Page 82 of Breaking the Rules
“I’ve got her back, Saint,” Dante promised.
“I do as well,” Anatoli agreed in English.
“Uh, me, too,” Petra piped up. Her pink bag gave a tiny yip.
Only Waverly Sinner could garner the support of the woman she was kidnapping and the man paid to protect her.
“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.
