Midnight Legacy (Midnight Dynasty Book 3)

by CR Robertson

  “We’re doing the same as my parents,” I replied in a low tone.

  Xavier’s hand still cupped my face from wiping my tears away. “Your dad was a businessman, Cas. He understood a boardroom and accountancy books. The guys and me were taken in by my Uncle Lucas and moulded into something different. He knew the dangers of our world and gave us the tools to defend ourselves. I’m not afraid of the Council, but they should be fucking terrified of me.”

  The heat that blazed in his eyes and the determined tilt of his chin told me he was telling the truth. My hand covered his and I squeezed. “There’s been times I wanted to go back and change places with Kimberly.”

  “We can’t change the past, but I can guarantee you that I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. Uncle Lucas is coming over to make sure you’re protected when I’m not there.”

  I dragged in a staggered breath and nodded.

  “Why don’t you take it with you?” Xavier asked, nodding at the box. “You can put it in the safe back home.”

  Home. He said it so easily, but the last time I had a home was when my parents had still been alive.

  “Maybe I will. Mum would want me to wear her jewellery. She hated keeping her stuff in boxes, always leaving her jewels where the sun could touch them to energise them.”

  Xavier put the boxes into his backpack, slipping the box with the engagement ring into the inside pocket. We sealed the safety deposit boxes and handed them back to the security guard as we left.

  The day felt warmer when we got outside, the air clearing my dark thoughts.

  Two more boxes were visited in different locations, every one revealing another crumb left by Uncle Dan. He’d removed nothing from the boxes, only adding documents for me to view. They meant nothing to me, but on a few occasions, the way Xavier’s eyebrows went down, told me it wasn’t good news.

  The last visit of the day was to the box I’d never been able to access before since it required two keys. Xavier possessed one and I carried the other one.

  Jordan stood outside, his face grim. “There are eyes around here that are making me nervous,” he hissed when we approached.

  “Should we leave it?” I asked.

  Xavier studied his phone, his jaw tight. “I think we should risk it. Dante being here is making certain fractions nervous. Maybe he’s visited here and they’re tracking his movements?”

  “They haven’t been at any of the other locations,” Jordan snapped, his mood dark and snarly.

  Xavier frowned, pushing his sunglasses on top of his head. “What is your fucking problem today?”

  Jordan’s gaze slid to me. “Women are my problem today.”

  Obviously, Megan had crawled out of her sub role and decided to give him a hard time.

  “It’s your own fault for making her think you were someone else,” I retaliated. “I ran when I saw your scary side.”

  I swear the arrogant shit growled at me.

  “I also came back because Xavier reminded me why I belonged to him. Maybe you should remind her why she should stay with you. Stop being a dick and freezing her out.”

  Jordan opened his mouth, but a dark look from Xavier made him snap it shut again. The two guys were so busy eyeballing each other, they didn’t see the men emerging from the building. I tugged Xavier and Jordan’s arms, hauling them back into the shadows. Their gazes followed where mine was stuck.

  “Motherfucker,” Jordan fumed, his back turning slightly so they didn’t see his face.

  When eyes turned in our direction, I slipped my arms around Xavier’s neck and turned his head toward me, pouting to demand a kiss.

  His father might not recognise him from this distance, but if he was standing face-on he definitely would. Luckily both men were dressed differently than they normally were, so most of their associates wouldn’t see them at first glance.

  “What the fuck is my dad doing here?” Xavier said against my lips, playing along.

  “No idea, but I recognised his butler first. Who is the other man with him?”

  “Another Council member.”

  The web of lies and deceit seemed to grow thicker every day. Xavier’s father was supposed to be on a business trip to America. He wasn’t due back until next week.

  Jordan wandered off down the street with his head down and his hands in his pockets. His stance made him look smaller and less of a threat. He barely resembled the man I knew.

  Xavier and I moved in the opposite direction, his arm slung lazily over my shoulder to tuck me against him. The tension in his body made me nervous, but he reverted to his role of tourist, pointing at the map. His phone pinged a few minutes later.

  “Looks like the coast is clear. The security details must have been here for them,” Xavier said. “Let’s get in and out and away from here before anyone realises.”

  My heart beat a staccato rhythm in my chest, my palms sweaty. Xavier wandered into the building as if he belonged there. Our dress code was definitely not appreciated as we garnered a few hostile looks. Without a word he slid the key across the desk at the counter.

  “We require two keys,” the man drawled, his eyes running over me.

  I placed mine beside the other one.

  The man studied them sitting there for several seconds. “It’s an old box, I’ll need to send down for it.”

  Xavier shrugged as if he had all the time in the world. “We can wait.”

  The hairs on the back of my neck prickled and I crept closer to Xavier.

  “Is there a problem?” Ash’s voice sounded in our ears.

  “Maybe,” Xavier replied, turning his back to the man at the counter.

  “Their security system is a bitch to try and get into. I would probably need Jay’s hacker skills to get in,” Ash replied. “What’s their problem?”

  Xavier removed his phone from his pocket and started typing.

  “You do look scruffy,” Ash agreed in our ears.

  Xavier’s finger moved across the screen.

  “Language!” Ash laughed.

  I tried to hide my smile as Xavier’s finger stabbed his phone as he typed a reply.

  “It’s your own fault. You wanted to be a tourist when they required a billionaire,” Ash retorted.

  The minutes ticked by and sweat began to bead on my forehead. The other facilities had escorted us to a room within minutes, but we’d been left standing here.

  “Perhaps if I could see some identification?”

  Xavier’s shoulders tensed before he straightened to his full height. “Excuse me?”

  The man nodded to the keys. “Those keys open a very old box. We need to ensure the rightful owner is here to claim it.”

  “Since when was that a policy here?” Xavier’s voice was so cold, I expected to see icicles forming around the counter.

  The man’s eyes darted to the side and panic bloomed in my chest. A mammoth of a man in a black suit stepped forward. He looked the type who could lift you and fold your body until you broke in half.

  Xavier’s stance changed and danger emanated off him in waves that screamed to everyone to step back. His hand gripped my wrist and I knew he was readying himself to push me behind him.

  “Touch me and I’ll break your fucking arm,” Jordan snapped at a security guard at the door. “I don’t need a weapon to kill you.”

  He was impeccably dressed in a suit, looking every inch the playboy billionaire. Without paying any more attention to the security guard, he sauntered toward us, his lips twisting into a smile. Jordan pushed our keys to the side and set one of his own down. Without missing a beat, Xavier placed another one beside it.

  The man behind the desk stared at the two keys. There was an infinity symbol at the top of their keys with a number engraved below it. He turned horrified eyes to Xavier.

  “Bring both of our boxes up, thanks,” Xavier said in a cold tone, his expression containing suppressed violence.

  Several security men gathered at the door and were chatting among ea
ch other. The one Jordan had confronted nodded in our direction before they moved forward. This time, Xavier did push me behind him. Both men moved in tandem, their bodies contorting into weapons. Jordan’s fist slammed into the first man’s face, while Xavier grasped the wrist of another, twisting it behind his back to bring him to his knees. His foot jabbed up to hit a third guard in the throat to send him stumbling back.

  I noticed the man behind the counter move to lift the keys out of the corner of my eye, so I slammed my hand on top of them and glared at him. “I really wouldn’t,” I challenged. “My husband doesn’t like when people disobey him.”

  “This is an ancient establishment used by specific people,” he replied, staring at what was happening behind us.

  A crack followed by a muffled whimper told me someone just received a broken bone.

  “Considering that my keys belong to my father and uncle, I’m going to assume that I am that specific type of person.” Our gazes locked in a silent battle of wills.

  A guard stumbled backward beside me, his arms flailing at his sides like wings trying to flap. He knocked into me, and my hands instinctively closed over the keys as I fell to the floor.

  “That’s fucking it,” Xavier’s voice boomed as he reached down and took the gun from the guard’s holster. His furious gaze met mine before travelling over me. He held his hand out to help me up, pushing me behind him. A lump formed in my throat when I heard the gun being cocked.

  “We tried to do this the easy way and bring our keys in to access our box. Now we have to do it the hard way,” he snarled. “My father is a pussy cat compared to me. We are the men who make the Council’s problems go away.”

  The man had balls of steel staring at Xavier with a neutral expression. “And your father is?”

  “Hugh Bartholomew. He just left a few moments ago.”

  The man’s jaw tightened for several moments before he waved the guards away. Never once did Xavier’s aim change. All the guards appeared injured, and one was carried away by another two.

  Jordan straightened his suit jacket, brushing the sleeve with a frown.

  “Your father never said you were coming.”

  Xavier gave him that feral smile that made my stomach tighten and panties burn. He made me think of dark gods from olden times descending to wreak havoc on the mortal race. “My business is my own concern. You need to ask yourself how the Council will view your reaction today just because I wasn’t wearing a suit.” He tutted slowly, shaking his head in disappointment.

  The man snapped his fingers and waved to another male in a side doorway. “Take Mr. Bartholomew and his associates to the viewing area. Your boxes will be brought up momentarily.”

  Jordan stepped forward. “I don’t think so. Clear the room and bring the boxes here. Right now, we’re taking no chances.”

  I thought he was going to object, but when Xavier fired a round into the ceiling, he spurred his guards into action. The two boxes appeared in a matter of minutes.

  “Clear the room,” Xavier snapped.

  “What if they’re watching on CCTV?” I whispered as everyone began to file out.

  “I have jammers in place that I picked up when I visited my closest apartment to change,” Jordan said absently.

  The two men took no time opening the boxes and emptying the contents without even looking at what was in them. They locked them again and left them on the counter.

  “Ash should be outside,” Jordan said, taking the gun off Xavier, dismantling it, and wiping it clean. “Fucking amateurs.” He placed it on the counter beside the boxes.

  A black car was waiting outside with Ash behind the wheel. “Get in!” he shouted.

  Security guards poured out of the building as we skidded away with a squeal of tyres.

  “What the fuck happened in there?” Ash demanded.

  “Go straight to our beta site. Even if they follow us, we have enough ammunition there to take out a small army,” Jordan said, throwing a dark look over his shoulder toward Xavier.

  “We need to work out why they reacted like that when they saw Cassandra’s keys,” Xavier said. “I’ve never seen anyone in one of those facilities refuse to bring a box up.”

  “Yeah, I knew there was something wrong before you even walked in. We should have just abandoned the mission at that stage.” Jordan pinched the bridge of his nose.

  Everything began to sink into my body. The gunshot, the violence, shouting. My body started to shake, and I felt cold with my teeth chattering together.

  In an instant, Xavier dragged me into his heat, his arms clamping around me and his face nuzzled into my neck. “You okay?” he whispered for me alone to hear.

  I shook my head and burrowed into his chest.

  He just held me, his arms making me feel safe, his presence infusing strength into me.

  “We’ve got a tail,” Ash said, his eyes moving between the rear-view mirror and his wing mirror.

  Jordan cursed. “I was afraid of this. Someone’s been waiting a long time for whatever is in that box.”

  “Ideas?” Xavier asked. “We’re not on our bikes, so shaking them is going to be hard.”

  “My old office is close to here,” I commented. All eyes turned to me. “Sasha still works there and has a car. If you can get ahead of them enough, we can park in the carpark and take her car.”

  “Go,” Xavier instructed, handing me my phone that he tended to keep since the dick pics had started again. I’d heard my phone ping with texts a few times, but I never asked about them since Megan was here with me and Sasha rarely texted, only rang.

  I lifted my phone to my ear. “Hey, Sasha,” I said when she answered. “Long story and no time to explain. Someone is following us and we need to borrow your car.”

  “Are you okay?” Her concern washed over me, making me realise how much I missed her.

  “Not really, my past is catching up with me and I don’t know what to do about it.”

  She sighed. “Where are you?”

  “About three minutes away from the office.”

  “I’ll meet you in the carpark.” The line went dead. I handed the phone back to Xavier because I didn’t want to see any more ugly texts. I would have to get a new phone for when the baby was born so I could take photos.

  Sasha was standing beside her car when we turned into the carpark. She handed the keys to Jordan and got into the backseat, sandwiching me between her and Xavier. “Several men have been in asking questions about you. No one can tell them anything as no one knows about your past.” Sasha glanced at Xavier and then back to me. “What’s going on?”

  Jordan manoeuvred her car into traffic as the black car that had been following us turned into my old law firm. Xavier pushed my head down and slid down in his seat.

  “It’s a long story, Sasha, and right now I don’t know where to start,” I admitted. “It all goes back to when my parents died when I was a child.”

  “Well, since I’m coming with you, you can explain to me later,” she insisted.

  I gave Xavier and uneasy look. “We’re having to go away for a few days.”

  Sasha sighed. “Cas, you and Meg have been family to me for years. The daughters I never had. That place is terrible since you two haven’t been there. I was going to quit anyway, so I don’t mind taking a day or two to help you.”

  Xavier’s grip on me tightened. “It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have someone else at the house to keep an eye on you if we have to leave.”

  “I’m good at cooking,” Sasha tempted me.

  “We’ve already packed,” I replied half-heartedly, not wanting to drag her into the mess my life was descending into.

  “It won’t take me long to throw some clothes in a bag,” she said. “Let me look after you girls, because I have no doubt that Megan is with you.”

  I nodded, grabbing her hand because my emotions were spiralling out of control.

  “Let me store this car first,” Jordan said. “Then we can sort everything
else out.”

  Sasha’s face paled when he spun it around a corner. Her car had probably never been driven like it was in a rally before. We were all silent as Jordan drove like a maniac, his eyes darted to the different mirrors of the vehicle. He finally slowed down before arriving at what appeared to be an old, abandoned warehouse. The metal door swung open and we drove inside.

  “Follow me,” Xavier muttered when we emerged from the car, lacing his fingers through mine to tug me alongside him.

  “Thanks.” Jordan handed Sasha her keys back. She stared at her car as if it had grown wings, or maybe she was looking for damage.

  The warehouse had cars and bikes present, rooms at the back, and shelves filled with items I didn’t even want to consider, especially since some of them contained terrifying machine guns.

  “You and Sasha stay here until I come for you,” Xavier said. “This room is bulletproof and safe. No wandering off, understand?”

  He pressed a kiss to my forehead and closed the door with a bang behind him.

  “What the heck, Cas?” Sasha asked, opening her arms for me to step into.

  “I don’t know where to start,” I admitted in a low tone.

  She led me to a chair. “If there was a teapot, I’d recommend starting with a nice cup of tea and then telling the story from the beginning.”

  I chewed the side of my mouth. “I’m not really who you think I am,” I finally confessed. “My parents and sister were killed in a car crash when I was little. Everyone thought I was dead, but Dad’s business partner put me into the care system and changed my name. Now, we think my family was murdered and the people who committed that crime are after me.”

  Saying the actual words lifted a weight from my shoulders. Xavier had voiced his concerns, but this was the first time I told someone who knew nothing about my past.

  “Oh, honey, I always knew there was something lurking in your past the way you talked about it, and your reaction to the first Christmas you and Megan spent with me.”

  “I’m scared.” It was something else I’d never said to Xavier because he kept telling me that he’d keep me safe.

  “Well, there’s nothing to worry about with those three strapping lads running around protecting you. All you need to worry about is growing that baby.” She patted my arm in reassurance. “We’ll untangle the rest of your story when we have time for that cup of tea and a sticky bun.”