Gladiator

by E. L. Todd

  “I said I was a party girl—not a whore.”

  “Aren’t they the same thing?”

  “No.” I crossed my legs and watched the fire in the hearth. My thoughts drifted back to my home. I’d never walk through those halls again. My room had all my things, but I couldn’t reach them. Friends at school would wonder why I stopped showing up to class. I wasn’t student of the month by any means, but I wouldn’t ditch either.

  “Do you miss home?” Wilder always seemed to know what I was thinking even if I didn’t say a word. I thought I was learning how to read him, but he’d been doing the same to me. And I had to admit, he was much better at it than I was.

  “How do you always know what I’m thinking?”

  He gripped the glass in his fingertips. “I can read it on your face. Your lips automatically press together when you’re thinking about something particularly sad. Your eyes form a glaze, like you’re dissociating from your body. And the subject of your thoughts…is just good guessing.” He rubbed the side of his face, where his scruff had started to come in again.

  The flames crackled and popped, continuing their dance. My eyes didn’t move to his face because I didn’t like admitting he was right. I always thought I outsmarted people. Guess not.

  “So, do you?”

  I didn’t have a definitive answer. “I don’t know.”

  He lowered his hand, his dark eyes still trained on me.

  “I didn’t like school, so I don’t miss that in the least. I felt like I was doing it just to do it. There was no passion or motivation there. Everyone else was doing it, so I decided to do the same so I wouldn’t get left behind. Most of my friends moved away to other colleges, so we’ve lost touch. And if my dad is really what you say he is…then there’s nothing for me there.”

  Wilder moved his gaze to the hardwood floor at our feet.

  “I guess my answer is no.”

  “Then you enjoy being here? With me?” His tone was different when he asked the question—softer.

  “I don’t hate it. But I don’t love it either.”

  His eyes were still trained on the ground.

  “This place is so beautiful it’s impossible not to appreciate it, even if my freedom has been stripped away. But I have no idea who you are or what you stand for. I don’t know what I’ve gotten myself into. You claim you’re one of the good guys, but wouldn’t a bad guy say the same thing?”

  “You have freedom.” His quiet words cut through the silence. “You can leave the house, you can buy anything you want, and you can do whatever you want without fear of physical retribution. You just can’t break the rules while you do it.”

  “Then I don’t have freedom.”

  “No. You have rules—just like everyone else.”

  I wanted to know why he really agreed to the exchange. He released my father, his original target, for an ordinary girl. I thought he wanted me for a physical purpose, possibly to sell me into sex-trafficking, but he didn’t seem interested in that. But what did he want with me? I wasn’t anything special. “So, what exactly do you do?”

  He set the empty glass on the bricks beside him. “I can’t tell you everything. But I can tell you a few things.”

  “Why not?” I asked. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Some things are classified—for your own good.”

  “Then what can you tell me?”

  He stared into his living room like he was trying to figure out where to begin. He rubbed the side of his face again. It wasn’t a nervous habit, but a stalling technique. “I formed my own intelligence agency, along with a few other agents, about ten years ago.”

  “How is that possible? How does someone start an agency like that?”

  “I had my own agenda and did missions on my own. I’m very good at what I do, and other organizations started commissioning my help. They have to abide by laws, for the most part, but I don’t. I’m not loyal to any particular country and I take on missions I’m specifically interested in. My comrades like the same convenience.”

  My brain was too small to understand any of that. “So, a country will pay you to take care of something for them? So they don’t have to get their hands dirty?”

  “In a nutshell.”

  “So, you kill people? Assassinate them?” My throat went dry at the words. I wasn’t particularly compassionate, but I wasn’t sure if I could take a life. I would do it to survive, but I wouldn’t do it for a paycheck. It made me look at him differently. Wilder was two separate men. The man who built a snowman with me and kissed me in that grocery store was one person, the one I was weak for. And then there was the other version of him, the killer.

  “Yes.” There was no remorse in his voice. He flat-lined.

  “And you’re okay with that?” I couldn’t keep the disgust out of my voice.

  He wasn’t offended in the least. “I sleep like a baby every night.”

  My eyes fell to the floor, and my body suddenly became tense around him.

  “I would never hurt you.” He read my mind again, like always. “Don’t be scared of me.”

  “How can I not be? The second someone puts a bounty on my head, I’d be gone.”

  “It doesn’t work that way. I don’t take just any mission. Like I said, I only take the ones I want.”

  “So if there’s someone you would enjoy killing, you take it?”

  “I guess.” He turned my way, and his eyes were hardened shells just like they were in that parking garage. He’d closed off from me, becoming strictly professional the second this conversation was breached.

  Just like in the van, I couldn’t hold his gaze. I looked away. “So, you’re an independent killer?”

  He nodded.

  “And what is this agency called?”

  “You can’t repeat it to anyone—for your own safety.”

  “Okay.”

  “RB12.”

  “RB12?” I repeated. “What does that mean?”

  “Rogue Battalion. The numbers refer to a special coordinate sequence.”

  It was so much to take in. “I don’t understand how you can think of yourself in a positive light but call my father a criminal. If he’s a criminal, so are you.”

  “You can’t think that way.” He continued to watch my face. “The world isn’t black and white like some people assume. It’s complex and complicated. People made laws and rules. They aren’t absolute like some people believe. And sometimes, you do things you may not enjoy for the greater good. You can call me a criminal if you like, but I help people. If it weren’t for me, a lot of innocent people wouldn’t have the freedom they have now.”

  Was that true? Or was he just crazy?

  He turned away and broke our gaze. “You’ll understand someday. But not today.”

  No. I would never understand.

  Chapter Eight

  I woke to the sound of voices.

  “Wilder, be careful.” Judy’s voice came from downstairs.

  “I will. Grab my bag.”

  “Okay.”

  My eyes opened at the seriousness of their voices. Judy sounded scared, which I’d never heard before. Her voice was always cheery and happy. To hear her sound terrified was enough to wake me from my dreams.

  Judy’s voice returned. “When will you be back?”

  “I don’t know. You know the protocol if I don’t return.”

  I got out of bed and crept to the door. I cracked it and peeked down to get a view of them.

  Wilder somehow heard, with his supernatural reflexes, and his eyes immediately moved to my position on the balcony.

  I stood absolutely still, frightened because I got caught eavesdropping.

  He watched me with an unreadable expression. His battle mask was on, and the man I preferred was gone.

  Judy turned her gaze on me. She held her silence.

  Wilder finally spoke. “Go back to bed.”

  Instead of turn
ing around and doing as he asked, I gripped the rail. He told me what he did for a living, but yet, I was worried for him. I wanted him to come back. There was something seriously wrong with me for feeling that way, but I felt it nonetheless. “You’re leaving?”

  “Yes.” His voice was ice-cold. “Judy will look after you.” He shouldered his bag, and a gun hung on his hip. He glanced at his watch then headed for the door. He didn’t say goodbye to either of us.

  “Wait.” I headed down the stairs, taking them two at a time.

  Wilder stopped in his tracks then slowly turned around.

  I walked up to him, unsure what I was doing. “When will you be back?”

  He watched my face with hard eyes. It was difficult to tell if he was angry or just irritated. “I don’t know. But I don’t have time for questions, Gray. Goodbye.” He turned to the door, and at that exact moment, a helicopter descended from the dark sky.

  “Are you going on a mission?” I blurted.

  He turned around again. “Yes.”

  The helicopter landed, but the pilot didn’t get out. He waited for Wilder.

  I stood there with restless feet. Emotion burned inside me, but I wasn’t sure what it was. Something kept me there, and I didn’t want to step away. I needed something from him.

  “Goodbye.” He opened the door.

  “Wait.” I ran to him then hugged him. I’d never hugged him before. His body was rock-hard under my touch. My arms wrapped around his neck and I held him close. “Be careful.”

  His arms returned the embrace and he tightened his hold on me. One hand moved up my neck and into my hair. He gripped it gently, like he’d wanted to do it for a long time. He pulled away slightly and looked down into my face. “I’ll be back, Gray.”

  Why did I want him to come back at all? Why did I care what happened to him? He was going to kill someone and I was supporting that. It went against everything I believed in, but my heart still cared for him. “Promise me.” I searched his gaze and waited for the vow.

  “I never make promises I can’t keep,” he said. “But I’ll do everything I can to make it back.”

  ***

  Five days came and went, and nothing was heard of Wilder.

  With every passing day, I grew more insane. There was no news on his whereabouts, and I constantly checked the sky, searching for a helicopter in the hope he had returned.

  But he hadn’t.

  “Have you heard from him?” I asked Judy at dinner.

  She shook her head and held her silence.

  “Would he call?”

  “No. He never calls.”

  How could she be so calm about this? I was a nervous wreck. He could be hurt or worse.

  Judy looked at me from across the table. “Wilder is the best at what he does. Don’t worry about him. He’s strong, smart, and powerful. There’s nothing that can stop him.”

  “Does he do this often?”

  She nodded.

  “Has he ever gotten hurt?”

  “There’s always collateral damage, but never anything life-threatening.”

  I tried to find solace in that, but was struggling. Just because something hadn’t happened in the past didn’t mean it wouldn’t happen in the future.

  “Just try to relax,” she said quietly. “He’ll come back. He always does.”

  ***

  I was asleep in the coziest bed in the world. The chalet was warm, and the fire still burned in the hearth. It died down to embers but continued to glow. My eyes were closed, but something disturbed my dreams. There was someone in the room. I didn’t know how I knew that—but I did.

  I opened my eyes and spotted the silhouette at the edge of my bed. It was the outline of a man with strong shoulders. I sat up because I knew exactly who it was. “Wilder?”

  He turned to me, his face visible in the glow from the fireplace. “I came in here to tell you I was back. But when I saw you sleeping, I couldn’t wake you. I’m sorry that I did.”

  “You didn’t. I just…knew you were there.” I examined his body and didn’t notice any injuries. He looked exactly the same way he did when he left. He was whole and unbroken. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” He scooted closer to me then moved his hand to my shoulder. He rubbed the muscle gently, like he was trying to comfort me. “Everything went well. You can relax now.”

  “Did you kill people?”

  “A few.”

  My heart fell at his words. He was a murderer and I despised him for that, but I still cared about him anyway. I cared about the man I met in that bar, the one who drove me home so I didn’t have to walk in the snow. I cared about the man who smiled as we made a snowman together. Could I really care about one and ignore the crimes of the other?

  “But they deserved it.”

  “Says who?”

  He gave me a look that answered the question.

  “I’m glad you’re okay…”

  “Me too.” His eyes never left my face. “I was surprised to see you so worried over me.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  “If I didn’t know any better, I would say you liked me.” His lips upturned into a smile.

  “I don’t like you,” I said defensively. “I just…”

  “Yeah?” he pressed, that smile still there.

  “I was just worried for Judy’s sake.”

  “Sure. Whatever you say.”

  I was embarrassed to admit my feelings. It made me a lesser person, to care about someone with such an immoral career. But my heart had a mind of its own—a stupid one.

  I stared at the bedspread that covered my legs.

  Wilder watched me, his eyes burning into my face. “I care about you too, Gray.”

  “But I shouldn’t care about you. You can justify what you do as much as you want, but it doesn’t change anything. It’s wrong.” I looked up and met his gaze, seeing the hurt reflected openly on his features.

  “You’ll change your mind about that.”

  “No. I never will.” It didn’t matter how he spun his tale. He could say whatever he wanted, but it didn’t change his actions. He pulled the trigger and snuffed out the lives of innocent people. Even if I cared about him, I would never approve of that. My moral compass didn’t always point north, but it didn’t point south either.

  He closed off from me, tensing his body and pivoting away from my gaze. “I’ll show you my office tomorrow. Then you’ll understand.”

  And maybe I would stop caring about him altogether.

  Chapter Nine

  Wilder walked beside me across the yard. Snow blanketed the lawn, and the building to the side of the chalet was covered with snow. There was only one slender door. It was red, and it looked like it was made of stone.

  Wilder pressed his hand against the door, and a keypad appeared on the wall. He entered a code before it slid back into the wall. Then a camera emerged and it quickly performed a retinal scan. An audible click sounded.

  Damn.

  He walked inside first then quickly shut the door behind me. Automatically, the bolts and locks stretched across what appeared to be a bulletproof door. Actually, the door looked everything-proof. Not even a bulldozer could get through it.

  On the wall was an enormous screen. Different images were projected. One looked like a field map of a Middle Eastern country, another camera filmed the entrance into a building, and the largest image was a map of the world. Red pins marked different territories, but I didn’t know what those pins meant.

  Speechless, I just stood there.

  The floor was made of concrete, and a large desk sat in the center of the room. Various computers were there, as well as folders of documents. On the back wall, there were dozens of guns and technical gadgets.

  Shit.

  Wilder watched my reaction to everything, but didn’t give away anything himself.

  “Uh…it’s nice?” What else did you say?

>   He moved to the desk and pulled out the chair for me. “Take a seat.”

  I lowered myself into the chair and immediately felt uncomfortable. It was practically the death seat. “Do you want to know where I was this week?”

  “Not sure.”

  He pulled a chair beside mine and took a seat. Then he waited for me to give my verbal consent.

  “I guess…”

  “This stays in this room. Judy doesn’t even know what I was doing.”

  “Okay.”

  He grabbed his mouse and began working on his computer. His pointer moved across the screen on the wall. After clicking on a few things, he brought up a picture of a man. He was dark-skinned, with dark eyes, and he looked terrifying. He was standing in front of a building with an AK-47 hanging by his side. “His name is Amur Yeisa. I’ve been trying to find him for years. Every time I get close, he disappears.”

  “Why do you want him?”

  He changed the image. What he pulled up made me shake. It was an image of young women in cages. They lay on the ground like they were dead, but they weren’t. They seemed incapacitated, confused. “Amur runs the largest sex-trafficking organization in the world. He has over twelve headquarters across the world, including the United States. He’s an international criminal. The women range from ages twelve to thirty-five.”

  I stared at the image and felt my eyes burn.

  “He’s been doing it for years. I’ve managed to liberate a few of their brothels, but they’re constantly on the move. They operate under the radar, and they’re smart. It’s nearly impossible to track them. They have unlimited resources and funds, and most countries are too frightened of their retaliation to intervene. I intend to put a stop to the entire organization. It’s just taking me some time…”

  Speechless, I just stared. When it became too much, I closed my eyes. “Turn it off, please.”

  He clicked and exited out.

  But I kept my eyes closed anyway. One of my greatest fears was being raped. When I thought Wilder was going to do it to me, I realized how traumatic it would be. Being subjected to that torture on a daily basis was unthinkable. I felt sick to my stomach and vengeful at the same time.