Free Resisting Velocity by Trinity Evans, Xoe Xanders

easily be denied. It scared her more than a little bit, but perhaps that fear was something to think about while she spent time with him, felt him out.
    Lost in reverie and moving more on auto-pilot than anything else, Charlie stopped and stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. She’d shed her pajamas and now wore a form-fitting black tracksuit. Professional, yet casual at the same time. She pulled her unruly black mane into a ponytail and let the hair spray fly. Once finished, she paced into the living room, worrying her lower lip between her teeth.
    First, she had quit her job, refusing it when it was offered again.
    Second, she had gone absolutely wild in the throes of emotion and boredom.
    Now she was trying to do her job, again, without actually owning up to that fact.
    Yeah, that whole, “I’m not crazy” thing didn’t really feel like it was working.
    Striding back and forth in the tiny living room, Charlie glanced at the wall clock and frowned. Surprise, surprise—Zane was running late.
    Refusing to call and give him the satisfaction of thinking that she was worried, even if she was, Charlie poured another cup of coffee—caffeine that she definitely didn’t need—and sat down. He would make it when he made it and she wasn’t going to throw a fit about his tardiness. No matter how much the situation warranted it, Charlie needed to get her mindset back where it had been pre-party Charlie, so she picked up the book lying on the coffee table and started to read.
    Unable to focus, her gaze flitted back to the clock and she grumbled in irritation. Twenty-five minutes late? Okay, that was bad even by Zane’s standards. Standing up, Charlie shoved her feet into her running shoes and made a beeline for the door. But as she jerked it open, she nearly fell back on her butt with a gasp.
    Framed in her doorway, Zane stood, looking like a wreck—literally. His normally artfully-spiked hair was just a tousled mess now and his clothes were mussed. Dirt was smeared across one cheek as fresh blood oozed from the corner of his mouth and gushed copiously from his nose.
    “What the fu—”
    “Can I come in?”
    Charlie grabbed for Zane’s hand and pulled him into the trailer, shock settling into the pit of her stomach. What fresh hell was this?
    “Who, what, where, when, and why?”
    She listened to him wheeze for a moment as he made a production of kicking off his boots and gingerly sat down on her couch. Charlie grabbed a warm, wet cloth from the bathroom and helped peel off his now-useless shirt and surveyed his chest, looking for damage. Nothing except for dirt and a couple of scrapes. Using the washcloth, she dabbed at his face while Zane pinched his nose and Charlie couldn’t help but smile at the put-out attitude he had.
    She inspected the swollen and split lip for a moment before glancing at his nose. “You’re lucky. Nothing looks broken. Your pretty face is just going to hurt for a little while.”
    “As my nurse, you’re fired.”
    “Very funny, but unless one of your guys decided to take a chunk out of your hide, it’s probably time for you to tell me just what in the hell happened.”
    “I was jumped.”
    “Great! Now I have everything figured out now and don’t need any other details.”
    A scowl crossed his face like a black cloud. “Damn it Charlie, I don’t have anything else to tell you. I was headed over here and bam, next thing I know, I’m on the ground, bleeding.”
    “Whoever did this would have had to hit you really hard to get a one-hit knock out—and then be strong enough to drag you somewhere to finish knocking you around.”
    “Yeah well, when Conner figures out whodunit, feel free to ask them how they managed to pull it off.”
    “All right, you’re cranky, I get it, but do you see now why I was upset last night at your lack of worry.”
    “Yeah, I’ve got it. Do you have any suggestions?”
    “An investigative team, double security, and none of you go anywhere without