Page 19 of Breaking the Rules
He ran a finger down the last piece of tape sealing it to her skin. “Thank you for your honesty,” he said. “Now it’s my turn. I’m not settling for this. I will find out what happened—with or without your answers—and put a stop to it. No one hurts you and gets away with it. And if I find out that Wrede had anything to do with this, I’ll show him what a gut shot feels like.”
“This wasn’t Dante’s fault,” Waverly argued.
“But he was involved,” Xavier surmised.
Waverly’s mouth closed with a snap.
“You could have been killed. Again. Waverly, normal people don’t go around getting stabbed and shot. You make movies. This shouldn’t be happening.” He could hear the emotion rising in his own voice.
“I’m safe now,” she said stubbornly.
And she was. He was by her side and not leaving it again. If Waverly Sinner weren’t in this world, then nothing else would matter.
He lay down next to her and gathered her close so her back was fitted to him.
She stiffened against him but didn’t try to pull away.
“Just give me this. Please. Let me have this,” he said, lips moving against her hair. He held her as he had so many nights before, locked in the safety of his arms. He breathed her in and let the feel of her warm body cradled against him calm him.
He felt her relax degree by degree. Xavier wanted to say the words in that moment. To remind her how much he loved her, but she would only pull away. He had to be patient, and he had work to do. But first, he could just hold her, even just for a moment, even if she didn’t realize she was already his.
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That afternoon, they bid Marisol good-bye at the end of the dock. Waverly wrapped the tiny woman in a fierce hug. “Thank you for always being here when I need you, Mari,” she whispered in her ear.
Marisol patted her gently. “You’re a good girl. Make better decisions so next time a vacation is just a vacation.”
Waverly took the criticism with a grin. “I’ll do my best.”
Marisol moved on to Xavier. “I trust you will keep our girl safe?”
“Mari—” Waverly began, but Xavier cut her off.
“I will,” he nodded solemnly.
“Good. I’ll hold you to that,” she promised.
She bid her good-byes to Kate, and they waved her off as the water taxi made a sweeping arc away from the dock before heading south toward San Pedro.
“Who’s up for dinner out tonight?” Kate asked as they trooped back down the dock.
“Me!” Waverly decided. She’d been here six days and had yet to leave the property.
Kate looked over her shoulder at Xavier. “You in, X-Man?”
“I go where she goes,” he said, nodding at Waverly.
“Chicken Shack?” Kate asked.
“Chicken Shack,” Waverly agreed.
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They dressed casually in shorts and t-shirts. Waverly wore a ball cap with her hair pulled through the back in a sloppy ponytail.
Xavier insisted on driving, so they took the golf cart south on the only road that served as a definitive line. It wound along between oceanfront properties on their left and ramshackle abodes on theirright, betweensand and swamp.
They bumped along for nearly a mile before Waverly pointed out the red roofed shack on the right. A hand-painted sign read Chicken.
