Evenfall (106 page)

Sin lit a cigarette and squinted up at the ceiling for a moment, rubbing his hand across his stomach idly. "Soon. Before it gets light at least. They are most likely still on alert at the moment so I'll give them time."

There was something about his tone that made it obvious that despite the way he'd temporarily lost himself in sex, he still wasn't over the fact that someone had bested him in some way.

Boyd nodded silently and turned his head to stare at the ceiling. Although he thought it may be better to wait, he could tell that Sin was not going to let this go. His pride was probably challenged by the fact that someone had stalked them without them knowing, and no doubt he wanted to check this guy out personally to see what was happening with him. Jason Alvarez didn't necessarily have a reason to go there but it was entirely possible that he would've wanted to check it out if he found out that his roommate and lover had been assaulted by someone who worked there. Also, even if Boyd was certain what was in the crates judging by all the hints he'd gathered, it was true that he still hadn't positively identified the contents with his eyes, so that could be another goal of them going down there.

However, Boyd couldn't deny that he would be a little annoyed if Sin could get the answer in one night when Boyd had been watching for weeks. He knew he was good at his job but it felt like Sin always had to be one step better at everything. The only thing Boyd had been better at before this mission was undercover work and planning, but after their stint in Monterrey no doubt Sin would be superior at that as well.
The thought was not a particularly pleasing one and for a moment Boyd could see why Kassian would have issues with Sin. At least Boyd was one Level below him; if they were the same rank, he would especially feel like he had to be competitive. He sighed quietly to himself and sat up, making a mild face at the stickiness, and kicked his pants and underwear fully off his legs. He pulled his shirt off and threw it carelessly to the side, finally looking over at Sin again as he stood.

"I'm going to shower," he told him calmly.

Sin nodded distractedly, appearing lost in his own thoughts although his eyes still scanned the length of Boyd's naked body almost absently. "Are you going with me?"

"Well, we could risk you getting lost trying to follow my directions or I could just go with and lead you straight there," Boyd said mildly. He turned fully, giving Sin a better view as he raised his eyebrows. "I would guess both our preferences would be I come with."

Sin grunted, not bothering to hide his open stare and instead raised an eyebrow at Boyd. "I thought you already did that."

"Mm." Boyd tilted his head in agreement, his tone remaining mild. "That tends to happen in your presence, even if you're an evil bastard sometimes."

One dark eyebrow rose and Sin gazed at Boyd coolly. "Oh?"

"You nearly made me beg," Boyd reminded him dryly after a brief, pointed pause. "I think you just like me at your mercy."

"Nearly?" Sin asked with a smirk. "I'm pretty sure you
did
beg."

Boyd affected a haughty expression. "No, I merely requested that you continue. It's only polite to say 'please' after all."

Sin snorted and pushed his shoulders against the floor before springing to his feet easily. "Whatever lets you sleep at night, sweetheart." "Ah, the resurrection of 'sweetheart'," Boyd said in amusement. "Don't you get a nickname too?"

Sin grabbed a sleeveless shirt from the floor that he'd apparently discarded earlier. "No."

He slipped it on and it clung to his chest, clearly showing his well-defined muscles through it. The collar of the shirt was ragged and looked just as threadbare as his jeans. That taken into account with his disheveled hair, perpetually shadowed jaw and the cigarette dangling from his lips made him look every bit the rebellious punk that he was supposed to be.

"Actually I want to go now. You don't need a shower, let's just go."

Boyd looked at him sidelong and thought about pointing out that of the two of them Sin wasn't the one covered in semen so of course he didn't care about showering. But rather than bother with that he just shrugged with one shoulder and swiped his shirt from the floor to wipe himself off. It didn't take him long to get dressed again in a new set of clothes, this time with his hair pulled out of his eyes with a baseball cap. He glanced at Sin but didn't say anything as he opened the door and walked out.

There weren't many people on the streets so early in the morning, which was good and bad. It meant they could move quickly but it also made them more conspicuous and Boyd didn't think it would be particularly prudent to be obvious about where they were headed. Even if the man could probably tail them regardless of the precautions and even though Sin seemed intent on getting there relatively quickly, Boyd didn't feel comfortable with a direct route. Despite that, it didn't take them long to arrive at what for Boyd was becoming the rather familiar warehouse with the restaurant huddled in front.

As they slipped through the shadows of an alley along the side, Boyd couldn't help but notice that it was especially quiet. He raised an eyebrow at that and looked over at Sin, tilting his head as if to ask if he noticed anything strange or any presence nearby. Boyd didn't sense anyone except Sin in the vicinity but that hardly meant anything; the man had already suddenly appeared once and he doubted it would be any different this time.

Sin's face was expressionless as he shook his head once at Boyd, indicating he didn't notice anyone either. They moved further into the shadows and although they weren't on a real assignment, it seemed as though he was in mission mode. They slipped into the alley where the confrontation had occurred and noticed that the restaurant was still closed-- something that wasn't surprising considering the time of day it was. That wasn't important though, if Boyd was right about what was going on, the restaurant was just a cover for the warehouse in the back anyway.

Sin's eyes skimmed the vicinity and for a moment his mouth turned down in a slight frown. Whatever activity had been going on an hour ago had obviously ceased.

"Let's go in," He muttered and looked around.

There were no side doors into the warehouse from this direction and for a moment he puzzled at how the man had apparently disappeared when Boyd turned his back. Not only were there no entrances to the warehouse but there were no doors leading to any other building either. He stared up the side of the building before his eyes focused on the wide windows. The nearest one was several feet above his head but he jumped up easily and caught one of the small sills with his fingertips. It didn't seem possible that he would be able to pull himself up to the window but that is exactly what he did.

He stood at the edge of the window, blending in perfectly with the darkness. Although it seemed precarious, like he would fall off at any moment, he seemed completely unconcerned with the height and somehow was balanced well enough that he was in no danger. He peered into the warehouse with a slight frown on his face. Nothing could be seen from the angle and he shook his head at Boyd before looking up and carefully picking his way across the sill before pulling himself up into another window.

Boyd stared up at Sin with his eyebrows raised; it was obvious that Sin's method of scaling the building was most likely the same as the man's, there was no other explanation as to how he would have disappeared so quickly. However, there was no way Boyd would be able to reach the lowest window without something to stand on and even if it sounded like there was no activity at the moment he didn't think dragging something over to crawl up would be very intelligent. Instead, he moved back against the wall and looked around carefully. He still didn't sense anyone but he wasn't going to push it by climbing the rickety and squeaky fire escape. So he just waited, watching Sin for some sort of signal.

Sin climbed higher and higher for several long moments until he finally got to a window with an angle that allowed him the best view of the inside of the warehouse. He looked inside for awhile before glancing down at Boyd with a frown. Without a word he began climbing back down the side of the wall but halfway down he gave up on that and just dropped to the ground, landing in a crouch. "Looks empty."

Nodding, Boyd walked quietly to the door and tried the knob. It was locked but that was to be expected. He took the baseball cap off and flipped it upside down, squinting in the dim light until he was able to pull a small pin out near the bill. Within seconds he had picked the lock and was able to open the door. Although no lights were on in the warehouse itself, there was enough ambient light through the window to see that there was nothing there. Boyd stopped just inside, not certain yet if he was impressed or irritated.

"Wow," he said in disbelief. "When you said 'empty' I thought you meant of people, not everything."

Sin walked farther into the room, looking around with a scowl etched into his features. "I thought you said they were unloading a bunch of shit?"

"They were." Boyd put the pin back in place in the bill and turned in a circle, as if somehow the crates would magically appear behind him. When the room remained just as empty, he put the hat back on and narrowed his eyes. "This shouldn't be possible. There was too much cargo; even if they doubled the amount of men and trucks, there was too much in here to clear in an hour or two."

Sin stared at Boyd as if he were debating whether or not he'd gone insane and imagined the whole thing before shaking his head. "How do yo--" Before he could finish his sentence, something caught his eye and he stopped, staring at the wall above Boyd's head.

Boyd looked at Sin strangely then turned and backed up a few steps to see the wall better. A demented looking smiley face leered down at them, the yellow paint glinting wetly even in that dim of light. Boyd stepped closer and reached up, putting one finger into a trail of paint that was dripping down the wall. It was so fresh that it was completely wet; he didn't think it had been drying for more than a few minutes, if that. Boyd raised an eyebrow and looked over at Sin.

"Well," he said, nonplussed, not even knowing what to say.

Sin's eyes flicked around the warehouse, taking in every entrance and every window in the area. There was obvious tension in his shoulders and he seemed torn between being frustrated and annoyed. "He's fucking with us," He muttered. "He knew you would come back."

"Seems so," Boyd agreed calmly. He looked around the room, remembering the piles of crates that had filled the place. He shook his head to himself and crossed his arms loosely. "I can't believe they cleared this so quickly." He sounded mildly impressed.

Sin ignored Boyd's comment. "So I guess I won't get to fight him. Not tonight at least." He seemed almost sullen as he said it.

Boyd looked over, checking if he was serious, but all he saw was Sin half-glaring at the empty room. He pivoted toward the door but watched Sin sidelong, feeling half-exasperated and half-amused. It figured that the thing Sin would note about this was being unable to confront the man who'd tailed them and not, say, the hundreds of missing crates with possible smuggled weapons tucked inside.

"Oh, don't say that," Boyd said sardonically. "Maybe if you wander for long enough he'll stop by to harass you. Or if you prefer I could be bait?"

Sin stared at Boyd as though he were considering the idea before shrugging. "Would you mind?"

"Oh not at all," and this time the sarcasm was dripping from Boyd's tone. "Why don't I just go out there," he pointed toward the door as if Sin could not understand, "and walk into the wall a few times, maybe crouch in the light more than shadows. You know, lure him out with my ineptitude. I could also have my pants undone for easy access castration. This sounds like a good plan."

Sin continued to stare at him blankly as he sucked on his lip ring. "Why are you always so eager to start taking your pants off?" He shook his head at his partner and headed towards the door.

If Boyd had nearly any other personality he would have smacked himself on the forehead. Instead, he just stared at Sin incredulously, trying to decide if he was joking. Although Sin seemed mostly serious, he did not seem as though he was trying to be mean. Even so, Boyd felt rather dumbfounded that he had missed such an obvious level of sarcasm. It took him a few seconds to even think to follow and when he did, he walked at Sin's side, looking over in mild indignation. More than the implications of Sin's half-joke, he was indignant that his tone could be ignored.

"That was an example of sarcasm. Here is another: Right, because you could never say that about you either."

Sin snorted and exited the warehouse, throwing it a final hateful glance as he did so, as though it were the reason for all of his problems. "I couldn't say that about me. You, however, I think liked your mystery assailant groping your crotch earlier."

"One," Boyd said pointedly, "you are a nudist so you dropping your pants is far more likely than me. Two, did I not mention he had a knife in his hand? Some people are into that sort of thing but, for me, it's not exactly wet dream material."

"Uh huh." Sin cast him a doubtful look, shoved his hands in his pockets and began walking away.

Boyd rolled his eyes and followed Sin silently.

Chapter 34

In the summer, Monterrey sweltered. The heat was nearly palpable, the air heavy with humidity as the sun’s surprisingly strong rays streamed through the mist of cirrus clouds which stretched across the sky. The pavement burned against the bare feet of unruly children and ice cream melted down their arms before they even took the first bite. People disappeared during the height of the day and reappeared in the evening when the was sun beyond the horizon. The smell of sweat was thick in the air and it rolled off the bodies of people whether they were standing and talking, jogging or fucking.

The heat was either an instigator or an aphrodisiac; it made tempers hot and lust hotter. It brought out the primal instincts in people; especially those who were used to the cool, steady climate of northeastern America where it barely reached above 60 degrees during any season since the war.

Sin and Boyd were no exception to that; sometimes they were irritable roommates who were not above arguing over whose turn it was to wash dishes or do laundry. Other times they were fuck buddies, panting and sweating against the sheets or the cool concrete of the floor, writhing and moaning, urgently making each other come and basking in a post-coital daze as the sun streamed through the curtains and heated their already burning bodies.

They fell into a routine and for most of the summer it was easy to forget that they were even on assignment. It was easy to forget who they were and what their purpose was when they had nothing more to do for several months than wander around Monterrey, eat and have sex. Their assignment and their partnership was almost forgotten unless one brought up the strange warehouse and the man who’d evaded them, but for the most part they were friends and roommates who pleasured each other in every way they could come up with.

The long meandering summer allowed them the time to fully explore each other, to figure out each other’s likes and dislikes, to become as accustomed to each other’s bodies as they were their personalities. Sin figured out that despite the fact that Boyd liked having control in most situations, he got off on being denied, on being teased and being made to beg for it, which he had no problems doing. Sin also figured out that Boyd could get loud; that he could moan in a way that made his toes curl and send a shiver down his spine. He also figured out a few things about himself; after the initial hesitance and paranoia about hurting his partner, he realized that sometimes he couldn’t really help but be rough. He couldn’t help but fuck Boyd almost violently sometimes, encouraged by Boyd’s needy pleas and loud moans; by the way he came hard without Sin even having to touch his dick whenever Sin’s erection slammed into his prostate. He learned that a kiss on his neck or ear could give him an almost instant erection and that he liked sucking Boyd’s dick, liked swallowing his come.

He also realized that he was satisfied and that for the first time in his entire life, he could actually, honestly say that he knew what happiness was because he was experiencing it. He could honestly say that Boyd wasn’t just his partner, he was his friend and, shockingly, he was a friend who had no qualms about stopping over at Lunar some evenings to hang out or just to get fucked in the grimy bathroom at the club. He was a friend who wasn’t afraid to walk home at four in the morning in a bad neighborhood because he had the skills to silence any street thug who got cocky. People who saw them at the club automatically knew that they were sleeping together; it was in the way their eyes strayed over the other’s body, the almost teasing smirks that seemed to be a promise for later although they were anything but affectionate in front of others, or even alone. Most people mistakenly thought they were in a relationship, gave them the titles of lovers, but Sin and Boyd always denied it because really it was not true. They were best friends and partners who’d finally gotten over all the bullshit and had come to terms with the mutual attraction, deciding that fucking was better than always being so tense about it and that was the end of the story.

Sometimes Sin wondered what the people at the Agency would say if they could see them now. He wondered if they would be smug or if they would be surprised; knowing that after all of that time the rumors were finally true. He wondered what Carhart would say if he knew that he indulged in alcohol regularly at the club, chain-smoked more by habit than by fake persona and had more than one person in the city who considered him a friend despite the fact that he didn’t go so far as to return the sentiment. He wondered what Connors would think if he found out that not only was Sin ‘sexually functional’ but experiencing the kind of raging hormones that only a teenage boy was capable of. He wondered what Vivienne would say if she knew that the scars Boyd had always been so ashamed of, the scars she’d damned as markers of his weakness and drama, could sometimes be the cause of passionate sex; were often traced by Sin’s tongue as he worshiped Boyd’s body with his mouth.

But most of the time he didn’t wonder these things because he put them out of his mind. He pushed the Agency and the people who connected him to it to a place in the back of his mind which was usually left for his darkest memories. It stayed that way until early August when hiring began for the Global Arts Exposition and when Jason Alvarez handed in his two
weeks’ notice
at Lunar. But it didn’t really become real to him until his last shift at the club.

He realized with some irritation that he didn’t want to quit, that he didn’t want to go train for the Expo. He didn’t want to start thinking in terms of mission parameters again and become consumed with the assignment. An irrational part of his mind wished that he could defect from the Agency, pretend he wasn’t an agent and stay in Monterrey, pretending to be Jason Alvarez for the rest of his life. But he knew that was stupid and unrealistic so he ignored it and kept the ideas to himself, instead deciding that he would enjoy his last night at his decidedly cushy job and try to get Boyd intoxicated at the party that his coworkers had insisted on throwing in his honor.

Sin spent the majority of the night hanging around in the shadows, being talked to by the regulars who knew that he was leaving and never giving them the slightest bit of attention although as usual, it didn’t deter them. The gaggle of girls who’d followed him around since the beginning seemed particularly mournful about his resignation and took turns daring each other to approach him although none of them actually managed to say anything worthwhile before they scurried back to their friends. His coworkers, however, seemed surprisingly disappointed with his decision to leave. Estella complained that she’d never gotten him to really loosen up while Johnny and the bartender Veronica mourned the fact that they’d never managed to draw him into the threesome they’d often teased him about. Surprisingly Jessica hadn’t said much about the matter although everyone kept informing him that she was really upset about it.

A part of him was thankful that she’d declined to comment further, that he wouldn’t have to stand in front of her as she sprawled charmingly on her desk and he wouldn't have to pretend that now that he was accustomed to civilians, accustomed to intimacy and sex, that he didn’t find her attractive. It was something he’d realized recently, almost accidentally after he’d caught himself staring at her large breasts and long, shapely legs. Having fourteen
years’ worth
of pent of frustration and sexual desire suddenly loosened not only gave him a raging libido, but an almost overwhelming sense of curiosity as well. He knew it was the only time in his life that he’d get to act like a normal man and be around people who didn’t know him well enough to be frightened of him, so when Veronica and Johnny murmured wickedly in his ears and described the things that the three of them could do together, Sin couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have sex with a woman.

When Veronica told him that she got wet whenever she watched him fight, he wondered what it would feel like to have his dick inside of her ‘tight little pussy,’ as she so delicately called it. When they drank after work and she convinced him to dance with her, grinding against him like a stripper, he wondered what it would be like to hike her short skirt up and pound her like he did Boyd, but while fondling her half exposed breasts.

He was mildly disturbed by his preoccupation with sex but mollified by the fact that he would never act on any of the things that went through his mind. He was curious but not curious enough to actually approach anyone or give into the constant temptations that they threw his way. Because when it came down to it, his sexual curiosity wasn’t strong enough to overpower almost two decades of paranoia when it came to intimacy.

He allowed himself to get that close to Boyd because after all of the things that they’d gone through together, he could safely say that Boyd was probably the only person in the world that he trusted. When he lounged in bed with Boyd, falling half asleep after a couple hours of foreplay and sex, he didn’t have to force himself to stay alert because he knew Boyd wouldn’t take advantage of him in that vulnerable state. No matter how nice and friendly and amusing his coworkers were, there was no way they would ever achieve that kind of trust with him in the short span of time that he’d known them.

Sin glanced at the thick banded watch he wore around one wrist and realized that after almost forty minutes of brooding in the gallery while ignoring everyone around him, it was almost time for his shift to end. Jessica had deliberately scheduled him to work the closing shift so that they could throw him the party without the customers being present and he realized with mild amusement that they’d even closed up early. It was barely three o’clock but there were only a handful of customers left in the club and Johnny was impatiently shooing them towards the door as the employees milled around the bar, laughing and joking loudly as they called for him to come down.

He shook his head with a wry smirk and shoved his hands in his pockets, wondering how the hell it was possible for these strange people to actually demand his presence and miss his absence when all of the people who knew his real identity could barely stand to be in the same room with him. He wondered if Jess, Estella, Veronica and Johnny would turn on him if they knew the truth about who he was and what he did or if they would accept it and still welcome him since they’d actually been given the chance to get to know him before finding out that they were supposed to fear him. Most of all he wondered how the fuck it was possible that he was so comfortable around civilians after such a brief amount of time.

It was all very strange.

“Where’s your boy toy?” Johnny demanded when he finally kicked out the remaining customers. He yanked his black Lunar t-shirt off and threw it on the floor carelessly, exposing his muscular torso and sweaty undershirt. “I’m about to deadbolt it but I was gonna wait until he got here.”

Sin glanced at his watch again and shrugged. “My shift isn’t supposed to end until 3:30; he’ll probably be here then.”

Johnny smirked and bobbed his head in time to the music which was still blaring over the loudspeakers. “Let’s have a farewell three-way, just you, me and the kid. Whaddaya say? In the private rooms, you know? Hot shit.”

Sin snorted and looked away, letting his gaze roam over to the spectacle his coworkers made on the dance floor as they talked loudly and danced excitedly, like children who’d just gotten out of school early. “You’re not my type. Feel free to make the offer to him though.”

“How would Kadin feel about that?” A female voice asked suddenly.

Sin didn’t look at Jess as she sidled up to him and kept his gaze focused on Veronica and Frankie, as they did some kind of rendition of an exaggerated waltz only to have Estella interrupt and steal Frankie away. “Feel about what?” He asked uninterestedly.

Johnny wrapped his arms around Jess’s slender shoulders and nuzzled her neck teasingly although it was obvious that he wasn’t really trying to hit on her. Despite her appearance and friendly attitude with the staff, she commanded respect and received it. People knew better than to overstep their bounds. “Feel about his boyfriend offering him up to crude bouncers with overactive sex drives,” She replied and batted Johnny away as she kept her gaze trained on Sin.

“He isn’t my boyfriend so I’m sure he won’t be terribly offended unless he finds Johnny to be that repulsive.”
Sin paused and glanced at the bouncer in consideration. “Which
is entirely possible,” He added with a smirk.

Johnny flipped him off even as he laughed good naturedly. “Fuck you, Jase.”

“No. That’s the whole point.” Sin shrugged and leaned against the bar, ignoring the random kiss that one of the waitresses planted on his cheek as she passed by with promises of cake and alcohol.

Jess’s eyebrows shot up and she sat on the barstool next to him, long legs crossing and causing her short shorts to ride up, exposing more of her thighs. “You gave me the impression that he was your boyfriend,” She said with a slight frown, reaching out to turn Sin towards her and effectively blocking Johnny out of the conversation. He made a face at her and wandered off, claiming that he was going to investigate this cake business.

“Oh?” Sin didn’t remember doing any such thing although he supposed that it was possible that she’d assumed it on her own since he’d never actually explicitly stated what Boyd was to him. “He’s my roommate and my friend.”

“A friend who disappears into the bathroom with you during your break?” She asked challengingly, eyebrow arching. "I saw that, you know."

He gazed at her from under his eyelashes and his lips curved into a smirk. “Yeah. Is that a problem for you? I'm surprised you didn't try to watch. I heard you like that kind of thing.” She blushed darkly although her eyes narrowed slightly. “Maybe I do. Maybe I just like seeing what I can’t have.” Jess looked away for a moment before allowing her gaze to fall back on him and she cleared her throat. “So, you’re friends with benefits?”