The CrimeLords' War (The Adventures of Xavier & Vic Book 7) Page 2

  Cannon screamed in outrage at his pack mate’s future.

  “Which is why you should behave, so no one throws you out.” She turned and stormed out with Cannon screaming in fury.

  Gregory came out to investigate.

  Vic still held the boy by his belt. “He’s not growling,” she cheerfully pointed out and headed back to Tubs’ bedroom. Seeing no point in knocking, given she wouldn’t be able to hear anyone tell her to enter, she opened the door and walked in.

  Tubs lay on the bed, his brow furrowed at her arrival…or perhaps at her noisy sidekick. Poor Sara was asleep in the high back. God, how tired did she have to be not to wake from Cannon’s screams?

  Now spotting his kind and loving nanny, he ceased screaming and called out to her instead. “Sara…Sara…save me.”

  “You’re dealing with me, Cannon,” Vic warned and walked to Tubs then sat down on the side of his bed.”

  “You all right? You seem out of sorts?” Tubs asked and coughed as if his lungs were filled with phlegm.

  “I’m upset with myself. While I was dodging my best friend because I’m suffering guilt that he took three shots meant for me, my son has gone feral and my friend has become lazy.”

  “Sorry about the feral boy. I told Sara she doesn’t have to watch me all the time. It’s not like I’m doing anything.”

  “Well, as of now, that’s in the past. You and I are going to teach Cannon to be human, and we’ll start with showing him how to walk.”

  “Sounds like a good idea,” Tubs said with a heavy sigh, followed by racking coughs.

  “Glad you think so.” She dumped Cannon at his side and left the room, running immediately into Gregory.

  “Any idea where Casey might be? Tubs has agreed to walk, but he’s very weak, so I’ll probably need help holding him up.”

  Gregory’s eyebrows rose an inch. “I will locate Casey and Fagan.

  “Great…who is Fagan?”

  “The driver in training,” Gregory replied. “Did the Queen by chance hit you on the head when you were knighted?”

  “I don’t remember. Perhaps you can call her up on your telephone and ask her. I’m sure she has one.”

  Gregory huffed and stormed off.

  When Vic returned to Tubs’ bedroom, Sara was awake, trying to soothe Cannon, who had clearly missed her a great deal.

  “Where’s Ham?” Vic asked as she took back Cannon.

  For a moment, Vic’s question seemed to baffle Sara. How could she lose her baby? But Vic knew the answer. Poor thing was ready to drop from exhaustion.

  “Tubs, Sara and I are going to find my namesake.” She grabbed Sara’s arm and pulled her to the second room, where she hoped, she’d find Ham.

  She located the smiling giant baby standing in his crib. The boy was not yet a year old, but he was already standing on those giant legs of his. She held up Cannon. “See how tall Ham is. That’s because he standing like a human. Good job, Ham!” she praised.

  The boy smiled and laughed until Cannon growled.

  “Stop that, Cannon. As of now you will no longer growl.”

  He looked up at her as if she were the queen of hypocrisy. “And just to be fair, I will also cease to growl.”

  Suddenly she heard Tubs ordering someone out of his room. She handed Cannon to Sara. “Stay here, I’ll handle Tubs.”

  “No, I’ll do it,” she said as she wobbled with exhaustion.

  “Not until you’ve had six hours of solid sleep. Which means I better take Ham and Cannon, or you’ll not sleep a wink.” While Ham would probably let his mother sleep in peace, Cannon would not.

  She returned to Tubs’ room, pleased to see neither of her help had left. “Casey, Fagan, thank you for coming.”

  “They aren’t needed,” Tubs grumbled.

  “Maybe you don’t need them, but I do. I don’t think I can help you stand, but I’m sure Casey and Fagan can.” She sat down in Sara’s chair. “So we’ll sit here, and you show Cannon how to go about standing up…with help of course.” She nodded at Casey and Fagan to approach Tubs.

  “Vic, I can barely breathe. Not up to standing.”

  “The reason you can’t breathe is because you’re used to standing. Dr. Connors should have gotten you to your feet right after the operation. This lying about is killing you.”

  He stared at her for a long moment. “Are you certain about this?”

  She nodded. “My gut says you have to stand. No more lying down for you. It’s unnatural.”

  Thick gurgling coughs stopped his ability to speak. “He’ll stop coughing if you get him up,” she said to Casey. Instantly the two young men wrestled Tubs off the bed into a precarious and clearly hard to maintain standing position. True to her claim, his coughing subsided.

  “Look Cannon, Tubs is standing. Would you like to try?”

  The boy shook his head.

  “How about you, Ham. Show your father how it’s done.” She sat the boy on the floor and he pushed himself up and stumbled to his father, hugging his leg.

  Tubs smiled down at the boy, tears welling in his eyes.

  Hating to be outdone, Cannon grabbed Vic’s leg and forced himself up.

  Vic stood. “Look at us. Everyone is standing!” She clapped her hands and soon both babies were applauding as well.

  Noticing the strain on Casey and Fagan’s faces, she realized her triumph had come to its fruitful end. She rushed to the bed and instructed Tubs to be placed further up so his chest remained vertical. Once he was sitting in the bed, she sent Casey and Fagan to ask Gregory for more pillows.

  The moment they left, she hugged Tubs and kissed his bald head, beaded with sweat. “You did it, Tubs. You made your first step to recovery.”

  “Why didn’t Connors tell me lying down was bad for me?” he asked.

  “He might not know.”

  “Then how did you know?”

  She shrugged. “You’ve never lay down when you were ill. You’ve always kept moving.” She sighed heavily. “I’m sorry I’ve been such a bad friend…” She glanced at Cannon. “and mother.” She hugged him again. “But as of now, you and Cannon are my top priorities.”

  Satisfied he was comfortable, she retrieved both boys and insisted he hold them with hands extended.

  He shook his head. “I’m not very strong now.”

  “You have to fix that, and the boys want to help.” She held out Ham. “You won’t drop them.”

  He sighed and held his palms out so she could place each boy on a hand and arm. “Now hold on,” she warned as she settled Ham on his left arm. Once he gripped his father’s arm, she placed Cannon on his right arm.

  A firm knock sounded on the door, then Gregory entered with a great deal of pillows. His brow furrowed at the boys clinging to Tubs extended arms, then he smiled. He added the extra pillows to Tubs’ back then gave Vic a nod of approval.

  Tubs continued to lift the boys, who encouraged him with happy giggles, until he truly could do no more.

  “You’ll do even more tomorrow,” she promised him. She then kissed her son. “And you did a great job, too. We’ll have the two of you walking in no time at all.”

  Noticing a chastised bloodhound in the corner of the room she gathered the boys and sat on the floor where Tubs could see them and played a game with the three.

  No one got bit and no one growled. Day one of her critical mission was going well.

  When Gregory brought them dinner, she was about to scold her butler-parent for the meager bowl of soup he brought Tubs, only his words silenced her. “I had the cook put shredded beef in your soup tonight. It should help rebuild your muscles.”

  He then smiled at Vic. “Might I speak to you for a moment?”

  She left her food reluctantly and followed him into the hall. Gregory shocked her by breaking his own rule that gentlemen never hug. He pulled her into his arms and briskly hugged her, then released her. “When do you plan to have Tubs stand again?”

  “When he seems rested enoug
h.”

  “Were you expecting that to be today?”

  “Yes. He needs to be active.”

  “The problem is, Casey and Fagan may not be up to the task for another week. They appear to have pulled muscles in their assistance today.”

  She sighed heavily. “Send them my apology.” How would Tubs ever heal without safely standing?

  She smiled as an answer came to her. “Will you call David at his dentistry shop and ask him to stop by on his way home. I have a challenge for him.”

  Gregory frowned. “You cannot expect David to be able to lift Tubs.”

  Vic laughed at the idea. Her brother-in-law weighed no more than she did. “Of course not. I expect him to devise some method for Tubs to walk on his own.”

  That earned her a second hug. She smiled at her grand achievement.

  “Now back to your mission,” Gregory scolded and left her.

  She returned to Tubs’ room to discover her son and Arroo finishing the last of her lunch.

  “Sorry, they aren’t listening to me,” Tub apologized.

  “You gave them an order to stop and they didn’t?” she clarified.

  “Cannon did, but Arroo kept eating, which made Cannon return to the troth.”

  She sighed heavily and picked up Arroo. “You were warned what would happen if you misbehaved.”

  “No!” Cannon screamed as Vic carried the hound from the room.

  The dog bayed in misery the whole way to the back door. “Arroo listen to me. If you make such a racket while you hide beneath the steps, the feral dogs will find you. You must be quiet!”

  Arroo whimpered and licked her arm.

  “I am heartbroken that you chose to be punished,” she said. “Please stay beneath the stairs and be very quiet. I will retrieve you in an hour and you can play with the boys again.”

  She gently set the half grown pup outside and watched him scurry beneath the steps. After searching the garden for any trouble, she closed the door.

  And ran into Gregory.

  “Did you just throw the dog outside?”

  “I gently set him down, but he’s to stay out for an hour.”

  “What did he do?”

  “He ate my lunch.”

  “And where were you?”

  “Talking to you in the hall.”

  “Ah…and do you think this will work?”

  She sighed. “I hope so. Otherwise they are simply being traumatized.”

  “And what punishment do you have in mind for Cannon?”

  “The temporary loss of Arroo. Tubs told them to leave my food alone. Cannon obeyed until he saw Arroo eating my lunch and Tubs could do nothing to stop him.”

  Gregory sighed. “I called David and gave him your message. He was not satisfied with such minimal information and demanded more, so I explained the situation a little better. He says he will be here within the hour. Shall I have the cook serve you another meal in the meantime?”

  She smiled with happiness. “Yes, please…and if I forget, would you let Arroo in precisely at…four minutes after one?”

  “I will ensure Arroo is let in if you are too busy to handle the matter.” Gregory turned and shook his head as he walked down the hall.

  She had clearly gotten him out of sorts with her last request, but God only knew what she’d be doing an hour from now.

  By the time she returned to Tubs’ room a new lunch had been delivered and placed on Tubs’ bed stand. She eyed it hungrily. “Is that yours or mine?”

  He smiled. “Yours. I couldn’t trust Cannon not to retaliate. He’s been in bad humor ever since you left.”

  She noticed Ham was on the bed relaxing in the crook of his father’s massive arm. His cheeks seemed shiny as if he’d been crying.

  Spotting a red circle on the chubby boy’s arm, she went to investigate. “Did Cannon bite Ham?”

  “He’s fine,” Tubs stated.

  “He’s more than fine. He’s a wonderful baby,” she said and kissed his red whelp. The adorable cherub smiled at her.

  She then turned to Cannon who growled at her. “Cannon, we’ve already had this discussion. You were never ever to bite Ham again.”

  Her son stared defiantly at her. He seemed most pleased with himself. No doubt he expected to be tossed out like Arroo.

  “Well, you know the punishment,” she warned.

  He trotted on all fours to the door. She followed him and swatted him on his butt. He endured his punishment and head thumped the door. No doubt he wished to be tossed out with Arroo.

  She ignored him and retrieved her lunch.

  He growled and she ignored that as well.

  When he tried to pull down her plate, she slapped his hand. “No!”

  Having no recourse, Cannon burst into tears. Fearing, he would wake up Sara, she picked him up and put him in the hall.

  She called for Gregory and then returned to her meal.

  “So how come you got so much time on your hands?” Tubs asked.

  “Xavier has broken his promise and gone out on a mission alone.” She then told him how he’d handcuffed her and left at two in the morning.

  “Is that why you came to visit me today?” Tubs asked.

  Vic paused, knowing Tubs needed motivation to get better, not pity.

  “His declaration was enough to get me over my guilt,” she admitted.

  “You have nothing to feel guilty over. I was doing my job.”

  “I know…but I should have interrogated Xavier more. If I had known the young men looked like the butler, I would have realized who they were before we arrived.”

  Tubs shrugged. “Water under the bridge. Let it go.”

  “I can’t until we get back to work. Right now all I can do is think about my mistake…” She smiled. “Only today I didn’t think about it. Today, I focused on making my dog and Cannon return to well behaved dog and child.”

  Tubs scratched his head. “You have a bit of work still to do there.”

  “A bit? I’m not sure I made any progress at all. Thankfully, my other mission looks much more promising.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Getting you well so you and I can return to doing what we love most.”

  Before Tubs could give her bad news she didn’t want to hear, she continued. “Don’t bother saying that’s not possible, because it has to be. Xavier will not allow me to work without you. So our fates are tied together, and honestly, I think everyone will be better if I work on getting you well and Sara takes back the pups. Evidently, Gregory’s method of discipline doesn’t work well on my son. Speaking of which, swing your legs off the bed so the boys can ride them.”

  She opened the hall door and retrieved Cannon by his pants. Her boy growled.

  “No growling. Do it again and you won’t get to ride Tubs’ leg,” she warned.

  Once Tubs had his legs over the side she placed Ham on the left leg and Cannon on the right and smiled as the boys squealed in happiness as they went up and down, first Ham and then Cannon in repetition.

  Because the boys were having so much fun, Tubs pushed it to the very end of his ability. When he couldn’t do more, Vic put both boys on the bed and struggled to lift Tubs’ legs back upon the bed.

  They were so focused on the legs lifts and the boys pleasure than neither noticed they had company. Dr. Connors came to Vic’s assistance and helped shift Tubs back onto the bed.

  “Would you rather be lying down?” he asked Tubs.

  Vic and Tubs answered ‘no’ in unison. “Tubs is used to standing. Laying down so much made his lungs clog up.”

  Connors returned to his bag and pulled out his stethoscope. Noticing the boys, now curled up to each side of Tubs he frowned. “Where’s Sara?”

  “Sleeping,” Vic replied. “She’s exhausted. So Tubs is helping me with the boys and one unruly pup. Which reminds me…I have to get Arroo. Don’t say anything interesting while I’m gone.”

  Chapter 2

  The moment Vic left the room, Dr. C
onnors began his exam, working around the babies, which Tubs refused to relinquish.

  To his surprise, Tubs’ lungs sounded stronger. “Your breathing appears better today.”

  “That’s because Vic figured out I’m not meant to lay down all the time. I thought I was dying, but turns out I just need to move about.”

  “Well, it’s contrary to my standard medical advice, but had Vic decided to go into medicine he’d probably be turning over most everything I learned.”

  Tubs chuckled. “I ‘spect that’s true.”

  He sat down beside Tubs. “So what has Vic asked you to do today?”

  “First, he made me stand, so Cannon could see how to do so. Then my boy stood and walked to me,” he added in pride.

  “Did Cannon stand?” Connors asked. He knew Xavier worried about his boy not walking yet.

  “He did.”

  Connors refocused on the material point to this story. “You were able to stand?” Yesterday, he had warned Gregory he didn’t think Tubs would live much longer.

  “Not really, but I couldn’t let Vic down. So with the help of Casey and Fagan I tried. To be honest, they did the hard work. However, once I returned to the bed, but sitting upright, not lying down, Vic decided I needed to lift the boys lying on my arms. Those two were having so much fun that I kept at it until I couldn’t get them up anymore.

  "Then, I ate more than I have been. And honestly after lifting the boys on my legs, I’m looking forward to dinner.”

  Dr. Connors inspected his legs, massaging the muscles, which caused Tubs to groan.

  “Does that hurt?”

  “No, it feels great.”

  Connors massaged both legs and was working on his arm when Vic returned with a subdued bloodhound.

  Connor clapped his hands and howled. “Arroooooo.”

  Ham joined him. “Arrooooo.”

  Tubs chuckled. “Let him come up as well. That way I can keep them in line.”

  Vic rewarded Tubs with a smile and then looked at Connors. “Tubs is getting better now.”

  Dr. Connors chuckled. “Yes, evidently ignoring my medical advice proved to be exactly what he needed.” He gripped Vic’s shoulder. “Your fabulous intuition still works. Rest does not suit Tubs. However, massaging the muscles and then wrapping them with cold cloths will help reduce swelling from his efforts and make the next day’s efforts less painful and more effective.”