Chapter Five

Xavier

Xavier: Now that we finally met face-to-face, when are you going to let me take you out?

Madelyn: Who says I’m going to go out with you? Just because you say we are ‘destined’ to be together doesn’t make it true. You are just some creep who follows me around. Which you should probably stop doing, by the way, before I go to the police.

Xavier smirked at his phone as the waitress stopped by with his lunch. He was sitting at the bistro across from the station, the same one that Madelyn liked to frequent on her lunches. He didn’t need to look at the tracking device he had planted on her car to know where she was at this exact moment because he knew her work schedule by heart. The station’s electronic security was a joke, and he had been able to gain access within a matter of minutes.

Usually, he would watch her throughout the day through the security cameras, but today, he wanted to be near her. Or at least as close as he could be without being detected. Having been so close to her, close enough to touch her, as he had been able to do a couple of nights ago, it hadn’t been enough. It would never be enough.

He nodded once at the waitress without looking up from his phone as he typed back a response. They were making some real progress now that they got their first meeting out of the way. She never used to respond to him before, but over the last couple of days, she had been. Granted, she had mainly been telling him to leave her alone, sometimes going so far as to tell him to jump off a bridge, but he knew deep down she didn’t mean it. She was just confused and in denial about what she felt for him, which was normal, considering the circumstances.

Xavier: Sweetheart, if you were going to go to the police, you would have done so already. I think you are just afraid of what you feel for me.

Madelyn: The only thing I feel for you is hatred and loathing.

Xavier: Liar.

He knew all about her past. He knew of her intimacy and trust issues too. That was why he was taking things slower with her than he wanted to. But the monster inside of him was beginning to get impatient. He wanted to have his mate by his side already, was desperate for it, which was why he was pushing things a little harder now.

Madelyn: I’m not a liar!

Xavier: Really? So you hate and loathe me so much that you watch the video I sent you of me stroking my cock while you play with yourself? How many times HAVE you gotten off to it now?

Madelyn: How the hell do you even know that?

Xavier: I told you, I’m always watching, little dove. You could have my cock, you know. All you have to do is ask, and it’s yours.

Madelyn: Fucking creep!

Chuckling, Xavier picked up his sandwich and took a bite. He could picture her getting flustered, the color rising to her cheeks and neck as she struggled to maintain her composure while at work. He had seen how his dirty words affected her, and now he used them to mess with her. It was the only bright spot in his otherwise tragic and boring life.

Xavier: You love it. You like knowing that I’m always watching you. You get off on the attention.

Madelyn: I do not! Go away!

Xavier: Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart. I’ll have you begging for my cock soon enough.

Because he had been so caught up in their banter, he hadn’t realized anyone had sat down at his table until they cleared their throat.

Xavier’s eyes shot up and away from his phone, his body tensing as he grabbed the knife from the table, instantly going on the defensive. At the same time, he silently cursed himself for letting his guard down. He knew better than that.

“You’re getting sloppy in your old age, Xavier,” the familiar, husky voice of his old partner, Isabelle, said pointedly.

Once he realized there was no threat to be found, his tension eased, and he set the knife back down on the table before leaning back in his chair. He smiled at the beautiful redhead before responding. “What are you doing here, Isa?”

After the death of his parents, Isabelle’s father had taken him in, and the two of them had been raised in a life that was surrounded by violence and murderers. Like him, Isabelle had become a lethal weapon herself, and they had teamed up more than a few times over the years. Through those years, they had become close before he had up and left that life behind him.

She was still as beautiful as he remembered too. Bright red hair, pale skin, piercing hazel eyes, and a killer body to boot. However, she didn’t hold a candle to Madelyn’s beauty, he realized now.

Isabelle’s lips quirked up slightly. “What, I can’t just drop in and check on you from time to time?”

“That would require you to have an iota of empathy, which we both know you do not possess.”

She rolled her eyes in response. “Alright, fine,” she grumbled, reaching forward and taking a fry off of his plate. To anyone else, they would appear to be just two old friends enjoying some lunch together. The other patrons in the bistro had no idea that they were in the presence of two of the most merciless killers in the world.

“My father sent me. Wanted me to let you know that Colby marked you and plans on taking you out,” she added once she finished chewing.

Xavier chuckled and shook his head. Colby was his self-proclaimed nemesis. The guy was jealous of him and the fact that he had always been favored by Rodrigo.

Rodrigo was the one who found him and saved him from himself. Xavier had just killed his father for murdering his mother, leading him to become a rogue shifter at just eleven years old. He had become self-destructive, volatile, and had wanted to die. He had just been too much of a coward to do it himself.

Rodrigo gave him a purpose, an outlet for the insatiable blood-lust that came with being a rogue. He had raised him and given him the family he never had. Because of that, Xavier busted his ass to become one of the best. He always did what he was told and always took the more complicated jobs, which allowed him to climb the ranks within the family quickly. He couldn’t count the number of times he had been chosen for a job over Colby, and he had always known the guy held a grudge. He just didn’t know that he would go so far as to mark him as a target, especially since he was out now and no longer a threat.

Marking was how Rodrigo dealt with discord in the family. They were able to mark one of their own that they had a problem with, essentially challenging them to fight to the death. However, if they didn’t follow through and kill their mark, then they forfeited their own lives instead, as payment for wasting the family’s time. It was harsh, brutal, but that was why marking was not taken lightly.

“I’m not worried about Colby,” he replied easily. “The guy has never been able to best me.”

“I don’t know, Xavier,” Isabelle retorted. “He’s gotten stronger and more volatile since you left. He’s downright psychotic now.”

“Well, then. I bet that makes you happy. You little freak,” he teased her.

Isabelle was one of the select few in the ‘family’ who knew what he was and hadn’t been afraid of him. In fact, seeing him shift and kill had been a major turn-on for her as she had ended up in his bed more than a few times after missions. She had told him that there was something about watching him lose control and rip a man to pieces that did it for her. The way he went feral and completely lost it, especially when he had been covered in blood. There were no feelings behind it, of course. It was just sex for the sake of getting off, and he had enjoyed it for a time. But that time had long since passed.

Isabelle scoffed. “Please. I wouldn’t touch that diseased pencil dick if my life depended on it.” She leaned forward in her chair after a glance behind her and lowered her voice. “Look, just don’t underestimate him, okay? He plays dirty and breaks the rules more often than not anymore. The only reason my dad keeps him around is because he knows too much. Besides, I was able to approach you all too easily when I wasn’t even trying to be inconspicuous.”

He shrugged again as if he were brushing off her critique, but she was right. He had been distracted as of late, but that was what happened when a shifter found their mate. Their mate changed them, and he had already felt himself changing over the last few days. Madelyn made him want to be a better man, a man who deserved her. While he didn’t think that was entirely possible, he owed it to her to at least try.

The fact that he was so distracted and the fact that he had changed since Isabelle had known him wasn’t going to change. He was still going to pursue Madelyn until she agreed to be his. He was just going to have to make sure he kept his guard up at all times.

“I appreciate the heads up, Isa,” he told her honestly.

“Of course.”

Xavier expected her to get up and leave now that she had done what she came here to do as she wasn’t usually one for idle chit-chat. However, she remained in her seat, staring out of the window. He had seen that look on her face more than a few times, and he knew what it meant. There was something else she needed to tell him.

“What is it?” he pressed.

She looked back at him and folded her arms across her chest. “We want you to come back, Xavier. My father wants you to come home.”

“He’s the one that granted my freedom in the first place,” he reminded her.

“I know, but he regrets it. You were like a son to him. Besides, if you came back and rejoined the family, Colby wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“He doesn’t stand a chance now,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m enjoying my freedom, Isabelle. You can tell Rodrigo that I appreciate the offer, but I’m not coming back.”

Even if he had wanted to, he couldn’t see himself rejoining that life. Not now that he had Madelyn. There was no way she would approve of that lifestyle, and she deserved better than a life of violence and murder.

He was lucky Rodrigo had let him go in the first place as that was usually unheard of. Once someone was a part of the family, they had to get permission to leave, and that rarely ever happened due to the sensitivity of what they did.

“Then do it for me!” Isabelle suddenly blurted, causing him to blink in surprise.

He sighed and leaned toward her over the table. “Isabelle—” he began.

“We had fun, didn’t we? Killing and fucking our way around the world. We were unstoppable. Powerful. And we had more money than we needed. Don’t you miss that?”

“Sometimes,” he admitted truthfully. “But I have too much blood on my hands now, and my soul is blacker than black. I needed to get out before I went completely feral.”

That was why he decided to leave in the first place. He had nearly lost himself to the beast inside. The killing no longer satiated the bloodlust, he spent more time as a wolf than in human form, and he had nearly killed an innocent. That was never the kind of man he wanted to be, and he knew then that it was time to leave that life behind. He was grateful that Rodrigo allowed it because he had every intention of killing anyone who stood in his way of leaving, and that probably would have been what sent him over the edge entirely. Even if Madelyn hadn’t been in the picture, he wouldn’t risk going back to that dark place.

“I guess I can understand that,” Isabelle muttered, running her fingers through her hair. “Things just haven’t been the same since you left.”

“Aw, you miss me,” he teased.

“Ass.” Color flooded her cheeks. She had always hated being called out on her emotions, especially when she was so damn adamant that she didn’t possess any. He used to be the same way. At least, until Madelyn. Even so, he would say that Isabelle was the closest thing he had to a friend because the two of them were messed up in ways that no one else could really understand.

With their line of work, it wasn’t easy or smart to get close to anyone, not that he had ever wanted to before. Those kinds of ties gave their enemies and rivals a weakness to exploit.

“So, what’s next for you?” he asked, picking up his sandwich again and taking another bite.

Isabelle shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m in between assignments right now. What about you? What are you doing with your overabundance of free time?”

He shrugged. “Nothing. And that’s the beauty of it. I can do what I want when I want.”

“Not to mention who you want,” she added with a wink.

He nodded. “That too.”

“Is there someone you’re fucking these days? Someone special maybe?”

“Nah, no one special.” The lie came quickly and easily. He may be close with Isabelle, but she was still a stone-cold killer, just like he was. He knew better than to trust her to know about Madelyn.

“Well, that’s lame. I was hoping to live vicariously through you! I’m not getting any either, you know.”

The implication was clear in her voice, but he wasn’t falling for it. Not this time. He didn’t want or need to sleep with Isabelle now that he had Madelyn. They may not be to that point in their relationship yet, but they would be soon. He was getting to her, and now they were even talking. It wouldn’t be long before he had all of her. The beast wouldn’t hold out forever.

When he didn’t respond, Isabelle sighed before rising to her feet. “Alright. I gotta jet. Don’t be a stranger, alright? Just because you are out doesn’t mean you get to pretend that we don’t exist.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. It was good to see you, Isa.”

Isabelle nodded before walking away. It had been nice to see her again. He meant it when he said he sometimes missed what his life had been before, and she had been a big part of that. They had given him purpose when he had needed it the most. Now, though, he had a whole new purpose. A purpose that included the beautiful brunette with a penchant for telling him to go to hell. There was no reason for him to cling to that old life, not when he was trying to forge a new one with her.

Thinking about Madelyn had him picking up his phone from where he’d placed it on the table, screen down, while talking to Isabelle. He smiled when he realized he had another text from her.

Madelyn: Keep dreaming, asshole. I won’t be begging you for shit.

Xavier: You say that now, but you’ll cave. Eventually.

Madelyn: You sound so damn sure of yourself.

Xavier: Because I am, little dove. We are end game.

Madelyn: NEVER. GOING. TO. HAPPEN.

Xavier smirked to himself as he tossed some cash onto the table and left the bistro. They would see about that.