Dangerous Boy

Chapter Twelve

"Grace" something presses down on me a few hours later and I groan, snuggling back into the warmth of the bed. "Grace come on, we need to go."

Recognising the huskiness to the deep voice my eyes heavily blink open. Xavier stands above me fully dressed although it's barely four in the morning.

His eyes are wide, dark and awake and that terrifies me, what's going on?

"Xavier?" my voice is rich from sleep and I have to do everything I can to keep myself from giving into the tiredness that surrounds my aching body. I can see the gun on his waist, that only makes me feel worse. "What's wrong?"

"I'm going to take you home" I feel so dazed and half asleep that I can barely process what he's saying. He realises that quickly, lifting me in his arms and holding me to his chest instead of waiting for me to wake up properly.

"What's going on?" My fingers clutch the leather jacket he's wearing tightly, my breathing comes out fast and shaky and I can feel his arms tighten around me.  It almost feels like he's running so I know he's in a rush, the house is so deadly silent and still that the only thing I can hear is my pulse drumming unevenly.

He easily navigates himself through the big mansion and my back rests against the leather of his passenger seat a few minutes later. I suddenly feel much more awake than before, adrenaline burning through my veins.

I'm still only in Xavier's shirt and shorts, my hair is like a wild birds nest and the bags are heavy under my eyes. His hands are clutching the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles are turning a sickly white. His jaw is shut tightly and his whole body is tense and rigid.

"Where's Sam and Tom?"

"They're both fine" he reassures me, which helps me relax a tiny bit. The way he's continuously glancing in the rear-vision mirror every few seconds isn't helping as much.

"What's happening Xavier?" his dark eyes meet mine when he hears the uncertainty evident in my voice.

"You're safe, you don't need to worry" his hand falls on top of my shaking ones, squeezing it lightly. "Is there someone you can call to meet us halfway to your place? I have to go back to Sam's house, I can't be gone for too long."

"Who can I call at four in the morning?" I mumble, more to myself than to him. I press down on Masons contact before I can feel guilty about waking him up and lift my phone to my ear as it dials.

Just as I think it's about to go to voicemail, a groggy groan makes its way through the other end of the line. "Gracie?" Masons voice is husky with sleep, like mine was ten minutes ago. "It's barely four in the morning."

"I know Mason, I'm sorry" Xavier's head snaps in my direction hearing his name slip past my lips. "I uh, can you please come get me from town?" It's the only central place I can think of and shuffling comes from his end of the line.

"What are you doing in town at this time of the night?" I struggle to answer, how could I explain everything to him? "You can explain once I see you, I won't be long. Can you at least tell me you're safe?"

"I'm safe" I confirm quietly, although I'm not really sure if that's entirely true. "Thanks Mace."

Xavier turns towards the direction of town and glances at me again, his biceps flexing as he does so. "Whose Mason?" his voice is cold and unnerving all of a sudden.