Den of Mercenaries

by London Miller

  Either way, those that didn’t conform were cast out.

  “And considering what she’s already suffered,” Aidra went on, “I can’t imagine that she’ll take well to having a man—even if it is you—training her as closely as needed.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Kit said. “She can either accept what’s been offered, or …”

  He trailed off, knowing he didn’t need to finish the thought for Aidra to understand.

  They both knew what would happen if Luna didn’t do as Uilleam expected.

  She would die.

  Chapter 6

  A firm knock at the door had Luna bolting up, her disoriented gaze shooting in that direction.

  Putting a hand on her chest, she tried to calm down and catch her bearings, reminding herself of where she was before throwing the covers off and hurrying to the door.

  She opened it just enough to see Aidra standing on the other side with an assortment of bags at her feet.

  “I hope I didn’t wake you,” the woman said, though it didn’t sound like she was too worried if she had, but rather as though the words were the polite thing to say.

  Luna barely managed a response before Aidra was stepping into the room, grabbing a number of bags and bringing them in before going back for the rest.

  Still a bit bleary-eyed and confused, Luna tried to make sense of what was going on before asking, “Is something wrong?”

  “I thought I would deliver your things—I can’t imagine you want to stay in that for longer than you have to.” This, Aidra said gesturing to the dress Luna still wore. “And a physician should be here in the near future to look you over, so if you want to shower and change …”

  She trailed off, though Luna understood what she hadn’t said. “Thank you.”

  Aidra nodded. “I’ll give you a moment.”

  As quickly as she had entered the room, Aidra was exiting again, closing the door soundly behind her. Luna stood there a moment, looking over the assortment of bags that now littered her floor.

  There were jeans in some, shirts in others, and even a few filled with lingerie that was far too pretty to actually be worn. Toothbrush, toothpaste, and enough toiletries to offer a small army were also inside one of the bags.

  Grabbing everything she needed, Luna dumped it all on the sink counter, going over to the massive shower and turning it on.

  By the time she was walking back out of there thirty minutes later, she felt far more alive than she had before she’d gone in.

  Aidra was still waiting just outside the door, but this time she wasn’t alone. One of the Wild Bunch was with her, and unlike last night, his mask was missing along with all the gear he wore. He towered over Aidra, but was only about half a foot taller than Luna.

  His body was angled toward Aidra, allowing only a partial view of the cut of his jaw and the X that was tattooed on his neck.

  “Sorry, I—”

  He turned as Luna was about to speak, a smile already blooming on his rugged face. “You’re The Kingmaker’s right?”

  She didn’t like the idea of being assigned as someone else’s, as though she were property, but she wasn’t bold enough to call him out on it. “Yes.”

  Luna had begun to suspect that everyone here had an accent, but his wasn’t like Aidra and Kit’s.

  “Fang,” he said, pointing to himself, smiling even wider to reveal the two silver-capped teeth in his mouth—his canines.

  Was that how he got his name? “Luna.”

  He seemed to study her a moment, as though he found something about her interesting, but whatever fascination he may have felt, he pushed it aside. “I’ll be seeing you, Luna.”

  He nodded in her direction before laying a hand on Aidra’s stomach, an intimate gesture before he was heading off.

  Now, Luna could understand why Aidra had looked the way she had when she’d asked her about whether or not she was with Kit.

  “Do they live here too?” Luna asked, watching Fang disappear around the corner.

  Aidra watched him go as well, and Luna thought she might have seen the barest trace of a smile on the other woman’s face. “Only when Nix needs them. You’ll meet the rest when they wake up, but for now, you have an appointment. Ready?”

  Luna glanced down at her simple attire of shorts and a shirt. “I guess.”

  Aidra led her through a labyrinth of hallways, pointing out different rooms as she went. Luna already knew about the pool downstairs, but Aidra also told her of a weapons room that was down there as well. There was also a media room complete with a projector and two rows of seats, three offices on the main floor alone, as well as guest rooms, another formal dining room, and finally a room where Kit and a woman were waiting.

  Unbidden, her gaze drew to Uilleam’s brother first. He didn’t look nearly as formidable as he had the night before, or maybe it was just that she was looking at him differently after their short conversation when he’d walked her back to her room.

  He wasn’t her owner—he had made that abundantly clear—and he had gone out of his way to do something kind for her when he didn’t have to.

  His eyes found her before she could cross the floor, scanning over her as though looking for something, but she wasn’t sure what there was to find.

  Feeling a bit self-conscious, Luna cleared her throat, looking away from him. “Morning.”

  “Luna, this is Emma Hobley—I’m sure Aidra has explained why she’s here.”

  “The doctor, right?”

  The woman looked like a doctor with a pair of wire-rimmed glasses perched on her nose, and though she was smiling, there was a clinical air about her.

  “I am,” the woman said standing. “We’ll need privacy for the duration.”

  Kit whispered something to her that Luna couldn’t hear before he and Aidra walked out and closed the door.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Luna. Nix has asked that I perform an exam to ensure you’re healthy. Would that be alright?”

  If there was nothing else, Luna appreciated that she was being given a choice in the matter. “Sure.”

  “First, I’ll do a cursory overview, and if you’re feeling up to it, we can go from there.”

  Though she didn’t outright say it, Luna knew what the woman was alluding to.

  They didn’t know, but Lawrence had brought in a doctor every few weeks or so to ensure that she was free of any diseases or STDs—he had seemed to take great joy in how humiliating those exams were.

  Emma checked her heart rate first, then her lungs, having Luna draw in deep breaths as she pressed the cold end of her stethoscope against the bare skin of Luna’s back.

  Laying a hand on Luna’s shoulder, she had her squeeze and relax her hand as she went over to a bag she’d left on the sofa, pulling packaged needles and tubes from inside, laying the materials on the table beside her.

  Sterilizing a small area on Luna’s arm, she gingerly inserted a needle, holding it in place as she connected the tube that went with it. In seconds, blood began to pool inside of it. Once Emma had about three of these, she cleaned her arm, then wrapped it.

  As she was maneuvering the gauze around Luna’s arm, Luna felt her hesitate, and knew almost immediately what had caused it. There was a scar there on her inner bicep, one that had healed over time that made it nearly impossible to see unless one was looking for it.

  Another product of Lawrence’s drunken rages.

  But Emma didn’t comment, making Luna wonder what else the woman had seen before.

  Clearing her throat, Emma stepped back. “Do you want to continue?”

  She didn’t. She really didn’t, but Luna thought it better to get it out of the way now just so she could have peace of mind.

  Emma was very efficient, finishing in record time, and once she did, she snapped off her gloves, tossing them in a waste bin nearby.

  “There’s a bit of tearing,” Emma said softly, “but that should heal in a few weeks’ time. I recommend that you avoid any intercourse
for now.”

  Oh, she had no idea.

  Once they were finished and Luna was redressed, Emma put away her things and headed for the door.

  “I should have your blood work back within the next few weeks,” she said once she had the door open. “It was nice meeting you.”

  Aidra replaced the doctor’s presence in the room, Kit’s voice fading as he walked off with her.

  Drawing her attention to Luna, Aidra said, “You must be hungry.”

  Yeah, but she was more curious about the conversation Kit was having with the doctor, and if they were talking about her.

  But Luna didn’t say any of this, instead taking the almost familiar route to the dining room.

  Unlike yesterday when it had felt like the cavernous space was barren, there were others seated around the table—four others, in fact.

  She recognized Fang, sitting at one end with a plate in his lap, his feet kicked up on the table. As she and Aidra entered, he dropped down, giving them a two-finger salute, the same way Tăcut had outside.

  “You’ve met Fang,” Aidra said with a nod of her head in his direction, then pointed to each of them in turn. “The others are Thanatos, Tăcut, and Invictus.”

  Thanatos sat opposite Fang, long blond hair in disarray, his gaze down on the paperback in his hands. Unlike the other three he was sitting with, he wore a bulletproof vest over his clothes—and whatever he was reading left a prominent smile on his face.

  Tăcut, she knew from the night before, and he only looked less terrifying than he had then. When Aidra said his name, he spared them the briefest of glances before turning his attention back to his phone.

  Invictus was … odd. He was quiet like Tăcut, but there was an intensity around him that was almost tangible.

  Luna wondered what their names meant—Thanatos and Fang she could guess at, but the others were names she hadn’t heard. She also wondered at the stories behind them.

  “They’ll only be here for the next few weeks, so they shouldn’t bother you,” Aidra continued, glancing down at the rose-gold watch that adorned her wrist.

  “Is all this security really necessary?” Luna asked, spotting another set of highly armed men outside the front windows.

  “They’re merely a precaution.”

  Yeah, but a precaution from what exactly? “For Kit?”

  It would make sense, she reasoned, given his home and the shadowy business practices that his brother seemed to participate in, but she couldn’t imagine it warranted this level of security.

  “In a sense, yes.”

  As another guard passed, Luna muttered to herself, “Is he expecting an army?”

  It was Fang that answered her. “If whoever tries to breach this place wants to get out alive, yeah, they’ll need an army.”

  “Nix should be here shortly,” Aidra said, “sit where you like.”

  In the light of day, the dining room table felt larger, the decor more vibrant, and once again she was struck with the ridiculous urge that she didn’t belong there, but she ignored it and pulled the same chair out she’d sat in the night before.

  She was only there for a matter of seconds before she heard a chair scrape back and Fang appeared at her side, folding muscular arms across his chest. There was a tattoo there along his forearm, the only one that she could visibly see besides the X on his neck. A massive cross.

  “Where’d you come from?”

  Luna wanted to be surprised that he had come right out and asked, but unlike his friends at the other end of the table, she got the impression that he was always this forthright, but that didn’t mean she was willing to share.

  “Does it matter?”

  “Depends on who you ask.”

  “I’m asking you.”

  His smile widened. “I’m curious.”

  “Then maybe you should ask Kit.”

  “I did.”

  “And what did he tell you?”

  Fang shrugged. “That you were none of my business.”

  “Oh.” That was an answer Luna hadn’t expected.

  “So I thought I would come to the source.”

  “Nosy bastard,” Thanatos said from his end of the table, green eyes trained on them.

  Fang turned his head in Thanatos’ direction with a scowl. “Suck a cock.”

  “Language,” Invictus said, though he never bothered to look up—as though this was something they did regularly.

  Tăcut just smirked.

  “No one else wants to know why she just popped up?”

  Thanatos shook his head, going back to his book. “She’s not the job.”

  Fang looked at him in mock disgust. “Fucking boring, all of you.”

  If she had to guess, they were all around the same age, mid-twenties if she had to guess.

  She also found that she wasn’t very nervous around Fang.

  “Give me something,” Fang went on. “I’m dying here. Even Aidra won’t tell me anything—what’s the big secret?”

  Even if she wanted to answer, she couldn’t because she didn’t know either. No one had told her why Uilleam had brought her here.

  “Why—”

  “Isn’t there something you’re meant to be doing?” Aidra asked as she came back into the room.

  Fang’s stance changed as his smile grew. “Not really.”

  “Then find something.”

  She gestured for him to follow with a crook of her finger, the others pushing out of their chairs to go along. Fang’s amused chuckle still echoed even after they were gone.

  Once she was alone, Luna didn’t remain at the table, instead going over to the windows, peering out.

  “I hope you’re not planning on going out that window. The door isn’t very far.”

  Luna’s heart skipped a beat as she spun to face Kit. “Just looking.”

  “No harm in that,” he said.

  Now that he was here, Luna didn’t find the view nearly as interesting—she was more curious about the conversation he promised they would have.

  After he had gone off last night, leaving her to her own devices, she had taken the food he’d left and climbed into bed, devouring everything as she contemplated his words. She had mulled them over for hours until her eyes drooped.

  “Until your blood work is back,” Kit said, “we won’t be able to start your training until then.”

  “Training?”

  The door to the kitchen popped open, their food delivered before the man disappeared back the way he came.

  “We have a lot to discuss, and while it may be uncomfortable, your time with Emmett and Lawrence needs to be discussed as well. I can’t say that I won’t offend you again, but I’ll mind my words.”

  “Why?” Luna asked. “Why is what happened there so important?”

  It was one thing speaking about the kidnapping that was seared into the back of her mind, but her time with Lawrence … there was just something about that first event that she could speak of distantly, yet when she even thought about Lawrence, it made her stomach turn.

  And just the thought of sharing with him the three long years she had spent as Lawrence’s toy to do with as he pleased—recounting every horrible thing he had ever done had her close to an anxiety attack.

  She didn’t want to talk about, nor did she even want to think about, him.

  More than anything, she wanted to put it behind her and pretend as though it had never happened.

  As though he could read her thoughts, he said, “Don’t let anyone have that kind of power over you. It doesn’t have to define you.”

  “What do you want to know?” she asked reluctantly.

  “Ask the question you want answered.”

  “Sorry?”

  Before he answered, Kit pulled the dome off her plate, revealing the food beneath—sausage, toast, eggs—a proper breakfast.

  “This is fine,” she answered his unspoken question.

  “In the future,” Kit went on as he uncovered his own food, “should you wa
nt to avoid telling information you don't want to share, you pose a question of your own that will prevent that from happening. This way, the question becomes specific to what you're willing to share.”

  “I think I understand.”

  “But there are also benefits to obscurity.”

  She hadn’t the slightest idea what he meant. “Uh.”

  “Let’s say you were to ask me who I am. I could tell you about my childhood in Wales, or vacations to Greece, or even the way my mother enjoyed watching my father beat me, but that’s not really what you want to know, is it? You would much rather know why Uilleam would bring you to me, isn’t that right?” A corner of his mouth kicked up at the look on her face. “All it takes is a bit of misdirection because now, you’re thinking about my childhood rather than why you’re here.”

  Well shit.

  She was thinking about what little he had just told her, and had he not made note of it, she would have asked him about that first before the reason why she was here with him.

  “Devil is in the details, remember that,” Kit said cutting into his sausage.

  “So why did he bring me to you?”

  “Will you answer questions of mine?” he asked, and at her nod, he answered. “He wants me to train you.”

  Eating a bite of eggs, Luna chewed a moment. “Train me for …”

  “In the trade of dead men—or at least that’s what we like to call it. Most of the unfortunate souls that sign a contract with my brother are as good as dead anyway, so it makes sense. Even if they aren’t, by the time my brother finishes with them, there’s no trace of them left.”

  There were so many questions she wanted to ask, but she hadn’t a clue where to start. “What’s the trade of dead men … exactly?”

  “Mercenaries.”

  Luna frowned. “Isn’t that like an assassin?”

  Now, he looked amused. “They’re not mutually exclusive, no. Mercenaries are usually in it for the money, suspending their own moral code in exchange for ones and zeros. Assassins, on the other hand, are a bit more balanced.”

  “Why do you say, ‘usually’?”

  “My brother has brought together a team of mercenaries—he calls it the Den—to perform jobs for him. Essentially, he took the sophistication of an assassin and paired it with the ruthlessness of a mercenary.”