The CrimeLords' War (The Adventures of Xavier & Vic Book 7)

by Liza O'Connor

  “Can you show me how to massage the muscles?” Vic asked.

  Connors massaged Tubs right arm while Vic practiced on his left.

  After ten minutes, Connors stood. “Well, you seem to have this matter in hand. I’m glad to see you better, Tubs. England will be safer once the two of you return to action.”

  Once he left, Tubs frowned and looked at her. “It’s not right that you have to sit out while I’m ill.”

  Vic shrugged. “I’m not going to fight Xavier over the matter. I spent a horrible night with an itchy nose and no way to scratch it. I’m just going to get you well so we can both go back to work.”

  A deep growl sounded. Vic looked at sweet Ham then her pups. Not one of them looked to be in a growling mood.

  “That was my stomach,” Tubs said.

  Vic petted all three pups and Tubs. “I’ll get you something to eat. Would you like real meat this time?”

  “You’ve no idea!”

  Vic smiled. “Well, let me give the cook an order and get cold towels for your arms and legs.”

  Chapter 3

  David arrived at five with notebook and a cloth measuring tape.

  He asked Tubs to raise his arms as he sat on the bed, then measured the distance from the palm of his hand to the thick ceiling beam overhead. He then looked at Vic. “I’d like to drill and place a hook into the beam. That way we can use various equipment on the same hook.”

  “Do it,” Vic said as she smiled at Tubs.

  David asked Tubs if he could stand.

  “Not right now. My legs are pretty tired.”

  Vic bragged, “He lifted little boys with his legs for nearly an hour.”

  “I doubt I could do that for even a half hour. Good thing Vic found us such a tiny little angel girl to adopt.”

  “How is little Maddy?”

  David’s smile widened into pure joy. “She is perfection incarnate. Always smiling and happy, so patient with her mother’s constant fussing.”

  Vic rolled her eyes. Her sister was always trying to put the world to perfection. No reason why a one-year-old child should be left to her own natural inclinations.

  “Once Tubs is walking, we’ll come visit.”

  David took further measurements of Tubs and then explained what he had in mind. “Once your legs are strong enough to carry you, I’ll have made you a device that will help you walk to the water closet on your own.”

  “That sounds good,” Tubs said glancing at the door of the room where his wife continued to sleep.

  “He’ll be strong enough tomorrow,” Vic said.

  “Then I’ll weld it tonight.” David smiled. “I have recently acquired one of Coffin’s arc-welders from America. It’s a fabulous device which creates an electric arc that heats to three-thousand degrees. It not only melts the metal and bonds pieces together, but will deposit the filler metal exactly where you want.”

  Vic patted David on his back. Her friend dearly loved American inventions.

  “Just build it sturdy,” Vic said, hoping David remembered Tubs weighed four hundred pounds…or he did before he was shot three times in the chest.

  David nodded and put up his notebook. “We’ll get you back to full strength, have no fear about that Mr. Tubs.”

  Vic walked David to the front door, thanking him for making Tubs a priority.

  “You don’t have to thank me. You have given me my wife, my daughter, and my home. Anything you ask me to do will always be a priority.”

  David gripped her hand. “We’ll get Mr. Tubs back to health. I know how important he is to you and England.”

  To be honest she liked David a great deal more than she liked her sister. Claire and she were opposites. Claire was dainty and the epitome of a lady, except for her brain. Claire’s brilliance had made the likelihood of her ever finding a husband close to nil. Unlike most men, her friend, David, found her sister’s interest in the sciences a compatible match to his, and in a whirlwind courtship, they fell deeply in love.

  Sadly, their attempts to have children proved futile. When Maddy came into Vic’s possession from one their uglier cases, she offered the girl to Claire. Maddy quickly became the most loved and adored child on the planet.

  Vic returned to Tubs feeling satisfied with their progress on this important mission. Tubs would recover. No other outcome was acceptable.

  Chapter 4

  When Vic returned to Tubs room, she smiled at a new addition in the bed. Only the ‘new addition’ jumped off the bed and ran to Vic, giving her a chest breaking hug.

  “Thank you for making Tubs so much better,” Sara cried in joy.

  She patted Sara’s back as she squirmed out of her maid’s death grip.

  “Since Tubs and I can only work as a pair, I have no choice but to bully him into good health. And I’m very pleased with the progress we made today.”

  Sara smiled up at her, tears in her eyes. “You have done wonders.”

  “So I will bully Tubs into a full recovery and you will return to caring for the pups.”

  Sara frowned instead of agreeing.

  Vic looked to Tubs for help.

  He focused on his wife. “Sara, it’s your job. If neither of us is working, then we shouldn’t live here.”

  Vic stared at him as if he were nuts and opened her mouth to correct him, only he raised his hand to silence her. “Vic, I know you are going to declare us family and we’ll always have a home here…”

  She nodded in agreement.

  “But it ain’t right.” He stared at Sara. “You know no other house would have allowed me to lie about and you tend only me.”

  “But you…” Sara glanced at Vic and blushed.

  “What she wants to say is that you took three shots for me,” Vic said.

  “True, but if I hadn’t you would have died, then Xavier, Gregory and myself would have all lost the will to live. Everything would have been far worse if that happened.”

  He held his hand out to Sara, and she rushed to his side. “I love you dearly, but Sara, just as I need to recover now, you need to go back to work.” He then smiled. “Although, I do need the boys for weights until I get a bit stronger.”

  “That’s true,” Vic said. “He works longer if the boys are having fun. Let’s show her.”

  He did the arms, since they had rested the longest. Forty minutes into the boys flying, Sara noticed the tension in his smile and suggested he stop.

  Vic shook her head and silenced Sara. When he continued another ten minutes, Sara rose and left the room.

  He continued for another twenty-three minutes, before he admitted defeat.

  “I’ll go get the cold towels,” Vic promised.

  When she entered the kitchen to retrieve the wet towels from their electric refrigerator that David had built for them, the cook was consoling Sara. “Sara, do you want to help me massage and chill Tubs’ muscles?”

  Sara brushed away her tears and nodded, but she never once looked at Vic.

  They returned to Tubs, and Vic taught her how to massage his arms and once they were done, they wrapped his arms in the cold towels. Tubs smiled. “That feels good.”

  His words seemed to cheer Sara up and she climbed on the bed and snuggled against him.

  But she still wouldn’t look at Vic.

  “I’m going to leave you guys alone,” Vic said. “Cannon, Arroo, you stay with Sara.”

  “Yes,” Cannon yelled.

  Vic tried not to let her son’s enthusiastic relief to be left with Sara hurt her feelings, but it still did.

  She closed the door behind her and remained in the hallway. Nobody wanted her anymore…not her child, her dog, or her husband.

  A firm grip squeezed her shoulder. “Has Tubs worsened?” Gregory asked.

  “No…he’s doing much better,” she replied. “But Sara is evidently mad at me for asking her to return to her job while I help Tubs recover.”

  “So now you’re taking over my job,” Gregory scolded.

  Vi
c pressed her head onto his stiff and boney chest. “I wish I had left it to you. I had no idea she would react so badly.”

  Gregory couldn’t be too mad, since he gave her a hug and a kiss to the top of her head. “I will talk to Sara once everyone has had a moment to calm. Are you hungry?”

  She sniffed. “Maybe.”

  “Well, let us find out.”

  ***

  Vic worried the cook, who was Sara’s aunt, would be mad at her too, and refuse to serve her, but when she brought Vic her favorite chocolate pudding she knew that wasn’t so.

  Once satiated, Gregory suggested she go to sleep.

  “In the middle of the day?” she challenged.

  “It is nine in the evening, and you got very little sleep last night.”

  He followed her up to her bed, evidently not trusting her to find her own way there. She stopped upon seeing someone had tidied the room. “Has Xavier not returned?”

  “No. Knowing you would be concerned, I did call Dr. Connors and Inspector Stone to ask if they knew as to his whereabouts and health.”

  “And?”

  “Stone returned my call five minutes ago and said Xavier was fine, just busy.”

  “He’s probably afraid I’ll go out looking for Xavier and without Tubs, get myself killed.”

  “Actually, he admitted as much.”

  “Which means Xavier could be abducted again, and Stone would never tell you or, more to the point, me.”

  “Well now I see why he was chosen as Director of Scotland Yard. He predicted you would think exactly that. So he has promised, come tomorrow morning, you will have a letter, handwritten by Xavier, assuring you he is fine.”

  “It had better be dated,” she growled. “It is not beyond Xavier to have written a letter before he went on this mission.”

  Gregory pulled out a screen to shield her from view as she dressed in the nightclothes he provided. No doubt so he could give her further lectures instead of leaving her room. “Victor, you need to consider matters carefully before going in search of Xavier. You are truly a magnet for trouble. Even if Xavier is perfectly fine doing his job, you are still at risk of dying over some unrelated crime that you just happen to come upon.”

  Vic wished she could argue with his observation, but over the last few years, it had proven true far too many times. Without Tubs, she would have died countless times. “That is why I will go nowhere tomorrow other than places where I should be safe.”

  “What places do you believe are safe?”

  She sighed heavily. “The office, Scotland Yard, Samson’s home, and Claire’s.”

  “You will take Casey and Fagan,” he stated with firmness.

  “No, I thought I’d drive my own carriage…Of course I’ll take Casey.”

  “And Fagan.”

  “If I take Fagan, who’s going to assist Tubs?”

  “We will manage,” Gregory assured her.

  “Not unless you’ve hired some new muscle.” She sighed. “I’ll wait one more day, then if Xavier isn’t back, all bets are off.”

  “One more day? Tubs will require a great deal more time than that.” Gregory shook his head. “Vic, Dr. Connors as of yesterday didn’t expect him to live more than a week.”

  She waved the dire prediction off. “Tubs just needs to get back to work. Neither of us handle being idle well.”

  “I have your word you will not leave in the middle of the night in search of Xavier?”

  “You do. For one thing, I wish to be here to receive this letter from Xavier and secondly, David is delivering a device that will make it easier for Tubs to move about.”

  “Thank you, your promise will ensure the entire household sleeps well tonight.”

  Poor Gregory, he had evidently planned to have the servants and himself man all doors and windows to prevent her from sneaking out.

  As she climbed into bed, she chuckled. She could get around Gregory’s lean staff. There were more windows than servants. His plan to contain her was doomed to failure. Lucky for him, she had given him her word.

  Just as she closed her eyes, her mind found one possible way in which he could be assured she wouldn’t escape to hunt for her damnable partner. With the help of Fagan, who she had yet to befriend, he could secure her in handcuffs, which were no longer on the dresser.

  Tomorrow, she would have to rectify both those problems: find the handcuffs and befriend Fagan.

  She woke several times during the night, mostly to verify she wasn’t handcuffed. Since she wasn’t, she didn’t mind those interruptions to her sleep. However, the nightmare she had was most unwelcomed.

  Xavier was on a mission that required him to seduce a beautiful redhead with grass-green eyes. That dream left her heart pounding in outrage and ruined any chance of getting more sleep. Figuring the servants would be waking soon, Vic went downstairs to see if the cook had a pot of tea on yet.

  She sat at the old wooden table in the kitchen and drank her tea while she watched Cook prepare breakfast. “Can you tell me why Sara is mad at me?”

  The cook sighed and shook her head. “It’s just foolishness. She’ll get over it. Like most of us, she believed Tubs couldn’t be killed.”

  “Well, that belief has only been proven true. No one else would have survived a shot to the heart.”

  The cook looked over her food and then sat down across from Vic. “But he was headed to the grave ’til you took over his care.” She patted Vic’s hand. “You brought him back to us. He loves you more than anyone…even Sara and Ham.”

  Vic shook her head. “There is no one he loves more than Sara and Ham. All I did was make him sit up and that’s what brought him back. Tubs isn’t meant to lie down. It caused his lungs to fill with phlegm. Tubs has to be active and strong. That’s who he is…the strongest man in the world.”

  The cook stood up and frowned. “Sara, how long have you been there?” she asked.

  Sara smiled at Vic and sat down by her. “Long enough to make sense of matters.” She blushed and looked Vic straight in the eye. “Tubs explained that your intuition knew what was wrong with him. He doesn’t need to be loved and babied, he needs to be pushed to get out of the bed.” She gripped Vic’s hand. “Thank you for figuring out how to save him…just like with me, it wasn’t how I expected my rescue to go. When they sent me to Dragon’s Cloud, I thought any chance of rescue gone. But you sent a whole army to save me and the others…and you told Tubs what was happening so he could escape.” Her lips trembled. “I’m sorry I got jealous. I had no right. Without your intervention, Tubs and I would have never married and we wouldn’t have Ham. I wouldn’t even know my aunt. Everything dear in my life is because of you, Vic.” She ended her emotional proclamation with a hug. “I’ll return to raising Cannon and Arroo.”

  Vic gripped her hand. “And I’ll get Tubs back to himself. We’re a team. You do what you do best and I’ll do what I do.”

  A stern clearing of a throat warned her Gregory was in the kitchen and not pleased she once again trespassed on his right to boss the servants. Only she wasn’t bossing Sara. She was mending fences with someone she loved.

  She smiled and stood, walking to Gregory. “Problem solved. Sara and I have made up. Now do you have a letter for me?”

  He raised an eyebrow at her, challenging her impertinence, then handed her a sealed envelope.

  Vic smiled and carried the letter to the library. While her optimistic side wished to rip it open and read that Xavier was coming home today, her investigative side evaluated the wax seal. She pulled out Xavier’s seal from his desk and melted some identical wax on the back of an identical envelope. She verified it was the seal that had been used to seal this letter…which meant the letter was written in this library before he left on the mission. Confirming that was the brittleness of the seal on Xavier’s letter. Vic placed both letters in the desk drawer. By comparing the time it took the new wax seal to become brittle, she would have a better clue how long ago the letter was written.

/>   When Gregory announced David had arrived with a great deal of metal, she abandoned Xavier’s letter in the desk, unopened, and hurried out to David and his pile of metal and chains.

  She hugged him before he had a chance to offer his hand. They had been roommates at Oxford for two years. They had frequently hugged back then. But once Claire told him she was a female, all hugs had stopped. Not today. Today, she wanted to hug her wonderful friend and by God, she would.

  To give David time to overcome his deep flush, she helped him carry the walking aid down the hall.

  “The servants will carry your items,” Gregory insisted.

  “We left them a great many items to carry. I just want to see Tubs use this right away,” Vic explained.

  Gregory sighed and hurried ahead of them and knocked then opened the door so they could carry the iron monstrosity inside.

  Tubs sat in bed, finishing his eggs and sausages. He smiled upon sight of the contraption.

  David explained how the device would enable him to walk without him losing his balance. “If you tip to one side or the other, you can push off from the sides to set you straight. To actually move forward, pick up the front and slide it forward.”

  Tubs quickly passed his plate to Sara. He gripped the edges and tried to stand up, but couldn’t do it. “Damnation,” he muttered beneath his breath.

  Sara grabbed the boys and took them to the back room. Arroo followed, but not fast enough. Sara had already shut the door, but a howl from the hound got her attention and soon the dog was with his pack.

  David remained optimistic. “Not to worry. Soon I’ll have pulleys set in the beam, so getting out of bed will be easy…or should be in short time.”

  Two hours later, David had all the gear installed. When he explained what he wanted Tubs to do, Tubs shook his head and looked at Vic. “I might pull down the second story on top of us. It’s happened before,” he warned.

  Vic didn’t want her home torn down, so she looked to David to determine if that were really possible.