Chapter 69

I lean back in my car as I wait for Xavier to finish his therapy session, my eyes glued to my e-reader. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I went to his house with The Story of Us in hand. Having read his words, I knew we deserved one more chance, but I wasn’t sure what it’d mean in practice. Would it be one of those things we say and promise, but don’t deliver on? Would things be okay for a little while, only for time to cast its wicked curse, making us forget all about our commitments as we slipped back into our comfort zones?

I’d been scared to trust, and Xavier proved all of my fears wrong. I thought he’d been committed to me before, but the way he’s been behaving from the moment I came home has exceeded all of my expectations. He decided to go to therapy to overcome some of the scars from his past, and I’ve been driving him there once a week, enjoying sitting in the car with my book for an hour, after which he takes me out for lunch.

Though he can’t be fully honest during his sessions, therapy has been working better for him than I could’ve hoped, and it helped him not spiral when Elijah nearly failed to foil an attack on Valeria last month. She stopped hiding after Grandma’s funeral, where she was photographed extensively, and as expected, it resulted in an increased amount of attempted violence toward us all. I didn’t know until recently, but in the years she stayed hidden, Valeria wiped out every criminal organization she’d learned about during her time in captivity, leaving behind a Queen of Spades playing card every time. Her list of enemies is longer than those of all her brothers combined, but she seems entirely unfazed by it.

My phone rings, and I look up in surprise when I see Valeria’s name flash across my screen. “I was just thinking about you,” I tell her, grinning to myself.

“Sierra,” she says, her tone grim. “You need to help me.”

I sit up, instantly on high alert. “What happened?” I ask, running a diagnostic on the tablet I carry everywhere, finding all of our security measures intact.

Xavier has spent months training me, teaching me how to shoot, and making sure my fitness levels and fighting skills stay at a level he’s comfortable with. He’s going to therapy, but in return, he asked that I make sure I’m never helpless, and that at the very least, I’m able to defend myself beyond what I was taught in my kidnapping prevention classes. It’s a task I’ve taken very seriously in an effort to show my commitment to him, and I’ve spent months learning about all kinds of security protocols, learning Krav Maga, and becoming comfortable carrying and using a gun.

“Enzo is acquiring half of Kingston Enterprises. I wasn’t told until literally ten minutes ago, and they’ve already drawn up the paperwork. Elijah isn’t listening to me and keeps saying that he’s more than happy to let go of managing the business so he can focus more on operations. You need to help me, Sierra. You need to talk to Xavier for me. If they sign those papers, Enzo will become my boss, and I…I can’t work with him. I just… I can’t.”

I frown as I listen to her. Kingston Enterprises is our private intelligence firm, and Elijah and Valeria mostly work with government agencies, off the record. Most of the people that work there don’t even exist on paper, and I would have been surprised that Enzo would want to get involved with it — had Valeria not been working there. “I’ll talk to Xavier about it, alright?”

She thanks me just as Xavier walks up to the car, and I end the call just as he opens the door. “Who was that?” he asks, leaning in for a kiss.

I wrap my hand around the back of his neck and lose myself in our kiss for a few moments, my heart instantly beginning to race. He still gives me butterflies, and he still makes time stop the moment he touches me.

“Valeria,” I answer, before pressing another quick peck to his lips. “I’m supposed to talk to you about Enzo trying to acquire a big stake in Kingston Enterprises.”

His expression shutters closed, and he looks away. “It’s a good partnership,” he says. “Enzo is exceptionally skilled at making businesses thrive, and quite frankly, Elijah just isn’t interested in that. He wants to be a field agent, but we can’t hand the reins over to anyone we don’t fully trust. I don’t have time for it, and Valeria isn’t ready for the position, nor has she ever wanted it.”

I nod as I drive us to The Siren, where we go almost every week. Valeria changed a lot after Enzo’s engagement party, and very quickly too. She became much more spirited, and more than once, I’ve heard Mom remark on how she’s herself again. I’m not sure what caused it exactly, but I know it’s got something to do with Enzo. “I think it’s a great idea,” I murmur. It feels like a betrayal to say it, because I know this isn’t what she imagined I’d say when she called me for help, but I think she needs him — more than she knows, more than she cares to admit. Seeing him at his engagement party wasn’t closure for her. It was something else, something I can’t quite put to words.

Xavier smiles as he steps out of the car and walks around it to open the door for me. “It is,” he reassures me, entwining our fingers as we walk in and head straight for our usual table.

“So, how is your book?” he asks as we sit down.

I never ask him about his therapy sessions, because I think that’s private, and it’s enough for me that he’s going. So instead, Xavier and I spend our lunch break talking about the books I’m reading, and every week, he asks me about my favorite scenes, only to then find little ways to re-enact them throughout the week. It’s thrilling to know he’s really listening to me like that, that he cares enough to make my little daydreams come true.

“Okay, so,” I begin to tell him, and he leans in, watching me like I’m telling him the most riveting story he’s ever heard, and my heart pounds wildly. I’m so in love with this man, and it’s absolutely unreal that I get to be his wife.

“So if I’m understanding correctly, the hero bought the apartment the heroine was renting when her landlord threatened to evict her? So now she can stay there? But she doesn’t know he bought it?”

I nod excitedly, and Xavier frowns. “I don’t get it. Why didn’t he just buy the whole building? He could’ve just moved in next door, and then he’d get to see her every day. Plus then she wouldn’t have to suffer from all those noise complaints you mentioned earlier, since there’d be no pesky neighbors anymore.”

I blink at him. “That’s… it’s just…” I shake my head and burst out laughing. “You know what?All my life, I’d been scared that no one would ever live up to the heroes I read about, and I guess it’s true.” He tenses, his expression falling. “You’re better, Xavier. You’re more than my dreams come true — you raised the standard, and I fear I’m forever spoiled.”

He lifts my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles gently. “Good,” he tells me, his eyes twinkling. “Because I love spoiling you.”