Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

Garrison

I had planned to return to my apartment at some point, but after falling into bed with Alex, we'd ended up spending the rest of the day and night together.

It hadn't all been sex, though there had been several rounds of that. Later in the evening, Alex had to make a series of phone calls, and several packages arrived for me. Raymond must have worked overtime to get all of my clothing tailored in a matter of hours. However, no quality had been sacrificed for speed. When I tried on the suits and other outfits, they all fit perfectly.

Before I knew it, morning had come, and Alex and I had spent nearly twenty-four hours together.

As we were eating breakfast, the apartment's intercom rang. Alex answered it, then a few moments later met someone at the door. He never let them inside, just spoke with them across the threshold before accepting a box and closing the door again.

Back at the kitchen table, he handed the box to me. "Here. I've got a meeting today, and you're going to need these."

At first, I thought the tailor had forgotten something, but when I opened the box, I didn't find clothes inside.

The box was filled with weapons.

Nothing spectacular. Just a standard Glock with several styles of holsters, and a few combat knives that could be hidden in different places around my body.

No, the weapons themselves weren't a problem. As a bodyguard, it was expected for me to be armed.

The speed at which these weapons had been procured, however, was a concern. Especially with guns, proper licensing took time. I wasn't in the military anymore, and a lot more paperwork was needed for civilians to carry weapons.

When I asked about this, Alex claimed that I would have to speak with Valente. The man was in charge of security for everyone in the Mariano family, and that included weaponry.

In the end, I gave up asking, but vowed to demand answers from Valente the next time I saw the man.

When Alex and I were alone, it was easy to forget the situation that brought them together. However, the world kept spinning even when we weren't paying attention. Someone had tried to kill Alex. My first instinct was to keep Alex safe and locked away, but that wasn't possible. Alex had a family business to run.

So, I dressed in one of the new tailored suits, strapped on the provided weapons, and prepared to stand as Alex's bodyguard.

I'd expected a business meeting to take place in an office. Instead, Alex's driver took us just across the border into New York and dropped us off at an aquarium.

"Offices are boring," Alex said with a shrug. "Besides, the people I'm meeting today aren't exactly friendly. They do business with my family, but they're more like rivals than allies. Meeting on neutral ground like this keeps everything… civil."

Family?

The choice of words caught my attention.

Every time Alex mentioned his family business, he always put more emphasis on the family than the business. Most of the time he seemed to forget that there even was a business, referring to family matters and business matters like they were the same thing.

My hand drifted toward the new gun strapped to my hip.

The front of the aquarium was locked, but Alex led us around to a side door. To no one's surprise, we found Valente already waiting for us.

"Everything is prepared. The others arrived just a few minutes ago."

He gave me a short, pointed look before holding open the door.

I bit my tongue to silence the questions I wanted to ask and followed Alex inside.

Like most aquariums, the lights were turned down low to highlight the various tanks. We stepped into a world of contrasting shadows and lights. There was no one else around, but I still kept my voice to a whisper as I spoke to Alex. "What's prepared? Something I should know about?"

Bright blue light from a nearby tank illuminated one side of Alex's face. The rippling water created a pattern like scales on his skin.

"Valente has set up our own security around the building. The aquarium doesn't open for another hour, so we don't need to worry about crowds, but we still want to be safe." He stopped to coo over some small orange fish in a nearby tank, rubbing one finger on the glass like he was scratching behind a dog's ear.

I had never cared about fish, but it was endearing to watch the small creatures gather near Alex's finger to investigate the movement.

"Do you like fish?"

"Sort of." Alex left the small tank behind and headed farther into the building. "Mostly, I like the atmosphere in these kinds of places. It's soothing. Like being under water without needing to swim."

"If you like it so much, we'll have to come back when someone isn't trying to kill you."

The words were out of my mouth before I could think them through. I schooled my face into a blank mask to keep from blushing.

How could I be so presumptuous?

At the end of the day, the two of us were employer and bodyguard. Nothing more. Sure, we slept together, but satisfying physical needs did not equate to an emotional connection.

Luckily, Alex didn't take offense. If anything, the man's smile grew wider.

He bumped his hip against me. "Careful. That almost sounded like you were asking me on a date." Despite the warning words, Alex's tone and the soft look in his eyes were clear invitations.

Taking a risk, I hooked one finger in Alex's belt loop and pulled the other man closer. "Keep yourself alive and we'll see what happens."

If we were alone, they would have kissed. However, Valente remained only a few steps behind, so we parted just enough to maintain public decency.

That didn't stop Alex from grumbling under his breath. "Ugh. Fuck this meeting."

From what I had understood based on overheard phone calls, Alex had been the one to set up the meeting. Curious, I couldn't help but ask, "Is this meeting really necessary?"

We passed by a large cylindrical tank full of floating jellyfish. Each of us stepped to a different side of the cylinder so we were divided by clear walls of glass and water.

Moving currents distorted Alex's face like a mirage, but the heavy sigh he expressed was unmistakable.

"Unfortunately, yes. My family has worked with these two for a long time. I need to establish myself with them if I'm going to be in charge of things while my father is indisposed."

Between them, dozens of jellyfish glowed in the colored light shining from above. Their boneless forms drifted in circles, slaves to the gentle current of their environment.

Luckily, although the tank was tall, it wasn't very wide. The two of us passed by the barrier quickly and came together once again.

I let my pinky brush the side of Alex's hand in an almost invisible show of support. "If you can't avoid it, then let's get it over with. Go in there, make your presence known, and then we can do something more entertaining afterward."

Even in the dim light of the aquarium, Alex's eyes smoldered like twin coals as they traveled up and down my body.

"I think I made a mistake hiring you. How am I supposed to concentrate when you're putting thoughts in my head?"

I didn't bother responding. We both knew Alex was being rhetorical, but it was thrilling to think that just a few words from me could distract the other man to such a degree.

At the far back of the aquarium, we found the largest tank in the building. The size of a three-story house, it had a completely black backdrop with only jagged rocks and sand for decoration. Dozens of sharks swam through the open water, slipping in and out of the shadows.

Rows upon rows of benches sat before the main wall of the tank, stacked like an auditorium. Signage on the wall advertised the area as a stage for underwater shows.

Two people waited right in front of the tank.

A man stood near the clear wall, watching the underwater predators with genuine interest. He was tall and thin, with an olive complexion similar to Alex. However, his blond hair spoke of mixed heritage.

A woman sat on the lowest row of benches. Her harsh bob haircut and sharp cheekbones made her look like the human embodiment of a knife. Even her nails, which she tapped impatiently on the bench, were blood red and filed to sharp points.

When Alex stepped into the room, both the man and woman turned toward him with such synchronized movements it seemed rehearsed.

I hung back at the edge of the benches as Alex approached the pair. From this distance, I couldn't hear what they said but I was glad to see confidence flowing through Alex with every step.

It was one less thing to worry about.

The layout of the room unnerved me. There were too many doors and high vantage points. No matter which way Alex turned, his back was always vulnerable.

At least a dozen people stood stationed around the room like silent watchmen.

Were all of these Valente's men, or did some of them work for the people Alex was meeting?

I had no way of knowing.

A rough hand grabbed my arm and dragged me away from the benches. I unlocked the holster on my gun before I realized it was Valente who had grabbed me. That fact didn't completely ease my fears, but I kept my gun holstered as we stepped into the far corner.

Valente spit his words through clenched teeth. "Stop being so indecent."

I flexed my arm, but I didn't try to pull it out of Valente's grip.

Although past his prime, the man still had incredible strength. He must have been an absolute powerhouse when he was younger. Even now, he was not someone I wanted to fight one-on-one.

"What are you talking about?"

Valente's grip tightened. "You're a whore with a gun who doesn't know his place, and Alex is too inexperienced to correct you. So, I will. Whatever dalliance the two of you have going needs to stop."

Ah, so Alex was right. Valente was just a bigot who hated that Alex was gay. Having me around only increased that hate as it put Alex's sexuality on display.

I sighed and tried not to roll my eyes. There was nothing I could do to solve that problem. The man hated me for simply existing, and no action on my part could change that.

Ignoring the hand still holding my arm, I turned to keep one eye on Valente and one eye on Alex. The tank wall had been built with a curve, which cut off my view to part of the room from this corner.

"We've done nothing wrong, and we're not harming anyone."

Alex moved closer to the blond man by the tank wall, putting him right at the edge of my sight.

A particularly large shark swam close to the glass, showing off its rows of teeth like it knew it had an audience. In a different situation the smile that graced Alex's face at the sight of the predatory fish would have been endearing. Right now, I just wanted him to pay better attention to his surroundings. There were too many people in this room that I didn't know.

Even Valente, one of the few people I did know, didn't seem to be on Alex's side at the moment. The man was more interested in berating me than guarding Alex, as if being gay posed a greater threat than a bullet to the head.

"You are harming this family. Carrying on such a disgusting affair in public will destroy Alex's reputation with the other families. They'll lose respect for him, and so, lose respect for the Mariano name. They may even refuse to do business with him."

I nodded along, barely paying attention to what Valente was saying. I was too busy cataloging everyone in the room, trying to judge based on body posture who was an ally or an enemy.

"Who's that?" I asked, indicating one of the nameless security personnel standing on the other side of the room.

Valente practically hissed in anger. "Are you even listening?"

I barely glanced at the man, too focused on the rest of the room. "No, I'm not. Answer the question. Who's that? Are they one of our people?"

Grumbling insults under his breath, Valente looked at the person in question. "Yes, that's a member of our security. Why?"

Dread stretched its icy fingers through Garrison's gut. "They're positioned wrong."

I charged forward, intending to get Alex out of danger, but Valente yanked me back. "What are you doing? Don't interrupt."

Turning on Valente with one hand already on my gun, I barely stopped myself from punching the other man in the face.

"That man of yours is positioned wrong. They're too far from the door, and they can't see most of the room from where they're standing. From that angle they only have a clear view of one thing. The back of Alex's head."

Too late.

Even as I spoke, I saw the suspicious man pull out a palm-sized gun. It was the kind of weapon perfect for assassinations as it was easily overlooked, but a small bullet could still kill someone.

There was no time to reach Alex now. Instead, I drew my own gun.

"Alex, get down!"

Thankfully, Alex listened without question and dropped to the floor just before the assassin pulled the trigger.

In the same breath, I fired my own gun, striking the assassin in the shoulder. The man fell, possibly dead, but I was too busy running to Alex's side to care.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Alex pointed to the bullet lodged in the side of the tank. "They missed." Such thick acrylic was stronger than it looked, even against a gunshot. The tank was in no danger of breaking but every shark in the vicinity had scattered to the farthest shadows.

Another gunshot had us both instinctually ducking. Someone cried out in pain. I pulled Alex down behind a bench and peered over the edge.

The blond man clutched his arm. He'd been grazed by a bullet. Without knowing where the shot came from, it was impossible to tell if he had been the original target or was just an unlucky casualty.

Several people swarmed the man, shielding him as they pulled him from the room.

I gripped Alex's arm, intending to do the same. "Come on. We need to get you out of here."

More bullets flew above our heads. We stayed behind the cover of the bench, inching our way toward the nearest door.

The sound of a gun firing from the opposite direction brought us to a halt.

Valente stood at the center of the room, shooting at several targets at once. "Go on." He pulled the trigger again and someone shouted in pain just out of sight. "I'll cover you."

We sprinted for the door, with me shielding Alex as much as I could.

Various tanks and exhibits passed by in a blur as we ran from room to room. The aquarium, which had been so friendly before, was now a twisted labyrinth of shadows and strange geometry that hindered our escape at every turn.

In the middle of an underwater tunnel, our sprint came to a stop. Coral stood to either side, and a group of three armed individuals blocked the path in front. Turning around, we found another armed group waiting for us at the opposite end of the tunnel. We were trapped, pinned in by acrylic walls and deadly weapons.

No choice but to stand and fight.

Alex and I positioned ourselves back-to-back, each facing down one side of the tunnel.

I gripped my gun, finger poised on the trigger. If I was fast, I could probably take out two or three of them before they got too close. It might give Alex enough opportunity to escape, especially if I stayed behind to keep the remaining enemies busy.

Before I could voice this plan, however, Alex nudged me with an elbow. "Take care of your side. These ones are mine."

He charged down the tunnel before I could stop him. Alex had no gun, only a thin silver knife clutched in one hand. It should have been easy for someone to shoot him, but the man was impossibly fast. I knew Alex was fit, I'd explored the other man's body in close detail, but this exceeded my expectations.

In a blur of motion, Alex stabbed his knife through the wrist of the first enemy as they raised their gun. Blood sprayed from the wound, meaning he'd managed to hit an artery on the first stab. It was an incredible show of precision, executed in the blink of an eye.

I couldn't watch any longer. I had my own threat to deal with.

The enemies at the other end of the tunnel were farther away. I fired in their general direction while dodging to the side. My shot didn't hit anything, but it delayed them long enough for me to close the distance.

Forgoing weapons entirely, I slammed a fist into the face of the first person I reached. The man's jaw snapped and he screamed. Blood dribbled down his chin, and several teeth landed on the floor.

I kicked the fucker out of the way and kept going.

Guns were mostly useless in close combat, so I pulled out a knife strapped to the inside of my wrist. It was a short blade but had a serrated edge for maximum damage.

The second enemy managed to block my strike when I swung at his face. Feigning a step left, I spun on the ball of my foot and lunged to the right instead. The trick caught my opponent off guard just long enough for me to slip my knife between the man's ribs. The assailant didn't make a sound as his lungs suddenly deflated, but his face twisted in silent pain. One last breath rattled in his chest as he collapsed to the floor.

Two down, one to go.

The third opponent took advantage of the distraction his fallen comrade had created to stab right for my heart. Blue aquarium light glinted off the edge of the blade, alerting me of the danger just in time. I jumped back, barely missing the fatal blow, but the knife still found my flesh just above the elbow.

Only years of combat experience kept me focused through the pain radiating up my arm. I grabbed the hand holding the knife before it could retreat and used it to drag my opponent closer. Hooking my other arm around the attacker, I threw the man over my shoulder and slammed him as hard as I could into the floor.

Something broke.

I heard the snap of bone when my opponent landed. Yet, it wasn't enough. The man was already trying to stumble to his feet.

Before he could stand and restart the fight, I slammed my boot into the man's temple. The blow knocked the assailant out cold.

With the threat eliminated, I looked toward Alex and froze in shock.

Two of Alex's opponents lay on the floor, sliced to ribbons. I would have thought they were mauled by a jungle cat, based on the numerous cuts on their face and arms. An impressive amount of blood pooled beneath their bodies, implying at least one serious injury on each of them.

The third opponent was pinned to the wall with Alex's hand on the man's throat. As I watched, Alex raised his knife and stabbed it deep into his attacker's gut.

"Who sent you? How did you know I would be here?"

Alex didn't shout. He didn't need to. His face was only inches from his opponent's ear.

Bloody fingers clawed at Alex's hand. The pinned enemy could barely suck in enough air to spit out two words. "F… uck. Yo… u."

In response, Alex relaxed his grip on the man's throat, but pressed his knife deeper into his stomach. "Don't be like that. Gut wounds are fatal, but they take forever. There's still time to get you to a doctor. If you tell me what I want, I might be merciful."

The person thought for a moment, then smiled with a mouthful of bloody teeth. They cackled and spat a glob of red-tinted saliva in Alex's face.

A snarl of rage distorted Alex's features. Pulling his knife out of the person's gut, he stabbed the blade directly into the man's face. Over and over the knife came down, until the person pinned to the wall barely looked human.

Once the enemy was definitely dead, Alex let the body drop to the floor. He stood in the middle of the tunnel, looking up at the water above as he sucked a deep breath in through his nose. With his unbloodied hand, he smoothed disheveled hair out of his face. Then, with a calm expression, he pulled out a handkerchief from the pocket of his jacket and started calmly cleaning his knife.

His hands never stopped moving as he glanced at my felled opponents. "Good job." Holding up his knife to the light, Alex deemed the blade clean enough and stored it and the cloth back inside his jacket. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

I hadn't moved an inch. I barely remembered to breathe. It was only muscle memory that allowed me to re-sheath my own knife without stabbing myself.

Logically, I'd always known Alex must have combat training. The man had been too accepting of the first assassination attempt. Such easy dismissal of violence only came from repeated exposure.

The bloody aftermath scattered over the floor, however, was something else. This was brutality on a level I had rarely seen.

Most shocking, however, was Alex's calm attitude afterward. Even hardened soldiers would balk after turning a man's face into bloody soup. Yet, Alex stepped over the bodies on the floor as if they weren't there and headed for the end of the tunnel.

He stopped only when he noticed I wasn't following. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"Um…" I glanced down at the wound on my arm, barely feeling the pain. "Nothing serious."

Alex returned to my side, inspecting my injury with careful fingers. "Don't worry. We'll get you fixed up. My family's got several expert doctors on payroll."

Lacing our hands together, Alex led me through the tunnel and all the way out of the building.

I followed silently, numb from the brain down.

Outside, bright sunlight stung my eyes after spending so long in the dark. I raised the hand not caught in Alex's grip to shade my eyes as I looked around. The street outside the aquarium looked undisturbed. There wasn't a hint of the brutal battle that had just taken place inside the building's walls.

As usual, a running car waited for us only a few feet away.

Alex slipped into the backseat, dragging me with him. He told the driver to take us back to his apartment, then collapsed back into his seat and groaned.

"That was a nightmare." He ran his hands through his hair, tugging at his scalp in frustration. "Coming after me is one thing. But getting the Vidales and Bianchi families involved… Fuck. They're probably going to blame me, since I'm the one who initiated the meeting. God damn it."

I listened to Alex rant and touched the gun strapped to my hip with numb fingers.

The weapon had been procured too quickly, and I was starting to suspect how.

A thousand questions assaulted my brain at once, but I kept them all behind my teeth. This was not the kind of situation where answers could be demanded, but I also couldn't stay silent.

"Alex?" I e tried to keep my expression neutral as I waited until I had the other man's attention. "We were just attacked. Aren't you going to call the police?"

Black eyes regarded me solemnly. I could almost see the wheels turning in their depths. Asking that question while trapped in Alex's car was probably a bad idea. It could even get me killed, but I refused to play the fool one moment longer.

Finally, after too much silence, Alex spoke.

"I think you already know the answer to that question."

Closing my eyes, I swallowed the knot that formed in my throat.

"No, you're not. Your… family will take care of it."

If I was smart, I would have bailed from the car right that moment. We weren't driving that fast. The fall wouldn't kill me.

However, I wanted answers.

Why had Alex even hired me in the first place?

Was this just a twisted game to keep the other man entertained?

Before I could ask any of these questions, Alex's phone rang.

Never breaking eye contact with me, Alex answered the phone with an angry swipe of his hand.

"What?"

A few words were spoken on the other side of the phone, too soft for me to hear.

Alex suddenly sat up straight. "You can't be… No."

The person on the line kept speaking, but Alex let the hand holding the phone drop to his lap.

As overwhelmed as I felt, Alex's reaction was too worrisome for me to ignore.

"What is it? What happened?"

Dark eyes looked at me again, their glittering depths now dull as obsidian.

Alex opened his mouth, closed it, then went back to staring at his phone.

Another silent moment passed, interrupted only by the rumble of the car's engine as it traveled through the city. I considered taking the phone and demanding answers from the person on the line when Alex finally spoke.

"My father is dead."