“Somewhere without cell reception,” she said, smiling when she heard Kit’s laughter.
“I’ll see what I can do. Now, you have a job to do and so do I. If you need me, call me from this number only.”
“Will do, Kitten.”
“Kitten?”
“Kit has to be short for something,” Luna remarked with a laugh.
He did his best to hide his own amusement. “Call me that again, and I’ll put you over my knee.”
“Is that a promise?”
“Is that permission?”
A thrill shot down Luna’s spine at his question and the implications behind it. “We’ll see how long you manage to stay away, Kitten.”
He grumbled out an angry reply before adding, “Be careful, mi pequeña luna—my little moon.”
“You, too.”
I love you was on the tip of her tongue, but before she could say the words she hadn’t spoken to him in far too long, he was already gone. Returning to the living room where Tăcut and Winter were still waiting, she tucked the phone into her pocket.
It was time to work.
“A strip club?” Luna asked the next day as she slammed the car door shut, glancing over in Uilleam’s direction as they started for the entrance of the building where they’d only just arrived.
He hadn’t mentioned anything about coming here, had only shown up with instructions for her to get dressed and come along with him.
She knew he had a tendency to pick the most obscure of places to hold his meetings—spontaneity kept him alive, he liked to say—but she hadn’t thought he would ever pick a place like this. Especially one that looked like it was seconds from being condemned—or at the very least, failing some kind of inspection.
“The first rule of good business,” Uilleam said as he removed his sunglasses and tucked them away. “Be available to your client. If he wanted to meet in the oval office, I would ensure that money fell into the right hands to make sure it happened.”
Luna would have thought he would pick the place—it was usually other people coming to him anyway—but whatever Uilleam’s strategy was, he wasn’t sharing it.
Agustín Contreras wasn’t low level, she knew, but his cartel was still one of the lesser knowns—though he was starting to make a name for himself and not just because of his connection to Ariana.
A heavy-set bouncer waited at the black doors, a curling wire wrapped around his ear, his inky black hair greased and gelled back severely. His stern expression didn’t waver at their approach.
“Name?” he demanded, looking only at Uilleam as though he were the only one standing there.
Luna had to resist rolling her eyes at his blatant attempt to undermine her. If she were in the mood—and if this meeting wasn’t important—she would have shown him why that was a dumb idea.
“Tell your boss The Kingmaker has arrived to see him.”
Now the man’s expression changed as he quickly nodded, stepping to the side as he opened the doors and waved them in, his gaze dropping to the ground.
At least Agustín had had the foresight to warn his men just who The Kingmaker was.
Despite its outward appearance, the club wasn’t nearly as dilapidated on the inside as she originally assumed. The floors were polished and clean as were the number of tables around the room and the shiny bar top where two women in gold bikinis mixed drinks.
The center stage was currently occupied by a woman with serious strength considering the way she hung from the gleaming silver pole by only the muscles in her thighs.
A number of other girls were on the floor, all wearing the same uniform of skimpy outfits, but they didn’t look miserable or like they were forced to be there. They all happily engaged the customers—and there were a lot of them despite the morning hour—perching themselves on laps and happily helping themselves to the men’s drinks whenever they were offered.
Expertly navigating the floor as though he had been there hundreds of times, Uilleam led her to the back of the club, merely nodding at the next bouncer they passed who didn’t bother stopping them.
Once they reached the office, whose door was made of steel with a latch in the middle of it that allowed the person on the other side to slide it open to see who stood there, they were greeted by another set of men, and this time, they actually carried guns.
Not just any guns but assault rifles that had Luna’s brow arching as she looked them over. She wasn’t sure what kind of trouble found its way into the club—outside of drunken idiots who might get a little too handsy—but they were obviously prepared for anyone.
But then again, considering the man seated in the office chair, it made sense that he would want the best protection his money could buy.
The moment they were inside the room, Agustín’s gaze came to them, first to Uilleam—and he wore that familiar expression that most did when faced with The Kingmaker for the first time—then to Luna, and on her, he lingered.
“Weapons,” the big, bald one to her left demanded, his finger on the trigger of his gun.
Luna smiled, even as she palmed her knife. “I am the weapon.”
He prepared to say something else but not before Agustín made a noise that made the other man back off. “We’re all friends here, yes?”
He was studying her, his brows drawing together as if he was trying to figure something out about her, but before he could study her for too long, Uilleam interrupted.
“I’m pleased you agreed to this meeting,” he said as he pulled out a chair first for Luna then one for himself.
“When someone says they want to make me a deal I can’t refuse …” Agustín shrugged. “I tend to listen.”
He might have been speaking to Uilleam, but his attention was solely on her. He rubbed his clean-shaven jaw, making a humming sound in the back of his throat. “Why do you look so familiar?”
Because you’re engaged to my sister, Luna wanted to say but wisely kept that thought to herself. “I have a very familiar face.” He could have also known of her because of her work in the Den or even at the Kendall estate.
“Maybe,” he said but didn’t look convinced.
“Business,” Uilleam said. “Shall we?”
“By all means, Mr. Maker,” he said with a sarcastic sort of smile. “Make me an offer I can’t refuse.”
“Carmen Rivera plans to have you murdered.”
Even Luna had to blink in surprise at the bluntness in which Uilleam spoke. There was no hesitation, no easing of the way—he just laid it there at the man’s feet without even blinking.
That ease that had been so transparent in Agustín disappeared as he sat up, grinding out the cigar he held. “And you know this because …?”
“She told me, of course. Right after she asked if I could use one of my mercenaries to see it done.”
Just that quickly, Agustín’s guards went on the defensive, looking at each other then looking at their boss as though they were waiting for a kill order.
For all they knew, Uilleam had accepted the job and was waiting for the man to let his guard down long enough to pull off the hit.
“Your mercenaries?” Agustín questioned. “You think one of your trained dogs can make it to me? Tan lejos llega tu alcance—Is your reach that far?”
Whatever good humor Uilleam had walked in with was long gone as he stared the man down. “My reach is as far as I need it to be. Foolish of you to believe that a killer can’t hide behind a pretty face.”
Wait for my signal, he had said in the car ride over. And though she hadn’t known what he meant at the time, she definitely got it now.
Before either of his guards could move, Luna dropped two daggers into the palm of her hands and let them fly, watching them shoot across the room, straight as arrows, until they landed in the men’s chests.
Tăcut would have been proud.
She hadn’t been trying to kill them—that wasn’t the point of this lesson.
This was just the warning.
Agustín barely spared his men a glance besides checking the accuracy of her throw, steepling his fingers in front of him.
“Are you asking for war, Kingmaker?”
Now, Uilleam smiled. “You don’t want to war with me, I assure you, but now that I have your attention, let’s get to why I’m here. As I was saying, Carmen Rivera wants you dead, and she hired me to take care of it. That means you are no longer of any use to her—or at least that’s what she believes—but that’s not entirely true, is it?”
Agustín’s expression didn’t change. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Of course, you know what I mean. Caesar wasn’t the only buyer in the trafficking world, was he? Your father was his lead competitor, isn’t that right? And we all know what happens when you step on too many toes.”
Luna had never witnessed firsthand just what Uilleam did, the slow unveiling of the dirt he had. Even she was looking in his direction, waiting to see what he would say next.
“How do—”
“No, no. We’re not at the good bit yet, because you’ve been wondering, haven’t you? How your father wound up in the car with those Brazilian hookers—messy business, I’m afraid. Some small part of you knew that Caesar was responsible, which was why you didn’t blink an eye when he was executed right beside you. Curious that you wouldn’t care, no? Since you had only just made an agreement with the man. Terrible way to treat your business partner, I say. Let’s hope our relationship doesn’t fall to that.”
Uilleam sat back with a sigh, proud of himself. “With him out of the picture, and that daft girl on your arm, you thought you would take over their business, eh? Reclaim what was stolen from your father. But like so many, you underestimated what Carmen Rivera would do for power. Now, here we are. Your men bleeding, and you … seconds from dying yourself.”
It wasn’t easy being backed into a corner—Luna knew that all too well. But even with defiance in his eyes, and his fingers twitching for the gun at his belt, he wouldn’t be able to reach for it before he met his death.
He had to concede. “What do you want?”
“I’m so glad that you’ve asked. I need the time and address of the shipment coming in from San Jose.”
A muscle worked in Agustín’s forehead as he tried to process it all. “If you know about the shipment, why do you need me at all?”
“That’s just it, Agustín. I don’t need you—it’s what so many fail to realize about me. This is my attempt at making you useful again. But if you choose not to aid me, then …”
It was pretty clear what would happen if Agustín’s usefulness ran out.
“Fine.”
“Excellent. Now, onto other matters. I require one more thing from you, and for this, I’m willing to offer you something in return.”
Agustín’s laugh was anything but amused. “What could you possibly offer that I would want?”
“What if I told you I could rid you of Carmen, permanently, as well as that woman you’ve decided to hitch yourself to?”
Now, for once, he looked interested, if a little skeptical. “Go on.”
“Should you provide me with the information I need, as well as rescind your”—he gestured to the men who were holding their bloody wounds—“whatever they are, on a few dates of my choosing, I’ll make sure that your Rivera problem is taken care of permanently.”
“And why would I agree to do this? If she wants me dead, then why not kill her first, sí? Two birds, two bullets.”
“You could,” Uilleam assuaged. “But the likelihood of you having the ability to maneuver authorities away from you after the job is done, well, that’s where my expertise comes into play, does it not? Don’t forget who you’re up against. A humanitarian, beloved by the world for all the wonderful acts she does. They would make you into the poster child of what not to do.”
“How long do I have to think about this offer as generous as it is?”
“Approximately six point four seconds.”
It was beyond obvious Agustín hated being backed into a corner, but with no other choice, he nodded once. “Fine … but only if she goes to dinner with me.”
Luna wasn’t sure who was more surprised by his request—her or Uilleam.
But Uilleam was the first to recover as he stared the other man down. “She’s not available.”
“Then there’s no deal.”
“I find it laughable that you think you have a choice in the matter.”
“Here’s the thing, Kingmaker,” Agustín said sitting forward, his earlier confidence returning. “You obviously need me for something, no? I can give you what you want without a fight if you give me something in return. O podemos irnos a una jodida guerra—Or we can go to fucking war. Your choice.”
Agustín couldn’t know what he was asking, especially the man he was asking it of. If there was nothing else Luna knew about Uilleam, he was loyal to his brother.
And despite his actions in the past, he wouldn’t ever use Luna as a pawn again. Not because he necessarily felt bad about what he had done before, but because Kit’s reaction wasn’t one he wanted to face.
“She’s—”
Luna knew that he would go back and forth with the man, and even decide on war eventually. Uilleam always had a backup plan, and even a backup plan for that plan, but she was ready for this to be over with, and she was willing to do anything to see it done.
“Agree to his demands, and we can have a meeting,” Luna said before Uilleam could finish.
Agustín’s eyes cut to her as his lips turned up in a roguish smile. “It won’t be a meeting, amor.”
“Don’t get your hopes up on that front,” Luna returned with zero inflection.
Job or not, she still belonged to Kit, even if she didn’t wear his ring on her finger.
“Then a meeting, it is,” Agustín said with a nod, but he didn’t look as though he believed it would be anything less than whatever he was picturing in his head.
“Excellent.” Uilleam got to his feet, buttoning his suit jacket. “I’ll expect an answer in forty-eight hours.”
“Until then, Kingmaker,” Agustín said conversationally, his smile back in place.
Uilleam led her from the room, and they were barely in the car before he was saying, “Far be it for me to tell anyone what lengths they’re willing to go to to get what they want, but I just want to be sure that you know what you’re doing.”
Luna snapped on her seat belt. “Of course, I do.”
“And you understand that my brother won’t be pleased if he learns about your little date.”
“It’s not a date, Uilleam. Besides, you’re not going to tell him.”
“I may evade or even bend the truth, but I’ve never lied to Kit, and I won’t. If he asks, I’ll tell him.”
“If you don’t want me to do it, that’s all you have to say.”
Uilleam smiled, flashing perfect teeth. “Of course, I want you to do it.”
“Then why are—”
“Because I don’t believe you’ve ever seen my brother when he’s truly angry,” Uilleam said. “Despite his self-control, he has a tendency to react poorly when he’s caught off guard.”
“Oh? How so?”
Uilleam was silent a moment before he finally said, “Has he told you much about our parents?”
“He doesn’t like to talk about them.”
“For good reason—he despises them. Did he ever tell you about the winter of 2007?”
“I don’t think so.”
With the way he said it, whatever happened had to have been memorable.
“Kit was with the Lotus Society at that point. He became everything our mother doubted he could ever be. It was the coldest day of the year, and despite attempting to be everything my father wanted in a son, I still was not what he wanted.” Uilleam’s smile was sardonic. “I’d called my brother days prior, asking that he visit.”
Luna glanced at him. “Did you really ask, or did you tell him to come vis
it?”
“It’s all one and the same, but let me finish,” he said, not unkindly. “As you know, Alexander had disowned him when he chose to leave the family for the Lotus Society, and he expected us, my mother and me, to follow him in that regard. My mother did as she was told, but I’ve never been willing to turn my back on Kit, even as infuriating as he is.”
At first, Luna hadn’t understood their relationship. From the outside looking in, it hadn’t always looked like Kit and Uilleam got along nor did they seem to particularly like each other.
But over the years, she had quickly learned that their relationship was not one easily understood. Even when they were angriest with each other, they still tried to protect one another.
“So when I asked that he come visit me, he declined but promised he would see me soon.” Uilleam took a breath, his expression transforming as he continued weaving his story. “There are no secrets at Runehart Castle. Those walls … they listen. I should have known that Alexander would find out what I’d done, but it was two days before he confronted me with it. To say that he didn’t take my doing so very well is an understatement. He decided to teach me a lesson.”
Luna’s blood ran cold at that admission.
While Kit didn’t speak of his father often, what he did say had always made Luna hate the man nearly as much as he did.
This “lesson” could have meant anything, Luna knew. A beating, starving him for a couple of nights, or even have something done to him that would leave him in agony.
“What did he do?” Luna asked, a bit afraid of what his answer would be.
Uilleam’s smile was fleeting, haunted. “I think the imagination might be better than reality.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Never apologize for—”
“A wrong I haven’t committed,” Luna finished for him, remembering the saying Kit often used. “But I can still be sorry that it happened to you at all.”
Now, his smile was a bit more wistful. “Karina once said the same.”
Pulling into the driveway of the bungalow, she killed the engine, but made no move to get out of the car.
Den of Mercenaries: Volume One (The Mercenaries Book 1) Page 86
