Page 106 of Xavier

No shit.

I want to tell him as much, but that won’t help me get back to Florida.

“Is there anything else I should know before Hudson gets here?”

He shakes his head. “You know everything now, but I’d like to keep this from the public. How much does Brianna know?”

“After my conversation with my intel guy, she knows everything except for your side of the story and why you kept your past a secret from them.”

“I guess I’ll have to have that conversation at some point.”

“Yeah, but in a month because she deserves a relaxing vacation before coming back here.”

He raises his eyebrow but doesn’t say anything as the sound of a car approaching alerts us of company.

It should be Hudson, but we don’t take any chances.

We grab our guns and head to the front door.

My phone chimes with a text. Looking at it, I say, “It’s Hudson. He’s outside.”

John claps me on the shoulder. “Call me when it’s over and I’ll deal with the police. Also, I need the men alive. There’s a lot I can get the police to overlook, but murder isn’t one of them.”

“I’ll remember that.” I say before holstering my gun and jogging out to meet Hudson.

He’s not in his normal vehicle. He’s in an all white van.

Getting into the passenger seat, I ask, “Where’d you get the serial killer van?”

Hudson chuckles. “There’s a lot you missed over the past several weeks.”

My glance moves to the front door where John is still standing and watching us.

Fucking dick.

“I guess John just forgot to fill me in. What’s the story?”

Hudson drives in the direction of the abandoned warehouses.

“We’ve been busy cleaning house and gathering evidence. While the guys were in Florida, we raided the warehouse and arrested several accomplices. We confiscated all their stolen goods and drugs.”

He pats the dash of the van before saying, “This is one of the workers’ vans. I’m driving it so the guys aren’t suspicious.”

“At least John was doing more than just waiting for this to end.”

“You should cut him some slack, X. He feels horrible about lying to his family.”

I roll my eyes. “I’m not cutting him any slack. He put Brianna’s life in danger. Multiple times. Besides, he didn’t have to watch her happiness slip away day by day. It was the hardest fucking thing I’ve ever had to do, which is why I ended up taking her away.”

Hudson stops at a red light and looks over at me. “Damn, dude, you got it bad. I knew this was going to happen. I just didn’t think it was going to be the town’s princess.”

“Yeah, well, it fucking did, so I’d like to finish this as quick as we can so I can tell her how I feel.”

“You left without telling her you love her? Damn.” He shakes his head as the light turns green.

“We kind of left things weird.”

That’s the understatement of the year, but I don’t want to get into that right now. I fucked up, but I’m going to make sure she knows how I feel as soon as I can get back down there to her.

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