JAVIER

by Miranda Jameson

  “Who the hell are you?” Javier of Seville’s voice was soft and deadly, his canines fully descended and razor sharp, his eyes cold as they bored into her.

  Cassia felt her first twist of fear. Based on the scraps of information she had been given she had assumed he was some sort of rich international playboy but she had miscalculated. Her eyes slid to the left, she could see her motor bike where she had left it strategically parked and ready. His gun screwed harder into her, pain shot through her skull;

  “I’m waiting, who sent you?”

  She needed to regain control. Summoning every bit of her strength Cassia brought her knee up quick and sharp; he grunted with pain and doubled over leaving her the few seconds she needed to race towards her bike. Jumping on she gunned the engine and accelerated away sharply causing the bike to rear up into a wheelie before it sped down the alley.

  Javier doubled over in pain. Dios! He had under-estimated her. Well, she wasn’t getting away from him a second time. Dropping to one knee he brought his SIG up with both hands and fired twice at the motor-bike aiming for the rear tyre. As the bike slewed wildly and hit the wall he was on his feet and running. The woman was thrown wide and rolled then slid into the waste bins lined up along the side. She had barely scrabbled to her feet when Javier was on her, grabbing her arm and twisting it up behind her back. She cried out with pain as he pulled her sharply against him, his other arm clamped tightly round her waist as he took a deep breath and concentrated his mind to shift them out.

  The pain hit Javier’s neck with sharp searing heat and he instantly lost focus and lurched forward, his arms dropping. He felt his gun slip out of numb fingers and spun round blindly with a roar of fury as his vision started to blacken. The woman’s scream was loud and ringing in his ear before it was abruptly cut short. Reaching out for the wall he fell to his knees, desperately trying to haul himself upright as agony ripped through his body. Death, he thought, death had come for him. Everything was hard and cold, he must be on the ground. He felt a sharp kick to his ribs and would have grunted with pain but his voice was gone; his thoughts were fading. Beatriz, he thought, my little Bee. The world went black.

  CHAPTER 3

  Cassia groaned, dragged off the wig and touched the back of her head carefully again, feeling the wetness under her fingers. Someone had hit her very hard. She had done everything as they had instructed yet here she was locked up in this dingy room with pretty boy as company. And he was out cold. She had done her job; he had followed her and now they had him. Except that they had captured her too. That hadn’t been part of the deal and the fact that they had double crossed her filled her with blind terror about what they would do to Flavia.

  Squinting at her watch Cassia saw that she had been unconscious for about two hours. Her eyes stung, of course, she still had those lenses in. She removed them carefully then stood up unsteadily and touched the metal ring around her neck. Who were these people? How had they got hold of an electronic restraint? The question had baffled her before when they had locked one around Flavia’s neck. The devices were designed to prevent Vampires from using their ability to travel through space. Civilians had no access to such advanced technology. No time to think about that now, she had to get out of here. Cassia reached into her bra and smiled; this was going to be easy.

  There was a low moan from the floor and she stopped. Javier of Seville was no concern of hers. The only thing she had to do was find Flavia and get the two of them out. She had an advantage; the Empaths who were holding them had no idea how well she knew this house. She stood by the locked door for a full minute before sighing and turning back. Wincing at the twinge of pain in her head she knelt by Javier’s side as he turned towards her and moaned again, his eyelashes fluttering slightly as though he was struggling to regain consciousness. God, Cassia thought, even out cold the man was drop dead gorgeous. There was no collar around his neck and that didn’t surprise her. They had shot him with a tranquilizer dart; they obviously expected him to remain unconscious for hours. She had seen the dart hit him just before she had been knocked out.

  Gently she reached out and touched his forehead; it was cold and clammy. A tremor shot through his body and he appeared to try to force his eyes open again as a low sound came out of his mouth. It sounded like he was saying the letter “B”. What did that mean? Suddenly he turned convulsively on his side towards her and gave a massive dry heave. Great, he was going to throw up all over her.

  Cursing the fact that she had always had a lively conscience Cassia reached under Javier’s shoulders and dragged him into a semi upright position, her muscles screaming in protest under the dead weight of his body. Then she eased two of her fingers into his mouth and jammed them down his throat. His body convulsed again and he coughed then Cassia scrambled away as fast as she could as he was violently sick. He carried on, bent over with his knuckles braced on the floor till he was reduced to dry retching heaves. Then all Cassia heard were deep shuddering breaths as he pushed himself upright onto his knees, his body trembling visibly as he peered at her.

  “Who…” he managed to croak then coughed.

  Cassia looked round then stood and uncapped the bottle of mineral water left on the rickety table and poured some into one of the plastic tumblers. Skirting around the pool of vomit she knelt by his side;

  “Here, drink some. They shot you with a dart, some sort of tranquilizer I think.”

  Javier took a mouthful of water, swilled it round his mouth and spat then drank some and cleared his throat. His left hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. His voice was hoarse and again she noticed the soft Spanish accent;

  “Not Charlotte. I knew that. Who are you?”

  “Who is Charlotte? My name is Cassia of the bloodline of Hugo Mathrafal.”

  “Charlotte is…was the woman you were impersonating. I see you’ve ditched the wig…” he peered closer, “and the lenses.”

  Cassia tried to pull her arm away. Javier of Seville was still shaking and he looked like hell but the grip on her wrist was iron hard.

  “Let go of me, I need to get to Flavia. They’re going to kill her, probably right after they kill me. I don’t know what they’re planning to do to you.”

  Javier took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut for a second as a fresh wave of nausea washed through him. He needed to clear his head and then he needed to get out of here. Looking up he saw the woman Cassia staring impatiently at him. Her eyes were nothing like Charlotte’s hazel, they were a deep midnight blue fringed by long black lashes that matched her raven black hair. She tugged her arm back again then reached out and shook him urgently;

  “Done staring? We need to move, do you hear Javier of Seville? You can sit here if you want but I’m going to be through that door in minutes and I’m going to get Flavia. Come on!”

  “Who is Flavia?” Javier let go of her wrist then hauled himself to his feet, steadying himself against the wall as he swayed.

  “My sister. They took her to make me agree to their plan. It’s you they want. They said you would be sure to follow me. Look, she’s an innocent in all this.”

  “You can’t shift. How were you planning to get through the door?” Javier pushed himself away from the wall and tried the door then stared as Cassia reached into her clothing and pulled out a set of lock picks.

  “There isn’t a lock made that I can’t pick. Move over, I’d be really surprised if you can shift out yet. You look awful.”

  “Amateurs.” Javier muttered as she knelt down and set to work on the lock. He reached down under his trouser leg into the side of his boot then grinned as he pulled out the knife he had concealed.

  “Rank amateurs.” She was right. He doubted he would be able to shift out till his body had recovered a bit more; whatever they had pumped into his system disagreed with him violently.

  There was a soft click and Cassia shot to her feet and grasped the door handle. Javier clamped his hand over hers;

  “Wait! I’ll go first…” he s
topped in surprise as she pushed his hand away and hissed;

  “I don’t think so. You are still unsteady on your feet and I know this house. I know where they’ve got Flavia and I know the way out. I’ll go first, you follow.”

  Their eyes met and held for a few seconds then Javier nodded once sharply. Cassia eased the door open. Golden brown, she thought as she listened intently, his eyes were golden brown like his hair. What an odd moment to be noticing something like that. Turning to him she whispered;

  “To the left then up a flight of stairs.” Slipping out into the dark corridor she headed off swiftly and silently. Javier followed closely behind her, feeling the adrenaline surging through his body helping his strength to return second by second. He reached out with his acute hearing and sense of smell knowing she would be doing the same. There was no living being on this floor. Stealthily they ascended the stairs then Cassia stopped as they reached a door and whispered;

  “We need to be careful, Flavia is blind. If we startle her she will cry out. I’ll get the door open. Let me go and get her, you keep watch.”

  She knelt in front of the door and Javier squatted down by her and whispered;

  “Who are they? Our captors.”

  Cassia frowned as she delicately manoeuvred the picks, her eyes narrowed;

  “Empaths. We need to keep a lid on our emotions. They think we’re still locked up. You know how they can sense danger…”

  There was a soft click and she got silently to her feet and glanced at Javier. He nodded as she slipped into the room. She was right; Empaths had an uncanny ability to sense danger and a confrontation could be deadly. He took a deep breath; his head had cleared and he was shaking less, he would probably be able to shift but the restraining collars would stop him from taking the sisters. He couldn’t leave them, they would have to find another way out. He felt movement by his side as Cassia emerged from the room accompanied by a woman who looked like a smaller more delicate version of herself. Obviously the sister. Javier leaned towards her and whispered;

  “My name is Javier, we are going to get you out.” then he turned to Cassia;

  “Do you know if they have a car?”

  It was Flavia who nodded, turning deep blue unfocused eyes towards him;

  “Yes, they do. More than one, I’ve heard them.”

  Javier turned back to Cassia;

  “You said you know the house. We need to get to a car. Can you lead us out?”

  Cassia gave a quick sharp nod and moved rapidly down the corridor holding Flavia firmly round her waist. She bet Javier could shift out by now. Why hadn’t he? He didn’t owe her anything. Who was he? Briefly she remembered her flash of fear in that dark alleyway; not a rich playboy being kidnapped for money. Rich playboys didn’t keep evil looking knives stuffed down their boots and the way he had handled that gun had been professional.

  They slipped down the stairs into a dimly lit hallway. Suddenly a door opened and Cassia froze as they came face to face with one of the Empaths. He smiled mirthlessly and raised his hand. She glanced quickly behind her; Javier had disappeared. Great, the first sign of trouble and he had shifted out, saving himself.

  “Well now, the lovely Mathrafal sisters. How did you get out? We would have shot you by now but the boss thought the boys deserved some fun first. Now I’ll just have to knock you out again.”

  As the Empath raised his hand higher Cassia felt the air around her seem to fill with static and pushed Flavia behind her as she braced herself for the impact of the energy wave that was about to be unleashed against them.

  It happened so fast she barely had time to register it. Suddenly Javier materialized in a black vortex behind the Empath, reaching out and grabbing him round the neck with one arm as the other seemed to move forward with a swift stabbing motion. The Empath fell to the ground as Javier pulled his knife out; he had been killed instantly with deadly skill.

  “Come on. Let’s go.” Javier motioned them over, “There are two more of them outside. One of the vehicles is unlocked.”

  Cassia stared in shock and hugged Flavia tightly. Javier had not only killed the Empath, he had also checked out the lie of the land. In seconds.

  Dragging Flavia by the hand she skirted round the body and followed him. Suddenly it was Javier who was completely in charge.

  “Keep your heads down till I say. They’ll come for us the minute we start the engine.” he whispered as he helped Flavia into the back of a black SUV and fastened her seatbelt. Then the engine started up and the vehicle took off as Javier floored the accelerator. Bullets were the least of their worries; if one of the Empath’s energy waves hit the car it could very likely knock out all the electronics and stop them in their tracks.

  Javier ducked instinctively as the back window shattered. He saw the Empath with the gun in his wing mirror. Another shot rang out then he saw a flash of pure white light heading their way.

  “Hold on!” he shouted as he swerved to the side. The energy wave narrowly missed the car and hit a tree, blasting off one of the branches in a shower of sparks. Swerving back onto the long drive Javier floored the accelerator again and roared towards the gates cheering silently to himself; the gates were made of wood, not metal. Bracing himself as the car hurtled towards them at full speed he lowered his head and let out a loud war cry as the SUV burst through the gates then careered wildly for a split second before continuing along the narrow country road. Breathing a sigh of relief he gave thanks for German engineering before calling out;

  “Alright? Stay down a little longer. They may follow. Where the hell are we Cassia?”

  “The house is close to Windsor. You should see signs soon. The M4 motorway would take us back to London.” Cassia’s voice was muffled from the back seat.

  “Are you alright Flavia?” Javier called. The sister had seemed in a state of shock but the voice that answered was strong.

  “Yes. Are they following us?”

  Javier checked again. No lights. Briefly he wondered why. Perhaps they were awaiting their leader. Perhaps this vehicle had a tracker. He accelerated; he would dump the SUV at the first opportunity and change cars. Stopping at a crossroad he checked the signpost and steered towards the motorway. They had to move quickly. He had to get them all to a safe place before dawn. Just before the motorway he stopped in a small hamlet and ushered the women out. He had spotted his target.

  “Why have we stopped here?” Cassia whispered as she stood holding onto her sister.

  “Changing cars. They didn’t chase us. That SUV may have a tracker fitted.” Javier pulled off his jacket and wrapped it round Flavia. The young woman was shivering, perhaps with a combination of shock and cold. He touched her cheek reassuringly and smiled;

  “It’ll be alright querida. I’m taking you somewhere safe.”

  Cassia felt a sharp pricking in her eyes as she watched him take something out of the back of the SUV then move with stealthy grace to a line of three cars parked on a grass verge. He was inside the oldest car in minutes before gesturing them over. Stealing cars seemed to be one of his skills as well as killing, she thought, perhaps he was some kind of gangster. She settled Flavia in the back then climbed into the front passenger seat, watching as he hotwired the car expertly then set off smoothly down the road towards the motorway.

  “Almost a full tank, that’s a lucky break.” Javier murmured then spoke louder;

  “I am heading back to London. There’s a safe place we can get to before sunrise then I’ll be able to arrange for those collars to be removed. Still alright Flavia?”

  “Yes, thank you.” came a quiet voice from the back seat.

  “And you?” Javier glanced over at Cassia only to find her staring at him.

  “Fine. Who are you?” she asked.

  “You know my name.” Javier kept his eyes on the road,

  “Alright. What are you? Why do they want you? Who is the woman they were sure you would follow and why?”

  Javier laughed bitterly. God, he had b
een well and truly played. They had targeted him, him specifically and he had taken the bait just as they had known he would. The disappointment felt like a sharp physical pain in his heart though why he should feel it was completely illogical. He had known, he had always known that it couldn’t be Charlotte. Sighing, he concentrated on the driving. Time enough for questions later; he was certainly not going to be answering any of hers now.

  “We will talk later.” was his only reply. There was a long silence and he could feel Cassia examining him. When she spoke again her voice was very quiet;

  “Thank you for not abandoning us. You could have left us there. Thank you for being kind to Flavia.”

  “Let’s call it quits shall we? You could have left me unconscious in that room, you did not.”

  Still more silence and Javier glanced at her quickly. She sat staring straight ahead, her body tense and her hands clasped tightly together in her lap. He couldn’t wait to check her name against the Warrior’s Council watch list; somehow he was certain she would be on it. A person of interest. She had a lot of questions to answer. He took a deep breath and checked the time; they should make it before sunrise. He was tempted to drive much faster but he didn’t want to risk any unwanted attention from traffic police; no, better to keep to the legal limit and concentrate on finding his way back to Rafe’s place. Then he would have to contact headquarters on the Island; he had been off the grid long enough for the alarm to have been raised.

  “You’ve done it before haven’t you?” Cassia asked softly.

  “Done what?” Javier was startled out of his train of thought.

  “Killed. Killed like that.”

  “Yes, when necessary. I am sorry you saw that.”

  “They were planning to hurt us. Me and Flavia.” Her breath hitched slightly and he saw her shiver and brush a hand impatiently under her eyes. It would be the relief at getting out, he thought, she had been incredibly cool headed and brave.

  “Don’t think about that. You are safe now and so is she. You were magnificent in there; better than I would have expected any civilian to be.” he said gently.