“This is amazing,” I tell him. “But why did you bring me here?”
“You like it?” he asks thoughtfully, making me nod. “Good. I wasn’t sure you would, but I’m glad I’ve done a good job. It was my hope you’d enjoy spending time here.”
“Me spending time here?”
My eyes widen. Xavier points to the breakfast table and we take our seats. By now, it’s almost morning, lazy sunbeams poking through the billowy curtains into the room.
“This is like something out of a fairytale,” I mutter. “It’s fit for a princess.”
“Or an angel,” Xavier muses with a sneaky smile.
“What do you mean?”
“First things first, do you want some breakfast?”
“I suppose,” I mutter, worriedly glancing outside. “It’s getting light out, we’ll need to head back soon...”
He orders breakfast on his phone and moments later a maid wheels in a trolley laden with food. Xavier serves us both and dismisses the maid. I feel his gaze on me the entire time I eat, silently watching me. His attention makes goosebumps erupt all over my skin. I’ve craved it for so long and yet now that it’s happening, I’m afraid of it.
“Why did you bring me here, Xavier?” I ask once I’ve finished my food, dabbing my lips with a powder pink cloth napkin. Only when I pull it back, I realize it’s embroidered with my initials.
“I wanted you to have your own room at my house,” Xavier explains slowly. “I know you enjoy spending time with your parents, but I’m also hoping we’ll spend a lot more time together now that you’re a little older.”
“Oh?”
I try to ignore the nervous flutter of my heart. Despite everything, this is so very exciting. I’ve always looked forward to my birthdays because I got to see Xavier, but now it seems as if I’ll get plenty more time with him, more than I’d expected at least.
“There’s something else.”
Our eyes meet, and my blood runs cold. Xavier looks different now, almost troubled by something he wants to tell me. I wait for the news with bated breath, but nothing could prepare me for what Xavier says.
“Yesterday I was in a meeting when I got a call,” he mutters. “Anonymous. We tried to track it down, but we were unsuccessful.”
“What call?”
“It was a warning,” he goes on, finally meeting my frightened gaze. “They told me you were in danger, angel. They told me someone would try to kill you at your parents’ house tomorrow.”
“W-What?”
My bottom lip trembles as I stare at him. I’m not an idiot - it’s been plainly obvious to me my family deals with some illegal things, but Dad’s never allowed for that to make us feel unsafe. What Xavier is saying now, though... It means someone has gotten past Dad’s security and background checks. If Xavier hadn’t collected me in the night, I could be dead by now.
“Why would someone want to kill me?”
“I don’t know yet,” he mutters. “I’m assuming it’s something to do with me or your father. You know this business is risky.”
I swallow thickly, my eyes dancing over his features in a frenzy.
“What about Mathilda?” I ask, an urgent tone in my voice. “She’s going to be okay, right?”
“Of course,” he nods. “You were the target, not your sister, Tallulah. But it makes me worry about you. You are safe here with me. Fuck knows what would happen if I took you back though.”
I nod thoughtfully, saying, “I’ll have to go back soon, of course. Are you going to tell my dad about the call?”
“I’m worried your phones have been compromised,” he mutters. “I thought it would be best to keep everything under wraps until we figure out who’s the person who was putting your life in danger.”
“Okay,” I say meekly. “Has Dad agreed to let me stay here in the meantime? You arranged everything with him, right?”
The smallest of pauses follows, one that makes me doubt Xavier for a split second. But then he nods with reassurance and all my doubts are erased. He is a good person, after all. He’s not the monster my parents see him as.
“Do you want to get some rest?” he asks. “I’m sorry we had to leave so quickly and you didn’t get to say goodbye to your sister, but you’ll see her soon enough.”
“I’m pretty tired,” I admit, my words interrupted by a yawn.
I stretch and smile shyly before getting up and wandering to the window to admire the view. Xavier watches me from his seat with a troubled expression. I hope he’ll get up, wrap his arms around me in a bear hug like he used to. But no such thing happens. He merely watches me offering no comfort.
Sighing, I peel myself away from the window, but before I can reach the bed, Xavier’s fingers wrap around my wrist and he pulls me against him.