Xavier (Vigilance 4)

“We?” I didn’t give him time to respond. “Right. You can’t leave Ezra alone.”

“I know. That’s—”

“Keep trying to communicate with Leo and Giorgio,” I said.

“I will.”

I hung up and grabbed Emilio’s arm once again, feeling an unexpected jolt of heat. “Come on.” Fuck, why did I sound breathless?

“Wh-where are we going?”

“To Swain’s house. We’re ending this. Now.”

“But I…” He shook his head.

I cupped his face in my hands without even thinking; it felt so natural. He didn’t pull away. Instead, my touch seemed to calm him. He looked up and met my gaze. “I will keep you safe, but I can’t leave you here.”

“I won’t break into anything. I won’t violate any more of your secrets.”

“That’s not the issue. I can only guarantee your safety when you’re by my side or with one of the men on my team. I have security here, but they’re not trained like the men I work with.”

“I won’t know what to do. I can’t shoot or fight or anything like that. I can’t even run very fast.”

I gave him a soft smile. “I don’t expect you to do anything like that, but we need to go.”

He didn’t protest anymore as we walked down the hall.

Jeffries appeared when we reached the bottom of the stairs. I told him to triple the security on the house. “I’m driving to Weston. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

He nodded, but his expression was tight lipped. He didn’t know details about what I did, but he knew it was something he didn’t approve of. I hurried Emilio out through the kitchen, and we climbed into my luxury SUV.

He didn’t say a word as I got us on the road, but I couldn’t make the drive in silence, not when I was waiting for news that could crush me. If Swain had harmed my men…

“How long have you known who I was?”

“Since about a week after the first time I worked for you.”

His ability to uncover my secrets shouldn’t turn me on, but it did. I liked thinking about how skilled he was. I’d always enjoyed a challenge.

“And you kept your knowledge a secret from me all this time?” Wow. That was stating the obvious. It was insane, just like the other times I’d been in Emilio’s presence. I normally held myself together at all times, whether I was Thomas or X. I knew what I wanted. I knew what needed to be done and what to say to make people do it.

I should have been giving Emilio ultimatums about sharing what he knew and threatening him with dire consequences if he shared my secrets. That’s what I’d do with anyone else, but all I wanted to do to Emilio was wrap him up and make sure he was protected.

I wanted to take him away from the ugliness I knew he dealt with day to day. My world was dark and rough, and while my missions with Vigilance made sure the worst of the worst were eliminated, there were casualties along the way, and the choices I made weren’t ones most people would approve of.

The Marchesis were likely his most upstanding clients. I knew he was in good hands with them, but the idea of Emilio dealing with men who killed just because they enjoyed it made me want to track those men down and snap their necks.

I was protective by nature, but no one had ever made me feel such a ferocious need to keep them safe. The intensity of what I felt for Emilio was unlike anything I’d felt before, but now wasn’t the time to analyze it.

I asked him more questions, like the specifics of the dangers he would face now that his online identity had been exposed in the hacker world. I knew there had to be people other than Swain who would come after him.

He answered my questions succinctly and went back to looking out the window while I called Lucien Marchesi and some other contacts to get more men headed to Swain’s house. He fidgeted the whole ride, bouncing his leg, intertwining his hands, then drumming his fingers against the door. If it were anyone else, the constant movement would have driven me crazy, but I just wanted to be able to reassure him.

When we arrived, I pulled up as close to the front door as I could get. There was no time for subterfuge. Anyone who shouldn’t know who I was wouldn’t be getting out alive. I was done with games, with waiting. I would do anything necessary to bring Swain down, even reveal my identity.

“Stay behind me and do exactly what I say,” I told Emilio as we headed for the door.

“I…”

“Exactly what I say.”

“Yes, sir.”

I wished the circumstances were different, and he was saying those words to me in bed.