Obsession 2.5: Loving An Alpha Male

by S. K. Lessly

  “What? Do you mean besides being a part of the ONW bank?” Malcolm asked.

  Josh nodded and frowned as if he was running the name through his mental rolodex, trying to get to a conclusion on his own.

  “No. I mean yeah, I remember seeing the name from the list Kenya shared but now that I think about it, I’ve heard that name somewhere else.” He answered then looked at me and the second it came to him I confirmed his thoughts with a nod of my head and words I knew wouldn’t be received very well.

  “Yeah, the name sounds familiar to you because he was one of the people we couldn’t find from Sweets’ case.”

  “Wait, what do you mean my case?” Sweets asked.

  I didn’t wait for Josh to explain. From the look on his face, he was lost to his thoughts. I looked at a confused Sweets and answered her.

  “Sweets, Carlos Diego was one of Noah's clients. He…uh…”

  Shit, how do I say this?

  I shifted from left to right, debating if I should just yank the band-aid off or go slow. There was a soft “shit" to my right, which came from Malcolm. Yeah, he got where I was going and as I met Shane's eyes, I realized he did too.

  I breathed out a sigh and said to Sweets, “Carlos was one of the men that placed a bid for you when Noah was trying to find...” my voice fell away when I saw the color in Sweets' face drain away.

  She looked off in the distance no doubt getting trapped in her own horrid memories. She then grew even paler and shot up from her seat as the reality of her situation, of what could have happened to her, fell on her like a ton of bricks.

  Everyone in this room suspected her reaction had to do with what Noah did to her blah, blah, blah. But they were so wrong. No, her current freak-out had to do with the realization that she had placed herself in danger the second she arrived in Hell.

  “I… uh…” Sweets stammered and placed her fingers to her neck.

  “Sweets, are you okay?” Josh stood and moved to his wife. He reached out to touch her and she backed away slightly.

  She looked at me. “I thought everyone that placed… umm… you know… was caught and…” she lowered her voice. “…dealt with.”

  “So, did we,” I told her then explained further. “Carlos Diego’s name came up on our radar, yes. Yet, we couldn’t find him. It was as if he disappeared off the face of the planet. We couldn't get a bead on him so we assumed it was just an alias. We had asked Noah about him and he claimed he didn’t know the name, but I think he did. He may not have realized exactly who the man was, but he knew Carlos was his client.” I looked over at Shane. “Noah lied. He knew exactly who and what Carlos is to his sick twisted life. He even knew who Dennis Simon was too.”

  Sweets began shaking her head. “No, I asked him specifically if he knew—”

  “He lied, Sweets,” I interrupted. “That’s what I’m saying. Noah knew about Dennis Simon. That’s how Crasse knew that Dennis Simon was working for the CIA with Perchenko. They were both Noah’s clients right along with Carlos. Now Noah may not have known that Davies was in fact Carlos but I honestly believe he knew Davies worked for the other side.”

  I stared at Sweets for a long moment as the weight of what happened to her became too heavy. That’s when she freaked out and left the room.

  Everyone fell silent when she left. So did I. I understood the fear she was feeling. She had purposefully walked into the lion's den unaware that there was more than one lion she needed to watch for. In addition, she trusted Davies. If I hadn’t showed up when I did, there was no telling what he could have done. It was possible that the security breach was more of a distraction than anything else. A way to get Sweets instead of breaking Noah out.

  Panic seized my heart at that realization. Fuck, if I hadn’t gotten there in time… if I hadn’t had my suspicions about Sweets going off alone, who knows what would have happened. I ran my hands through my hair and tried to calm my breathing down.

  “Where is this son of a bitch?” Curtis asked through clinched teeth.

  “He’s in the wind.” Nickels replied. “He disappeared the day of the security breach. He reported that he had some ideas on where Crasse was hiding and had a way to flush him out, according to the team at Hell. That was a two weeks ago and we haven’t been able to locate him since then. He hasn’t returned home, used any of his credit cards or bank accounts. We even looked under his alias and found nothing. Either he had money stashed somewhere or he had another alias he's using; one we don’t know about.”

  “Well, if Crasse was right about him that was a helluva way to flush the man out of hiding.” Curtis shook his head in disbelief. I had to agree. It was sick and horrible but Crasse did surface.

  I brought my eyes to Shane and said, “I suggest you talk to Noah. He knows more than what he's told us in the past. Now that we have the information about the bank and Perchenko, we need to ask more questions, better questions.”

  Shane studied me for a beat before he gave me a quick nod of his head. “I agree. I’ll go and talk to him. In the meantime, have our guests been moved to the new upgraded facility?”

  Nickels nodded but Jesse spoke up. “Yes, Ivan and I personally escorted the prisoners to the new facility. None of the current workers was aware that the prisoners had been moved. They think we’re still investigating the breach incident and the lockdown on the prisoner's wing is still in effect.”

  “Good. I want Stan, Curtis, and Jesse to conduct interviews with each of the workers left using the extensive background info the team gathered to see if anyone knows the whereabouts of Davies. Do we have the tech? The one with the fifty grand?”

  Nickels spoke up. “No. The locals found his body in his apartment last week. It looked like he committed suicide, but we’re looking through the scene and autopsy for confirmation.”

  Shane nodded then met everyone’s eyes. “We have a lot to do. Misty, I assume you sent a team to clean up the scene at Crasse's house?” I nodded. “Good, make sure they do it right.” He stood. “This meeting is adjourned. I don’t have to explain what's at stake here. We have one assassin on the loose, that we know of, possibly two with Davies. We need to find them and fast. Keep your eyes open. Even though we know their target, they could use us to get to them so stay vigilant and alert. Report anything suspicious. Got it?” He waited for returned confirmations before he demanded, “Nickels, you’re with me.”

  Nickels gave him a slight nod and stood to gather his things. Shane rose to his feet, grabbed his bag and left the conference room with determined strides, Nickels at his back.

  Ut-oh. Looks like someone is in serious trouble. Sadly, why do I get the feeling that someone is me?

  10

  Malcolm

  A few hours after the meeting, Malcolm was in his office sitting behind his desk working through the security documents Junior forwarded to him on his computer. He could feel his anger rising as he read about the treachery of three government agents, one of which was recruited by him. The love and obsession of money was the root to all evil and damn there had been a lot of money involved.

  Malcolm ran frustrated fingers through his hair. He needed a break; something to take his mind off the betrayal for just a bit. Unfortunately, he moved from one train wreck to another. As he closed his eyes, thoughts of Amanda and the argument he had with her on his birthday came to mind.

  Fucking Misty…

  Although he couldn’t blame Misty for the blow-up with Amanda entirely. It wasn’t her fault his relationship was falling apart at the seams. It mainly had to do with his job. Amanda hated it. She wanted him to accept the promotion her father had offered him and work safely behind a desk for the rest of his career. She didn’t understand the way he was made, how he needed to serve his country, protect his family. It had been engrained in him since his brother, Shane, was born.

  His father had told him it was his job to watch over his siblings and he had taken those words to heart. When he got older, that need to protect only grew. He was a s
olider through and through and he thought Amanda understood that. Now, things were changing. She wanted to settle down. She wanted to get married, have a family and she didn’t believe she could have the family she wanted with Malcolm still being an active operator in the special military unit. She wanted him pinned safely behind a desk working from 9 to 5.

  “You’re getting too old for this,” she had told him the night of his birthday, after everyone had left. “Why can’t you let the guys younger and faster than you take over?”

  To hear that shit from the woman who was supposed to be the love of his life cut deep. Yes, he was older. But fuck, he wasn’t that old. He was in his late thirties. He hadn’t missed a step, despite what Amanda thought. He could hold his own with the young operators and then some. However, he couldn’t tell her that. Amanda had no idea what all he did for the Army. She just knew he could be called to duty at any point and time. Still, despite what she thought he did, hearing that she had no confidence in his abilities was fucked up.

  There was no way he was parking his ass behind a desk for the rest of his military career. Fuck that. Unfortunately, if he stayed where he was, doing what he loved to do, there would be consequences. He now had to ask himself, was losing the woman he loved for the job he was born to do worth it?

  Malcolm slouched further in his chair and breathed out a frustrated sigh. Now, he really needed a distraction from both his life and work. He opened his eyes and focused on the busy hallway beyond his office just in time to see Misty walk past his door.

  He sat up straight and called out to her. He didn’t hear her answer him but he swore he heard her curse before she appeared at his doorway.

  He noticed her guard go up instantly as she stood there, showing her annoyance right from the start. Malcolm ignored her attitude and signaled for her to come closer.

  “Come inside and have a seat. Oh, and close the door.”

  “Why?” Misty gave him a side eye look. “So, you can start yelling at me again?” she asked as she stepped inside his semi-spacious room, closed the door, and walked further into his office. She stopped in front of his desk, but didn’t move to sit.

  “No, it’s nothing like that.” He smiled and stood from his chair. “I just wanna talk. Also, I want to apologize for accusing you of being reckless and careless.”

  She frowned confused. “You didn’t call me reckless and careless.”

  “Huh, I didn’t? Well maybe that was just in my head. No matter. Point is I want to apologize. Please have a seat.”

  Misty's hesitant yet guarded expression morphed into wariness. “Oh, uh okay.” She took one of the chairs in front of his desk and waited.

  “How's the case with the kids going? Have you found their parents yet?” Malcolm asked.

  Misty sighed audibly. “Not yet. I reached out to child services and I’m waiting on their call. So far we only managed to locate a few families.”

  “Oh yeah. That’s good. I guess the FBI is good for something. What about the rest of the children? Have they made any progress?” Malcolm stepped around his desk, pushed some of the items on his desk out of his way and sat down.

  “Not that I’m aware of.” Misty replied. “One of Nickels’ guys has joined the search and he’s reviewing all of the missing children reports that are showing still open in the databases here in the U.S. and abroad. The team is using pictures that we took of the kids to help with the search too. Hopefully, we can come up with some matches soon.”

  Malcolm nodded. “That’s good. I’m sure Nickels has the right person on the job. They’re going to find something.”

  Misty twisted her lips into a smirk. “If you say so. I’m counting on it either way. So, if that’s all.” She stood, but Malcolm raised his hand up, palm facing her, as a signal to sit back down.

  “Not quite. As I said, you and I need to talk.”

  Misty blew out a frustrated breath and sat back down. “About what?”

  “Come on, don’t be like that. There’s a lot that’s happened to you these past few weeks, from the aftermath of the Simon case, what you discovered at Crasse's house to what just happened a couple of hours ago. I mean, Misty, you saw three dead bodies today; two were kids. You then witnessed someone shoot himself in the head. And to top everything off your rival reappeared and you were this close to killing her. That has to be hard on you.”

  She shrugged a shoulder. “What do you want me to say, Malcolm? I’ve seen dead bodies before. Unfortunately, some of them were children. It was a troubling scene, but nothing I hadn’t seen before. And as far as that bitch, it was either her or me. Things worked out but I guarantee you if the roles were reversed, she wouldn't have hesitated or listened to anyone. She would have killed me. I had no choice but to react first. We tussled, she lost and I had her right where I wanted her, under my knife.”

  Malcolm shook his head, disappointed. “And you don’t see anything wrong with what you just said? Or with what happened?”

  Misty frowned. “Yeah, I do. We just let a killer back in the wild with everyone’s faces in her memory bank. She could pick each and every one of us off before we were even aware of it. It was a mistake to let her go and mark my words we are going to pay for that mistake severely.”

  Malcolm grew silent. Admittedly, he had been pissed as hell at Misty for her antics. From the crap she pulled in the lobby, and keeping shit from them, to going off the rails, this time under their roof. There were innocent bystanders standing around, unable to protect themselves from the crazy and unpredictability that was Misty King.

  However, despite the fact that Misty almost got herself or any of them killed, she did have a point. He was certain the meeting they had was a rouse. Maybe not with intentions of picking them off, but maybe getting the lay of the land was their agenda. Finding out what kind of security they had and could it be penetrated. He also believed that Emily wanted to let them know she was in the fray and gave them a head start in preparing for their demise.

  Yeah, that shit wasn’t happening, Malcolm said to himself and smiled.

  And what about Ms. Fuentes? He could see how uncomfortable she was at the meeting. Did she know about Emily crashing the meeting? Was she in on the setup? His gut told him no, but again, you couldn’t put anything past the CIA.

  “Listen, I understand why you reacted,” he said finally. “But fuck, you could have endangered Sweets.”

  Misty, in her natural infuriating way, shook her head. “I had everything under control.”

  “Oh, yeah, like how you had control at the scene between you and Simon?”

  “Exactly. Look, Malcolm. I don’t know what you want me to say. Do I feel bad about how things went down in the waiting area, destroying the furniture, and freaking out Sweets? Yeah, sure. Do I feel bad about beating the shit out of those over-sized gorillas and almost killing the bitch that tried to kill Josh? Hell no! I would do it again, but this time I wouldn’t hesitate to take her out.” Misty folded her arms in front of her in more of a protective manner than a defiant one. However, knowing Misty, she was probably being defiant.

  “Wow, so it’s kill or be killed, fuck everyone else. Is that it?” he asked her, already knowing the answer.

  Misty nodded. “Yes, and you know it is, especially when it comes to Emily. She's a trained killer, a psychopath. Someone has to understand what’s needed and take action. And you and I both know that bitch needs to die.”

  Malcolm smiled, deciding to push her limits. “Okay, so why didn’t you do it? You had her pinned between the wall and your knife. Why did you hesitate?”

  Misty narrowed her eyes. “Because you clowns ran into the room. I was trying to keep you all clean. Then Josh, and his flaky-self, made things worse with his flip-flopping. One minute he's like “stand down" then the next he wants to kill her. I had whiplash just trying to keep up.”

  Malcolm folded his arms in front of him and smirked at her. “Uh-huh, and he also told you to drop the knife. I told you to drop it and you didn’t li
sten except when Shane stepped out of the elevator. What’s up with that?”

  He could see Misty visibly tense, but then she quickly recovered and tried to act nonchalant. Too late, he caught it, which made him smile.

  “What are you trying to imply? The man is my boss. He gave me an order and I followed it like the good Marine I am. End of story. Now, are you going to apologize for accusing me of shit so I can get back to work?”

  Malcolm kept his gaze locked on her, not moving or uttering a sound. He continued to watch her, noticing the subtle changes in her demeanor. He decided to push her just a bit further.

  “What’s up with you and Shane?”

  Misty scoffed and rolled her eyes but Malcolm saw the tension claim her body once again.

  “What do you mean? There’s nothing up with us.”

  “Come on, Misty. You and I both know that’s not true. The way you reacted to him in the waiting area. How he invaded your personal space in the lobby and at my house the other night. Plus, my brother is a stingy fucker. He only shares his opinions with people and that’s always when you don’t want him to. The fact that he gave you that piece of cheesecake speaks volumes.”

  Misty snickered but didn’t reply. Malcolm unfolded his arms and rested his hands on his desk.

  “Come on. What’s up with you two?”

  Malcolm held Misty’s gaze for what felt like forever before she sighed and spoke. “I don’t know what you want me to say. There’s nothing going on between Shane and me. We’re just friends.”

  “You two have been hanging out more than usual.” Malcolm stated remembering the time he had texted Shane after the Simon incident and he told him he was over Misty’s house. He also heard that he had taken her to dinner at BLT. Something was off. Shane and Misty didn’t hang out. Josh and Misty yes, even he and Misty had gone to dinner a time or two. Nevertheless, Shane kept his distance. What had changed? He had an idea, but he needed more proof and he was going to get it either from her or Shane. “That’s new, considering he always managed to keep his distance. Also, didn’t he come to your house after the Simon case to check up on you?”