"Sanders. Natalie Rockwell and Annie Sanders will be joining us in the box. Thanks, Sam, we’ll see you within the hour,” Xander ended the call.
"What exactly just happened?" Natalie asked.
"We’re going to the Kentucky Derby,” Xander answered.
"Just like that?"
"Just like that,” he replied.
Annie chimed in, “This is great and all, but we don't have clothes, makeup, shoes, and aren't we supposed to wear some funky hat to this thing or something?"
Natalie gasped and her face got deadly serious. “Xander, I can't go to the Kentucky Derby without a hat. That's like going bowling in street shoes.”
“Don't worry about any of that. I'll give all your sizes to my assistant, Melanie, and she’ll have everything ready to go by the time breakfast is on the table in the morning,” Xander assured them.
“Sounds like tomorrow is shaping up to be a fairly decent day.” Natalie winked at Xander.
"All right then, let's get out of here!” Kyle shouted.
"We Ubered here,” said Annie. “Is there any way we have time to just go grab an overnight bag? I don't live too far from here."
"Of course, I'll have our driver swing by your place on the way to the airport,” Xander replied.
Natalie turned to Xander, gave him a hug, and then held him at arm’s length. "Now, as nice as this gesture is, don't get any ideas about getting me into bed, Mr. King."
"Speak for yourself, Natty,” Annie said. Then she grabbed Kyle and planted long and passionate kiss on his lips. Before it got any more awkward Annie pulled herself off of him, grabbed Natalie's hand, and they laughed their way toward the elevator. Just before turning the corner Natalie turned around as she continued walking backward and gave Xander a steel melting smile.
Kyle turned to Xander with the look of a kid on Christmas morning. “Holy shit, is this really happening? Is Natalie Rockwell really about to get on your G6, fly to Kentucky, and be your date to the Kentucky Derby? X, you are gonna be all over the news now for sure, as if you weren't already when King's Ransom wins tomorrow! You and Natalie Rockwell in the winner’s circle at the Kentucky Derby. I swear to God if I were gay, and if I wasn't about to join the mile-high club with Annie, I would totally let you have your way with me. I would even wear makeup for you." Kyle joked.
"You're sick, you realize that, right?"
Kyle just smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “Oh, wait…what does this mean for the other bit of business we have during the race tomorrow?"
"It doesn't mean anything. Nothing changes. Sam is polishing up the details on our target as we speak. I’ll look over them on the plane. You’ll just need to keep the girls occupied during race eleven,” said Xander.
"Not a problem. What a crazy weekend,” said Kyle. He followed that up with an overzealous hug, driving Xander backward and knocking him into someone, spilling their drink.
Xander turned and found a beautiful blonde-haired woman dabbing at her sparkling black dress with a napkin. “Ma’am, I am so sorry. My friend here is just a little excitable.” He then leaned in and hid his mouth, whispering like he was sharing a secret. “And drunk.”
She sat down her drink; a smile grew across her face. “Alexander King.”
Xander returned her smile. “Do we know each other?”
“No, you don’t know me, but the gentlemen on the microphone earlier wasn’t shy about telling us all who you are.”
“Oh, of course. I’m really sorry about your dress. Can I have it cleaned for you? Miss…”
She extended her hand. “Sarah. Sarah Gilbright. And don’t worry about the dress, it will be fine. It has seen its share of whiskey spills.”
She wasn’t happy that she’d shared her real name, but she did her best not to let on.
“I know what you mean. Again, I’m sorry. It was very nice meeting you.”
“Nice meeting you as well. Good luck with King’s Ransom. The bourbon and the horse.”
Oh no, had she said too much? It was like she had never been out in the field before.
“A horse-racing fan?” Xander asked.
Whew.
“I am,” Sarah replied.
“Well, thank you. I hope you have a nice evening.”
She smiled. Xander turned away and walked over to Kyle at the elevator.
“Who was that?” said Kyle.
“I don’t know. Sarah, I think she said her name was.”
“She was gorgeous. Did you get her number?”
“No, I didn’t get her number. Jesus. Natalie Rockwell, you know, the beautiful, famous movie star awaits me downstairs, and you think I am thinking about getting that woman’s number?”
“Um, yeah. Natalie won’t be here next time you are in San Diego, but she might be. And she is just about the sexiest woman I have ever seen. And did you see the way she was goo-gooing over you?”
“You are out of control.”
“Yes. Yes, I am. I’ll meet you downstairs.” Kyle stepped back and let the door start to close with Xander alone in the elevator.
Xander held his arms out in question. “Where are you going?”
Kyle smiled. “To get her number for you.”
Xander’s Head Is in the Clouds
A black Cadillac Escalade pulled up to Landmark Aviation, the private portion of the San Diego International Airport. Champagne in hand, Xander, Kyle, and the two ladies hopped out of the rear passenger door laughing uncontrollably at Natalie's spot-on impersonation of Christopher Walken. Xander grabbed Annie and Natalie’s overnight bags from the back, tipped the driver, and they made their way into the empty airport terminal. Sam had noticed them pulling in from the plane and came in from the doors that led out to the tarmac. She walked over to the four of them with a sort of quiet fury in her steps. Xander always found her to be really tightly wound, to the point of annoyance, but it was easily overlooked because she was the very best in the world at what she did and he just couldn’t help but love her.
"Well, well, so good of you to make it,” Sam started in on Xander. As if she wasn't already hard enough, her deep British accent made her seem all the more angry.
"I know, Sam, I'm really sorry to keep you waiting for over an hour. We honestly just lost track of time."
"Not the first, nor the last time, I'm sure,” she snarled, peering straight at Natalie.
"All right, well, we’re here now.” Xander turned to Annie and Natalie. “Ladies, I think you will find everything you need on the plane, but is there anything I can get for you?"
"I don't really have to go, but maybe I'd better run to the restroom, it's a long flight to Kentucky,” Natalie replied.
"That won't be necessary," Sam said as she motioned everyone toward the door. “There is a full restroom on the plane and even room to wash up before you get some sleep. Oh, and of course as always there is pizza if you are hungry. Xander never travels without it."
Annie looked at Natalie with an ‘impressive’ look. Natalie shrugged her shoulders and nodded. “Sounds perfect! Who doesn’t love pizza?”
Few things in the world brought happiness to Xander like a fresh, piping hot, greasy cheese-drenched slice of pizza. Though he loved extravagant things, he was at heart, a simple man.
Sam said what Xander was thinking. “Well, darling, if you’re trying to win Xander’s heart, that was the first good step. Probably the last step in that direction, but it was a good one.”
Xander stepped in between Sam and Natalie. “All right. Okay. What do you say, ladies, shall we?” He held out his arm and Natalie hooked hers around it.
“We shall.”
The five of them walked through the airport’s sliding doors and out into the cool ocean breeze. With the airport being just off the San Diego Bay, the smell of salt in the air was heavy. As they walked out onto the tarmac, in front of them sat a gorgeous Gulfstream 650, one of the most luxurious private jets on the planet. It was painted jet black with a thick chrome streak running throu
gh the center that stretched the entire length of the nearly hundred-foot-long aircraft. Also in chrome, the tail number—N800XK—reflected the lights of the airport that were reaching out to it in the night. And so did the chrome crown just below it. It was a magnificent aircraft. As they approached, two pilots in full uniform stood at the bottom and on both sides of the already lowered stairway into the plane.
"Mr. King.” The first pilot stepped forward to greet them.
"Charlie, you know you can call me Xander. Sorry to keep you gentlemen waiting."
"No problem, Xander.” The second pilot reached out and shook his hand.
"Hey, Bob. How's Mary?” Xander asked.
"She's great. Thanks for asking. And, I'm sorry if it seems like I’m staring, but, miss, you look an awful lot like my wife’s favorite actress, Natalie Rockwell."
"Good eye, Bob, this is Natalie Rockwell and her friend Annie Sanders,” Xander introduced them.
"Pleasure to meet you Bob, Charlie." Natalie bypassed their hands and gave them both hugs. "You guys gonna keep us safe tonight?"
"Of course, Miss Rockwell," Charlie replied, pointing to the top of the stairs and to the entrance of the plane. “And this is Amy. She'll make sure it's a comfortable trip as well."
"Hi, Amy!" Natalie said, outstretching her arms for a hug as she ran up the stairs. Xander shrugged his shoulders to the pilots and followed everyone onto the plane. Natalie took a selfie with Amy, and Annie took a few pictures of the pilots with the movie star as well.
The sprawling interior of the jet was a masterpiece in and of itself. Xander himself had painstakingly picked out every detail. After walking through a serving area and mini kitchen, the party found the inside opened up first to four oversize plush white leather chairs, two to the right, and two to the left. They all either reclined or swiveled 360 degrees, depending on your mood, and all of them had the same crown that was on the plane’s tail stitched in white at the headrest. A specially made, lightweight, dark hardwood floor gave the cabin a more homelike feel. The white walls of the plane were accented by a medium dark and glossy mahogany. Beyond the chairs on the left side and toward the back of the plane was a two-person couch, and on the right were two chairs separated by a table that would retract into the wall if needed. Beyond that, two more white plush leather couches lined both sides of the plane and butted up against the back wall, all of the same mahogany that accented the rest of the aircraft. On the left and right side of that wall were two oversized flat screen televisions that currently showed a colorful map of the weather in San Diego. A door in the middle of that wall matching the elegant mahogany that surrounded it opened up into the full-size bathroom that Sam had alluded to a few moments ago to the girls back inside the airport terminal.
"Wow, Xander. How much does it cost to charter a plane like this?" Annie asked.
Natalie shot a nasty look at Annie. Xander could tell that Natalie thought it tacky to ask such a question. He liked that.
"I have no idea really,” he replied.
Annie put her hand on her hip. “I find it hard to believe that you don't how much you spend on a whopper like this per flight.”
"He doesn't know the cost to charter it because it's his plane,” Natalie answered for him.
"How the hell do you know that?" Annie asked.
"Easy, the tail number ends in XK, not to mention the crown underneath it matches the one on his King’s Ransom bourbon bottles.”
"And she's observant. What can't you do?" asked Xander with a sexy grin.
"Math,” Natalie replied with a chuckle.
"That's what calculators are for anyway,” Kyle chimed in.
They got in a quick laugh as the captain asked them to take their seats. Xander turned a chair for Natalie and then he took the one across from her.
"This okay?" he asked.
"Perfect."
"When you get tired you can head back to one of the couches and get some sleep."
"Is there anything you can't do, Mr. King?" she asked.
“Not a thing,” he joked.
She couldn't help but laugh. Amy asked them all to buckle up and they settled in for takeoff. The engines fired up as Kyle stole one last kiss from Annie before they sat down. Natalie just looked at them and then back at Xander with a smile.
As the plane settled at one end of the runway and the captain announced they were ready for takeoff, Xander noticed Natalie looking a little nervous as she clutched at the armrests.
“You okay?”
“What?” Natalie started, and then looked down at her hands squeezing tightly at the arms of the chair. “Oh…Yeah, you would think I’d never been on a plane before. Just something about it all makes me a little nervous.”
“It’s because it’s so unnatural,” he reassured her.
“Yeah! I know, right?”
“It really is. I’m pretty sure the thought of sitting in a large metal tube moving at warp speed through the air at thirty-five thousand feet is enough to make anyone nervous. My mom used to get nervous every time, and we were flying somewhere every month.”
“At least I’m not the only one.”
“You certainly aren’t. Here, try this.” Xander closed his folded his hands in his lap and interlocked his fingers. “My mom used to close her eyes, take a deep breath, and envision the perfect takeoff.”
Natalie mimicked Xander’s movement, hanging on his words.
“As soon as the engines would fire up she would visualize the plane soaring off into a bright blue sky. She would feel the warmth of a nearing sun that was melting its way through the windows and she would let the feeling of that wash over her. She said before she knew it, they would be safe and sound gliding through the air and she would be as relaxed as she could be.”
The engines fired up on Xander’s G6 and he opened his eyes to find Natalie going through his mother’s ritual. She was no longer fidgeting, she was no longer clutching at the armrests, and her body seemed far more relaxed than it had just moments ago. The jet furied down the runway, lifted its nose, and as if a perfectly calm pair of hands guided it, it continued to flawlessly ascend into the deep black night sky.
Natalie opened her eyes, a smile on her face.
“Did it work?”
“Like a dream.”
“Good. Smooth sailing from here. My mom said it works the same way for the landing. She always knew how to make everything better. She loved movies, too, you know.”
“Sounds like she and I have a lot in common,” Natalie said, smiling.
“You certainly would have.”
Natalie caught the past tense in Xander’s response but didn’t think it was the right time or place to inquire. She left Xander alone with his thoughts. As they continued climbing higher into the darkness, Xander zoned out as he peered through the window at the stars. He missed his mother more than words could ever say. He missed the way she would dance in the kitchen to Madonna as she cooked dinner for the family. The way she laughed when he would do some of his impressions for her. Most of all, he missed the way she always had time for anything and everything he and his sister ever needed. It was going on fourteen years now since the tragedy.
Fourteen years.
Xander couldn’t believe how the time had passed. How much his life had changed and how many terrible things he had seen. It was now almost as long ago as he was old when it happened. Contrary to the old adage “time heals all wounds,” the pain of losing both his mother and father that day had yet to loosen its grip on him. It continued to drive everything he did, to this day.
“Isn’t it breathtaking?” Natalie asked him as she, too, gazed out the window. Xander looked from the window to her, pausing for a moment until she turned to him and looked him in the eyes.
“Yes, absolutely breathtaking.”
Natalie smiled, knowing full well he meant her, then she looked back out the window at the seemingly endless rows of stars. So bright up here where no other lights could diminish their shine. Xand
er had a feeling that Natalie was really enjoying being on the plane with them. She seemed in real life to be a lot like the characters she played in most of her movies. A rare combination of qualities that he thought only existed in those movies. She was charming, funny, smart, feisty, and had an infectious laugh. Looking at her now as the moonlight poured in over her iconic and effortlessly beautiful face, he hoped he hadn’t made a mistake bringing her along.
She sat with her legs crossed forcing her sundress halfway up her thigh, uncovering a toned, tanned, and gorgeous set of legs. Xander unbuckled his seat belt and popped up to go and get a few blankets and pillows from Amy. He handed a couple to Kyle and Annie then went to Natalie, took her hand, and nodded for her to come with him. She obliged, unbuckled her seat belt and rose.
“You saw my eyes getting sleepy?” she asked him as they made their way to the back of the plane.
“Saw you getting a little chilly, too,” he replied. “If you need anything, just let me know.”
He laid a pillow on the couch for her and as they stood he gently wrapped a long wool blanket around her. She laid down on the gave him a smile.
“Thank you. I will. Goodnight, Alexander.”
“Goodnight, Natalie.”
She settled in and it wasn’t long before drifted off to sleep. Xander sat on the couch opposite of her and grabbed his iPad, which Sam had left for him in his briefcase. Before he hung up the phone with her earlier at the launch party she informed him that she had e-mailed him the file on tomorrow’s target. Tonight was as good as it gets, and the excitement of his first Derby horse running for the roses tomorrow was a lifetime dream come true. However, the sobering reality that kept his nights sleepless and his days filled with darkness came rushing back to him as he opened the target’s file.
Target #43 Erik Kulakov:
- 5’8”
- 145 lb.
- 43 years old
- Dark brown hair – Brown eyes
- Louisville, Kentucky
To employers and co-workers, Erik Kulakov is a quiet, to himself 9th grade biology teacher. To a lot of other people around his neighborhood and especially his students at Shelby High School, he is the dealer of a new and devastating form of heroine called krokodil (crocodile). It is desomorphine, a synthetic opiate many times more powerful than heroine that is created from a complex chain of mixing and chemical reactions, which the addicts perform several times a day. It has become an epidemic in Russia because of how cheap it is to make and the ease of which one can purchase the needed ingredients. The drug gets its reptilian name because of the effects it has on its users. At first, injections of this drug begin to leave the skin scaly, hence the name crocodile. After becoming addicted, the skin eventually begins to fall right off of the bone, literally causing its users to rot to death in a gruesome and painful way. The reason Erik has been able to do this for over four years now, completely undetected by law enforcement, is because the main ingredient can be found in over the counter painkillers.
Whiskey & Roses (The Xander King Series Book 1) Page 5
