Chapter 30 - Victoria

Victoria

T ears pricked at my eyes when I went to my room to get it. Maybe I shouldn’t have told him. But at the same time, what the fuck with his reaction? I grabbed it and flipped to the pages he wanted to see on my way back to the living room. He stood by the couch, arms folded, eyes cold.

“Xavier,” I snapped the diary away when he reached for it. “I’ll show this to you but I need you to calm down. And don’t ever speak to me like that again.”

He collected himself on a deep breath, regaining control over his body. His eyes still flared though. Sapphire flecks of fire burned with trepidation and anger.

“I’m sorry, love,” he said. “Please, let me see it?”

I gripped the journal, uneasy about letting him see my sister’s words. “These are some of the last things Charlotte ever wrote,” I told him, dropping my eyes to the floor. “Remember that.”

“I know.” His words came out gruff and unyielding. “But I need to see it.”

I handed him the diary.

He sat on the arm of the couch and flipped to the final entry. He scanned through it once, swallowed, then read it again. And again. Whatever color remained in his face drained until he appeared ashen. He covered his mouth, closing his eyes. One by one, the muscles in his arms, torso, and shoulders tightened.

An inferno raged behind his eyes when he pinned his stare on me.

“I’m so fucking sorry, Victoria. Your sister didn’t deserve this and I promise to fix it.”

He dropped the diary and stormed over to the kitchen. Grabbing his phone, he made a call.

“Get over to Victoria’s. Now Bennet. I don’t give a shit what you’re doing. Yeah, I’m fucking talking to you like this. Get the fuck over here now.”

He ended the call and composed himself before addressing me. “Please call down to your night guard to let him know you’re expecting a guest.”

“What’s going on?”

“We might know who did this.” His eyes widened when he saw whatever expression washed across my face. “Let us handle it.”

Stunned, I sat on the couch and called down to the security desk to let them know I was expecting a visitor.

Xavier prowled through my condo like a caged animal, all sinewy power and agitation. He truly looked like a lion baring down on its prey. I chose not to ask any questions even though my curiosity demanded answers.

The untamed side to him I thought I knew was only a piece of what dwells deep down. This part was more ferocious, more threatening. I wondered if this was the side he hides from, the one he didn’t want me to see.

I shivered .

“Are you okay, love?” he asked, kneeling in front of me. His agitation hadn’t dissipated but his tone was warm and caring.

I played with his hair. “Are you?”

“I am right now,” he answered, laying his head on my lap. “Being near you always helps.”

The more I touched his hair and stroked the back of his neck, the more I felt him relax. Neither one of us said another word while we waited. I said all I needed to with every soft touch. He answered with contented sighs.

Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock .

Xavier’s head snapped up at the insistent banging on my door. He jogged over to answer it. At first, all I heard were hushed voices. Then he and Bennet emerged.

I’ve seen the two of them side by side many times but this revealed how different they truly are. Xavier stood shirtless and barefoot in jeans, his hair wild, his eyes flaring, his tattooed torso heaving with every breath.

This is definitely the first time I’ve seen Bennet so casual. He looked younger than his years in a long-sleeved cotton shirt and jeans but still exuded control and power.

I stood up. “Hey Bennet.”

He walked over and wrapped me in a warm hug. Totally did not expect this at all. His embrace was strong and comforting and familiar.

“Are you alright?” he asked, gently holding my arms.

“I’m fine. I’m more worried about him.” I tilted my head in Xavier’s direction.

“Me too,” he muttered. “What happened?”

The three of us sat down. I don’t know how much Xavier told Bennet so I started at the beginning, with the entry in my sister’s diary about meeting Adam. Bennet didn’t appear overly surprised at the information so I moved on to the party and the fight.

“May I read it?” he asked .

Xavier started prowling the room again when I handed the diary to Bennet. I watched his expression as he read and re-read my sister’s words. He didn’t go pale but his mouth formed a hard, angry line.

“It’s him,” Xavier grumbled. “I always thought he was behind it.”

“We don’t know for sure,” Bennet responded. “He covers his tracks very well and has powerful people clean up after him. You know this. Even if we could prove it, he’d walk away unscathed.”

“No he fucking won’t.” Xavier clenched his fists. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“Maddox,” Bennet sighed, rubbing his eyes. “You can’t beat the shit out of people every time they wrong you.”

“The hell I can’t,” he roared. “He deserved it then and he deserves it now. He orchestrated what happened to me to shut me up for walking in on him that night. What he did to—“ Xavier stopped speaking and looked at me. “Victoria, I don’t think you should hear this.”

I hadn’t moved the entire time they spoke. Trying to process what this is all about and how it relates to my sister gave me a headache. What did she get herself into?

I glanced up at him and over to Bennet. Both had the same flashes of concern in their eyes, although Xavier’s mixed with pure rage.

“I want to hear it,” I told him.

Bennet stepped in front of Xavier to address me. “How much did he tell you about the night he was attacked?”

“Not much.” I watched Xavier while I answered. “Just that he got jumped and ended up with a scar.”

“Okay.” Bennet scrubbed his face with his hands. “It happened at my family’s estate.”

My jaw dropped.

“We all lived there one summer together,” he continued. “Royal City announced a new youth training program. Xavier and Cade were chosen along with several other teens. We had a party to celebrate.”

I started pacing around my living room because at this point, what else am I supposed to do? Why the hell was my sister at a party for a bunch of soccer players?

I stopped and looked at Bennet and Xavier.

“Was Adam chosen as well?”

“No,” Bennet answered. “The party wasn’t exclusive to the program so if your sister was dating him that’s probably why she was there.”

I tilted my head to look at Xavier. “What did you walk in on?”

“At the party? Nothing,” he told me.

Neither one said anything further. They just stood still, exchanging knowing glances. I won’t lie. It pissed me off.

“Okay,” I folded my arms and glared at them. “I realize you have your little secret society shit going on with the cryptic staring at one another but I’m trying to figure out what happened to my twin.” My voice got louder. “If you know who the fucking guy is you need to tell me. Now.”

Bennet’s serious eyes and grim set mouth didn’t intimidate me at all.

“You don’t understand, Ms. Chase.”

“No, no, no,” I clenched my fists at my side. “Don’t start the Ms. Chase bullshit with me Bennet. I’m not your sub. I’m not going to kneel at your fucking feet and ask nicely and keep my eyes cast downward and call you sir. This is my family, not some game you play at your sex parties.”

Bennet’s whole body stiffened. I’m fairly certain people don’t speak to him this way often.

Hate to break it to you, Logan. I’m not like anyone you’ve ever met.

Xavier placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Sit down, mate.”

Bennet eyed me with great interest as he made his way over to the kitchen and sat on a barstool.

“Help yourself to a drink or whatever,” I offered, flicking my wrist. I can still be a good hostess, right?

“Come here.” Xavier held out his hand to me. I took it, letting him pull me into a strong hug. He sighed, kissing the top of my head. “What do you want to know?”

I held him close. “Why did they attack you?”

He kept me wrapped in his arms, stroking my hair. The steady beating of his heart echoed through me.

“We think a guy named Jordan McKennie threatened your sister. A few months before Bennet’s party, I saw him forcing himself on a girl at another party. I pulled him off her. We got into a fight and he ended up with a bloody nose.” He tilted my chin up when I pulled back. “Needless to say, he didn’t like that so we think he sent his mates to even the score.”

I stared at him in shock. “They cut your face and slammed your head into a car door because you gave some asshole a bloody nose? Which he deserved, by the way. What else aren’t you telling me?”

“Nothing. Jordan comes from a powerful, wealthy family and never needed an excuse to act like a spoiled wanker. He doesn’t like being told he can’t have something. He threatened your sister because that’s what he does. He intimidates and forces people to do what he wants.”

“Obviously he wanted you to stay quiet, too. Did you ever report what he did to the girl?”

Xavier winced, squeezing my arms. “No, love. I wanted to. She asked me not to say anything.”

“Was she a friend of yours?”

He looked over at Bennet. The two exchanged another long, knowing glance.

“Yes,” he said quietly. “We were close.”

His teenage love interests were of no consequence to me right now. This was about my sister, nothing more.

“Do you think this guy…Jordan…do you think he’d follow through on what he said to Charlotte? About seeing her at another party?”

Xavier’s bitter laugh sent a chill through me. “Yeah. If he felt like following through, he would. Or he’d move on to some other conquest.”

Keeping my arm wrapped around his waist, I turned to face Bennet. “Your family must be just as influential as this guy’s. Nobody ever thought to challenge him?”

Bennet smirked. “British nobility can be rather cutthroat, Victoria. Especially those with hereditary titles. Both our families can be traced back hundreds of years. Challenging him isn’t as easy as you might think.”

Well, that was unexpected. British nobility? When the hell did I walk into Sense and Sensibility ?

“I officially have a headache,” I muttered, going to sit on the couch.

All I wanted to do was get to the bottom of what happened at the bonfire. Opening this door to nobility and revenge and God knows what else exhausted me. I liked it better when Xavier was just a smoldering tattooed goalkeeper and Bennet was the Dominant who happened to be his best friend.

The two of them huddled in a secret conference at the counter. A quick internet search would tell me all I needed to know about this Jordan person.

I eyed my sister’s diary on the table. If she wrote about him again, I’ll know soon enough. Then maybe I’ll give this asshole a call and tell him what I think of him.

Xavier and Bennet were whispering much more animatedly now. I could tell Xavier was frustrated with whatever his friend was saying. I didn’t have much time left with my newly minted boyfriend before he went back to England and I’d rather not spend it like this.

“Alright you two,” I said, standing up. “No more whispering. We can put this discussion on hold for now.”

They both looked at me. Blue eyes filled with devotion, amber eyes filled with concern.

“What now?” I asked, exasperated.

Bennet cleared his throat and addressed me. “I’d like to, with your permission of course, provide a security detail for you. Nothing over the top. Just someone to keep an eye—”

“Whoa.” I put my hand up. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Told you,” Xavier snickered.

“Fine,” Bennet relented. “But I hope you’ll keep Maddox informed if anything out of the ordinary happens.”

“Like what?” I laughed. “A shadowy figure follows me to my car? Someone calls me and I only hear heavy breathing? This is real life. Not some crime drama.”

My defiance clearly ruffled Bennet’s feathers. The muscles in his jaw twitched. But he also regarded me with a small dose of amusement. I could see it swirling with the concern in his eyes.

“Bennet,” I said gently, placing my hand on his arm. “I appreciate you. I really do. But I doubt the ramifications of something that happened at a party twenty years ago are still in play. At least not on his part. This guy probably hasn’t thought twice about it.”

“Promise me,” Bennet paused and amended with, “us. Promise us you won’t do something silly like contact Jordan. Okay?”

I swallowed against the tightness in my throat. “I can’t make that promise.”

He exhaled harshly, cursing under his breath. Xavier leveled a stern look at him before turning to me.

“Tori,” he spoke tenderly, caressing my cheek. “Do it for me. Please? I know you have so many questions and I vow to find as many answers as I can. Please don’t try to talk to him.”

“I’m not afraid of him.” I asserted.

Xavier’s smile lit me up from the inside out. “I know. And I also know if I say you’ll be in massive trouble if you reach out to him, you’ll want to do it even more.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it.

“So,” he continued. “I’m choosing to trust that you won’t.”

The weight of his statement hit me fully. Trust is as important as love and I can’t deny him this. I closed my eyes and nodded.

“Alright,” I acquiesced, glancing up through my lashes. “I love you.”

Our lips came together in a soft, passionate kiss.

“Love you, too,” he whispered.

I one hundred percent forgot Bennet was standing right next to us until he cleared his throat. I blushed in front of him. Again. Not from the kiss or even from the fact we declared our love for each other with him standing right there.

Nope.

I blushed because he looked at me like I’d managed to do something nobody thought possible.

“Looks like I’ve been doing it wrong all these years, Maddox,” Bennet quipped.

“Nah. Just not really into kissing you, Logan,” Xavier retorted.

“Do you boys need some alone time to sort out your feelings?” I asked.

Bennet’s strong laugh filled the room, lightening the mood considerably. Much to my surprise, he planted a kiss on my forehead and Xavier’s. It felt like such a big brother thing to do.

“I’m going to salvage what’s left of my time with Hannah.” He walked toward the door. “Wheels up at eleven, mate.” With a final wave, he left.

Xavier pulled me into another tight hug, holding me as though he didn’t ever want to leave.

“Can I ask a favor, love?”

“Sure.”

He loosened his grip and leaned back to look at me. “Would you be okay reading through the diary we found today with me?”

I sucked in a breath, taken by surprise at his request. “Now?”

“Yes.” He rested his forehead to mine. “I know how difficult it’s been for you with the other entries and I want to be here with you for the next step. Will you let me? ”

Of course I’d let him. But there’s a stronger reason why.

“I need you here, Xavier,” I whispered. “I need you with me for this.”