Beg For Mercy (Fate's Vultures, #2)

by Jami Gray

  Sound gradually began to filter through the clogged pressure of his ears. First came the high pitch ringing he knew from previous experience he’d be hearing for days. Then came the harsh sounds of breathing—his and Mercy’s. Finally, the creaks and groans as broken stone, metal, and wood wailed their destruction and settled.

  Needing to sit up so he could check out Mercy, he shifted only to bite back a curse as fire licked along his leg. Looking down he found that when he slid across the ground he managed to leave a layer of pants and skin behind. Fucking great. Shoving the inconsequential pain aside and ignoring the various bodily protests, he finally made it upright. He took a moment to breathe through the aches, then he adjusted his hold on Mercy.

  She lifted her face from his chest and he wanted to go back and beat the shit out of that bitch. Hell, at this point, he’d settle for gutting Felix. Despite the grey layer of dust (the same he was sure lay over him) there was no missing the damage she sustained. Her eye was puffy as hell, dried blood rimmed her mouth, her lips were torn, another cut was up near her hairline, and her eyes were sunk deep into her skull, the surrounding skin dark and bruised. And that was just her face. Maybe it was a good thing that was all he could see, because he wasn’t sure he could handle the rest of what he would find.

  He carefully cupped her face. ‘Jesus, babe, they did a fucking number on you.’

  Her lips quirked, then quickly went into a grimace as some of the cuts reopened. Her hand lifted and brushed at something above his eye. When she brought it back and showed him a smear of blood, she croaked, ‘You too.’

  He caught her hand, not missing the torn knuckles and even more ragged nails, and helped her sit up. He wrapped an arm around her back, the telltale wetness hitting his arm just as she jerked away with a hiss. He shifted so he could see. ‘Son of a bitch!’ Blood painted the bottom half of her grimy shirt in rust. Cold sweat broke out as his imagination kicked into hellish overdrive. Bracing her with a hand on her shoulder, he used his other to gently raise her shirt. The tremble in his heart steadied and he managed to tell her, ‘It’s a graze.’ Unfortunately, it was nasty as all get out since it spanned from one side to the other, which meant she’d find moving a bitch.

  She shifted to her side revealing the dust coated, blood tinged tear along the back of her thigh, and then doubled over as a harsh cough wracked her body. When it passed, her hands were braced on the ground, her head hanging down, and he didn’t miss the trembling in her arms or the shudder that worked its way down her back. After a moment or two, she raised her head, shoved the tangled mass of her hair out of her face, and gingerly rolled until she was sitting on her own. Then she managed, ‘Don’t suppose you have any water?’

  ‘Wish to fuck I did.’ He hated the helplessness that cruised through him. He took in her pale face and the tight line of her lips. ‘I need to see what we’re dealing with. You good?’

  She put her hand to the ground. ‘I’ll come with.’

  He dropped a hand on her shoulder, holding her in place. ‘Not with those raw feet you aren’t.’

  She opened her mouth to argue (Christ, the woman would argue with the devil), when a shout rang out. Havoc popped out of his crouch and turned around, palming his blade as he faced whatever in the hell was coming next.

  ‘Havoc!’ Dog’s familiar voice bellowed. ‘Get your ass over here.’

  Havoc stepped around the edge of the dish to find Dog with his booted foot on Felix’s chest and gun pointed at a lean, dark stranger. Hearing the movement behind him, Havoc turned his head to find Mercy struggling to her feet. ‘Dammit, woman.’

  Ignoring him, something she was good at, she shuffled over until she was at his side. Leaning against him, she grabbed his arm for balance, and stared at the scene. ‘Shit, that’s Suárez’s son, Xavier.’

  Of fucking course it was, because they didn’t have enough shit to deal with. Infuriated, Havoc flexed his fingers against the hilt trying for some semblance of control. He shot her a narrow-eyed glare. ‘Any use in telling you to hang back?’

  Her jaw jutted out and she began limping her way to Dog.

  He shook his head and followed in her wake, muttering under his breath, ‘Yeah, that’s what I thought.’ He studied Xavier as they moved closer. There was no doubt this was Suárez’s heir apparent. It was there in the cold-eyed perusal and the way he held his lean frame. This was a man you didn’t want to cross because you’d never see him strike.

  When they got close, Havoc took Mercy’s back as she stopped next to Dog. ‘Xavier.’

  Xavier’s gaze dropped to her, his face impassive, his voice flat. ‘Mercy.’

  Undaunted, she motioned to the whimpering man lying pale and wide-eyed between them. ‘I’m guessing you’re here as Suárez’s witness?’

  Xavier flicked a glance to Felix who was trying to pry Dog’s boot from his throat. ‘Yes.’

  Felix’s whimpers gained strength, but everyone ignored him.

  Not comfortable with Xavier’s disturbingly timely presence, Havoc snapped, ‘How’d you find us?’

  Xavier met his gaze, his lips curving in a condescending smile. But it was Mercy who answered. ‘You’ve been following us. I’m guessing since Page.’

  Havoc narrowed his eyes at the still smiling man. ‘Have you?’

  Xavier tilted his head in acknowledgement. ‘My father was quite enraged at Tavi’s death and did not trust his vengeance to anyone but la familia.’ He sneered at Felix. ‘And he is no longer family.’ He lifted his head and aimed a telling look at Mercy. ‘But he is useful.’

  Proving there was much more to her than most women, Mercy remained unmoved at the dark promise in Xavier’s eyes. ‘Since you’re not trying to kill me, I’m assuming you know that Tavi died at Felix’s hand?’

  Xavier granted her a stiff nod, confirming that he managed to witness whatever went down in the pile of rubble behind them.

  Now it was Mercy’s voice that went cold. ‘Good, that saves me the hassle of dragging his ass back to your father.’

  Xavier quirked an eyebrow. ‘You were planning on returning south?’

  She went to shrug, but stopped. Probably because her back protested. ‘If it meant giving your father what I promised, yeah, I was.’

  A curious look passed over Xavier’s face. ‘You are a strange woman.’

  ‘I’ve been called worse.’

  ‘No doubt,’ he murmured.

  Playing the silent guard, Havoc refrained from taking this conversation to an abrupt end by reminding himself this was Mercy’s game.

  Thankfully for his waning patience, she proved she was done as well by asking Xavier, ‘The bounty?’

  ‘Will be removed permanently,’ Xavier confirmed. ‘However, I suggest laying low for a few days until word spreads.’

  She nodded, and Havoc was fairly certain he was the only one who caught the slight sag in her posture.

  Xavier shot a look to Havoc. ‘You will be informing Istaqa that our family had no part in the attempt on the dam?’

  Havoc nodded. ‘I will.’

  ‘Good.’ Xavier looked down at Felix, his lips curving up with dark anticipation. ‘Then, if you don’t mind, I have a few things I’d like to discuss with Felix.’

  From his position, Havoc couldn’t see Mercy’s face, but there was no missing the hard edge in her voice. ‘Make it hurt.’

  Xavier gave her a chilling smile. ‘I intend to.’

  Havoc exchanged a look with Dog as Mercy nodded. When she turned, he shifted aside, letting her move between them. He gave Dog a chin lift and turned to follow. He made it a couple of steps before a torrent of panicked Spanish erupted cut off by a short scream. Havoc didn’t bother looking back but continued to follow Mercy.

  Dog fell in step beside him. Havoc slid a glance at the gun dangling from Dog’s hand. ‘That thing have any bullets?’

  Ignoring the nightmarish noises coming from behind them, Dog shot Havoc a wild grin. ‘Nope.’

  Havoc shook his head
. ‘Crazy motherfucker.’

  ‘Yep.’

  Before he could say anything else, Xavier called out, ‘El Verdugo.’

  Havoc turned back to find Xavier watching him, his blade buried in Felix’s gut.

  Xavier’s attention slid past him to Mercy, who was still limping away, and came back. ‘Is she yours?’

  Even knowing she could hear him, Havoc didn’t hesitate with his answer. ‘Yeah.’

  ‘If you plan on keeping her, keep her away from our territory.’ A world of warning sat behind his words.

  Time to remind the bastard exactly who he was dealing with. ‘The first time you and yours took my woman, I spent years wading through Cartel blood. Anyone tries for a repeat and I’ll ensure the only things standing down south are the bleached bones of the dead. Entiendes?’

  He waited until Xavier nodded before turning away. He found Mercy standing still, staring at him, her expression hard to read. Her attention shifted when the sounds of Xavier getting back to work rode the air.

  Next to him, Dog chuckled softly. ‘Balls of fucking steel, my man.’

  Havoc didn’t bother answering. Instead, he deliberately stopped in front of Mercy, blocking her view.

  Her eyes came to his. ‘We need to find Math.’

  ‘Good luck with that,’ Dog said, tucking the empty gun into the back of his pants. ‘Saw him making tracks after that crazy ass bitch.’ He ran a critical eye over Mercy before adding, ‘Hate to break it to you, girly, but you’re in no shape to go chasing after him either.’

  For a moment Havoc thought she’d argue, leaving him no choice but to drag her kicking and screaming back into town. Instead she surprised him. ‘Fine, if we’re done here, can we go?’ She plucked at her shirt and looked at him. ‘I want a shower, some food and a damn bed. Not necessarily in that order.’

  He caught the slight tremor on the last half of her statement. Whatever hold she had on her emotions was beginning to fray, so he stepped in. ‘You won’t make it far on those feet, so …’ He gave her his back and, thanks to his ripped up leg, stiffly dropped into a crouch. ‘Hop up.’

  He caught Dog’s grin as she heaved a put upon sigh before coming in close and looping her arms over Havoc’s shoulders and linking them in front of his chest. She hitched her uninjured leg over one hip, and then sucked in a breath before doing the same, with much more care to her injury, on the other side. Once her weight settled, he reached back, slid his hands under her ass and gave her a gentle boost as he stood up. Her face dropped to where his neck and shoulder met, her breath soft and warm against his skin. He tilted his head, touching his jaw to her head. ‘Ready?’

  Her ‘Yeah’ came out choked. Turning to Dog, he jerked his chin for the other man to take point as they headed back to their bikes.

  Chapter 28

  Mercy clung to Havoc’s back, trying her damnedest not to fall apart. The fact that various body parts took turns vigorously protesting helped. The haze of discomfort was joined by a fog of numbness and by the time they hit where the men had stashed their bikes, the fact that Math’s was busy chasing Greer barely made a blip on her radar.

  Havoc’s soft, ‘Babe’ dragged her back.

  It took monumental effort to lift her head. ‘What?’

  A warm hand curled over hers and tugged. ‘Need you to let go.’ He sank into a crouch and she forced stiff muscles to move.

  She slid down his back and was unable to stifle a whimper when her sore feet touched the ground. She grabbed the arm Havoc threw out so she wouldn’t face plant and swayed in place. When she was certain she wouldn’t tip over, she let him go. ‘I’m good.’

  ‘You sure?’

  She nodded.

  He took her at her word and walked to his bike. After digging around in one of the saddle bags, he came back with a canteen. He curled an arm above her waist, steering clear of the long stinging graze, and lifted it to her lips. ‘Take it slow.’

  She leaned into Havoc, her hands shaking as she covered his on the canteen, and then she almost sobbed as water hit her dry mouth. It was difficult not to gulp, but she managed to restrain herself to sips.

  When she finished, he put it away and got on his bike. Once he kicked it to life, he reached out. She took his hand and hobbled over. Together they got her up and in place behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist, unable to hide the full-body tremor that set up shop. He covered her hands with his and squeezed. ‘Just a little longer, yeah?’

  Her answering, ‘yeah’ was faint but solid. Then she dropped her head to Havoc’s back, closed her eyes, and for the first time in ever, let someone else take over for a while.

  ***

  Late afternoon sunlight danced across Mercy’s closed lids, but she didn’t bother opening them. She was lying on her less injured side, her head nestled on a pillow. Awareness crept in as her body caught up with her mind. First came the dull throb from the soles of her feet. It was soon joined by the mumblings of aching muscles, sore ribs, a low-grade headache and topped off by the twitchy stings from the two bullet grazes and multitude of cuts and scrapes. Despite all that, she let her lashes lift and managed a small smile when she discovered the mouth-watering expanse of skin in front of her.

  Unable to resist the temptation, she untucked one hand and placed her palm over Havoc’s heart. Her lashes fell closed as she felt his heart beat a steady pulse under her palm. She vaguely remembered the trip back to the Royale, complete with Havoc carrying her back to their room. As for what happened after he closed the door, those were just snippets as he treated her various injuries. She thought there might have been an argument about a shower, but gave up trying to remember. Instead she lay there, enjoying the moment out of time.

  A feather light brush against her temple was followed by a soft trail of kisses down the side of her face. When they stopped, she lifted her lashes and stared into Havoc’s dark eyes. The hand at his chest went to his jaw, her thumb brushing over his lower lip. ‘Hey.’

  Under her touch his lips twitched. ‘Hey.’ He stroked her spine as his coffee dark gaze roamed over her with a visceral touch, leaving chills in its wake. ‘How are you feeling?’

  ‘Sore, stiff,’ she admitted, as she dropped her hand back to his chest before adding a quiet, ‘stunned.’

  The hand at her back stilled, the heat of his palm searing through the thin material of the t-shirt covering her. ‘Stunned?’

  She dropped her gaze, aiming it at his chest as her fingers idly played with the thin dividing line of hair. ‘Wasn’t expecting …’ she trailed off as she realised what would be revealed if she finished.

  Not that it stopped Havoc. He tucked a finger under her chin and lifted her face to his. ‘Wasn’t expecting what? Me to show?’

  Her face heated as she tried to draw back only to find she was pretty much stuck in place. ‘You made it pretty clear you weren’t planning on sticking around,’ she muttered.

  A growl rumbled in his chest and then, before she could blink, she found herself flat on her back, arms trapped between them, as he caged her under his body. The protest from her back disappeared as Havoc dominated her attention. ‘That’s a selective memory you’ve got there, darlin’.’

  Caught as she was, there was no way to escape his shrewd gaze. Something she refused to name slipped into his eyes and made her heart ache. Off balance and uncomfortable with the unfamiliar emotions churning inside her, feminine pride came to her rescue and she arched a brow. ‘You have a strange definition for selective because I clearly remember you telling me I was on my own.’

  He dipped his head, nipped her chin, and against her lips said, ‘No, I told you to get your ass back to me once you found your balance.’ He dipped his head and took her lips in a soft seductive kiss that took her under and swept away her flimsy walls. Maybe it was because she never expected to be here, in his arms or breathing, or maybe it was just because it was Havoc, but she didn’t fight it. Instead, she dove in and let it flood her world.

  When h
e finally lifted his head, she was fighting for breath and a way to assuage the ache burning through her, so it took a few seconds for Havoc’s question to penetrate. ‘What?’

  The glow of humour edged the seriousness in his face. ‘I asked, did you find your balance?’

  Since talking was proving difficult, she managed a nod.

  ‘Were you going to come back to me?’

  There was a hint of vulnerability in his question that cut through everything and arrowed straight to her core. It hit her then that she wasn’t the only one on shaky ground. But when she went to answer, her insecurities rallied and forced different words from her mouth. ‘Did you want me to?’

  The muscles in his arms flexed and something close to pain flashed over his face. ‘I waited, like some pansy assed idiot, for you to come back. When you didn’t, I was so fucking pissed.’ His gaze shifted away and came back. ‘Pissed and hurt. When you didn’t show, thought you bailed.’

  The depth of emotion behind his admission sank past her worries and hurt, to settle solid and sure against her heart. She wiggled until he lifted enough to release her arms. Then she brought her hands to his face, taking pleasure in tracing his features. ‘I was going to come back, it’s just Felix found me first.’

  His jaw flexed, but she ignored it and kept going. ‘Found my balance before I went to see Math, but I owed it to him to let him know my plans, especially since they included helping you. Then when I got back …’

  ‘I jumped down your throat,’ he growled. ‘Shit.’

  She cupped his jaw, giving him a small shake. ‘You had a right to be pissed, Havoc, but they weren’t my secrets to share.’

  He dropped his head to hers. ‘Yeah, got that when Math laid it out.’

  She brushed a fingertip over the cut on his cheek. ‘I’m guessing this was Math’s doing?’

  ‘Yeah, bastard wears too many damn rings.’

  She choked back an unexpected giggle at the disgruntled note in his voice and bit her lip, wincing when she hit a sore spot. ‘Since he was covering our asses with Greer, I’m assuming you two worked it out?’