Then again, short of becoming a crack addict, there was nothing that would ease his time with the little tinderbox.
Xavier had observed that although Alicia had the stubbornness and drive to go after Belcastro she wasn’t exactly battle ready. She had skills, of that there was no denying, but they weren’t nearly as honed or strong as she thought they were, and that was a weakness he couldn’t allow her to have if she was to fight beside him against a Mafia family with a full arsenal at their disposal.
Chapter Fifty Two
Chewing on the gum, Xavier banged his fist three times on Alicia’s bedroom door. She had barely opened it when he shoulder charged it open and stood in the middle of her room. Cracking his neck, he turned his attention to her.
“Time you had some training, Sweetcheeks, yeah?” Without waiting for a response, Xavier walked back out of her room and headed towards the gym. Behind him he could hear her protesting, but he carried on ignoring her — a skill he had quickly developed. He liked to think of it as a survival technique.
Winding tape around his fists, Xavier chewed on his gum, watching the door, and waiting for Alicia to arrive. The gym was reinforced with steel, an anti-Alicia device suggested by Shuggie so that she couldn’t flash away from him whenever they were in the building. The tick from the clock was starting to annoy him, and he knew that Alicia was deliberately taking her own sweet time to arrive. Just as Xavier was about to go looking for her, she sauntered into the gym with a bored expression on her face.
Alicia was bored but thought that taunting him for an hour would amuse her so she made her way to the gym, thirty minutes later than Commander Prick was expecting of course.
“Sweetcheeks, next time I tell you to be somewhere, you fucking jump, we clear? I ain’t got time for fucking about. You might want to change into something less tight fitting as we’re training, not going on a fashion show, yeah?” Turning his back on her, he walked over to the store cupboard muttering under his breath.
“I’m sorry…I thought you were assigned as my bodyguard, soldier boy. You must excuse me in my ignorance here, you seem to be acting like my god damn father and I will not be calling you Daddy! And for your information, there is nothing wrong with my attire mortal and I fail to see what you can teach me, how about I give you a lesson in manners?”
“How about I put you across my knee and spank your ass so hard you start to learn how to behave like an adult?” A smirk crossed his face as he started moving boxes looking for something. “Or maybe you’d enjoy that, yeah?” Grabbing the box at the far end of the cupboard and walking out with it, nudging Alicia out of the way. “Drop to the floor and give me fifty.”
“Oi! You fucking prick, was there any need for that?” Alicia growled as she went flying to the floor after being shoved by the tank carrying the box. Defiantly sitting with her legs crossed on the rubber mats that covered the gymnasium floor. “Tell me what does a mortal think he can achieve with me? Because in case you’ve forgot Xavi — I’m not human!”
Xavier walked behind Alicia, grabbed her by the back of her collar and waistband, lifted her up then pushed her back onto the ground face first. He placed his foot on the small of her back.
“I said, give me fifty.” As Alicia pushed up, he rolled his eyes. “If you’re so fucking better than us mortals, then put some effort into it, yeah?” he said, pushing his foot down to squish her back onto the mats. “ONE.”
“Two! Master may I have another?” Alicia had no choice but to do the push-ups that she was being forced to do. “I swear to the gods if those gollum feet of yours rip my top I will bust your balls for it!”
Alicia pushed her arms and legs up and down as she counted, all the while Xavier’s foot was pressing into her back. “You want to see me naked don’t you? Or is it the sheen of sweat you want to lick off my skin? FIFTY!”
Putting his foot back down on the mat, Xavier hauled Alicia upright. “Don’t flatter yourself, Sweetcheeks, you’re not my type.” But she was his wolf’s type. Damn she was definitely his lazy ass wolf’s type, but that was something she didn’t need to ever know that. “Today’s training is to see how competent you are in hand to hand combat. What experience do you have?” For some reason, Xavier couldn’t stop the words Alicia had said to him earlier — in particular ‘naked’, ‘sheen of sweat’ and ‘lick off my skin’ — from going around and around in his head, and the accompanying visuals almost knocked him off balance.
Bridging his arms across his huge sculpted chest, he looked down at Alicia as she answered him, none of her answers surprising him. Any combat she had was one on one scrapes with either the local law enforcement or business rivals she had crossed. He got the impression she was holding back on something, but didn’t press her. For once she was actually answering questions without him having to get blood out of the proverbial stone.
“The people that are after you, and the Belcastros that you are wanting to defeat, are all military trained, Sweetcheeks. The kind of fighting that you’re going to come up against is going to be organised, lethal and brutal. Now…” holding up a hand to silence her, he continued, “...I know you have skills, which is the main reason for training you myself, yeah? But you need to be battle ready, and that’s one of my areas of expertise. What weapons do you favour?” The wolf inside him was howling to protect Alicia, but Xavier knew that the best way was to give her all the skills he could for her to defend herself in any situation — not that she’d get a chance to use those skills as he would annihilate anyone who hurt one hair on her head. Well, on his wolf’s behalf, obviously he corrected himself.
Rolling her eyes as she looked up she noted the green was dark today, he was in ‘I mean business mode’.
“I don’t need to fight Com-an-derr! I can flash away. It’s very simple for a vampire, you know? So thanks for the interest, I do appreciate it but I am in no danger. I have my fangs and my guns and with you protecting my body…” Alicia just stood and smirked as she looked Xavier straight in the eyes, ignoring that damn pulse that was racing again.
She wasn’t getting it. It just wasn’t filtering through that thick, stubborn skull of hers just how much shit she was in. Deciding that extreme measures were needed to be taken so that she would start to realise the scenario that he needed to protect her from, he grabbed Alicia and in one swift movement threw her over his shoulder. Marching over to the far side of the gym, Xavier threw her down on the mats with a thud. “You really want to know what you could be up against Sweetcheeks?” Grabbing a remote control, he switched on the television set and crouched down beside her.
“Let me tell you a story, and then we’ll have movie night yeah? I had been on a mission in Venezuela, and word had got to me that there was a supernatural that was more ‘special’ than usual — a female who wasn’t gifted anywhere near as much as you are — but she was very different from the other species of vampire. She was a hybrid witch.” Seeing the confusion in Alicia’s eyes he explained. “She had a vampire father, and a witch mother.”
Alicia scoffed to herself quietly. “Witch skank deserved it. Shame about her vampire father having to grieve for his daughter though.” Alicia had a deep hatred towards witches. She could never place how this came about, she just knew they made her skin crawl and she wouldn’t share the oxygen she breathed with them.
Xavier was gripping the remote in his hand as he spoke, hating that he had to do this to Alicia, but in order to protect her he knew it was necessary. “So anyway, this female had been tracked down to where she was hiding in Venezuela and before she knew it she was on every Hunters list from this dimension to the next. As I say, I was on a mission there and it just so happened that I’d set up video equipment deep in the jungle. When I reviewed the footage, I had captured this. Watch and see how things played out for her when she was caught, yeah?”
Xavier pressed play, still crouched beside Alicia, but he was watching her reaction to the images on the screen. He had seen this footage too many times, and each
time it chilled him to the core.
The young female was around Alicia’s age, but was stocky and self-assured. As she was chased through a forest, she soon became surrounded by a group of male vampires who called her out for her blood. She fought like a lioness. She used every trick she could think of but each time she was thwarted. Eventually, she was overpowered and the males pinned her to the ground and drank her dry. The last shot of the footage was of the female, drained, torn apart and unrecognisable from the vibrant, confident and alive being she had been just moments before.
The whole scene played out in less than ninety seconds. When it finished, he switched the screen off, and lowered his voice.
“Now do you see why I need to train you, Sweetcheeks — I can’t have you ending up like that. It’s just not fucking acceptable.” Xavier lowered his head, almost in defeat, but it was the haunting screams of the female that rang in his head like a warning bell for Alicia.
Alicia had drawn her legs up to her chin, her arms had wrapped around them to the point where she was almost hugging them, her eyes were glued to the screen. The horror that had just unfolded had her frozen, unable to move. She hated to admit it but Xavier was right about this, she needed him…just to train her of course she didn’t need him for anything else. “Alright, I’ll behave and let you train me.” It was a whisper but the words had been said.
Without saying a word, Xavier stood up and offered his hand to Alicia, helping her up off the ground. The atmosphere had changed and when her small hand was enveloped in his, his wolf snorted triumphantly, and it seemed as though they were glued together in that one moment, before he tore his hand away from hers and threw a long length of cane towards her. “First lesson — try and hit me as hard as you can with the cane. Anywhere on my body.” Standing with his feet apart, he held a cane in his right hand and stretched his arms out by his sides. “And the word to remember here is ‘try’, yeah?”
Taking the cane in her left hand, Alicia went straight in for the kill and missed, resulting in the cane snapping as it connected with the wall. “What the hell?”
Xavier nodded, and walked nearer Alicia, he could feel her breath ghosting on his chest as he placed his cane in her hand and manoeuvred her body to stand correctly, legs slightly apart, feet firm and waist slightly twisted. “Don’t grip it too hard, and try and loosen your limbs so you are able to move more fluidly. Now try again, yeah?” Stepping back, he resumed his pose and watched Alicia as she calculated her next move.
“You know my next move right? You’re trained in this and know what to look out for so may I propose something to you?”
“No.” Sweeping his foot forward to catch with her ankle, Xavier watched as Alicia hit the decks hard. “Get back up, and fight - or are you too chicken shit?” he smirked as he taunted her, but knew it was the best way to get her moving.
“Me, chicken shit? You just assaulted a female and to call me the shit? HA! I think not Commander.” Alicia sprang back up to her feet, facing up to the giant and with a swing of her wrist whacked the cane but instead of hitting her target she was hitting thin air like a bird freefalling through the air.
Whistling through his teeth, Xavier reached down and hauled Alicia up, patting her down for injuries — a strange thought occurred to him and without warning the punched the small of her back. Alicia didn’t flinch, rather she started to laugh wondering why he was tickling her. “You mean to say that didn’t make your kidneys want to implode, Sweetcheeks?” When Alicia looked perplexed he got the answer he didn’t want. “Tell me, and I want the fucking truth, yeah. When was the last time you felt pain?”
Standing deep in thought the laughing swiftly wiped from Alicia’s lips as she processed what he was saying, “I don’t know! I never feel pain, nothing hurts me.” You could emotionally though, shaking her head, hoping the words weren’t spoken out loud.
Xavier’s brow creased into a frown as he processed that information. If Alicia couldn’t feel pain, she wouldn’t be able to judge when she was severely injured and that could potentially be a problem. Not wanting to worry her just yet, he made a mental note to have the Doc check her over once the Belcastro situation was dealt with.
“You might not feel pain, but you’re not invincible, yeah. Although I wouldn’t be opposed to you wearing a Supergirl outfit to training.” Smirking as he turned his back to her he added, “just putting that out there, Sweetcheeks.”
“Is that the same as this Spiderman character Hugh talks about?” Alicia lowered her head to look over her form, her arm was starting to bruise yet she felt nothing. “I know I’m not invincible, let’s resume this training shall we? You seem to know what you’re doing and maybe just maybe I do need you.”
Xavier and Alicia continued training in silence for the rest of the morning, and he was impressed by how quickly she was picking things up. She even managed to hit him with the cane on a couple of occasions. Finally, as the sweat dripped down his spine, darkening the muscle vest he was wearing, he held his hands up and called time, quickly grabbing the cane back from Alicia. “Don’t want you sneaking in any late moves, now do we Sweetcheeks?” He gave her a wink as he smiled, then pulled his drenched vest over his head and grabbed a towel to pat himself dry.
“You never did tell me what weapons you favour, Sweetcheeks. Feel like sharing?” His green eyes were staring at her, and he barely realised that he was on the verge of ogling her, before he turned his attentions back to drying off.
Alicia's mouth had went dry, like her tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth dry, her brown eyes were probably midnight black with the full dilation of her pupils as she stared at the sculpted torso of Xavier. “Guns…” She croaked out.
Turning his head, giving her a quizzical look. “You alright there, Sweetcheeks?” Shrugging it off as he threw the towel in the bucket, and put his arm around her shoulders. “So, you’re a sharpshooter? I'll take you out to the range in a few days, yeah? But tomorrow we should concentrate on the hand to hand stuff again. Maybe let you loose on a few throwing stars?” Xavier’s deep baritone laugh reverberated in his chest as he walked Alicia towards the doors of the gym.
“Oh um, yeah sure let’s do that.” Alicia was rambling as she was escorted to the door. “I’ll go um so stuff… see you later!”
Alicia scurried off in the opposite direction, destination was a very cold shower. What the hell was happening to her?
Watching Alicia go, Xavier sniffed his pits then made a face as he realised it was probably his stink that had made her so eager to run off. Shrugging, he slowly meandered back to his quarters. She really had impressed him today, and he felt they had made real progress which felt damn fucking good. Well, his wolf was damn smug with itself at least.
The shower was long and cold but at least that racing pulse had went away and left Alicia well alone.
Chapter Fifty Three
It was the smell that she first noticed.
It instinctively made her skin crawl and she shrunk back, hoping that the darkness of the corner she and the other three girls were huddled in would envelope and hide them. She thought it strange that a smell could invoke such fear, but that smell was the first indicator that he was approaching.
Petra’s large eyes scanned wildly as she hugged her partially clothed body tightly. The deafening beat of the music and the muffled male voices and jeers made her shiver to her very bone marrow.
She knew she couldn’t run — he was coming for them and there wasn’t a damn thing they could do about it but wait, and pray to whatever God existed that the night would pass quickly.
****
Shuggie had been keeping a close eye on Snr Belcastro, Martinez and the others on the Commanders’ orders.
He had followed them when they left the dockside, and it sickened him to find out just how many humans were being trafficked by this cold, calculating bastard. He had wanted to go back and free the women the moment the coast was clear, but that would have just left them stranded and vul
nerable to being round up — or worse, punished for trying to make a bid for freedom. It would also alert the Belcastros that they were under surveillance, and although he hated to admit it, he absolutely couldn’t jeopardise his mission.
Shuggie had followed Snr Belcastro and his entourage from his mansion, to the dockside, and now some seedy backstreet venue…a strip joint.
“Classy fucker,” he muttered under his breath as he paid his entrance fee and made his way down the steps into the club. He was met with the usual smoke, sweat and alcohol infused air. Bad music pumped out the speakers too loudly as bored vacant women in various states of undress performing for the mostly leering, overweight men who used their money as a form of Viagra.
Taking a seat, Shuggie called over a waitress and ordered a bottle of beer. His vampire hearing was more defined than a human’s and so he could hear over the mangled music and voices to hone in on his target. Two hundred feet away sat Snr Belcastro and his companions. Drink was flowing, cigars were puffed and egos were so inflated they were in danger of exploding. Settling back in his seat, he started to concentrate on their conversation.
After a few minutes, Snr Belcastro stood up and spoke to a couple of men at his table, telling them they had earned the right to take their pick of the dancing whores tonight. After much back slapping and self-congratulations, they walked to the back of the club. He could just about make out some of the girls from the container in the dockyard, their big bambi eyes and cowering demeanour told him all he needed to know. Belcastro was keeping a few of his ‘cargo’ back for his own use.
As the girls were selected and dragged to the back of the stage, Snr Belcastro and his acolytes sat at the front, the lascivious look in their eyes almost making Shuggie want to pierce them with the heel of one of the strippers shoes and then force feed it to him along with their broken teeth. Keeping his mind on the job, however, Shuggie drank his beer and listened in as Snr Belcastro entertained his companions — and hoped that tonight his loose tongue and showing off would give him all of the information he and the Commander would need to help Alicia bring him and his empire down.
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