Page 76 of Xavier

I fall forward in his arms, feeling weightless and happy.

Chuckling, I say, “Fuck. If I knew it was going to be that good, I would have cornered you in the gym weeks ago.”

He grunts in response as his arms wrap tighter around me, pulling me closer to him.

It was explosive and the best I’ve ever had by a mile.

How will I leave all of this behind once it’s safe to return home?

Chapter Eighteen

XAVIER

Rapid fire gunshot echoes in the cool night air around me.

I can’t tell if it’s friend or foe, but I’m hoping it’s my team covering me as I sneak around the corner of the ruined house.

Windows are busted, the roof is caving in, and the walls are barely standing up on their own. I crouch as I approach a window.

There are no voices or movement coming from inside, so I peek through the broken glass.

It’s a child’s bedroom.

The two small beds are flipped over. The bed frames are destroyed. Clothes are strewn around, like someone tried to pack in a hurry. Finger paintings and wooden toy blocks litter the floor.

What happened to the children that live here? Are they alive and sheltering somewhere safe? Did they get hit in the crossfire?

My gut tightens as I remember the bodies we drove past. Bodies that were discarded on the side of the road, like their lives meant nothing.

Will their families look for them?

Will they get a proper burial?

If I were in their place, would anyone care that I’m gone?

Probably not.

I’d be forgotten, like the victims of war.

The gunshots sound closer, and not in the friendly fire, watching my back kind of way.

Someone yells in the distance, but I can’t hear what they are saying over the loud gunshots and explosions.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath as the commotion morphs into knocking on a nearby hotel room door, followed by someone yelling in the hallway.

Jumping out of bed, I reach for my gun on the end table.

Brianna jerks awake, sitting up with a gasp. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”

I place my gun back down, plop on the bed, and let out a groan as I look at the clock. It’s a little after eight.

“Yeah. It was just a bad dream and lots of rude people in the hallway, but it’s time to get back to the safe house.”

Brianna lays back and pulls the cover over our heads. “Aww, do we have to? It’s still early.”

The way she pushes her lower lip out in a pout makes me want to kiss her.

“I wish we could stay out all day. I wish this was over and you were free to do whatever you wanted. But until the killers are caught, we have to lie low and stay at the safe house.”

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