Chapter Twenty-Five
Xavier knew it; backup wasn’t going to make it in time.
These enemies surrounding them, they were more than he and his brother could handle.
His heart slammed against his ribs while his mind raced.
He could feel the bite of the air against his skin, the sound of yelling around him, but it all felt louder than ever.
The screaming in his ears was more than he could take.
If he hadn’t come here, if he hadn’t brought his brother here, they would both be safe.
His blood rushed in his ears as he heard Max calling to him, telling him he was slow and needed to hurry his ass up.
Even despite his words, Xavier could tell his brother was scared, trying to overcompensate with his cocky attitude.
If something went wrong, then it would all be his fault. There would be no way to take it back, it would be too late. He had to protect his little brother. He tightened his grip on his gun, ready to pull the trigger…
AND THEN HE FELT IT. The press of her lips against his. The taste of her salty tears on her skin.
For a moment, he had no idea what was happening, and his whole body started shaking as he came back to reality.
“Xavier,” she begged him. “Please, Xavier. Tell me you’re here with me. Tell me you’re here.”
Xavier blinked, and blinked again, trying to recall where he was.
First, he registered Hannah’s face. Beyond her was Lawson, fists and jaw clenched tight, staring at him with stormy eyes.
Xavier looked down and realized he was holding a gun and pointing it at his best friend.
Eyes wide, he clicked the safety and shoved the weapon back in his waistband.
Next, were all the noises, guns, shouting, fighting. Too much for his brain to process all at once. So he focused on the woman in front of him, letting everything else fade away. Hannah.
“It’s okay, Hannah,” he murmured to her. “I’m here. I’m back.” He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair, inhaling her scent to ground him further.
“Oh thank God,” she breathed as she caught his face in her hands. “I thought… I thought I had lost you.” Tears streamed down her cheeks unchecked.
Xavier felt her shaking against him, but she was smiling. This wasn’t like the day he had lost his brother; this was different. Backup had made it in time, and they were going to be okay.
He’d never had a flashback that intense while he’d been awake.
Hannah’s kidnapping and the gunfight must have triggered his mind in a way that forced him back to relive that horrible day when he lost Max.
If it hadn’t been for Hannah, something similar probably would have happened here. He might have killed his best friend.
He wrapped his arms around Hannah once more and kissed her forehead. “Thank you. You saved me.”
Her face broke out in a grin, and she kissed his chin. “And you saved me. I’m just glad you’re back with us. With me.”
“You okay?” Lawson asked him gruffly, clapping him on the shoulder as Xavier pulled back from Hannah.
“I’m sorry,” he told his best friend. “I didn’t see you…”
“I know,” Lawson replied quickly. “But we need you to be here right now. With us. We’re still fighting.”
Xavier nodded again and reached for his gun. He handed it to Hannah. “Hold this,” he told her. “I don’t trust myself with it right now.”
“Xavier, they can handle it—”
Xavier shook his head, cutting off her reply. She didn’t understand. He had a job to finish. He could have hurt the woman he loved and had almost killed his best friend, her brother. This had to end, and he needed to be the one to do it. This was personal to him.
The first thing Xavier noticed as he rounded the hood of the truck was the quiet, no gunfire.
The second was that Cade and Aaron had managed to sneak up on both Jed and Sampson, probably while they had been firing at Xavier.
From what Xavier could see, Aaron had Jed handled.
He was on the ground, face down, Aaron half-sitting, half-leaning on his back.
Aaron had Jed’s arms pulled back and was securing zip-ties around his wrists.
Sampson, on the other hand, had managed to shove Cade to the side and was trying to make a run for it toward the woods.
Xavier quickly ran around the opposite side of the van to cut Sampson off, slamming into him and knocking him off his feet.
Sampson hit the ground on his back and rammed his knee up into Xavier’s stomach as he came down over him.
“You really think you can stop me?” Sampson laughed in his face as he knocked Xavier to the side.
Xavier pushed back to his feet and rounded on Sampson has he pulled himself off the ground. “Just give it up,” Xavier told him. “You’re done. There’s no drive, there’s no nothing. You wasted your time on this for no reason, and now you’re going to prison for it.”
Sampson’s eyes narrowed with anger, his face tight as he glowered at Xavier. He must have known Xavier was right. He could have gotten away with everything else he’d done if he had just forgotten about the drive. He was just too damn greedy.
And it was going to cost him everything.
Sampson launched himself at Xavier again, knocking him off his feet, and Xavier lifted his fist to drive it up into Sampson’s jaw.
Sampson’s head snapped back, and blood dripped from his split lip as he turned back to Xavier.
He swiped at the blood with his sleeve and charged again, diving for Xavier’s legs.
As soon as Xavier’s back hit the forest floor, he pushed off with his legs, flipping them over, with Sampson flat on the ground.
They both pushed to their feet and charged, both swinging at the same time.
Xavier’s fist slammed in to Sampson’s chin, drawing more blood, at the same time Sampson’s arm went wide, hitting Xavier in the shoulder.
Both sprang back, circling each other and breathing hard. Xavier heard footsteps behind him, and Cade and Aaron appeared ready to take over.
“Xavier, let us—” Cade started.
Sampson took advantage of the distraction and charged Xavier again. He dodged out of the way just in time, leaving Sampson punching at air.
“I’ve got this!” Xavier yelled back at the two men, stopping them in their tracks. He had to be the one to bring an end to this, no matter what.
A few years ago, he might have been tempted to just let it go. But now, things were different. He was different. He had a woman he loved and who loved him back, and a life he wasn’t going to give up without a fight.
Xavier flew at Sampson again, both landing hard on the dirt. Grappling around, Xavier finally got the upper hand and rolled on top of Sampson, grabbing Sampson’s head with his hands and slamming it down into the hard earth.
Sampson let out a long groan and tried to scramble out from underneath Xavier, but Xavier had Sampson right where he wanted him.
He landed hit after hit, until there was no more fight left in him. Sampson lay there on the ground, blood leaking from his mouth and nose, eyes hazy with pain.
Xavier got to his feet, wiping the sweat from his brow and took a deep breath centering himself again.
All at once they heard new voices echoing in the trees.
Bailey and the other deputies were here.
He stepped back and looked for Hannah, who was standing off to the side with Lawson, his arm wrapped around her like he was trying to hold her back.
Cade and Aaron rushed up to stand watch over Sampson, waiting for Bailey and the deputies with her to make their way down to them.
“Looks like we missed all the fun,” Bailey quipped as she pulled out cuffs and slapped them on Sampson’s wrists.
Xavier looked to the side and noticed Jed being picked up off the ground by another deputy from where Aaron had left him.
Jed’s face was bloody, too, so he and Aaron must have gone a few rounds before Aaron subdued him.
All at once, Xavier heard someone rushing toward him. He turned just in time to catch Hannah as she launched herself into his arms, wrapping herself around him and clinging on for dear life.
“Xavier!” Her cry was muffled from pressing her face into his neck.
He tightened his hold. “We’re okay, Hannah. It’s okay now.” He pulled her back and kissed her forehead. He was still so angry he was vibrating with adrenaline at how horribly this all could have ended. But with Hannah safe and in his arms, the rage was starting to recede.
He pulled back slightly so he could gaze into her eyes for a moment. She was still so shaken, that much was obvious, but the first thing she had done was run to him for reassurance. She cared for him in a way nobody else ever had before.
She had seen the darkness in him, the battle he fought within, the part of him he kept hidden from his friends, and she hadn’t run.
She was still here, by his side and in his arms. She was brave enough to face his darkness and pull him back to the light.
As long as she was by his side, he knew he would be okay.
“I’m so sorry,” Hannah breathed. “I should never have let myself get taken. I should have—”
“It’s okay,” he murmured to her at once, smoothing a hand through her hair. “It’s okay, Hannah, you have nothing to be sorry for. I should have done more to protect you. I should have listened to you when you said you had your doubts about Jed. I never should have let him get that close.”
The two of them were talking over each other, spilling apologies faster than they could reply to them, until he kissed her again. She grasped him tight, like she was never going to let him go.
“We’re safe,” he promised her, planting a kiss against her temple. “I promise. We’re safe.”
She let out a long, shaky breath, but she seemed to believe him, managing to nod. With his arm around her waist, he steered her back toward the rest of the group.
“What happens now?” he asked Bailey.
“I’m passing this on to Willis,” she explained.
“With everything you gave him before, there’s plenty to keep them locked up for now.
And when you tell him the rest of the story, along with the damage to the lodge, what they did to Sarah and Hannah’s kidnapping, the two of them are going to go away for a long, long time. ”
Xavier nodded slowly, taking the words in as she spoke.
It almost felt too good to be true. This was it, he realized.
The danger was gone. This was the last threat that had been pressing down on him for all this time.
Now he could truly leave the past behind.
Move on with the rest of his life and his future with the woman he loved.
“That sounds good. Thanks, Bailey.”
“No problem, Xavier. We’ll get these guys back to town and I’ll tell Willis to contact you all at the lodge for statements later.
The sun was just starting to rise, and some of the light was beginning to filter through the trees. Hannah slipped her hand into his and squeezed it tight, seeming to need reassurance that he was right there with her and not sliding off into the nightmares that had plagued him for so long.
“You okay?” she asked him.
He nodded. It wasn’t entirely true, but it was the closest he could come to the truth right now. He might not be all right in that moment, but for the first time in a long time, he knew he would be.
“We should get out of here,” he told her, and she sighed in agreement, laying her head on his shoulder for a moment.
“Definitely,” she agreed. “I want a hot shower. And a warm bed. And a huge meal. Not necessarily in that order.”
He chuckled, already feeling some of the tension leaving his system.
What was it about her that made everything easier, even a nightmare like this?
Her softness, her kindness, her willingness to see the man beneath all the trauma and pain he had been through, beyond all the nightmares and horrors.
She saw the person he wanted to be, the potential for who he could be, and it only made him even more certain that he would do everything he could to bring that man to life for her.
Anything, as long as it meant they could be together and as long as he could make her happy.
The two of them followed the group out of the forest and into the sunlight beyond.
It was already shaping up to be another beautiful spring day.