Page 44 of Xavier

Whoa. We’ve never had power turned on so fast after a hurricane before. Did Dad find out while he was driving around town?

His smile disappears as his expression turns serious. His eyes narrow slightly as he waits for silence to wash over the crowd.

“On a separate note, I want to give my praise to my daughter, Brianna, for being incredibly heroic. Two days ago, she witnessed a break in and an altercation that ended up with a man being murdered in cold blood.”

I feel sick. My stomach churns and threatens to expel my croissant from earlier.

Why would Dad bring this up now? Doesn’t he usually wait until the police have more information before having a press release? Why is today different?

“The murderer and his accomplice are still at large. I don’t know if they stayed in town to weather the storm or if they left before the storm hit. I promise you, the police department is working around the clock to find them and bring the killers to justice.”

Gossip immediately starts up as soon as Dad stops speaking.

Of course, they are gossiping about the murder. This is the juiciest bit of information they’ve heard since my breakup with Austin, and even then, this is better.

Dad might think the town will help find the two men, but they won’t. This town is full of nothing but a bunch of gossipers.

Sure, they might look out for one another, but when it comes down to serious crime, they all scamper away scared.

Dad continues to release details about the murder, including the vehicle the men were driving.

To be honest, I’m proud of daddy for not giving in to the police’s demand to stay silent about the murder. People need to know what happened, so they can better prepare themselves in case they encounter the men.

Dad has always been open and honest with Scarlett Island’s residents. That’s just one reason they love him.

Movement in the crowd gets my attention. My heart races, thinking it could be the killers, but it’s only Xavier.

My heart leaps in my chest, and my mind immediately registers disgust.

He’s rugged and manly, but he’s also grumpy and unhinged. I heard through the gossip vine about the bar fight that he had started.

It was incredibly reckless, not to mention irresponsible. His life is very different from my boring and predictable life.

My heart shouldn’t race when I think of him. My stomach shouldn’t fill with butterflies when I see him. And my pussy shouldn’t throb when he looks at me with his dark gaze.

But it does.

Wanting to be near him feels kind of dangerous, like doing constant loops on a roller coaster. It’s thrilling, exciting, and turns me on. And for some reason, I want more of it, but I know I shouldn’t.

The few talks I’ve had with him over the past two days have been unexpected. Fun even.

We might not have told each other secrets, but he’s slowly revealed tiny bits and pieces of who he is.

He was able to get me talking about myself and even my relationship with Austin.

My gaze locks onto Xavier as he walks through the crowd toward a man.

They have a short but intense looking conversation. There are no smiles involved at all. Just quick whispers between the two men.

Who is this mystery man Xavier is talking to? A friend?

I’ve seen this man in town once or twice before, but I can’t remember his name. He’s married to a teacher at the local high school, that much I remember, but I’ve never actually met him before.

After a few moments, Xavier and the man break apart and head toward the outskirts of the crowd.

What is going on? Why are they acting suspicious all of a sudden?

Xavier has been the center of everything bad that’s happened to me this week, except for my breakup.

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