by K. A Knight
“Are you lost?” he rumbles, just as Keanu slides in next to me, his eyes flickering to him and back to me, before he nods. “She with you?”
“Yes, I wiped your history, that means you need to lay low, big guy,” Keanu teases, and the big guy cracks a tiny smile, but when I blink it’s gone again—and I thought Keanu was a hard nut.
“Not yet, I have a job to do,” he grumbles, like crashing rocks.
“Fuck, I’ll make sure clean-up knows, it’s going to be a bloodbath,” Keanu says matter-of-factly. “Good hunting, brother.” He nods and the big man returns the gesture, looking at me before he turns and leaves, heading to the center and leaning in to talk to the man there.
“That was the guy from Serenity, wasn’t it?” I query, a vague memory of him in my mind. “The boogeyman?” I whisper and Keanu nods.
“Stay clear of him, he’s a cold son of a bitch.” He grins. “Ready to learn how to shoot?”
“Hell yes!” I yell, and then cover my mouth when boogeyman and the counter guy glance over at me. Keanu just laughs and grabs my hand, leading me away to another door.
It opens up into a long corridor with the left walls covered in a black material. To the right is the shooting range with cubicles, all filled with men and women shooting. Keanu slips some clear glasses onto my face, and some earmuffs on my head with a grin, straightening them before putting on his own and heading down the hallway. Most people turn as we pass, their eyes flicking over us in an analysing way before turning forward. Some nod at us, some smile, but all seem to know him. Not that he cares, he ignores them until we reach the very last cubicle, which is placed away from the others, and then he turns me until I face the targets down the field, the black dividers stopping me from seeing other people.
Even with the earmuffs, the noise of guns going off is loud and I cringe before clearing my face, not wanting him to think he shouldn’t have brought me here. Max only took me to a field to shoot so this is my first time in a range. I look down to the counter where it’s filled with guns and boxes. He grabs a handgun and starts to load it before passing it to me.
“Okay, safety is on, I just want to see your stance first,” he instructs.
I follow his direction, listening closely as he corrects my stance, flicks off the safety, and steps back with a nod. Grinning, I aim, making sure to keep my elbows locked like he said, and fire. It recoils slightly as I whoop and look at him to see him grinning at me.
“Go again?” he asks, almost yelling, and I nod.
Three hours later, I’ve shot nearly every gun he brought with him. He taught me a bit more about the proper way to hold them, and by the end my aim was pretty good, not as good as his of course. That man is skilled. After I’d finished, he grabbed the guns and showed me how to really do it. The way he handled them, so fast and quick with such raw power, was hot as hell.
He glances over at me and winks, and my vagina actually clenches. If it was allowed, I would jump this guy right now, but he puts down the guns and grabs my hand, leading down to the door. Once we’re back in the shop, he takes off my earmuffs and safety glasses, and drops a kiss on my nose.
“What’s that for?” I grin.
“Because you are too cute,” he murmurs, as he puts the muffs away and nods at the man behind the counter as we leave. When we’re back in the car, I look him over, almost bouncing in my seat. This in turning out to be the best date ever.
“Where are we going now?” I question excitedly.
“Guess you will have to see, Brat,” he replies, as he pulls away and back out onto the motorway.
“Finnnnee,” I whine, as I flip on his radio and sing along to the throwback songs, making him laugh until finally, he gives in and sings with me.
When we pull up to the next place, we are both red-faced, laughing, and breathing heavily, but I’ve never seen him smile so much. Maybe I’m good for him. “Ready for the next part?” He grins and I look around at the multi-storey car park we’re in.
“You have me intrigued, Spidey, let’s go.” I reach over the console and drop a kiss on his cheek just because I can before I get out and wait for him, eager to see where we’re going next.
He twines his hand with mine again and heads across the car park to the stairs. We stroll down the steps, in no rush, even as I’m wondering where we’re going. When we come out onto the street, facing a cinema, some restaurants, and a supermarket, I look at him in confusion. He just grins and tugs me to the right, away from them, and around the corner to what looks like a big warehouse with “Jump Fun” spray painted on the front.
“Wait!” I gasp and pull him to a stop. “Are we going to an inflatable park?” I squeal, jumping up and down.
“Maybe.” He winks and leads me over to the front door, where I stop just beyond the threshold.
I stare around in awe. To the left is a giant rock climbing wall, and to the right is inflatable fencing, like a new version of Takeshi’s castle. Right behind the counter is a huge inflatable park with a zip line around the top, slides, ball pits, obstacles to flip and run off of, and trampolines. It looks amazing. I just stare in awe until two familiar figures break away from the counter and head our way.
“Scar?” I yell, and she laughs as I pull away from a reluctant Keanu and race to her. We both hug each other at the same time and break away. “What are you doing here?” I ask, as Max drops his arm around her shoulders and pulls her close. “Hey, Baywatch.”
“Not you too,” he groans, but grins at me. “Hey, Nads, see you brought a party pooper with you.”
I laugh as I snuggle into Keanu’s side to see him smiling at Max. “Didn’t bring your red shorts?” he counters, making Scarlett and me laugh.
“They are too fucking tight, it’s like a goddamn speedo,” Max grumbles, and Scarlett winks at me.
“I think they’re hot.” She laughs.
“You would, angel,” he rumbles, smiling down at her, his eyes crinkling in happiness.
Keanu fake gags. “Come on, Brat, before they start mooning over each other.” He pulls me to the counter while I laugh.
The man in the blue shirt waiting there smiles at us politely. “Two passes?”
“Four.” Keanu nods and passes over some money. We get our hands stamped and look back and gesture for Max and Scarlett to come over and get theirs. Once they do, we head to the left through the barrier and into the park. There aren’t a lot of people here during the day, so we pretty much have the run of the place.
“Come on, Spidey!” I shout, as we kick off our shoes and I pull him to the trampoline, while Max hollers at us, teasing Keanu about being whipped, but we both ignore him as I throw myself back on the trampoline and bounce into the air before landing on my feet.
He smiles as he watches me, and I narrow my eyes. “Come on, Spidey, this is fun. Join in or I’ll make you.”
“Spidey?” Max calls, as he leaps onto the trampoline, surprisingly quick and agile for such a big guy.
Keanu turns to him, his face going cold and deadly. “Only she calls me that, try it, see what happens,” he warns, as Max laughs and holds up his hands in mock surrender.
He helps Scarlett up as I take a running jump and throw myself at Keanu. He laughs as he grabs me and we tumble back to the trampoline, bouncing a couple of times. Grinning down at him, I drop a kiss on his lips. “Come on, Spidey.”
Rolling off him, I get to my feet and hop from trampoline to trampoline until I crash into Scarlett, making us both laugh. “We should race!” I gush and she nods.
We all line up at one end of the trampolines. “One, two, go!” I yell, as I dart forward, laughing at my cheating.
We spend over an hour playing on there before we use the zip line and rock climbing. Tired, we grab something to drink and Max challenges Keanu to the fencing game. Scarlett and I sit back with our coffee at a little table and watch as they jab at each other with padded sticks, trying to knock each other off the platforms.
“So, you and Keanu, huh
?” she starts, wiggling her eyebrows at me. She sips at her coffee, her engagement ring sparkling in the light.
“He’s...amazing, Scar.” I glance over at him with a smile before looking back at her, feeling guilty that we haven’t spoken a lot recently, that I can’t tell her what we’re up to, but it’s for the best. She would only worry and want to help, and she’s too nice for that. “So different from the guys I usually date.”
“Yes, because he wants more than your tits.” She laughs and leans closer. “Tell me everything.”
“I missed you.” I sigh.
“I missed you too, babe,” she replies, reaching across and squeezing my hand. “I think that’s why he got this day together, so we could hang out. Got to admit, I do like him, Nadia. Are you going to break this one’s heart?”
“I hope not, in fact, I think it might be the other way around.” Squeezing her hand, I pull away. “But, back to telling you everything...”
She grins and leans back, ready for girl talk as the guys beat the shit out of each other. We talk for ages until the guys come back. I’m too happy right now. I’ve missed this, just hanging with my best friend and yes, even Max, but with Keanu here it feels right, like we were always meant to do this. Even he can’t seem to stop smiling as he teases Max and Scarlett, his hand on my thigh under the table as I lean into him.
“Want to get some food?” Max inquires.
“Hell yes, I’m hungry.” I nod as Keanu shifts closer.
“I’m hungry for you,” he whispers in my ear, making me wink at him, and Scarlett fake gags.
“Behave, you two,” Max snaps, and we both laugh. “Come on, let’s get some food.”
We spend the rest of the afternoon with them. We eat at a pizza place down the road and have a few drinks before we say goodbye and head back to our car where I slump in my seat. Today was amazing, but now I’m exhausted.
He holds my hand as we drive, and when we get home—or back to his, should I say—I collapse on his sofa. He leaves, and a minute later comes back with a blanket and covers me up. “I’m going to check on some things, why don’t you relax for a moment?”
“You sure? I could help,” I say around a yawn.
“I’m sure, Brat, rest.” He leans down and kisses me, and before he’s even gone, my eyes are closed.
“Wake up, baby,” comes a soft voice, before a kiss lands on my forehead. “Eyes open.”
Groaning, I flip over and yelp as I fall from the sofa and onto my ass. Blinking my blurry eyes, I stare up at a laughing Keanu and narrow my gaze on him. “You’re dead,” I hiss, and leap to my feet, ready to chase him, but he doesn’t run, just grabs me and throws me over his shoulder and heads upstairs, depositing me on the bed as he stands at the end. Only then do I take in his outfit and my eyebrows rise. He’s in a black top and jeans with a leather jacket. He looks like Max...not that I don’t like the change up, but that’s not his style.
“What’s with the get up? We role playing this time?” I grin, leaning back on my elbows.
“I’ve got to go to the docks, get that job.” He sighs, sitting down on the end of the bed. “I need you to stay here and remain safe, please? I know you like to defy me, but I won’t be able to concentrate if I don’t know you’re here.”
Getting to my knees, I crawl behind him and wrap myself around him, dropping my chin on his shoulder. “I’ll stay here, I promise, as long you promise me something.”
“What?” he questions, his hand coming up to clasp mine on his neck.
“Be safe. I know it’s your nature to run into danger, but for me, please be careful. I know you need to do this, I understand that, but I can’t lose you,” I whisper, and he freezes before leaning back into me.
“I promise to try and stay alive,” he offers, and I know it’s as good as I’m going to get.
“Okay, I’ll go through the list again, maybe we missed something. I’ll take advantage of that big tub again as well,” I tease, kissing his neck, making him shiver against me. “I’ll be here when you get back, Spidey, make sure you come home.” I kiss his neck again and let go, slipping from the bed to head to his office, unable to look at him once again. This feels too much like a goodbye, and I’ve had enough of those for a lifetime.
He catches my arm when I hit the hallway and spins me, smashing my back into the wall and lifting me until I dangle there, holding me effortlessly. I have a flash of déjà vu, isn’t this once what I wanted him to do? Yet now I’m struggling to look at him, all the horrible things that can happen crowding my mind. I don’t know why I would feel better being with him, it’s not like I could stop something from happening, and I knew what and who he was getting into with this...but still.
“Baby,” he whispers, trying to catch my eyes, but I lower mine. “Brat,” he snaps, and I swallow and finally look at him. “No one can kill me, never forget that, I’m coming home, but you better be here when I get back, waiting in our bed for me. Deal?” he whispers, leaning forward and licking my lips.
“Ours?” I repeat, a smile curling up my lips as he groans.
“Don’t push it. You know what’s mine is yours. I guess it always was, I’m just not fighting it anymore. We have a deal, Brat?” he presses, tilting my head to the side as he whispers against my lips.
“Deal,” I agree, and he seals it with a kiss before dropping me to my feet and striding away without looking back. My hand drifts to my lips and his warmth there as I watch him go, my heart pounding and fear churning in my stomach.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Keanu
I’m at the docks at nine o’clock sharp, ready to meet the players and get hired. I have no worries about going up against anyone else, they don’t need this job as badly as I do, and none of them will be as good as I am.
Afterwards will be the issue. Nadia will still want to play bait and honestly, I might have to let her. It would be good to see where they take and keep the girls. I have no guarantee I’ll get any useful information from working for them for a long time, and at the rate girls are disappearing, we can’t wait that long. Still, I’ll do everything I can before it comes to that. I would do anything to keep her safe, but maybe I might need to think about her wanting to do this. Later, this can all be dealt with later.
Climbing from my car, I head down the pathway and wait near the closed off pier as I stare out into the river. Not two minutes later, I see lights flash from another car pulling up. I hear the doors opening and turn to see a big guy heading my way. He nods and stands next to me, and we wait another five minutes before two more guys turn up and then another fifteen before there’s any activity from the ‘player.’
Two BMWs drive up, with blacked out windows and four men pouring from each, all in black suits as they stand in front of the cars, hands loose at their sides to reach the guns I can see concealed behind their jackets. They are professionals, their eyes scanning everything. I’m betting ex-military, probably hired mercenaries. They’re good.
But I’m better.
Only then does another man get from the car, and I can tell right away he’s the ‘player’ who is hiring. I’m betting he’s not the big boss, but he’s definitely someone who is trusted. His clothes scream money—pressed grey slacks, shining black shoes, a half-unbuttoned Gucci shirt, a Rolex shining on one wrist, diamonds in his ears, and his hair cut and coloured perfectly. This isn’t a man who gets his hands dirty, no, this is a man who pays for others to.
He steps through his guards and takes us all in, examining every detail. The others try to puff up their chests or catch his eye, but I stand relaxed and ready, my eyes flicking back from him to his guards, watching everything.
Only because of that, I see the shine of the gun on the jogger trying to blend in as he moves past the end of the docks. Racing forward, ignoring the guards yelling at me and pulling their guns, I tackle the player to the ground and cover him as I pull my own gun and take aim at the jogger. The guards are slow, too slow, and when they finally realise I
’m not the threat, but someone else, they are turning to face him, but he’s already firing. At least two of the guards fall before one gets a lucky shot and takes him down, keeping my gun out, I look down at the player.
“Stay down,” I snap, as I get into a crouch and take in the area, scanning for any more threats. Only when I’m sure there aren’t any do I put my gun away. I feel sick over protecting this bastard, but if it’s what I need to do to be trusted, to get close and stop these vile humans, I’ll do it. Fuck, I’d take a bullet for him, whatever it took.
Getting to my feet, I offer him my hand. He grabs it and lets me pull him to standing as he brushes off, cringing at the dirt on his white shirt as he sighs, looking at the two dead guards and scoffing. “Some fucking good they were,” he growls, his voice cultured with a slight Russian accent. He stares at the others and narrows his eyes. “You will report to your boss. I am disappointed in his so-called best. This is why we are hiring local as well, you are useless,” he snaps, and then dismisses them and looks at me. “What’s your name, boy?”
The boy comment chafes, but I hold out my hand. “Ken Hilton.” I introduce myself using my fake moniker, knowing if they run it, they will get a backstory of an honourably discharged army vet now turned mercenary, complete with a few arrest records to make it look real. Hell, I even have an ex-wife on that cover story—she’s dead, just in case anyone goes looking.
He shakes my hand, his soft and manicured, making me want to curl my lips back and snarl, but I keep my face cool and collected. “Good job you were here, you’re hired.” He nods and then looks at the others. “You can all leave, better luck next time. Mr. Hilton, with me,” he barks, and then turns and strolls to the car on the left. One of the guards rushes to open it and he ignores them as he slips inside.
I follow after him and get in around the other side, the back of the car luxurious, all done in leather with two seats facing us, and even a small bar to the left. He reclines back into his seat, crossing his leg as he looks at me, his eyes taking me in and dismissing me as anything but the help. That’s the problem with men like this, when they are top dog, they think they’re invincible, they think they are always the smartest in the room.
