Xavier (Vigilance 4)

Something moved, and I saw him. A man in tactical gear.

I didn’t have time for stairs. I leapt over the railing, landing in a crouch and drawing my gun.

Emilio sat up, gasping.

“Stay down,” I shouted.

I saw the glint of the man’s weapon.

I aimed and fired.

The man fell with a grunt. The shot he’d been about to take went wild and hit a tree, but it had come way too fucking close to Emilio.

Once again, Emilio started to sit up. He was calling my name, but I barely heard him. I was focused on my mission. I needed to know if anyone else was on the island.

If the man wasn’t dead yet, he was sure as fuck going to tell me all he knew. I vaulted over the fence surrounding the pool. The man lay a few feet away. How the fuck had he gotten through my security?

When I reached him, he was struggling for breath but still tried to lift his gun arm. I kicked him hard enough that I heard the bones in his wrist crack. He would have cried out if he’d been able. Instead he made a strangled sound and fell back.

I set my boot right on top of the bullet wound in his chest. He ground his teeth and said something which was probably “fuck you.”

“You’re the one who’s fucked. You’re dead, but I can slow it down and make it hurt until you beg me to finish you off.”

The man just glared at me.

I pressed down harder and the pain on his face made me smile.

“Are you working alone?”

He nodded, then coughed. Blood bubbled up out of his mouth. He damn well better not die on me before I got my answers.

“Who sent you?”

He shook his head.

I aimed my gun at his crotch. “Tell me, or you can die without your balls.”

He actually looked scared. I could play the psycho almost as well as I played the refined man of privilege.

“Can’t.” The word was barely audible. He didn’t have long.

“What difference does it make? You’ll be dead.”

“Just fucking kill me.”

“Give me a name, and I will.”

When he didn’t say anything, I started to squeeze the trigger.

“JW.”

“Does this JW have a full name?”

“Jimmy Wayne…” He sucked in a wheezing breath. “Thibodeaux.”

I shifted my aim and put a bullet through his head. Before walking away, I checked him for anything that might identify him or give me more information, but he had nothing on him. He was clearly a professional. I stuffed his weapons into the pockets of my cargo pants and assessed the area to make sure there was no sign of anyone else there. The area appeared clear, so I raced back to Emilio.

16

Emilio

I was half-asleep when I heard something and opened my eyes to see X jumping over the stair railing. I gasped. That was a hell of a jump. What the fuck was he doing?

He landed perfectly in a crouch and pulled his gun blindingly fast. He looked every bit the hero in an action film.

“Stay down,” he yelled, but he wasn’t looking at me. His focus was on something past the fence. I should probably be scared, but all I could do was stare at him, the thick muscles of his arms, the way he moved so perfectly as he ran across the pool deck. He raised his gun, and I flinched as the sound of a shot startled me, followed quickly by another.

I stayed down like he’d told me for several seconds, but I kept my eyes on X. Based on the grunt and the crash I’d heard, I assumed he’d shot someone. All I could think of was how fucking sexy he was and how very much I wanted him to protect me like that all the time.

My body thrummed with need, and I was sure my cock was going to break out of the tiny swimsuit.

X returned a few moments later, once again jumping over the fence like it took no effort.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

He looked surprised by my question. “I’m fine.”

“What happened?”

“Some asshole named Jimmy Wayne Thibodeaux sent his minion here to do some damage.”

“Fuck.”

“Don’t worry. He’s dead. He said he was working alone, and my gut says that’s true, but I want you inside.”

“So this Jimmy Wayne is one of the New Orleans connections?”

“That would be my guess. Come on.”

He took my hand and pulled me along so fast I could barely keep up with him. When we reached the stairs, he slowed. Had he heard something?

X paused, and as he looked around, I brushed my thumb back and forth over the inside of his wrist. I didn’t consciously mean the gesture to be seductive, but when he froze and turned to meet my gaze, I could see it had worked anyway.

He lifted me, and I wrapped my legs around his waist as he maneuvered us under the stairs, walking until my back was against the rough wall. He kissed me then, working his hips so our cocks rubbed together. He wasn’t gentle, and the position was uncomfortable, but I didn’t give a fuck. I just needed him, needed his lips on me, his hands on me, needed him inside me. I’d take anything he would give me.