Sharpest Edge: Mercenaries and Magic
Page 22
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Ariadne huffed and tore open the package and tipped out its contents. Inside was a smartphone with a pin code written on a scrap of paper.
“What the…” Ariadne tapped in the code just as the phone rang.
“Hello?”
“We are the Pithos, and we have a job for you, Spindle,” a digital voice replied, and Ariadne’s safe, anonymous world fell out from beneath her.
2.
Ariadne took three deep breaths before she demanded, “If you know so much about me, you know I don’t work freelance or take private contracts.”
“Minos Karros likes to keep a tight grip on his pretty assassins. Tell me, Spindle, how’s that working out for you?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Ariadne said, even as her pulse raced.
“We are offering you a contract. Your reward will be five million drachmae and a way to keep out from under Minos’s dirty thumb forever.”
“Why?” It sounded too good to be true, and Ariadne was too smart to bite that bait.
“Pithos wants to get rid of scum like Minos that seek to corrupt Greece.”
Ariadne snorted. “Sounds too idealistic to be true.”
“I’m sure it does to a woman raised by a monster. We are monster hunters, Spindle. Destroy our monster, and we will destroy yours.”
“I’m not dumb enough to take you at your word. For all I know, you are Minos trying to fuck with me and test my loyalty.”
“There will be another package delivered to you within the hour. You have until sunrise tomorrow to give us your final answer. Consider what a life of freedom is worth to you.”
Ariadne knew she should call Minos straight away, tell him that some jerk gang called Pithos was out to fuck with his business.
Instead, she drained her coffee, stuck the phone into the back pocket of her jeans, and went out. If another package was going to turn up in the next hour, she was going to make sure she saw the face of the person doing the delivery.
“By the saints, I thought you’d died, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you,” Dimmi said as Ariadne made it to the food van permanently parked across the road. Dimmi was probably the closest thing she had to a female friend, so Ariadne made a point of giving her business at least once a week. Their friendship was another weakness, like the apartment, but one that she was determined to keep.
“Dim, I was here three days ago. Stop drinking on the job,” Ariadne said as she took the bottle of juice Dimmi gave her through the van’s serving window.
“My darling, I’m not drinking. I miss seeing your beautiful face. You want your usual?”
“Sure,” said Ariadne.
Ten minutes later, Dimmi’s curves appeared out the back door of the van, and she sauntered over to the plastic table Ariadne sat at. Dressed in a leopard print dress with her curling black hair pinned up in a perfect sex kitten look, Ariadne knew most of Dimmi’s customers weren’t interested in her cooking.
“Here you go; veggie kebab with extra hot sauce. You look like you need it.”
“Thanks a lot,” said Ariadne, with a roll of her eyes.
“I’m serious. Do you ever sleep?” Dimmi lit a cigarette and eyed her critically.
“Not well,” Ariadne admitted before having a bite of her kebab. The Temple had only fed them strict vegan meals with no sugar or salt, and when she had finally got the chance to eat spice, Ariadne thought she’d die from sensory overload.
“This lack of sleep better not be because of a fucking man. I would advise you to move to women, but they are just as crazy. My last girlfriend stole my good GHD hair straightener and sliced up my favorite dress before she left. Bitch. At least men wouldn’t think to steal your hair styling products when you dump them,” Dimmi said sourly.
I wouldn’t know.
Ariadne had a few brief messy encounters until she found better results doing it on her own. She had occasionally slept with a target to get close enough to kill them, but a real, adult relationship was beyond her experience.
“All sounds way too hard to me,” Ariadne admitted. She didn’t hear what Dimmi said in reply, as all her focus zeroed in on a bike messenger. She took out her new phone and took a shot of him as he came out of the building.
“Stalker much? What’s that poor kid done to earn that death glare from you?” Dimmi demanded.
“Nothing. Some jerk keeps putting creepy messages in my mailbox, and I want to find out who.”
“Guys are the worst. At least he hasn’t started sending you photos of his dick.”
“Not yet, anyway.”
“If he does, we’ll make a wall of shame, right here.” Dimmi pointed at the blank, pink side of the van. “If he’s a local, it’s bound to flush him out.”
Ariadne laughed loud enough for people to turn and stare. “Thanks, Dimmi. I’ll keep it in mind.”
Ariadne finished off her meal and an espresso before heading back into her building. A box was waiting for her, and when she opened it, she found a thin silver laptop.
“You guys love your tech, don’t you,” Ariadne said as she turned on the power button. She had to admit it was the smarter way to do it. If you had that much information on a hit, then you didn’t want to carry about piles of paper. Handwriting could be tracked, so could the type of paper used if you were desperate. Digital files were traceable, but if Pithos had the stones to go up against Minos, then Ariadne doubted they’d give over anything that could be traced.
There was a single folder on the desktop, and when she opened it, the first thing she clicked on was a photo of the sexiest guy she’d ever seen.
Broad-shouldered and ridiculously tall, the guy had olive-brown skin, sun-streaked dark hair that fell past his shoulders in lazy waves and a short, clipped beard. Even dressed in an expensive suit, he seemed an unlikely candidate for a corporate manager or a banker.
“Gods, aren’t you the prettiest contract I’ve ever been offered,” Ariadne told the photo as she clicked open more files.
A full information form came up, including a name; Asterion Dys. Something scratched at her subconscious like she was sure she’d heard the name before but couldn’t remember where.
“Have you been a naughty boy, Asterion? Oh my…it looks like it.”
Ariadne read through each file carefully. She had to hand it to Pithos. They were thorough. They’d even noted down his weekly schedule and who his closest bodyguards and staff were.
According to Pithos, Asterion Dys was the owner of a nightclub in the Diogenes, and some type of illegal, gladiatorial fighting pit underneath it. It was a place that people died to entertain the rich, and millions were laundered through it every year to the benefit of Styx’s worst criminals.
The cops couldn’t touch Asterion because not only did he maintain relationships with some of Greece’s most powerful people, but Hades fucking Acheron owned shares in the whole operation.
That made Ariadne pause. She’d killed mob bosses, politician’s and other high profile people before, but she’d have to be stupid to want to fuck with one of Hades’s friends or members of his inner circle.
Besides, if Pithos had all of this on Asterion, why did they need her to kill him? Why not do the job themselves? Ariadne gnawed on her bottom lip as she thought about how she could do it.
Asterion looked like a big fit guy, so he’d be a fighter. It would make him hard for her to take down without the help of a sedative that she’d have to get him to ingest. That is if she could get past his bodyguards first who all had the look of ex-military or organized crime about them.
The only time someone like Asterion would be alone was in bed. Just the thought of it filled Ariadne with tense excitement. It would be a nice change to try to seduce someone who was that good looking.
Easy girl, you’d still have to kill him, remember?
Five million drachmae was a lot of money to pass up. She’d been through all the files, and she’d found nothing that would be useful aga
inst Minos. If she took the job and Pithos only had money to give, she’d use up that five million just trying to hide from Minos’s wrath.
Ariadne woke at dawn, as the cell phone started to ring. She’d fallen asleep at the table, still reading.
“Spindle, what is your decision?” the voice demanded.
“I don’t see anything on this laptop about Minos, so this job isn’t worth the risk to me,” she replied, stifling her yawn.
“Look again,” said the voice. Ariadne moved the mouse, so the screen lit up, and sure enough, there was a new folder.
“How are you doing this?” she demanded. The laptop wasn’t connected to the internet. She wasn’t sure this part of Hellas could even support the network.
“How doesn’t matter. That folder is only a small part of what we have hacked off Minos’s laptop. You’ll get the rest when the job is done.”
Ariadne opened the file, and her jaw dropped open. Client names, targets, successful hits, ongoing bribes. She already had enough to burn Minos, but not enough to destroy him.
Feeling as if she could see the first glimpse of her freedom in years, Ariadne whispered, “I’ll do it.”
***
Need to know if Ariadne kills Asterion? You can keep reading here!
ALSO BY ALESSA THORN
GODS UNIVERSE
THE COURT OF THE UNDERWORLD
ASTERION
MEDUSA
HADES
HERMES
THANATOS
CHARON
EREBUS
GODS OF THE DUAT
SET
THOTH
ANUBIS
FAE UNIVERSE
THE WRATH OF THE FAE
KISS OF THE BLOOD PRINCE
HEART OF THE WINTER PRINCE
WINGS OF THE NIGHT PRINCE
WRATH OF THE FAE (Box set Audio Book Edition)
IRONWOOD
TRASH AND TREASURE (COMING 2022)
MERCENARIES AND MAGIC
DARKEST NIGHT
SHARPEST EDGE