Mr. Dark 5 (Tamed #5)(22)

"Mr. Smiley!" one of the reporters, from the local ABC affiliate yelled.

Mark pulled through the gate and let it close behind us, then opened his window. "Yes, but only a minute. We do have to hit the road."

"Rumors are swirling that you're leaving the city permanently. Is there any truth to that?"

"Well, financially I'm always going to be here," Mark replied, pitching his voice in the Marcus Smiley persona. "You guys will get some more information on that soon. As for where Miss Warbird and I will live, well, we're exploring our options. We were thinking maybe Hawaii, maybe the West Coast, maybe overseas. But yes, we've both decided as great as this city is, it's not the place for us to get married and raise a family."

"Does that mean you two are going to tie the knot soon?" another reporter hollered. "What about kids?"

"No comment," Mark said, smirking. "But maybe you all can get some honeymoon photos. Thanks guys, you've been pretty wonderful and respectful. Take care."

Rolling up the window, we crept along until the last cameraman was clear before driving down the street and towards the highway. As Mark drove, he had a strange little smile on his face. "What?" I asked, unable to resist smiling myself. "Why are you smiling?"

"Just thinking about what that reporter asked as we were leaving," Mark said, turning and getting on the Interstate. "What about it?"

"What about what?" I said. I knew the plan at this point, we were going to head north and cross the Canadian border, then sell the car before crossing back over under our new identities. It'd be a supposed disappearing celebrity mystery, made even more weird as we had booked flights to five different international locations along with a yacht. The tickets would be used, but not by us. It was an elaborate scheme, but we hoped it would let Marcus Smiley disappear.

"Getting married. When we cross back over, we can stop off in Las Vegas, get married if you want. It'd be pushing the schedule, but I think it could work."

I grinned and nodded. "Why the hell not? Think you can charter us a plane to get us to Vegas in time?"

"Of course I can," Mark replied, giving me another smile. "But first we're going to need to get some haircuts and stuff."

"No, first we need to get to Canada."





* * *



The famous Las Vegas strip was amazing, even more than the times I'd seen it on TV. Flying in on a Lear jet, I felt giddy as I looked over at Mark. Excuse me, at Mathew Mark Bylur, originally of Phoenix, Arizona. I had laughed when he had told me what his name meant.

"Bylur is an Icelandic word, it means severe snowstorm," he told me as he handed me my new American passport. It had been brought over the border three days prior by an associate of Mark's, who then snuck back over the border after dropping it off in a train station coin locker in Toronto. "You think it works?"

"I think I'll come to adore it," I said. "I think Joanna Bylur has a certain charm to it."

After living my entire life as Sophie, first Sophie White then Sophie Warbird, I was now Joanna Smith, at least for the next two days. I'd stopped asking Mark how he was able to get such good fake identification papers, but I knew it involved hacking a lot of government databases. I'd done a search using the plane's WiFi while we flew, and I had a complete credit history, records from the University of Washington saying I graduated with a degree in sociology, as well as a Tinder account. I didn't even want to know how much it had cost.

"In any case, we'll be landing soon," Mark said, patting my knee. "Then we have to check in at the chapel, they'll have us sign the basic paperwork, and the ceremony is tomorrow."

"Did you book the one with the Elvis impersonators?" I said with a laugh.

"No, another one that actually looks a little bit classy," he said. "It's still on the strip though, and we'll be within walking distance of our hotel."

"But we're still getting married in shorts and tank tops, right?" I asked. It was my only insistence about the whole deal. I’d dreamed as a little girl about my perfect wedding and my traditional wedding dress, but now all I wanted was Mark. None of the other stuff mattered, and I wanted this to be fun.

"Of course. I told the chapel in an e-mail, and they replied that they would be fine with it. Even offered to have the preacher and organ player in Hawaiian shirts if we wanted."

"What did you say?"

The plane banked, and we started our final descent into the Las Vegas airport. "I told them we'd tell them when we get there today," Mark replied. "I'd leave it up to you."

After landing and getting our bags, we took a taxi to our hotel. Mark had been able to book us a room at the Bellagio, and I was absolutely blown away as we made our way through the luxurious lobby, past the casino and to the reception desk. I almost forgot to respond when the clerk called my name, and had to have Mark jostle my arm. "Sorry," I said apologetically as I handed over my driver's license. "First time in Vegas."

"No problem, Miss Smith," the clerk replied. "It happens all the time. Okay, well, here are your room keys, and we've included complimentary tickets to the buffet as well. There's a map inside your guest packet if you need help finding it. Enjoy your stay."