Chapter 50
Xander healed well from his injuries. There are only a few cuts left on his face, but the doctor said they shouldn’t scar and that he’s lucky.
He’s been on his best behaviour while we still attempt to track down Luke—who seems to have found a great hiding spot.
But that feeling of rack and ruin gnaws at my gut with every day that passes.
Things have been normal between us. Or, as normal as they can be. Jacques refuses to allow Xander to be involved with any of their operations. He wants Xander's head to be straight. To which, surprisingly, Xander agreed.
My mornings now consist of breakfast and tea in bed while Xander sits in a chair in the corner of his room, sketching in his book. Most, if not all, of his drawings are of me.
Sid was returned home safe and sound by a very annoyed Axel, and Xander can’t hear the end of it from Ezra.
“Where are you taking me?” I giggle. Xander’s hand tentatively massages my jogger-clad leg while his right hand steers the wheel to the right, taking another turn. He hasn’t been able to keep his hands to himself. Not that I mind.
I like this version of Xander.
And I think he’s starting to as well. A part of me knows I’m his safety net.
But no matter how normal our lives feel, there’s still that storm brewing on the horizon, not allowing us to truly settle.
“You’ll see,” he grins. That dimple makes an appearance through his thicker than usual stubble, blue eyes sparkling in my direction.
“I thought we said no more secrets?” I press, my arms folding across my chest.
He huffs air out of his nose. “You’ll like this one.”
“I’m not going to come back to my apartment bulldozed, am I?”
He chuckles. “Well…”
Smacking him playfully on the arm, the car swerves to the side slightly as he flinches. “That’s not funny.” I keep my tone serious, but I can’t help the beaming smile on my face.
He pulls into a small high street with various small-business shops. It’s not a busy street, but the shops here are clearly thriving with their clean shop signs and streets. He drives the car into a parallel park in a designated parking area.
“What’s this?” I ask, trying to spot any signs of where he might be taking me, but I come up empty.
“Come on.” He slides out of the car. I unclip my seatbelt and move to open the door, but it’s already being pulled open by Xander. Only his white shirt is in view as he extends his hand out and pulls me out of the car into him as I shiver at the cold penetrating through my puffy, black coat.
His hand tangles into the back of my hair as his lips press into mine in a tender kiss. Pulling away, he smiles, eyes flicking between mine.
“What?”
“You’re beautiful.” He kisses me again, his hand entwining with mine, and I can’t stop that traitorous muscle in my chest from doing somersaults from the smallest, simplest gesture. Because we’re talking about Xander Warren. Nothing is simple about him.
He leads me down the street, hand clutching mine the entire walk. He pulls me into a shop, and the smell of straw and grains hits me first before I have the chance to take anything in.
It’s a small shop, a little tight, but there are various boxes of animal food, cages, and fish tanks.
“Good afternoon! Is there anything I can help you with?” a voice chirps from behind a small desk to the side of us.
I give her a small wave as Xander steps forward. “Hi, we’re after some scratch towers for cats.”
I refrain from recoiling in surprise.
The younger woman with a brown bob all but squeals. “Yes! We’ve got those. They’re right at the back. Follow me.”
She starts leading the way forward through the cramped space, and I silently follow her and Xander.
I think my brain is lagging. I’m not quite sure I heard him correctly.
“Here they are. Do you need any help choosing?” She smiles warmly, standing to the side and gesturing to the row of towers in front of us. Some are taller than me.
“No, thank you. I have a cat expert right here,” he replies, grabbing my hand and pulling me to his side.
The shopkeeper smiles widely. “Great. Just so you know, all our scratch towers are handmade, so they do come with a one-year warranty. I’ll be right at the desk if you need me.”
She leaves Xander and me. And I’m still staring at the structures like I’ve seen a ghost.
“Go ahead, Angel.”
I cross my arms, turning to look at him. “You’re buying gifts for Sid?”
He subtly rolls his eyes. “Let’s just pretend these are for Jac.”
I smirk at him while he studies the towers like he would one of his enemies. “I’m not sure he’ll fit in one of these.”
He sighs at my knowing smirk. “This is my apology. To you and to him. For making you worry about Sid.”
I pull my bottom lip into my teeth, a smile pulling at my cheeks. He glances over, guilt written all over his face. I don’t want to keep dwelling on what happened. I truly want him to have the reassurance that I’m trying to move past it.
So, instead, I tease. “Did you two have fun together, at least?”
His eyebrow arches with a small twitch of his lips. “I don’t know if you knew, but he’s not a fan of dogs.”
I tilt my head in curiosity. “When was he around dogs?”
“Axel and Nova have a German Shepherd.”
Right. Nova who kept Xander hidden from us. Though, I have to hand it to her for respecting Xander’s wish to not tell us where he was until he refused to go back to her. So, I can’t hold a grudge.
“Which one do you think he’ll like?” Xander muses.
I inspect the structures, taking a few steps down to the taller ones. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he’s very boujee. None of those small ones will appease him.” I snicker.
He chuckles behind me, squatting in front of the one I’m currently looking at and flicking the little hanging ball. “Do they need to be that tall? You could put down a mortgage on one of these.”
I snort.
“Actually, don’t answer that. He spent enough time on top of my chest; he needs all the scratching space he can get.”
Something warms inside me at that.
“You’ve been cuddling?” I grin.
“Don’t push it, sweetheart. He scratched at my chest the entire time. I’m surprised he didn’t dig his way down to my heart.
“I think he already may have.”
He looks at me, and for once, I see peace in his eyes. Like he needed this as much as I did. To be normal.
“I buy the feline a tower, and he still chooses to sit on top of me!” Xander whines, covering half of his face with his arm while Sid bakes cookies on top of his chest.
I hold my stomach with uncontrollable laughter, rolling to the side on the sofa to get a full view of them.
“He likes you!” I manage through fits of laughter.
“It’s a fucking cat, Xander,” Jacques pipes up from the other end of the sofa.
“You take him then!”
I don’t think my stomach can handle any more laughing. I'm not used to it.
“Happily.”
Jacques straightens from the sofa and scoops Sid up under his belly, supporting the rest of his body with his forearm while Xander massages his chest for critical injuries.
“He’d make a great prison break companion,” Jac laughs.
Jacques’ hair is already pulled back into a slick bun at the nape of his neck in preparation for the final night at Diamond Lounge.
They’ve made the decision to close the club down until we can find Luke. With everything happening, they can’t risk any more incidents like Aidan.
Jacques grabs one of Sid’s paws in his fingers and waves it in Xander’s direction. “You better be on your best behaviour while I’m gone, Daddy Xander,” he coos at Xander in a baby voice, making me burst out into laughter again.
Xander grabs a pillow from underneath him and launches it in Jacques’ direction. Jacques twists out of the way, the pillow hitting him in the back.
“I’m coming tonight,” Xander states, the lightness in the room dying away.
Jacques contemplates for a few seconds, scratching under Sid’s chin, making him purr. “You’re not ready.”
“Jac—”
“He’s ready,” I interrupt, cutting my gaze to Jacques.
There’s been something I want to do for Xander, but it involves him actually being at DL. Maybe this won’t be a good idea, but I hope it is.
Jacques regards me with his blue eyes. They’re almost the same blue as Xander’s; I’ve noticed that recently.
He looks to Xander, then back to me.
He dips his chin and presses his lips together, walking out without another word.
“He’s just worried about you,” I start.
“I know. But he can’t keep me locked away forever.
” He takes a deep breath, like he’s readying to tell me something.
“This… business… has been the only thing that kept my… obsessions at bay,” he admits.
“He can’t take that away from me. And I can’t let him do it on his own.
Especially not with that deal with Nova.
And now with you by my side, I can finally focus on it. ”
I nod and crawl over to him, straddling him. I grab his face with both hands, guiding him to look up at me. “Hey,” I start, smoothing my thumb over his cheek. “I’m here for you.”
His lips curl into a smile, his hands roaming my bare back under my jumper. “I love you,” he whispers and presses his lips into mine, biting at my lower lip. Our tongues push against each other, hands roaming everywhere they can.
I pull away, giddy jitters settling in my stomach. “You best get ready, Mr Warren.”