Chapter 6

Xavier's POV

I was in my office when one of my men came to me.

“Sir, Cassandra King left the house.”

My attention immediately shifted from the papers in front of me.

“Where?”

“They're heading to a bar downtown. Her friend , Stacy, is with her.”

For a moment, I said nothing.

I had no reason to care, her father had security. She had Stacy. She was surrounded by people who could protect her.

I should have let her go.

Instead, I stood.

“Get the car ready.”

My man didn't question me.

He knew better.

I told myself I was only going because something about Arthur's situation had been bothering me. There had been suspicious movements around his business, and I didn't trust the timing.

That was the excuse I gave myself, but the truth was much simpler. Cassandra was out there and I needed to know she was safe.

By the time I arrived at the bar, my patience was already wearing thin.

I remained inside the car for a moment, watching the entrance.

One of my men approached the window.

“She is inside.”

I nodded.

“Keep your distance. I don't want her to know we're watching.”

“Yes, sir.”

I stepped out.

The moment I entered the bar, the music hit me, my eyes moved across the room, searching.

Then I found her.

Cassandra.

She was sitting at the bar with a drink in front of her.

I watched her for a few seconds.

She looked relaxed, I almost felt relieved. Then I noticed the man beside her.

My expression hardened.

He was standing too close.

Cassandra kept shifting away from him, making her discomfort obvious, but he didn't seem interested in taking the hint.

Something about him bothered me.

It wasn't simply that he was flirting with her. There was something calculated in the way he watched her.

He was watching her.

Testing her.

Testing how much security surrounded her.

Testing whether anyone would come if she needed help.

My instincts sharpened.

I watched him reach for her hand.

That was enough.

I crossed the room.

“Take your hands off her.”

The man looked up.

Before he could respond, I grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand away from Cassandra.

My men immediately moved in.

“Take him.”

Two of them grabbed the man and dragged him away.

He didn't fight.

That bothered me even more.

His calmness told me this hadn't been some drunken mistake.

I turned toward Cassandra, her eyes were already on me and when our eyes met, everything inside me stopped.

She stared at me.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then her lips parted.

“Xander.”

My heart stopped.

The name hit me harder than it should have.

Xander.

She had only ever called me that in our first life together, I stared at her, trying to understand how those words had come from her lips.

Then I noticed the slight flush across her cheeks and the glass sitting on the counter.

She was tipsy.

The alcohol was speaking. Still, hearing that name from her made something inside my chest ache.

I should have walked away.

Instead, I reached out and caressed her face. He soft skin felt so right in my palm then I held her hand

The words escaped before I could stop them.

“You have to be careful of who you talk to, my love”

Silence.

I immediately regretted it but Cassandra didn't pull away.

She simply stared at me.

There was confusion in her eyes, but there was no rejection, If anything, she looked as though the endearment made perfect sense to her.

That frightened me more than anything.

And now she stood in front of me, looking at me like some part of her knew exactly who I was.

I felt myself getting lost in her eyes.

This was dangerous, I couldn't do this.I couldn't allow myself to believe that things could be different. If I did that I would stay with her.

Then I saw Stacy approaching.

My eyes moved past Cassandra.

Stacy was almost there.

Cassandra followed my gaze and turned slightly.

That was all the opportunity I needed.

I released her hand and stepped back.

Before she could turn around again, I disappeared into the crowd.

I didn't stop.

I didn't look back., because if I did, I would never let go. I could still feel her skin in my palms

I walked straight out of the bar.

The moment I reached my car, I gave my men one order.

“Bring me the man from the bar.”

They already knew what I meant.

I had no intention of letting him disappear. I know he was working for someone big and I would find out.

Twenty minutes later, I arrived at one of my warehouses.

The place was quiet.

The heavy doors closed behind me as I walked inside.

My men were waiting.

The man from the bar was tied to a chair in the middle of the room., his face was bruised, blood staining the corner of his mouth.

They already beat him. He looked up when I approached and strangely enough, he looked calm.

I stopped in front of him.

“Who sent you to her?”

He stared at me.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then he smiled faintly.

“I was paid to get her alone. That's all.”

My eyes narrowed.

“Who paid you?”

He remained silent.

I studied him carefully.

He didn't look like a random man who had been paid to harass a woman in a bar.

He was too calm.

Too controlled.

Someone had sent him.

And whoever it was had chosen someone who knew what he was doing.

They weren't simply interested in Cassandra, they were testing how protected she was. That meant they already had their eyes on her.

And I didn't like what that meant.

I stepped closer to the man, and I smiled in anger

“You'll talk.......they always do”

He smiled again.

I turned away.

“Keep him locked up.”

My men straightened.

“When he's ready to talk,” I said, glancing back at him, “I'll listen.”

“Yes, sir.”

I walked away from the warehouse floor.

My mind returned to Cassandra., the way she called my name.

Xander.

And the way she had accepted my words when I called her my love.

I didn't know what frightened me more—the fact that someone was already watching her or the fact that I had once again been unable to stay away.

They had their eyes on her, that much was clear now.

And if I didn't act soon, Cassandra would be hurt.

I spent five hundred years watching the same woman die.

I would not allow anyone to touch her in this lifetime.

Not if I could stop it.