“Vitalii Dragov? The Russian mafia? Why would they—”
“It’s a preemptive strike. Someone in the CIA leaked information to Dragov that Xander King was looking for his parents’ murderer. They are going to the Virgin Islands to kill Xander. I can explain everything on our way.”
“On our way? I don’t—”
“Sam! We don’t have time for this. You’re at Xander’s mansion, right?”
“R-right . . . in Lexington,” Sam said in a daze, her mind running into overdrive as she tried to wrap her head around all that was happening.
Sarah swerved in and out of traffic as she barreled toward Xander’s horse farm.
“Then I’m assuming you have access to your choice of weapons? Grab everything we’ll need to thwart an attack on a yacht. We don’t have a minute to spare. Dragov’s plane is scheduled to land in St. Thomas in just three hours and twenty minutes. If we’re incredibly lucky, that will give us enough time to get there before it’s too late.”
“But Xander’s plane isn’t here. We have no way of getting there—”
“I have a jet waiting at the Bluegrass Airport. A local businessman, Tom Wright, happened to be in town and he is letting us use it. Sam, just do what I ask and do it now if you ever want to see Xander alive again. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
Before Sam could respond—not that she could have anyway—she heard the line click off. Her emotions had gotten the better of her during that call. She swallowed hard and brought them under control. She kicked back her chair, dialed Xander’s cell phone, and made her way to the weapon room. The quiver in her lip stopped and the steel returned to her nerves. No one was going to kill Xander King tonight.
Not on her watch.
2
Another Day in Paradise
The sun began to settle on top of the water, hovering, ready to dip its fiery toe. The evening sky’s orange light cast over the crystal blue waters fifteen miles off the coast of Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands. Seagulls cooed to each other as they floated in front of the fiery ball of life, and the warm breeze said hello in the gentlest of ways. The local fishermen had already called it a day and the other leisure boats had done the same. That is why the two-hundred-foot, three-story yacht, anchored in the middle of the ocean, had the most unobstructed view of that sinking sun in all of the Caribbean.
At least Xander King thought so. And let’s be honest, that’s all that really mattered to him.
The girls were dancing to some completely annoying electronic dance song, by one of those talentless hacks of a DJ on the top deck. Kyle Hamilton—Xander’s oldest friend in the world—took a break to walk over to Xander, who was perched on an oversized half-moon lounge chair on the raised deck that overlooked the girls having a blast in front of that beautiful sunset. Sweat-drenched from dance, Kyle plopped down beside Xander, put his arm around him, and gave his glass of King’s Ransom bourbon a clink.
“I don’t know what’s more beautiful, that sunset or those five gorgeous young ladies dancing in those bikinis.” Kyle pointed casually in the direction of the beautiful butterflies fluttering about on the back of the yacht.
Xander smiled and raised his glass, his dark hair blowing in the warm and salty breeze.
“Yes, you do.”
“You’re right, I do.” Kyle winked. “I’ll tell you what isn’t beautiful, this god-awful music. If you can even call it music. You’d have to be on drugs to like listening to this shit . . . Got any to put me out of my misery?”
“I know, it just drones on and on, doesn’t it? No heart, no soul.” Xander sipped his drink and took a pull from his Davidoff Oro Blanco cigar. Ah, now there was some soul. He puffed the sweet cigar smoke out through a relaxed, half-open mouth and watched it plume out against the tangerine skyline.
“Can I plug your phone in? I know you have better music than this.”
“I do, but it’s dead.”
“Dead? Xander King with a dead cell phone? I never thought I’d see the day.”
Kyle took the back of Xander’s neck in his hand, squeezed it, and gave it a loving pat.
“I’m loving the new X.”
“New X? What do you mean?”
“I don’t know, ever since we took out Khatib, you’ve just been, well, relaxed.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Kyle sighed, relaxed. His six-foot-three-inch frame sprawled out across the lounge chair. He and Xander were similar in height, but Xander had a good fifteen pounds of muscle on his fit and trim friend.
“I must say, I do feel like a weight has been lifted.”
Xander was speaking of the now dead, 160-pound boulder of cutthroat, murderous terrorist, to be exact.
Xander sat his cigar on the edge of the heavy glass ashtray, ran a hand through his hair, and let out a sigh. Kyle removed his grip from Xander’s neck and turned to face him.
“Uh, oh. What is it?” Kyle asked, sensing something weighing on Xander’s mind.
“Nothing.”
“Come on, X. Let me guess . . . Natalie?”
Kyle was of course referring to Hollywood sweetheart Natalie Rockwell. He could tell the wounds from Xander’s fling with her were still fresh; he just hadn’t wanted to say anything. Before Xander was forced to answer yes and give some sappy spiel about how he couldn’t get Natalie off his mind even though he knew they couldn’t be together, the ladies had finished dancing and were walking over to see what the two of them were up to.
Saved by the bell. Or belles, as it were.
“Ladies.” Xander scooted away from Kyle and made room for all five of the gorgeous women, whom they had met at the roulette table in the pool casino at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas just a few hours ago. Xander took Kyle there as he had promised a few days ago when they were in the plane on their way to Syria. Xander was drawn by the promise of high stakes poker while Kyle’s interests never reached far beyond the ladies. The two of them were on a good run at the pool casino under the waterfall when they noticed a group of the sexiest five women they had ever laid their eyes on, who were playing blackjack at the table next to them. After a couple of mutual admiring glances shared between the two groups, Xander leaned back and spoke to the perfectly tanned, long-legged blonde in the emerald-green bikini with the matching, and sparkling, emerald-green eyes. One perfectly braided strip of hair stood out playfully among the rest of her stick-straight strands.
“Quick,” Xander said, “what’s your name, where are you from, and what is your favorite number?” Xander gave his most sultry smile. A smile most naturally brought on by a never-ending river of bourbon.
The blonde tucked her hair back behind her ear, gave a mind-melting smile of her own, and answered as the dealer started the little white ball around the roulette wheel. “Kelly, Newport Beach, twenty-one.”
Xander gave her a wink, leaned back to his table, and pushed a tall stack of chips over to the red number-twenty-one square in the middle of the table. Kelly’s jaw dropped and she stood up to get a better look.
“Whoa, how much money is that?”
The dealer centered the chips on the number and politely answered for Xander.
“Table maximum.”
Kelly’s eyes, which matched the green felt of the roulette table, went from the stack of chips to the little black sign that stated the minimum and maximum bets for the table, then back to Xander.
“Five-thousand dollars? Are you crazy?”
If she only knew.
Kyle smiled and jumped up to his feet as well, and the waist-high pool water swirled all around them in his wake. Kelly’s four friends gathered around her when they heard the outrageous amount that Xander had bet. They were intrigued by the fact that he bet it just because it was the favorite number of a woman he had never even met before. As the ball danced around the roulette wheel, Kelly’s dark-haired friend asked for clarification.
“Holy shit, how much will he win if it lands on twenty-one?”
“The odds are thirt
y-five to one on any single number, ma’am,” the dealer answered. When he saw only a blank look on the pretty brunette’s face staring back at him, he finished the math for her. “That’s $175,000.”
The waterfall that separated the casino pool from the Garden of the Gods Oasis continued to rush, and gasps from the girls filled the rest of the air around them. The ball clinked a couple more times along the raised slats of the wheel that separated the numbers, teetered like it was going to stop on six, then made one final jump into the number-twenty-one slot.
The roar from the seven of them and the twenty some-odd people looking on from the bar filled the entire outdoor pool area at Caesars. Kyle and Xander jumped up from the table splashing wildly, shared celebratory hugs with the girls, and ordered shots of Don Julio Tequila Blanco for everyone around them to celebrate.
Needless to say, Xander King was a hit at Caesars.
The shots arrived and a celebratory toast was offered. Another crowd roar of appreciation rattled the entire hotel casino. Kelly pulled Xander aside and asked him just how he intended to reward her for the big win. And just like that, Xander called Bob and told him to fire up the jet. One hour later they left McCarron International Airport on Xander’s Gulfstream G650 luxury private jet, and that’s how they all ended up on Xander’s humble little yacht in the middle of a gorgeous Virgin Island sunset. All that whirlwind of the day could now be seen in Kelly’s weary eyes as she took a seat in Xander’s lap.
“Wow. I swear, Xander, I’ve never had so much fun in my entire life. When I woke up this morning in Las Vegas, I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that I would end the day on the lap of a gorgeous man, on a gorgeous yacht, anchored in the middle of the turquoise waters of the Caribbean. Crazy.”
Xander admired the twinkle in her eyes as the sun disappeared behind her. Kelly was as beautiful a woman as he had ever seen. And while staring into her eyes, it became apparent that the steady flow of liquor hadn’t done a thing to damper the usefulness of his equipment. This fact became evident to her as well after a long, passionate kiss. When she felt him bulge against her bottom, she backed away with a wry smile, then quickly straddled him, pressing her warmth against him. The weariness in her eyes turned to a bright shade of wild.
“Now this . . . is my kind of party!” Kyle shouted as he pulled the brunette—Angie—onto his lap. The soft yellow lights lit up the large deck area, casting a dream-like glow over the seven of them.
Amidst another shot of bourbon for everyone in the group, a man came out from the interior cabin dressed in his yacht whites.
“Xander?”
“Hey Tony, what’s up?”
“Dinner is ready. Would you like to enjoy it on the outdoor dining table or at the dining room table inside?”
Xander looked from Tony to Kelly and found her biting her lip in anticipation, looking a lot more like she’d rather have him for dinner. Then he looked over at the others and found they had zero interest in dinner themselves.
“What are we having tonight?”
“Your favorite of course, pizza.”
Xander nodded and turned to Kyle and the girls. “You all okay with cold pizza later?” The answer was a resounding yes. He turned back to Tony, “Just put it in the fridge if you don’t mind. We’ll come down and heat it up later. We’re having a little too much fun right now.”
“Of course. Cold pizza is better anyway.”
“Thanks, Tony. We’re good up here if you want to give everyone the rest of the night off.”
“Thank you, sir. I’ll do that. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“Can’t make any promises.”
Tony laughed, gave Xander a fist bump, and walked back inside. Kelly leaned over, kissed Xander on the neck, and whispered in his ear.
“There anywhere more private we can go?”
She ended the question with a nibble at the bottom of his earlobe. He felt her breasts pressing against his chest and her hand gently caressing him. The almost shy, “aw-shucks” woman he first spoke to in Vegas was currently nowhere to be found. Thank God. Xander wrapped his hands around her, picking her up as he stood from the lounge chair.
“You all gonna be okay up here for a while?” Xander asked the group.
Kyle leaned back in his seat, spread his arms out wide, and worked up the biggest shit-eatin’ grin he could muster.
“I got everything I could ever want right here, brother.”
Xander knew just how much his friend meant that and couldn’t help but laugh to himself. He smiled and made eyes back and forth between Kyle and the girls.
“Perfect. You girls okay?”
They said they were perfect. Xander dipped Kelly over, and as if she could read his mind, she grabbed the bottle of King’s Ransom.
“Perfect. There is plenty more to drink behind the bar, and the bedrooms are down the hall on the left and the right. We’ll see you in the morning.” Xander gave them a wink, and Kelly raised her arms in the air as he carried her inside the cabin, headed straight for the master suite.
This is going to be one hell of a night, he thought to himself as he laid her on the bed and she undid her top.
If only Xander had turned on his cell phone and checked his messages. Then he would have seen just how right he was about what kind of night it was going to be.
Hell.
3
Paradise Lost
A couple of hours, half a bottle of bourbon, and two magical encounters with the scintillating Kelly later, Xander was awoken by a weighted pressure in his bladder. A fog hung over his brain and he rubbed his eyes to try to clear it.
Still drunk.
The curtain that covered a rather amazing view of the ocean from the bed had separated from where it met the wall, and a strong ray of moonlight poured in, uncovering yet another amazing view. Kelly. The beam of yellow-white light lay perfectly across Kelly’s bare torso. She was lying on her back, the sheet just high enough to cover her most private area, one arm across her stomach and the other resting back behind her head. If he were in charge of a sexy photo shoot, he wouldn’t have changed a damn thing. Her head was turned toward his, and even as she slept, she looked flawless. He became lost in her beauty until his bladder reminded him of the reason he had awoken. He really had to go. Before he got up, however, he couldn’t help but lean over and run his lips along the outside of her breast, the softest and most supple skin on a woman’s body. Kelly opened her eyes, smiled, and ran her hand through his hair, tracing her thumb over his permanent five o’clock shadow, then up along his razor-sharp cheekbone.
“I’ll be right back, beautiful. You need some water?”
She nodded her head and mouthed the words “thank you.” He kissed her forehead and swung himself up and out of bed. It wasn’t until the first step that his body reminded him just how drunk he still was. He wobbled twice, staggered once, and then proceeded more cautiously toward the bathroom. After he finished in the restroom, he staggered back to bed, water in hand.
Kelly sat up, took a big swig of water, and let out a sigh.
“It’s crazy how delicious something plain like water can be when you really need it, isn’t it?”
Xander laughed.
“It is. And it’s startling how fantastic you look in the light of the moon.”
Xander took her water and set it on the nightstand, then took her once again in his arms. His appetite for her body was insatiable. All he could think about, drunken haze and all, was being with her again. Just as the heat began to rise between them, Xander heard something in the distance. He leaned back from on top of her and cocked his head toward the ceiling. Though it had to be more than a mile away, it wasn’t a sound that Xander, after years as a Navy SEAL, could ever mistake.
“A helicopter,” he said aloud, to no one in particular.
Kelly pulled him back toward her, but Xander’s mind had already made the leap. He didn’t know who it was or what they wanted, but he knew it wasn’t good. Fort
unately for everyone on the boat, Xander had prepared for this moment, and he had prepared his yacht and crew as well.
“Xander? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
A flashback ripped through his mind. What he was about to tell Kelly, he had told Natalie almost the very same thing before his home in Lexington had been invaded in the middle of the night.
“Kelly.” He took her face gently between his hands. “I need you to listen to me now, and I need you to do exactly what I say. Okay?”
He looked up to the ceiling again as the helicopter was right above them now. He didn’t have time to wonder who it was. He only had time to get everyone to safety. It sure would help if he wasn’t still hammered drunk.
“Xander, you’re scaring me.”
“Good. Now, I’m about to hit a button that will let the crew know that there is danger. They will be ready for you and your friends in a secured room at the bottom of the boat. Go right now and get them down there. I don’t care if you have to carry them.”
“Secured room? Xand—”
“Kelly, this is not a game.”
Either it was the tone of his voice or the depth of seriousness on his face that made the difference, but she got the picture and bolted out of bed. She grabbed a robe from the chair in the corner and started down the stairs. She stopped just before disappearing.
“You’re coming, right?”
“Yes, I’ll be there in a minute,” Xander answered as he hit a button on the wall beside the headboard. It lit up red and a loud, continuous alarm––MOCK! MOCK! MOCK!––began to blare throughout the entire yacht. Between each siren blare he could hear the thumping of the helicopter rotors directly above them.
Xander King BoxSet Page 28
