by AJ Sherwood
Of course, Carter finally understood exactly why Malvagio—Ari—had taken all of those precautions.
Who’d have thought the assassin known as ‘Wicked’ would be a father?
Remi was quite possibly the most beautiful little girl Carter had ever seen. He stared at her in bemusement as she pulled on her last tennis shoe. She was graceful for her age, not a wasted movement, slender like an athlete, with a doll shaped face, butterscotch colored hair, and warm chocolate brown eyes. She looked nothing like her father, who resembled more a dark, swarthy Italian pirate. Remi had to take after her mother.
He was under no illusions about the situation. Carter might have stumbled across them by accident, but if he dared to breathe a word about Remi to anyone, he’d have an enraged assassin after his head. In their world of violence, she was a very soft target. Carter was frankly lucky Ari hadn’t shot him on sight. If their positions had been reversed, he probably wouldn’t have hesitated.
Catching Ari’s eye, he said quietly, “She’s beautiful.” The words conveyed what he didn’t say: I won’t breathe a word about her. Sorry for seeing her, man, my bad.
Ari relaxed a fraction of a hair and gave him a tight smile. “She is. And charming. And knows it.”
Bouncing up to Ari, Remi caught his hand and batted her big brown eyes at him beseechingly. “Fries?”
“Why do you always want fries after dance? It’s like an addiction.” Rolling his eyes, Ari asked casually, “Want burgers and fries? There’s a good joint about a block down; we can walk to it.”
Carter was less concerned about food and more focused on getting this man’s help. He nodded. “That’s fine.”
They left the studio, Remi on Ari’s other side, Ari acting as a buffer between her and Carter. Carter was aware that just being near his daughter set the man on edge, so he tried to offset that a little. “I had no idea you had a daughter, and I’ve been looking for you for the past month.”
Ari cast him a sharp glance from the corner of his eye. “Yeah? No one’s heard about her yet, then?”
“Not a peep. All I had to go off at first was that you were in the Carolinas somewhere taking a break and wouldn’t accept any contracts until June.”
“I’m surprised you heard even that.”
“It was a whisper, really, more of a rumor. Someone who knew someone spotted you coming through this area kind of thing. Seeing you in the dance studio was pure luck. I stopped here for gas.”
Ari grunted satisfaction. “I worked hard to manage that.”
“I could tell. It was a pain in the as—” Carter belatedly remembered a young child listened and wasn’t sure if cussing was an okay thing, amending to, “—butt to find you. Where’s Waldo has nothing on you.”
Ari snickered.
Leaning around her sire, Remi informed him, “You can cuss. Daddy does it all the time.”
It was really giving him a headache, trying to fit the concept of ‘daddy’ and ‘Malvagio, deadly assassin’ in the same brain space. Carter went with the easier section of that sentence. “Okay. Thanks.”
“And you can tell me stuff,” she continued cheerfully. “I’m going to be like Black Widow when I grow up, so it’s okay to talk about assassin stuff in front of me.”
Ari caught his eye and gave him a minute shake of the head, indicating Carter better not just tell his little girl everything. Carter gave him a minute nod back to show he understood, but answered Remi, “Sure. Wait, really? You want to be like Black Widow?”
“Yeah, she’s awesome,” Remi enthused, bouncing for two steps, pulling at Ari in the process.
“Well, yeah, she’s badass,” Carter agreed. She wanted to be like Black Widow, but not her dad, who was an actual assassin? Kid logic hurt his brain.
The diner was a ’50s mockup, with pink walls and blue barstools, serving an (un)healthy mix of greasy and fried foods. They settled into a back-corner booth, a waitress in roller skates took their orders, then they waited long enough for her to wheel out of earshot. Something about Ari and Remi looked entirely perfect sitting in the booth. It could have been their familiarity with the place, or that Ari had the right style to look like he was part of the scenery with his blue wash jeans and white t-shirt, but it was interesting either way. Carter did not feel as comfortable, but he put that down to knowing he had to state his offer carefully or risk getting shot. What didn’t help his comfort level was finding Ari attractive. He’d always favored dark brunets. Ari’s golden, sun-kissed skin and rangy build drew Carter’s eye and attention. His ink black hair waving messily around his ears and intelligent espresso colored eyes ensured his attraction. The man looked downright edible, really. Carter gave the possibility of them getting it on a zero percent possibility with a chance of Hell Nopus, which was a shame. Because he’d so love to tap that.
He internally sighed, tapped down his libido before it could start whining, and firmly put himself into a more professional headspace. After their drinks arrived, he leaned in a little and said in a carefully low tone, “Job’s a month out. I’ve got two months to complete it, but the best window I’ve found is in a month. I can show you the schedule I dug up, see if you disagree, but that’s my time frame at the moment.”
“Okay.” Ari watched him like a hawk, idly playing with the strawberry milkshake in his hand. “What’s the target?”
“A painting. Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lilies.”
“Monet’s Water Lilies?” Ari hissed, surprise flaring those espresso eyes wide. “Isn’t that supposed to be in the Met?”
“Yeah. Well, actually, it’s still supposedly in the Met.” Carter quirked an eyebrow and waited.
It didn’t take Ari long. Whistling, he bit his lip to stifle a chuckle. “Now that’s embarrassing.”
Remi’s eyes bounced between them and, growing impatient with the cryptic talk, finally tugged at Ari’s sleeve. “What’s going on?”
“A bad man stole a very famous painting,” Ari explained rapidly in a whisper, “from a very famous museum of art. But the museum doesn’t want to admit it’s stolen, so they put a forgery up in its place.”
“Ohhhh,” Remi said in understanding. “Did the museum hire you, Mr. Harrison?”
He blinked at being so politely addressed. The idea of Malvagio having a daughter still messed with Carter’s head something fierce, but they did make for a very cute picture. With their heads put together like that, the sunlight coming in from the window gleaming in their hair, they looked picturesque. Carter found himself smiling without intentionally meaning to. “Yes, that’s right. They want this handled quietly. A quick swap, before their insurance is due to be updated and the painting tested.”
“Ah.” A small smile played around Ari’s lips. “Therefore the deadline. Who took it?”
“Tricksy.”
“Damn, that woman is good.” Shaking his head in wonder, Ari confided to Remi, “Tricksy is one of the best thieves in the known world. I’ve only worked with her twice before, and it was a thing of beauty, watching her work. So we’re undoing her hard work, huh?”
“You know that’s only going to amuse her.” Fortunately, Tricksy didn’t care about what was stolen or if her colleagues put stolen property back. As long as she got her paycheck, she was good. Did that mean Carter wouldn’t send her a head’s up? Of course not. There were professional courtesies if nothing else to observe. Tricksy was not a woman you wanted to piss off.
Ari canted his head at Carter, clearly thinking hard, and coming to some internal decision. “I’ll be honest with you, Harrison. I didn’t get into Knowles alone last time. Frankly, I wouldn’t have been able to.”
Carter wasn’t actually surprised to hear that. Knowles was worse than Fort Knox. It made sense Ari’d had help. “Who helped you?”
“Two friends. A professional thief and a hacker.” Ari rubbed a hand along his jaw, the barely there stubble rasping audibly against his palm. “If you only have a month to pull this off? Then I highly suggest pulling th
em in. It’s going to be a pain in the ass otherwise.”
“It’ll mean splitting the payment,” Carter pointed out. He was intrigued, because if Ari was volunteering the information, it meant he was less inclined to shoot Carter. Something he’d said had pinged the man’s curiosity enough that he wanted to actually take the job. It made him wonder who, exactly, Ari trusted enough to work with. The possibility of working with competent people was icing on the figurative cake after the last shit show Carter’d been on.
Ari shrugged. “Yeah. But I don’t see how just the two of us can get in there without them. You a hacker?”
“I know a few tricks but I’m not that good.”
“Yeah, me neither. I know you’re just taking my word for it, but I trust these guys with my life. Better, I trust them with hers,” he inclined his head down at Remi, who listened to them intently, “and they have the experience to get us in, as they’ve already done it once before.”
That spoke well of them, alright. Still, Carter wasn’t going to just blithely agree. “Will you tell me who they are?”
“K and Eidolon.”
Carter let out a low whistle. “Damn, you know all the right people, don’t you?”
Ari grinned and shrugged as if this wasn’t any big deal.
K was notorious—one of the best hackers in the business—and very, very private. Few knew his real name. No one knew where he lived or even what he looked like. In fact, this was the first time Carter had met someone who actually knew the hacker personally. The thief Eidolon was more visible. Harrison hadn’t met him personally, but he knew of him. Knew that people called him Eidolon for a reason. The man could get in anywhere, as if walls didn’t even pose a challenge. It was remarkable how many things he had stolen in his career, and Carter knew the man couldn’t be over thirty. “I’m curious. Did it really take all three of you to get in?”
“Yeah. That’s how difficult Knowles is.” Ari gave him a pointed look and didn’t say another word.
Carter had suspected Ari hadn’t done the job alone, but the story he’d heard had only mentioned the assassin. Carter was just as glad rumor had chosen to pick out Malvagio and not the other two. Carter would still be looking next century if he tried to lay hands on either Eidolon or K.
“I’ll be honest. I like working with teams. I especially like working with competent teams who already know the lay of the land. I’d rather split it four ways than not get a payout at all.”
“That’s about your only choices in the matter. Okay, in that case, let’s pause this conversation until we can get the other two on the phone.”
“Both uncles are coming in to work with you?” Remi asked in growing excitement. “Can I help Uncle K again?”
“You’ll probably end up with him,” Ari responded thoughtfully. “Best place for you during this job.”
Since the hacker would be working remote, not inside with them. Yes, that was obvious. What startled Carter was that Remi called both of these men ‘uncles.’ She knew them. When Ari said he trusted both of these men with his daughter, he hadn’t been just throwing words around. If Ari trusted him enough to offer all of this, did that mean he could finally relax and move his hands off the table? Carter visually imagined doing that and then re-considered, keeping them carefully in sight.
“Where you staying?” Ari asked casually.
“I don’t have anywhere at the moment,” Carter admitted slowly, trying to figure out what this question led to. That was supposed to be a casual question, correct? Carter’s instincts didn’t throw up a red flag, but he still found it impossible to really relax on the bench. “I just drove into town this morning. All of my gear is still in the car.”
“Hmm. Alright, let’s go to the park after this and get those two on the phone. They’ll likely have a safe house you can crash at. It’ll be smarter to stay there, all things considered. And we’ll move there too after we get school done.” Ari sighed and gave his daughter a long look. “Two more weeks.”
She grinned back up at him. “Then summer vacation!”
“You have no idea how relieved I am by that, kiddo. You’re brutal on the pleebs.” Ari commiserated to Carter, “Some moron tried to stick his hand up her shirt. She flattened him.”
Huffing on her nails, Remi buffed them against her shirt, chest sticking out proudly. “I sure did.”
Carter considered the facts. Daughter raised by notorious assassin. Unarmed/unskilled eight-year-old boy. “Is he still breathing?”
“Yeah, although I understand she broke his nose.” Ari tried to look put upon but he still had a proud gleam in his eye.
Carter found the expression humanizing. Ari truly looked like a father, and only a father, in that moment. The tension keeping Carter stiff in his seat finally unwound enough he dared to drop a hand to rest casually on his lap. Ari didn’t even seem to notice. (Which was a lie, of course he did, but it didn’t make the man nervous.) Carter relaxed a notch further and studied Remi thoughtfully. If she was already doing this at eight, what would she be like at eighteen…? Carter looked at the little girl sharing a booth with him and the word ‘formidable’ floated in his mind. “Good for you.”
Remi beamed at him. “Mr. Harrison, do you have kids?”
“Ah, no. I’m single. No kids.”
She sighed, thin shoulders slumping. “No one has kids.”
Carter looked to Ari for a translation on that one. Ari gave his daughter a consoling pat on the shoulder. “She really wants a playmate. Someone who’s in a similar situation that she doesn’t have to pretend with. But most people in our profession don’t really have families. Or if they do, they’re certainly not going to advertise it. Too dangerous.”
He saw the problem but really, there wasn’t a good solution. “Sorry, Remi.”
“It’s okay,” she sighed again.
Their food arrived, and everyone dug in. The topic shifted to different things, mostly about what was happening in the world and news stories. They finished up and walked out casually, like any couple out with their daughter, and down the street another block. A small park surrounding the old train station—now gift shop—lay devoid of people. They settled on a green, metal bench with Remi sitting on her father’s knee. Ari pulled his phone up and called K, putting the phone to his ear. Carter watched curiously and kept his mental fingers crossed that both pros would agree to the contract.
Ari’s demeanor softened as he answered, “Hey, K. Yeah, professional call this time. Yeah, that text. He found me today.”
Carter’s mouth went dry. Shit. Ari had shot off a quick text to someone at the dance studio. Carter hadn’t thought much of it, too busy reeling from seeing Remi. But of course Ari would have alerted someone that Carter was there. K would be the obvious choice—the one who could remotely keep track of the situation. Just how close had he already come to being targeted by two criminals?
Maybe he should buy a lottery ticket. His luck was proving phenomenal today.
Ari shot him a dry glance. “Yeah, tell me about it. Anyway, he came looking for a reason. He’s got a job involving Knowles that he wants help with. Two-month deadline, but best opening to get the job done is in a month, according to him. Contract’s 10 mil. You up for it? Okay, hang on.” Putting the phone on his knee, he hit speaker. “Alright, you’re on speaker.”
“Hello, Harrison.”
“Hello, K.” He sounded…young? If he was older than his twenties, Carter would eat his boots. He also didn’t sound ready to take Carter out. Maybe even friendly, which was a good sign. Carter went with being extra polite, just in case. “Thanks for speaking with me.”
“I admit I’m intrigued. Ari’s clearly agreed to work with you, otherwise we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I’m not inclined to let him go back into Knowles alone, especially with his current situation.”
“He knows about me,” Remi pitched in.
There was an audible hiccup. “Well, hell. That puts a spin on things. Princess, how’d you ge
t discovered?”
“He found us at my dance class.”
“Ah. Harrison, you’re lucky you’re still breathing right now.”
“Trust me, I feel my luck,” Carter assured him, meaning every word. “And I know better than to breathe a word about her. K, in the interest of full disclosure, do you want me to tell you the target before you agree?”
“I do want to know, but it’s not necessary. I’ve read your file, Harrison. You’re not the type to betray people. You’ve got my help and I expect one-fourth of your payment.”
Carter took the first full breath he’d managed in the past half hour. “I have no problem with that. We have an agreement. Target’s Monet’s Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lilies.”
K put the pieces together rather quickly and started laughing. “Oh, now that’s embarrassing. The Met’s focus this month is on Monet. And what’s up right now in their gallery is a forgery? Priceless. I can guess who our client is, but who stole it to begin with?”
“Tricksy.”
“Ah? Well, that’ll make our thief friend happy, as he loves ribbing her. Have you spoken with Eidolon yet?”
“No,” Ari said, “I called you first. Want to pull him in for a conference call? You know he’ll agree.”
“Of course he’ll agree. He loves working with the princess and he’s always ready for a challenge. I think he’s been bored the past two weeks, too. And you know what he’s like when he’s bored.”
Ari shuddered. “And the eastern seaboard is still intact?”
“Yeah. Barely. Call him, see if he picks up.”
Ari punched a few buttons on the phone, adding ‘Eidolon’ into the call. Harrison appreciated that even on his personal phone, Ari was cautious enough to not use anyone’s real name. That kind of paranoia kept people alive.
The phone rang three times before a deep, rough voice answered brightly, “Ari! How is my solnishko?”
“Your solnishko is fine and dandy but I’ve got you on speaker with Carter Harrison,” Ari informed him quickly. “K’s with us on the call too. We’ve got a job we want to run past you.”
“Da,” Eidolon said instantly.
