by Ana Night
“So within a minute of us meeting?”
“Yep,” Sean said, looking completely serious.
Why wasn’t he surprised? He’d pretty much fallen in love with Sean at that exact time, too.
“I need to get started. It’ll take a while,” Sean said and stepped back, though he took Mal’s hand in his. “I need everything you have on this woman to create a full identity.”
Chapter Eight
Sean
HE COULD copy pretty much anything. Didn’t matter what media was used. He’d been doing fake ID’s for as long as he could remember. He used real social security numbers from deceased people to make sure whoever got his ID’s were as safe as possible. The ID itself wasn’t what took time. It was everything else. Making sure the SSN wouldn’t be traced back to someone else. Wiping the slate clean.
Just as Sean finished up, Emery called to say that Olivia was home alone. Her and Bones were parked in front of her apartment building and would stay there until Sean and Mal arrived.
Sean grabbed everything for Olivia and headed upstairs. He found Mal in the bedroom, talking on the phone. Sean put the bag on the bed and walked up behind Mal. He wrapped his arms around Mal and leaned his forehead against Mal’s shoulder. Mal put a hand over one of Sean’s and squeezed.
“Sure. We’ll be there,” Mal said and hung up.
Mal turned in Sean’s arms and raised a hand to cup Sean’s cheek. He leaned down to brush a kiss across Sean’s lips.
“Who was that?” Sean asked.
“The guy Bones set us up with to take Olivia out of the state. We were just arranging a meeting spot.”
Sean nodded and said, “Okay. Good. I’m done, so we can go now.”
“Let’s go, then,” Mal said.
They walked out to the car and Sean got behind the wheel. Mal had been limping a tiny bit but Sean knew it was probably worse than Mal let on. The second they’d gotten home, he’d ordered Mal to take his shirt off so he could clean and dress his wounds. Mal hadn’t complained.
Sean parked the car behind Emery’s and got out. When they approached the car, only Emery was there. She was leaned against the side of the car.
“Where’s Bones?” Sean asked.
“Olivia went for a stroll. He’s following her,” Emery said.
Just then, Emery’s phone beeped. She pulled it out of her back pocket to check it.
“That was Bones,” Emery said and looked up from her phone. “She went to buy some groceries and seems to be headed back here.”
“We need to get into her apartment before she gets back,” Mal said and turned to Emery. “You should stay.”
Sean snorted and said, “Good luck with that.”
Emery raised a brow at Sean who just shrugged. She turned to Mal and crossed her arms. “I’m going.”
“She could recognize you. If something goes wrong, she could ID you,” Mal said.
“You expecting this to go wrong?”
Mal shook his head. “No, but you never know.”
“I’ll take my chances,” Emery said.
“Let’s put your lockpicking skills to good use, then,” Sean said with an arched brow at Emery.
Mal
Emery picked the lock without trouble and once they entered the apartment, Sean disarmed the alarm with some fancy device he’d brought. Mal walked into the apartment and glanced around curiously. It looked normal. Lived-in. There were photos on the walls, dirty dishes in the sink, and a ridiculous amount of note pads strewn across the coffee table. From what he could tell, Olivia Butler was just a normal person. Why Yakov wanted her dead, Mal didn’t know. He planned on finding out, though. Anything he could get on Yakov was good.
“We’re gonna sit in the dark and wait for her, aren’t we?” Emery asked, sounding much too giddy about it.
“Yep,” Sean answered just as excitedly.
Mal shook his head at them but didn’t say anything. He was beginning to think that Emery was a bit of an adrenaline junky.
When he heard the front door open, Mal pulled his gun. There was some shuffling and then a female voice saying, “What the hell?”
She’d probably found that the alarm was off. She walked further into the apartment, towards them, and when she reached the living room, she turned on the light. The grocery bag she was holding hit the floor, sending the content rolling all over. She opened her mouth, then froze when her gaze landed on the gun in Mal’s hands.
“Hello, Olivia,” Mal said. “You have a choice to make.”
Olivia glanced between the three of them. She looked like she was about to run but when she whirled around, she found Bones standing between her and the door.
“You can either work with us, or you can die. The choice is yours.”
She turned back around to yell, “Who the fuck are you?” at Mal.
Mal stepped up right in front of her and said, “I’m the guy who has to kill you if you don’t do as you’re told.”
“Who are you and what do you want? I don’t have anything of value. You’re welcome to take whatever you want,” Olivia rambled.
“I was sent here to kill you, Olivia,” Mal said. “Now, I prefer not to do that. Which is why they are here. To offer you another way. They can help you fake your death.”
“What? Are you crazy?”
“Probably,” Mal muttered just low enough she couldn’t hear.
“This is insane.” Olivia shook her head. “How am I supposed to trust you?”
“Look, I'm sorry you have to go through this, but so do we. We don't have a choice either,” Sean said. “I wish there was another way, but there isn’t.”
Olivia seemed to deflate a bit after that, and she made her way to the couch which she sank into. She put her face in her hands and for a second, he thought she was crying, but then she started cursing. She groaned and let her hands fall to her sides. Emery sat down next to her and reached out to pat her hand.
“I know this isn’t easy, but you’re smart enough to realize that if we were here to just kill you, you’d be dead already. We’re here to help. The only way we can right now,” Emery said.
Mal holstered his gun and stepped in front of Olivia. “Do you know why Yakov Demidov wants you dead?”
Olivia’s eyes widened and she stared at him for a long time before saying, “Wade Collins.”
Mal was taken aback and from the shocked look on Sean’s face, so was he. That was the last thing he expected.
“What about him?” Mal asked.
“Someone killed him and left the cops evidence of the people he worked with,” Olivia said.
“He was working with Yakov?” Sean snorted and shook his head. “Why am I not surprised?”
Emery turned to Bones and asked, “Did you know that?”
Bones looked rather uncomfortable as he answered, “Yes. I didn’t think it had anything to do with this.”
“You have something on Yakov, don’t you?” Mal asked Olivia. “What is it and how did you get it?”
Olivia hesitated for a moment before saying, “A friend of mine is a cop. He gave me a copy of some of that information because his superiors didn’t want to look into that part. He thought they were trying to hide something.”
“Corruption,” Emery said.
Olivia glanced at Emery and gave her a short nod. “A lot of it.”
“Give me everything you’ve got,” Mal said.
She might not be able to use it, but he could.
Sean
He handed Olivia her new ID and documents. She frowned up at him but took them and stared at them for a while before blurting out, “These look real.”
“Thank you,” Sean said. “I’ve got your whole backstory. No one will be able to look at your info and see your identity suddenly appear out of the blue. I’ve got fake records of your time in foster care, two visits to the ER, and that one DUI.”
Olivia let out a groan. “You kept the D
UI?”
Sean couldn’t help his chuckle. “The best lies are the ones based on the truth.”
“I get a new identity, but I have to keep the damned DUI,” Olivia mumbled and threw Sean a dirty glare.
“Sorry. If it’s any consolation, Mal has decided to give you money to pay a deposit and two months' rent and there might even be enough for a used car.”
“Why are you guys doing this?”
Sean felt his lips quirk in the corners. “Sometimes, the bad guys just want to do something good. I like being able to help people in need and, well, I think Mal just doesn’t want your death on his conscience. But trust me, if he could just take out Yakov and make this contract on your life disappear, he would have.”
“Thank you,” Olivia said, a weak but grateful smile on her face.
“No worries. Here’s your new driver’s license,” Sean said and handed it to her.
She took it and grimaced when she saw the picture. “You just had to use that hideous picture again, didn’t you?” she asked with a sigh. “How did you even do all of this?”
A smile played on Sean’s lips. “I’ve got contacts. One of whom is an excellent hacker. I don’t leave anything to fate. The people I help have too much to lose for that.”
“Everyone is gonna think I’m dead,” Olivia said, a sad smile on her lips. “I’m not sure if I’m sad or relieved that no one is going with me.”
“I consider us lucky that you don’t have any close family. I would hate to put more people through this,” Sean said.
Olivia nodded and said, “Yeah. You’re right. I never thought I’d be happy about my inability to create and keep relationships.”
“You ready to do this?”
Olivia shook her head. “No. But now’s as good a time as ever, right? I mean, if you’re gonna fake your death you might as well work with professionals.”
“No sense in doing a half-assed job,” Sean said with a smile.
Olivia took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She nodded and said, “All right, let’s do this.”
“Good. I promise I’m gonna put your information to good use,” Sean said.
“Why can’t I just come forward with it?”
Sean felt for her. He really did.
“I wish you could. But do you really think you would stand a chance against the cops and several politicians? They would crucify you.”
“They had to have been scared of what I could do if they hired someone to kill me,” Olivia said.
“Maybe, but do you really wanna bet your life on it?”
Olivia sighed and shook her head.
“Look at it this way; you get to start over. New town, new life, new opportunities. You even get to work on your relationship skills,” Sean said with a cheeky smile.
Olivia flipped him off, making him laugh. They heard someone entering the room and both looked up to see Emery standing in the doorway, a bag slung over her shoulder.
“It’s time for the fun part,” Emery said and smiled deviously while rubbing her hands together.
Olivia looked at Sean and said, “I think she scares me the most of all of you.”
“I know, right?”
Mal
He walked through the factory, following one of Yakov’s men into the same room he’d been in earlier. Yakov was there, leaned against the far wall. Once Yakov’s men had left them alone, Yakov pushed away from the wall to walk closer to Mal.
“Malcolm,” Yakov said, a smug smile on his lips. “And here I thought you’d skipped out on me.”
Mal pulled out his phone and showed Yakov the picture he’d taken of Olivia. Emery had gone all out with the special effects makeup. She wasn’t a pro at it but what she’d done had looked convincing to him and he was sure it would to Yakov, too.
“I’m sure you’ll hear about it in the news soon,” Mal said and put his phone back into his pocket. “I got her to record a suicide note, and I also made sure no one will find the body.”
Yakov nodded slowly. “Good. No body, no unusual circumstances, no investigation. I like it.”
“I’m glad you approve, asshole,” Mal growled.
“Don’t be like that, Malcolm. We’re friends now.”
“We are so fucking far from being friends as you can get and if you ever come near me or my boyfriend, I will kill you,” Mal said. “If you ever contact me about a job again, I will also kill you. I don’t give a shit who you are.”
“You threatening me, Malcolm?”
Mal glared at Yakov. “No, I’m stating a fact. You get anywhere near me again, you’re gonna end up dead.”
“I don’t think you—”
Mal cut him off, saying, “No, I don’t think I’ve made myself quite clear. You stay away from us, or everything Olivia had on you and your friends in the government goes live everywhere. Something happens to any one of us and you’re done.”
Yakov straightened, a grim expression on his face.
“Duly noted,” Yakov said.
Mal glared at Yakov and said, “Goodbye, Yakov.”
He walked out of the room without looking back. Yakov wouldn’t like someone having something over him but for now, he’d need to regroup, maybe even kiss some politician and cop ass, before he could even begin to consider going after Mal.
Mal made his way out of the factory and walked across the parking lot. Sean was leaned against the car, his eyes following Mal as he approached.
“How’d it go?”
Mal felt a smile tug at his lips as he wrapped his arms around Sean’s middle.
“That good, huh?”
“Yep,” Mal said and lowered his head to kiss Sean.
Sean cupped Mal’s face in his hands and opened his mouth for him. Mal slid his tongue inside, tasting and exploring every inch of Sean’s mouth. He wasn’t the least bit worried about Yakov right then. Yakov wouldn’t dare touch them. At least not for a while.
Sean pulled back, a smile on his red, puffy lips. Mal reached out to rub his thumb over Sean’s lower lip. He wanted to take the man home, fuck him, love him, for days. He never wanted to let him go.
“So, all these corrupt people,” Sean began.
“What about them?”
Sean shrugged. “Someone should stop them.”
“And those someones should be us?”
“Well, we all need hobbies, right?”
Mal couldn’t help his bark of laughter. He shook his head.
“You’re crazy.”
Sean nodded and said, “Yeah, but you still love me.”
“I do. But I mostly love your ass.”
Chapter Nine
Sean
HE FOUND himself humming along to the music playing in his office. The business was back up and running. His work with the Kings was back on track as well. His men had been eager to get back to work and, surprisingly, so had he. Everything had been running smoothly for a good while now.
He looked up when he felt eyes on him. Mal was standing in the doorway, watching him with a loving smile on his lips. Sean put down the checklist he’d been going through and walked up to Mal, wrapping his arms around him and tilting his head back to meet Mal’s gaze.
“So, Mr.-Head-of-security, am I safe?”
Mal arched a brow at Sean and said, “Of course you are. You have me protecting you.”
Mal had refused to leave his side so Sean had given him something to do so they wouldn’t drive each other completely crazy. Mal’s assassin days were behind him. There hadn’t even been a discussion about it. Mal had just sat down in front of Sean and said that if they were really doing this relationship thing, then he didn’t want his job to get in the way. Mal wasn’t the kind to leave behind loose ends, but they both knew shit could slip through the cracks. He knew Mal was bound to have made some enemies along the way, but he was willing to face whatever came their way, as long as it was with Mal by his side. Otherwise, there’d be no point. He was
not going to exert himself for no damned reason.
Of course, there was the looming threat of Yakov. But they were working on that. Emery had access to a lot of information through her job and she was doing her part to gather evidence on these guys. Olivia had set them up with the cop friend who’d given her the documents and he was also helping them as much as he could. Fortunately, his bosses didn’t seem to know how Olivia got ahold of the documents, so he was safe for now. The reason Yakov and his business partners had found out about Olivia’s research was because she’d talked to someone she shouldn’t have. But she was safe now.
“The guys still treating you all right?” Sean asked Mal.
A smug smile spread on Mal’s lips. “If you mean; are they scared shitless of me? Then yes. They’re treating me just fine.”
Sean tsked and shook his head. “You’re so bad.”
“Someone told you otherwise?” Mal asked with a raised brow.
Sean brushed his lips over Mal’s and said, “No, and you know I like you just the way you are. Thank you for doing this and being here with me.”
Mal looked completely serious as he said, “No other place I’d rather be.”
Sean couldn’t help his smile. He didn’t know how but he’d somehow managed to get everything he’d ever wanted. Having Mal look at him like he thought Sean was the sexiest man on the planet, having Mal loving him, was beyond anything he could’ve ever imagined.
“I love you, and your ass,” Sean said.
Mal pressed a kiss to Sean’s lips and said, “I love you, too. But I really need to get back to work.”
Sean thrust his lip out in a pout. “Do you have to?”
Mal chuckled and nodded. “Yes, and so do you. This business isn’t gonna run itself.”
Mal was busy creating and implementing new security measures so no one could do what Wade had ever again. He’d been training the men so, hopefully, they wouldn’t lose anyone else. Sean had awful when he found out Wade had killed a few of his employees. Most of them were warehouse workers and delivery drivers, though they knew exactly what they were working with. He’d never really had the need for security before Wade. Now, he wasn’t gonna take any chances and Mal seemed perfectly fine as the head of security.