Page 94 of Guarded from Danger

I need to get to the door. Get out. Find safety until I can call the police. Until Xavier gets here.

“You fucking bitch!” she howls. “You’re not getting out of this!”

Rage like nothing I’ve felt surges through me. And with it, incredible confidence.

“Yes,” I bite out. And I grab the coffee table, my adrenaline making it feel weightless. “I will.”

And I fling it at her.

The wooden table slams into Kali, knocking her down.

The gun falls from her hand, and I race after it, kicking it away from her.

Kali is shouting, completely unhinged, “I hate you! I hate you!”

It’s chaos.

Then the door flies open, and Xavier—oh, Xavier, he’s here—comes storming inside.

He’s terrified. It’s all over his face. “Lucy!”

“Take care of her!” I shout. “I’m fine.”

Well. Sort of.

He pauses for less than a second, taking everything in.

His gaze turns deadly.

With an expression of barely-controlled rage, Xavier rushes over to Kali and has her zip tied in less than thirty seconds.

The entire time, she’s screeching, spitting hateful things, until Xavier snaps, “Shut the fuck up. Or I’ll knock you out. Don’t think because you’re a woman I won’t. You fucking tried to hurt Lucy, so all bets are off.”

Is it crazy I find dangerous Xavier sexy?

Is it crazy I’m thinking about sex at all right now?

Once Kali is fully restrained, Xavier carefully retrieves the gun and sets it on a nearby table. Then he runs to me and pulls me into his arms. His whole body is shaking as he hugs me against him.

“God.” Even his voice is trembling. “Are you hurt? What happened?”

“I… I’m…” Stopping, I take a deep breath, hold it for four, and let it out slowly. “I’m okay. Not hurt. But she wanted to… The gun. It was her, Xavier. She’s the one who gave them my name. For the game.”

“Fuck.” His arms convulse around me.

Outside the building, sirens approach.

Xavier releases me just enough to gaze down at me, his expression tortured as he meets my gaze. “I’m so sorry, Lucy.”

“It’s not… But how did you get here so quickly?”

Amid the fear and anger, his eyes soften. “Oh, Luce. I never left.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

XAVIER

“Xavier! I just finished!”

---