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

by Liza O'Connor

  Xavier stared at her. “What if I had a female nurse examine you?”

  She buried her face.

  Xavier wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. “Ariana, we have to get your wound tended. Otherwise, it will get infected and you could die.”

  She stared up at him. “Can you not do it?”

  He sighed. “I could, but Connors or the nurse are more highly skilled.”

  “I don’t care. I want no one touching me but you.”

  She looked at him as if he were the only man she trusted in the world, and, given the men in her life, that might actually be a rational perspective.

  “I’ll try. However, if the bullet remains lodged within your leg, you must allow Dr. Connors to remove it. But be rest assured, I will be here with you the entire time.”

  “No!” she snapped.

  Xavier was damn near ready to yell at her, but resisted, fearing his anger would call forth Achlys. He did not wish to deal with that she-devil in a room of sharp utensils.

  ***

  When the carriage arrived home, Vic reluctantly untangled herself from Samson’s arms, while Casey hurried out to retrieve Tubs’ walker.

  While she knew she’d convinced Samson how incompatible they were for each other, he remained her friend and one of the few friends she had that she could safely hug without making someone else jealous. While she could hug Tubs when Sara wasn’t about, she never hugged her best friend when Sara was present. She feared the girl wouldn’t understand. Gregory disapproved of hugs in general and Casey and Fagan had lady friends, both of which were servants in her house.

  So despite knowing it would infuriate Xavier when he learned of it, she asked Samson if he could stay with her.

  He studied her for several long minutes as if trying to understand her better. And by the confusion in his eyes, he was evidently failing at his mission.

  She gripped his hands. “Your presence comforts me.”

  A warm smile came to his handsome face. “In that case, I am at your service as long as you need me.” A hint of worry flickered across his brow.

  She pondered the reason and then groaned. “You need to see to your men and make sure they settle down after the death of so many in the fire. They might even blame Seth and start another war.”

  “I can spare a few hours,” he assured her.

  “No, you can’t. You need to go now. But if I need a hug, can I come visit you?”

  His smile sparkled with happiness. “You are always welcome any hour of the day or night.” He then leaned in and whispered in her ear. “If you need to escape on the sly, I will come in my carriage to retrieve you. You need only telephone me.”

  She hugged him one last time for being such a loyal friend and then exited the carriage. She waited as Tubs climbed down. Casey arrived with Tubs’ walker.

  Once inside, she sent Tubs to his room and advised Sara he would require massages and cold towels. She then turned to Gregory. “Did the man come and change the locks?”

  Gregory nodded.

  “Good. May I speak to you privately in the library?”

  The moment they entered the room, Gregory spoke. “Could you not find Xavier?”

  “I found him,” she said and burst into tears.

  Poor Gregory had a terrible time making sense out of her sobbing explanation. Once he did, he was most put out.

  “I cannot believe he would toss you over for a deranged woman.”

  “Nor I, but he left no doubt she is the only woman he's ever loved.”

  “Nonsense. Is this woman a mesmerist?”

  Vic stared at him in shock and then smiled. “That must be the answer.” He’d previously proven himself an easy target for beautiful mesmerists. That had to be the answer. Nothing else explained his behavior.

  She cheerfully sat in Xavier’s chair and closed her eyes.

  “Are you not going out to rescue him?” Gregory asked.

  “Tubs is tired. He needs his rest.” She then smiled. “He did a fabulous job of pretending to be his old strong self.” She then sighed. “But it took a lot out of him. Had I known Xavier intended to declare himself in love with the horrid woman possessing two names, I wouldn’t have used Tubs to bully the address out of the she-devil’s men.”

  Gregory sat on the very edge of the remaining chair as if by doing so, he escaped the rule that butlers never sit down on the job. “I hope Tubs didn’t have to kill many. The deaths upon his hands bother him.”

  “He didn’t even torture anyone. He told them their options and they wisely gave up a guy I knew from Oxford. Never did like that fellow. He was always trying to get David to room with him, probably so he could copy his homework. They called him the Professor, but I hope no school actually hired him to teach. If they did, he probably sold grades.”

  “Perhaps you can have Ben check on the matter when you have time,” Gregory suggested.

  “No need, the professor is dead.”

  “But you said—”

  “After we left, Seth set the whole warehouse on fire, burning all the men who worked for the evil woman. She’s a Russian spy and had planned to take over the underworld with those minions.”

  “Then perhaps it was for the best. However, I am very glad neither you nor Tubs had a part in the matter. Did Samson…?”

  “I don’t believe so. However, he didn’t seem overwrought at their deaths. He’s a very benign crime lord but those men had assisted the she-devil in an attempt to destroy him.”

  “He must feel some shame in the matter, or he would have come in.”

  Vic’s brow furrowed. “He’s very busy right now. He needs to settle his men and explain what has really been happening over the last few days. He saved my life today. Which was above the call of duty since I never asked him to follow me to the jail where the she-devil held Xavier.”

  “Where was Tubs?”

  “In the carriage guarding the door to ensure no one entered, which was just as well. He would have never made it up four flights of stairs. Instead, he sent Samson up in time to shoot the she-devil’s leg.”

  “I was under the impression Samson was an excellent shot. Perhaps Ben can give him lessons.”

  Vic choked and thumped her chest. “It was a brilliant strategy that saved Fagan’s life.”

  Gregory frowned. “I thought it was your life in danger.”

  “It was, but at the last moment she changed her mind and aimed her gun at Fagan, which was a good thing. Until then, she had the gun pressed to my head. Samson couldn’t risk a shot until she pointed it elsewhere.”

  Gregory massaged his temples. “Perhaps I don’t require the details. It is sufficient that you are alive, and most unfortunate that Xavier has been mesmerized. Should we not send Fagan and Casey to capture him and bring him home?”

  “He’s declared her his true love. Why would she shoot him now?”

  Gregory stood. “Vic, you always run to the rescue of those you love.”

  Her butler had hit the nail on the head. She grimaced. “Truth is my intuition is telling me Xavier is not mesmerized. I don’t want to bring him home by force and discover that’s true. I’d rather let this horrible pain lie in limbo.”

  Chapter 23

  Xavier was extracting the bullet when Dr. Connors entered.

  “For the love of God, Xavier, I did not request you to perform the surgery. I suggested you take her to another doctor!”

  “Which would go no better. Ariana is afraid of strangers, probably because the people she has known have all been horrible monsters.”

  When Connors leaned in to watch him cut the bullet out, Ariana tried to roll to her side and cover her legs.

  “Ariana, stop!” Xavier yelled. “For God sakes! I’m holding a knife.” He pushed her back and examined her leg. Blood ran like a river.

  Connors attempted to stop the bleeding, but Ariana kicked him away, sending blood shooting across his jacket and face.

  “Ariana, my sweet. Please be still.
You are hurting yourself,” Xavier said, in soft soothing tones. “I love you. I cannot bear to see you hurt.”

  She calmed.

  Connors had a leather band tossed across the exam table and buckled tight before Ariana realized what he had done. She screamed and slapped at him as he threw another across her chest.

  “Connors stop!” Xavier order

  “Let me go or I’ll slice your cock off and feed it to the rats,” a furious Achlys screamed.

  Connors yanked the belt tight and fastened it. “We can let this mad woman bleed out if you like, or I can fix her leg. But I will do nothing without these belts on her.”

  Xavier shook his head. “Fix her leg.”

  ***

  Connors had expected the woman to scream in terror when he touched her injury, now made considerably worse by Xavier’s attempt to play doctor. Instead, she went utterly quiet. He worried she had lost too much blood and fainted. When he glanced up at her, a chill ran down his spine. She stared at him with pure hate.

  Why did Xavier wish to save this creature? She was as evil as any criminal he had ever tended.

  He was tempted to allow her to bleed out, but his ethics would not allow it. So he sewed shut the artery Xavier had cut and then removed the bullet. Upon dousing the wound with carbolic acid, he sewed the wound up with cat gut and stepped back. Noticing the amount of blood he wore, he added, “I need to change and then I would like to see you outside.”

  He stormed from the room. He headed up to his quarters where he washed his face, rinsed his hair and changed his clothes. When he returned downstairs, his nurse reported Xavier had taken the mad creature out to his carriage and driven off.

  She then mentioned all the impatient patients that were waiting.

  He had no idea what was wrong with Xavier, but the woman seemed to have two very different personalities. He’d call Frederick Block later on and let him know. The doctor specialized in mental imbalances and was always looking for interesting cases.

  ***

  Vic fumed for another hour and then decided to wait for Xavier at the office, where he would have to go since his keys no longer opened a damn thing here. Just to make sure none of the staff thwarted her punishment, she made it clear to Gregory no door was to be opened by anyone. “I don’t care if the Queen herself stands outside.”

  Gregory’s right eyebrow rose in challenge.

  Vic sighed. “It would clearly be an imposter.”

  He gave her a nod of acknowledgment. “I will not allow imposters purporting to be the Queen, Xavier, or pretty young blonde ladies into your house.”

  Vic chuckled. “You do remember Claire is blonde?”

  “I do and hopefully she will not show up, because you have decided no one shall enter.”

  “That’s true,” she said and laughed.

  “And may I ask where you are headed off to?” Gregory challenged.

  “The office. I’ll check on the lost puppy case, see how our deranged client took the news we couldn’t find her husband, then find out what Xavier did with the second deranged female and attempt to find some way to forgive him.”

  His stern eyes remained on her. “I take it you are not intending to visit Samson?”

  “No. Why?”

  Gregory patted her head. “No reason. You are handling this situation most rationally, Vic. I am proud of you.”

  Gregory didn’t give compliments very often, so his declaration soothed her aching heart. She was prone to childish over-reactions, like her desire to burn all of Xavier’s suits in the bathtub, but she would try very hard to be a rational adult, since clearly neither Xavier nor his ‘only love’ was up to the task.

  Recalling her recent near death, she refused to cross the road until the street was entirely empty and then she ran full speed, bumping into the office door.

  A moment later, Ben opened the door. “Oh, it’s you,” he stated in clear disappointment. “You couldn’t find Mr. Thorn?”

  “I found him,” she snapped, not liking Ben’s tone in the least. “I came over to discuss your cases.”

  Ben walked back to his desk. “All the same, I would prefer to wait and discuss them with Mr. Thorn.”

  She approached his desk and placed both palms mid-way on the desk and leaned in, meeting his sulky eyes. “I am an equal partner of this firm and you are a lowly employee who needs to change his attitude with me, or you will be an unemployed fellow in search of a job.”

  The moment she saw the desired concern, she pushed herself up and stood straight. “Now gather all the cases you have completed or still have open and bring them into my office so I can review them.”

  She then stormed to Xavier’s office and slammed the door to let Ben know he was on thin ice and if he planned to be working here next week, he needed to come in with a better attitude.

  When he arrived, she took his files and placed them before her. “I would like a cup of tea,” she said.

  His brow furrowed, but he stood up and headed out the door.

  Suspecting the file she wanted to see was at the bottom of the pile, she turned the pile over. And there it was, the missing husband case.

  Skimming the file, she discovered no additional notes had been included since he last brought it to her. Her anger boiled up. She had told him to close the case and tell the client he couldn’t find the husband. How long could that possibly take?

  She heard the front door open. She was in no mood to deal with clients right now. Between Xavier and Ben’s behavior she was ready to kill…and it would be bad for business if she killed a client simply because they lied during the interview.

  Thus, she remained inside, hoping they would leave since Ben was not around to take their appointment.

  Then she heard the whimpering of the she-devil.

  Xavier brought her here?

  Be calm. Breathe. There has to be an explanation. Just give him a chance to tell you.

  It took twenty-three deep breaths, but finally Vic calmed. Slowly, she rose and walked to the door. Upon opening it, she saw no one. She walked to the stairway and listened.

  Her blood began to boil again. Xavier had taken the crazed woman to their bedroom? To the bed in which they had made Cannon?

  She needed to focus on something else, or Xavier might be dead before he could explain anything. She focused on her prior objective. What the bloody hell had it been? Ah yes, to find Ben’s final report on the Missing Husband case.

  She moved to Ben’s desk. The letter drawer was locked. She snorted in contempt and picked the lock. The case notes were right on top.

  As she read them, she forgot all about Xavier and his demented true love. Ben had decided, contrary to her ‘recommendation’ to lie to their client, that he would honor their contract with the lady ‘for reasons of ethics’ and tell her that the man she believed was her husband was already married with four children.

  She closed her eyes and sent up a prayer.

  Please don’t let him have revealed the woman’s address.

  She opened her eyes and continued reading. He went on and on about ethical obligations and why he was right to ignore Vic’s ‘advice’ in this matter. Then in the last paragraph he declared like a badge of honor that he had made the honorable decision.

  “That desk was locked,” Ben protested setting down the tea and grabbing his papers.

  Vic didn’t bother pointing out half the desk belonged to her. She had a more worrisome bit of information to determine. “The report is lacking in content and heavy on self-admiration. If you planned to show it to Xavier rather than me, you are lucky I found it first, because he hates pontification and when you add that to the fact you outright ignored my order, you’ll not only be fired, but deaf from his excessively loud reprimand.

  “I am not pontificating. But I had to do what’s right. And my report is most thorough.”

  “No. It’s not. You failed to state whether you gave the client the address of the other wife.”

  “She needed
it to retrieve her husband.” He sighed. “I tried to make her understand she didn’t have a husband, but she couldn’t seem to grasp that point in her distress.”

  “Do you know why?” Vic softly asked.

  His brow furrowed. “I just told you why.”

  “No. The reason why is because she still plans to have him as a husband just as soon as she kills the first wife.”

  Vic waited for Ben to acquire a look of horror, but instead he grew angry. “No, you are wrong. She is a very nice woman. She wouldn’t do that. You are trying to punish me for not taking your advice.”

  “It wasn’t advice, Ben. I gave you a direct order, which you purposely disobeyed, and if this woman dies because of your actions, I will fire you without reference.”

  “Victor!” Xavier barked as he stormed down the stairs. “There is no need to threaten poor Ben just because you are angry with me.”

  She glared at him. “We do need to have a discussion, but right now I have to grab someone ‘sane’ from Scotland Yard and try to save a woman from being killed by a lunatic that Ben has fallen in love with. Read his case file and you’ll see the problem…wait! No you won’t. Because you’ve lost your sanity, as well.”

  She threw up her hands.

  “Forget it! Keep Ben. I’m starting my own agency.” She turned and stormed out the door, so angry she forgot to check for traffic and almost got herself run over to no fault of the carriage driver.

  Once home, she called for Casey and found him eating dinner with the rest of the staff at the kitchen table. “We’ve got a woman to save,” she declared.

  Casey, Fagan and Tubs all rose.

  “Tubs stay. I’m going to grab Barns from Scotland Yard for this one.”

  Tubs remained standing. “He can’t even shoot.”

  She hoped by now he could, but didn’t have time to argue the point. “The woman will probably be poisoned, so there should be no shooting, just some interrogation of the staff to figure out who has been hired to administer the poison.”

  Tubs looked like he still wanted to argue. “I need you rested for whatever hell comes down next. Now I have to go before I’m too late to save the woman. Casey, Fagan, move now, or I’ll drive myself.”