Alec and Erika were laying naked together in bed. She had her arms around his waist, while his arm rested around her. Enjoying the quiet and their animal heat together, she hesitated before asking the question which weighed heavy on her mind.

“I’m probably being nosy. And you don’t owe me anything so if you want to tell me not to get into your business, I’ll understand. But do you want to tell me about what happened to your back?”

“I usually don’t tell people about it,” he said quietly. “When I first came back to the States, I wouldn’t let anyone see it.”

“How do you make love to a woman and keep her from seeing your scars?”

“Make sure she’s facing me,” he replied. “Don’t let her touch my back.”

“I do hope you’re not serious,” she said.

“As a heart attack,” he replied. “For a while there, I wouldn’t even work in my own back yard with my shirt off.”

Erika tried to imagine that. He must have gotten very used to wearing t-shirts whenever he wanted to exercise. She wondered how he felt about that. He was very active; really his body was so beautiful she thought it was a shame that he had to be self-conscious about the scars. She understood well how it was to look at something and be reminded of a past one wanted to forget.

“Well why did you let me touch your back?” she asked.

Alec frowned. “Are we having this conversation right now?” he sighed.

“Yeah, we are.”

Alec sighed. He ran his hand up and down over her arm. When she looked at him, there was a faraway look in his eyes. She could tell he was reliving the past.

“I went on a mission with my team in Central America. I was running point. There was… someone I was recruited to eliminate,” he said carefully. “I took care of the task. And I was on the way back out of the target’s home when I was caught by some of his men. They didn’t even have to go upstairs to know what I had been up to. This was an unscrupulous man, a hated person, and he was always receiving death threats. If it hadn’t been me to get rid of him, it would have been someone else. He was one of those people who moves behind the scenes, placing others in power, moving weapons and money and placing figureheads in place who would eventually take over as the face of the nation.

“There had been a couple of attempts to assassinate him which didn’t pan out, so I knew I was going into a dangerous situation. It’s always like that. You know the risks, but you do your job because it’s what you’re supposed to do. You try not to think about the consequences if the operation takes a wrong turn.”

“And it took a turn,” Erika said gravely.

Alec nodded. “I was taken captive. They questioned me of course. I wasn’t going to give up my men to them. It was something they took great pleasure in. I was water boarded. And whipped. I actually preferred the whip to being plunged into the water.”

“How long did this go on?” she asked.

He kissed her forehead and gave her a gentle squeeze. “Seemed like forever to me. I don’t remember a lot of it. Bits and pieces of it come back to me at the strangest times. Like, I will be sitting in traffic in my car, and I will suddenly have a memory of being driven in a van to the place where they took me. Or I’ll have dreams about feeling the scarf put over my face, and then feeling the water being poured over my nose and mouth.

“My team came and broke me out of there eventually. When it was over I woke up in a military hospital outside of Frankfurt. My friend Kiefer told me the trip had taken two days, and I had been in a coma for three days on top of that. I’d been held for five days before they broke me out. I was told they got there just in time. I had gone into shock when the men reached me and I was very close to death.”

Erika sat up so she could have a look at his face.

“You ever tell anyone else?”

“My therapist,” he said stiffly. “Not sure why I’m…”

She put a finger to his lips. “Don’t,” she said. “You don’t have to explain it. Just let it be.”

He took her finger and sucked it. She laid back down and his arms encircled her. They were both quiet for a while, but Erika was the first to break the silence.

“I’m going to say something and it’s going to take this conversation in a very drastic turn, but I want you to actually think about it before answering. It’s the kind of thing you’re probably going to need a couple things to consider.”

He let go of her hand. “Ah hell woman,” Alec chuckled. “What’s this about?”

She laid a hand on his chest. “I think you might be overqualified. And I hope you won’t be annoyed that I’m asking you. Look, I need someone to work with me on this one last heist. It’s my way out. And I usually have a team of people with me, but those were all Pascale’s employees. I need someone I can trust. And for whatever reason, it seems you’re crazy enough to trust me. Would you consider doing it?”

* * *

“Wait a minute,” Jesse chuckled. “You said yes?”

Jesse, David, and Alec sat together in the kitchen of their office. It was another early morning, and the three of them each had a mug of coffee. David had called the other two and asked them to come in. Kiefer was on his way from Shari’s house.

“I didn’t just tell her ‘yes’,” Alec corrected. “I said I’d think about it.”

“Wow,” Jesse shook his head. “First Kiefer, and now you.”

“Now me what?”

“You’re going soft.”

Alec’s eyes flashed. “Excuse me?”

“Come on, you know you’re only willing to do this because she’s a pretty girl. If this were Rick’s little brother and not his sister, the dude would be in jail, and you’d probably tell Rick he could go see him there.”

Alec shrugged. “So what? Look, she claims that she wants to get out of the life. Why not help her?”

Jesse and David exchanged a look.

“Man, I’m gonna say this even though you’ll probably want to kick my ass in a minute,” David said. “If she wants to go straight, great for her but why’s it our responsibility to help her to do it?”

Alec was about to answer when Kiefer walked in. “Oh, what did I come in on?”

Alec recounted his discussion with Erika about having one last heist and needing a team. Kiefer sat down and crossed his arms. “You think we can help her?”

“I do. I think we can also keep her from doing anything worse by herself.”

“I thought we were keeping ourselves out of trouble,” David said.

“Since when?” Jesse said. “You commit five felonies before lunch every day, David.”

“The plan was to keep a low profile,” Kiefer said. “Not necessarily follow every rule. We know what the limits are, and if she does anything unexpected we pull the plug. Not to mention it might be a good way to flush her boss out. I’d like to know who we’re dealing with.”

“You don’t think it’s a bad idea?” Jesse pressed.

Kiefer scratched his chin. “Well it might be but not like that’s really stopped us before.”

* * *

Finding out that his sister was close to being found was the best news Rick Hill had in months.

Since his mother’s death, he had been thinking a lot about the past and the rift that tore his parents apart in the first place. Not many couples divorced, divided their children between them, while one parent moved out of the country and literally never came back. There was an emotionally abusive component to the relationship; that was something Rick guessed because he couldn’t think of his father ever not being emotionally abusive to anyone he came into contact with. Why his mother hadn’t fought harder for at least partial custody or visitation rights, he couldn’t be sure. He was bitter about that as a youth. As a man, he accepted there was much more to the situation than he was privy to. His father wasn’t forthcoming to answer his questions. He’d never hear his mother’s explanation. But maybe Erika knew enough to help him piece the truth together.

Though he had been too young to remember if there were arguments between his parents, he did remember a sense of His father was what some people would refer to as old school—raised to be the kind of man who focused on his work before family, being a disciplinarian over being the parent who attended baseball games or helped with science projects. Despite his shortcomings, Rick loved his dad fiercely. Some people were only able to tolerate so much closeness. It was a trait in his own personality, and he recognized it in his dad.

He’d taken on the family business, commercial real estate, from his father. As a teen and a young man in his twenties, it was the last kind of job he’d ever have imagined for himself. He’d imagined he’d have some kind of job working with his hands. He liked construction, had learned the trade of carpentry, which he still toyed with in his spare time. When he was sick of dealing with people he would go home and work on some project in his garage; either making a chair or a workbench or tinker with one many of his motorcycles. He liked to smoke, nicotine or weed, and he enjoyed being out in the desert or the forest. He and Alec had gone on many trips, some where they hardly talked, just rode or enjoyed the wild. They went fishing occasionally, when the weather was warm, even though it wasn’t always the best time to catch fish.

Rick had a habitual tan from being outside so much, and the expensive suits he wore covered his tattoos. While he enjoyed his work and the comforts it provided him, he very often found his mind wandering. He always wanted to be on a lake somewhere, the woods, or the beach. More so lately, when he was feeling stressed by both work and personal obligations.

Rick’s father, Lucas, had asked him to come up to his house for dinner. They did this fairly often—either dinner or breakfast once a month, to catch up on whatever was going on in each other’s lives. But he’d picked up on the tone of his father’s voice, the clipped speech which signaled there was something on his mind. He pulled up to the house around seven.

Twilight had come. Shadows drew between the trees and the sides of the three-story house. Rick rang the doorbell and listened to the pleasant echo of chimes sounding through the house. Moments later, the door came open. Martie smiled and stepped aside.

“Hey, Rick, right on time,” Martie smiled. She was Lucas’ long-time girlfriend. Though they had never married, it was hard to imagine his father without her. She’d started dating Lucas when Rick was fifteen. She was only twelve years older than Rick and was more like the aunt you confided in than a stepmother. Martie always wore elegant clothes, high heels, and dresses that flowed over her tall, thin frame.

“Are you going out?” Rick asked.

“Yes, I will be back soon, but too late for dinner,” she said, reaching for her purse and her car keys. She reached up to kiss his cheek. “He’s in the den. Be warned, he’s in one of his moods,” she offered.

“Why?”

She shrugged, averting her eyes. “Don’t know.”

Martie was very patient, and she was practiced in not taking sides. That had been her prerogative since Rick was a kid, but he could tell when she wasn’t being truthful with him. One of these days he’d like to get her away from the house, and just get her to talk about what was really happening lately. He wasn’t around a lot but it was enough for him to see Martie wasn’t happy.

“Okay, have fun,” Rick said. He was pretty sure he sounded stupid but he couldn’t think of anything better to say.

“Sure,” she said and slipped past him and out the doorway.

* * *

Lucas Hill had a room set aside as his office, but lately, he preferred to work in his den, in front of the television, sitting in his favorite chair, feet up on an ottoman, and his laptop balanced on his knees. Rick tapped on the open door and his father looked up at him. “Oh, come in. I heard the door. I wondered if that was you.”

“Hey Dad,” Rick patted his shoulder and took a seat across from him. “Martie left,” he said.

“I knew she was going,” he replied sourly, looking down at his computer. “Glad you’re here though.”

“Um, Dad. I think I want something to drink. Can I get you something?”

Lucas cocked an eyebrow at him. “Well, I am definitely having a drink if you are. You know where everything is.”

Rick got up, retrieved a bottle of whiskey from a nook in the dining room, and came back with glasses for them both. He poured and had down half his drink before he posed a question to his father. “Is something wrong?”

Lucas took off his glasses and closed his laptop. “Not really. Business as usual. Sometimes you have to let people know they are incompetent,” he said between his teeth. Lucas had turned over the family business to him some years ago, but he managed several other investments. Rick was glad his father didn’t meddle in his business affairs at this point because he knew what a tough boss he could be.

“Sorry to hear that because I have something I came here to tell you, and I wanted to avoid piling on if you were preoccupied with something serious. Mother died a few months ago.”

Lucas stared at him for a moment. “Months ago? How’d you find out?”

Rick sighed. “I was contacted by her attorney. She had some assets she left me.”

“Well,” Lucas said. “I’m sorry for you loss.”

A lump welled up in Rick’s throat. “You’re freaking sorry is all you can say?”

“I don’t know why you would expect me to say more than that. She’s been dead to me since she left us both. I know it’s different for you,” Lucas took another sip of his drink. “I would hope you understand I can’t be bothered to waste my time with any feelings about her.”

Rick was stunned. He hadn’t expected much, but some semblance of feeling was in order. Whatever happened, his mother had bared the only children this man had. He filled his glass and knocked back two more before either of them said anything. He’d been about to tell his father everything he’d held back for the last few months, including his search for Erika, and how he was excited to finally be close to meeting her. But he decided it was better not to say anything else. Because if he was equally as dismissive about his daughter as he was about his ex-wife, Rick knew he wouldn’t be able to take it well.

“Out of curiosity, what did she leave you?” Lucas asked.

“Property outside of the country. Not sure what I am going to do with it.”

Lucas nodded. “I know we were supposed to have dinner, but Martie didn’t cook. We might as well order something. How do you feel about Thai?”

* * *

Erika got a text message from Alec asking her to meet him at an address at two that afternoon. It was downtown, but she wasn’t familiar with the number. Curious, she drove around the block just to double check the address. It was an old abandoned building on the edge of the garment district, a former clothes wholesaler which had been out of business for the last decade. She was parking her car when her phone buzzed for a second time. She sighed and pulled her cell from her pocket to read it: meet me on the roof.

Five minutes later, she was climbing the stairs up to the roof. She halfway thought it might be a trap of some sort. She hadn’t spoken to Alec after all. When she got to the roof Alec was waiting there, hands in pockets. He smiled, and she joined him at the railing.

“Nice view from up here, except for the smog,” she commented.

“Hi to you too,” he said and kissed her. He reached out and gave her a squeeze, and then quickly drew away. “Uh, you’re packing?”

“Just in case I got here and some of Pascale’s cronies were here,” she said. “Not for you.”

“Ok, well good, because I hope not.”

“Don’t worry baby. You’re too cute for me to hurt you,” Erika teased.

“You didn’t say that on our first date,” Alec replied.

“I didn’t know better,” she countered. “Why are we here?”

“I figured this is as good a place to discuss that job you want me to do.”

“You made up your mind?” Erika asked. “Really? I thought there was no way you’d do it.”

“Under one condition,” he said. “This really had to be your last job.”

“That won’t be a problem,” she said. “Honestly, if I thought I could get away without pulling this one, I would. But a deal is a deal, I can’t go back,” she frowned. “Lovely view, except for the smog,” she said. “I guess we’re up here because there’s a good view of Oberon Gallery from here?”

“Exactly,” he said. “Just far away enough that someone operating with the right equipment wouldn’t get seen.”

The Oberon had been around for five years, a small gallery across the street from a hotel and walking distance to the arena. There were multiple exits, all leading to heavily traveled thoroughfares, which was important for a quick getaway.

“If we’re a two man team,” Erika said. “What are we worried about having someone on a roof for?”

“Um, I didn’t want to say anything until all parties agreed,” Alec said. “But I figure if this is your swan song you might as well go out right. I have backups.”

“Backups?”

“My own guys. All former black ops. Including the one who taught me everything I know.”

“I don’t want to seem insulting, but you trust them?”

“With my life,” Alec replied without hesitation. “On more than one conversation.”

“If you can, then I will. They know the deal about me?”

“Yeah,” he replied, reaching for her hand. He felt relieved when she laced her fingertips through his. “They want to help out.”

“It’s on your behalf then.”

“I’ll tell you more about my brothers,” he said lightly. “But today I wanted you to know I’m ready to do this.”

Erika grinned. “You know, I can only half believe I’m saying this,” she paused. “This has to be the most romantic thing a man has ever done for me.”