Javier (Alpha Heroes #12)

Chapter Forty-two

Missy

After three years away, my first look at Astor House came from the back of the Land Rover that drove us from the airstrip. Under the headlights, the massive iron gates parted, dividing the scrolled “A” in the middle. In the darkness of night, the small caravan of vehicles accelerated down the road.

At the top of the hill, my father’s enormous mansion sprawled, a rambling, ostentatious monstrosity that combined every grandiose architectural style known to humans into one of America’s largest and most rambunctious palatial estates.

Illuminated by the light of a faint moon and framed by the majestic Rockies, the mansion stood at the center of a scenic valley, overlooking a tiered garden and a vast blue lake. Four massive towers pierced the night sky and anchored the building, each housing the set of rooms assigned to his four daughters. One of those towers was mine.

The sight was bittersweet. Memories of my siblings’ laughter shared the same headspace that echoed with my father’s rage. The old vagus nerve balked. I took a deep breath and put it in its place.

From his spot sitting next to me, Javier squeezed my hand. “Are we doing okay?”

Before I could answer, the vehicle pulled under the portico. Our small party streamed through the massive medieval doors, advanced between the suits of arms down the dark corridor, and stepped out to the light of the chandeliers pouring down on the ballroom-sized atrium where we’d all been forced to learn how to dance the freaking waltz.

“Surprise!”

The happy chorus echoed in the huge space. The room’s grandiose dimensions, the enormous stone staircase, and the gilded balconies overlooking the space dwarfed the table at the center, which was by no means small. It was piled with drinks and tiered trays of food and surrounded by familiar faces. Taped to the tablecloth was a handwritten sign that said Welcome Home .

“You.” Dash pointed from Javier to the chair at one end of the table. “Sit.”

Javier rolled his eyes, but he relented. Keeping his hand in his sling and flanked by Kai and me, he eased down on the chair. This seemed to be the cue for the celebrations to begin. The rest of the crew surged forward. Conversation and laughter echoed throughout the house as folks exchanged greetings. The team attacked the feast like a ferocious pack going into a feeding frenzy. For a moment, I just stood there with my hand on Javier’s shoulder, as if protecting him from my ghosts.

Despite the late hour, a fire roared in the giant hearth, reflecting on the black-and-white marble tiles and warming not only the space, but my insides. The team’s jokes and laughter rang all around me like music, bringing different memories to play.

In my mind’s eye, I saw Thena and Cece practicing their ballet moves in the middle of the hall. I remembered Affie, clowning around, pretending to do a strip tease as she walked down the stairs, keeping the rest of us in stitches. I recalled Nix and Dash, hot and sweaty, sprawled on the cool tiles after a ten-mile run on a summer day.

It struck me that, to this moment, I’d been afraid of returning to Astor House, of the dreadful memories and the coldness that settled in my bones whenever I spent time here.

When I was a kid, the mere sight of my smoldering father stalking this enormous house made me tremble, cower, and cry. But now, I didn’t feel like crying. Even surrounded by these big, strong, powerful men, I felt safe, empowered, and capable of holding my own.

The old fear was gone from my soul. Looking at the men of Tracker Team, seeing Javier for who he was, I knew the truth. There were good males in the world, men who valued women as their equals, who were willing to embark in love’s dangerous adventure.

Javier was right. With Tracker Team based out of the mansion, something felt different. The house felt hospitable and hopeful. It was as if the place had evolved with the times and changed along with me.

“Missy!” Sandy beamed as she caught me in her arms. “You’re home at last!”

Sandy had been our housekeeper since forever. These days, she managed the estate. Her dark hair had grayed, but the same strength of character lingered in her tall figure and her lean, long face. Her husband, Cook, was next in line to hug me. The rotund little man was the resident chef. He settled a small, gilded plate topped with a frilly cupcake in my hand.

“Your favorite,” he said in his British accent and his smile lifted my lips. “Strawberry shortcake. And for you, sir.” He placed another plate before Javier. It was neatly stacked with cookies. “They’re still warm from the oven.”

Javier grabbed a cookie and stuffed it in his mouth. “Cook, you da man.”

A copper-skinned, fair-haired beauty took Cook’s place and planted a smooch on Javier’s face. A tiny prickle of jealousy stabbed at me. Okay, so it wasn’t so tiny. I felt like an alpha she-wolf ready to fight for her mate.

“Welcome back, Goofman,” the woman said. “I guess you’re now royalty around here.” She grabbed the sides of her gypsy skirt and pretended to do a curtsy before she taunted him with a playful grin. “I’ll admit that you had me nervous, for like, sixty seconds. I bet that snake threw up after she bit you. Just joking,” she rushed to add when I frowned. “I’m sure he’s delish.”

“This brainy beauty is Mina Moses.” Javier motioned to the woman. “As you know, Mina’s our team’s brilliant cyber-hunter-in-chief.”

“Brilliant’s good, though you could’ve added gorgeous and extraordinary, you know, to make me look good.” The woman grabbed my hand and pumped it, setting all the bangles and bracelets she wore aflutter. “You hid good, girl. Respect.”

“She’s the one who found you,” Javier reminded me.

“Yes.” My fingers were gonna fall off if she kept shaking them so hard. “Thank you.”

“No worries.” She flashed another bright grin, grabbed the cupcake from my plate, and took a big bite. “Don’t be cross,” she spoke through a mouthful. “There are many more where those came from. We can always share.”

“The cupcake, maybe.” I eyed the woman before me. “Not Javier.”

For an instant she stiffened. Then she burst out laughing. “And here I thought you’d be baby putty, you know, easy to mold. But you’re fierce, girl. You’re like a lioness. I love your fangs. You’re legit.”

“I see you’ve met Mina.” Thena threw an arm over me and another one over the other woman’s shoulders, bringing the three of us closer together. “Since she got here, she’s been my lifeline.”

“Don’t know about that.” Mina flushed, not unlike me, and I felt an instant kinship with a woman’s whose skin also betrayed her. “I’m a little feral, but you’ll get used to me.”

“I like feral,” I grinned. “I’m working toward feral.”

“Girl, you’re a hoot.” Mina laughed some more before she sobered up. “Goddess was pining hard for you. She keeps me stocked with cheers and sweets. The least I could do was find her darling Missy.”

I smiled at the woman. “Thanks for being there for my sister when I wasn’t.”

“I do love a good family reunion.” She blinked tears from her eyes. “As to your warning about not sharing Javier, you can keep him. I’ve got my own hunk.” She swung an arm in the air. “And here he comes. Ta-dah!”

“Trev!” I cried out when he rolled up to me in his sleek wheelchair. “It’s so wonderful to see you. You look—”

“Hot as hell?” Mina interjected, plopping down on his lap. “Handsome as the devil? Gorgeous as a demigod? Well, yes, he’s all that and more. He’s also very mine.”

Laughing at Mina’s antics, I hugged Trevor Marks, one of my brother and Dash’s best friends. “I can’t believe you’re here. You look good, happy. Did this snarky lady do this to you?”

“She’s guilty as charged.” Trev let go of me and smiled at his adoring wife before he met my gaze again. “I’m so glad you’re back, Button Nose. You, too, Goof. I believe King has arranged a surprise for both of you.”

Javier cocked his eyebrows. “Not for nothing, but we’ve had enough surprises for a lifetime.”

“This one’s good.” Trev turned his wheelchair around.

“You’ll like it,” Kai assured us. “No reptiles. Ladies, if you please?”

Sister Janet and Sister Elsa stepped out into the light and waddled to us in their black habits. I squealed and met them halfway.

“Top of the wee hours of the morning to ye.” Sister Janet held me tight before she released me from her embrace and inspected me with her shrewd gaze. “Glad to see our wain’s doing well.”

“Bless your heart, Missy.” Sister Elsa found my feet with her cane and hugged me before we linked arms and returned to Javier’s side. “You all made it, praise the Lord.”

“Ye feckle lout.” Sister Janet wagged a stubby finger at Javier. “Ye gave us a fright, ye big oaf. Did ye think ye were St. Patrick driving out the serpents from Ireland? No more snakes fer ye, lad.”

“Believe me, sister.” Javier leaned forward in his chair and enveloped the little nun in his good arm. “I’m happy to be alive. Hell, I’m even happy to see you again, Cherry Tart.”

Sister Janet cackled and stepped aside to give Sister Elsa a turn at Javier. Reaching for both of our hands, she held them tightly. “I knew this pot and this lid went together.”

“I’m so happy to see you again,” I said, unable to wipe the smile from my face. “But what on earth are you two doing here?”

“I invited them,” Kai said, his face oddly closed.

“This house needs prayers.” Sister Janet grinned her crooked smile.

“We’re here to ensure you all get them,” Sister Elsa added. “We’ve made ourselves a nice little chapel over at the spa.”

“Well, maybe you can pray and get a massage at the same time,” Javier quipped.

When the laughter died down, Kai spoke. “I brought them here for their protection.”

“For their protection?” A frown tensed my forehead. “From who?” When no one answered my questions, the words just drifted out of my mouth. “The NWO and Xao Li. Am I right?”

The welcome party was over. Every face in the room turned somber. I’d thought the nuns would be safe once they were behind their convent’s walls. I’d been mistaken.

“Let’s regroup in the library,” Dash suggested. “Sisters, Sandy, Cook, thanks for this wonderful welcome. Please excuse us while we go to work.”

“Of course,” Sandy spoke for the lot. “We’ll be in the kitchen if you need us.”

Dash and Thena led us into the library. Judging by the sheer number of screens and laptops populating the place, the library had become Tracker Team’s headquarters.

When we were all seated around the conference table, Javier looked from Kai to Dash. “Did the NWO threaten the nuns?”

“They tried to kidnap them,” Kai said. “When they couldn’t, they resorted to terrorizing them.”

“They threatened them?” I asked, my voice faint.

“Not just them,” Dash said. “But you and Javier as well, all of us, really.”

Javier growled. “How?”

“Someone left us a ‘gift’ at the altar.”

“You mean at the convent?” I asked.

“I made sure the convent was safe,” Kai volunteered. “They couldn’t get in there and they couldn’t get into BB’s servers, either. So, instead, whoever delivered Li’s message left it on the city’s cathedral after a mass that the sisters had organized.”

I gulped dryly. Several people swore out loud.

“So, the sisters found the message,” Javier concluded and Kai nodded.

“What does it say?” I asked.

Dash nodded to Mina, who pulled out a small tablet. “No prints. No IP addresses. No way to track shit. No trackers to find us, either.”

“We did the full sweep,” Trev added.

“It’s basically a shell,” Mina said. “It flashes only one message. A permanent one.”

Javier took the tablet from Trev. We all huddled around him. The tablet streamed a message, news ticker style. Tracker Team, your time’s running out. Bring it to me before the countdown gets to zero or she will die .

“Who’s ‘she?’” Thena asked, her voice shaky.

“We don’t know,” Dash said. “It could be Affie. Or Cece. Li could be bluffing. Or not.”

“Oh, my God.” My stomach plunged and the warmth drained out of my bones.

Javier put his arm over my shoulders and drew me closer to his side. “How much time do we have?” he asked.

“Two weeks,” Mina said. “Less than that now.”

“The fucker doesn’t tell us what ‘it’ is.” Javier contemplated the message in his hands. “How are we supposed to bring him anything if we don’t know what he means?”

“He assumes we know,” I realized.

“That’s the problem.” Thena grimaced. “We don’t.”

Finn cursed under his breath. Matt huffed. Micah clenched his massive jaw.

“I say we give him something,” Javier proposed.

“Something like what?” I asked.

“He didn’t name it,” Javier pointed out. “We don’t have to name it, either.”

“We can gain time pretending we’re going to comply,” Kai caught up to Javier’s plan.

“Exactly.” Javier set the tablet down. “Meanwhile, we can find Cece and Affie, and also whatever the hell it is that Li wants from us.”

“But how do we contact a fucker who can’t be contacted?” Micah asked.

“Leave that to me.” Mina smirked.

“To us,” Trev put in. “Just craft a message and we’ll deliver it.”

“How about via a round to the head?” Finn suggested.

Matt scoffed. “Find the invisible man, and you can be our courier.”

“The most important question is how do we get Cece and Affie out of harm’s way?” I reminded everyone, the urgency rippling through me in waves of anxiety.

“We’re working around the clock to locate them,” Mina said.

“We’ll find them.” Javier whispered in my ear. “You’ll see, Angel. We’ll find them, before time runs out.”