by Lucy Score
“What do you want with Petra? Or is it Grigory you’re after?” Waverly questioned.
Brad turned on her. “You listen to me. Your job is to do your assignments, nothing more. I don’t pay you to second guess me or try to wrap your brain around the complex worlds of politics and business. You smile pretty and collect the information we need. Don’t try to play hero and save heiress’s lives or track down assets.”
“I do a lot more for you than just smile pretty,” she reminded him coolly.
“Don’t overinflate your worth. You’re replaceable, and so is Wrede.”
“Where’s Dante?” Waverly snapped.
“I’m surprised that you don’t know.” Brad’s phone signaled in his pocket. “Now, what I need for you to do is lay low until you hear from me again. Stick to the story and keep your mouth shut or don’t be surprised if men with guns show up on your doorstep.”
He wrestled the phone out of his pocket and answered it on his way back up the path.
“Mother fucker,” Waverly muttered.
“My sentiments exactly.”
She jumped a mile out of her skin and was pulling the gun from her back when Xavier stepped out of the scrub brush.
Her fingers brushed the metal, and she pulled back at the last second. “What are you doing here?” she asked. They both froze when they heard the engine rev from the parking area.
But it was Brad leaving.
“I got your note,” Xavier said, his voice chilly with calm.
“Yeah, I was just about to go pick up breakfast for us,” she said uneasily. With a thirty foot drop to her back and Xavier at her front, she wasn’t liking her chances for escape. And he may have pissed her off, but she didn’t feel that quite warranted shooting her way out.
“Why don’t you sit first and we’ll have a little chat?”
“I think I’m good. I don’t need to talk,” she crossed her arms.
“Let me rephrase that.” Xavier stepped over the bench and into her personal space. “Sit the hell down and tell me why you’re sneaking out for pre-dawn meetings without telling me.”
“Do you really want to go over the whole ‘I didn’t hire you’ thing again? Because we can,” Waverly said, jumping on the offensive. “I didn’t hire you. You don’t work for me.”
“And I told you before, I go where you go or I spill all your secrets.”
“You don’t know my secrets!” Her voice echoed around the canyon. Unless he’d been there for the entire conversation.
“I know that you weren’t in rehab for ten days. I know that you were in Petra Stepanov’s house when you got shot by a bunch of goons with guns. I know that you haven’t heard from Dante since that night, and I also know that when I find him, I’m going to kick his ass for pulling you into this.” He ticked the items off on his fingers.
“Dante didn’t pull me into this!”
“You’re in over your head and refusing to let me help you is just fucking stupid,” he snapped.
“You know what’s fucking stupid? You underestimating me. You don’t want to help. You want to swoop in and take over. And I don’t need you to. I have everything under control!”
“Then where’s Dante? And why was that guy threatening you? I got his plates when I got here, you know I’m going to run them and him.”
She bit back a sigh of relief. So he hadn’t heard the entire conversation. That was a plus.
“That ray of sunshine was Brad Tomasso, head of Target Productions. I have a movie coming out with them soon, and he’s pissed that I could be hurting the rep of the film with my recent antics. I came because I was hoping he had information on Dante.”
“Your recent antics involve a fake stay in rehab confirmed by Target Productions.” Xavier leaned back against the railing, a deceptively casual stance.
“None of this is your business, X. How the hell did you find me anyway?”
“Tracker on your bike.”
At her gasp of indignation, he grinned. “I know you, Waverly. You want to pretend that we’re strangers, go right ahead. But I know every move you’re going to make before you make it. Even the stupid ones like meeting someone alone in the dark when no one knows where you are.”
She gave herself a second to fantasize flipping him over the railing and into the canyon.
“You wouldn’t be able to get me off the ground,” he said with a smirk.
“I hate you.”
“You hate that you want me,” he corrected.
“Dream on,” she spat out.
He pounced like a jungle cat, one second relaxed and the next second hauling her up against his side. “The way I see it is you have the drive back to your house to decide whether you’re going to let me in, or I can go public with what I do know. I’d be defending your honor, of course. I hate to see your reputation smeared with a fake rehab story, especially since it’s causing you problems at work. I’ll start with your parents, but I’m sure the media and gossip sites would be happy to have a statement from me about you.”
She let the anger spiral through her. It was a safe emotion. She went for a low blow. “If you’re trying to blackmail me into a relationship with you, it’s not going to work.”
He pushed her along toward the parking lot, his arm anchored around her shoulders. “Angel, we’re already in a relationship. You just don’t want to accept it.”
She tried to shrug him off. “No, I’m already in a relationship,” she reminded him. So what if it was fake? Xavier didn’t know that.
He paused and let his arm drop from her shoulders to take her wrist. “I don’t see him here, do you? And I sure as hell didn’t see him when you got shot. So unless Wrede is dead, he deserves an ass-kicking, which I will provide when I find him.”
Oh, he was angry. She could feel it flowing through his grip on her wrist, see it in those molten eyes. Waverly glared up at him. She could go toe-to-toe with him, wanted to even, but she knew what happened when they met in the middle with anger. They always ended up in bed.
She saw headlights coming from the parking lot above, heard doors closing and voices. The day was beginning for the rest of the world. And she was just getting started.
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The ride home was a quiet one. Xavier refused to let her take her bike home and stuffed her into the passenger seat of his SUV, buckling her seatbelt himself. She thought about what fun the pepper spray would have been but realized the quarters were too close.
Instead, she closed her eyes and thought through her conversation with Brad. He didn’t know where Dante was either. She was sure of that now. Which meant there was a good chance that he was alive, somewhere. He’d given her the information she’d been looking for, and as soon as she heard back from Chelsea, she’d have a clearer path to what needed to happen next.
But first she had to survive dinner with her parents and Xavier tonight. She wasn’t looking forward to dancing that tight rope of assuring her mother that she wasn’t turning into a second-generation alcoholic and keeping Xavier under control.
She felt Xavier bring the SUV to a stop and opened her eyes. She frowned at him. “What are you doing?”
“You promised me breakfast,” he said innocently.
“Every time we’re seen in public together people are going to assume things,” she reminded him pointedly.
“What a pity,” he grinned.
“Ass.”
She followed him out of the car to Zia’s Café. The people at the miniscule bar tops at the front of the café basked in the autumn sunshine that poured in through the front windows. The floors were a gray washed oak, the walls alternated with splashes of cream and khaki. A handwritten chalkboard menu hung above both registers. The entire place smelled like a dozen different coffees and fresh baked goods. The baristas all followed a similar dress code. Black on black with green aprons and facial jewelry. There were several early birds already in line and a dozen more patrons scattered a
bout the tables and barstools.
It could have been worse, she reminded herself. He could have rolled up in front of a Starbucks on Hollywood Boulevard. It wasn’t likely they’d run into any paparazzi here. But she still heard a gasp and felt the weight of a half dozen gazes on her when Xavier held the door for her.
No paparazzi. But fans, on the other hand, were a different story.
The cell phones were up in seconds, and Waverly did her best to ignore them. Xavier leaned in to whisper in her ear. “You’d better smile and look happy and healthy, or else I’ll be forced to plant a kiss on you that no one will forget.”
Waverly looked up at him with a smart-ass smile on her face. “Try it, and I’ll kick you in the balls so hard you’ll be shooting blanks for the rest of your life.”
He grinned wolfishly.
“Angel, if you’re going for my balls, we both know it won’t be to kick them.”
She didn’t like where that statement took her mentally so she turned her back on him to study the menu. The girl in line in front of her held up her cell phone pretending to take a selfie but was clearly lining up to get Waverly and Xavier in it.
Waverly sighed and grabbed Xavier by the shirtfront, pulling him in with her over the girl’s shoulder. “Smile pretty, Saint.”
It opened the floodgates, of course, and by the time they walked out of the café—coffees and breakfast sandwiches in hand—they’d posed for a dozen pictures with customers and staff.
The first time someone asked for a picture with just Xavier, Waverly couldn’t stifle her laughter. She’d insisted on taking the picture herself and thoroughly enjoyed Xavier’s discomfort. It was fun to be on the other side of the camera for a change as she’d found with the handful of production projects she’d done.
“You’re up to something,” Waverly said with suspicion as they got back in the SUV.
Xavier flashed her that smile that always sent her heart stumbling. “The way I see it, someone’s after you. So it can’t hurt to let them know that you’re not going to be easy to get to.”
“And there’s the added bonus of making it look like we’re dating.”
“Angel, don’t underestimate your appeal. If I were Wrede and saw those pictures, nothing would keep me from you.”
“And if our fake relationship doesn’t bring him out of hiding?” Waverly said, struggling under the ironic weight of being in two fake relationships at the same time.
“Then we go hunting.”
CHAPTER NINE
“Okay, have I suddenly entered an alternate dimension, or am I staring at you and Xavier mugging for the camera in a coffee shop selfie?” Kate demanded through the phone against Waverly’s ear.
Waverly reached for her tablet on the nightstand in her bedroom and opened a browser. “Which site?” she asked.
“Uh, yeah. All of them. Like seriously, Wave, this just blew the rehab story out of the water. You’re even on CNN.”
“Crap.” Neither she nor Xavier had ever publicly acknowledged that they’d been in a relationship. After five years—a lifetime to the media—she’d hoped it wouldn’t be such a big story. But she was wrong. The picture was at the very top of Celeb Spotting’s website with a caption that hinted that everyone’s wildest fairy tale dreams could be coming true since Waverly Sinner and Xavier Saint stepped out together for an early morning breakfast.
“You look happy,” Kate commented.
Waverly frowned at the picture and dismissed it. “I’d just threatened to kick him in the balls. I was feeling pretty good.”
“What do you think the studio’s gonna say about these pics?”
“Judging from my meeting this morning, they probably won’t be happy,” Waverly predicted.
“Did you get anything out of Dipshit this morning?” Kate asked, referring to Brad with her special pet name for him.
“Nothing concrete,” Waverly told her. “But I’ve got Chels digging.”
Kate snickered. “Xavier is going to freak out when he finds out about her.”
“Well, let’s make sure he’s packed up and moved out of my life before he does.”
“Good luck with that,” Kate snickered.
“I need to make a move, and soon. I just have this gut feeling that something is going down.”
“I hope you’re wrong. And I hope Dante comes sauntering back into town with his sexy smile, and then we can watch the two of them fight over you.”
“You’re insane,” Waverly laughed.
“Want me to come over? We can start working on your mea culpa for Gwendolyn. She’s going to kick your ass over this mess.”
Waverly had a meeting scheduled with her publicist in two days. Thankfully, the woman was busy squashing another client’s sex tape and wasn’t free sooner.
“No, take a couple of days and do something fun. Things are a little tense here since X busted me with Brad this morning,” she told Kate.
“That guy never ceases to amaze me.”
“It’s not so amazing when he slaps trackers on all of my vehicles,” Waverly complained. The rumble from the driveway caught her attention. “Speaking of, I think my bike’s back. He must have had someone from Invictus bring it over. I gotta go.”
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Micah Ross yanked off the motorcycle helmet and hooted in Waverly’s driveway. “Damn, that’s a sweet ride you got there, Sinner.” He’d long ago abandoned Xavier’s code name for her in favor of what he referred to as her “more realistic” last name.
Waverly laughed from the porch as he cut the engine. “You better not have scratched her.”
“Where’s your ride?” Xavier asked him, stepping up next to Waverly.
Micah jerked a thumb in the direction of the road. “Burke couldn’t keep up with me on this baby.” He swung a long leg over the seat and jogged up the walk to them. “Don’t you two look cozy?” he commented as they made room for him on the porch.
“Funny, Micah. Can I get you something to drink?” Waverly offered.
Micah shot a look at Xavier. “How about a coffee?”
“I suppose you want one as well?” she asked Xavier.
“Please,” he said, offering her that devastating grin.
She led the way into the house and continued on into the kitchen while Xavier pulled Micah into the living room off the entrance.
“Nice place,” Micah said, eyeing the room.
“Don’t even try to skate on that,” Xavier warned him. “I know you’ve been here. I know you installed the security system.”
Micah crossed his arms and sat on the chaise end of the couch. “And you’re pissed.”
“You’re lucky I’m not beating the shit out of you right now. You shut me out of Invictus business.” Beneath the anger was a hurt that he hadn’t expected. He’d counted on Micah to have his back from battlefield to boardroom.
“Saint, you know I love you like a brother—” Micah began.
“But what? You could have told me.”
“She asked me not to,” Micah said simply.
“Oh, so if a client asks me to go set your fucking house on fire I should go ahead and do that?”
“Look, she was a good kid, and I felt like we owed her. She could have dropped us like we were hot when you got your panties in a bunch and walked out. She could have taken that out on the business, but she didn’t. So I owed her because you owed her and were in no shape to repay her.”
“I can’t believe you’ve been lying to me this whole time.”
“Chill the hell out, lover boy. I installed a security system. Occasionally we provided drivers and guards to Mr. and Mrs. Sinner. End of story. You were so gone over this girl. Man, when I poured you on that plane to your family, part of me didn’t expect to see you again. But you pulled yourself together and got back on track, eventually. But don’t think for a second that I didn’t see you cringe every time there was a news story about her. Especially when she starte
d dating Wrede.”
“Yeah, well, Wrede is out of the picture now.”
“Don’t fuck this up again, Saint. I don’t know if either of you can handle another round.”
Xavier shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the floor. “I’m not fucking this up again. I’m fixing what needs to be fixed, and then I’m going to convince her that I’m the one she wants.”
Micah nodded once. “She was leveled over you. Hid it a little better than you, of course. But that’s the actor in her. So don’t do it again to either of you, got it?”
“Got it.” Xavier nodded.
“We good?” Micah asked.
“Maybe. I’ll let you know. I still want to kick your ass.”
“Well, while things are up in the air, let me get on your ass about getting back into the office.”
“You told me it was about damn time I took a vacation!”
“Yeah, I meant like a long weekend to Aruba or something. You’ve been out for a week, and the natives are getting restless.”
“Micah’s right,” Waverly said brightly from the door. She was carrying a tray with coffees and accessories.
Xavier took the tray from her and put it down on the table in front of Micah.
“You should definitely be getting back to the office.” Excitement and hope warmed her voice.
“Nice try, both of you, but I’m staying put. Unless Waverly flies to New York with me to take a day and a half of meetings and then on to London.”
“Mmm, sorry. Busy. But feel free to go on your own,” she offered, helping herself to one of the cups of coffee.
“We really could use you in-house at least while you’re here,” Micah began again.
“Let me see your phone,” Xavier demanded. He knew when he was being played.
Micah looked sheepish. “My phone?” he patted his jacket pockets. “Hmm, must have left it in the office.”
