Page 24 of Xavier

A ruddy flush rose up Xavier’s neck into his cheeks. “Who said anything about sex?” he blustered, clearly thrown off by her declaration.

“Considering I’m hated by some, avoided by most and broke,” she said, “I don’t have anything else to offer.” Her lips pressed together. “Unless you’d consider a potion or spell as payment.”

Xavier held up his hands. “I don’t want payment.”

“Then why would you help me?”

“I don’t know,” Xavier said, “and I’m beginning to regret my offer to help. Maybe it’s just that since I’ve saved your life twice, I feel a bit responsible for you.”

“Hold on there.” Lissette held up a hand, her jaw tightening. “You’re not responsible for me. I can take care of myself.”

“Like you were taking care of yourself when those guys were shoving you into that van?”

She glared at him. “I was working on it. You just happened to come along before I gave them the what-for.”

“Yeah,” Xavier said with a snort. “I could see that. I guess I should’ve just let you untangle yourself from two grown men.”

For a long moment, Lissette stared at him through slitted eyes, her body stiff and tense. Why was she fighting this? Under the constraints of her parole, she’d be hard-pressed to do all the investigation, questioning, following clues and more. The man had offered to help. She drew in a breath and let it out, her shoulders relaxing as she did. “Okay, so I might not have made it out of that van without your help. I owe you for saving me from whatever dastardly deed they had in mind for me. And damn it, I hate owing anyone anything.”

“I gathered that,” he said, his lips twitching.

“If I let you help me, I’ll owe you even more,” she pointed out.

Xavier shook his head. “You won’t owe me anything.” When she opened her mouth to protest, he touched a finger to her lips. “You’ll be doing me a favor.”

Her mouth tingled where his finger rested. When he dropped his hand, she shook off the sensation and lifted her chin. “A favor? How so?”

“It’ll give me something to do for the next week until I leave.”

Lissette blinked, surprised at the sudden tightening in her chest. “You’re leaving? Are you bugging out before the storm? Or going on vacation?”

“No to both,” he said. “I’ve accepted another job back in the DC area.”

Lissette raised a hand to press against her chest, wondering why this tight feeling had suddenly appeared. “You’re leaving for good?”

He nodded.

“Why?”

He shrugged and glanced away. “Unlike the other members of my team, I haven’t developed a connection to the place. Having been in the military and working with the Brotherhood Protectors, I’ve moved around a lot. I get itchy feet. I guess you’d call it wanderlust.”

“It’s not the place that grounds you,” she said softly. “It’s the people. Don’t you get along with your team? I thought you former military guys were a band of brothers and would take a bullet for each other.”

“Of course, I get along with my brothers. But they’re all pairing up and making Bayou Mambaloa their home.” He shrugged. “I haven’t made that connection. I need to keep moving.”

“Why?” she repeated.

His jaw tightened. “It’s what I do. I need to go to the next place.”

“Are you sure you’re not running away from something? Most people who keep moving have trauma in their pasts, hoping to leave it behind.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t work that way. Trust me, I know.”

Xavier stared past her to the front window of the shop. “This place doesn’t feel like home to me, like it does for them.”

“One week,” she whispered.

“That’s right,” he said. “So, if you want my help, I can only commit to one week.”

“Are you sure you’re leaving in only a week?” she asked.