Page 64 of Xavier

He stares at me for what feels like an eternity. I hold my breath, scared for the truth to finally come out.

“Spec Ops.”

My gasp causes him to narrow his eyes at me.

“What?” He clenches his jaw and waits for me to explain my reaction.

Does he not know that Dad was also special operations?

My eyebrows furrow as I ask, “Do you really not know?”

“I have no clue what you are gasping about.”

And he really doesn’t. I can see the confusion in his eyes despite his expression being neutral.

“Part of what Dad talked to Mom and me about before you picked me up was that he was prior spec ops for the Army. He bought this house under his real name, Isaac Thornton.”

“So John is-”

“An alias. A completely made-up name. Did you ever know or work with an Isaac Thornton?”

Surely, there aren’t that many people that specialize in spec ops.

He shakes his head. “I was in the Marine Corps, and my team never worked with other branches unless it was the three letter agencies in DC.”

Damn. Another dead end.

“Can you show me what’s downstairs?”

He nods and heads down the stairs first. I stick close behind him so I don’t trip. When we reach the bottom, Xavier flips a switch and my mouth falls open.

This secret basement is the complete opposite from upstairs. It’s sleek, elegant, and modern.

There’s a gym set up on one end of the long room, bunk beds on the opposite end, a desk and computer setup with three monitors near the bunks, and an entire living room down here.

I’m assuming the door leads to a bathroom and upon opening it, my suspicions are right. This bathroom is bigger than the one upstairs.

It’s like half the size of the entire house upstairs.

The tiled walk-in shower is almost double the size of the one upstairs, with one long bench along the back wall. The double vanity is granite, and right in the middle of the enormous bathroom is a huge jetted tub.

I walk back to the main room with a grin on my face. “Now that is a bathroom.”

Xavier chuckles and returns my smile. “It’s all yours, Princess.”

My nostrils flare at the nickname, but I don’t say anything. I’m too excited about the jetted tub to let anything affect my mood.

Xavier moves around the room, opening secret compartments built into the wall.

Guns upon guns line the hidden shelves. Ammo boxes are stacked underneath based on caliber.

Another compartment has various accessories, like tracking devices, handheld GPS machines, walkie talkies, wire cutters, and flashlights.

Before Xavier can show me anything else, I say, “What. The. Fuck.”

“After doing some digging in the yard this morning, I found a separate fresh water well, a solar generator, and the vent system for this area.”

He softens his tone, but continues to share his discoveries with me. “There’s also a metal door under the bunk beds that we can put at the top of the stairs to keep everyone out.”

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