Completed Won't Back Down

[Tallis Ishtari]

He was relieved to know that she fine and wasn’t hurt or captured by the slavers. It would be a concern or a while and would remind himself frequently that tonight should not have happened. He had gotten careless in the routes he had chosen. But as with any human endeavor the slavers in time would seek easier victims that pursuing a Kelvic that had obvious ties. The more they saw Marx with him the more they might get it through their thick skulls that she was off limits.

The biggest worry was the organized crime people he had associated with. They had more eyes in the city than the slavers. They knew where he lived what time he went to work, what time he woke up, even right down to how he walked down the stairs and that he liked to skip the last step going down and going up. What they had said about what they would do to Marx was upsetting, and they meant it. He would have to watch his step when it came to Gilroy and his crew.

Oh how he loved having Marx hovering over him. It didn’t matter that she was shirtless. It was the way she honestly cared for him. “The slavers didn’t get me. When I left out the back I ran into some old friends, and they had a few words for me. Some not so nice ones. But everything is fine except for the message they sent me with the knife.” He said trying to say the words as gently as he could as to not alarm her as to the real possibility that he could get hurt.

“Once I was finished with my ‘friends’ I made a run for it down the other side of the alley. It was a good thing those slavers where a little over weight. There was no way they could catch me on foot.” His brows furrowed as he put his arms around her to pull her closer. “How did you manage to get free when we got separated in the tavern? I thought for sure they had you. I tried to reach you but got pushed back by the crowd.”

[Marxander]

"I jumped in the river and took a joyride around town." She frowned, quickly explaining what happened to her. She hit his arm "And don't think you can hide things from me. I am not a little girl. What did your 'friends' say to you? Why did they cut you?" She rapidly fired the questions at him, not letting him get away with sneaking that information in so quickly. She wasn't an idiot. She knew something was going on with him, and not just with the slavers and she was going to find out.

[Tallis Ishtari]

He hadn’t counted on how Marx reacted to his story or even how he easily skimmed over it. He hadn’t told her everything. What was said during the conversation and more importantly the why they had nicked his cheek with a knife. If he told some wild story it would give her deniability what would her reaction be? Would Marx believe him? Tallis knew what the answer to that question was. Marx would not be so easily fooled.

“They aren’t my friends.” He said simply. “I’m sure you guess that part already. They happen to my contacts to organized crime here on the island. I disappeared from the island for two months without saying anything and they were just sending me a message.”

It wasn’t quite that simple. Tallis hedged on whether or not to Marx the rest of the story. His eyes narrowed as he looked at her and decided to tell her the rest. “The reason I left Ravok for a while was because there was an assassination of a low level, but well known, city official. Why he was targeted I wasn’t told and I learned early not to ask questions. I was the one that delivered the message that gave the order for the hit. I also had a partner. Their job was to deliver the money for the hit.”

Tallis recalled the night that he left in a hurry at his father’s insistence. His father told him to get out of town and go to Syliras until things cooled down. His father knew of the assassination and what the mob was going to 'clean up' after the hit. After six weeks his father sent a letter that it was okay for him to return. Tallis was now thinking that it might have been too soon.

Tallis continued. “The mob here does not like to lose its money. My father learned that after the hit they were going to get rid of the hit man and take their money back. Well, the money disappeared.”

He breathed a sigh of relief having told her everything that he knew. He waited and searched her face as the story sunk it. Anxiety filled him as he waited.

[Marxander]

She listened to him calmly, then took a few moments to deliberate over her words, a rare occarance "What will make the mob happy? I mean to say, how can we get them off of us? Do they want the money back? If we want to stay here in Ravok and have children, we can't always be on guard. I want our family to be happy Tallis." If nothing could appease them, they would have to go. She couldn't risk it. He would have to say goodbye to his family and leave, lest he meant an untimely end. And Marxander sure as hell wasn't going to let that happen to her bondmate.

She was so rattled right now. On top of that layer was exhaustion, sprinkled with a little healthy dose of fear.

[Tallis Ishtari]

He wasn’t sure at first how to answer her. Closing his eyes he thought for a moment. He had been doing odd jobs for organized crime in Ravok for many years and everything had been fine. There was a line that he had drawn with them and they respected it, or so he thought. It was not until this last job. He should have never accepted it but the money was too good. It was the one time he should have asked what it was he was on the note that he was delivering. Even if he had said no, would he have had a say in if he would deliver it.

Then there was the money that was to be delivered. Maybe it was unfortunate that he happened to be there when the courier for it was there at the same time he was. But never did he give a thought that they would come looking for him if things went wrong. It was no wonder his father had told him to get out of town for a while and let things cool down. What happened tonight with Gilroy Sardis was just a warning, and he knew it. The question now was how was he going to get out from under the thumb of the mob and go straight. He had everything to live for in Marx and his future with her.

He opened his eyes and looked up at Marx. “They didn’t say that they wanted the money back. It was just a warning to keep my in line. For all I know they were just testing me to see if I knew anything and to see if I would bolt. They probably have already recovered it all. Nothing comes or goes off this island without them knowing.” He hoped that would ease her soul but he continued. “I think the question now is how do I get from under them? I’ve been doing odd jobs for them since I was little. Even my dad has some ties with them. He does business with them and they bring business to him.”

“I could always say no to whatever job they offer me next…” Tallis said unsure if they would even let him say no. “It’s not like I was ever a big player in what they did. I was just their messenger. And they should be able to find some other kid to deliver messages, right?”

Tallis was afraid. It was never simple when dealing with organized crime figures. In their eyes Tallis Ishtari was a prime candidate to move up in the ranks and tonight’s incident was a test in more than one way.

[Marxander]

She shrugged "I don't know that much about it Tallis, but I don't like it. If they're going to test you though, that sounds.. bad." She stood up and went to go look out the window. She didn't have a god to pray for or ask questions, but, somehow, looking up at the stars helped her think. She sighed "We shouldn't make any rash decisions, but.." She looked back at him "I don't think we should stay here for much longer. They want you to do something, something bigger than this. I know you didn't have a big part in this, but you've been in this since you were a kid. They trust you. Too much."

She sighed again, holding her shoulder in the palm of her hand "We.." She paused, biting her lip "We should go." She repeated "We can make a new life somewhere else." She realized how selfish that sounded. He had a family here. A whole big family that looked up to him. She couldn't just drag him away from everything he knew. She sighed again and again, a stressed habit of her. She paced, one hand on her shoulder, the other hugging her body "You can't say no. You shouldn't say yes." What to do, what to do? Why did the mob want him? He was loyal, they trusted him, and he could go under the radar because of his low criminal record. Well, she assumed he had a low criminal record.

"Wait." She paused midstep "If they want you because you're under the radar, we just need to make you very much on the radar." She grinned.

[Tallis Ishtari]

The night wasn’t turning out how he had hoped it would have. They should be in the midst of making love, instead they were talking. To just have Marx’s warm body against his would have been pure ecstasy. He was still optimistic that it could happen but that diminished as he watched her pace.

“Under the radar? Up until tonight and my carelessness they might not have known that I was back in Ravok.” He said with a sigh. “I don’t know how much further under the radar I can get! What do you have in mind?”

Tallis wasn’t too keen on leaving Ravok anytime soon, but it was becoming apparent that he might have too. He did have connections, that’s to his mom and dad, so it would be possible. It now depended on what Marx had to say. If they were to have any future together he would have to listen to her thoughts and consider them.

[Marxander]

The night hadn't gone as she planned ether. She really would rather be under the sheets with her bondmate right now instead of figuring out ways to make sure she could do it later on.

She smirked "You're not going under the radar, you're going over it. If too many people know you, and know your face, you'll be useless to them. They won't want to bother with you anymore, and since you won't have harmed them, they won't 'dispose' of you. Only part of that plan is, I'm not all that sure on how to really get you known."

She shrugged and yawned "But we're drained. I think we should just go to bed and think about it in the morning."

[Tallis Ishtari]

It had been a long day. It was definitely more excitement than he would have had in his normal day. The adrenaline rushes and thrills topped any other day that he had been alive. They had just escaped slavers that would have gladly put Marx in a collar and tortured him to break the bond. Then there was the mob that would goad him into doing more dangerous jobs for them. And running for his life was right there on the top of the list of perilous things that had happened during the day.

Slowly, Tallis raised himself from being flat on his back to standing. With as tired as he was it took some effort to get upright. Then with one smooth motion he removed his shirt and tossed it lazily onto the foot of the bed. His eyes scanned Marx’s face and gave her a crooked smile before speaking softly. “I’m sure you’re right and we can think about what to do in the morning. For the moment though… “ He said with a casual lift of his eyebrows and with motion of one hand waved her toward him. “Come here and kiss me.”

[Marxander]

She rolled her eyes at him and walked over, circling her arms around his shoulders. She leaned up on her toes and kissed him "Like that?" She asked, a tone much lighter and softer than the one she had before. Her bare chest, still a bit wet from her little dip and swim around Ravok, slid against his. Her muscles ached of exhaustion. She wanted to climb into bed and curl up inside of Tallis' arms.

It was almost a touch sad that they had to exhaust all their bodily energy before they could get back to this room. Her hand went down his arm till their hands met and she held his. She wondered how much all of that potentially delicious energy would feel when he used it on her. It brought a smirk to her lips.