Page 59 of Breaking the Rules
She glanced down before meeting his gaze again and nodding.
“I want you to know that you’re not in this alone anymore. You have me, and I’ll commit every resource I have to helping you find out what happened.”And protecting you,he added silently.
Waverly dipped her head. “Thank you, X. I can’t tell you what that means to me.”
He rubbed the pads of his thumbs over the smooth skin of her jaw. “But, Angel, you need to be prepared for the fact that you might not like those answers.”
“Dante didn’t do this. You’ll see,” she said earnestly before kissing him on the cheek and threading her fingers through his hair.
“That’s not my only concern here, Waverly. There’s a good chance he might be dead.”
Her fingers stilled in his hair. “I hope you’re wrong,” she whispered.
The unwavering faith she had in another man ate away at him. Wrede had abandoned her as Xavier had done. Only Xavier had walked out after he knew she was safe. Yet Wrede was the one she trusted, the one she believed in. The one who didn’t need to beg for forgiveness.
Xavier had been inside Waverly not twenty minutes ago, and already he felt the distance between them growing. Xavier pulled her in for a tight embrace. He wanted her thinking ofhim, needing him, loving him.
“I’m going to make some calls. Why don’t you get some sleep?” he suggested.
“It’s after one in the morning. Who’s going to answer the phone now?”
“Burke and Micah if they know what’s good for them,” he said lightly.
She wrapped her arms around him tighter. “You won’t… I mean…”
“I won’t tell anyone who doesn’t need to know. You’re my priority, Angel. Nothing has changed that.”
He felt her sigh against him. She pulled back and studied him in that disconcerting way she had. “Will you come to bed then?”
The tightness loosened in his chest. She may believe in Dante Wrede, but it was him she wanted in her bed.
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Burke answered on the first ring and sounded almost chipper. “Hey, boss.”
“I heard you had an eventful night,” Xavier said dryly.
“On the bright side, the airbags worked great,” Burke quipped.
“I take it the bad guys didn’t get the girl?”
“I caught up with them about a mile from her house. The idiot driving her car has to be the worst driver ever. I took a shortcut around the block and t-boned the chase car. Looks like Stepanov made it through the gates okay and the other guys limped off.”
“You get the plates?”
“Called ‘em in to the office when I was waiting for a tow.”
“What did you tell cops?”
“That some asshole ran the stop sign.”
Xavier sighed. “Good work tonight, but next time Angel gives you orders, maybe double check with me first?”
“Sorry, boss. She sounded very persuasive on the phone.”
Xavier thought of Waverly in the alley, three men crumpled at her feet. There was a possibility that the woman he was protecting didn’t actually need his protection.
He hung up with Burke and dialed Micah and took great pleasure in waking up his friend.
