Beautiful Stranger (Completed)

CH 13

Xavier

When she told me what happened inside the bus station, I was pissed off. She almost died. My dog was hurt. And, Gino Rivera was still alive.

"What just happened?" Nolan asked.

We were back at my place. Charlie was okay. She had a few bruises and her feet were in pain. I made her take a warm bath with oils. When she was finished, I was going to wrap her feet again with some herbs, to take the stinging away.

"No idea." I was tending to Henry.

He had a few bruises too but was okay. I was glad he bit Gino. "Good boy. You protected, Charlie." I rubbed his fur, kissing his head.

He whimpered and I grabbed his favorite chew toy, giving it to him. That pleased him. I smiled. My dog was easy.

I stood up, "They're okay. That's what's important and she got the evidence we needed." I said.

He nodded, "Why is Gino still alive and how did he know about that locker in Old Town?"

"I don't know. But, let me go see if Charlie has any idea." I pointed to the USB drive that was sitting on my coffee table. "You need to comb through that. See what's on it and start building a case."

"I know but-" he looked around before looking back at me, "Xavier, I know you're always being careful, but, is this place safe?"

"Yes. It's not even listed under any of my alias. They will never find us here."

"All right," he threw his hands up. "Go find out what's going on."

"I will." I said, leaving him in my office with Henry.

My condo had air tight security and I had a state of the art alarm system. Not too mention, it was listed under a name no one would ever connect to me. We were safe.

"Charlie, are you finished?" I knocked on my bathroom door asking. I had her soaking in my bathtub.

"Yes!" The door unlocked and she was already dressed in stretch pants and a long sleeve shirt. Her hair was pulled back.

I couldn't read the expression on her face though. "How are you feeling?" I asked, stepping out of her way.

I watched her walk with a limp to the sofa. "Okay...just in shock."

I went to sit next to her. "Let me wrap your feet up. The herbs will help sooth the soreness."

"Okay." She agreed.

We were both quiet, while I wrapped her feet. The skin on her feet felt tender. She needed to see a doctor and I didn't know of a better one than my dad.

"The muscles just feel tight. Probably because you haven't ran in awhile." I said, finishing up. I got up, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "Don't move." I said, catching her eyes.

"I won't."

I went to go wash my hands a million things running through my mind. Did she lie about killing him? Why didn't she kill him the second time? How did he know about her locker?

"Come here." I pulled her in my lap the moment I sat back down.

"Where's Henry? Is he okay?" She asked, curling up against me.

I smiled, kicking myself for doubting her. I absolutely loved how much she cared for my dog. "He's good. He's currently chewing on his favorite chew toy."

She smiled softly. "I'm sorry. If anything would have happened to him-" I silenced her with a kiss.

"I love my dog and he's fine. So, let's not even talk about it." I caressed her face. "I'm glad you're okay."