by RT Lucas
“Guilt?” Alicia scoffed quietly, as her hand shifted to move a strand of wet hair away from her face, her charm bracelet slid up her arm. “I’m telling you Xav, it’s like the smell is impregnated in my nostrils, it gets stronger and then don’t smell it for hours. But it’s not guilt. I buried that bitch and danced on top of her grave for hours as I drank and toasted her death! Maybe it’s how she pawed at me and kept cackling I was her ‘Little Carberletti’? Who the fuck knows.”
“Well, all I know is you don’t smell bad – and trust me, I’ve spent weeks holed up in a room without windows with Shug.I know what a rotten death smell is. His farts are what Mustard Gas was based on.” He gave a short laugh, his hand splayed across Alicia’s back and he gently rubbed her tense muscles. “But if it helps you cope, then whatever the reason I get it, yeah? Just do me a favour and let me get in the shower before you once in a while.”
As Xavier rubbed his chin over the top of Alicia’s head, inhaling her sweet scent he felt a sharp jab, and pulled back quickly, cursing under his breath. He reached up to his face and frowned as he seen fresh blood on his fingers. “What the fuck? Do you have vampire nits or something?”
Xavier started to search through Alicia’s hair and soon found the culprit for his injury. “Sweetcheeks…” he paused, as he looked at her with astonishment, “...do you normally wear fucking throwing stars in your hair? Are you expecting an attack from a ninja hairdresser?” Xavier started removing the lethal weapons counting five in all, and holding them flat in his palm in front of her as evidence.
“Oi! Put my hair clips back in!” Alicia huffed playfully as her eyes glanced over Xavier's palm. “Xav, I wear my guns in by boots and those…” Alicia ran a finger over one, “…are yours. When you were sleeping I thought I’d keep them safe for you.” Her smile was genuine. She always had weapons concealed on her somewhere.
Xavier laughed and as he did, Alicia was bounced up and down on his thighs while his body shook with the uncontrolled outburst. Calming down momentarily, he just stared at her beautiful big brown eyes and remembered the first time he had slipped the throwing stars into her hair – when she was going in alone to face her family’s murderer, Snr Belcastro. It gave him a sense of pride that she still chose to wear them this way, but it was still ridiculously funny whichever way he looked at it.
“Sweetcheeks, am I going to have to pat you down every time I want to fucking hold you or kiss you? Do you have razor blades concealed under your tongue, or laser beams shooting out of your fucking bra?” And then he lost it again, laughing so hard he fell backwards onto the soaking bed sheets, slamming his hand down beside him as he reeled about.
“Do I look funny to you? I’m a lethal killer Commander Prick!” Alicia let her fangs descend as Xavier rolled about on the bed in hysterical laughter. She was starting to shiver as the cold, wet clothes clung to her skin. Her boot kicked out and connected with Xavier’s shin then she rolled off the bed. “See! I am a ninja!” She made her way to his bathroom where she got out her wet clothes, dried herself off and wrapped herself in his black bath sheet. “No! I can smell her again! Duck this, how many times is that today?”
The buzzkill of Alicia’s reaction sobered Xavier up from his laughter and he shrugged, feeling confused when she left him. From the bathroom, he heard her talking to herself, but he didn’t want to risk saying the wrong thing again so chose not to reply. As he pulled the wet sheets off the bed and let the mattress air, he headed down to the laundry room. Xavier was still unsure of where he was with Alicia.
There were times when she would confide her inner most secrets with him, and in a blink she was angry and pissed off with him over a comment or reaction. He had never been in a relationship before, never met anyone that came close to holding his attention for long. Alicia though was different. And he wanted to be the male she needed, but he knew he was falling short. As he put the sheets into the washing machine, he realised that he was still only wearing his fatigues. He needed to put some damn clothes on, which meant going back up to his room.
Deciding he needed a wingman Xavier made a short detour to Alicia’s room, but when he opened the door he noticed that this was the only room in the entire compound she hadn’t made over. In fact, it was almost bare and stark in contrast to the rest of the decor. Puzzled, he checked the dresser and wardrobe just to satisfy himself she did in actual fact have belongings and clothes there, because on first impressions it looked as though it was uninhabited.
“Right, you have work to do to make Sweetcheeks smile, understand?” Xavier spoke gently to the small fur ball as he cradled Frazzle in his arm. “And no peeing on me or the bed either, yeah?” he added, scratching behind the tiger’s ears as he returned to his bedroom.
Alicia had tied her hair up into a messy bun, threw on Xavier’s workout hooded top and had padded back out onto his room when she stopped dead. The most adorable scene she had ever seen was before her eyes, her ‘High and Mighty’ had Frazzle in his arms.
“Do not move!” Alicia ran over to the side board, grabbed her cell and took numerous pictures. “Fucking adorable” Her smile was infectious as she grinned up at Xavier. “He used to lie up by your head when you were in the medical bay. Frazz likes you!”
She was back to the animated, fun-loving Alicia again – and then it hit him like a brick to the face how much of an effect this ‘Mabel’ business had on her. The reason for her distance and mood swings wasn’t him, it was that fucking bitch Mabel. “I’m getting kinda used to the little guy too I guess.” Xavier put Frazzle over his shoulder, and held his hand out to Alicia. “C’mere, Sweetcheeks.”
Still smiling wide Alicia walked closer to Xavier, placing her small hand in his huge one as he pulled her closer to him. “You requested my epicness, Commander?”
Without saying a word he stood up and cupped Alicia’s face in his hands, kissing her slowly, possessively. That was when Frazzle decided to go climbing on top of his head and as he pulled back, still cupping Alicia’s face. “I think Shuggie has been having a fucking word with your cub, Sweetcheeks.” Rolling his eyes upwards to peer at Frazzle who had laid down on his head like an ill-fitting wig. “There’s only one fucking cockblocker in this compound, we don’t need two – understand?” he laughed and leaned his forehead against Alicia’s. “Whatever it is that’s happening to you Alicia Carberletti, I fucking vow to get to the bottom of it and fix it.” His eyes were staring into hers, and as his thumbs brushed over the high cheekbones of Alicia’s face, he wanted her to know how deeply he felt about her and how absolute his vow was.
“It’s been one hundred and fourteen years Xav I…I…yeah I don’t think it’s going to change anytime soon but thank you.” Alicia stared back into Xavier’s eyes, he would do anything for her, anything and for those few seconds they were sharing…for once in her existence she wasn’t quite so terrified of Mabel.
“I was born on Halloween.” Alicia’s outburst was random. Xavier knew as little about her past as she did his, but in this moment of intimacy, she thought she should start sharing.
Xavier knew the significance of her statement, and nodded, taking Frazzle off of his head and back onto his bed. “I don’t know when I was born exactly – my father…well, I just never knew, so I picked the day I started training as a recruit as my official birthday – Sixteenth April.” He wanted to be as open and honest with her as she was with him. They were both used to be alone, being cautious and hurt that it was an equal effort for this exchange of such seemingly basic information.
“Oh for the love of Meerkats, that is fucking not on!” Alicia’s hands had moved so there were naked around Xavier’s neck. “Birthdays are meant to be celebrated. Fuck, I robbed half of my birthday guests once! I’m sorry Xavier, sorry you never got to experience your special day like you deserved.” Alicia was already planning his next birthday in her head.
“And that’s celebrating? Robbing your own guests?” Xavier gave Alicia a grin before shrugging a shoulder as hi
s face became unreadable again. “Nothing to celebrate about my birth Sweetcheeks. I just needed an official date for paperwork and shit, yeah?” He pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead before walking past her to grab a fresh muscle-vest and shove it on. He didn’t want to admit to her that the gift she gave him days before was the one and only present he’d ever received in his life. As he laced up his steel toe-caps, he looked over at Alicia. “So what did you steal?” She looked quizzically at him. “On your birthday – what did you steal from your guests?”
Alicia watched Xavier’s body language change instantly – he hadn’t pushed her on the Mabel issue so she was going to respect him and not question him… for now.
“I have no mortal memories. The only reason I know? My Madre’s journals detail everything about my and Alessandro’s lives. Everything we did and practically said was detailed in them.” Alicia laughed as she told Xavier of the entry her Madre had made about money, jewellery and precious items going missing – it was something that she could vaguely recall.
As they sat in his room, Alicia talking of her mother’s journals and of her younger self, Xavier felt the sudden pang of jealousy. It was so strong it almost winded him, and his mind opened a vault that he had sealed closed a long-ass time ago. As his fingers toyed with hers, he kept listening – but in his subconscious, unwanted memories were starting to resurface.
Xavier’s fingers were starting to dig into Alicia’s side, his posture was going rigid and his breathing was heavy. It could mean two things, either his wolf was rising or something troublesome was bothering him. Alicia looked Xavier in the eyes, it was time to calm him down. “Want to know something?”
Jutting his chin up to indicate ‘yes’ Xavier forced back his memories and he looked into Alicia’s eyes.
“I love you.” Her words were simple, three little words that she meant from the bottom of her heart. Alicia placed a soft kiss to his lips then lay her head under his chin. “You fuck handsome prick”
“You’re one lucky female, Alicia.” Xavier didn’t see the point in arguing – he was fuck handsome, and she did love him. In the stillness of the moment, Xavier suddenly blurted out, “I watched my father rip my mother to pieces in front of my eyes.” It was so matter-of-fact and such a stark contrast to what they had been talking about that the admission was both shocking and heart-breaking. Xavier didn’t even know why he had said it – or why he chose the moment he was closest to Alicia to do it. Perhaps that was exactly why, though – his barriers were coming down the more time he spent with her, she was breaking down all of his defences with a smile, or a soft kiss.
Alicia wasn’t one for giving pity to anyone, she also knew that Xavier wasn’t looking for sympathy. He was opening up to her, baring his deepest secrets to her. Her heart was breaking inside, no one should have to watch a parent die – especially the female that carried and gave life to you. Her voice was quiet but even. “So you remember your Madre? Don’t think of the last time you saw her, think back to her smile, or how she held you when you hurt yourself. How did her laugh sound when it was just the two of you alone?”
Xavier thought hard. His mother rarely smiled or laughed and definitely not with him. At him, but not with him. And as for holding him when he hurt? She ridiculed him and scolded him for allowing himself to get hurt. Alicia was trying so hard to ease his pain that he didn’t want to disappoint her with the truth, so he merely nodded. “That's’ good advice, Sweetcheeks,” offering a short smile before changing the subject. “I’m fucking starving, let’s go find something for me and fur ball over there to eat.” He stood and offered Alicia a hand up.
Alicia took Xavier’s hand as he pulled her up off the bed, and the three of them made their way to the kitchen. She knew he was keeping something back from her, something she would find out in her own way but for now? For now she was just going to enjoy Xavier anyway she got him.
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
Celeste Mazzara clicked the seat belt and checked it was holding securely. As she turned to look out of the small oval window, she kicked her Louboutin’s off and wriggled her toes. Her attention was taken abruptly by the sounds of a commotion from the front of the airplane, and she rolled her eyes and clucked her tongue. Gio had arrived and was flirting with the air stewardesses as he pushed his way through the other passengers to his seat beside her.
“Can you not do anything subtly, Gio?” she scolded. She had turned her head only to get a full view of his crotch as he leaned over her to put his carry-on case into the overhead compartment. She knew that he was lingering in that position on purpose “obviously not” she muttered under her breath and reached for her purse, pulling out a journal and pen.
Gio smirked. He loved nothing more than teasing Celeste. She was always so disapproving of him, but deep down he merely seen that as a challenge, and he knew his obvious charms and hidden skills would eventually win her over. She was too focussed on career and not enough on enjoying life to its fullest.
“Cupcake, you are looking beautiful for me!” Gio leaned over and snatched the journal out of Celeste’s hand, holding it up high as she tried to retrieve it.
“Giancarlo Tranbucca give me my journal back...now!” Celeste hissed at him, unimpressed with the juvenile actions of her co-worker. She had known him all of her life and he had never changed. Not even a little, which was unfortunate. It wasn’t that he was unappealing – he had his qualities, tall, handsome, slim but toned build, short black hair, clean-shaven and always immaculately dressed. It’s just that his faults severely outweighed the qualities and the fact that they were being forced by their fathers to work together? It made Celeste feel as though she was more of a babysitter than a professional hit-woman.
As the airplane took off, Celeste pretended to sleep so as to ignore the antics of Gio who was going through her journal page by page and every so often reading out loud edited highlights.
“February Twenty First…father has been avoiding my calls again. I have heard rumours that he is wanting me to meet up with G.T.J. Why is he so keen that I spend time with that cretin? I just want to be valued on my own merits…” Gio was taunting Celeste, his voice lowered so that the other passengers couldn’t easily hear him, but loud enough to irritate her as she sat with her eyes closed and hands gripping the armrests of her seat. “G.T.J.? These initials seem to come up in your journal a lot – what on earth could they stand for, cupcake?”
Celeste squeezed her eyes tighter and her fingers dug into the armrests. She wasn’t a good flyer at the best of times, but being stuck with Gio annoying her every few minutes, she was contemplating finding a parachute and throwing him out of the door lock. Or forgetting about the parachute altogether. As she imagined a free falling, screaming Gio falling through the clouds, a small smile formed on her face and her body relaxed.
Gio misinterpreted her smile and body language, and nodded to himself of his victory “G.T.J. – Gio Travanno Jnr…of course! You think about me so much you have to journal the experience!”
“Shut the hell up asshole.” Celeste was sitting up in her seat, her face turned to meet his as she stole back her journal. “In case it had escaped your limited attention, we have work to do, Gio, so quit messing around.”
“Someone woke up a grumpy little cupcake!” Gio leaned against Celeste’s shoulder squashing her against the window. “You are all work and no play Celeste – live a little!”
“Why do I even bother?” Celeste was exasperated with Gio, but he could tell when he was crossing a line with her and this time he was getting close, so he relented.
“You win, Celeste – work it is. But only if you concede that once work is done we get some play.” He winked at her, grinning, but was met with Celeste’s steely glare and so gave up trying to humour her.
“What do we know about this job our fathers tasked us with?” She was speaking rhetorically and eyeballed Gio as he was about to answer. “We know that there are rumours of an old family line suddenly resurging and beco
ming a potential threat. We also know that person or persons unknown executed the Belcastro family – but that his business interests are continuing unchallenged all thanks to this Martinez guy. Then of course, we have the Mexico connection.”
“Which is why we are on a plane to Mexico,” Gio helpfully pointed out
“Really? That is your contribution, Gio?” Tutting under her breath, Celeste continued, “And what do we know of this old family, the Carberlettis?”
Gio piped up, “That the family name is dead and there are no living ancestors, so whoever has adopted the surname has a sick sense of humour! I must admit, I like this dude before we’ve even met him!”
“Either that, or it’s a family connection we’ve not established yet. Maybe back in the day the Belcastros didn’t kill all the existing members of the Carberlettis? Anyway, do you want to know my take on it all?” Celeste’s eyebrow arched questioningly as she looked at Gio.
“You’re going to tell me anyway, cupcake,” Gio pointed out, sighing as he spoke – he was already bored of this ‘work talk’.
“I think for one – Martinez had something to do with old man Belcastro being ‘offed’ because he was the only one that had something big to gain from it, so all we need is to find evidence to implicate him, and two – I think there must be a living ancestor of the Carberletti’s who has recently found out about Belcastro’s family betrayal a hundred years ago and is now seeking revenge!”