The Heist (10 page)

Shuggie was
confused as he took the laptop. “Ah, Commander, where did ye get
this?”

Xavier was
already in his quarters and starting to undress for a quick shower
when he heard Shuggie behind him. “It’s Friera's,” he answered, as
though Shuggie should already know that information. “Got it from
the docks where I found her.”

Shuggie wanted
to shake Xavier and tell him that he had witnessed him talking
to
himself
at the
dockyard, that he had been alone the whole time, and there was no
way on earth that he could have gotten her laptop from there.
Besides, she was a geriatric, and probably didn’t even know what a
laptop was never mind own one, even less that she would be down at
the dockside using it.

“
Friera’s
laptop ye say? Xavier, ye dinnae mind me askin but why would ye
think it wis Friera’s?”

Xavier turned
around and gave Shuggie a withering look.

“
Because she
was using it when I found her with it. Now stop yammering like a
bitch and get to work on it. I want to know everything that’s on
there. She probably has contact information on her whole damn gang
of thieves in there.”

Shuggie sidestepped as
Xavier walked past him towards the bathroom, then stared at the
laptop in his hands.

“
Ye think
Friera is behind the burglaries?” When he got no answer, he mused
to himself that maybe the elderly Friera was some sort of pensioner
mastermind who crocheted plots to rob wealthy Mafia families in
between naps and playing sudoku. “I’ll jist go ahn huv a look at
this then, Commander?” Shuggie took the fact that Xavier had now
turned on the shower and was singing loudly, obviously trying to
drown him out, that was precisely what his Commander wanted him to
do.

He shut the door behind
him and pulled out his cell as he headed back towards the comms
room.

“
Doc? Aye
lassie, it’s Shuggie. It’s worse than ah first
thought...”

Word had got
back to Belcastro that Xavier had a lead as to who was behind the
thefts and the attempted break-in at the main mansion earlier that
day.

Snr Belcastro had flown
to Mexico from Europe and had arrived back early without notifying
any of his people.  No one except the chef and housekeeper had
known he was home when the attempted robbery had taken place, and
as the commotion had started he headed straight for his fortified
panic room for safety.

Belcastro,
however was more interested in the fact that none of his trusted
people had been contacted by this ‘Xavier Raige’ and been given an
update by him.  Instead, this ‘respected Commander’ had spent
less than ten minutes on the grounds before leaving as quickly as
he had arrived.

The weight of suspicion
was starting to grow that Xavier Raige might in fact be the enemy
from within.

****

An hour into the ten hour
and forty two minute flight, Alicia turned the overhead light on,
pulling out her back up laptop from her carry-on bag.

To say that
she was fuming was an understatement after the ‘meeting’ with the
huge soldier prick earlier.

She may not
be able to erase the hard drive on the stolen laptop, but she could
disable her e-mail address, leaving her ‘fun’ one behind. How could
she have been so careless to not see him taking her damn computer?
He was going to pay for this…Oh boy was he going to pay and she
would be the one laughing all the way to the bank as they
say.

The
airsickness started after two hours airborne, so Alicia closed down
the laptop, hugging it close to her — she wasn’t taking any more
chances tonight.

****

The only
living heir of Snr Belcastro, appropriately named Junior, had been
spoiled from the moment he had been born, and a life of money and
privilege had landed him in a top spot, studying History and
Politics in Oxford University, London, England.

It had
nothing to do with intelligence or aptitude, a simple case of not
what you know but who you know. And Snr Belcastro knew enough
secrets and scandals to enable his pride and joy, Junior, to do
just whatever the hell he pleased.

The Belcastro
family hadn’t been so successful in health or longevity, however,
so Snr Belcastro was playing the long game with his son. He had
banked on the fact that if he pandered to his every whim,
eventually he would repay him by providing his own son and thus
preserving the family name and line.

Tragedy and
bad fortune had struck the Belcastro’s through the decades —
unfortunate accidents; fires; drowning’s; poisonings — until it was
only Snr Belcastro and Junior who were left.  Retribution had
been handed out by the Belcastro family, but in truth no one had
ever been proved to be behind the deaths, and so scapegoats had to
be used to keep up the fear and respect of the other
families.

However their
fortunes would change, Snr Belcastro was convinced. His son was
healthy, and had a legendary appetite for female company. It
wouldn’t be long before the next in line to the Belcastro name
would be conceived and born, and so ensuring the empire would go on
for future generations.

After a quick
freshen up and change of clothes, Xavier shouted down to Shuggie
that he would be back late, and decided to drive his SUV to the
Belcastro mansion.  He wouldn’t take any chances that Friera
would attempt to run him down a second time and make him late for
the meeting.

When he arrived at the
mansion, the atmosphere was decidedly grim and he was marched into
the plush, ostentatious office. Snr Belcastro was a small,
rotund man with a reddish complexion and a moustache that would
give Salvador Dali a run for his money.  He must have been
quite the dandy in his younger years, but a life of riches and
spoils had taken their toll on him.  He eyed Xavier like he
was something stuck to his shoe and then motioned with a chubby
finger for him to take a seat.  Xavier looked right, then
left, noting that the guards had not been dismissed, but said
nothing as he sat opposite Snr Belcastro.

“
I’ve been
told that you have a lead on the thefts, Commander, and yet...” Snr
Belcastro shuffled some papers on his desk, as though to emphasise
his next point, “...I have no report from you on such.” A snake
like smile formed on his red, balloon face as his eyes tried to
peer over the apples of his cheeks.

Xavier relaxed back in
his seat, keeping his features unreadable as he processed the
information that someone had been enlisted to spy on
him.

“
If you have
proof that I have a lead on the gang of thieves, Senor, then surely
whoever was tasked with shadowing me would have furnished you with
that information already.” Xavier gave a short smile, before
adding, “However, I am a professional, and as such will only
confirm facts in reports to my employer when and if I am in a
position to do so.” Making a move as if to stand he added, “But it
seems that you already have matters in hand, and have no need for
my services since you have found it necessary to have me
followed.”

He could tell by Snr
Belcastro’s change in body language that he had hit the nail on the
head, and by the way his voice had started to waver Xavier also
knew that Belcastro had more need of him now than ever.

“
No need to
be so hasty, Commander.” Snr Belcastro was backpedalling at an
extraordinary rate for such an unfit man. “Please, please sit
down.”

He clapped
his hands twice and ordered his finest cigars and Scotch to be
brought for the Commander. It took all Xavier’s training not to
burst out laughing in his face.

The meeting
went on for hours, well into dawn and by the end Xavier had Snr
Belcastro eating out the palm of his hand.  He had also
managed to up the price for the mission by fifty percent, a fact
that would only dawn on Snr Belcastro when he sobered up the next
day.

It had been a
long-ass day and Xavier was beat.  He was used to living on
the edge and multi-tasking. However with the energy being drained
from him with the emergence of his wolf trying to break through,
the stirring up of his emotions regarding Sweetcheeks, and the
usual fuckery of running an elite mercenary unit he desperately
need to lie down and
not
think for just a couple of hours.

As Xavier
closed his eyes his wolf awakened, fighting with him to stay alert.
 Groaning, Xavier rolled over onto his flat stomach, and
buried his head under the pillow, holding the corners tightly in
his fists.  He
was
going to sleep and
nothing
—not even his wolf — was
going to stop him.

The minute
Xavier’s body relaxed and he drifted into a deep sleep his dreams
started again.  His subconscious was fucking with him,
sneaking in a ninja attack of images of ‘Friera’ and he was
helpless to stop them.

Instead of being at the
roadside, he was at the docks and could hear Friera calling his
name and laughing softly as he ran past the myriad of containers
and vehicles, trying to find her.

“
Friera….Friera show yourself fucking
now
!” He was shouting as
he ran, every heavy footfall brought a deeper sense of urgency for
him to find her. He was losing his cool and wherever he ran,
he caught a glimpse of his wolf standing at a distance, watching
him as his tail swished slowly. “Shit, Sweetcheeks - where are
you?” By now he was racing through the dockside, his arms were
pumping at his side, and his knees were high as he ran faster,
thigh and calf muscles tight as his feet dug into the
dirt.

Xavier’s heart was
thundering in his chest, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead
and down his spine as he dreamed, his mouth murmuring her
name.

In his dream,
the sun was beating down punishingly, and he was blinded as he
looked up hearing her voice teasing him to find her. Reaching an
arm up, he made contact with her ankle and pulled her down off of a
container to slam her body against his.

“
There you
are, Sweetcheeks,” he grinned as he cornered her. “I’ve been
looking for you for a long time, yeah.”

Xavier’s pulse was racing
as he cupped Friera’s face in his hands and leaned down to kiss
her. His tongue swiped across her lush lips and then forced
her mouth open to accept him.  As their tongues duelled, he
slid his hand behind her back, the other bunching her hair between
his fingers as he tilted her head to the side to gain more
access.

She tasted
the same as the first dream he had —sinful cherry and vibrant life
— he needed more of her, and as he backed her up against the side
of the container, his body was rolling up and down against
her.

Friera’s hip
was grinding against his as Xavier sucked on her lower lip, tugging
it before release as he pulled back slightly and grinned down at
her, he had messed her hair up and her eyelids were heavy with
lust.

“
Take me,
Com-an-derr,” she said to him, the Italian accent accentuating the
‘r’ and her big brown eyes full of promise.

“
Not here…”
Xavier ran his hand over her hip, still keeping grip with his other
hand in her tousled chestnut brown locks, “...you deserve better.”
With that, Xavier’s dream had them transported into an expensive
hotel suite. It was lavishly decorated and bigger than most
apartments he had lived in. Standing on the balcony as the sun
was setting, the patio doors were open and he thought that they
must be somewhere in Europe, but he wasn’t quite sure where. Not
that it mattered, as he took Friera’s hand and led her away from
the balcony, through the reception room and into the imperial sized
bathroom.

As Xavier
kissed Friera again, he started to undress her with gentle
attention, his fingers caressing lightly over her skin as he
removed her clothes. The shower was already on, and the steam was
starting to fill the room. “You’re so fucking beautiful,
Sweetcheeks,” he whispered as his eyes moved down her body,
drinking her in.

“
I’ve been
waiting so long...so damn long for you.” Xavier didn’t know why he
kept thinking and saying this, but he meant it with every cell in
his body.  His wolf was scratching at the door outside the
bathroom, but he was ignoring it. This was all about him and
Friera.

As Xavier
dreamed, he started to move towards Friera and realised that he was
as naked as she was, even though he hadn’t undressed.  The
heat was rising and not only from the hot spray and steam of the
shower. The blood was boiling in his veins and as his body reacted
to seeing her unburdened by her clothes, he was sure that he
couldn’t wait much longer to claim her.

“
She needs
you…needs you…needs you…” an echo of voices sang out in Xavier’s
dream but he couldn’t see or feel anyone else in the room.
“Protect, defend, the One…” again, he did not recognise the voices,
but he didn’t have any concerns.  They were just saying what
he was thinking — and he didn’t need to be told twice.  He
knew that Friera was the reason for his existence. He had been
waiting for her all his life, and he was certain that it was his
duty to shield her, guard her, save her from harm.