How to Shield an Assassin (Unholy Trifecta Book 1)

by AJ Sherwood

  “Is that a ‘yes, go ahead and speak’ or ‘yes, I’ll do it?’” Ari asked dryly. “Because it sounded like the latter.”

  “I get to play with my two friends and see my precious solnishko. Of course I’ll come! What’s the job?”

  “Knowles,” Carter answered. He could not believe it was this easy to hire all three of these men. He’d expected days of negotiations, not this instant response. Especially as Eidolon had been refusing jobs lately. “Specifically, we’re to retrieve Monet’s Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lilies and restore it to the Met.”

  “Tricksy stole it for Knowles; we’re undoing her work,” K threw in.

  Eidolon laughed evilly. “What a wonderful present. It’s not even my birthday. Mr. Harrison, it’ll be a delight to work this job. What’s the pay?”

  “Client’s giving me 10 mil. I’ll split it with you guys four ways.” Wait, that response made it seem that Eidolon hadn’t even heard about the job. Eidolon was too keen on taking it and was ignorant of even the basics. Just what had his broker done to contact the thief? Had he even tried?

  “Excellent. I’ve done more work for less. When do we start?”

  “Best window to get in that I’ve found is about a month from now,” Carter informed him. He set his curiosity aside to be satisfied later. “But you might see something I didn’t. B&E isn’t exactly my forte.”

  “Hmm. K, I think you and I need to put our heads together and get a firmer idea. For now, are we all meeting up?”

  “You three can. I’ll mostly be working remote on this. I’ll be nearby if I need to jump in, though.”

  Ari nodded as if this didn’t surprise him. “Fair enough. We need a safehouse for Harrison, K. You got something in this area we can use? Rem’s not out of school just yet so I’d prefer to stay here a little longer until we’re ready to move.”

  “Not really.”

  “He can stay with me,” Eidolon volunteered readily. “I have enough room for a guest.”

  “Yeah, that’s more feasible,” K agreed without giving Carter a chance to get a word in edgewise. “Harrison, I’ll text you the address.”

  Carter stared suspiciously at the phone. “You don’t have my number.”

  “You’re adorable. Talk with you later.” K abruptly hung up.

  Ari snickered at Carter’s expression. “Just assume K knows everything.”

  “Faster that way,” Eidolon agreed equably. “I was bored; this is good timing. See you soon, solnishko!”

  8

  Ari

  Ari waited until later that night to call Kyou again. He was fairly sure he’d made the right judgement call, but it never hurt to double check. Remi was in a massive bubble bath, singing at the top of her lungs, so it was safe to do some business. A light wind rustled through the trees, taking the edge off the humidity, which he appreciated. It was a typical southern night, light on the heat and bugs, although he kept the screen door closed on his back porch. No sense taking chances. They were at the far edge of a subdivision, hovering on that edge of having good internet connection and yet some privacy at the same time. He sat in a chair on the patio, enjoying the night breeze and a beer, and called up his friend.

  “Speak,” Kyou deadpanned.

  “That joke never gets old for you, does it?”

  “Is it my fault that your childhood was so lacking you don’t know The Addam’s Family? What’s up?”

  “You’d tell me if I needed to shoot Harrison, right?”

  “Dude. That is quite possibly the stupidest question you’ve ever asked me, and you’ve asked some really stupid questions over the past fifteen years. Unless he’s done something that’s made you uneasy?”

  “No. No, he hasn’t. He’s reassured me he won’t breathe a word about Remi. It’s just…” Ari trailed off, not sure how to explain his fears and make it sound rational. He’d never envisioned, back when he decided to take Remi in, that he’d be seized with irrational urges where she was concerned. That just the thought of her being harmed would constrict the breath in his chest so hard it hurt.

  “You know we won’t let anyone touch the princess. I’ve got multiple alerts on her. If anyone even looks at her funny, I’ll know. I wouldn’t have accepted the job if I had any doubts about Harrison anyway. He’s been in this business almost as long as we have, and he’s never once double crossed anyone. And he’s careful with kids.”

  “I know. It’s why I didn’t shoot him on sight. He wasn’t even packing when he came to talk to me. I think he ditched the gun before stepping in. He didn’t want to scare Remi.”

  “Yeah, that fits with what I know of the man. You’re just rattled someone aside from us can ID her.”

  Ari took a swig of beer rather than answer because that was it exactly. The fear ran strong enough he was half-tempted to shoot Harrison regardless. But he’d promised he wouldn’t do that, and he didn’t want to become a man who let his fears rule over him. “You coming in to stay with us for this job?”

  Squawking, Kyou protested, “I can work remote!”

  “Really? You of all people know how much Ivan has to be babysat with tech. You really think you can walk him through it remotely? And you know good and well Remi will need to sit with you when we go in. I can’t leave her on her own.”

  Kyou whined, “But the outernet is scary.”

  “Getting away from your computer monitors will be healthy for you. Not to mention taking a break from your stalking.”

  “Excuse you very much, I am not stalking him. I am looking out for his interests.”

  “For two years. Without pay. Suuure, that’s not stalking.” Ari was mostly teasing. Mostly. Kyou really had been cyberstalking one man in particular. He claimed it was to repay a debt but wouldn’t give Ari or Ivan any real details about it. They weren’t even sure who the man was. “Your love life aside—”

  Kyou squawked again, sounding like a parrot choking on a cracker.

  “—you need to come. You know you do.”

  There was a lot of grumbling on the other end of the line and not much agreement.

  “Kyou. You know that if you don’t have Remi with you, she’ll get into something. She wants to be part of what we’re doing.”

  “Yeah. She’s cute that way. And it’s true, I wouldn’t mind another set of eyes while dealing with Knowles. At least she knows some of what I’m doing. The rest of you are clueless.”

  Ari would protest, but it would not help his case. “So when do you get here?”

  Sighing as if the world was coming to an end, Kyou grudgingly answered, “Gimme a few days. I have some loose ends to tie up, and I need to pack my equipment before I can come.”

  Ari pumped his fist in the air in victory. Getting Kyou out of his lair took a lot of baiting/bribery/threats these days. The computer hacker preferred to be safely tucked away from the world with a monitor between himself and society. Remi was the most reliable way to draw him out, but not always. “She’s really excited to be working with you again, you know.”

  “I know. Ari…can I level with you?”

  “That doesn’t sound foreboding or anything.”

  “It’s just, I know the rising generation is good with tech. They seem to be born with the know-how. But Remi’s…Remi’s really good with it. She instinctively understands what needs to be done. I know she’s all set to be an assassin, like Black Widow, but do you really want her to do that?”

  “In all honesty, not really. I’m good at what I do, but it’s come at a cost. And I don’t want her to pay the same price. She’d be safer as a hacker. You willing to train her?”

  “I already have been. Which is why we’re having this conversation. We need to find ways to leave her with me more often, is all I’m saying. Open her mind to the possibility. She’s only eight, it’s not like she should be deciding on a career anyway at this point.”

  “I wholeheartedly agree with you, man. And look at you, being a good uncle and shit.”

  “How I became an
uncle when I’m not even related to you is my question.”

  “It’s because she’s adorable.”

  “Lethal is what she is. Alright, I’ll be there in about three days, okay? Maybe two. And I’ll keep an eye on Harrison. I don’t think I need to, but better safe than sorry.”

  “Yeah. Thanks, man. I’ll see you in a few days.” Ari hung up and let the phone drop onto the round, glass table at his side. He took another swig of beer and relaxed a bit further. He felt better with having someone on hand for this job to look after Remi.

  Kyou and Ivan, as it turned out, were a godsend. They always pitch-hit when he needed a babysitter, which was fairly often. Six months ago, when he’d taken his daughter in, Ari hadn’t envisioned how much help he’d need to raise her. But the old saying was true. It really did take a village to raise a child. His village happened to be his lawyer brother, a professional hacker, and a Russian thief. Probably not what most people would advise, but Remi was happy and thriving, and that’s all he cared about.

  Speak of the devil. She came out in her Batman pajamas, hair still dripping wet from the bath. Remi climbed into his lap without any invitation, a bit heedless where her limbs went.

  “Elbows,” Ari gasped out, flinching as one hit him dead in a place an acupuncturist would not suggest putting pressure.

  She giggled, as if he were teasing. Ari had not been able to convince her that her elbows were in fact deadly, even for him. But she got comfortable, butt on his thigh, delicate hands resting on his chest and arm. “Daddy. Is Uncle Kyou coming too?”

  “He sure is. I just talked to him. He said he has some stuff to wrap up, then he’ll be here. Three days, more or less. He wants your help on this one,” Ari added, planting the idea early on in her brain to prevent arguments later. “Knowles is going to be tough. The more eyes he has on the cameras, the better.”

  Remi perked up at this possibility. “Really? He said that?”

  “He did. You don’t mind helping him, do you? You’re the only one who can. You know his systems better than we do.”

  She nodded, accepting this as truth. Which it was. (That time Ivan attempted to help Kyou was a thing best buried and forgotten.)

  “Daddy. I like Mr. Harrison.”

  “Yeah?”

  A little worried, she asked, “You’re not going to shoot him, are you?”

  So she’d caught his worry, had she? Damn, this kid was sharp. “I don’t want to, sweetie. And I won’t, unless he gives me very good reason to. But I don’t think he will. Uncle Kyou and I, we know his rep. He doesn’t double-cross people, he’s honest about any contract he takes, and he’s careful with innocents. Kids especially. I don’t think I have to worry about him with you.”

  “But you’re going to keep an eye on him anyway.” She said this as a foregone fact.

  “Yeah. Going off first impressions gets you killed. Besides, it’s not a hardship. He’s a beautiful man.” Shiiit he should not have said that. Ari had fallen into the habit of just talking to Remi, telling her whatever, as she was a good listener. And he wanted good communication lines between them. But that, that he should not have said.

  Remi’s face lit up hopefully. “Will you ask him out?”

  “Honey.” Ari dropped his head to the back of the patio chair. Dammit. This question about dating kept cropping up in different ways since their first conversation about him being gay. Like now.

  “But you said, if you find a guy you think is beautiful, and knows about your real job, you’d be able to date him. It’s just that not many nice men know about you.” Her mouth twisted up in something dangerously close to a pout.

  “I said all of that, yeah. But honey, Harrison is just here for a job. In a month, he’ll be gone on to the next job.”

  Her expression closed off and she shrank in on herself. “I don’t think that’s it. It’s because of me.”

  Shit. And this was why he didn’t want to talk about dating. Ari wrapped an arm around her, hugging her into him and kissing her forehead. How to get this through to her? “No, Rems, it really isn’t. I promise you, it isn’t.”

  “It’s harder to date when you have kids. Mo—she always said so.”

  Any oblique references to the woman who’d given birth to Remi inevitably ended up in conversations he really, really didn’t want to have. “That may be true, but honey, I was single long before I found you. I promise you, it’s not because I’m a dad that makes dating hard. I’m just hard to date.”

  She didn’t look at all convinced.

  Ari had no idea why Remi was fixated on this point. It might be fear, that if she stood in his way, he’d grow tired enough of it and get rid of her. It might be that she wanted him happy too. It could be something else entirely, something he hadn’t thought of. Ari had lost his mother at eight, so he didn’t really remember what it was like to have a parent—his crappy foster parents didn’t count—and he couldn’t really put himself in her shoes and figure it out. His memories of his mother were murky, to say the least. It would likely take a child psychologist to unravel the mystery, and he had too many secrets to keep to make that a viable option.

  All he could do was reassure her, time and again, that it was alright. That everything was fine. Ari had never for one second regretted rescuing her. “Rems, odds are he’s straight. And straight men don’t always react well when another man flirts with them. I don’t want to make him uncomfortable, okay?”

  Her shoulders dropped as she deflated. “Okay. But if he likes you, will you ask?”

  Ari gave that a fat chance, so the promise was easy to make. “Sure. I’ll ask. In the meantime, off to bed with you.”

  “It’s early,” she pointed out, not budging. “And I don’t have school tomorrow.”

  Arching an eyebrow at her, he challenged, “And I’d thought you’d want to go play with Ivan. Didn’t he say he wanted to teach you safe cracking next time? We’ve got three days before Kyou gets here, don’t you think he’ll want to teach you while we’re waiting?”

  Her eyes widened and she was off his lap in a flash, sprinting back inside. “Night, Daddy!”

  So easy. He chuckled as he lifted the beer back to his lips. “Night, sweetie!”

  As the door slammed shut behind her, his smile faded. He’d bluffed Remi that he wasn’t interested, but in fact, something about Carter had caught his attention. Ari didn’t really notice men, not like that. He could visually find someone appealing and not be at all tempted to touch. Something about Carter looked touchable though, and damned if he understood why. Even if he figured it out, he didn’t think Carter would be around long enough for him to even consider an approach.

  Taking another swig of beer, he shrugged off his strange attraction to the man. It was a moot point, anyway. Carter was clearly not comfortable around him, and that was assuming the man would be interested in the first place. Remi’s hopes were dashed on this. Oh well.

  Finishing his beer, he got up and went to bed. There was plenty to do and not much time to do it in. If he were smart, he’d get some good shut eye while he could.

  9

  Carter

  In the normal course of events, Carter found the idea of sharing a roof with another criminal to be, well, normal. Sharing one with Ivan Azarov made him wish for a safe room. The man had been welcoming enough when Carter drove up into his driveway, even introducing himself by his real name, but that didn’t squash any of the butterflies duking it out in Carter’s stomach. Rumor had it that Ivan held ties with the Russian mafia. No one was clear on how, just that he’d left the mother country twelve years ago and chose to work primarily in the US. Sometimes Europe. The tattoo on the man’s chest that peeked out from underneath his shirt collar hinted he was part of something, so Carter was inclined to give that rumor some truth.

  Normally, he wouldn’t have given staying near the man another thought. He often teamed up with other criminals to get a job done. Mercs weren’t really lone wolves by nature. They liked teams, it was ho
w they operated, and Carter was more sociable than most. But the way Ivan had immediately greeted Remi with a warm and affectionate solnishko! (which if Carter’s Russian was correct, meant little sun) stank of potential trouble. The thief clearly adored Remi, and he would not look on Carter favorably because of it. Carter’s knowledge of her would land him on the wrong side of Azarov’s good will.

  So he was on guard when he wandered down into the kitchen of the huge, two-story house he’d bunked in last night. He had no idea where Ivan was, and he wanted to properly scope the place out, as it had been late when he’d gotten in. Ivan had given Carter a quick tour, turned on the security system, and then they’d both gone to bed. Carter had slept with a gun in his hand, but that was just to be expected.

  Today, he wanted to properly see the aircraft hangar in the backyard and scope out the property some, but he wouldn’t. Not until he knew where a certain thief was.

  The smell of pancakes and coffee wafted out into the hallway. His nose twitched, mouth salivating in appreciation, and he stepped through the wide doorway and into a kitchen that’d likely seen its last renovation in the late ’90s. All the beige and brown were a good clue.

  Ivan stood at the stove without either a shirt or apron on, flipping pancakes. He was a tall figure of a man, whipcord lithe and with the grace of an MMA fighter. A couple years younger than Carter’s own thirty-five, perhaps, with just a hint of crow’s feet. He wore dark wash jeans, setting off his pale skin and short, ruffled acorn brown hair. The thief looked…dangerous, to sum it up in a single word. The Glock riding in a holster at the man’s waist might have something to do with that impression, too. He glanced over his shoulder as Carter entered and gave him a nod, grey eyes friendly enough on the surface. “Morning, Harrison.”

  “Morning, Azarov,” Carter returned in the same manner. “That smells good.”

  “There’s enough for you as well,” Ivan assured him.

  “Oh? Thanks.” Carter went and fetched a mug. As he did, he got a better look at Ivan’s chest and the interesting collection of tattoos on the man’s collarbone. An eight-pointed star was dominant in the space, with two smaller stars and a sun below it. The eight-pointed star was Russian mafia lingo for a professional thief. Carter knew that much, but he’d never seen the combination of three stars and a sun before. What the hell did that mean? He wanted to ask but thought it safer to let it ride, and instead poured himself a coffee, noting Ivan had indeed made enough for both of them. He was certainly thoughtful. Or buttering Carter up for the kill.