Chapter 56

Xavier's POV The heavy smell of disinfectant lingered in the air, well complemented by the sweet flower scent of lilies laid fresh and neat against the counter. I once was here-once when Kimberly had brought me along to see her aunt. I had been a beholder then, while she communicated with her family-the tenderness of that tone in speaking with her aunt, the glow of greeting so well extended right at the moment tatters clung to it with fatigue upon her features. Now, alone here with a different goal. I had not gone to the office this morning but came directly here, my head heavy and entangled over the happening last night. Something in Kimberly's reaction to the stray puppy-hearing the frozen tone in her voice, fingers clasped on folds of her dress, her breath shallowly in gasps-bothered me, more than discomforting: a deep-seated terror buried somewhere in her past. I needed to know why. In one smooth swish, I stood before the ward in front of Aunt Jasmine and let out a breath I didn't