Chapter Sixty-Four
Xavier
The wind cuts straight through the framing of the half-built house, carrying the smell of fresh lumber and wet earth. Nail guns pop in uneven bursts, compressors cycling, radios overlapping across the lot.
Normal job site noise. Normal day.
I keep my focus on the window frame in front of me, tape stretched tight, pencil behind my ear.
“Level’s off,” I mutter, adjusting the shim.
“Your level’s fine.” A deep voice calls from behind me.
I glance over my shoulder. Jake stands in the doorway, hands shoved into his jacket, eyes already on me. Dominic is behind him, scanning the site before stepping in, right on time.
“You get my call?”
Jake nods once. “Yeah.”
Jake steps closer, lowering his voice enough that no one else on the crew can hear. “You said someone got into her yard.”
“Opened the gate.” I turn and brace the end of the level on the ground, tipped out on its edge. “Let the pigs out.”
Jake’s expression tightens. Not surprised, but not casual either. “Forced?”
“Latch wasn’t broken,” I say. “Just lifted. The cameras didn’t catch anything.” My jaw twitches. “They did it when the electricity went off.”
Dominic exhales under his breath. “That’s not someone messing around.”
“No. It’s not.”
“Everything okay?” Travis lifts the bill of his hat, adjusts the brim, and shoves it back down on his head.
“Yeah. Everything’s good.” There couldn’t be less true words spoken into the universe. The entire situation is fucked up.
Jake shifts his weight, glancing out toward the lot before looking back at me as Travis wanders to the other side of the structure. “Anything else?”
“Feed on the ground.” My attention returns to Jake and Dominic. “Not hers. Tracks near the fence, then they disappear.”
Jake’s jaw sets. “Covered?”
“Yeah. Scuffed or something dragged across them to remove any distinct imprints.”
Silence stretches, the kind that fills in everything neither of us says out loud.
Dominic leans against an exposed beam. “She okay?”
“She’s fine.” The answer comes fast. Too fast.
Jake catches it. “She scared?”
I arch an eyebrow but don’t answer. That’s answer enough. Of course she’s scared. And the pigs are her babies. My fingers dig into the plastic. If something happened to them, she’d be devastated.
Dominic pushes off the beam, stepping closer. “You staying with her?”
Heat creeps along my skin as I look away. Fuck. That looks obvious. I catch Dominic’s gaze. “When it makes sense.”
Jake huffs a breath. “That’s not what this is anymore.”
“I’m making sure she’s not alone.” I drop the level on the makeshift table beside me. It goes down with a clank, causing one of the guys close to us to turn and then shift his attention away just as quickly.
“That’s not the same thing as keeping distance.” Dominic’s jaw is tight. “Ruby is one of the best people I know. I’d hate to see anything happen to her.”
“We’re friends. She’s safe with me.” He doesn’t have to say the words for me to catch his drift, and he’s not just talking about a stalker. He’s talking about me fucking with her. The guy who doesn’t do serious because when things get real, people leave.
Jake’s mouth twitches. “Be careful. Ruby is strong and feisty….” His expression shifts as humor gives way to a frown. “But she’s also vulnerable.”
I don’t respond because he’s not wrong.
Dominic watches me. “You sure you’re not getting pulled into something?”
“I’m good.” That couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m already in it, and I don’t know how to get out of it.
“I’ll swing by her place later,” he adds. “Take a look myself. Cameras go down again, let me know.”
“I will.”
Dominic crosses his arms. “And you?”
I glance at him. “What about me?”
“You staying smart?”
I huff a breath. “Define smart.”
He doesn’t smile. “Not letting this turn into something else?”
“Yes.” Seriously? You’d think I was the biggest dick in the world the way Dominic is harping on me. I’m not that bad.
Hell, I might have a player reputation, but I’ve always been a harmless flirt rather than focused on racking up notches on my belt. He should know. I pushed Bella toward him, or they wouldn’t be together today.
Jake claps my shoulder once. “If this escalates again, you don’t wait. You call.”
“I did.” I can’t keep the bitterness out of my tone as Jake attempts to draw my attention from wanting to pummel Dominic in the mouth. “That’s why you’re here.”
Jake steps back toward the doorway, Dominic following. Boots crunch over gravel as they head back toward the trucks.
I stay where I am, staring at the open frame, the space where the window will go. Wind moves through it like nothing’s there to stop it. I pick up the level again, press it into place. The bubble wobbles. Settles. For now.
My back teeth grind together. I’m not an asshole.