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“Okay…” I say slowly.
He grabs his discarded trousers and pulls them up his legs to cover his dick—still glistening with both of our arousals—foregoing his boxers. Since his shirt buttons are ninety percent ripped off, he puts his blazer on and locates the gun, slipping it back in its pocket in the inner lining. A phone dings from inside his desk. He sighs and grabs a key from the top of a bookshelf. With his height, he has no problem reaching for it from right at the back.
I unlock the door, peeking through, while he searches through his desk drawers. I can hear that the party is no more. Everyone must have been dismissed to go home.
I walk back over to Xander, who’s holding my phone in his hand, staring at my screen, lips curling back from his teeth. I take the phone from him, seeing none other than a text from Luke.
UNKNOWN: new boyfriend i see. stay away from him or i will make ur life hell
My head shakes in denial.
“He was here?” I ask, pointing my gaze to Xander, who’s fisting his hands at his sides.
“There’s no way. It’s not possible.” He shakes his head as he takes the phone back from me.
“What happened with Nova?”
“We signed the deal, then she left. As much as I’d like to find someone to blame, I don’t think it was her. If she’s as powerful as she says she is, she would’ve destroyed us years ago. That deal was as much for her as it was for us.”
“But he still thinks I have my phone… That’s good, right? It means he doesn’t know about the burner phone?” I ask, biting the corner of my lip.
“Yes.” He locks the phone back in the drawer. “Robert has direct access to your phone, which means he sees every text message that comes through. This is the first one we received since the last location Nova showed us. He’ll check it out and see if he can track his location from the text.”
“He might not be a threat to you, Xander, but he’s not stupid like Nova seems to think. He has connections. He’s untraceable.”
Xander rushes over to me, grabbing my face in his hands and placing a kiss on my lips. “Don’t stress yourself out about it, Angel. I will protect you, okay? But we need to teach you how to use a gun first. Now, come on.”
Xander leads us back to the house wing of his mansion. We passed the party cleanup crew on the way out and a sign showing that the event raised three and a half million pounds for charity. I saw the look of pride on Xander’s face as we walked past it, and I warmed at his reaction.
Walking down a set of oak stairs, I spot a single wooden door at the end of a short hallway. Xander stops me in front of the door.
“Close your eyes.” He smiles.
I follow orders—no longer scared to close my eyes when he’s near—and hear as he opens the door. The smell of fresh paint hits me first. Xander’s hand guides me into the room. My heels echo throughout as he leads me further in.
“Open.”
I open my eyes, and at first, I don’t see anything. I bring my thumbs up to rub them and reopen them again. There’s a low green light glowing across the room. Blinking my eyes, I wait as they adjust.
“Oh my god,” I breathe as the room becomes clear. Three poles sit in the middle of the room on big circular podiums. The walls are surrounded by floor-to-ceiling mirrors. LED lights shine from the top and bottom of them. Luxury black floors finish off the space, and plants are placed in various places around the room. Four big speakers are installed in each corner.
I spin in a circle, taking in the space. “Is this for me?”
“That’s not all,” he says, picking up a rectangular, white envelope from one of the podiums and handing it to me. I carefully rip open the seal and pull out a silky slip of paper. It’s hard to see in this lighting, but Xander claps his hands twice, and the main lights come on. They’re low enough to not blind from such a dramatic switch.
I smile wide at him.
“Read it,” he urges.
I look down at the paper in my hands, and I almost drop it.
A cheque.
For one million pounds.
My knees start quaking.
“Xander…” I pause. “What is this?” I lift it up to him. He wears a smile on his face that showcases his dimple.
