The sense of homeliness that struck me as I walked into the apartment was uncanny. It proved that even though we'd lived there together for longer, Canim Lake hadn't felt like home. Life there hadn't been real, and a part of me had remained aware of that the entire time.
This, however, felt like home. Or at least that's what I thought as we passed the door, entering the place we'd abandoned weeks ago. With an order from Lex, the mechanical shutters opened to reveal the view of the fading day outside, bathing us in the soft and warm glow of the sunset.
MC's surgery had gone well, and she'd woken up about an hour after coming out of the block. A little disoriented at first, she had then calmed down. But it had taken us a while to reassure her and remind her why she was here. Even though we were trying to remain positive and optimistic, the possibility that she had endured some form of brain damage was very real, and she wouldn't be out of the woods until a month or two had passed. Only then would I allow myself to relax.
After we'd spent some time with her, we'd left Portland to head home. We had a mission to carry out, and no time to waste.
Things between us were still a little tense, and I suspected they would be for a little longer. All that mattered was that we both understood where each other came from. We just needed a little time, but we would be fine.
We shed our jackets, hung them on the rack by the door, and I looked around, wondering where we should start. Lex seemed to know, though, so he was the one who broke the silence.
"I will reinforce Mary's security system first, so we're sure no one's coming for us while we're here."
"Good idea. I'll send Oli and Meera a text, to tell them we're back in town."
"I'm not sure we should involve them in this, Andrea."
"Well, I agree with this, yes. But I've been talking with them while we were gone, and they have been trying to find dirt on Truman Becker. I think it would be smart to meet with them, just in case they've uncovered things we haven't. But I won't ask them to get involved further than that. This is our problem to solve, so I'm not putting them in danger."
"Alright," he agreed after a few seconds.
Without another word, he headed toward the hidden room, ready to start his task. I caught up with him, though, preventing his retreat.
"Lex, wait," I said, resting my hand on his shoulder.
He turned around, and my palm slid to his neck as he did. I rose on the tip of my feet, my hand gently pressuring him to lower. He didn't fight me, and our lips met for a soft kiss. When our mouths parted, he remained right there, his forehead against mine.
"I love you," I whispered. "Thank you for everything."
"I love you too, freckles."
"How about once we are rid of all this mess, we try our best to have the most ordinary and boring life ever?"
"That's actually a great idea. Our lives have been too eventful as it is."
"Agreed..."
We kissed again, and then I released him to let him go on with his mission. As for myself, I sent that text, and took out my laptop to settle on the couch. I'd been looking for anything I could find about Truman Becker ever since Lex had found out about him originating the kill order on Nammota. I hadn't found much more than what I already knew.
But it didn't seem to matter if the man embezzled money, scammed people, or had so many fraudulent activities... The public didn't seem to care that much about it, too desensitized by a broken society that catered to men like him. No, if we wanted him out of the picture entirely, we'd need more. Something that was less acceptable, something that would ruin his reputation altogether.
Later that evening, after Lex had spent a few hours making sure Mary had our back, we both ate together on the high counter of the kitchen. The Thai food, which was something we'd both dearly missed, had been picked by one of the bodyguards stationed in the building, to ensure it hadn't been altered. Lex's paranoia might have seemed like a lot, but it at least allowed us to eat without worrying about being poisoned.
The next afternoon, Oli and Meera came as we'd agreed upon. Seeing his familiar face was great, and we shared a long hug as soon as they came in. Meera received the same treatment, before she went and forced a hug on a reluctant Lex.
"So, how was Canada?" Meera asked as we settled into the living room.
"How— How do you know we were there?" I asked, surprised.
"Nam taught me all his tricks. There's nothing he can do that I can't get through."
"That's worrying..."
"No, that's invasive," Lex grumbled next to me. "I'm not some challenge you always have to crack, Meera."
"Yeah, yeah... Anyhow, how was it?"
"It was... nice? We hiked a lot, tried out so many board games... Also, we weren't attacked by bears, so that's a nice thing. And you guys, how was cohabitation?"
"It's been great, right carrot cake?"
The tired look Oliver sent me seemed to disagree with her statement, but he nodded nevertheless.
"Since you're likely to stay for a while, shouldn't you be looking for a place of your own?" I tried.
"Ugh, and not get free rides to work and back every day? Also, I'd miss Dandelion too much. And she'd miss me."
"Dandelion?"
"My cat," Oli explained, unamused.
"Isn't she named Princess Twilight Sparkles?"
"Now it's Princess Twilight Sparkles Dandelion, so the short version can be PTSD. I call her Dandy or Dandelion most of the time," Meera clarified.
"I guess it's nice to have someone help you pay the rent?" I hesitantly told Oli, trying to be positive.
"Actually, I pay him back in commodities," Meera said before he could answer.
"Like what?"
"Food, cool shades, candies, Legos..."
"I would also take money, you know," Oli pointed out.
"Why would—"
"Alright, enough of this," Lex interrupted, cutting Meera off. "Have you found anything of significance on Truman Becker?"
"Rude," she complained. "But no, not really. I mean, we found a couple more offshore accounts, one lawsuit a woman filed thirty years ago that went away for some reason, and an unhealthy obsession with Cuban cigars. Like, he goes over fifty to seventy-five of them every month."
"Any details on that lawsuit?"
"She was his assistant, and she claimed he forced himself on her. But she retracted that statement about a week later, and there hasn't been anything since. We've looked in that direction for days, but we couldn't find a single mention of another case like this."
"The word of one woman is, alas, not enough to ruin a man like him. We'd need ten of them, twenty, if we wanted it to be enough," Oli explained.
I nodded, agreeing with his sad statement. The word of one woman wouldn't be enough. And even if we had twenty, it still might not be enough to truly ruin the man's life. Our fucked up world wouldn't care about a bunch of abused women.
"Basically, the man is an asshole, that's for sure, but as far as we know, that's not a crime," Oli concluded.
"It should be," Meera mumbled. "The man exploits illegals and gets them deported if they don't comply."
"What's that?" I asked, hearing this for the first time.
"I found an old post on a forum, where someone was claiming she used to be a maid to Becker. Apparently, he hires illegal immigrants who don't speak English, mostly from South American countries, and then throws ICE on them if there's ever a complication. The woman who posted it explained the language barrier was so he could have a household who wouldn't eavesdrop. She says he likes his privacy. From what she wrote, she and a friend of hers were both hired to work in his penthouse in New York, and they stayed there for about six months. The woman who posted eventually learned some English over that time, but she tried not to show it so she could keep the job. As soon as she slipped up, though, she was laid off. Then two days later, ICE raided her building, and she was sent back to Uruguay."
"Wow, so he threw ICE on her because she now spoke English?"
"Well, she claims it, but she has no way of proving it. The coincidence is still strange, isn't it?"
"It is... But once more, it only proves that he's an asshole. We need something so much bigger."
"We'll keep looking," Oli promised.
"No, you won't." We all turned to Lex, who was stern and grave. "You two have been involved enough as it is. You need to let us handle it from now on."
"What?! But I want to help!" Meera protested.
"Me too. After what he did to my family, I'd love to take down Truman Becker."
I could sympathize with Oli for this. The man had tried to scam thousands of people out of their insurance rights, and without Lex's actions as Nammota, Oli's family would still be crumbling under the weight of his father's medical debts.
"Guys, it's not negotiable," I insisted, trying to be firm. "This man is seriously dangerous, so you two need to stay out of it. Lex and I already have a target on our foreheads. You two are not getting one as well."
"We can protect ourselves, you know. We're not chil—"
"Enough, Meera," Lex cut her. "You will stay out of this. My family and Andrea's are also in danger because of all this. I won't let you take part as well."
She huffed and crossed her arms on her chest before proceeding to pout like a scolded child. Once more, it struck me how the bond these two shared was so brotherly and sisterly. Ty and I had the same dynamics most times.
"Okay, we will stay out of it," Oli capitulated. "But if you need help, just know we are willing to give you a hand."
"We won't."
"Yes, I think we can handle it ourselves," I said, more diplomatic than Lex. "But thank you for all the work you've done, guys. Your support really means a lot."
They stayed a little longer, and we spoke a lot more about Truman Becker. While I didn't voice my worries, I grew more and more concerned that we might not find whatever we needed to take him out. It would have to be something big. Something massive enough to send him to jail, to discredit him to the world, and to make him lose everything. If we poked the bear but didn't properly took care of it, we'd only put ourselves in more danger.
But Truman Becker was too much of an asshole not to have some big and terrible secret hidden somewhere.
As soon as Oli and Meera left, Lex and I returned to our quest. We were in some sort of race against time. Either we defeated our opponent, or he would defeat us.
By the time we went to bed, we still hadn't found anything relevant, despite scavenging both sides of the internet. Cuddled up in bed wearing a semblance of pajamas, our spooning bodies plastered together, we debriefed and tried to strategize, in order to optimize the next day. If we couldn't find anything online, we'd have to find another way to uncover compromising information. We needed to be much more invasive than we'd been.
First thing we'd try would be to hack into his home and work computers, and see if they contained the type of content we were looking for. If that didn't work, we'd look into Becker's private security system, to see if there were cameras we could gain access to. If that failed as well, I wasn't sure how exactly we'd win that war.
We might shoot our shot with all the additional embezzlement and money fraud we'd stumbled upon, but it probably wouldn't be enough to ensure our safety. If truly we couldn't find a way out, our only solution might be to fake our deaths and disappear forever. This would be our only way to protect our loved ones and ourselves from the repercussions we faced.
I hoped to God we'd never get there, though. It would only be half a life if we had to cut everyone out of it.
But half a life was still better than no life at all.
• • •
I woke up alone the next day, which I wasn't really used to anymore. But the sound of my phone buzzing on the nightstand distracted me as I sleepily reached for it. It was my mother calling, and given the early hour, I couldn't help but worry. Had something happened to MC?
I picked up as fast as I could and pressed the phone against my ear. "Yes?"
"Is Alexander with you?" she asked right away.
"Uh, no. He's probably off working out or on his computer. Why? Also, hello to you too, mother..."
"Sorry, pollito. Hello, my darling daughter. I just really wanted to thank you boyfriend, and tell him we can't accept."
"Wait... What are you talking about?"
"He didn't tell you? I thought he'd at least let you know."
"What did he do?"
"Well, no one from the hospital came to bother us with payment solutions. Not even once. So your dad went to check this morning when we arrived to visit mamá before work."
"How is she doing, by the way?"
"Good. As good as a woman her age can expect to be doing, at least. Anyhow, the receptionist told him it was all taken care of, and that all further billing would be sent to Alexander Coleman, as agreed."
That information fell on me like a hammer, leaving me speechless for several seconds. What the... Lex hadn't told me about any of this. When had he even arranged it? We'd been together most of the time when we'd visited MC, and he'd still managed to sneak and do this?
"So he really never told you?" my mom asked.
"No, this is news to me."
"Well, when you talk to him about it, tell him we are very thankful for the gesture, but we can't accept. It's too much."
I winced, understanding where she came from. Accepting so much money from anyone wasn't something we did in my family. And that wasn't just a question of honor, but because these were our values. You had to earn the money you were given, and not expect it to fall on your lap. Even my allowance, as well as my brother's, had come to certain conditions, and during the weeks we didn't help with the house or tend to our chores, we didn't get a single dollar.
So, I understood only too well why she was adamant about refusing Lex's generous offer. But I was well-aware of Lex's financial situation, and I knew that whatever the sum, it hadn't been even close to making a dent in his fortune. Infinitely less than it would have my parents or myself.
"Mom, I understand you, but trust me, it's okay. This is what he does. He helps people who need it. The whole concept of Kelex is to help the forgotten ones. Don't worry about it, okay? You have too much on your plate for that."
"Tell him we will pay him back. Not right now, but we will set up monthly payments or something like this," she stubbornly insisted.
Since she couldn't catch me eye-rolling at her, I allowed myself to do it. It didn't matter what I would tell her, she'd keep insisting. The only person who could change her mind on this was Lex, so I'd let him handle her.
After the phone call with my mother, I made my way to the hidden office, wondering why he hadn't told me about any of this. Was it because he worried I would have objected? Was it because he didn't want any credit for it? Or was it such a small thing for him that it didn't warrant recognition for it?
I found him working, wearing gray sweatpants and a black hoodie. Both of us were strong advocates of comfy clothes, and I loved that about us. His six screens were displaying six different things, and yet he seemed to be easily going through them, as if it was as easy to figure out as a child's game. This made me realize I'd never seen him work as Nammota.
After he'd come out of jail, we hadn't been on good terms, so while he'd used the computer a lot, I hadn't witnessed it. But now that I was, there was a whole new appreciation of his brain that was blooming within me. He was a literal genius, and this was his domain of predilection. This was like a sandbox to him, and he thrived in this very complex and very illegal playground.
I stayed there for a moment, observing his technique, enjoying that I could spy on him for once, and get to see how he was when I wasn't around. It wasn't a surprise that he was so serious and rigorous, and I loved him all the more for it. Somehow, only I could get him to relax, to let loose and forget about work or duties.
Watching him do all this quickly brought another kind of awareness to me, and I felt myself grow aroused by his unknown display of gray matter. All of this was so uncomplicated to him, it triggered the sapiosexual in me. Hard.
Between that and his very generous gesture toward my family, I was burning for him in so many ways.
"Baby?" I called softly, disliking having to distract him in the middle of it. Slightly startled, he turned to me, spinning his chair, and sent me a questioning glance. "I was just on the phone with my mom. She told me you paid for MC's medical bills?"
The perplexed expression on his face revealed he hadn't told me because it was given that he would. But it wasn't. Not at all.
"Yes, I did." I wasn't sure what to answer, submerged by gratitude and affection for him. "Why? Did I do something wrong?" he worried.
"Something wrong?" I repeated, coming closer to him. "Alexander, I'm so fucking grateful for it that I'm going to suck your cock so hard your eyes will be swallowed in."
That got him to stare back at me with a completely befuddled expression, and I bit the inside of my cheek to prevent my smile. "The image is both... terrifying and intriguing. Anatomically, it can't work, but I'm still curious about the possibility."
"I think we should find out," I replied, closing the space between us in two steps.
Not even waiting for an answer, I kneeled before him, my hands flying to his waistband. He somewhat recoiled in his chair, a nervous laugh bubbling in his chest. "Andrea, you don't have to do this." I looked up, meeting his beautiful eyes, and read the love in them. "I didn't do it for favors. I'm not expecting anything."
"Baby... I promise you I'm not forcing myself to do anything. I'd probably be sucking your cock, regardless. It was invigorating to watch you work." I pulled on his sweatpants, and he lifted himself to help push them down, along with his underwear. I grabbed his resting shaft, loving the smooth texture of it. "But I am still very thankful for what you did, even if my mom has some objections. It was very considerate and kind of you. So let me do this for you, at least."
On each side of me, his hands gripped the armrests of his chair and I bent forward, taking the round head of him in my mouth. He grunted my name, and it made something throb low in me.
"I just thought it was the least I could do to help your family in these tough times," he explained.
"Thank you for that. Now, let's go on with our experiment, shall we?"
Hollowing my cheeks, I took more of him past my lips, running my wet tongue on the underside of him. I could sense him grow harder by the second, and his shape expanded in my mouth. Since we hadn't had sex in a few days, something told me he wouldn't last very long, and it made me feel giddy. I always loved it when he finished fast, as it made me feel like a sex goddess. One who could vanquish Alexander Coleman's legendary stamina.
By the time he was as hard as he could get and sleek with my spit, he was already panting, mumbling my name here and there like prayers. When I looked up, I found him with his head thrown back, apparently enjoying my display of gratitude a lot. Of his face, I could only see the sharp blades of his jaw, as well as the stubble on it. I took all of him, my throat stretching to make room for him, my jaw open wide so I wouldn't scratch him with my teeth. His hand eventually found its way into my hair, and his fingers tangled themselves in my curls, pressing me just a little harder with each bobbing of my head.
When I looked up again, I met his darkened eyes, and I read all the filthy promises in them. He was allowing this for now, but I would most certainly get my turn later. His hips rolled in sinuous moves, his hand pressed me further into him, and the intensity of his grunts increased. Knowing he was close, I sucked harder, fucking the base of him with a tight fist.
I sensed him throb against my tongue before his guttural moan reached my ears. A solid hand kept me in place as his seed poured down my throat, thick and generous. I swallowed it all, feasting on his offering, waiting for him to be done.
His grip on my neck loosened as the spurts of his cum slowed, and once I was certain he was done, I moved back to free his shaft from my hold. His eyes fell on me, veiled by satisfaction and something deliciously erotic. His gaze lowered to my chin, where I could now feel something was dripping down. He reacted before I could, and the pad of his thumb slid up to gather his sperm on my skin. The fingertip followed its journey straight to my mouth, where he pushed it between my parted lips, feeding me the few drops that had escaped me.
I stared into his eyes as I sucked on his thumb, and my smile stretched around the knuckle when his irises darkened. We were both visualizing his cock instead of his finger. Playful, I bit him, hard enough to inflict pain, and chuckled when I saw his entire body shudder.
"Aw, your eyes didn't get pulled back into your skull," I humored after I'd released his finger.
"No, they didn't. You'll have to try harder next time, Walker."
"I will. Although, I gave it my all right now."
"Yes, I could feel it."
Using the support of the armrests, I stretched upward on my knees, craving a kiss. "Thank you for making sure my grandmother was taken care of," I told him after a longing peck.
"Anything to make the current situation easier."
I stood up on my feet, and passed a hand in his hair to mess it up a little, liking it better when he was a little dishevelled. Still so grateful for what he'd done, I brought his head close to my chest and hugged him tenderly. With his temple pressed between my breasts, his arms reached around me to hug me back. My fingers mindlessly drew spirals on his neck, along his nape.
"Have you gotten your breakfast yet?" he asked, forever the carer.
"I just did. Gotta admit, it was stellar. Quick service, generous portions, and great flavors. Also, the chef is a sexy hunk."
He chuckled at my joke, shook his head disapprovingly, and looked up to glimpse at me. "Alright, as much as you love eating my cum, you need something more substantial. I was waiting for you so we could eat together."
"Then how about this; I'll go cook us something, and in the meantime, you can return to whatever I interrupted. I'll call you when it's ready."
"Freckles, you can interrupt me whenever you want if it's for that."
"I'll try to remember that. And ditto, by the way. If you're ever up for some Mexican-American delicacies, I'm your girl."
His hands lowered, and he filled them with my ass, kneading the soft flesh with clear intent. The flannel of my small shorts wasn't enough to shield me from anything, and it sent jolts of desire right to my front. My intimacy palpitated from it, and my knees trembled slightly. Between the blowjob and the fact that we hadn't fucked in nearly a week, I was craving him. But I was also actually starving, my stomach begging to be filled even more than my pussy.
Since they were hard and begging for attention, my nipples were easily found despite my T-shirt, so he found one on the first try. He pulled on it with his teeth, through the fabric, and then let go of it before seeking the right one. "Breakfast first," I stopped him, putting my hand over the tip he sought.
"So I can't pregame like you just did?"
"I guess it's a good thing you can be on a full stomach and won't need to control your gag reflex when you repay me," I joked, dislodging myself from his embrace. "Now, you work, Mr. Nammota, and I'll go make us pancakes."
He mumbled some childish objection, but still allowed me to leave. I could sense his eyes on me the whole time I walked out, and did my best not to look back even once.
This man must have had some magic power, something going on that was supernatural somehow. Because despite everything, the uncertainty, the danger, and the precarious future ahead of us, I was happy. He made me happy, in the truest, most wholesome way.
And given everything, I needed that.