“How’d your meeting go?” she asked, refusing to look at him as she crossed the floor to put more distance between them.
“Which one?”
“The one you were annoyed about.”
At first, it had been a bid to change the subject, to get her mind off of why she was annoyed with him, but as she remembered his odd behavior a few nights ago, she was genuinely curious as to his answer.
“Not as well as expected, but”—he shrugged, striding naked off in front of her as he went to get dressed as well— “I have it under control at the moment.”
That sounded rather … vague. “Was it anything interesting?”
Sometimes, the things that people came to him for boggled her mind. Once, there had been a request for a rare white tiger for a children’s birthday party, and another had been the kidnapping of seven wanted men— for crimes Luna didn’t like to think about—and taking them to a remote island where they played a real-life game of Survivor.
People’s imaginations were limitless.
Kit didn’t answer right away, quiet in the closet before he came back out wearing a pair of jeans that sat low on his waist. “It’s nothing to concern yourself with. What we should be worrying about is why your assignments have all resulted in someone getting killed.”
“I’m a mercenary, Kit. I would be more surprised if they didn’t end this way—which should have been a clue considering your part in this.”
“Don’t fault me for wanting to protect you, Luna—someone should have. While I can’t change the past, I can assure that you don’t suffer again like you had then.”
She wanted to hold onto her anger, but Kit had a way with words—a way that had her letting go of the momentary anger she felt toward him.
“I think I’ve told you before that I can take care of myself.”
“Undoubtedly, but you don’t always have to—that’s my job.”
How could she possibly argue with that?
“Now, are you going to tell me what happened, or should I find out from another source?”
“If I do,” Luna said chewing on her lip, “you have to drop the detail and actually keep your word that you’ll stay clear.”
Kit looked like he wanted to argue further, but didn’t. “Go on, then.”
She wouldn’t tell him everything, she decided, just the curious bits. “The guy I was looking for … he knew me.”
Kit shrugged. “I imagine many do.”
“He was there,” Luna rephrased. “At the warehouse where I was kept. I remembered his voice—he was one of the ones that got me out when the place went up in flames.”
“Did he tell you this?” When Luna nodded, he then asked, “What else did he say?”
“He didn’t really get to say much else before someone shot him—apologized, a lot though.”
“If he did what he said, he should have apologized.”
Luna was inclined to agree … but it still didn’t make sense why he had thought Uilleam would send her after him—unless The Kingmaker knew something about her kidnapping that she didn’t.
Had he found the answer she had been looking for all these years?
Sure, she had moved past that time I her life, but she hadn’t moved on, not really. She pondered the truth constantly.
“I’m glad you weren’t hurt,” he whispered a moment before kissing her forehead.
She sighed, laying her head against his chest. “Someone else was looking for him too—I forgot to mention that to Z when I saw him. But I don’t think it really matters because according to him, my job is done.”
“Then perhaps now you’ll let me talk you into taking a vacation.”
She smiled. “We just got back from vacation.”
“I fail to see why that matters.”
Laughing, Luna said, “Maybe. But I have to finish this first, so our plans are on hold.”
“If you insist.”
As Kit finished getting dressed, and her attention was stolen by her chiming phone, something was bothering her, but she couldn’t for the life of her figure out what it was.
At least not at first.
Not until Kit was gone from the room with a whispered goodbye and she was left in silence.
It was the silence that put the pieces together.
When Uilleam was shot and she was with him, Kit had sent the Wild Bunch in to retrieve her and take her to a safe house, and she hadn’t even been the target of the assault.
Yet, he hadn’t seemed fazed at all by the events of the day.
And even if he had taken extra security measures to ensure that nothing happened to her, why hadn’t his security shown their face?
Something wasn’t adding up.
Chapter 21
She was too curious, his Luna.
Kit had seen it in the stubborn tilt of her jaw when she walked away from him. Sure, she was agreeing with him verbally, but she wasn’t going to let this go, not when she still had questions.
But it didn’t matter, not when Andrei had been the last loose string.
Kit had become a master at keeping secrets, what was one more?
Once he was dressed, Kit left his bedroom, only to come up short when Fang appeared in the hallway, a tight smile on his face as he nodded at whatever Aidra was saying to him as she walked in the opposite direction.
“My office,” Kit said without looking at him, already heading in that direction. He knew what the man had come to say, but he didn’t want their conversation to be overheard.
“I know you said no witnesses,” Fang said the moment they were closed away in the soundproof room. “But I figured you would make an exception.”
Kit didn’t laugh. “Did she see you?”
“I think you would know by now if she had,” Fang suggested, digging his hands into his pockets.
“Or anything of yours? You’ve turned her into a bit of a motorcycle enthusiast. I’m sure she would have noticed yours had you parked it around.”
“Found a truck.”
Meaning he stole a truck, but Kit didn’t care about that little detail. “In any case, I’ve told her that I had you following her for the time being, so should she ever mention it, that’s your story.”
“Understood.”
Kit’s gaze drifted to the monitor on his desk, depicting seven different video feeds of the grounds. Nothing was out of the ordinary, not until a fleet of black SUVs came into view.
“Are the others here as well?” Kit asked Fang, though not taking his gaze off the screen.
“Yeah, why?”
“It seems my brother has come to pay me a visit.”
Kit didn’t arm himself as he left his office—though he was partly glad that he’d decided to put on his vest before dressing. There was no telling what his brother would do now that he was here.
He was down the stairs and out the door in seconds, standing in front of the doors as Uilleam and his mercenaries unloaded—all of which had rifles aimed at Kit’s head.
Kit was unfazed.
“You’re asking for war, Kingmaker,” Kit said mockingly once he was looking down into the face of rage as he stared at his brother. “Don’t tempt me to actually kill you.”
“I invite you to try.”
“What did you expect, Uilleam?” Kit asked as he walked down the last few steps until they were within a foot of each other. “We wouldn’t be here had it not been—”
“I’ve never liked those that play at being a victim,” Uilleam said with a modest shake of his head. “Wolves in sheep’s clothing, I say. They have their minions that tell them they couldn’t possibly have done any wrong, yet we both know the truth, don’t we? Just a two-headed dog begging to be put down. Make no mistake, you only have yourself to blame.” The hollows of Uilleam’s cheeks stood out more—he’d lost weight. “Yet, you think to throw it in my face?”
“And what do you suspect you’re doing, Uilleam? You’re so blinded by your own ego that you can’t see your own flaws. When y
ou’re not plotting one of your schemes, you’re acting like a petulant child. Grow up.”
Uilleam’s laugh was harsh. “That’s astonishing coming from the man that decides to get into business with the very people he condemns me for. Did you think I wouldn’t find out about your arrangement with Caesar Rivera? The man couldn’t wait to spread the good news. Do you care to know why? Because the last time I saw them, I told them they were both beneath me.”
“You think everyone is beneath you, Uilleam. That’s your problem.”
“I’ve never thought you were,” he said with so much venom, it made Kit blink.
No, Uilleam had never treated him as though he were less than him. He liked his games, sure, but he had always thought of Kit as a worthy opponent.
Until Kit had stopped wanting to play the game.
But it didn’t matter anymore, they were both bound by the choices they had made. And though this looked like another betrayal, Kit was sure, he couldn’t tell him otherwise.
Not just because of Luna, but because of Uilleam.
Despite it all, he was still Kit’s brother, and he didn’t want to see any harm come to him. Until he could see a way out of the hole, he had his part to play.
Even if he had to hurt everyone he loved.
“You were sloppy,” Kit said. “You were in over your head and this—this is the result. There’s no reason for you to be here anymore, is there? You’ve said they were beneath you, there’s no reason why you should be upset that I’ve taken them on. Don’t be a sore loser, brother. It’s unbecoming.”
For a moment, Kit thought he could actually see the younger version of Uilleam standing there, staring up at him with wide eyes filled with hurt.
Kit didn’t gloat.
Yet, here he stood making a mockery of the only family that had ever truly loved him.
“I’m going to make you bleed,” Uilleam said, eyes never straying. “I’m going to cut the heart out of you.”
“Don’t threaten me unless you’re ready for war.”
“You must have forgotten,” Uilleam said as he backed away, “I excel at wars.”
They were acting weird.
From the minute Luna arrived in the building, service was sluggish. It almost felt as though they were purposely taking their time. But Luna didn’t have time to wonder about their behavior, not when she was going over her explanation to Belladonna.
She couldn’t imagine the woman would be pleased with what she had to say, especially considering the fees the Den charged for finding someone. Undoubtedly, she wouldn’t like that her target was dead before she could get whatever she wanted from him, and worse, Luna still didn’t know who was responsible.
As she stepped out of the elevator, she had to double-check to make sure she was on the correct floor. Unlike the last time she had been there, the walls had changed colors, the receptionist’s desk had been moved, and if she wasn’t mistaken, half of the people she was seeing inside the office were new.
What the hell?
“I trust you’re here because you have news?” Belladonna asked, heels clicking as she came around the corner. The white of her outfit was nearly blinding against her tan skin. She gestured to her office and said, “Shall we?”
Belladonna’s office seemed to be under construction as well, plastic wrap covering the majority of the surfaces in the room save her desk and the flat screen hanging on the wall. Though the TV was on and turned to one of those celebrity gossip shows, it was muted.
With everything going on with Kit, Luna didn’t want to waste any time with excuses and preambles. “Andrei is dead.”
Luna expected surprise, or annoyance maybe, but she got neither. In fact, Belladonna hardly reacted to the news that the man she was hunting had been killed.
“Before or after you found him?”
“After—I saw it happen,” Luna explained further.
“How?”
“Sniper.”
Belladonna’s red painted lips curled up. “You know two of those, correct? Red, I believe he’s called, and Fang.”
It wasn’t Red’s name that made Luna’s eyes widen in surprise—he was well known in their world for what he could do with a rifle in his hands—but Fang …
As far as she could tell, the Wild Bunch lived like ghosts. Even the mercenaries, with the exception of Skorpion, didn’t know about them.
More curious was that she hadn’t known Fang even was a sniper. She knew he handled knives well, was far beyond efficient at hand-to-hand, but he had always seemed like the one that would be right in the middle of the action.
It was strange that no one had ever bothered to mention that.
“Did you get a chance to speak with Mr. Kanekov?” Belladonna asked while Luna was still lost in her thoughts.
How was she meant to answer that question?
Belladonna had never mentioned what she wanted Luna to do once she did in fact find Andrei, only that she wanted him found. As far as her talk with the man went, she didn’t see how the gibberish Andrei had spoken would mean anything to her.
“No,” Luna settled on saying. It was the closest thing to the truth.
“That’s unfortunate,” Belladonna said with a sigh and a shake of her head.
In her movement, Luna’s gaze was drawn to the television behind her. It was still showing the same episode from the time she walked into the room, but now it grabbed and held her attention.
Because the man they had caught on camera was Kit.
Her husband was anything but a celebrity—rather a man that prided himself on his anonymity—yet there he sat, looking particularly cozy with a woman that had dark hair and …
Luna leaned forward so fast she was almost out of her chair, trying to make sure she was seeing clearly. Even as her brain tried to process what she was seeing, it still wasn’t making sense. It just wasn’t possible.
The girl who had been snapped with Kit wasn’t just anyone, it was Ariana.
Her sister.
Someone she hadn’t seen for years, yet one look at her felt like no time had passed at all. She still had the same hair, though a touch longer, same flawless skin, and her somewhat mischievous grin was the same. There was no denying who she was seeing—Luna doubted she would ever not recognize her own family.
Realizing that the television had stolen Luna’s attention, Belladonna didn’t demand she focus on her, but rather grabbed the remote and turned the volume up.
“Celebrity jewelry designer, and daughter of the renowned human activist, Carmen Santiago, was spotted having a late lunch with a mysterious new man. This news comes only months after Ariana announced her engagement to a wealthy businessman from …”
Luna tried to listen, or rather make sense, of what the woman was talking about, but it was too crazy to believe.
Though, was it?
Ariana had always had an interest in fashion, and if she had managed to make a career of it, that was amazing. But Luna didn’t understand how she knew Kit …
And why Kit had never mentioned that he was having lunch with her.
Just as Luna thought what she was seeing couldn’t get any stranger, there was another show of not just the pair of them, but Luna’s mother as well, and a man she didn’t immediately recognize.
“Oh dear,” Belladonna said, watching along with her. “I wonder what on earth Caesar and Nix have to talk about? Perhaps one of his infamous deals?”
Luna had always heard the saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” but as she stared at the video footage, she couldn’t find anything to say that described the confusion she felt.
And in the rapidly spoken words of the reporter, one stuck out.
California.
Was that what business Kit had out there? Was that why he was so secretive about that meeting?
She understood that she couldn’t see them—or at least had until now—but what confused her was why he had never bothered to mention it.
Was it really innocent
though?
Just now, Belladonna had hinted that it may have been a business deal, and Kit had already told her that it was for that reason that he was even going to California.
She didn’t think her heartbeat had ever sounded so loud in her own ears.
“I want to tell you a story,” Belladonna said, though Luna had yet to take her gaze from the television. “About a girl whose life was not her own.”
It didn’t make sense.
Kit told her everything, even things she didn’t particularly enjoy. That was just who he was, honest to a fault, but why hide this?
What was there even to hide?
“Now this girl,” Belladonna went on as she twisted the gold Cartier bracelet on her wrist, “beautiful girl, she was, had become a pawn in a game she didn’t know she was playing.”
Squeezing her eyes shut to try and get her bearings, knowing she needed to focus on the present, Luna forced her gaze away from the TV. “What? What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about a martyr—about a girl whose life was taken to give another power.”
She was speaking in riddles, Luna thought with an inward shake of her head. If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought she was talking to Uilleam.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I need to—”
“One question before you go,” Belladonna said raising a perfectly manicured finger. “Did you ever wonder why you?”
“I’m sorry?”
“At some point over the last—how many years has it been?—you had to have asked yourself why The Kingmaker wanted you as badly as he did.”
Luna had wondered that very question since the second Uilleam offered to buy her. It wasn’t as though he knew her, or cared about the horrors she faced. Over the years, she’d had an up close and personal view of how callous he could be.
And because that was what he did, Luna thought, but didn’t voice it aloud. It wasn’t as though she were the first mercenary Uilleam recruited, and she knew she wouldn’t be the last.
So why did she feel anxious all of a sudden?
“I’ve learned a great many things about the Runehart brothers since my business began. And one thing I learned is that you never get in between them—there are often casualties in their wars.”
Den of Mercenaries Page 76
