Page 28 of Racing Dirty Trilogy Box Set

“I dropped Izzy off around five because I had some errands to run before tonight.

After I got home my phone rang around eight-thirty, it was Izzy.

She told me someone was in her fucking house.

I ran over here as fast as I could, still talking to her on the phone.

When I saw the fucking back door busted open, I hung up with her and called you.

After I hung up the phone with you, I heard her fucking scream and ran inside.

There was no fucking way I would let her get attacked because you told me to stay outside.

I alerted whoever it was because when I reached the bottom of the fucking stairs, he slammed into me full force.

I hit my head hard on the wall and blacked out.

The next thing I fucking remember is Izzy trying to wake me up.

I have a fucking killer headache, we have a stalker on the loose and my girl is no longer safe.

That about sums it up." The room grows quiet and I process what he says.

“Wait, hold on, back it up,” I demand. Two sets of eyes land on me. “What the fuck do you mean we have a stalker?"

Christian takes a deep breath and mumbles “Fuck,” under his breath. Xavier looks at him, anger flashing in his eyes. “You didn’t fucking tell her?"

Christian shakes his head glaring at Xavier.

“No, I didn’t tell her yet." My face pales as Christian gets up from the couch.

I get up following him, Xavier grunts and gets up following behind me as we go into the kitchen.

On the counter is a picture of Xavier and me at my first feature win.

His arms are wrapped around my waist as we both smile for the camera.

“No fucking way,” I whisper when I look at the picture.

My face is scratched out and underneath the picture is ‘DIE BITCH! HE IS MINE!’ in red. One of the best memories of my racing career is ruined by some psycho.

“Tell me this isn’t happening,” I whisper, turning toward Xavier. Tears are threatening to spill out, but I hold them back, determined not to let some bitch make me weak. I clear my throat as Xavier takes me in his arms. His warmth is my safety right now and I hold on tight.

“This doesn’t make sense. It was a man in my house. I know that for a fact. No woman is that size.” I argue.

“Yes, we know this. The footprints in the dirt are of a man wearing heavy boots. When he snuck into your backyard, he stepped into the flower bed. That isn’t my only concern though.

" Christian pulls out a baggie from his back pocket and hands it to me. I take the baggie and inside is a picture of my dad’s car when it hit the wall.

“My partner found this by the back door. Whoever broke in had this on him and he must have dropped it when he kicked the door in. Look on the back,” Christian says gently.

I do as Christian said and turned the picture over. Written on the back said, ‘Take care of the daughter before I take care of you.’ in the same writing as the other picture.

I drop the picture and if Xavier didn’t have his arms around me, I would have fallen to the ground. His strong arms hold me up as I shake uncontrollably. Xavier rubs his hands up and down my arms, trying to soothe me.

Christian picks up the baggie off the floor and puts it back into his pocket.

“Your dad’s accident is now a homicide investigation, Izabella.

Whoever messed with his car didn’t leave any trace of who he was behind.

We need to go over all the drivers, new and old, to get to the bottom of this. Can you guys come down to the station?"

“Yeah, let me call Nolan and Mia, they can help. They’re at the track every weekend and know more about the drivers than I do.

These last two weeks were the only times I really paid attention to who’s there in a long time.

I just went through the motions of being there and racing.

Until Izzy came back, I shut everyone out," Xavier confesses.

Xavier’s confession left me speechless. I look up at him and gently touch his face.

“Xavier, I had no idea. Racing is your life. You were first in your class, at the top of your game. Why did you do that?" I asked him.

Xavier swallows hard, his sapphire gaze saddened, “Because when you left, I lost all the passion I had. Getting drunk and blacking out, ruined our lives when we were eighteen. Racing was my life back then but the day you left, I realized it wasn’t racing that was my life, you were.

The passion never came back until you did.

Izzy, I have been going through the motions for years.

Wondering what you were doing, how you were doing, who you were doing it with.

It was driving me crazy. The only ones that stayed close to me were Mia and Nolan.

They broke through the walls I put up. No one else tried, they all knew my heart was broken, my soul was ripped in half, and left when you left.

I was always angry, always closed off." Xavier takes a deep breath and continues. “I just went to the track every Friday night, did my race, and left. I didn’t talk to anyone or acknowledge anyone. I was a dirty racer and didn’t care who got in my way.

I was there to win and that was it. Being social ruined us and I wasn’t going to make that same mistake again.

I’d come home, beat the hell out of my punching bag to relieve the adrenaline, and worked on my car.

The only time I felt peace was when I took a wrench to your car. "

Tears are falling down my face now and I can’t stop them even if I tried. Xavier gently wipes them away.

“Please don’t cry. It was my fault. I was a scared teenager back then.

I didn’t know what to do or how to handle all these feelings I had.

I was scared I would fuck up and lose you, the only person I ever loved.

That’s exactly what I did. I fucked up, got drunk, and lost you.

But now I have you back and I’m not letting you go.

A crazy stalker bitch and psycho asshole won’t keep me away from you.

" Xavier leans in close to me, forehead to forehead, his breath fanning across my lips.

“X, this is all my fault too. You’re not the only one who fucked up. I was too stubborn to talk to you, to ask you what happened. I’m so sorry." My voice cracks on the last part as a tear falls down my face. “I love you, Xavier Marcus Sweeney and I’m not going anywhere ever again."

His lips crush against mine, kissing me with such passion it takes my breath away. When he breaks the kiss, he rests his forehead against mine, breathing hard.

“I love you too, Izabella Iris Jones, and I will kill anyone who tries to hurt you,” Xavier whispers.

Christian clears his throat behind us, making me jump. “Xavier, I’m a cop. I can’t hear this. Go call Nolan, I’ll call Mia and have them meet us at the police station."

Xavier pulls out his phone from his front pocket. He calls Nolan and tells him what happened. When he’s done he looks at Christian with a deadly glare.

“I know you’re a cop, but anyone who fucks with Izzy fucks with me. Either you’re in this with me or you play the safe card. You do your job and I’ll help, but I won’t always follow the rules. I consider you a friend now and I hope my trust in you will keep her safe."

Christian stands next to Xavier and puts his hand on his shoulder.

“Thanks, Xavier. That means a lot to me. I don’t have many friends because of my line of work, but I consider you guys friends too.

Friends to me means family and I will protect Izzy with my life.

You’re right, anyone who fucks with her, fucks with me too.

Laws and rules go out the window when someone messes with family.

Just because I wear this uniform or carry this badge, doesn’t mean I will always follow the rules when it comes to family.

We will do this by the books for now though.

Let’s head down to the police station and look at all the suspects.

I have a feeling it will be a long night. ”