“Don’t worry. I won’t ever have to choose between you, so it’s all in good fun.”
“Care to put money where your mouth is, Russian?” Fang asked, finishing strapping his rifle to his back.
“You don’t want to bet against me, that much I can tell you.”
They bantered back and forth, betting on who was the better shot. By the time they finished, there was nearly half a million dollars on the line.
“I can guarantee you half an hour,” Winter said with her laptop in hand. “But the way their security is set up, they’ll know the moment I get into the system.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Understood.”
“Come back alive,” she said before looking over at Tăcut. “You too.”
“Right.” Synek glanced back at Red and the Wild Bunch. “Let’s make some noise.”
* * *
Iris closed her eyes against the pain in her leg, trying to force herself to breathe through it and focus on anything else.
For a time, the cracks that spidered up the floor were enough, then counting the water stains on the ceiling.
At least the blood had finally slowed, though she was sure she’d lost too much from how light her head felt. Even if she was able to get free, she doubted she’d be able to get very far before she passed out from blood loss.
Wren was still passed out, her head lolling forward, her body slack even as she was strapped to the chair. The bruise on her eye had darkened further, along with another mark next to her mouth.
She wasn’t sure if the girl hadn’t gone quietly, or if they’d been unnecessarily cruel in their treatment of her. Either way, Bear wasn’t going to respond well.
But that was only if they found them in time.
Rosalie was growing more anxious with each passing minute, her heels clicking on the floor as she paced. Iris wasn’t sure which of them was most looking forward to Synek walking through the door.
“I should have fed you to the dogs,” Rosalie spat at her as she walked over, still holding the knife from earlier.
Her gaze flickered over her slowly, as if she was trying to desperately find something in Iris worth looking at.
“I was never good enough for him. Nothing I ever did was good enough. Yet he’d choose you? You’re as pathetic as he is.”
As she turned, setting her sights on Wren, Iris spoke up. “You called him puppy.”
“What did you say?”
“You actually thought he would feel anything for you when you treated him like he was your pet?”
A cold smile curled her lips. “Are you going to educate me on someone you’ve known for”—she snapped her fingers—“this long?”
“Yet I know him well enough to say that he’s more than just your personal hunting dog.”
Never mind the things he’d had to do to survive—Synek was a person. A human being. With thoughts and feelings. Undoubtedly, he had done things that she never wanted to know about, nor would he ever share, but she didn’t care.
She saw him for who he was—and she liked every fucked up and precious bit of him.
“Don’t worry,” Rosalie said with a shake of her head, “he’ll ruin you the way he ruins everything.”
Iris didn’t think before she responded. “Looking forward to it.”
She didn’t see her hand move until it was striking her across the face, the pain sudden and nearly overwhelming, but even as she spit out the blood in her mouth, Iris didn’t falter.
A rapid set of beeps sounded as Rosalie pulled out her phone, flashing Iris the screen. “It looks like your time is up. Maybe you don’t mean as much to him as I thought, not like she does.”
Rosalie didn’t continue to taunt her as Iris expected—the game was over for her. Instead, she pulled out her gun, pointing it in her face. “Last words?”
“Did I ever tell you how it started between us?” Iris asked, noticing a hint of movement in the back of the room. “In the Hall, I mean. I don’t think I did.”
“Doesn’t matter,” the woman said with a shrug. “He’s not yours anymore.”
Wren was starting to rouse, her arms shifting beneath the binds on her wrists— and the men on either side of her didn’t seem to notice.
“Well, he may not be mine,” Iris agreed, “but I think I’m his.”
Rosalie only had a second to turn before the shots sounded. The two on either side of Wren never saw them coming.
One day, she thought as she stared across the room at Synek, she would get used to the sight him like this.
Vest on, boots laced, and a manic sort of frenzy in his eyes. “What’ve I said? A dog will only rest so long as it’s not provoked.”
It wasn’t just Synek or Bear who came in behind him, but the Wild Bunch were also on their heels.
Iris, even as exhausted as she was, didn’t miss the show of power and what it was meant to signify.
“Glad you could finally join us, puppy. I was afraid you were going to miss the show.”
Rosalie had always been good at playing a bluff, but even she couldn’t manage to hide her surprise entirely.
Iris understood why.
She had been on the receiving end of both coming after her, and she knew the image they made in their gear.
“You could’ve left me be, and I wouldn’t have come for you,” he said as he came closer.
“You betrayed me,” Rosalie retorted, coming to stand behind Iris, using her as a shield. “I couldn’t let that go unpunished.”
“I told you I wouldn’t harm a kid. I did, didn’t I? I warned you, you would push me too far.”
Rosalie scoffed. “You liked what we did. You got off on it! I never forced you to do anything.”
Shots rang out, and though she couldn’t see her, Iris could feel the fear in Rosalie as her hands shook.
“You didn’t think I’d come alone, did you?” Synek asked, finally pausing in the middle of the floor.
He was calm, his voice level, but there was a lethal edge to him that made her think if anyone in the room made a move he didn’t like, they wouldn’t live long enough to do it again.
But Rosalie wasn’t ready to admit defeat just yet. “If you hurt me in any way, the Wraiths will never stop coming after you. They will hunt you down until the end of your days, Syn. Your best bet is to let me go.”
“You’re right,” Synek said, surprising the both of them. “According to the code, it’s an eye for an eye. I take something from you, you take something from me. Isn’t that right?”
Rosalie was too confused to respond, not understanding where he was going with this, and neither did Iris, because if he offered to exchange himself for her, she wasn’t going to let him do it.
And when she got free, she was going to beat him for even suggesting it.
“But see, the way the Wraiths work, it’s the boss who makes that decision, innit?”
“Johnny will agree to whatever I want,” Rosalie uttered through gritted teeth.
“Johnny’s dead.”
Bear’s voice came from behind them, and despite the fact that she was supposed to be threatening Iris, Rosalie forgot all about that as she turned, an audible gasp making Iris turn to strain to see what was happening.
Bear was entering the room, pushing in a wheelchair with—
Shit, was that Johnny?
His head lolled to the side, and only once Bear stopped pushing the wheelchair did Iris realize that the man wasn’t just still—he was dead.
Synek wasn’t finished, and now, he looked far more amused than he had when he first entered the room. “I made him a deal. If he gave me what I wanted on the Wraiths, I wouldn’t burn this shithole to the ground, but see Bear, he’s loyal to the brotherhood. He might have given me a few plans, but I had to do the rest.”
Rosalie was still staring at her father, but there were no tears in her eyes. As if it wasn’t his death that affected her, but what his death meant for her.
“I picked my way through the ch
ain of command until there was only you and Johnny left. You understand what this means, yeah?”
Rosalie didn’t respond.
“To be honest, I didn’t think you would pick up on Bear’s involvement, which was why I never bothered to actually get more than a few names from him. Your mistake, if you’re wondering—it wasn’t taking my Iris, it was taking Wren.” Synek smiled wider. “You know why, don’t you?”
It was lost on Iris, the connection not making sense to her until she thought of everything Synek had said.
Then she understood.
The men Synek had killed over the past week all fell into the order of who would be in charge of the Wraiths should leadership die.
First Johnny, as the head, the others who came after Rosalie, and now she was the only one left standing.
Because once she died, there was only one person who no one would question become the new leader.
Bear.
And ultimately, it would be his decision if he wanted retaliation for Rosalie’s death.
Except she’d taken something from him … and now it was his turn.
A tear spilled down Rosalie’s cheek. “I loved you.”
Synek shook his head, even as he raised his own gun. “I didn’t love you.”
Two shots in rapid succession.
Two shots and Rosalie crumpled to the floor.
Two shots and it was all over.
He stepped over Rosalie’s body to reach her. Pulling a knife from his belt free, he cut off her restraints, careful when he crouched and saw the state of her leg.
His brows furrowed as he gazed at the wound.
“She’s already dead,” Iris said with a pained laugh, her words enough to get him to look at her. “And I’m fine.”
From the look on his face, she was sure he wished he could kill Rosalie all over again. “Next time you want to take off, yeah? A little warning beforehand.”
Her mouth gaped open even as she rubbed her sore wrists. “This isn’t my fault.”
“I told you to wait for me.”
He was serious. Actually serious. “You realize you were in the middle of a thing with Winter, right? Something I didn’t need to stick around for. Besides, that letter was important to me.”
“Who the hell are you—” He cut off, his expression softening, and it should have been illegal for him to look at her like that.
Even though he hadn’t asked, she still felt the need to explain. “I’ve missed visitation twice. I just … I needed him to know I hadn’t forgotten about him.”
“I doubt he thinks that at all.” Synek didn’t give her a chance to stand before he was lifting her from the chair.
“I can walk you know.”
“Then I wouldn’t be able to carry you, would I?”
Eh. Maybe she didn’t need to complain.
“D’you think I’ll get to meet him?” Synek asked, expertly avoiding the bodies on the floor.
She had never imagined a life when she would meet someone like Synek, who could be charming and kind … even as he maneuvered around bodies he’d put on the floor.
“My dad?” she asked.
“Of course. I’ve never gotten to meet parents before. Think I might need to shave first.”
And probably wash the blood off. “You want to meet him?”
“Of course. He should know who his daughter is with, shouldn’t he? Besides, he’ll want to meet the one who helps get him out of prison.”
Three little words sprang into her mind—words she was too afraid to say just yet.
There was still so much to figure out. Not just with her father, but with Synek too.
But they were there all the same. And even though it didn’t make sense, and nothing about this strange relationship was remotely normal, she couldn’t deny the way she felt.
Across the room, Bear was whispering to Wren, getting her free, wiping her tears away.
The Wild Bunch were circling the floor, watchful and alert.
But there was no one left standing—Synek had made sure of that.
“Let’s get you home.”
Wrapping her arms around his neck, Iris didn’t want to let go.
Chapter 23
Synek was a surprisingly good nurse, but then again, considering his affliction for knives, it made sense that he knew how to tend the wounds.
“I could have done this myself,” she said, though secretly not minding that he had carefully wrapped her wound.
From the moment they had left the compound—the Wild Bunch disappearing with Winter while Bear and Wren stuck around with the Wraiths who were still left standing—he’d treated her like glass.
Even once they arrived back here and it was a mere few feet from the car to the front door, he hadn’t let her walk that either, carrying her inside and into the kitchen where he dropped her on the island and told her to stay put.
He’d disappeared for a few minutes before returning with a fully stocked first-aid kit.
As soon as he got close, he batted her hands away and carefully cut the material away from her thigh before cleaning the wound.
“What are you afraid of?”
The question made her blink. “What do you mean?”
“You’re not alone anymore, you understand? I’m not going anywhere.”
“And I don’t want you to go anywhere,” she confessed softly.
She liked him exactly where he was.
Probably far more than she should have.
Things were complicated between them, from the very beginning, and though she hadn’t thought it possible, Synek had dug his way right past her defenses and refused to budge. But she liked him there.
“The governor isn’t going to be an easy mark, and I doubt even we’ll be enough. But there are people I can call on who’ll do this for me, and for you. You just have to let me.”
She wanted to.
She wanted to believe that he could fix it all, but the other side of her worried that if she let her secret out and told more people what she knew, something would go wrong.
It was the biggest risk she would ever have to take.
“I can help,” he said, resting his hands on either side of her, “if you let me.”
“Syn—”
“D’you trust me?”
More than she probably should, all things considered, but despite her reservations about him, she did trust him.
“Yes,” she finally answered. “I do trust you.”
“Then trust me with this. I won’t let you down.”
When she had started down this road nearly seven years ago now, she hadn’t thought of what lay ahead of her—only that it would end with her father being vindicated and the governor paying for what he had done.
She couldn’t admit it to him—and she could hardly admit it to herself—that she was terrified that all this would result in failure, and Spader would remain in his seat of power without paying for what he had done.
Most men would be terrified to go up against someone with Spader’s connections and money, but Synek wasn’t afraid. And while he might have been going after the man for a job he was on, she didn’t doubt now that it was less about the job for him and more about her.
Because he wanted her, and he would do anything in his power to keep her.
Even if that meant taking on one of the most powerful men in the country.
“You know what’s funny,” Iris said as she slipped off the counter, smiling when his arm came around her. “If Belladonna hadn’t handed over your file, I don’t think we’d be here right now.”
“What?”
His tone made her pause as she looked up at him, not only seeing the confusion in his gaze, but something else that made her instinctively want to take a step back. But with the island behind her and him in front, there was nowhere for her to go.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“The name. How d’you know that name?”
“I met her,” Iris said in confusion. “Th
at was how the Wraiths even knew how to find you. Didn’t I tell you that?”
As he shook his head, she tried to remember their conversations about why she had been the one to come after him, and the instructions she had been given. His focus had always been on Rosalie, and she had been the one to give Iris the job, so she hadn’t given much more thought to it than that.
Now, she realized that was a mistake.
“Who is she?”
“The person the Kingmaker really wants. The governor is just a means to get to her.”
“So it was never about the Wraiths taking you?” Iris asked in confusion. “It was a means to get to your boss?”
He scrubbed a hand down his face. “No one fucking knows what the two of them are doing, but it feels like being a fucking pawn in someone else’s game.”
“So what’s next?” Iris asked, taking hold of his hand, smiling when he curled his fingers around hers.
“I need to make a call.”
To the Kingmaker, she assumed. “And after?”
“We get your father out of prison.” He smiled then as he cupped the nape of her neck and tugged her closer. “Then we’re going on a trip.”
It was easy to feel light as air when she was with him, when he gave her that look that made her feel like the most special girl in the world. “Where are we going?”
He kissed her, hard and fast. “Wherever you want.”
* * *
When Synek told her he had to bring her in, a part of her had thought of denying the decision—she couldn’t think of any reason she needed to meet another man everyone seemed to be afraid of.
But a part of her sort of felt indebted to him. Had she not caught him through the lens of her camera, he would have never sent Winter and the Wild Bunch to retrieve the images, and they wouldn’t here.
The Den compound wasn’t anything like the Wraiths’—this one reminded her more of a military base, men with guns standing at attention, even more so when she and Synek passed.
“Is there anyone who’s not terrified of you?”
“You,” he said without a moment’s thought.
She couldn’t help a smile as she followed him down the winding hallway, but as they neared the door near the end, another man was coming down the opposite hallway, agitation clear in the straight line of his mouth and the way he was on a single-minded mission to get to that room.
Den of Mercenaries [Volume Two] Page 46
