by Lucy Score
“If anything happens to her, I’ll hunt down each and every one of you,” Xavier swore. “Micah, we’re going to need a ride.
“On it.”
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Xavier had the impossible job of sneaking back out to the driveway without getting caught by security or the chef. Meanwhile the F-Team got to swagger out the front door with Anatoli leading the way to the garage.
He listened as Micah detailed the position of the chef and then moved like a shadow through the kitchen when the man wandered out to the butler’s pantry for a nip at the cooking sherry.
“Go!” Micah hissed in his ear. Xavier hustled through the kitchen at full speed and didn’t stop until he was sliding onto the seat of Tony’s van.
“Let’s get the hell out of here, Tony,” Xavier said. He couldn’t relax. His entire body was tuned. He was just waiting for the sounds of gunfire to come from the front of the house.
If anything happened to Waverly, God… what had he been thinking? How could he have let her talk him into this?
Tony cruised down to the foot of the driveway where the chatty guard waved. “You two have a good day,” the man said with a friendly nod.
“You do the same,” Tony offered through the window and cruised on through the opening gate.
“Pull over up here,” Xavier ordered, pointing up the block. “Waverly? Do you copy?”
“Ouch, get off my boob!” Her voice crackled in his ear.
“What the fuck is going on?”
“Hang on,” she whispered.
Several seconds of silence passed.
“The suspense is killing me,” Micah said.
Xavier saw a dark blue Range Rover pull out of the Stepanov estate and then Waverly’s voice was like a miracle in her ear. “Sorry, Dante and I are laying in the back. It’s—” He heard muttering and then something like a slap and an “ouch.” “Cramped.”
“Tell Wrede if he lays a finger or anything else on you, I’m going to break it.”
“Believe me, I will,” Waverly laughed.
Xavier forced his fingers to relax on his knee. She was in the SUV behind him. She was safe and laughing. He felt better just having that confirmation.
“I got new wheels for you with a driver in the lot at the Beverly Center,” Micah told them.
“See you in ten,” Xavier said. “Nice work, Angel.”
“Back at you, X.”
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They regrouped in the shopping center’s lot and piled into an Invictus SUV. Xavier slid into the back with Waverly and kept her anchored to his side. She smiled up at him, but he wasn’t ready for that yet. She was safe, and he was mad. Warring feelings had him glaring at her while he tucked her head under his chin.
“You’re the only operative I know who goes after a girl and comes back with the girl, a movie star, and a Russian bodyguard,” Micah said as he watched them all file out of the elevator into the offices.
Waverly grinned at him and hurried ahead to bump shoulders with Dante. Xavier didn’t like the camaraderie. There was no reason to trust the guy. He’d been lounging around in Petra’s bed since the shoot-out and hadn’t once bothered to reach out to Waverly. He was going to get some answers, and if he didn’t like them, Wrede would pay.
Xavier saw the questioning looks from staff. No one would dare ask any questions. But the sight of Xavier strolling through the office in sweatpants and a t-shirt with Waverly Sinner and the man she allegedly loved in tow was bound to raise a few eyebrows.
He veered off and swung by his admin’s desk. Roz was the guardian of his time and office, and even though he’d worked mainly from the New York and D.C. offices in recent years, they still spoke every day.
She eyed him from under her silvery sweep of hair. “Is this a new casual Thursday look?” she asked in her smoky voice.
“Hilarious, Roz. I need you to sit on a Russian heiress and her burly bodyguard in Micah’s office. Maybe order up brunch for everyone because this is going to be a long day. Reschedule any meetings Micah and I had until next week. And see if you can find me some work appropriate attire somewhere around here.”
“Is that all?”
“One more thing. I’m going to need a place big enough to hold this disaster of a team. Somewhere secluded and secure with no ties to any of us. We need it stocked.” That was Invictus code for necessities include food, clothing, and weapons.
“Consider it done,” Roz said without batting an eye.
“You’re a treasure, Roz.”
“You just be sure to remember that when it’s time for my lovely holiday bonus,” she suggested.
They put Petra and Anatoli in Micah’s office with Roz as the guard. She’d watch them like a hawk as she ordered up a brunch fit for a Russian heiress. Once the guests were settled, Xavier led the rest of them to the conference room and activated the privacy glass. He pulled a chair out for Waverly and claimed the spot next to her.
“Wrede, we’re starting with you,” he announced. “What the hell happened in Tahoe, and why haven’t you been in touch?”
If Dante was pissed off by Xavier’s attitude, the affable bastard didn’t show it. “Right. So, Waves and I both thought the assignment was a bit wonky,” he said, launching into his explanation as if he’d been dying to tell it. “She was going to get Petra out of the house so I could do a little snooping around. At this point, our orders were to stay close to Petra. So when Waves and Pet headed outside, I reported in to Brad and let him know that we were in.”
He must have caught the narrowing of Xavier’s eyes because he quickly explained. “Some of Brad’s assignments had strange caveats. I took the request to report in as one such caveat.”
Waverly leaned forward and poured a round of waters into the glasses that waited at the center of the table.
“I let myself in to Grigory’s study,” Dante continued.
“It was open?” Micah interrupted with the question.
Dante flashed him a grin. “I’m a bit of a locked door enthusiast.”
“So you broke into the study,” Xavier pressed, his annoyance palpable, but Dante was unfazed.
“Yes, well I wasn’t even in there for five minutes when a particularly canny security guy found me. He called two friends—by the way, Waves, that Wild West butler was not a butler—and they had me pinned down. I was right in the middle of convincing them I’d taken a wrong turn when the front door was breached.”
Xavier’s gaze slid to Waverly’s face. She was listening raptly, taking in the answers she’d been so desperate for.
“How many?” she asked.
“Five with semi-autos all wearing ski masks, which at the time, I thought was ironic given that we were in Tahoe. They were on a mission. Two of them pinned me and Stepanov’s security down in the loft from the foyer.” Two more started a sweep, and the other disappeared through the back of the house.
“That’s probably the one who shot you,” Xavier said mildly to Waverly.
Dante came out of his chair. “You were shot?”
“Your girlfriend there took a gut shot while hustling the bodyguards and Petra to safety. And then she climbed up the mountain looking for your ass, but you’d already abandoned her,” Xavier snapped, rising also.
“Abandoned her?”
That’s when the yelling and insult hurling started. It felt good to shout at Wrede, like a release valve had just been opened, at least until Waverly slapped the table with a palm of her hand.
“Enough! Micah, please keep Dante company while I talk to Xavier.” She latched onto his arm and dragged him from the room. She didn’t say a word until she’d pulled him into his office and slammed the door behind them.
She stood with her back to the door, her arms crossed in front of her. The fine line of her jaw was clenched tight. “I need you to chill the hell out in there, X,” she told him.
“Excuse me? Why should I give you anything that you need?” he demanded, still
looking for that fight. “You’ve done nothing but lie to me this entire time.”
“And I had my reasons for that, which I will get to later with you. For now, you are personally standing in the way of me getting the answers I need.”
“Yeah, well right back at you, baby.”
That shut her up for a second. “Dante and I are not together. Let’s leave it at that for now,” she said.
“This is my life we’re talking about right now. We are not leaving it at that!” Xavier railed. “You’ve strung me along, lied to me, used me. I put my company, my reputation, on the line for you. For what? Why the fuck am I doing any of this?” He shoved his hands through his hair.
She crossed to him, got into his space, and just her physical presence reminded him of why he was doing it. He loved her so fiercely he was willing to sacrifice it all. What a joke it was, to have worked his whole life to build something he could be proud of only to ante it up for Waverly in a game of Jenga. If she slid the wrong piece loose, the whole thing would crumble and he wasn’t sure she’d care.
“You’re letting your personal feelings get in the way of the job, Xavier. I need you to pull it back and help me with this.”
“This is personal. Everything with you is personal, and there’s no way to draw that line. It was personal five years ago, and it’s still fucking personal. Don’t jerk me around, Waverly. You don’t get to use me anymore.”
He didn’t know how it happened, whether she’d jumped or he’d grabbed, but she was in his arms. Her arms were wrapping around his waist and hanging on for dear life and he was crushing her to his chest.
“You make me feel so angry and so possessive I can’t see straight,” he murmured into her tangle of hair.
“You make me so everything, X.”
It hit him then. They’d found Dante, yet Waverly was in his arms. The fear he’d had since the beginning felt looser, less strangling. She wasn’t holding Dante, breathing him in and hanging on. Maybe she and Dante weren’t together. He’d figured that out the second she didn’t shoot him in Petra’s bed. But he’d still had that worry, that jealousy over their history, over her forgiveness of Dante’s abandonment.
He needed one more reassurance before he was willing to let her go, before he’d walk back into the conference room and not punch Dante in his smug, British face. He fisted his hand in her hair, pulling her head back. Those gorgeous gray-green eyes weren’t looking for answers now. They were looking at him, only him.
His mouth was hard when it lowered to hers, unforgiving and controlling. But she knew that’s what she was getting with him. With a hand on her jaw, he forced her mouth to open for him even though he knew she’d give it to him willingly. He was reminding her who she belonged with, who she belonged to. No matter what her history was, Xavier was her present, her future.
He thrust his tongue into her mouth, demanding her response. She sighed into the kiss, their first kiss with no one else between them. There was no nebulous threat of Dante coming back. He was back and she was still here returning heat for heat, need for need. Xavier backed her up until they hit the wall. Her teeth sank into his lower lip, and he felt the growl rumble in his chest.
No matter what, they had this, they had each other.
“Hey, Zave, do you want me to—Ah! My eyes!” Chelsea covered her face with her hands.
Xavier and Waverly sprang apart.
“Get out!” he ordered, turning his back on them both to spare his sister the sight of his hard-on through sweatpants.
“I’m going to go disinfect my eyes,” Chelsea said, practically sprinting from the room. She shut the door behind her.
“Uhh…”
“Don’t say anything or do anything or even breathe too loudly,” Xavier said, his back to Waverly. “Otherwise I’m going to bend you over that couch and the entire office is going to hear it when I make you come.”
He heard her exhalation come out in a whoosh. He took several deep breaths himself. “Do you see what you do to me, Angel? Do you see how crazy you make me?”
“Why do you want me, Xavier?”
“Why?” He turned to face her.
“People have wanted me before. They wanted to tagalong into fame, to take advantage of my connections, to get a front row seat for whatever surrounds me. Tell me why you want me.”
He risked his blood flow and put his hands on her again. He gripped her upper arms. “You don’t get it, Angel. I don’t just want you. I love you. You’re under my skin and you’re in my veins. I’ve been looking for you my entire life. I don’t give a shit about the fame and the drama. It’s you. You’re the girl who talks me into motorcycle rides up the coast and beach picnics. You’re the girl who leads me on a chase and then completely surrenders to me. You’re the girl who takes me inside her and makes me feel like I am finally the man I was meant to be.”
Tears glistened in her eyes. “Damn it, X!”
He cupped her jaw. “I’m in love with you, Waverly, and I’m not going to let you fuck this up for us.”
She threw herself into him, held on tight. “Promise me you won’t let me.”
“I swear to you, Angel.”
She took a shuddery breath. “Okay. We’ll talk later.”
“You’re damn right we will. And no distracting me with sex.”
“Maybe we should have it out on the phone, then,” she joked.
“Funny.” When she moved for the door, he held her by the wrist. “Waverly, I haven’t heard anything yet that means Wrede wasn’t involved.”
She looked at him, her eyes still damp. “I haven’t either.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
They returned to the conference room where Micah and Dante were discussing the Lakers’ chance at the playoffs.
“Where were we?” Xavier asked, holding Waverly’s chair for her.
“You were accusing me of abandoning my partner in a firefight.”
“As good a place as any to start,” Xavier snapped.
“Okay, how about I ask some questions?” Waverly suggested. “The five guns who showed up, did you get a nationality on them? Could they have been back-up for Stepanov’s men in the house?”
Dante shook his head. “They were American. Except for one Eurotrashy accent. They didn’t say a whole lot and took a great deal of pleasure shooting the place up.”
“Amateurs?” Waverly asked.
“More like overzealous new recruits.”
“So they fired on you from below. What happened next?”
“I had my piece on me, and I returned fire.”
“That must have been terrifying for everyone,” Waverly said dryly. “Dante here is a terrible shot,” she explained to Xavier and Micah.
“Let’s just say it’s not where my expertise lies,” Dante shot back. “Anyway, once the Russian goon squad realized I wasn’t part of the raid, they stopped worrying about me and started shooting, too.”
“Someone got hit upstairs,” Waverly said. “There was blood by the door and on the doorframe.
“One of the guards got clipped in the arm. We were taking fire from two sides and had to get out. They took my gun, dragged me out, and threw me in a van.”
“Not very trusting, those Russians,” Micah commented.
“My phone was upstairs in the office, I didn’t have a gun, and I had these three angry men shouting questions at me in Russian. It turns out they didn’t know who the welcoming party was either.”
“So you’ve been where since that night?”
“We rendezvoused with Petra and her guard Yurgei on the other side of the lake. Security called Grigory to report what happened. He certainly didn’t trust me, but when I told him I thought Petra was the target, he was less inclined to turn me over to the cops and more inclined to listen. He grudgingly believes I didn’t have anything to do with turning his Tahoe place into the O.K. Corral, but without knowing who exactly we were dealing with and what they wanted,
we both thought it would be better if I stayed off the grid with Petra. I’ve been basically a prisoner, though a well-kept one since. I knew someone would try for her again, especially after Stepanov told me about a business deal gone south.”
“The drug manufacture licenses?” she asked.
“Very good, Waves,” he said with pride. “Those guys never learned that no means no. They’re prepared to go to war to get the licenses.”
“But the drugs sell for less than a dollar a pill. Why the strong-arming for a product that isn’t going to pay off?” she asked.
“Ah, that’s the reason Stepanov squashed the deal. Axion Pharmaceuticals was going to put the drugs in question into closed distribution and jack up the prices. With limited distribution channels and no generics available? They’d make billions on everyone who needs to manage their blood pressure or survive malaria.”
“Dicks,” Micah muttered.
“Agreed. Stepanov saw me as an asset that he might be able to trade for his and Petra’s safety, or I could be sent back to Target and work from the inside for Stepanov, but it was clear that Brad was done with me. So he kept me and Petra on lockdown and tried to come up with a different plan. I think he was hoping to make himself a target, staying away from Petra and doing all these public functions.”
Waverly drummed her fingers on the glossy surface of the table and Xavier could see her wheels turning.
“It was the studio, wasn’t it?” she asked. “Axion hired Target to make Stepanov sell and Brad sent those guys in to grab Petra.”
“That’s my thought, yes,” Dante agreed. “They showed up almost immediately after I called into Brad. That’s too much of a coincidence.”
“Did you happen to notice if one of them had a gold tooth?” Xavier asked.
Dante frowned. “I do believe there was one who had a very shiny maniacal grin. You know him?”
“Waverly and I had the pleasure of meeting them in an alley this week.”
“When Petra was at the club,” Dante said, understanding dawning.
“Stepanov has you on lockdown and he’s aware of the threat against his daughter. So why send her out clubbing?” Xavier asked.