Sasha's mother stiffened in her embrace, then slowly turned her bruised face toward the man who had stormed in. Instead of fear, her eyes softened. She pulled herself up a little, wincing at the stiffness in her ribs, and said in a gentle but shaky voice, "You... you're the one. Cody told me. You're the one who came with him."
Xavier's expression shifted just barely, a flicker of acknowledgment before he gave a single nod. His voice came out low, steady. "It was nothing."
Nothing. Sasha's jaw clenched at the word. Nothing? He had stormed through blood and danger to get her mother out, and he dismissed it like it was a meaningless errand. That was Xavier...always guarded.
Her mother, however, smiled faintly, her eyes welling with tears. "Thank you. You don't know what this means to me. T
