Knowing him a short time or not, she trusted him. With her safety, her body... her heart. She simply needed to focus on the now, not the what-ifs. Not only with them and whatever their intense relationship was, but with whatever danger seemed to be swirling around them. If she didn’t focus on the now, she’d lose her mind.
“Hey.”
She glanced up at the now-familiar voice.
Xander stood in her doorway with empty hands, and she frowned.
“I gave the envelope to Wilson,” he said, answering her unasked question. “We’re calling in the crew to try and figure out what’s going on. If it’s okay with you, I’d like you to talk with my team about the photos you’ve gotten over the years.”
Her stomach twisted. She knew it was inevitable, but still...
She nodded toward her closet. “The blue box on the top shelf has the rest of the photos.”
As he crossed the room to her closet, she asked, “What were the photos in the envelope of?”
“Us. Yesterday.”
She gasped, and the blood drained from her face.
With the blue box tucked under his arm, he turned to her with narrowed eyes. A split second later, they widened. “Oh shit. No, baby. They were us from yesterday at theparade. Some by the toy store, not of us...”
Relief surged through her. She exhaled and slapped both hands over her racing heart. “Oh my God, Xander. I thought they were pictures from the hot tub.” Heat scalded her cheeks.
He sat beside her, placed the box on the bed, and took both her hands in his and squeezed. “The photos I saw were from the parade. I didn’t see all the pictures, but I highly doubt there were any of us from the hot tub.”
“How can you be sure?”
“I can’t. Nothing’s impossible, but one of the reasons I want you to stay with me is that my house—hell, all the houses on Frazier’s property—are secure. We have more cameras and security measures than Fort Knox.”
But didn’t that mean . . .
She frowned, and panic started to build anew. “So if you have all these cameras, what about?—”
“I wiped the security footage of us last night, and I went into both the master file and backup and cleared it from there as well.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and she felt him smile. “Not gonna lie, though, sweetheart. Seeing us was hot as hell, but don’t worry. All the footage is gone.”
She let out another breath. Holy crap, she wasn’t sure she could take much more. Her emotions were all over the place—fear, relief, terror, completely inappropriate arousal. Rinse and repeat.
She could admit that picturing Xander watching the video of them in the hot tub had her heart rate quickening. Again, completely inappropriate with what was going on, but it was the God’s honest truth.
“The photos of us looked to be long-range.”
Andback to being scared. But long-range was good, right? Creepy, but good. It had to be better than up close and personal.
“Baby, we’re going to figure this out. Your car, you getting pushed, all the photos. We’re going to figure out how it’s all tied together.”
For a moment, she studied their linked hands. She knew he’d do everything he could to protect her, but it didn’t stop the trickle of fear from inching down her spine. Then his words registered. “You think it’s all connected? Even what happened with my car?”
“I do. Too many coincidences.” He hesitated, and she tilted her head in question. “One of the parade photos I saw had our faces scratched out.” He nodded to the blue box on the bed behind them. “Like those.”
Her stomach dropped and filled with dread.Holy shit, of course their faces were scratched out.
His phone dinged with an incoming text, and the pessimist in her cringed. She didn’t want any more bad news.
He checked his phone and stood, pulling her up with him. “Wilson’s downstairs. Everyone’s gathering at Frazier and Bean’s place. We can take your rental, and Wilson will follow us.”
She focused on the plan and nodded. “One step at a time, right?”
He tilted her chin up with his knuckle and pressed a kiss to her lips. “That’s right.”
