Page 57 of Hero Worship

"How did you even find us?" Xander sputtered. "And why would you—"

"Twenty hours," Xavier cut him off. "Twenty hours of you ignoring my calls and—" He broke off, really looking at the bruises now. "Seriously, what the actual fuck? I count at least eight visible marks, and those are just the ones above the collar."

"You flew to Paris," Xander said again, like he still couldn't quite process it. "You got on a plane and flew to Paris because I didn't answer my phone."

"Because our triplet bond was screaming danger so loud I couldn't sleep!" Xavier snapped. "What was I supposed to do? Ignore it?"

"Yes!" Xander threw up his hands. "Like a normal person! Normal people don't hop on international flights because their siblings aren't picking up!"

Xavier grimaced. "Jesus fucking Christ. What the hell happened to your neck? It’s seriously pissing me off seeing all that.”

"My neck is none of your business," Xander said, tugging the collar of my shirt higher. "What's definitely my business is how you managed to find us."

"You really want to play that game?" Xavier's eyes narrowed as he studied the room, taking in the scattered clothes, the rumpled bed. "Fine. Your phone kept pinging off towers near Charles de Gaulle, and your cover story about a fashion internship fell apart the moment I started digging."

"You did what?" Xander's voice went up an octave.

"You're not the only one who knows how to investigate," Xavier shot back. "Though I have to say, whoever helped create that cover story did an impressive job. The fake website almost had me fooled."

I tensed at that. The Lucky Losers tech team had spent weeks building that digital trail. If Xavier had managed to spot the inconsistencies...

"That still doesn't explain why you're here," Xander tried, but Xavier was already advancing on him.

"Take off the shirt."

"What? No!"

I got between them. “Hey, back off.”

Xavier completely ignored me. "Take it off or I start calling everyone on my contacts list, starting with Papa."

Xander's face went pale. "You wouldn't."

"Try me." Xavier pulled out his phone. "I'm sure Papa would love to hear about all these mysterious bruises. And Shepherd's new number is right here..."

"Fine!" Xander yanked off the shirt, revealing the bruises I'd left across his chest and shoulders. "Happy now?"

Xavier's sharp intake of breath said he definitely was not happy. His eyes cataloged each bruise, each bite mark with growing fury. "Who did this to you?"

"I did," I said calmly, moving to stand behind Xander. "With his full consent and enthusiasm."

"His full—" Xavier broke off, looking between us. Understanding dawned in his eyes, followed quickly by horror. "Oh god. You're sleeping with your handler."

The room went dead silent.

"I never said he was my handler," Xander said carefully.

"You didn't have to." Xavier gestured at me. "Professional stance, tactical positioning, the way he's been assessing threats since I walked in. Plus, the fact that you're clearly on some kind of undercover operation that required an elaborate cover story." His eyes narrowed. "The real question is, who are you working for?"

Then he went very still, looking between us with dawning realization. His eyes widened. "Holy shit. You're working for Algerone, aren't you? This is a Lucky Losers operation."

Xander's silence was confirmation enough.

"Are you insane?" Xavier exploded. "I've been trying to hack their systems for months to figure out what they're up to, and you just what? Walked right in the front door? Let our biological father's murder-for-hire company send you undercover?"

"It's more complicated than that," I said.

"Is it? Because from where I'm standing, my brother is covered in bruises, about to attend some party that has him terrified,and working for the same psychopath who tried to kidnap us last year!"

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