42. Arkadiy
42
ARKADIY
“ H ow long will you need?” I twist to face a full-length mirror like I didn’t ask a question before fixing my tie.
Maksim’s lead hacker, Easton, peers up at me before replying, “An hour. Two at most.”
I shift on my feet to face Maksim when he asks, “Do you think you will be able to keep her occupied that long?” He holds out his hands like my gang affiliations are as notable as his when I snarl at him. “I’m just asking. I’ve seen the way you look at her. You look like you need to shower every time she’s near.”
“ Because I do ,” I murmur to myself. I take a quick swallow before getting back down to business. “What will happen when you get the footage?”
“It will be corrupted before it spreads a virus through any server that has previously played it or stored it.” Easton’s southern twang gets a pinch of unease to it. “Are you sure you don’t want a copy for safekeeping?”
I swallow the brick his question lodged in my throat before jerking up my chin. “I’m sure.” I’ve seen it once. I don’t need to see it again. I need it destroyed. “Get word to me once it’s done.”
Not looking up from a bank of monitors, Easton nods.
I hold out my hand in offer to Maksim. I don’t do touch. I can’t stand it from anyone but Mara, but since his assistance will help her as much as it will me, I push aside my neurosis and man up as I should have decades ago.
Maksim accepts my offer of a handshake, his lips tugging at one side. “Still think you should take my advice. Marry her and then fess up. It worked for me.”
I laugh like I haven’t given his advice some serious consideration over the past few days. The only reason I haven’t taken it is because it is the easy way out, the cheat’s way. I’ve skirted my obligations for almost thirty years. It is time to be the man Mara deserves.
I just wish I didn’t have to give her up to achieve that.