Xavier jerks open the passenger door for me. “We can talk in the car.” He waits until I get in before he slams the door shut with more force than necessary. In less than a moment, he’s seated next to me, having about crushed his own door. I pale at his anger. He’s breathing heavy, like he’s trying to contain the rage he feels. I’ve never seen him like this. He’s been mad at me before—frustrated—but this isn’t the same thing. He’s livid. He starts the car with his jaw tensing.
“I’m taking you with me now,” he states, his hand curls around the stick shift to put it in gear.
I wave my hand and the car engine dies. “No.”
Tension shows in his profile. He crushes the knob of the stick shift in his hand, leaving finger indents in it when he lets go of it. “You’re exposed here, Evie. Right now, you either have to have an army to protect you or be hidden better than a key beneath the doormat.”
“Who am I hiding from?” I need to know if Dominion is my enemy now.
His eyebrow lifts over his blue eye. “From whom are you not hiding?”
I sigh heavily in response to his anger. “I’m not hiding from you, but I’m also not your problem anymore—”
“You’ve never been a problem; you’re a pain in the ass, but you’re not a problem. Problems get eliminated. That’s never going to happen to you. I’m here.”
“For how long?” I ask. My heart squeezes tight. I have to blink my eyes to clear them. I hadn’t expected that reaction.
“For as long as you are.”
“You don’t belong here anymore unless you’re interested in the army I plan to lead. If not, we’ve nothing to discuss.”
“You’re not ready to lead an army, Evie.” Xavier looks up at the roof of the car in exasperation. “You still can’t distinguish the difference between good and evil.” He turns his head and glares at me, making me press deeper into my seat.
“Your definition of evil is not the same as mine. Maybe there’s a reason for that.”
Xavier exhales in frustration. “We don’t have time for this. Will you come with me now or not?”
I look up like I’m thinking. “Um...hmmm. Not.”
“You have something that I want,” Xavier growls.
My eyes widen. “What?”
“I’ve searched Jim’s house for it—“
“You’ve been to my house?” I ask, hardly able to breathe.
“Technically, it’s my house now. I bought it—searched it, but most of your things are gone. I tore apart Brennus’ estate—it wasn’t in your dorm room either.” He glances at me with little emotion on his face as he assesses my reaction.
“You own my house?” I say in shock, trying to understand what possessed him to do that.
“It was supposed to be our house,” he mutters. “I bought it back for you, but you don’t care about the past.”
My heart aches as I try not to think about my old house or what it was like to be there with him. “And you broke into my old dorm room?”
“I wasn’t just a shadow on the wall this time,” he says bitterly. I cringe.
“What are you looking for?”
“You remember when I gave you my ring? I put it on a chain and gave it to you as a necklace...did you lose it?”
My face floods with color. “I tried to give it back, remember, when you broke up with me?”
Xavier looks away. “I wanted you to keep it, but circumstances have changed and now I need it back.”
My eyebrow arches. “You need it?”
“Did you lose it?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“The ring that looks like a sword? You still have it?” he asks with some relief.
I duck my head. “Sort of. Why do you need it? I mean, it’s beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but you can buy anything you want.”
His eyes soften for just a moment. “It means something to me, Evie, or I wouldn’t have given it to you.” His hand inches nearer to mine on the console between us. It stops a breath away. I feel his body heat reaching out to me and I move my hand to my lap.
Suddenly the car lacks oxygen. “I know where it is,” I say, not meeting his eyes.
“Where?”
“I’ll tell you if you answer a few questions for me.”
“Tell me where it is!”
“What will it take for Tau to join us?”
He shakes his head. “It won’t happen. He leads.”
“There’s a tipping point in every situation. What’s Tau’s?”
“Be grateful that I could convince him to let me come here alone. How long do you expect him to let this go on?”
I laugh without humor. “He doesn’t really have a choice, does he?”
Xavier gives me a sidelong look. “He’s trying to find a way to gain your compliance without crushing you, but crushing you is still an option.”
“He’s welcome to try,” I respond, sounding like Brennus.
“When he does, your friends go away,” he threatens. “Anya is a traitor. Dominion will deal with her.”
“She’s not going anywhere—neither are they. You just need to remember that it was you who left me for dead.”
“And you’ve paid me back for it. A hundredfold,” Xavier counters venomously.
I sigh, trying to calm myself. “It wasn’t payback, X. I fell in love with Reed. It has nothing to do with you.”
“It has everything to do with me! Tell me where my ring is. I’ll let Tau know that you wouldn’t come with me willingly.”
“What will he do?”
“Don’t worry about what he’ll do. It’s what I’m going to do that should worry you.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Learn my secrets, Evie,” he says, “if you want to stay ahead of me.”
“Tell me why I’m here or I’m not telling you anything. What’s my mission?”
Xavier grips the steering wheel in front of him, bending it. “You came here for me.”
“Why would I do that?”
“It was the only way we could be together. You made some kind of deal—you agreed to come here for one last lifetime, and then...then we’re together forever—that’s what you told me before you came here.”
“Just like that? I push Russell away, like I never loved him? Like our lifetimes together meant nothing?”
“Not just like that. I’ve been your guardian from the day you were created. You’ve no idea what we’ve endured to be together. I’ll do whatever it takes. You’re worth it to me.”
My chest feels tight. “What’s the deal I made exactly? I said I wanted to be with you? I negotiated that?”
“I’m not sure exactly. You couldn’t tell me. I just know you promised to come here so that you could have a love of your own choosing.”
I hold up my hand. “Whoa. Hold up. You mean I didn’t name you?”
“You meant me,” he says with absolute certainty. “It’s me you love. I was with you in every one of your lifetimes. When you died and Russell stayed on Earth, we were together in Paradise. When he died first, I always stayed with you in the shadows, watching, waiting. Now, it will be you and me until the end of time.”