Page 41 of Nothing Special X: The Last Stand

Until he saw those soft, pale blue eyes drop briefly to his mouth.

Cassidy noticed it, and God help him…he almost leaned down, until a sharp knock interrupted them.

Two officers stepped into the room.

Instead of pulling away, Xander buried his face back into Cassidy’s throat and stayed wrapped around him as if he trusted Cassidy more than the actual police.

“The house and exterior are clear,” one officer reported. “No signs of theft or major vandalism. Just a broken rear window and a few things knocked over downstairs.”

The other officer frowned at the doorknob that’d been blown apart.

“Dispatch said there was security personnel on-site, but we didn’t locate any.”

Cassidy’s jaw clenched until pain shot through it.

“They were supposed to be,” he said flatly. “Apparently they received texts saying they were relieved.”

I’m gonna kill those dumb motherfuckers with my bare fuckin’ hands.

The officers exchanged confused glances, but he waved them off

“I’ll handle it.”

Ruxs, Green, and Steele stood at the entrance of the double doors.

“The main breaker was shut off,” Green said.

Steele nodded. “We swept the perimeter but there was nothing.”

“Free tapped into the neighbor’s security cams and caught a man running across the property,” Green added. “Male, about six feet. Dark clothes. Hood up and head down. Smart enough not to give cameras a clean angle.”

Xander exhaled shakily against his neck.

Steele continued. “Free noted the security detail left the property at zero-one-forty-five. Power was cut at zero-two-ten. So they didn’t hesitate long after the guards abandoned post.”

Cassidy’s blood boiled.

“Free and Tech are coming here tomorrow to do a full security system overhaul of Xander’s system,” Steele said. “Cameras, sensors, network reinforcement, internal failovers, perimeter redesign, you name it.”

Green folded his arms. “In the meantime, God says principal needs to be relocated.”

Xander shook his head fast.

“Cassie, please don’t just send me somewhere.”

Cassidy nearly stopped breathing.

Cassie.

Nobody called him that. Not his coworkers, parents—even his little sister called him by his full name.

Somehow hearing Xander’s nickname for him in his shaky voice did something foreign in his damn chest.

His hand stayed closed around the back of Xander’s neck while he brushed his thumb across his cheekbone.

Ruxs, Green, and Steele had to notice the intimate way he was holding the superstar, but none of them blinked.

Green turned slightly as if he was speaking to someone beside him.