Xander. Sitting on her couch. With the photos she’d received in the mail laid out on the coffee table in front of him. The photos she’d forgotten to put back into the white envelope.
Her heart hammered in her chest when he met her gaze, all the earlier teasing and flirtation were gone. His dark-brown eyes swirled with an intensity she couldn’t interpret.
He held up a photo by the corner. The one with her eyes blacked out. The one with the familiar scrawl that never failed to make her stomach heave.
“Freya, what the hell is this?”
Xander wasn’t sure what he was looking at.
When he had picked up theVogueon her coffee table, he’d caught sight of the photos beneath the magazine. At first, he’d seen a photo of a young Freya. She looked very much the same. Sweet and beautiful. Even back then as a teenager. But the last two photos had the hairs on the back of his neck rising.
Her xed-out image.
Her blacked-out eyes.
The ominous words: “It should have been you.”
What the fuck?
Her footsteps had him turning, needing an explanation.
Freya stopped in her tracks. The way her eyes widened and mouth fell open had worry and unease swirling in his gut.
He carefully picked up the photo with her eyes blacked out. “Freya, what the hell is this?”
She sucked in a breath and blinked, simply looking at him. Silence filled the room for two long heartbeats. Then she cleared her throat and was suddenly in motion.
“Oh, um. Those are nothing.” She rushed over, plucked the photo from his hand, gathered the remaining pictures, and stuffed them into a white envelope.
“Freya?” His gut was screaming that something was wrong, that he needed to demand answers, but he needed to proceed with caution. “I didn’t mean to snoop. They were in between the magazines.”
“Oh, it’s fine,” she said, flashing him a giant smile. A giant, fake smile. “No worries. I forgot to put them away. You about ready to go?”
Everything in him wanted to push, to ask what the hell was going on, but he’d follow her lead. For now.
Rising, he took her hand before she could turn. He could see the flutter of her pulse in her neck. “Freya, baby.” He waited until she met his gaze. The worry shimmering in her blue eyes made him crazy, made him want to slay all her dragons. “If someone’s bothering you, or if you’re in trouble, you know you can tell me, right? Even if I didn’t work for Hudson Security, I’d still help you in any way I can.”
“I know,” she whispered before surprising the hell out of him and wrapping her arms around his waist. His arms automatically went around her. “I appreciate your concern, but those photos aren’t a big deal. Just a prank, I’m sure. Can we just get out of here?” She glanced up at him. That fake smile of hers was beginning to look painful.
He was about to protest. Until he saw the unshed tears shimmering in her eyes. It was like a punch to the gut.
“Okay, baby, if you say so.” Pulling her close, he pressed his lips to her hair. They’d talk later. Because no way in hell were photos of her face and eyes scratched outno big deal. “Lunch and hot tub?”
Exhaling, she nodded and blinked back her tears. Her smile was shaky and tugged at his heart. “My knee is starting to hurt, so that hot tub actually sounds really good.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Xander pulled into an open parking space in front of Ray’s Diner. After putting his SUV in park, he turned to her.
Freya held her breath, and her chest squeezed painfully tight. Her gaze fixed on the vehicle’s on-screen display that announced the next song on the radio. Her stomach churned with nerves, and her hands twisted in her lap. Holy crap, she’d do anything to have the seat swallow her whole.
This was it. This was where Xander would make his gracious exit. Not that she blamed him. Not at all. She’d completely frozen back at her apartment. She wasn’t even sure what idiotic excuse she’d used to brush off the pictures.
No, she’d flat-out lied to him. To his face. And the worst part? He knew it.
“Frey, can you look at me, please?” His soothing tone had her frown deepening. Of course he was going to let her down easy. Politely. He was nice like that.
With a resigned exhale, she turned to him and reluctantly met his gaze. When he took both her hands in his and squeezed, her eyes widened in surprise. Not what she was expecting.
