Chapter 34 - Xavier

Xavier

T he great thing about being a national sports hero was people tend to forget any bad press or salacious rumors. In the days following the match, I had dozens of interviews scheduled to talk about our result against the Netherlands. Everyone wanted to hear about the penalty I’d saved.

My face was pretty much on every major sports broadcast across England. Not one reporter mentioned last season’s suspension or the game I missed due to “illness.”

And yet, with all this attention and adoration, my soul felt as empty as the glass in my hand. Never thought I’d see the day when public praise failed to satisfy my need to feel wanted.

Setting the glass on the table, I grabbed the bottle of whisky and downed it.

It’s been over a week since I fell apart in front of Victoria. Not quite how I’d planned for the video call to go. I went into it just wanting to hear her voice and look into her mesmerizing eyes.

Telling her what I’d overheard as a child sort of just…came out. I was so emotionally shattered from confiding in Victoria that I refused to tell Dr. Frances what happened at my last session. I only told him I’d opened up to her about something painful.

He was less than pleased with all my deflections but did commend me for doing the whole really feeling it thing like he’d asked.

Every inch of me ached from missing her.

I’m not due back for training until next week. Part of me longed to get on a plane and spend the next five days in Manhattan with her. But I know she’s traveling for work. The Legends have away games in Los Angeles and Houston before coming to London.

She can’t get here fast enough. I might never let her leave when she does.

Competing in the qualifier was the only thing that kept me sane and focused.

Now?

I lifted the bottle to my lips and swallowed. The amber liquid didn’t even fucking burn anymore.

What did burn, and never seemed to stop, was the skin beneath my ear where she’d kissed me. Victoria always liked kissing me there. The phantom flames from her lips lingered day and night.

She marked me.

Searing heat bloomed on my skin. I ran my fingers down the side of my neck, an idea taking shape. For the first time in weeks, I felt at peace.

Someone knocked at my door.

“Christ,” I muttered, not moving. So much for my peace .

Another insistent knock, followed by a shouted, “Xavier.”

My spine stiffened at the sound of Adam’s voice.

Two seconds later, I opened the door in frustration. “Why the fuck are you here?”

“You smell like a distillery.” My stepbrother scowled, waving a hand in front of his face. The guy standing behind him stared at me.

“Who the fuck is that?”

“This is how you greet your guests?” Adam’s eyebrow arched. “Charming.”

I flattened my hand on the doorframe. “Don’t remember inviting anyone over. You have three seconds to tell me why you’re here. Three.”

“This is—”

“Two.”

“We have somethi—“

“One.” I slammed the door in their faces.

A heartbeat later, Adam barged into my living room with his friend in tow. I gritted my teeth, regretting not locking the door. Last thing I wanted was company.

“Not really how I pictured you spending your recovery days after all the heroics on the pitch. This is sad.” Adam gestured around the room. “Drinking straight from the bottle and existing on take away?”

“What I do in my free time is none of your business,” I snapped. “What do you want?”

Adam turned toward the other guy. “Give him the envelope.”

Something that resembled a laugh passed through my lips. “I’m not taking anything from him. I don’t even know who he is.”

“You’re going to take the bloody envelope and read what’s in it.” Adam’s tone sharpened. Can’t say I’ve ever heard him speak to me like this before. “This is Philip Edgewood. And before you start playing dumb again, he’s the tech lead at Jordan’s company.”

Within seconds I had this guy backed up against a wall. “Where is he?”

Philip paled. “I don’t know.”

I grabbed his shirt collar. “The fuck you don’t. Tell me where he is.”

“I-I swear,” he stammered, shrinking into the wall. “But I do think you should see what’s in this envelope. Sooner rather than later.”

My grasp on his shirt tightened. I didn’t believe for a second that he had no idea where Jordan was hiding. Turning to Adam, I snarled, “Do you know where he is? And don’t even think about lying to me.”

“I would have told you already if I knew.” My stepbrother sounded offended. “Let Philip go and read what he brought.”

I couldn’t think straight. All I wanted to do was find Jordan and end this. After weeks of not knowing where he could be, I literally had someone in the palm of my hand who could point me in the right direction.

Eyeing Philip with distain, I loosened my hold on him. This stranger bearing gifts better provide the answers I needed.

“Show me,” I bit out, releasing him and walking toward the couch. Stopping in front of Adam I muttered, “I hope you’re not wasting my time.”

“I’m not.” He responded so quiet I almost missed it. “I just want to help you.”

There it was again. That look he’d had when we first met as kids. Like he idolized me as the older brother he always wanted.

Confusion swirled through me. After all the years of animosity and fights, he still wanted to help. My chest seized with the oddest sensation.

Philip approached in silence, holding an envelope.

“What’s in there?” I demanded.

“Information to keep you one step ahead.” He paused. “Unless you want Jordan to get away with what he has planned for Victoria.”

Barbed wire dug into my heart at the mention of her name associated with that prick. “Why should I trust you? You work for him.”

Any signs of apprehension dissolved from Philip’s expression. His mouth formed a hard line. “Let’s just say I’m gearing up for a career change.”

I glared at him. “I’m listening.”

He laughed at my dark expression, and forged ahead. “Jordan tasked me with gathering as much information on the Chase family as possible last year. Mostly financial.” Acid seeped into my veins. “He specifically asked me to target properties.”

My head pounded. “Briarcliff Cottage.”

“Yes. That’s the only unused property still in the family’s name. Everything else had been sold.”

“Why does he want it?”

“No idea.” Philip’s response sounded nonchalant, but the tightness in his jaw told me otherwise. “We’d pretty much finalized the deal with Helena Chase. Then Victoria showed up and refused to sign the paperwork. I recognized her at some American football event in London. You were there, too. Jordan was less than thrilled when I told him. I went to the cottage to see if I could—”

“That was you ?” My mind flashed to the day I’d seen Victoria arguing with the guy from the charity and the realtor. After they’d left, we went inside and someone had shown up unannounced.

“Imagine my surprise when you came running out,” he said coolly. “I couldn’t get back to my car fast enough.”

I moved closer to him, clenching a fist. The little shit flinched. “I hope you weren’t planning to hurt her that day.”

“What?” His eyes grew large as saucers. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not a psychopath.”

“Oh no?” A dark smile tugged at my mouth. “You work for one.”

Adam cleared his throat and stepped between us. “Let him finish explaining, Xavier. He’s not the bad guy here.”

Philip’s confidence returned when Adam gently pulled me away. I stared at my stepbrother, surprised I’d allowed him put a hand on me, let alone remove me from a potential fight.

The volume of all this new information flowing in made it difficult to focus. Jordan has been going after Victoria’s family since last year ? I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

Money can be so persuasive at times.

He’d sounded so fucking smug when he said that to me. At the time, I assumed he was pushing my buttons.

Familiar, wild energy simmered just below the surface of my skin, ready to erupt. I inhaled a deep breath, willing myself not to spiral.

“If this makes it any better,” Philip said, “your girlfriend isn’t the only person Jordan’s targeting. Financially, her family is the most attractive, but he has several others in his sights.”

“None of this makes an ounce of sense,” I grumbled. “Show me what’s in the envelope.”

I tore it open the second he passed it over. A spreadsheet? Studying it closely, I noticed dates, times, phone numbers, and email addresses. All of the dates fell in October. The same dates Victoria will be here for the Legends game.

Two weeks from now.

“What is all this?”

Philip glanced from me to Adam, and back to me. “Blackmail. He’s going to smear her reputation in the media until he gets what he wants.”

Fury darkened the edges of my vision. Breathe . “How?”

A muscle in his jaw twitched. I stormed over to him, nearly losing my shit. Grabbing the collar of his shirt again, I growled, “Tell. Me. What. He. Is. Planning.”

No answer.

“This won’t end well for you if you don’t start talking.” I shoved him against the wall so hard the medals in my display case shook. “Tell me what he’s doing, and then tell me where the fuck he is.”

Philip’s eyes flicked over to Adam. A low laugh rumbled in my chest. “He’s not going to help you. He knows better than to get in my way a second time.”

“Just tell him,” Adam demanded. “Or I will.”

All the color drained from Philip’s face. “I don’t know where he is.”

I pressed my forearm into his throat. “We’ll deal with the lies in a bit. What’s he planning?”

The more this idiot squirmed in my grasp, the more annoyed I became. Rolling my eyes, I flattened a hand on his chest. Philip tensed.

“He has pictures and videos.”

“Of?”

“Victoria with other men. Famous athletes and coaches, mostly.”

Bile rose in my throat.

“How did he get them?”

Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. “S-some are fake. Others are real.”

Pieces started clicking into place. “The tech start-up in Manhattan. Are they behind it?”

A shaky nod. “We hacked into the mainframe at the Legends facility to manipulate the wireless network. Every phone and computer connected was rendered vulnerable. Players, coaches, staff, visitors, basically anyone signed in to the network at the stadium. We gained access to phone numbers, texts, emails, the cloud, you name it. Our only target was Victoria but we messed around with other accounts and phones to deflect attention.” He paused. “We, uh, we also hacked into her personal wireless network to access images on her laptop.”

Clenching my jaw, I used every trick I’ve learned in training to keep my body still.

I had to.

If I didn’t, I’d fucking throw him through the window and into the street.

After a few seconds, something else occurred to me. “Did you ever pay anyone to harass Victoria and Hannah?” I scowled. “Victoria was groped at dinner by some asshole.”

Philip’s neck bulged with a hard swallow. “Yes.”

“And her car?” My voice dropped several decibels. “Are you behind that?”

“Technically.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” I shouted. “You know what? Doesn’t matter. I’ve heard enough.” I slammed my fist into his face. “Where is he?”

Philip recoiled in pain and terror. “I don’t—”

“Say I don’t know one more time and you’ll be hauled out of here in a pine box.” Bunching his shirt in my grasp, I pressed his body into the wall.

A hand wrapped around my arm. “Xavier. Let him go.” Adam’s calming tone had zero effect on me.

Rage pumped through my veins like poison, corroding every cell until it pooled in my stomach.

“How much of this did you know?” I seethed, pinning a deadly stare on him. “Do not fucking lie to me.”

Adam straightened his shoulders, looking affronted. “I only knew about the blackmail schedule. I’m just as surprised by the rest of it as you.”

I studied him. Even though our relationship was frayed, I could tell when he was being truthful. Nodding, I released Philip, watching him slump to the floor.

Reality narrowed to a razor thin focus.

Dark thoughts. Spiral. Revenge. Redemption.

“Listen to me, you sniveling twat.” I crouched down to make eye contact and flexed my hand into a fist. “I know you’re lying. You know where Jordan is hiding, don’t you?”

Fear enlarged his eyes.

“I’m going to get an answer out of you one way or another. Where. Is. He.”

Philip touched his bruised cheekbone and winced. “He never left England. He just sent his plane to different locations to throw off Bennet because he knew you’d come after him.”

A fresh wave of rage swept through me. “He’s been here the whole time?”

The tiniest nod preceded his answer. “I don’t know exactly where but my best guess is just south of Manchester at his house in Alderley Green.”

Exasperation layered my sigh in spades. What a shithead. Hiding out in one of the wealthiest villages he could find.

When I pulled out my phone to text Bennet, Philip attempted to capitalize on my distraction and moved to stand up.

“Not so fast.” I grabbed his shirt and shoved him back against the wall. “We’re not done here.”

“I told you everything I know.”

“I’m sure you think you have.”

Me: Alderley Green

“Are you texting Bennet Logan?” His voice spiked with panic. “Don’t say it was me. I’ll be—”

“Adam,” I cut in. “What was it you told me about detecting and responding to cyberthreats as the tech lead for a security team?”

Philip’s eyes darted to my stepbrother, pleading for help. Remaining nonchalant, I looked up at Adam and waited for his answer.

“He makes sure the clients’ networks are safe. He could also cause cyberthreats.”

I leveled a cool stare at Philip. “I imagine the punishment for committing that type of crime on foreign soil is severe.”

Bennet: Sending a team now

Tucking my phone in my pocket, I turned my full attention back to Philip. “Answer this last question for me. What exactly does Jordan hope to get from blackmailing Victoria?”

He flinched when I let go of his shirt and smoothed it down. “Money.”

“Bullshit. His family is worth almost a billion. He doesn’t need money.”

A bead of sweat trickled down the side of Philip’s face. “His family is but he isn’t.”

Dismissing his cryptic remark, I leaned closer to him. “What else does he want?”

“He’s baiting you into coming after him.”

Prick. He knew that’s exactly what I’d do.

Unless …

I looked up at my stepbrother.

“Do you still want to help me?”

Shock seized Adam’s face. “Of course I do.”

I smiled, not from joy but from resolve. “I have an idea.”