Sharpest Edge: Mercenaries and Magic

by Alessa Thorn

  “I don’t think she’s nailed him if that’s what you’re pissy about, but really, even if she has, would it matter if she ended up with you?” Athena pressed.

  Sila’s eyes narrowed. “Not if I put a bullet in him.”

  “Dad…” Athena’s tone was uncharacteristically soft.

  “No, I guess not,” he admitted with a tired sigh. He was too old to deal with all these crazy emotions and get a lecture from his daughter.

  “Then tell her how you feel and stop being a chicken shit.” Athena pulled out the handsaw. “Now, set that timer, and let’s do this.”

  Twenty minutes later, the door to the warehouse opened, and Dante and Leo came in, wearing workout gear.

  Clearly, Dante was holding true to his mission to train Leo in the tiniest shorts he could find. He looked at the packages Silas was loading into a bag and put his hands on his hips.

  “What the hell? You didn’t call me for the torture party,” he said and looked around. “Where’s Julian? I can’t believe I missed Daddy beating the shit out of someone.”

  Leo snorted. “Daddy, is it? Well, well, that explains a lot.”

  “Aw, don’t be jealous. You’ll understand when you meet him.” Dante looked him over and grinned. “Although you might fall in love with him. You do strike me as the submissive, power-bottom type.”

  Silas had never seen the vicious, predatory smile that spread over Leo’s face, but he was suddenly concerned. Even Dante’s own cocky expression slipped.

  “Goes to show what you know, gattino,” Leo purred and walked away towards the office.

  “He just called you kitten,” Athena snickered. “I’m loving this feisty side of him.”

  “Me too.”

  Silas clicked his tongue. “That kid has secrets. I don’t know if that’s going to bite you in the ass in the long run.”

  “One can only hope,” Dante murmured. Athena threw a packaged hand at him, and he fumbled to catch it.

  “Now that you’re here, be useful. Unless you can’t bend over in those shorts,” she said.

  “Please don’t,” Silas begged.

  Dante shook himself and focused. “Okay, where are we taking these?”

  Inside Kon’s office, Iz worked on her laptop and tried to convince herself that she wasn’t hiding out.

  Silas had seemed pissed off at her for something, but she couldn’t figure out what. Why did he suddenly care that she was around when he and Athena were disposing of a body?

  “You okay?” Kon asked, looking up from his book.

  “Fine. Just… Edgeworths,” she said, picking up her cards and shuffling them to keep her hands busy.

  He laughed softly. “If it helps, they are worth it.”

  “I know, but I don’t know why Silas is acting weirdly protective of me when I don’t need it.”

  “You don’t like it? Because I saw the look you were giving him when he stabbed that guy for calling you a bitch.”

  Iz’s cheeks went hot. Fuck, that had been sexy as hell. No one ever came to her defense like that. It had taken all her self-control not to kiss him until he passed out.

  “That’s not what I mean. He wanted me to go at the beginning of that, and just now, he wanted to send me home,” Iz huffed. “I’ve been around this kind of shit for years. It’s a little late to try to hide it from me now.”

  Kon hummed. “You know Silas better than I do, but I can give you some insight from a man’s perspective if you like?”

  Iz waved him on. “Enlighten me.”

  “When you get feelings for someone, you only want them to see the best of you. It doesn’t matter that you know exactly what he is. The instinct to want to be a better man for you is probably warring with who he actually is,” Kon explained.

  “Is that so? I didn’t see you trying to do that with Athena.”

  “That’s because a better man wouldn’t appeal to her in the slightest. Perhaps you need to let Silas know that too, and he’ll stop this nonsense of trying to shield you from the dirty parts,” Kon replied. “You need to find a way to speak his language and tell him he needs to cut it out.”

  Iz frowned. “That’s actually decent advice.”

  “I am capable of it occasionally.” Kon tapped his pen against a journal. “Silas is also jealous of Julian flirting with you, so maybe keep that in mind too when you are making plans with him.”

  “That’s crazy! Julian and I have only ever been friends. He flirts like that with everyone. Hell, he just took Altun to lunch.”

  “Yes, but she isn’t sleeping with Silas. Someone who seems to have waited a long time to make his move. Try and see it from his perspective, Iz.”

  Iz pinched the bridge of her nose. “Why are men so stupid?”

  “Now, that’s a question that would take too long to answer,” Leo said as he came through the door.

  Kon looked at his workout gear and smirked. “How’s training going, newbie?” he asked sarcastically.

  “You know me, amico, I’m so weak and uncoordinated I need someone to show me how to throw punches properly,” Leo replied in the same mocking tone.

  Iz’s eyes narrowed. “If you are making fun of Dante right now for wanting to help, you better shut the fuck up,” she snapped.

  Leo’s brows rose. “Who said we are making fun of him?”

  “It’s pretty fucking obvious, pendejo,” Iz replied, her protective streak rearing its ugly head. “I know he can be an overbearing, pain in the ass, but you’re never going to meet someone more loyal or concerned for the people he cares about. And for some reason, he’s decided to add you to that list. He’s genuinely trying to help you the only way he knows how. Maybe be thankful and not a dick about it. Not everyone has someone who fucking bothers to care about them when they are going through a shit time.”

  Leo held his hands up. “Woah, Iz, I’m sorry. I was just playing about because I’m not new to self-defense, but Dante is acting like I need to know all the basics again because I’m some helpless babe. That’s all.”

  Iz softened a fraction. “He’s only trying to make sure you’re safe. Have you seen those scars all over his chest and stomach? Didn’t you wonder how they got there? Dante went through hell because he fucked up the basics and doesn’t want you to suffer like he did.”

  Leo’s frown deepened. Iz didn’t mention that Dante being comfortable enough to even show off his naked torso was a whole other level of trust he’d decided to give.

  “What do you mean by hell? He said he understood trauma. He never told me exactly what happened.” Leo’s eyes narrowed. “Tell me so I can understand.”

  “He’s probably never said anything because he’s still embarrassed by it,” Iz replied and gnawed on her lip, wondering if she should say anything at all.

  “We aren’t going to rub it in his face, Iz. We are trying to understand because you are so tight with each other. We are the outsiders here who don’t know all of the histories,” Kon said.

  Iz caved in. “Okay, from what I know, Dante took a job in Baghdad a few years ago when he was a new mercenary. He thought he could handle it because he had toured the Middle East in his time with the military. He was only meant to be doing some bodyguarding work for a Russian guy doing a weapons deal with one of the rebel groups over there,” Iz began, keeping an eye on the door in case anyone overheard her.

  “I don’t know all the details, but it went sideways, and Dante was taken and tortured for days for information about where the weapons were being held. The big boss in charge of the weapons deal sent Silas in to get his guy back. He didn’t give a shit about what happened to Dante, the bodyguard that failed to protect him. Dante hadn’t spilled anything, but they still told Silas to leave him or kill him.”

  “Silas, being Silas, dragged Dante’s broken, half-dead ass out of there anyway and got him back to the States. When Dante recovered from being so mangled, he sought Silas out and begged him to be a part of his crew.”

  Iz gave Leo a long look. �
�Silas brought Dante through his trauma by going back and teaching him the basics as you call them, and that’s all Dante is trying to do for you. He’s decided you’re worth caring about, so don’t be an ass about it.”

  Leo’s face had gone cold and distant like the day they had been surrounded in Russia. Iz could see the information rearranging itself in his calculating mind.

  “Do you happen to know the name of the man he was working for that wanted to leave him for dead?” he asked, eyes distant. “I’m going to need it.”

  Iz shook her head. “I don’t know, but Silas would. He never forgets a client.”

  Kon threw his pen at him. “Don’t even think about it, Leo. We have bigger prey to hunt.”

  Leo let out a sound between a growl and a sigh. “What did you learn from the man you all tortured?” he asked, changing the subject. Iz and Kon caught him up on everything that had happened that morning.

  “Gadal’s using galleries as a front? That’s something we can use. I will go through all the shell companies and bank transactions I found and narrow down any that are listed as galleries. St. Petersburg might be one of many,” Leo said thoughtfully.

  Iz nodded. “Good plan. I’ll make a list of any of the St. Petersburg galleries that have openings coming up and see who made the donations. That guy said that most of the exhibit was Gadal’s collection. We might get lucky and find out what his real name is.”

  Kon smiled, and it was violence itself. “Get to it because I can’t wait to become better acquainted with him.”

  “This time, maybe you and Athena can hold off killing this one until we have all the information we can get out of them,” Leo replied.

  “No promises, amico.”

  Iz only shook her head. “If we get Gadal, it’s going to be Silas we need to watch out for.”

  20

  Izabella was working out on the rooftop gym when she finally heard Silas return to the apartment.

  He had left the warehouse with Athena and Dante at dusk to dispose of the collector’s body parts, and Iz had gone home with an uneasy feeling in her stomach.

  The fact that she was referring to the apartment with Silas as home was also something to worry about. She was too comfortable with the arrangement already.

  Hell, she didn’t even refer to her apartment in Barcelona as home, just a place she slept when she was in the city.

  Iz had spent all evening thinking about what Kon had said about speaking Silas’s language, so she had been doing drills with one of the training sabers to get herself in the headspace.

  He and Athena had taught her saber drills when she had been recovering as a mediative tool more than combat.

  “Iz? You up…here,” Silas called as he came out onto the roof. He took in her sweaty complexion and the sword in her hand. “Brushing up?”

  “I had a lot on my mind,” Iz replied, trying not to melt under the look he was giving her.

  “You want company?”

  Iz straightened her shoulders and pointed the blunt saber at him. “Only if you want to train with me.”

  Sila’s expression went feral, and he picked up the other sword.

  Speak his language, she prompted herself. The Edgeworths communicated best with a blade in their hands.

  Iz got into position to face him. “Don’t go soft on me. I’ve been training.”

  “We’ll see,” Silas replied and attacked. Iz blocked him, knocking his blade aside and taking a swipe at his legs.

  Silas dodged the blow, but only just. His eyebrows rose. “Out to play, Silversmith? Something on your mind?”

  “I could ask you the same question, seeing how you have been acting shitty with me all day,” Iz replied, stepping to the side and catching the edge of his blade with her own.

  “I’m not acting shitty with you.”

  “Really? Because you wanted to send me home a few hours ago, like you we trying to get rid of me.”

  Silas attacked, driving her back across the fake grass. “I wasn’t. I thought you would have better things to do than watch us deal with a body.”

  “I did have things to do, and I did them just fine while still in the same building. Like I have always done,” Iz panted. “If I wanted to go, I would’ve gone to lunch with Julian.”

  Silas’s concentration seemed to slip, and she caught his shoulder with the tip of the blade. He growled, his eyes darkening to a glare that said she was in deep shit.

  Saints and ancestors have mercy, she prayed as danger and anticipation danced up her spine.

  “I’m surprised you didn’t, seeing how it’s apparently a thing that you both do when no one else is around,” he shot back and lunged at her. Iz sprung backward, the edge of his blade so close to her ribs that she felt the air graze them.

  “Yeah, we do eat together whenever we have time to catch up. I don’t know why you care so much about that.”

  “Because I don’t like the idea of one of my oldest friends fucking the woman that I’m obsessed with,” he hissed.

  “So lunch equals sex in your male mind? That’s some bullshit if I ever heard it, Jefe. I have never fucked Julian or been interested in doing so.” Iz circled him, her temper building. “And it’s a bit hypocritical of you seeing how you have had no issues fucking other people. Your Mexican señorita is proof of that.”

  “I only fucked her because I thought it would help me get you out of my system!” Silas snarled. “Not that it worked. All it did was make me realize I was in love with you and would never be satisfied with anyone else!”

  Iz froze at the confession, and Silas’s blade was pressed to her neck in a blink.

  “And you’re dead, Izabella.”

  “So are you.”

  Silas glanced down at the blade angled towards his ribs and heart. A strange look passed over his face; disbelief, pride, anger, all warred for dominance.

  “Never could defend my heart from you anyway,” he said, finally.

  “I know the feeling,” Iz replied, a lump in her throat. “That trip to Mexico was three years ago, and you’ve never said a word to me.”

  The muscle in Silas’s jaw feathered. “You didn’t seem to feel the same way, so I kept my mouth shut. I wasn’t good enough for you anyway. Still not. I’m just waiting for you to realize it too and walk away for someone better once you’ve worked me out of your system. I wouldn’t even blame you for it.”

  “Wow, I don’t even know what to say to that,” Iz said, dropping her blade and stepping back from him. “Actually, I do. Fuck you, Silas.”

  Green eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me. If it were so easy for me to work you out of my system and stop being in love with you, I wouldn’t have been so miserable for the past five years!” Iz snapped, throwing her blade to the ground. “All I have done is try and become someone better than the junkie you found. I’ve traveled to every shitty hell hole in the world on jobs with you just to be close to you. You. As you fucking are. I don’t want anyone better! I don’t want anyone else. I’ve only ever wanted you! So, fuck y—”

  Silas pounced on her, dragging her to the ground and pinning her down. He kissed her violently, the shock and weight of him making her go still. He realized his mistake instantly.

  “Shit, I know you don’t like people on top of you,” he stammered, trying to move off her.

  “No!” Iz hooked her legs around him, grabbed him by the shirt, and pulled him back down. “Stay there and tell me you love me again.” It was overwhelming, the heat and weight of him. Her pulse was in her throat, his mouth on hers taking, giving; it was too much. It was everything.

  “I do love you,” Silas breathed between kisses. “I don’t even know how to tell you how much. I knew it as soon as I saw you and didn’t know what to do about it.”

  Iz took his face in her hands, the man who was Death and savior and lover, all in one. “I love you too. We will figure the rest out as we go along, just don’t try and hide from me. Your dark and dirty bits are m
y favorite parts.”

  “I promise,” he said and put his perfect mouth to hers once more. His hand was under her tank top on her lower back, pulling her up against him.

  “I need to be closer,” Iz dragged off his shirt and ran her nails hard over his sides.

  Silas rolled her hips against hers. “You keep doing that, and I’m going to fuck you on this roof.”

  “I was hoping you would say that,” Iz said, gasping at the delicious friction he was creating just by grinding against her.

  Silas pulled the straps of her tank off her shoulders and dragged the front down so he could free her breasts.

  Iz arched up when his mouth found her nipple, the combination of his lips and stubble sending wet heat through her. She undid his pants blindly, her hand burrowing in, so she could grip his hard length.

  “Yeah, you had your chance to take this somewhere else, but now it’s gone. Thus, your pants are coming off,” Silas said, drawing back and gripping the hem of her shorts. Iz lifted her hips, and Silas pulled her shorts and underwear off.

  “Jesus, Bella, these are soaked.”

  “Well, that’s what happens when you dry hump me.”

  Silas’s feral smile was back. “Good to know.” He caged her underneath his big body and cupped her pussy. She was so turned on, it was closing to hurting. He slid a finger inside of her, and he made the sexiest noise she had ever heard.

  “Fuck, Silas.” Iz gripped his back, nails marking him up.

  Silas leaned down to kiss her. “You are so fucking sexy like this, all flushed and needy and riding my hand. I could keep you like this forever.” He added another finger, and Iz swore, her hips moving of their own accord, desperate for release.

  “Oh God, I’m so close,” she murmured, and Silas slid his fingers free. “Wait, what, don’t! Why are you being a bastard?” Iz felt like crying as her orgasm drew back.

  Silas chuckled and licked his fingers. “I thought you said you liked my dark and dirty parts.”

  Iz opened her mouth to snarl at him, but he grabbed her hips with both hands and thrust his dick the whole way into her. Her curses turned into a silent scream as he filled every part of her to her limit.