Smug thoughts filled the thief’s head. Yet another heist completed without getting caught!
Chapter Twelve
“This cannae be right.”
Shuggie stared almost open mouthed as he watched the object of his Commander’s desire from the window outside her home.
“He must be working too hard or had completely taken leave of his senses.” Shuggie shook his head then took another look.
In all the years that he’d known Xavier, this was the first time he’d spoken about a woman with awe, wonder and desire. But when Shuggie watched this ‘Friera’ he realised why Xavier had never freely spoken of his particular tastes regarding women.
“He’s a bloody Granny Shagger!”
Hoping he hadn’t spoken out loud, Shuggie resumed his watch.
Friera, as described by Xavier was ‘the most beautiful female, a feisty little thing’. Xavier had elaborated saying she had ‘an attitude that puts me to shame’ and adding, with no hint of sarcasm or irony that she was ‘... totally unaware of the effect she has on a male’.
Well that last comment was spot on, Shuggie thought as he struggled to keep the vomit down from his mouth.
Friera was as small in height as she was round in circumference. He reckoned that she must be at least seventy years old, and by the looks of her she had definitely lived a hard life. Her grey hair clung to her face like rats tails, and when she opened her mouth her yellowing teeth looked like they had imprisoned her tongue. One of her eyes was unable to stop staring at her bulbous nose, and the other couldn’t bear to look at it!
Unable to fathom just what Xavier seen in this woman, he stayed observing her for the best part of an hour. If this ‘Friera’ was smart, mouthy and witty, then she done a damn fine job of hiding it. He had heard of cougars being the next big thing, but this was bloody ridiculous!
Chapter Thirteen
Xavier wondered to himself how it was that Belcastro hadn’t been done over years ago with his substandard security systems and personnel. They were pretty much sitting ducks for anyone who had the gonads big enough to decide they would try to break in. A fact that had been tested less than twenty four hours ago.
Belcastro’s guards were too used to living the good life, Xavier noted, always posing around in their Hugo Boss suits and acting like international playboys. He would bet that in the dark they wouldn’t know one end of a gun from the other. He made a mental note to test that theory out at a later date.
There was a knock at the door and Xavier ordered one of Snr Belcastro’s guards to let his men in. As his soldiers saluted Xavier they stood to attention while he barked orders at them. The Belcastro bitches stood gaping at the display wondering who the fuck this man was and why he was getting treated with such reverence.
Xavier nodded in the direction of two of his soldiers and as they marched over to him, he slapped both of them on the back and they seemed to share a joke. “Hawkeye and Ballbreaker, good of you to fucking join us, yeah?” Xavier grinned as the three stood in a circle, talking and laughing.
Sergeant Ciaran ‘Hawkeye’ Paterson and Sergeant Harry ‘Ballbreaker’ Reid were two of Xavier’s most loyal soldiers and, after he and Shuggie, were the two most experienced and trained. By the way the three of them kept talking, laughing and glancing at the Belcastro guards it was obvious to the guards they were ridiculing them. After a few minutes of hushed discussion, both men left Xavier walking in opposite directions as Xavier turned his attention back to the guards.
“Hawkeye will be installing a new state of the art alarm system. It will be triggered by anyone crossing through the laser beams and cannot be disarmed by anyone other than the code holders — namely me, and Martinez.” Xavier had at first toyed with the idea of putting antipersonnel land mines in the grounds, but discounted it when he realised that Belcastro’s men were as useless as a chocolate fireguards and would more likely blow themselves up than do any actual protection work. “As for Ballbreaker...” a small, wry smirk formed on Xavier’s lips, “…he will be in charge of training all of you pussies. As it is you are all out of shape and would struggle to run a fucking bath, never mind chase any potential threats.”
Xavier knew that Ballbreaker was a sadistic bastard, which was a fact that would be evident to Belcastro’s guards very quickly.
As one of the Belcastro guards piped up to query why the hell they should do anything that Xavier told them to, Ballbreaker merely smiled, walked over to him and connected the heel of his hand under the cocky bastard’s chin, knocking his head back and rendering him unconscious.
“Any other questions?” Xavier looked around slowly, his eyes narrowed as he stared each and every man down. The guards shook their heads and averted their eyes from his steely stare.
“That’s what I fucking thought.”
As Xavier stood in front of his soldiers and the assembled Belcastro guards, he cracked his neck from side to side, before addressing them. “There is a new fucking world order in this shithole starting now! You do not speak, think, eat, shit or jerk-off without the express permission of one of my men. Any desertion from duties, any complaints or failure to meet the standards that I have set will be met with swift and absolute repercussions. You don’t know me or what I am capable of. I don’t give a fuck. I’m not here for the good of my fucking health. I’m here because you cunts can’t do your fucking jobs and your employer is sick to buggery of being protected by a bunch of hormonal pre-pubescent schoolgirls, yeah? So let’s get one thing fucking clear — ‘failure’ is not a word in my fucking vocabulary. Castration, however, fucking is. Don’t think for one minute that I won’t rip your Ping-Pong balls off and force feed them to you if you even look at me the wrong way! I fully expect that in the next twenty four hours you will start to resemble a half decent squad of bodyguards that you were hired to be. If you don’t think you can handle that? Get the fuck out now.”
Just then there was a shuffling of feet, and one of the guards stood forward hoping to take Xavier up on his offer to leave. Xavier’s jaw ticked as he silently regarded the man. Walking over to him, he asked for his name which was given in a small stammer as Fredrico. Reaching his hand out he said, “No hard feelings, Fredrico, this life isn’t for everyone yeah?” The false sense of security filled the nervous guard. The air was oppressive and no one else seemed to even breathe as they watched the interaction.
Fredrico took Xavier’s hand to shake it but before he could, Xavier had swiped his feet away from him, and twisted his head as he fell. Fredrico’s neck was snapped before his lifeless body even hit the ground.
“I think I’ve made my fucking position here clear.” As he took out a cigarette, flicked the lid of his lighter three times then lit it, Xavier took a leisurely draw whilst eyeballing his new recruits.
Leaving Ballbreaker to get on with organising the guards into teams for training, Xavier checked in on Hawkeye to make sure he had everything he needed to install the security systems before he pulled out his cell and left a message for Shuggie to let him know what was happening. While the entire household was in organised chaos, Xavier would patrol the mansion and grounds to ensure that there would be no attempted break-ins tonight. Because if there were? God help the fucker that crossed Xavier Raige.
Chapter Fourteen
The mid-day sun was beating down on Alicia’s skin as she strolled along the cobbled pathway. It was that hot that she had to tie her hair back into a high pony. She never wore her hair up as it was like a security shield for her, but she was melting here. Large rounded shades covered her eyes as she took in the sights. The scenery was breath-taking as she glanced over to the marina. Large yachts and speedboats in their berthing bays, people relaxing and soaking up the rays on the deck of their expensive toys.
Alicia thought to herself, fools and their money are easily parted!
Her life was simple and she liked it that way. She owned a modest home in London and had an apartment in her native Italy where she was hoping to return
to live full time in the near future. She was thinking of renovating the Carberletti Ancestral home — a grand luxurious mansion with acres of grounds which she had inherited. The mansion and grounds had been left abandoned and unmaintained for decades.
Alicia’s had four loves in her life — her two pink and purple Glocks that were always concealed on her person, her pink Audi TT, and Frazzle, her little white Bengal tiger cub. She didn’t need nor want some male to come along and start ordering her about and changing her ways.
Nope, she was content and happy!
After an hour of doing the tourist thing, the heat had become unbearable for her. Glancing around for somewhere that would have air conditioning, her eyes fell on an old looking building…an Art Gallery.
“Perfecto,” she thought as she headed inside, sighing with relief as the cool air conditioning fell on her sun kissed skin.
A piece of art work caught her eye, and her audible gasps made others stop and stare at her. Alicia, however, didn’t take any notice of anyone else, with her shades pushed up onto her head so her angered brown eyes could see the piece more clearly.
A crowd was gathering behind her.
“Excuse me Madam, is there a problem?” The flustered Curator asked, his broken English revealing his Italian accent.
Alicia’s head spun around quickly as she glared up at the man. Waving her hand up at him, she was almost jabbing him in the abdomen with her cherry lolly.
“No, excuse you, you imbecile! That painting is not Spanish nor is it a 1960’s piece by whoever that name is you have detailed up there! It is in fact by a little unknown artist called Emiliano Placido. This piece you are falsely advertising was painted on the 31st October of 1890, and its origin is Sicily! You are Italian, I can tell by your accent, and yet still you do not know the origin of this piece?” The Curator’s demeanour suddenly changed as he stared into Alicia’s eyes and listened to her scolding. He apologised profusely for the error and told Alicia that he would have the painting removed from public display immediately until further research was carried to confirm the credentials that the little ‘Bella’ had just advised him of.
She was a spitfire that was for sure, and also not a lady that you argued back with. The curator felt ashamed and embarrassed. She had just called him out in the middle of his busy gallery all the while waving a candy stick at him! He watched in complete astonishment as she placed the candy back into her mouth, fixed the sunglasses that were perched on the top of her head back to cover her eyes, and headed towards to the cashiers desk.
“Fidiots!” She mumbled loudly as she demanded a refund for the entrance money, ignoring the fact that she hadn’t even paid to get in. Blinking then nodding her head in an over apologetic manner, the cashier handed the money over and then, after speaking to the gallery manager, advised Alicia that the painting would be delivered to her destination of her own choosing as an apology. A smirk crossed over the brown eyed beauty’s lips as she headed back into the sweltering heat, wasn’t she glad she had stopped by that establishment?
Yawning softly to herself she realised that she was starting to feel tired. The heat was making her body exhausted and it was time to return to the resort for a little nap. Tomorrow was her last day of her vacation and it was going to be a day to remember. She had a full itinerary planned.
Chapter Fifteen
Finally satisfied that the security measures he had put in place were taking shape, Xavier left his men in charge of the Belcastro guards, taking the scenic route back to his base. Shuggie had got word that the Pascal mansion had been hit earlier that night, reinforcing Xavier’s thoughts that he had been hired not a moment too soon by the old man Belcastro.
Pascal’s mansion was the closest one to the Belcastro compound and the band of thieves were as predictable as they were elusive. The same M.O. was in play, so he knew it was the same gang he was looking for. They had bypassed the security systems, raided the mansion for artwork and jewellery before breaking into the main safe, taking the money and valuables, and escaped. The difference this time was that the gang had left a casualty behind. Usually, it was a clean in/out affair, but they were getting sloppy. A heavily injured guard had been sliced and left to bleed out on the kitchen floor. Even so, there were still no clues left behind to help detect them. No DNA, finger or footprints — nothing.
Xavier was sure that it was all pointing towards being an inside job. It would have been easier just to kill the guard and not take the risk that he might have gleaned Intel which could help track down the thieves. They had shown compassion by allowing him to live, which was the biggest indication that pointed to there being a personal connection. The thing Xavier needed to figure out first was who had contacts with all the main families. If he could find the common denominator, then it wouldn’t take him long to track them all down.
By the time he got back to the base, which was an abandoned hotel on the outskirts of town, Shuggie had already shut himself up for the day. The first thing Xavier and Shuggie had done when they arrived at the dilapidated building was to sun-proof it entirely. The only downside to his best friend and lieutenant being a vampire was that one shaft of light and it was ‘Adios Amigos’. Of course, he and Shuggie had done this wherever they went around the world, making sure it was all complete before the other men in his Unit arrived. No one but Xavier and the Doc held Shuggie’s secret, and Xavier would take it to his damn grave with him.
Kicking off his boots, Xavier grabbed a bottle of scotch and headed to his own quarters.
The last forty eight hours had been eventful and his body was protesting at even the slightest movement. Good, he thought wryly to himself as he drank from the bottle, hoping that he would lapse into a coma and bypass any of the nightmares that usually haunted him. Sitting on the edge of the bed he put the bottle down and started to undress, throwing his clothes onto the floor and sliding under the covers. His cell was tucked under his pillow — it was never switched off — and he folded his arms behind his head and stared at the ceiling. In the second before his eyes closed and sleep took him, a face appeared in his mind’s eye.
“Friera,” his voice was low, and his hands were running over the smooth curves of her body
“Are you injured? Let me check you out, yeah?” His bike was totalled and mangled under the wheels of her car, but they were both unscathed. Friera was for some inexplicable reason was partially dressed in a shredded sundress and from his inspection, he could tell she held nothing but secrets under it.
“You seem fine, but there could be internal injuries.” Smirking as he tilted her chin up with a finger, making her big browns stare into his eyes. Friera nodded and gave a shy smile and he wasted no time in lifting her up, his hands cupping her ass cheeks as he carried her over to sit on top of the wrecked hood of the car. He teased her legs apart and slid his hands slowly up her thighs, never losing eye contact.
“God you are beautiful, female.” He inhaled her sweet scent, she smelled of summer fruits — no, he corrected himself, it was cherries — she smelled good enough to eat…which was a coincidence because that was exactly what he intended to do. Dipping his head, Xavier kissed a trail up her throat to trace the tip of his tongue over her inner ear, his hands finding their way to her core, and his thumb rubbing a small circle slowly over her clit whilst his fingers stroked lazily over her already damp folds. “You drive me fucking crazy, Friera,” his words came out more as guttural growls than actual words, and the small whimpers and moans from her lush lips were all the indication he needed that she wanted this as much as he did.
Tearing her dress off her body, Xavier started to kiss, lick and suck his way down her as she lay back on the hood of her car, writhing and pleading with him to take her. Xavier knelt down and leaned forward, his thumb still circling, but his fingers spreading her core open. “So beautiful, Friera,” he said almost to himself as he darted his tongue out to have his first taste of her.
“Huv ye loast yer fucking marbles, Commander?”
Shuggie stood in his boxer shorts, staring at him with an incredulous look on his face. Xavier opened his eyes, staring in confusion at him, then glancing at the pillow that was partially over his face.
“Why the fuck were ye licking yer pillow?”
“More to the point, what the fuck are you doing in my room?” Xavier threw the pillow behind his head and used the back of his hand to wipe the drool that had somehow been on his chin.
“Ye woke me up, wi’ yer moans and strange noises. Ah thought at first ye were being attacked!”
It was then that Shuggie noticed, approximately two and three quarters of a second before Xavier did, that his Commander was sporting a two man tent under his sheets. That was Shuggie’s cue to get the hell out of there.
“Just get tae sleep fucksakes. Ye were loud enough tae wake the undead!” It was difficult to tell who was more embarrassed, but from where Shuggie was standing, he reckoned it was definitely him.
Xavier blinked, then scrubbed his face with a hand as he lay in the dark, half dazed and trying to figure out what the fuck had just happened. He must have been dreaming of the female who tried to run him off the road the day before — Friera. Yes, Friera, the little pocket rocket. And whilst he was dreaming, he must have been talking in his sleep, which had woke Shuggie from his death sleep. None of that explained why his mouth tasted of pillow and why his cock was giving a full salute. Eyeballing the time on his cell, he groaned and closed his eyes. His cock would have to take care of itself, he was just too damn tired to move.
Plus, he thought with an evil grin forming on his lips, if he fell asleep quick enough, he might just be able to retrieve the last of that dream…
The Heist Page 5
