessed, but he was also angry.
Furious was a more accurate description.
X, while a high-functioning sociopath, had some feelings—feelings for Preston.
And he was pissed that I’d threatened the one person who meant something to him, even if I knew and had already assured Preston I’d never follow through on those threats.
I didn’t touch innocents, and Preston was practically as innocent as they came.
“Where’s Preston?” I asked just because I wanted to rile him up further.
His teeth audibly ground together, and he narrowed his eyes at me. I cocked my head to the side the slightest bit, watching as he tried to contain his rage. After a moment, his expression cleared, though he didn’t look any less tense.
“He’s home,” X said at last. “Last I checked, he was.”
I nodded once, then turned and continued my run.
Instead of slinking back into the shadows, X fell into step next to me.
We ran in companiable silence, and when I got back to my place, he followed me up the side stairs as if I’d invited him into my home.
I didn’t say a word, just let him follow in behind me.
If he tried something stupid, I was ready.
Always. But I didn’t think he was following me inside to attack me or kill me.
Though I had no doubt if I truly made a move to harm Preston, X would attempt to take me out with extreme prejudice.
“Preston called me,” X said, breaking the silence as I moved around my kitchen, working on throwing myself together a protein shake. “Told me you two talked. He said you warned him.”
I nodded once as I dumped protein powder and poured almond milk into the blender.
I could use the blender bottles I had, but I was feeling a little lazy and this worked much faster.
X didn’t say a word as I put the lid on and pressed the button to turn the blender on.
Once it was done, I poured two cups, then rinsed out the blender cup, tossed it into the sink to wash later, and held out one of the cups to X.
He took it with a single nod of thanks. Made me wonder if Preston had been the one to drill manners into his skull.
“I need you to tell me who, exactly, might come after Preston for what he knows,” X said before he lifted the cup to his lips.
“The government,” I said in all seriousness. “They’ll send someone from the division I worked in to take you, Preston, and me out. No loose ends are allowed, and right now, you two are very loose ends. They’ll kill me too because I’m compromised.”
X scoffed. “Punish you for their own fucking lack of security?” He shook his head. “It wasn’t difficult for my guy to hack into their system. They didn’t even sense him.”
I hummed and dragged out a bar stool before taking a seat on it. “Just keep your mouths shut, and no one should find out, but just know they may have seen your little friend and may just be biding their time. Watch your back, and protect Preston. You dragged him into this shit, X.”
X grunted. I downed my protein shake. “You need to get a hang on your obsessions,” I warned him. “Your sociopathy could be a gift if you knew how to use it properly. Control your urges.”
He cut his eyes to mine, not a thing showing on his face. “You’re talking a lot,” he noted, clearly evading the conversation. I let him, not pushing more. “Why?”
“I talk sometimes. Just usually no reason for me to open my mouth. Sometimes, silence speaks louder than words, X.” It was one thing I’d learned early on in my military training.
The moment I’d been pulled from basic in the middle of the night and began training for the Special Ops division they thought I was more suited for, I’d learned to keep my mouth shut.
Listen but don’t speak. People were usually too concerned with thinking up their responses to truly hear what someone had to say.
And I wanted to hear everything. Understand it all. Only then could I respond accordingly.
He nodded, but before he could say something, his phone vibrated. He tugged it out, and I spotted Preston’s name on his phone. He blew out a soft breath, then swiped his thumb across the screen to ignore it. Curiosity spiked, but I didn’t ask questions.
Didn’t need to anyway because a moment later, my phone went off. Grunting, I grabbed it and answered Preston’s call, my eyes on X, who was glaring at my countertop like it’d personally offended him.
“Shane?” Preston asked quietly. I made a small noise in answer. “I think I have a problem.”
“A problem?” I questioned. X looked at me then, concern glimmering in his dark eyes. “What kind of problem, Preston?” I demanded, already on my feet and moving toward my bedroom to change and suit up.
“There’s a…” He drew in a deep breath, like he was trying to steady himself. “Someone left me an ear.”
Fuck.