by AJ Sherwood
Kyou trusted her to do that as he tried to keep his finger on everything else. He had a message prepped to put on Emura’s site for after they took both idiots down. But that was for later. He was watching everything else—the streets and entrances to the Genovese family homes, and their main businesses, his own apartment, and of course tracking Ivan and Ari’s progress as they ghosted across the street and onto the hotel’s grounds.
They were set up in Kyou’s apartment to give the men after them a red herring. Make it seem like a normal night, with family and friends over, and K supposedly none the wiser that he had a target on his head. It was something of a gamble, this target, but they needed to buy themselves a little time. And as Carter often mentioned, time was a very hard thing to buy.
Ari’s voice spoke into all of their ears. “Widow, status on target.”
“Target meeting with someone in the lobby; they’re trading suitcases,” she reported promptly. Ivan had lost the leg wrestling match, and he was in charge of Emura. Ari was a little smug at having Lewis.
“Sounds like prep to me; he’s buying supplies.” Carter gave a slight grunt. “Alright, I’m set. How are we doing, guys?”
“I am sad and upset that hotel windows are sealed and won’t open.” Ivan did sound thoroughly put out about that.
Kyou winked at Brannigan before teasing in a mock-worried voice, “Oh no, Eidolon. Does that mean you can’t get in?”
“I will do bad, bad things to you later for saying that.”
Kyou snickered. Ivan was so fun to tease sometimes. Especially now, when he was already miffed that he had to go for the ‘softer’ target.
Aiden came out of the kitchen and handed him a cup of coffee before joining in on the teasing. “Baby, we understand if you need a minute to figure out another plan.”
“Betrayed!” Ivan howled in a low tone. “Betrayed on all sides!”
Remi giggled at the theatrics. She reassured the hovering grandparents. “Don’t worry, he’s teasing. Uncle Eidolon can always get in.”
“I have only my solnishko. Solnishko, my target in the room?”
“Yes,” Remi confirmed easily. “He’s eating pizza and drinking lots of little bottles. Room service dropped them off ten minutes ago.”
“Probably vodka. Bah, he make this too easy.”
“Ivan,” Kyou warned. “Don’t get bored and try to complicate this. Easy in and out, okay?”
“Da, da, no worries.”
Kyou and Aiden shared a speaking look of worry. All the worry. Because a bored Ivan Azarov was a dangerous creature, not to be trusted.
Aiden cleared his throat a little. “Let me put this a different way. Honey, if you get done early at work, there might be a surprise waiting for you at home.”
There was a weighty pause. “Is it the fun kind of surprise?”
“The very fun kind of surprise.” Aiden’s smirk spoke volumes.
“Oooh. I’ll be done like lightning.”
“That’s the spirit.”
“Smiley,” there was mischief in Ari’s voice as he asked, “do I get a fun kind of surprise too?”
“I’m sure Lollipop will do that for you,” Carter drawled back.
Aiden’s face compressed as he fought not to laugh. “Threesome, huh? I wouldn’t be opposed.”
“Ew!” Ivan protested. “Sex with a brother. Ew, gross. I need brain bleach now. Smiley, shame on you.”
“I love how this is suddenly my fault and not your husband’s.”
Ivan wasn’t in the least apologetic. “I can’t get him upset with me just now, future fun depends on it.”
“Daddy, what’s a threesome?”
You could practically hear Carter’s and Ari’s wince. “How about I explain that to you later? Like when you’re thirty?”
“Awwww.”
Kyou didn’t let the banter distract him. He assumed those two were fine, as they were chattering on like this, but of course had no idea where Ivan or Ari were. Ivan was a ghost on a regular basis, but Ari had his own tricks, and he’d picked up even more hanging around Ivan. They avoided all cameras with ease, even without Kyou helpfully pointing them out. It was why Remi was able to handle the hotel itself because her father and uncle had the situation well in hand.
He reviewed the footage of his own apartment, all of the Genovese properties, and still saw no sign that anything was wrong. “Tricksy, talk to me.”
“I still have found absolutely nothing to indicate that Emura hired anyone other than Lewis. And the rest of donors seem content to watch how this plays out. It’s looking pretty quiet out here, K.”
“Alright, then let’s get this over with. Malvagio, Eidolon, status?”
“Waiting,” Ari murmured in a voice so low as to be almost inaudible.
Remi’s head popped up over the line of monitors. “He’s in the right room, waiting on the target to get in.”
“Gotcha. Eidolon inside too?”
“I think so.” Remi’s shoulders lifted in an eloquent shrug. Ivan was hard to track.
A ghost of a whisper from Ivan, “Go dark.”
Kyou’s fingers immediately darted over his keyboard and turned everyone else’s ear mics off except his own, Ari’s, Ivan’s, and Carter’s. They’d talked about this and agreed beforehand that there were certain people that should not listen to a murder being committed. Remi was definitely one, but Aiden didn’t need to hear it either. The gentle-hearted doctor was accepting of them all, but there was no need to fuel his nightmares. He had enough bad dreams as it was.
Kyou listened intently, but aside from a gurgle and a hard thump against a wall, he couldn’t hear much of anything. They waited in taut silence for several seconds, Kyou straining his ears, not even daring to rest his hands on the keyboard for fear that the clacking of keys might cover up something. Brannigan sat just as tensely beside him. They were all tense as they waited.
A voice he didn’t know burst out, “The hell—”
Two thumps, hard and meaty, then a gasped, half-strangled swear word. Thrashing as feet kicked against the floor in dull thuds. Silence.
“Done,” Ari announced quietly. “Eidolon?”
“Also done. Emura didn’t even notice me.”
“You didn’t say anything to him. Why?”
“What use is talking to a dead man?”
“Huh. Guess that’s true.” There was a weighty pause, and then Ari whistled. “Porca troia! I’m so glad we got to him tonight. You wouldn’t believe the ordnance in this room. He’s got dynamite, C4, several boxes—dude was legit going to blow us all up to smoke us out.”
There were several swears from both Kyou and Carter.
“What?” Brannigan demanded, echoed by the other four.
Kyou turned sound back on even as he explained, “Malvagio reports that there’s a lot of ordnance in the room. Enough to blow up several buildings.”
“And then some,” Ari confirmed faintly. “Holy shit, I’m so glad I didn’t use a gun. I’d have blown us sky high. Okay, I’m out of here. Eidolon, get down to the car. I absolutely do not want to be anywhere near here as of five minutes ago. K, I don’t feel comfortable leaving that stuff laying around for anyone to trip over.”
“I’ll give you three minutes to get clear then get an anonymous tip in to the police. They can handle it.”
“Sounds good, man. Okay, I’m out of the building in ten seconds.”
“Already out,” Ivan said smugly.
“Well, Eidolon, next time you can tell me it’s a race and then we’ll see who’s faster.”
Mattias shook his head, a bemused smile on his face. “You all must be very, very good. Only the best can joke in situations like these.”
“Why thank you, Mattias.”
“Modesty, thy name is Eidolon,” Carter retorted.
“Why yes, it is, thank you for noticing.”
“Will you just get in the damn car already.”
“I’m in, I’m in, so bossy.”
Do
ors opened and slammed shut.
Ari sighed. “Alright, we’re out and gone. Do your thing, K.”
“With pleasure.” Kyou shifted priorities and picked up a burner phone first, putting in a tip with the police hotline and giving them the precise details, pretending he was an employee of the hotel. With that done, he pulled up Emura’s page and took down the top banner, replacing it with a very poignant message.
To those of you who donated with the intent of removing me, I have your names. Emura didn’t give you any privacy protection. He and the assassin he hired, Edgar Lewis, are dead. We took care of them.
We’ll take care of you shortly.
K
Eidolon
Malvagio
Carter Harrison
He posted, refreshed the page to make sure it showed up correctly, then sat back with a sigh of relief. “Done.”
Mattias stood so that he could see over the monitors. “I stand by what I said. I’ll help you clean this up.”
They’d already argued about how much the Genovese family should be involved in all of this. Kyou was of the opinion that supplying information was fine, but they shouldn’t do anything else. It would damage all of the hard work they’d already put into straightening up their lives, and he was loath to do that. Mattias didn’t agree.
“I still think the only good enemy is a dead enemy,” Deidra surprised him by saying. She had a very fierce expression as she looked down at not only her son, but the little girl at her side. “I do not like leaving things at a warning.”
“We’ll hit the larger donators; there were about six of those. They’re seriously bad men anyway, so we’ll be doing the world a favor.” Kyou looked at Brannigan as he said this, weighing probabilities. “But I think by the time we handle those six, the rest will go so thoroughly to ground that it will be impossible to find them without doing a lot of digging. They’ll be running scared for a while.”
Brannigan watched him with the same evaluation. “I think it’s alright to focus on the six and then keep open feelers out for the rest. Take care of them as they surface.”
“It’s the only sane approach,” Kyou agreed with a faint smile. “Otherwise I’ll be fused to this chair twenty hours of the day trying to find everyone.”
“No.” Brannigan’s stance was adamant. “You promised.”
Kyou softened, smiling helplessly at this man he was so completely head over heels for. He’d promised to live and love, and he’d hold to that promise. He had no desire to break it. “So I did. Let’s finish this cleanup and get back to doing what we really want to do.”
Epilogue
Kyou
It was safe to say that Kyou had never taken a vacation in his life. Sitting here on the beach, shades on, the waves gently crashing against the shore, with a cold drink in his hand, Kyou couldn’t remember what had been so important that it had kept him holed up in his various apartments like a hermit.
Especially with that view.
And no, he wasn’t talking about the ocean.
Brannigan had dipped into the water to cool off a little, but he was walking back now. With his dark hair slicked back, water still glistening on his skin, and the very, very skimpy Speedo, he was a vision. Kyou almost popped a boner from the sight alone. He lowered the sunglasses on his nose to take his lover in without any obstruction. Damn, the man was fine.
Seeing his reaction, Brannigan paused under the umbrella and struck a pose. “Enjoying the view?”
“You are utterly shameless, and yes, yes I am.”
Dropping to his knees, Brannigan leaned in to kiss Kyou with sweet, lingering heat. “Regretting not coming to a beach with me before this?”
“So many regrets,” Kyou bemoaned before kissing him back. He seriously entertained the idea of tackling the man to his back, but sand. Sand and sensitive skin did not a good combination make.
Brannigan pulled back, and there was a serious light in his eyes. “It’s been three months, my love. How are you feeling?”
Three months. Three months of hunting down the men who’d wanted Kyou and his family dead. Three months of stress, elation, and victory. Three months of oscillating between insanity and bliss. In those three months, he’d changed his world, including Brannigan in it. He’d seen two of his brothers marry as Ari and Carter spoke vows to each other in a wedding at the Genovese family home. Mattias and Deidra had firmly insisted on throwing them a wedding, and Ari, for one, was happy to let them as he frankly admitted he had no idea what to do. It had been quite the party. The Genoveses knew how to entertain, and they’d pulled out all the stops for the event. The ballroom had been decorated like something out of a fairytale. Kyou kept expecting a princess and a missing slipper to make an appearance at some point.
After the reception, he and Brannigan had retreated to the other man’s townhouse to indulge in drunken sex. Sated, sleepy, and still tipsy, Kyou had been on the verge of falling asleep in his lover’s arms when Brannigan had asked if Kyou would move in with him.
Kyou hadn’t known how to respond. Part of him wanted to. Part of him feared it was too soon. He’d asked for time to think about it.
Apparently, time was up.
Seeing his hesitation, Brannigan gentled his tone even further. “If you need more time, that’s alright. I’m just selfish. I want to come home to you every day.”
Blowing out a steady stream of air, Kyou turned to look out over the ocean. It was a little hard to meet Brannigan’s eyes just then. “I didn’t want to think about it before because I wanted us all safe first. Everything else was secondary to that. Now…holding myself back from you is a habit, I think. Even when there’s no reason for it, I still find myself doing it.”
Brannigan’s hand found his and laced their fingers together. Kyou’s eyes were drawn to their hands, and he stared for a long moment. He wondered if Brannigan meant for that to look as symbolic as it did—because he was sure the man wanted to twine their lives and hearts together, just like this, so that one couldn’t separate from the other. His head came up and he locked eyes with the man who had been the central focus of his entire world for nearly a decade. Funny, he didn’t think that would change much for the next fifty years.
Kyou informed his heart in needed to gather some courage. He was tired of fear keeping him from this man. Sucking in a breath, he found words. Maybe not the right words, but words regardless. “I want to move in with you. But I want more. If we’re doing this, we’re doing it right.”
Delight lit up Brannigan like a second sun, rising in stages until he was blinding to look at. “Can we get married, then?”
“Yes. I—” Kyou had no chance to get what he wanted to say out next, as he was immediately hauled into an impassioned kiss. He responded just as ardently, but a little impatiently, as there was still something he wanted to say.
Brannigan eventually reined in his excitement enough to pull back and talk. “You said when we first met in real life that you didn’t have a true surname. Will you take mine?”
“You’re stealing all of my lines,” Kyou complained.
Laughing, Brannigan kissed him again, sweeter this time. “Kyou Genevese. I like it.”
“It sounds weird, but of course you like it.”
“I now feel this urge to cut vacation short and drag you home so we can get married immediately.” Brannigan tapped a thoughtful finger on his chin. “But I like seeing you so relaxed. Decisions, decisions.”
“How about you climb over here”—Kyou patted the spot on the large beach towel next to him—“we can try to avoid getting sunburned for another hour, then retreat back to the hotel for engagement sex?”
“Or,” Brannigan murmured as he threw a leg over Kyou’s waist, straddling him. There was a very determined glint in his eye. “We can have engagement sex now and even more engagement sex later before we call up friends and family to tell them the news.”
Kyou’s libido was still aroused, so truth be told, this idea wasn’t off-putting.
Except… “Sand.”
“I promise we’ll be safe on the towel,” Brannigan murmured before he zeroed in on a particularly sensitive spot on Kyou’s neck and gave it a nice, hard suck.
Arching into it, Kyou’s eyes fluttered shut in pleasure. Still, he couldn’t help but rag on Brannigan a little. “If you get sand somewhere I don’t want sand, you’ll never hear the end of it.”
Brannigan laughed softly against his neck, and it had a rascally edge to it. “I like to live dangerously, you know that.”
That he did. And Kyou wouldn’t change it for anything.
To the fans who wanted Ari and Carter’s wedding scene:
Never fear, you will get it this Christmas! They deserve to have their moment, it just didn’t fit here.
Acknowledgements
This series was much more research intensive than I initially anticipated. Mostly because of the culture and languages of the guys. Many people helped me in this, but I want to do a special shout out to my beta readers, who helped catch all of those little issues *coughtimelinecough* and always got back to me in time to make the final adjustments. Also special acknowledgement to Lidia and Sofia who were my main language experts for this series. I owe them hugs and maybe vodka.
Dictionary
Russian Dictionary:
Bliat’ – fuck
Chert – damn
Da – yes
Der’mo – shit
Durak – fool
Horosho – good
Lyubimyy - beloved
Milij – dear/precious
Njet – no
Ohuenno – awesome (can be used sarcastically as well)