Xavier: (Indestructible) (13 page)

Cassandra woke as bright sunlight streamed through her
bedroom windows. Initially she was a bit confused as to why she was on the
floor and not her bed, but then she saw the indentation of the pillow beside
her. She rolled toward the pillow, anticipating Xavier’s essence. She was not
disappointed, burying her face into it and absorbing his scent as though she
was a junky trying to get her next fix.

She finally opened her eyes to glance at her bedside clock. “Oh
my God!” Cassandra flew out of the makeshift bed, realizing that she was going
to be late for work. After a quick shower, cleaning her teeth and brushing her
hair into a ponytail, she slipped into her active-wear gear, pulled on her
sneakers, and sprinted out of her bedroom.

“Where are you going in such a hurry?” Monique asked as Cassandra
rushed down the stairway.

“Work, I can’t believe I’m late again.”

“Well, that’s what happens when you spend the night screwing
your brains out.” Monique snickered.

“I don’t have time to go into what your problem is, but we can
discuss it tonight,” Cassandra muttered as she opened the front door.

“I have nothing to discuss with you. I just can’t believe you
would sleep with some guy you just met!”

“I told you last night what X means to me. He is not some guy.”

“You met him yesterday!”

Cassandra sighed in exasperation. “Monique, you know that’s not
true. We’ll talk later.” She grabbed her car keys and started toward the Honda
Civic but came to standstill when she saw Xavier leaning against his Land Rover
waiting on her. She couldn’t help lighting up as though she was a Christmas
tree: her smile widened, and a feeling of pure euphoria permeated throughout
her body. Butterflies exploded in her stomach, and her breathing became fractured
with her love and adoration. She glided toward him, her feet moving as if she
had wings.

“Hi,” she rasped out breathlessly.

He opened his arms, and she walked into them, exhaling
blissfully as he clutched her tight against his solid frame.

Xavier bent his head and gave her a soft, probing kiss. She
curled her tongue around his and sank into his warmth.

Moments later, he raised his head and held her gaze with
smoldering eyes. “How are you?”

Cassandra melted into him, his voice liquefying her bones, his
now familiar taste and scent short-circuiting her senses. She shivered
delicately as his heat permeated her skin.
Damn, I’m such a mess. At this
rate, I’m going to become a babbling idiot around him.
She had to fight
through the fog of desire to articulate a response.

“Cass?” he inquired with a gravelly voice, seeming to be just
as affected by her as she was by him.

She took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself enough to
respond with some coherency. “Thanks for holding me last night,” she finally
voiced. “I slept like a baby.” She grinned up at him. “But now I’m late for
work. Am I mistaken in thinking you’re my ride?”

“Sorry, change of plans, sweetheart,” he murmured.

“What?”

“Our friend Qin made a play for you last night. I can’t protect
you if you’re out in the open. I need you back at the house where I can protect
you.”

“What do you mean? Qin came here last night?”

“Get in the car. We’ll talk on our way.”

After they were both settled into the vehicle, Cassandra turned
to him in dawning understanding of the implication of what he was proposing.
“Are you saying I can’t go back to work?” She frowned, not at all liking that
conclusion. “I have to tell you that’s not an option for me. This job is my
only source of income. I have a full scholarship, but I need this income to pay
for my incidentals in college.”

“I know, Cass. But I can’t chance Qin getting his hands on you.
I have no idea what his intentions are.”

Xavier continued driving along the Eastern Road. Cassandra
couldn’t grasp what he was saying. The concept of Qin wanting to harm her or
capture her for any reason was just inconceivable. Xavier had to be mistaken or
reading the situation wrong.

“What happened last night to make you believe Qin was
interested in me like that?”

“I intercepted two of his men trying to gain access to your
house.”

“What? How? When? Why?” She stared at him as if he had lost his
mind. “I know they had been following me, but I never thought this would
escalate to this level. I don’t understand any of this.”

“One of the men is being questioned and is still in custody.”

“In custody by the police? What did he say?” She was truly
bewildered by this development, despite the shootout in the parking lot
yesterday. She had somehow convinced herself that was Qin trying to act macho.

“The bastard refused to answer questions,” Xavier muttered. “He’s
not being held by the local police by the way. Qin’s reach is too extensive for
us to trust local authorities to hold onto any of his men.”

As Xavier turned onto Shirley Street, Cassandra tried to reason
with him again.

“Look, X, I think you may be misreading this situation. I can’t
afford to give up this job. It’s the only one I could find during my holidays.
Mr. Stuart is kind enough to make sure I have a job every break I get. I can’t
screw this up,” she argued. “Why would Qin wish to harm me anyway?”

Xavier didn’t answer her. His eyes were glued to his rearview mirror.

“What is it?” Cassandra asked anxiously.

“Stay low. We’re being followed,” Xavier answered, sounding
more than pissed and ready for the upcoming confrontation.

“How do you know? This road is usually heavy with traffic, as
it is now.”

“The black Mercedes, two cars back with dark-tinted windows,
has been following us since we left your house,” Xavier said calmly. “And the Expedition
ahead of us is also with them.

“This is so crazy! Let me call my boss and let him know I won’t
be in today.”

“No, you will call him later and tell him that you won’t be in
for the rest of the summer.”

Cassandra gasped. “That’s not possible, X. I don’t know why
things between you and Qin have escalated to this extent. My brothers can call
Qin and smooth things over. Despite their ineptness at times, they are much
respected in their world.”

Xavier pressed down on the accelerator, weaving in and out of
the thirty-miles-per-hour traffic. “Qin’s men were already in your house, Cass.
Your dogs were secured in their pen, and the alarm wasn’t on.”

“What does that got to do with anything?” She turned in her
seat to gaze at him in confusion. “So someone must have forgotten to turn the
alarm on and leave the dogs out?”

“And Qin’s men chose the one night they forgot to enter your
house?” Xavier scoffed.

“What are you saying? Do you think my brothers were trying to
help Qin get to me?”

Xavier didn’t answer her. Instead, he refocused on the men
following them by glancing into the rearview mirror.

Cassandra could see, in the side mirror, the black Mercedes
keeping pace with them. “My God, you’re right. The guy in the passenger seat is
Qin’s right-hand man, Sai.”

“You can see that well through the tint?”

“Not really, but Sai is uniquely huge for a Chinese. He always
looks as if he has been stuffed in the car.”

“If you weren’t with me, I would have a chat with our friends.
I can’t chance them hurting you,” Xavier told her.

“X! They have a gun,” Cassandra yelled just as the Mercedes pulled
up on the left side of the Land Rover and Sai started shooting at X.

The deafening noise of shattering glass, screeching tires, and
horns blaring from other motorists filled the air as the vehicle was riddled
with bullets. Xavier got hit.

Cassandra screamed. Blood covered the console of the car and
driver side window was shattered. “Oh my God, X! Are you okay?”

“I’ll be okay,” he muttered, but he kept the left side of his
head well out of her view.

More bullets entered the car, and the Expedition in front of
them slowed down to try slow down the Land Rover.

“Stay down,” Xavier yelled. He suddenly pressed his brakes,
fell behind the Mercedes, and turned the car off the main Shirley Street road
to enter Kemp Road. That maneuver forced Xavier to run the red light, but it
meant that the other cars would take a while to turn off and find them again.

“What are you doing?” Cassandra shouted.

“There’s too much traffic on that road. Someone could get hurt
from them shooting at us,” Xavier told her.

“This is a densely populated area. Someone will definitely get
hurt if they shoot at us through here,” Cassandra told him.

Xavier increased his speed and put some distance between them and
their pursuers.

As Cassandra had predicted, there were a number of people
walking about the low-income neighborhood. Houses were mere inches away from
each other, and there were numerous narrow streets and no sidewalks. Children,
dressed in their uniforms, slowly walked toward the public school for summer
classes. Adults walked toward bus stops on their way to work, others carried
buckets to collect water, and still others were simply going out to run routine
errands. Dogs, local potcakes, roamed the streets at almost the same level as
the human population.

It was in this chaos Xavier navigated the big SUV in an attempt
to out-run Qin’s men. The Expedition and the Mercedes soon came back in view a
few cars behind them.

“Let me drive, Xavier. I know these streets better than you do,
and if they get too close, it’s better that you have your hands free to deal
with them,” Cassandra said urgently.

Xavier accelerated the vehicle, turned the corner out of the
view of their pursuers, and weaved around another corner, as the streets tended
to be interlinked and numerous. “We don’t have time to stop. You’re going to
have to direct me.”

Cassandra muttered under her breath in annoyance. “Make this
turn coming up on the right.”

Cassandra spent the next ten minutes directing him through the
narrow streets and numerous corners, making sure to avoid traffic lights,
pedestrians, and other motorists by traversing the obscure access points to Kemp
Road, Jerome Avenue, Palmdale, Collins Avenue, the even more narrow streets of
Mason Additions, on to East Street, across Market Street, and then on to Blue
Hill Road. All the while, Qin’s men struggled to keep pace with them. They
managed to maintain a distance that didn’t allow the men close enough to shoot at
them.

“I have no idea how the hell we came to be here in front of the
Hilton,” Xavier said in awe.

“Yeah, well, make a left turn here and blow your horn while
approaching the gate.”

“What the fuck? This is the US Embassy,” Xavier said as heavily
armed American and Bahamian Marines immediately assembled in front of the
barricade to the entrance of the embassy, preventing them from actually
entering the gate.

“Let’s see Qin’s men try to come after us now.” Cassandra
grinned in triumph.

Sure enough, they both turned to look behind them to see the
car with Qin’s men drive past the Embassy.

Xavier exited the vehicle.

Cassandra knew that they were going to get hell for this stunt
from the US officials. She gasped in alarm when she finally saw the left side
of Xavier’s face. The pink flesh beneath his dark skin was graphically visible,
as it seemed that the bullet had driven a path from his ear to the middle of
his cheek. It was a ghastly sight, bringing involuntary moisture to her eyes in
anguish.

Xavier didn’t even acknowledge his injury. He was too busy
showing his credentials and explaining why they were there.

Xavier embraced Neo as he entered the apartment. “Thanks for having
my back the other night, man.”

“It seems you have attracted the attention of a vicious
organization, X.” The man, shorter by mere inches, slapped him on his back and
grinned. “Qin is pissed. You now have a huge bounty on your head in the
underworld.”

“Who knew that the Chinaman would be so thin-skinned,” Xavier
joked.

“I see they tried to penetrate that hard head of yours.” Neo smirked
at the huge bandage covering the left side of Xavier’s face and looked him
directly in the eye, their brotherhood bond clearly evident in his gaze. “Any
reason why you’re wearing a bandage?”

“Cass doesn’t know about me yet,” Xavier told him dryly. He
hadn’t had the heart to let Cassandra see his skin seal together in mere hours
after being shot. She would have freaked even more than she had when she saw
his injury.

“Yet? Are you planning on telling her?” Neo widened his eyes in
shock.

Xavier almost grinned at his friend’s stunned expression. He
understood Neo’s astonishment. As far as he was aware, neither of them had ever
told anyone what they were. They had been able to piece together years ago that
their fathers were descendants of the last kings of Africa. At least that was
what Neo’s intel had uncovered. It was believed among the elder tribesmen that
the men who were born with this capability were considered the legitimate
royalty of Africa. They hadn’t been certain if they believed that assessment or
not, but at least it helped to explain a little bit about their ancestry.

“Yes, I will tell her because I hope she will agree to be my
wife.” Xavier held his friend’s gaze. “You and I both know that we are not
immortal, just very difficult to kill. Neither of us had our fathers around to
guide us. Why is that? How did they die?”

Neo nodded in understanding. “You’re right; we’re not immortal.
I discovered a few years ago that my father died from drowning in his early
thirties. He was killed,” Neo told him. “Your father was also killed.”

“I never met my father. He disappeared when I was a baby
according to my mom. She never spoke about him. I just always assumed our
fathers were absentee fathers, men who were not interested in raising children,
not realizing that they may have been killed.” Xavier frowned in confusion.

 “No, they were killed. My investigations show that they both
died from drowning. Their deaths occurred more than thirty years ago. Your
father was killed in Florida first, and my father was killed six months later
in New York. Neither death drew police suspicion, as they were both ruled
accidental. Given the similarities in how they died, I don’t think their deaths
were an accident. Knowing how hard it is to kill us, I can imagine that our
fathers were just as difficult to kill. Both men were police officers.”

“When did you uncover this?”

“I’ve known for years. I just assumed you knew as well.” Neo’s
eyes darkened with concern. “Look, I have other half-siblings from my mother, but
as far as I can tell, none of them have our distinctive skill-set. None of them
know about me. Think carefully about what you’re doing.”

“I don’t understand a lot about who and what we are, but I want
my sons to know where they came from and who they are. Cassandra will be the
mother of my sons. If something happens to me, she will have to guide them. I
don’t want my sons to be blindsided by this.”

“I hear you, man. But you have to know that there is a reason
why our fathers died young. They were hunted. We have avoided that enemy
because no one knows about us, other than you and me. You need to tread
carefully on this, and maybe, Cassandra doesn’t need to know. She may not mean
to place you in danger, but she may say something to the wrong person. We don’t
know who that is. We don’t know who our enemy is, how they know our secret or
why they want us dead. It will make it almost impossible to guard against this
enemy since we have no idea of who we’re looking for or even where to look.”

“I never thought of that aspect of it.” Xavier didn’t like the
thought of some unknown enemy lurking in the shadows posing a threat to Cassandra.
“My God! I had no idea.” Xavier felt such pain now that he knew his father
hadn’t willingly left him, reopening the wound of never having his father in
his life. He wanted justice. “I’m not willing to be a sitting duck. We have to
find them before they find us. And I have to tell you, I want those bastards,
whoever they are.”

Neo smiled grimly. “I’m glad that you and I are on the same
wavelength, but we have to deal with this Qin prick first. Do you have any idea
why he wants Cassandra so badly?”

“I don’t give a fuck why he wants her. He’s not getting to
her,” Xavier growled.

“So what’s your plan? I assume you called me in because you
intend going in without your boss’ authorization?” Neo asked.

“Hell yeah, I am. The DEA has to go through too much red-tape
to conduct an official investigation and possible extradition afterward.
There’s no evidence that the local authorities have the will or the resources
to deal with the Triad. That bastard is like a fucking cockroach. Every time I
eliminate one of his men, he just keeps sending more of these fuckers after
her. It’s obvious he couldn’t care less whether Cassandra is willing or not.”
Xavier was getting more pissed as the morning wore on. After they had been
questioned at length by officials at the US Embassy, he had brought Cassandra
back to the apartment. She had been closeted in the bedroom since, calling her
boss and her siblings to tell them what had happened. However, he had cautioned
her about telling anyone her location.

“I spoke to Dom earlier.”

“Dominic Stone, your former SEAL commander? He lives here in
the Bahamas permanently, right?” Xavier asked.

“Yeah. Dom is one of the partners in my securities firm,” Neo
told him. “Dom didn’t like it one little bit that scourges like the Triads have
set up shop here. I can’t believe all of this happened here right under our
noses. The Bahamian government had no idea who they were inviting into their
island paradise when they gave the Chinese contracts to construct such major
developments in the country. It was too easy for the Triad to get their men in
here.”

Neo stopped talking as they heard the bedroom door on the
second floor being opened and closed. They listened as Cassandra ran down the
stairs, and then she came into view.

Xavier didn’t miss his friend’s shocked, audible, indrawn
breath.
Yes, Cassandra is that beautiful.
He watched as Cassandra looked
over at Neo briefly before her eyes lit up with adoration on him.
I’ll never
get used to that. Her obvious preference for me is fucking intoxicating.
Xavier didn’t even realize that he had moved and was now standing in front of
her. He wrapped his arm around her tiny waist and turned to introduce her to
Neo. Not a word came out of his mouth. He was suddenly reluctant to share her
with anyone.

“Hi, I’m Cassandra.” She reached out her hand to shake Neo’s
hand.

Xavier pulled her back against him, preventing her from
actually touching Neo.

Neo laughed out loud. “I’m Neo, this man’s closest thing to a
brother.” Neo grinned at them. “But you won’t know this by his attitude.”

Cassandra smiled. “It’s okay. I wouldn’t want my sisters to
touch him either.” She snuggled into him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
“X, I think you were right about my brothers, one of them anyway.”

“What was I right about?” Xavier was happy that his voice
didn’t come out thin and whiny like the insecure prick he’d been acting like a
few moments ago.

“I was telling Keisha that I wasn’t coming home tonight when
Dylan took the phone from her. He sounded scared out of his mind.”

Xavier went perfectly still. He knew he wasn’t going to like
what she told him next. “What did he say?”

“He told me that I had to come home. I laughed and told him
that I didn’t have to do anything, except—”

“Stay black and die,” Xavier finished for her. “Yeah, honey, I
know. But why would that make me right about your brothers?”

“Well, you didn’t let me finish.” She punched him in his
stomach. “Dylan told me that if I didn’t come back to the house that they would
send Cameron out on a drug run.”

Xavier looked down at her and did his best to blank his
expression. “What did you tell him?”

She raised her left eyebrow and grinned. “I told him to kiss my
ass.”

Xavier laughed; she never stopped surprising him.

“I can’t believe that ass would try to sell me out to Qin.
Didn’t he realize that Qin’s intentions can’t be good if he’s resorting to
kidnapping? I’ll bet Dylan has it in his head that Qin wants to become part of
the family. I swear sometimes my brothers can be so dense!”

“Qin will be pissed at being outwitted,” Neo stated. “Are you
sure he won’t hurt your brother for not delivering on his promise?”

“It would serve him right.” Cassandra smiled grimly, but there
was obvious worry in her eyes. “I can’t imagine Qin losing much sleep over my
not wanting to be with him. Seriously, his family won’t tolerate a relationship
between us, so Qin could only be after something very unsavory. He’s just going
to have to get over his momentary obsession and get his rocks off with other
hobbies.”

“I hate not knowing what that bastard is up to,” Xavier grated
out. “No matter what your family tells you, don’t fucking return to that house.”

“Well, you don’t have to tell me that. No one is going anywhere
anytime soon. There’s a hurricane headed our way. It should be here within the
next twenty-four hours.” Cassandra held his gaze. “So I suggest whatever you’ve
got planned, you do it now.”

“Remember what I told you about drowning, X,” Neo said, caution
evident in his voice.

Xavier immediately understood what Neo was trying to say. Qin
would have to wait until after the hurricane. There was no way he would risk
Cassandra’s safety when he would be at his most vulnerable. “Given that we are
so close to the coast, we will have to move more inland, correct?”

Xavier looked to Neo, trying to gauge what the other man
thought about an impending storm.

Cassandra rolled her eyes at him. “No, don’t ask the Bahamian
for advice. Ask another foreigner,” she said sarcastically. “Nassau is surrounded
by shallow water. So unless that hurricane reaches Category 3 status, we can
stay put. We need to monitor the storm from here on out.”

“Why don’t you get a flight out of here and come back once the
storm passes?” Neo gave Xavier a meaningful stare.

“Do you anticipate problems?” Xavier asked.

“I just think you would be a sitting duck in this situation.
With all resources temporarily interrupted, Qin can easily overpower us. I
don’t have my guys on the island, and Qin has hundreds of men at his disposal.
He can use the cover of the storm to attack when all normal resources are
focused elsewhere.”

“He doesn’t know where we are,” Cassandra reminded them.

“This island is only so big. It’s only a matter of time before
he finds you,” Neo cautioned. “Coming in, I saw quite a number of Qin’s men
combing this part of the island and at least two Chinese men were lurking
outside this apartment complex. I took the liberty of silencing those men
indefinitely.”

“My God,” Cassandra breathed.

“They know X lives somewhere around here. If either of you
leave this apartment, they will spot you.”

“We need to get you off this island,” Xavier said finally. The
risk was mounting.

They spent the next few hours trying to find a flight off the
island. Unfortunately, it seemed that everyone else had the same thought and
also wanted to leave. Then they realized that she didn’t have her passport with
her; it was still back at her house. They could only travel within the Bahamas
on her driver’s license. Xavier arranged for a private jet to take them to Grand
Bahama Island, which was outside of the storm’s projected path for seven p.m.

By six p.m., the weather had worsened, and Xavier was seriously
rethinking the decision to get into a small jet in ninety-five-mile-per-hour
winds. It was at Category 1 hurricane strength but borderline Category 2. They
had no luggage, only the clothes on their backs. He wore jeans, a T-shirt, and
his customary combat boots. Despite being out of US Special Forces for years,
he still preferred the footwear. Cassandra was similarly dressed but was
wearing sneakers instead.

At first there seemed to be a problem finding their pilot. When
they walked onto the private airstrip, there was no one there to greet them.
Five minutes into their wait, a tall black man, who seemed slightly distracted
and sweating from some recent exertion, came and guided them to a waiting jet.

“Are you sure we can fly in this?” Cassandra asked the pilot.

“Once we get above the clouds, everything will be okay,” the
pilot said. Xavier couldn’t place his accent. It was obvious the man wasn’t a
Bahamian, but he sounded either British or African. His body scent was very
strong, so that pushed his origin to more African in Xavier’s mind. The pilot
was muscular, but Xavier was wider and taller. He couldn’t quite determine why
the other man made him uneasy, other than he seemed out of place somehow.

Xavier glanced at Neo who had brought them to the airport. He
and Cassandra had ridden in the back seat of the dark-tinted Escalade with Neo
at the wheel. Sure enough, Qin had practically lined the streets of Paradise
Island with his men. Neo also looked at their pilot skeptically.

“Don’t I know you?” Neo asked the pilot.

“I can’t see how that’s possible,” the pilot said, dismissing
him, and walked toward the aircraft parked on the tarmac.

Both Xavier and Neo watched the other man walk away. “Did I
just become super paranoid?” Xavier asked.