by TJ Nichols
“Felicity is very good.”
“I put the files in my shop accounts folder. Besides. They want the info, there it is. Maybe they’ll back off.”
Olivier just looked at him. It wouldn’t be that simple, and it all depended on who had the bag. Maybe it was lying in the flower bed forgotten. He hoped so.
“Or not.” Cody lay down and pulled the sheets up. “Was she your last serious relationship?”
“No. That would be Tony. That was almost normal, but he had no idea what I did.” Olivier really didn’t want to talk about it. He turned off the light and took off his clothes. They wouldn’t stop bullets, and if anyone wanted them dead, there would be no half measures. He set the alarm for six, knowing he was going to feel like shit when it went off. Then he lay down. The bed had a bounce to it. Had it ever actually been slept in?
Don’t think about it.
He closed his eyes, but he was now wide-awake and very aware of the man lying next to him—the way he breathed and fidgeted as though he couldn’t sleep either.
“I might die tomorrow,” Cody said. “Do you think Connor thought about death when he went to sleep?”
“I do.” He was always glad he’d lived another day, but he knew that it might be his last. And no day had ever felt as final as today. He refused to think about the problems that were waiting for him or that Dani had no idea her world had been torn apart.
“Every night?”
“Most. I didn’t at first, but then after a while, I wondered how long until it was my turn. Some days I was sure I could feel it coming for me, but then I’d lie down at the end of another day and I was still alive.”
“I don’t want to think about dying.” Cody moved closer and kissed him.
“I’m your distraction?” he murmured against Cody’s lips. Olivier didn’t mind being a distraction. He needed one. Maybe he’d be able to sleep after. He pulled Cody closer.
“I shouldn’t like you,” Cody whispered.
“I know.” But the curse had been dragging them together for so long that maybe that was the only way it could end. Olivier had been with people for worse reasons, and he was starting to find it hard to imagine not having Cody around. Yet they would part. Cody lived on the other side of the country, and Olivier had new responsibilities, so he pushed away the pain that threatened to rise. He would steal this night for himself. His curse was gone. He was allowed to enjoy something. “Maybe some good can come out of this.”
Cody touched him and ran his fingers along his length. Olivier hardened further, unable to hide his attraction. He reached out to grab his wallet. This time he had condoms.
“You were hopeful.” Cody had his hand wrapped around him. His own dick pressed against Olivier’s thigh.
“Was I wrong?” He tore open the packet and rolled it on.
Cody rolled off him to lie on his stomach. He opened his legs. “No. But you’re going to suck me after this time.”
“If you can hold out.” He teased Cody’s opening with his fingertip, but he wanted him to hold out.
“I can wait, but let’s not make this a marathon.”
They were both aware that morning was creeping closer. When daylight came, there was a chance everything could fall apart. Even though the breaking of the curse had changed something between them, there was still a gap—as though they didn’t want to get too close, not when death might tear through and open new wounds.
He kissed Cody’s back and up his spine to the base of his neck. Cody moved as Olivier found a ticklish spot. He moved his other hand lower, over the curve of Cody’s butt. Cody lifted his hips and invited a deeper touch.
Olivier wanted to go slow. It was probably their last time.
He knelt between Cody’s legs and enjoyed the sight of him spread on the bed in the soft shadows of the room. Olivier was tempted to turn on the light, but he didn’t.
With spit-slick fingers, he teased Cody until he offered up his ass. Then he entered, and they both groaned. In that breath the last thing he wanted was to go slow. He wanted everything Cody would give him.
Like every other room in the hotel, theirs was filled with the sound of flesh on flesh and soft moans of pleasure. As he came Olivier let himself collapse forward to lie on Cody and feel his body against him. Cody shuddered, and Olivier smiled. “Couldn’t wait?”
Cody sucked in a breath. “Waiting, barely.”
Neither of them shifted for another couple of heartbeats, and Olivier had to move first. He eased away, and Cody turned over, his dick hard and glistening. It wouldn’t take much to get him over the edge. Olivier licked the hot, salty skin and then took him in his mouth, glad Cody had waited.
Cody threaded his fingers through Olivier’s hair as his hips jerked and he thrust deep into Olivier’s mouth as he came. “Ah, God, yes.”
Olivier swallowed and stroked, determined to take everything he could from what could be the last night he spent with anyone. He didn’t want it to be over… yet it was.
Cody’s breath came in short pants. Gradually he released his hold on Olivier’s hair and traced his jaw with his fingertips as Olivier released him.
“Back in a moment.”
By the time he’d ditched the condom and gotten back into bed, Cody was on his side under the sheets. When Olivier got in, he pulled Cody close. Their legs tangled. One of them should’ve turned, but neither did. Instead they faced each other in the almost dark.
“Where will you go when your twenty-four hours are up?” Cody’s voice was soft. He moved closer again and found Olivier’s lips to kiss him.
Olivier let himself be distracted as Cody’s tongue danced over his lip, and Olivier let him in, deepening the kiss. Eventually he had to answer. “I’ve never left the city. I think I’d like to see the desert.” Even though Cody didn’t stop kissing him, waiting for his response was torture.
“I’d like to show you. We could take your bike out….”
“Ride for days.”
“No one around.”
“Just us.”
As dreams went, it was one he didn’t want to wake up from.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
THE ALARM cut through Cody like a knife. It felt as though he hadn’t slept. His eyes were gritty, and his mouth tasted like yesterday’s sweaty sock. He groaned and rolled over, but the cover was pulled away.
“Get up. We need to check out and make plans.”
“How do you wake up so fast?” Cody squinted at Olivier, who was already out of bed and heading to the bathroom. No one was ever that alert and bright first thing in the morning. Had Olivier slept at all?
The weight of everything came rushing back. He had no idea how to wriggle out of these restraints and stun everyone by escaping. He lay in bed and listened to the shower. He only had yesterday’s clothes to put on, but he still wanted to wash. If he was going to die, he wouldn’t be doing it in clean underwear. That idea irked him more than it should.
Better make sure I don’t die.
The water shut off, and Olivier came out wearing a towel. “Okay. I’m calling the sitter and seeing if I can get Dani looked after for a few more hours. I’ll rent a car so we can leave as soon as we’re done.”
Cody blinked at him. “You’re already organized?”
“No. I need to go to Marie’s and pack up what’s there.” He couldn’t hide the tightness in his voice.
“Will she be there?”
“Maybe. Probably not. More likely in an alley near work. She’s probably been found already. Case closed.” The tension in his features and the pain in eyes betrayed the brusqueness of his words.
“Are you allowed to take Dani?” Olivier might be her uncle, but Cody wasn’t sure that was enough.
“We both had wills to make sure that, if something happened, the other one got everything, including custody of Dani. But I need to report Marie missing.” His phone rang on the bedside table, and he peered at it. “That’s the sitter.” He picked it up and answered as he tugged at t
he sheet and gave Cody a not-so-subtle signal to get moving.
He took the hint.
Olivier made some noises and a promise to pay extra until Marie or he got there.
When Cody got out of the shower, Olivier was sitting on the bed. “Hi, Marie. Trying to track you down. I’ve paid the sitter for a few more hours. Call me.” He hung up and stared at the screen.
His sister was never going to answer that call.
“I’m sorry.” He knew what that was like. He’d wanted to call Connor so many times, but that would’ve been pointless.
Olivier didn’t look at him. “What are you doing with the info on the flash drive?”
He still had no idea—so much for a shower to clear his head. “I think I should send it to my brother and sister. The more who know, the harder it is to hide.”
“Or the more in danger.”
“What would you do with it?”
Olivier sighed and glanced up. He looked tired and sad, as though all of his past were weighing him down. “Let all three of them fight it out.”
Cody was about to laugh. “The winner would still come after me. Connor said that whatever is in there could ruin my father.”
He still wasn’t sure if he wanted that responsibility. Connor hadn’t wanted it. Had Connor thought that Cody would happily unleash that information because he walked away from the family?
“Then take it to the cops the way you’ve already threatened.”
“Will it lead back to you and Connor? I don’t want the police to hunt you down.” Olivier had killed, but Cody didn’t want him to suffer. He’d been paying the price for a past mistake for far too long already. While he’d wanted to know the truth and get justice for Connor when he first arrived, now all he wanted was to leave and never look back. He glanced at Olivier’s bare chest. No sign of any birthmark remained. He knew he hadn’t imagined it. It had been so distinctive… so familiar. Connor, Olivier, and he had been part of a curse that had kept them bound for centuries. It was time to let the past go.
“I don’t know. They might reopen the case, but your father doesn’t want that. David doesn’t want that.” Olivier glanced up at him. “What do you need me to do?”
Tell me what to do. But this was his fight. Olivier had done enough. “You have to move on and think of Dani.”
Olivier shook his head and stared at his hands. “I don’t know if I can do anything else. What if this is it? I’ve dreamed of my past lives, I’ve seen what I’ve done, and I know what I am.”
“But that’s not all you are. The curse is gone, and you can be anyone. Get Dani and leave before your time expires.” There had to be only a little more than twelve hours left.
“Come with me.”
“If I run, they’ll follow. I need to stop this.” It was a pity Connor hadn’t left instructions on what he thought a good solution would be.
“What if he kills you?”
“Then I’ll be dead, and I won’t be able to worry about it.” Cody forced a smile.
Olivier didn’t smile. “I’m not going to let you die. This time we get to live.” He dressed as though they were running out of time. After a few moments, he spoke. “What time is your flight?”
“Noon.” Cody wished he had clean clothes, or at least ones that didn’t look quite so crumpled. And once he got on that plane, would he ever see Olivier again? He turned away to dress. That was it. He’d known it would never be more. Couldn’t be. But last night, for just a little while, it had felt as though there might be a chance. “Where will you go?”
“To see my father in Florida. I haven’t seen him in years. He’s never met Dani. I can drive there in a couple of days… one if I push it. How am I supposed to look after a baby?”
Cody had no advice to offer. His knowledge of babies was limited to one end for feeding and the other for wiping. “You’ll learn. Maybe I’ll come and see you.”
Olivier did up his belt, paused for a moment, and grimaced. Had he been looking for his gun? “Yeah. I could come out to Vegas and we could do that ride.”
It would never happen. It was goodbye, and they both knew that, even if neither of them wanted to admit it. Cody wished they’d had more time and fewer people wanting to kill them. He ran his fingers through his hair and did his best to look like he hadn’t slept for only four hours. And he failed. He didn’t even have enough cash for a coffee, but maybe that didn’t matter. He might as well use his cards and get himself a decent breakfast.
Coming back had made him realize that his relatives were the people he shared DNA with, but they weren’t his actual family. They didn’t love each other like Olivier and his sister had. None of them looked out for him except Connor. His friends in Vegas had become a sort of family, but that wasn’t what he wanted. It wasn’t enough anymore. He wanted someone in his life whom he could count on and who could count on him. He wanted a partner. He wanted Olivier.
The idea of settling down had once terrified him, but now it appealed. He didn’t want to end up alone. If he vanished right now no one would give a damn. His life was empty. His brother had been the one actually living, even if he did screw up.
Olivier picked up his phone and put it in his pocket. Then he turned to Cody with his game face on and looked ready to end the first person who got in his way. “Right. This is what you’re going to do.”
Cody listened and nodded. Olivier was living up to his problem-fixer reputation. He didn’t realize how good he was.
“Got it?” Olivier asked.
“Yes.”
Olivier smiled and embraced Cody. “Thank you. For everything.”
Cody closed his eyes. He didn’t want it to be goodbye, but didn’t know what else it could be. Olivier had a family to put back together.
Cody would be tearing his own apart.
OLIVIER LEFT the hotel and only glanced back once. He didn’t want to walk away from Cody. He wanted to be with him, but he had to be gone and he had to take care of his niece and he couldn’t be in two places at once.
Cody was going to get himself killed.
On his way to get his bike, he checked the news. There was a shooting at a church. The priest had killed in self-defense. That was forever going to sit wrong in his gut, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. Olivier had set them both free.
So why didn’t he feel it? Or was free the feeling of being adrift?
The walk to collect his bike didn’t clear his head or lift his heart. He rode the bike home, but didn’t hang around, even though the suspicious car was gone. It might be gone, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t someone waiting for him. They could wait. Once he was at his father’s, he’d pay a moving company to pack up his things. He tried to think of the practical, so he could tamp down the pain.
He picked up the rental car and paid for three days and the extra fee for dropping it off in a different state. He had money put aside, so he’d be okay for a while without work. Money was the least of his concerns.
Next he made his way to Marie’s, dreading what he’d find when he got there. Maybe she’d be there, alive but unconscious. He didn’t let that hope get off the ground. Benitez didn’t pull tricks like that.
Olivier used his key to let himself in. His heart was tight as he walked through the small apartment. The bad feeling grew when he saw the bedroom door was closed.
Not here.
Of course it would be here. It was personal, so Olivier was going to have to clean up the mess. The door groaned as he opened it. He kept his eyes on the floor, not ready to have his fear confirmed. His sister, who had never used drugs, as far as he knew, lay on the bed. He closed his eyes. He’d seen death so many times before. He should be able to look. It was several heartbeats before he opened his eyes. She appeared to be sleeping. In a couple of steps, he was to the bed. He checked her pulse, but her skin was cold.
Olivier couldn’t breathe.
“Fuck, Marie.” He held her hand, but he wanted to shake her awake. He had to call the co
ps, do it right. He couldn’t move.
She was dead because of him—dead and because of a man who thought he could control Olivier by attacking those he loved. Cody was safer away from him.
Carefully he put her hand down. She’d been making plans for after… she’d been thinking of her future while he’d never looked ahead. Never made plans that didn’t involve him dying somehow.
He almost made a plan last night. The idea of riding through Nevada on his bike and going to see Cody held an appeal he couldn’t deny. He wanted to tell her about Cody, but after years of being paranoid, he didn’t know if a bug had been placed in her apartment.
She was gone and couldn’t hear him anyway. He blinked as his vision blurred. Then he pulled out his phone and called the cops. No, there was no need for an ambulance. Yes, he’d be there.
No death had ever cut so deep. Not even his mother’s.
Did everyone live with that kind of vulnerability every day? He didn’t know if he could do it. He didn’t want to be alone. Maybe Cody didn’t need him, but right then, Olivier needed Cody. He let the tears fall.
THE BAR at the airport was ordinary, but its coffee was strong and it was a nice public place and full of security. He didn’t think his father would be bold enough to arrange a hit there. He had half an hour before he needed to go through security. If his father didn’t hurry up, it would be too late. Part of him hoped his father wouldn’t show. He had nothing left to say.
He’d sent a message to Olivier letting him know which bar he was at, as they’d discussed. His leg bounced as though all of his nervous energy were being channeled down to his foot. He wished he could blame it on too much coffee and not enough sleep. And he felt gritty and dirty in yesterday’s clothes. He was almost hoping his father would bring his bag if he did show up.
He kept raking his teeth over the cut on his lip. He liked the reminder of Olivier. Too soon it would heal and all he’d have left were the memories. He wanted longer with Olivier. But it was better they said goodbye.
Had they actually said goodbye? He didn’t think they had. Olivier hadn’t replied to his text either. He checked his phone again to be sure. Was he already driving out of the city and on his way to freedom? He envied Olivier in that moment, escaping and starting over. It wouldn’t matter how far Cody went, he was tied to his family by blood. The taint would always be there.