X smirked. “What—you don’t like the rough look? Thought it’d be right up your alley, Ghost,” he taunted as he came closer.
I simply arched a brow at him. He sighed and rolled his shoulders. Tension was riding him hard, like he was barely holding on by a thread. He shoved his hands into his pockets and stopped a few feet from me, his jaw ticking as he stared back at me.
He was still obsessed, but he was also angry. Furious was a more accurate description. X, while a high-functioning sociopath, had some feelings—feelings for Preston. And he was pissed that I’d threatened the one person who meant something to him, even if I knew and had already assured Preston I’d never follow through on those threats.
I didn’t touch innocents, and Preston was practically as innocent as they came.
“Where’s Preston?” I asked just because I wanted to rile him up further.
His teeth audibly ground together, and he narrowed his eyes at me. I cocked my head to the side the slightest bit, watching as he tried to contain his rage. After a moment, his expression cleared, though he didn’t look any less tense.
“He’s home,” X said at last. “Last I checked, he was.”
I nodded once, then turned and continued my run. Instead of slinking back into the shadows, X fell into step next to me. We ran in companiable silence, and when I got back to my place, he followed me up the side stairs as if I’d invited him into my home. I didn’t say a word, just let him follow in behind me. If he tried something stupid, I was ready. Always. But I didn’t think he was following me inside to attack me or kill me.
Though I had no doubt if I truly made a move to harm Preston, X would attempt to take me out with extreme prejudice.
“Preston called me,” X said, breaking the silence as I moved around my kitchen, working on throwing myself together a protein shake. “Told me you two talked. He said you warned him.”
I nodded once as I dumped protein powder and poured almond milk into the blender. I could use the blender bottles I had, but I was feeling a little lazy and this worked much faster. X didn’t say a word as I put the lid on and pressed the button to turn the blender on. Once it was done, I poured two cups, then rinsed out the blender cup, tossed it into the sink to wash later, and held out one of the cups to X. He took it with a single nod of thanks. Made me wonder if Preston had been the one to drill manners into his skull.
“I need you to tell me who, exactly, might come after Preston for what he knows,” X said before he lifted the cup to his lips.
“The government,” I said in all seriousness. “They’ll send someone from the division I worked in to take you, Preston, and me out. No loose ends are allowed, and right now, you two are very loose ends. They’ll kill me too because I’m compromised.”
X scoffed. “Punish you for their own fucking lack of security?” He shook his head. “It wasn’t difficult for my guy to hack into their system. They didn’t even sense him.”
I hummed and dragged out a bar stool before taking a seat on it. “Just keep your mouths shut, and no one should find out, but just know they may have seen your little friend and may just be biding their time. Watch your back, and protect Preston. You dragged him into this shit, X.”
X grunted. I downed my protein shake. “You need to get a hang on your obsessions,” I warned him. “Your sociopathy could be a gift if you knew how to use it properly. Control your urges.”
He cut his eyes to mine, not a thing showing on his face. “You’re talking a lot,” he noted, clearly evading the conversation. I let him, not pushing more. “Why?”
“I talk sometimes. Just usually no reason for me to open my mouth. Sometimes, silence speaks louder than words, X.” It was one thing I’d learned early on in my military training. The moment I’d been pulled from basic in the middle of the night and began training for the Special Ops division they thought I was more suited for, I’d learned to keep my mouth shut. Listen but don’t speak. People were usually too concerned with thinking up their responses to truly hear what someone had to say. And I wanted to hear everything. Understand it all. Only then could I respond accordingly.
He nodded, but before he could say something, his phone vibrated. He tugged it out, and I spotted Preston’s name on his phone. He blew out a soft breath, then swiped his thumb across the screen to ignore it. Curiosity spiked, but I didn’t ask questions.
Didn’t need to anyway because a moment later, my phone went off. Grunting, I grabbed it and answered Preston’s call, my eyes on X, who was glaring at my countertop like it’d personally offended him.
“Shane?” Preston asked quietly. I made a small noise in answer. “I think I have a problem.”
“A problem?” I questioned. X looked at me then, concern glimmering in his dark eyes. “What kind of problem, Preston?” I demanded, already on my feet and moving toward my bedroom to change and suit up.
“There’s a…” He drew in a deep breath, like he was trying to steady himself. “Someone left me an ear.”
Fuck.
Chapter 8
Xan
Preston was pacing when I shoved open the door to our apartment, Shane hot on my heels. When my boyfriend turned to look at me, his cheeks reddened, and rage clouded his vision. I saw his punch coming a mile away, but I still did nothing to block it. I let his fist connect with my cheek, and I swallowed the blood that welled in my mouth so he wouldn’t be forced to see it. He might be angry, but he’d be heartbroken if he knew he made me spill blood.
I hadn’t come home the night before—not that he was aware of anyway. I’d gone to a fight, which he knew about, but I didn’t let him tend to my wounds or see to my injuries. I stayed away, still too riled up about Shane’s threats toward him. I’d calmed down a good bit once Preston called and told me about their conversation, but I still needed to see for myself that Shane truly had no intention of harming Preston, which was why I hadn’t come home and had instead gone to see Shane.
“Why didn’t you answer your phone?” Preston snapped at me, his hands shaking at his sides. “Why the fuck didn’t you come home last night? Where were you? I was worried sick that something had happened to you. That the fucking ear belonged to you.” Tears rushed to his eyes, fucking gutting me, but he didn’t let a single one fall. “I thought you were lying somewhere, just waiting to die, X.”
I gathered him into my arms, my right hand coming up to cradle the back of Preston’s head. Shane was already inspecting the ear, giving me the time I needed to calm Preston down. After a moment, Shane settled the lid back on the cardboard box and lifted his head, meeting my gaze.