by Aneta Quinn
“You can pull over and let me out…”
He cuts me off mid-sentence, “I don’t think so.”
“So what are you going to do then…take me to the police? That guns legal” I straight up lie.
“No, I’m going to help you” he says surprisingly.
“You don’t even know what I’m doing. You don’t care if you’re aiding and abetting a criminal?”
“Not if that criminal is you.”
“You know what Carter…You are one very confusing man.”
He grins in response and strangely doesn’t even care that I just called myself a criminal, which makes my thoughts run wild. What the hell is he thinking? We drive for a few more minutes in complete silence again until we’re heading down Broadway Avenue.
“Take a left here” I say, and he follows my directions the rest of the way towards Hudson. I decide on walking the few streets between where we park and the block I need to get to. Better to park a tiny bit further than too close and have me spotted running to his car – which isn’t entirely inconspicuous. We end up parking down West End Avenue, right next to the Lincoln Towers.
“I won’t be too long” I say as I jump out the car and don’t wait for a reply.
I head down West End and finally see the tall black gate with the ‘no admittance’ sign stuck in the middle. Smack bang in the middle of the gates separating the entrance and exit sides is the little booth with the security guard in it. I watch as he flips the page on his magazine, not one ounce of concentration on his surroundings. That’s why I had to hurry, because this security guy is on the late shift and he doesn’t do his job very well. It makes what I’m about to do a hell of a lot easier.
I take a swift look down the street and quickly scale the tall fence and jump over, landing softly and quietly on the other side. I slide myself behind the big, grey electrical boxes and close my eyes momentarily, soaking up the rush of excitement. Once I’m out of sight I take a deep breath and relax, until I see Carter doing exactly the same thing I just did. What the hell?
I reach out from my hiding spot and yank him into the tight confined space, flush against my body.
“What the fuck are you doing Carter?”
“I said I was going to help you” he smiles slightly, “no-one saw me.”
“You’re going to get us shot is what you’re going to do” I whisper yell and then shut my eyes with a sigh. I feel his warm breath against my cheek, so I open my eyes to look at him. I realise now in this tiny space between us that he’s pressed flat against me, one hand resting on my arm, and the other wrapped around my waist.
“Aren’t you curious what you’re getting yourself into?”
“I’m actually more curious as to whether you’re in lace for something like this as well” he grins, and slides his hand down from my waist to cup my ass. No doubt he can feel what kind of underwear I’m wearing through my running tights, but decides to slip his hand underneath them before giving my ass a gentle squeeze.
Satisfied with the answer, he grins so wide it gives him that cute crinkle in the corner of his eye, and skims his lips against my cheek and down my jaw.
“Where to now, Catwoman?”
“Catwoman?”
“Yeah…she was the only sexy criminal I could think of on the spot” he shrugs.
I stare at him momentarily speechless and just shake my head, before sliding my way to the other side of the tight space.
Once I slip out from behind the big electrical box, I turn and watch Carter. He’s wearing a dark grey converse sweater, jeans, and to my surprise, black converse sneakers as well. I guess being in such a rush before I didn’t stop to take notice that we match. Squad goals.
“Nice shoes” I say, and smile back when he gives me a wink.
Now that we’re further down the unlit alley, the security guard in the booth won’t be able to see us. We head down what looks like a small car park, and make our way towards the building on the other end of the alley. It’s not essentially an alley, just the space between the buildings surrounding this block, which conveniently once you pass that security guard leads you to the back entrances of each business on the ground floor of each building.
“So why are you bringing a gun to break into a building?” Carter asks as we walk along in the darkness, the only source of light is the almost full moon. Alek must have said something to Carter, or maybe he just figured out what we’re doing.
“Protection” I say, “Why do you sound excited about the possibility of breaking and entering?”
“Because I am” he says simply and shrugs. I realise he can’t essentially turn me into the police for this if he’s here with me, because technically he’s breaking a felony too.
“Are you sure you want to do this…if we get caught, you’ve got more to lose” I say as I stop in front of one of the office doors. I know we won’t get caught but I still feel obligated to warn him.
“What have I got to lose?” he asks curiously.
“Uh…maybe your entire company for starters.”
“Are you chickening out?” he grins at me. How is he so calm after finding me with a gun, driving me to break into an office, and then actually following me to do it?
“I don’t understand you Carter. How are you so okay with all this?”
“Because this isn’t the first time I’ve done something like this. Now hurry up before we do get caught” he says as he slides his hands into his pockets, and waits for my next move. Not the first time he’s done this…what the hell? You can’t just drop a bomb like that and not explain yourself.
“Care to elaborate?” I ask curiously, because this isn’t the first time he’s said something like this either, and it’s a little hard to ignore after so many times.
“Now isn’t really the time to talk about my criminal record…which is non-existent because I’ve never been caught” he grins.
“You a criminal? Is that why you’re so keen to help…thief helping out another thief?” I ask and quirk my brow.
“If I say yes are you going to think differently of me?”
“Kind of…but in a good way. We’re not so different you and I” I admit. I know there should be a hundred more questions I should be asking him about his past, but the longer I stand here, the more I sense the similarities between us. I push this new piece of information aside in my mind for the next half hour, and focus on what I came here to do – but definitely something I have to ask him more about once we’re back on the other side of that security gate.
He gives me a small wink and turns to face the door. I stand there looking at him for a brief minute, before finally sliding my hands into my pocket to pull out my little tools to pick the lock.
“Your organisational skills are quite the turn on” he smirks at me, and I can’t help but grin as I crouch down towards the door, eye level with the lock.
“Quit distracting me Carter” I say as I stick my tongue out in concentration. We’re quiet for all of two minutes before the lock clicks and I turn the handle, opening the door a fraction.
“Tada!” I say and bow as if I’ve just performed some sort of magic trick, and Carter just stands there grinning at me.
“What?” I say, now feeling stupid. He takes the few steps between us, and practically slams into me as his lips crush against mine hungrily. He picks me up, and I automatically wrap my legs around him as he walks us through the door and into the dark office, kissing me so hard I’m out of breath.
“Is there an alarm?” he asks against my lips, barely letting me get the word ‘no’ out of my mouth, before he returns his lips to mine and sits me on the edge of the desk. One of his hands is wrapped around the back of my neck while the other slides up and into my hair, grabbing a fistful which makes me groan against his mouth.
He pulls back slightly, "no cameras either?"
"No" I answer, and find myself reaching out for him and pulling him back against me. His hips grind into mine slightly, and a soft moan slip
s through my lips at the contact.
The blueprints forgotten, the felony we're committing forgotten, all of it - right this second, all my mind seems to be registering is that this exceptionally sexy guy has just broken into an office with me, instead of ratting me out to the police. Someone who's supposed to be my boss's, boss's boss just broke into the building with me to get the blueprints I need. Will I have to explain what I'm doing? Or will he keep up this need-to-know type relationship? It’s not like he’s going to know whose blueprints they are.
He pulls back from my lips and takes a step back. Taking a necessary breath as well as a look around the room we're in. I find myself following his eye sight, taking in the filing cabinets, mahogany desk, and framed photos of buildings hung up on the walls.
"Why are we in a realtor’s office?"
"To get blueprints, why else?" I say as I slide off the desk and turn towards the computer. I sit down on the computer chair and slide across the floor to get closer to the desk. I pull out the tiny USB I have in my pocket, slide it into the computer USB slot, and then power up the computer.
While I wait, I tap my fingers against the desk impatiently and watch Carter walk around the office, casually inspecting the photos on the walls as if this was a normal occurrence for him. He’s not even bothered in the slightest way, why?
Finally the computer turns on, so I return my attention back to it and start typing to get into the system.
“You realise a lot of blueprints can be obtained legally right?” Carter smirks at me from across the room. His hands are in his pockets as he continues examining the pictures, like a leisurely stroll through an art gallery.
“Not these ones” is my only response. He takes the few steps between us and leans down, watching what I’m doing on the screen. His warm hand is resting against my shoulder which I’m finding kind of distracting.
I bring up the system that they design blueprints on, and try to figure out how they keep their records. Do they sort them with surnames, by building name, with what?
I open the USB which automatically brings up Alek’s program. I type in a few codes that he gave me, and then stare at the black screen as the cursor flashes at me, waiting for me to type out a search request. I wiggle my fingers over the keyboard for a few seconds, and then look at Carter who looks impressed by the program. After a few seconds of watching him watch the screen, I turn my face back to the computer and type in ‘Zoloto Manor’.
The computer starts to load the contents I requested, and I hear a small sharp breath from Carter.
“Why are you stealing blueprints to Mikhalov's Manor, Kayla?” Carter asks me quietly. How did he know that was Mikhalov's house? Have I just royally fucked up…Holy shit, what am I supposed to say?
“Kayla?” he asks again, but his voice sounds gentle, not angry like I assumed he’d be.
I don’t know what to say so I start with trivial facts – “Do you know Zoloto means Gold in Russian?”
“I do actually” he answers as he squats down next to me, pulling on the chair so it slides towards him. We’re now face to face, and I can’t help but turn my gaze back towards the computer screen and away from his eyes. I try not to concentrate on the fact that his warm palms are on my thighs either – his thumbs rubbing small circles against my legs in a surprisingly soothing gesture.
He reaches up with one hand and slides his finger along my cheek, and then tugs on my chin with his fingers to make me face him again.
“What are you getting yourself into babe?”
“It’s safer if I don’t tell you.”
“You can’t pull this need-to-know bullshit on me now, Kayla” he sighs.
“Look, I can’t tell you okay? We fucked, it was great, and then you decided to tag along to something you shouldn’t know a single thing about” I huff, and push myself on the chair back towards the desk. Bitch mode alert.
He doesn’t say anything as I type away on the computer, and sigh in relief when I find what I need.
I see from the corner of my eye when he stands up, and makes his way out the door in total silence. Is he leaving me here? Shit, I totally screwed up. This was a bad idea, a very bad idea.
Chapter 7
Carter
Holy Fucking shit.
I pace back and forth outside the realtor’s office, and pull out my packet of cigarettes. I tap the box lightly and pull one out, before lighting it and finally taking a very necessary puff.
What the actual fuck is going on?
This is far more dangerous than I could’ve ever imagined. What does she want from Abram? Does she know how risky this is, how much of a fucked up man he actually is?
I’ve been fighting to get away from Abram since the day my father died, and now…now I feel like I’m going to be dragged right back in because of…well because of her. Knowing the kind of man he is, I can’t let her do whatever it is she’s planning on doing because she’ll lose.
He’s a sick twisted guy who won’t think twice about shooting you in the back if he knows you’re against him, and clearly what she’s got planned is something against him.
I followed in my dad’s footsteps and started working for Abram Mikhalov when I was only seventeen, Jimmy at my side of course because he was the only person I could ever trust with my life. Jimmy was born in England but came back and forth to New York between parents, and I guess acted out after they divorced. We started doing small things…deliveries here and there, until we started going bigger.
We stole cars, we roughed people up when necessary, and we did whatever he needed at the flick of a wrist because of my dad. My dad wanted out years ago but according to Abram, he owed him his life so he kept going, trying to find ways to take Mikhalov down. I’m not 100% sure yet but I think he had something big on Mikhalov, something worth risking everything for.
He started acting different a couple weeks before he died, saying things he’d never said, doing things he’d never do, and surprisingly he left me his entire empire. Did I want it? Fuck no I didn’t want it. But his final words to me made me think again about what needs to be done. His final words to me were a note left on my bedside table, along with the signed papers declaring ownership to me of his entire monarchy I knew nothing about.
Finish what I started Carter, you’ll figure it out piece by piece.
It’s like he knew he was going to die, like he knew I was going to be left fighting for everything he’d worked hard for. I’ve been getting different packages, notes, random things being sent to me from him that he organised before he died – it’s like that P.S I love you shit, with the dead person sending notes to help someone grieve and move on, except instead of that it’s been clues, things he had to hide from Mikhalov and is now passing on to me.
Strangely enough, one of the last things he said was that help can come in any shape or form. I’m starting to think that maybe Kayla’s that help I need to be grabbing and holding on to like a life line, like another piece of this puzzle that he’s created for me.
First I need to figure out what she’s planning on doing, what she wants.
Chapter 8
Kayla
I save what I need on the USB, turn off the computer, and silently fix up the papers on the desk that we messed up with our impulsive kissing. I walk back out through the door into the dark night, and close the door behind me with a soft click.
“Kayla, you gotta stop whatever it is you’re planning” Carter says from somewhere in the darkness. I take a quick look around and see him leaning against the building, cigarette in his hand.
“Jesus Christ, Carter you fucking scared the shit out of me. I thought you’d left.”
“Why in the world would I leave?”
“I don’t know, I figured you and Mikhalov where buddies or something after the way you reacted when you saw what I was doing.” He scoffs at that as if it’s the craziest thing I’ve ever said to him.
“I’m not going to rat you out. I just…he’s a dangerous guy Ka
yla. Whatever it is you’re planning on doing…don’t.”
“Don’t you think I don’t know that? Don’t you think I don’t already know what a low life piece of shit he is?” I raise my voice a little in frustration, my anger getting the better of me.
“What’s the story here? What are you trying to do?”
“I told you before I can’t tell you…stop trying to make this something it isn’t.”
Even in the darkness I can see him roll his eyes at me. He stubs out his cigarette and starts to walk passed me. He grabs my hand on the way, and starts heading back the way we came.
“So you prefer bad boy to gentleman…noted. Rough over soft and gentle…also noted. And no deep dark secrets from the past, no sharing…also noted.”