Page 43 of Out of the Darkness

Melanie lifted her chin defiantly. “Don’t I? What about what you did to David?”

The corner of his mouth twitched up despite the current situation. That was a memory he was rather fond of. Melanie was smart, he’d give her that. She knew what he had done to David, but if ahe had ID’d him, he would be in cuffs already. As it stood, she was bluffing.

“Who’s David?” he asked nonchalantly.

“I thought you two were here to talk about Madelyn,” Isabelle interjected impatiently. “Isn’t she missing or some shit?”

“And who the fuck are you?” The accusation was clear in Melanie’s voice as she glared at Isabelle before looking back at him. “Are you screwing her too? Does Madelyn know?”

He didn’t have time for this shit. Madelyn was out there somewhere, in Colby’s hands, no less. He needed to get this moving along.

“Isabelle is an old associate of mine, and yes, Madelyn knows about her. Madelyn knows more about me than you think.” Melanie cocked an eyebrow in question, but he continued. “So, here’s the deal. The man who killed your guy? His name is Colby, and you do not want to go after him, okay? You will only get yourself and anyone you take with you killed.”

Melanie laughed humorlessly. “You are a real piece of work, you know that? I don’t know what Madelyn even sees in you. I am going to find her, Xavier. Not only is it my job, but unlike you, I’m not going to leave her with some psycho.”

“Damn it, Melanie!” he exclaimed loudly. “I’m not leaving her with Colby. I’m going after him.”

“And you are better suited to do so because?”

Taking a step toward her, he was about to tell her, but Isabelle surprisingly beat him to it. “Because we are hired killers, Detective. We were all trained by the same man from a very young age. We know how Colby works and operates, and we know how to take him down.”

He found it shocking that Isabelle had divulged so much. It wasn’t like her, but at least, she was helping to keep the conversation going.

“I was higher up in the chain of command than Colby was,” he continued, motioning toward his still-healing face. “And he still managed to take me down. That’s why Madelyn was taken. I was unconscious for the last two weeks. If I hadn’t been, then I would have protected her. But I’m ready for him this time, and you have my word that I will get Madelyn back. But you can’t go after him, Melanie. You will only get yourself killed.”

The look on Melanie’s face was one of disbelief. “You… you came here to warn me? To protect me?”

“Trust me, I can’t believe it either. This shit isn’t what I do, but when I found out that you were leading the investigation, I had to warn you, for Madelyn’s sake. And now I have. So?—”

Xavier nodded at Isabelle, letting her know, without words, that they were leaving. However, Melanie’s voice stopped him. “Why?” she asked suddenly. When he looked over at her, she continued. “Why bother to warn me? Why do you care what happens to me? Surely, you know by now that I have never been supportive of whatever fucked up relationship you have with Madelyn.”

“I’m aware,” he stated simply as he turned to face her once more. “And to be frank, I couldn’t give two shits about what happens to you. But you are important to Madelyn. You are her best friend. If anything happens to you, it will devastate her, and I’d like to avoid that if possible.”

“You really do care about her.” It was Isabelle who spoke, but he didn’t take his eyes off Melanie.

“I love her.”

Those three simple words felt strange on his tongue. He had never said them out loud to anyone since his mother died. Once she died, he had vowed to never say them again. However, meeting Madelyn had changed everything.

Melanie sighed heavily. “Okay, look. I may not understand this whole thing between you two, and to be honest, I may never understand it, but I can tell that you mean that.”

“I do.” And he had never meant anything more.

“And I could tell that Madelyn cares about you too when she was telling me about the two of you.”

“What’s your point, Melanie?” he asked impatiently.

“My point is it would devastate Madelyn if anything happened to you, too, and this guy already bested you once.”

Xavier shook his head and did something that he had never done before. He gently grasped Melanie’s arms in his hands. “Again, that was just because I underestimated him and was vastly outnumbered. I won’t make that mistake again. Trust me.”

Melanie shifted on her feet and rolled her eyes. “I care about her too, you know. Like you said, she’s my best friend. So, forgive me if I can’t take someone like you at your word.”

He should have just left it at that. He had already spent more time there than he had planned to, but he had to do something. Otherwise, Melanie wasn’t going to listen to him. She would go after Colby and end up getting herself killed.

Taking a step away from her, he winced as he pulled off his sweatshirt. “I’m going to show you something, Melanie. Something that will explain how I can be so confident that I can take down Colby and how I know that Madelyn and I are destined to be together.”

Melanie shook her head, confused. “What do you?—”

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