feel the lingering heat of Xavier's intense gaze, the way his smirk had sent a strange shiver

r table and Jess

ng and where's the b

d, gripping the

was focused on his phone but he was p

r it but it wasn't there" s

e gone for a while. Ar

forced

, of

" Asher invited her t

bbing her backpack before rushing out of t

ter Hailey, her

what was t

, setting his

uttered, more to hims

•

ck against the seat. He twirled the cigarette between his fingers,

innoc

led everything she was feeling. He had seen the nervousness, the cur

smi

should

and scrolled through his messages. A few unread texts from

el as he revved the engine. The low growl of his car filled the a

speed fueling the chaos in his veins. A driver honked furiously when he cut

ing limits, was an addiction

s sighted but

f pedestrians...none of it mattered. The o

e outskirts of town. Dust and gravel kicked up around his tires as he kille

through his hair,

d when they saw him, their postures stiff, wary. He wa

f them whose name w

ng over his piercing before he p

e. Lucky you" he said

er with" Xavier sa

y with a jagged scar running do

came

ed a long st

ice was calm, but there was an underly

bag and dropped it on a me

tly to reveal stacks of cash and a few seale

"And you're sure you're n

sco

better

smirked.

, yanking him forward so their faces were

r murmured, his

ut even one dollar is missing, I will perso

ed hard, nod

d him back w

finish this before

e dared challenge him because they

er's new phone buzzed loudly in his pocket. He

d with a name he

g in his eyes. He already knew what the c

scoff,