Attest (Centrifuge Duet Book 2)(26)



“Do you think Xander has hidden Jax somewhere or do you think he’s dead,” I ask Harry. I knew that Xander had done something with Jax—to be honest, I didn’t care what, as long as he was far away from me. It’s now apparent that I should have been more concerned. Henry and Elizabeth won’t stop until they know what’s happened to him and that’s just painted a huge bulls eye on my back.

“Either way, he’s exposed us with his interference.”

Dry leaves rustle. Twigs snap. Someone is walking toward my hiding spot. I crouch lower, and ignore Harry while I listen for another sign that I’m not alone.

“Amber, can you hear me?” Harry shouts down the phone. “You need to find a way to get yourself and the boys to my condo. I don’t think Xander is the man you think he is. Belinda says he became very dangerous during his time locked up.”

There’s no way I’m taking Belinda’s word for anything. She’d say that the Pope was secretly a Buddhist Monk if she thought it would make us help her find Jax. The Xander I know had a temper, but he only lost it when it was warranted. If I had to choose who to trust out of the people in my life at the moment, I’d trust Xander first. Harry would come a close second, but I can’t make myself forget that he was once part of Jax’s plans. He only flipped when his father died.

Hands down. Xander is so straight up that his middle name should be dependable.

“I need you to fix this.” The footsteps grow closer. My heart is beating so fast that I’m afraid it’s going to lead the intruder straight to me. I whisper my next sentences as loud as I dare. “Do as Belinda says. Ring Xander.”

The intruder stops moving. The sound of a safety being flicked off fills the air. It’s the most terrifying sound I’ve ever heard. Common sense tells me to stay hidden, but my heart tells me to run and find Xander. Instead, I listen to my brain and stay put.

“I’m not coming to you. Ring Xander,” I repeat in an attempt to talk sense into him.

“Amber,” Harry yells into the phone again. I don’t think he can hear me. Hell, I can barely hear myself. “Promise me you’ll listen. Come home. You’re not safe with him.”

“No, Harry,” I snap at him, louder than I should. “You listen. I trust Xander with my life—with my boys lives if I have to. I want you to ring him and find out what his plan is. I honestly believe he’s got something up his sleeve that we need to get on board with.”

The person who’s stalking me clears their throat. They are so close now that they’re basically on top of me. Curiousity gets the better of me. I pop my head up from my hiding spot, hoping to catch enough a glimpse to calm myself, and almost die on the spot.

I’d know that silhouette, anywhere.

“Ring Xander.” I order one last time, quiet as a church mouse, before ending the call.

After slipping my phone into my pocket, I stand and attempt to plaster a smile on my face.

“Xander,” I say with faux airiness. “I thought you went the other way?”

“Nah, changed my mind.” He seems friendlier than he was when he left. I let some of the tension I’m feeling go and assume a more natural stance.

Xander shoves his handgun into the waistband of his jeans and a big, beefy hand reaches for me. For the first time in over two years, I don’t brace myself because I’m not sure if I’m about to receive a backhand or a caress. Like I told Harry, I trust Xander. He is nothing like Jax—who is a Street Angel, and a House Devil—and he proves me right when he reaches forward and pulls a twig out of my hair. After examining it, Xander lets it float to the ground.

“I think we need to talk,” he says.

“Understatement of the year,” I reply, a nervous lilt to my voice.

He reaches for me again. This time he takes my hand in his and pulls me toward the shack.

“I’ll get a fire going and we can sit and chat.”

His promise conjures visions of all the times that we’ve done just that at this lake. It will be like old times. Well, almost. Because, I doubt tonight will end with us making love by the dying fire like we did back then.

“I wish it was like old times,” I whisper to myself.

“It can be,” Xander murmurs next to me.





SEVENTEEN


Xander




Hearing Amber say she trusts me lifts a bit of the weight that I’m crumbling under off my shoulders. Truth be told, it made me smile for the first time in damn long time. Of course, that happiness was tinged with worry about who she was sneaking off to ring, considering we’re supposed to be hiding out here so her nutcase of a husband can’t find her while I wrangle our escape.

What if she’s trying to get out of leaving with me?

I push that dark thought away and concentrate on the positives. It’s slim pickings, but having her hand in mine as we head back to the shack is playing all kinds of havoc with my head. Good and bad. There’s too many memories here, yet I couldn’t think of a better place to bring her when I was jamming random pieces of my haphazard plan into place on the fly last night. Once upon a time, this was our home away from home.

That’s gotta mean something to her?

Amber pulls away from me and heads for the shack. When her hand slips free of mine, I stop short. The loss of her touch is almost too much to handle. Grinding my teeth, I ignore the sick churning in my stomach, and paint a smile on my face.

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