JAVIER (9 page)

God, he really needed to get a grip. Finishing off his
whisky he looked at the two paintings she had hung on the walls; both exquisite
and both original. Even he could tell that and he wondered whether she had
stolen them or bought them legitimately. Returning to the sofa he switched off
the television when the news finished and waited, eyes shut. He had no real
idea what to expect from the next few hours or even whether they were
completely wasting their time. Reaching behind him he pulled out his gun,
checked it and put it back in place. His knife was stuck safely in his boot as
usual.

“Harry never carries arms. You don’t need that.”

Javier leapt to his feet and stopped dead, his mind
suddenly completely blank. Cassia stood on the bottom step of the ornate spiral
staircase, a necklace dangling from one hand. Her dress was long and black and
cut to cling to every inch of her. The low draping neckline showed off smooth
creamy shoulders and a cleavage that made his mouth water. Her hair was
smoothed down and fastened in a neat chignon at the nape of her neck. Subtle
diamonds glittered in her ears. He stared as she frowned and pursed her lips;
scarlet lips, he noted.

“You’re staring Javier of Seville. Close your mouth or
you’ll catch flies.”

Javier snapped his mouth shut.

“Erm, you look…very…” Dear god, he’d forgotten how to
speak!

Cassia sashayed across the room towards him in killer
high heels;

“I know. It’s a bit over the top but Harry’s is that
sort of place and he likes seeing me dressed up and looking like a proper
woman. Can you fasten this necklace for me please, the clasp is really fiddly.”

Javier took the necklace as she turned her back to him
and bent her neck forward;

“What is this Harry to you?” Cassia didn’t seem like
the kind of woman who would tolerate a man telling her how to dress. He felt an
irrational and vicious stab of jealousy.

“Friend, business partner, teacher, mentor and stand
in father I suppose.” she replied.

“Significant then. Is he also your lover?” Javier
asked.

“Never ever, not that it’s any of your business.”
Cassia retorted sharply, “Are you going to fasten my necklace or not?”

“Stand still.” he commanded abruptly.

She stood at over six feet tall in her high heels, not
much shorter than him. Moving closer Javier looped the necklace over her head
then leaned down to fasten it. His eyes focused on her jugular and suddenly his
vision zeroed in on her pulse beating gently at her throat. He felt his canines
punch out into his mouth as his head bent forward; his blood drumming in his
ears as raw, desperate hunger swept through him. Sweet like wine, every cell in
his body seemed to be crying out for her. Javier’s fingers trembled as he
fastened the necklace and stepped back. He needed to move away from her
quickly; he needed to move right away. Muttering something incoherent he sped
up the winding staircase and looked wildly for the bathroom before lurching
into it, slamming the door and locking himself in.

Big mistake. The room was still steamy and filled with
her scent. Squeezing his eyes shut Javier gripped the sides of the washbasin
and fought to bring his body under control. It felt as though someone had
turned him inside out. He buried his face into his sleeve to hide the sound of
the low despairing moan that came out of his mouth then stared at his
reflection in the mirror. His pupils were so dilated his eyes were almost black
and his canines tingled.

He knew what this was and it could not be happening.
He rejected it completely. Not with her, not with anybody. It was impossible.
Taking a deep breath Javier tried to summon up Charlotte’s face but she eluded
him. All he saw were deep midnight blue eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, “I’m so sorry.”

“Javier! Javier are you alright?” Cassia was knocking
on the door, her voice sharp with concern.

God, she must think he was a complete idiot. Javier
splashed his face with cold water then grabbed a nearby towel and dried himself
before raking his hand through his hair. Then he closed his eyes and imagined
himself going through the slow meditative sequence of movements he often
performed when he was practising with his sword. That worked; his body slowly
returned to normal.

“Javier, if you don’t open this door I’m picking the
damned lock and coming in.”

He unlocked the door and pulled it open. Cassia’s eyes
were wide with worry; Javier pushed past her on the tiny landing and went
quickly downstairs.

“Sorry. Something I ate. Let’s go. Who’s driving, you
or me?”

He avoided her eyes as she set the alarm and locked up
then led him a short way down the mews to a garage.

Cassia’s car was an old red two-seater Mercedes SL and
she hitched up her skirt and climbed into the driver’s seat with a grin;

“My car, I drive. I bought this in the nineteen
sixties as well. Like it?” She drove the car through London’s streets as though
they were competing in a grand prix.

“Love it. Stealing paintings is obviously very
lucrative Cassia Mathrafal. What are you hiding from me about your friend
Harry?” Javier laughed as Cassia’s head turned sharply towards him and she
almost missed a gear.

“Nothing. Why would you ask that?” She called out
above the sound of the engine.

“I can just read you. You haven’t told me how long
you’ve known him but I have a feeling it’s a long time. He’s a Human; I know
what that means.”

“You can read me? Now you’re talking like a bloody
Empath Javier. We’re here.”

Cassia swung into a parking space, slammed on the
brakes and turned in her seat to face him;

“I trust him completely. Promise me you won’t hurt
him. You can’t wipe him now, it would destroy his mind. Promise me Javier.”

“I cannot. You lied to us, to LaSalle. We have laws
for a reason Cassia. Let’s go.”

As they headed towards the doors marked “Harry’s”
Cassia grabbed his sleeve and pulled him round to face her;

“If you hurt him you’ll have to hurt me first. I was
responsible; you’ll have to go through me.”

“Don’t be so melodramatic Cass. How long? How long
have you worked together?”

Cassia crossed her arms and looked down; people
skirted around them as they stood blocking the pavement;

“Harry is seventy-five now. We started working
together over forty-five years ago.”

“For god’s sake! Didn’t you ever think about the risk?
The law is there to protect all of us against them. To protect our world and
our way of life from discovery by them.”

“Oh really? That law gets broken all the time Javier
and you know it. How do you think you’ve ended up with a whole brigade of
Half-bloods? Are you seriously trying to tell me that all those human women had
no idea their lover was a Vamp or that all those human men didn’t know they
were sleeping with a Vampire female? Really?”

She was yelling at him now, one hand on her hip and
her stance aggressive. Javier wondered how it would feel to push her against
the wall with his body and kiss the hell out of her. Except that was absolutely
not going to happen. Ever.

“Keep your voice down Cass. Are we going in or not?
The doorman is watching the show with great interest.”

Cassia took a deep breath and tucked her clutch bag
under her arm. Javier followed her as she greeted the doorman with a
devastating smile. She swept confidently through the vast club and he noticed
the many admiring glances both men and women cast in her direction. It wasn’t
surprising; she was a stunningly beautiful woman. He wondered how many of the
men also found her completely intimidating. She fitted in well with the
surroundings; Harry’s nightclub and restaurant made him feel as if he had
travelled back in time to the glamour of nineteen thirties high society London.
It had the ambience and style he remembered from the old Claridge’s or the
Savoy.

They headed away from the public areas down a quiet
carpeted corridor till they came to a large oak door. Cassia smiled at the
burly black suited man who put down his newspaper and stood as they approached.

“Evening Walt. Is he receiving?”

Javier swept an experienced eye over the man. Harry
might not carry a gun but Walt was certainly armed. He noted the suspicious
stare cast his way;

“He’s always in for you Miss Mathrafal. Who’s your
friend?”

“Oh he’s not my friend Walt, he’s my new bodyguard.
Had a spot of bother. Best to be careful. I’ll make sure he behaves.” Javier
swallowed his laugh as Cassia threw a disdainful look over her shoulder at him.

“Too right. Go straight in Miss. He’s a bit off colour
tonight, you’ll cheer him up.”

Walt held the door open and Javier followed Cassia
into an elegant wood panelled office.

The man who rose slowly and came round the desk with
his arms open had thick silver hair and a strong wiry build. He was a couple of
inches shorter than Cassia in her high heels and his smile as he clasped her
close was warm. Cassia hugged him back with equal affection then pulled away
and examined him anxiously;

“Harry, are you ill? Walt said you were a bit off
colour…”

“Oh don’t listen to him, lovely girl. I’m as strong as
an ox. Hip’s a bit dicky though. Getting old my love, getting old.” His voice
surprised Javier, it was deep and rich and cultured. Javier realized he had
been expecting some kind of stereotypical East End gangster. Intelligent shrewd
eyes swept him up and down;

“Introduce me to your friend Cassia.”

“This is Javier…”

Javier cut in and extended one of the business cards
from his pocket;

“Javier Alejandro Mr…?”

“Marshal. Harry Marshal.” Harry glanced at the card
then smiled thinly, his eyes amused;

“Import Export…conveniently vague Mr Alejandro.
Forgive me, you don’t come across as a businessman to me.”

Javier bent his head to one side; the expression in
this man’s eyes reminded him of LaSalle’s. Sharp, astute and perceptive. Cassia
looked from Harry to him then back again;

“No? What do I come across as?”

“I noticed you scan every corner of this room as you
came in. You did it in seconds. You carry a gun in your belt at the back; you
checked it automatically as you scoped the room. You have the physique of a man
of action, not a man who sits behind a desk. How am I doing Mr Alejandro…if
that is indeed your name?”

Javier couldn’t help smiling. He started to answer but
Cassia cut in;

“He is called Javier of Seville. He’s a soldier Harry
and, much to his dismay, he’s currently tasked with making sure I’m safe and
behaving myself.”

Javier couldn’t believe it. “Cass! Did no one ever
give you lessons in discretion?”

“I told you I trust Harry completely. We need to tell
him the whole story if we want his help.”

Harry interrupted smoothly;

“Well, excuse me you two. Do sit down. I’ll order some
refreshments then you, Javier of Seville, can tell me why my girl needs a
bodyguard.”

He spoke rapidly into the phone as Cassia and Javier
sat then raised an eyebrow at Cassia;

“He’s one of your lot isn’t he? Are you all like this
or is it just you two?”

“Like what Harry?” Cassia asked, looking puzzled.

“Tall, strong, physically perfect. Beautiful.”

“Er, you’ve never asked me anything like this before.”

“I’ve never seen another like you before. I’m right am
I not Javier? My Cassia was born in eighteen fifteen. What about you?”

Javier examined the Human calmly. This went against
all the rules; every instinct. He had been accidentally discovered before but
he had always wiped the memories from the Humans concerned. All they had been
left with was a half remembered dream; a ghost of a memory just out of their
grasp.

“I was born in Seville in the year seventeen hundred
and sixty seven. The Hanoverian, George the third was on the throne of your
country.”

Harry Marshal stared at Javier with fascination;

“My God, you’re two hundred and fifty years old. The
things you must have seen, the experience and wisdom you’ve accumulated; it’s
almost beyond my imagination. Could I ask you about it sometime?”

He paused as Javier remained silent then nodded once sharply;

“You do not trust me. Well, why should you? Back to
business perhaps. Now, both of you, what’s happened and why are you here? I
have never betrayed Cassia and I never shall; that much you can trust Javier of
Seville.”

Javier exchanged glances with Cassia. She turned her
attention back to the Human and Javier realized she loved him. He sighed
inwardly at the thought of the heartbreak waiting for her; sometimes their long
lifespan was a curse. Perhaps the ancestors had been thinking about more than the
exposure of their species when they had written the laws prohibiting close
contact with Humans.

Together they related the events of the last month;
Cassia starting the story and Javier picking it up from time to time, filling
in the details.  When they finished Harry looked sadly at Cassia;