Chapter 23: Watching Eyes
I saw Xavier the second he walked through the estate doors.
Over the last few weeks, I’d become embarrassingly good at reading him. The way his shoulders carried the weight of the world. He was quiet, distracted. His gaze didn’t linger on me the way it usually did. Instead, it cut toward the windows, then the front entrance, then the shadows of the hallway. He was checking. Calculating.
“Did it go okay?” I asked, keeping my voice steady. “With Bram Accalia?”
“Yes,” he said, his focus already back on his phone.
“Oh really?”
He loosened his tie, his gaze shifting back to the window. “Bram and I disagreed on a few things. Nothing important.”
A lie. We both knew it, but neither of us had the energy to fight.
“Did he threaten you?” I pressed.
“No.”
“Did you t
