“Oh, okay. That makes sense.” She internally cringed. Not her best response, but he had her fumbling for words.
Scanning the parking lot, he asked, “When were you at your car last?”
It took a split second for his words to register. “Um, this morning. I got to work just before nine.”
“You didn’t swing by your car during the day?”
She shook her head, grateful for his questions. She could focus on answering and not on how he made her stomach flip. Or how he was still holding her hand. And most definitely noton how she wanted to lean into him and let him take care of everything. “I had back-to-back appointments all day. This is the first time I’ve been back to my car.”
“Mr. Bonetti,” a voice behind them called out.
Xander turned, releasing her hand. While keeping her close, he angled himself in front of her.
She swooned a little. She couldn’t help it. No one had ever been this protective of her.
He quickly crouched down and tucked his knife into some hidden holder under his pant leg, and when he stood, he retook her hand. As they strode toward one of the resort’s security guards, she shook her head.Focus. He’s keeping you safe like aclient. Don’t read more into it.
“Mr. Bonetti, I’m Andres Adam, head of evening security. Kwon is on his way.” Andres’s eyes glanced at their joined hands before he asked her, “Are you okay?”
She nodded, and as if on cue, Michael Kwon rushed into the employee parking lot.
After a quick greeting, she gestured to her car. “It looks like my windshield was damaged.”
“We haven’t gotten a close look at the car yet,” Xander clarified. “I wanted her secure first.”
“Understandable.” Kwon turned to his colleague. “Call Croft and have him join us out here. The two of you can check the rest of this lot and the main lot for any other damaged cars.”
Andres nodded and pulled his walkie-talkie from his hip. “Will do.”
Kwon gestured to her car. “Shall we?”
Xander squeezed her hand, and she glanced at him. “Stay beside me. Please.”
Nodding, she tightened her grip on his hand and followed his lead.
Keeping Freya’s hand in his, Xander walked toward her car. His eyes darted around, taking in the employee parking lot.
She’d mentioned the possibility of a branch falling onto her car, but he didn’t buy it. The weather today had been surprisingly good for mid-November in the Pacific Northwest. It had been a rare sunny day. Crisp? Yes, but not at all windy. There was no debris in the parking lot from the surrounding trees. There looked to be some damage to the car to the right of hers, but none to the one on the left where the majority of the damage on Freya’s windshield was.
Most importantly, a familiar twitchy feeling tickled his gut. He’d learned to trust that feeling. Hell, it had saved his life—and those of his friends—numerous times over the years.
Yes, he tended to immediately go to worst-case scenario—he wasn’t lying earlier when he’d mentioned occupational hazards—but there was no denying things looked suspicious.
If he were being honest with himself, he hated that Freya was beside him. If it were up to him, he’d put her in a bubble and tuck her away so he knew she was completely safe. Then he’d figure out what happened to her car, determine if there was any remaining threat, and take care of everything for her. But Xander had enough strong women in his life to know that would be a dick move.
He didn’t know Freya very well yet, but knew her well enough. She wouldn’t appreciate the caveman routine. She’d want to be involved because she was a capable and smart woman. And it was her damn car. He’d just have to work extra hard to ensure her safety.
Stopping a few feet from the trunk of her Kia, he gave her hand one last squeeze before letting go. “Give me a minute to look?”
She nodded and crossed her arms over her chest.
From where he was standing, he took in the scattered glass on each side of the car. The safety glass sparkled against the packed gravel.
He caught Kwon’s gaze, and in unspoken agreement, Xander walked to the passenger side while Kwon took the driver’s side. The glass crunched under his boots, and he met Kwon at the hood.
The car beside Freya’s sat next to the temporary light pole and had a similar circular hole in its windshield, identical to the one on Freya’s passenger side. His first thought was someone had struck the glass with a hammer. That was the only damage to the neighboring car.
Freya’s vehicle was another story entirely. The passenger side of the windshield had the hammer hole, but the glass on the driver’s side was basically gone. As if someone had tried to knock the entire windshield out but had only gotten halfway through the job. The windshield frame on the driver’s side had numerous dings. It had been something substantial, most likely metal, that had done the damage.
