Nix. (Den of Mercenaries Book 3) (18 page)

Luna was lost in the sensations, but distantly, she heard her self thanking him.

* * *

E
arly the next morning
, they’d set off home, the journey passing far quicker than it had on their way out. While Kit was busy with work, Luna slept most of the way, a fact that made him smile.

Even once they arrived back home, she had disappeared upstairs, while he had gone to finish the work he’d started on the plane, but was interrupted when Tăcut dropped by his office with an unmarked package in hand and a curious frown.

Kit barely had it open before his phone was ringing,
unknown
highlighted at the top. As he finally tore one side free and was able to see the contents, he accepted the call.

“It’s not my birthday,” Kit said, admiring the gleaming metal as he plucked one of the blades from inside. “Why the gift?”

A pair of butterfly knives.

They were solid looking things, the handles of the knives drawn away to show the sharp-tipped blades. The craftsmanship going into making them even impressed Kit who’d seen plenty of beautiful weaponry over his twenty-eight years, but more interesting was the detailing on the handles.

Skulls were carved into the metal, wisps of smoke flowing through each one.

“They’re not for you,” his brother responded, a blood-curdling scream following his words. “D’you mind? I’m in the middle of a phone call.”

“Should I even ask?” Kit inquired with a roll of his eyes.

“It’s best you don’t, but what I’m doing here is of little relevance. The package I sent was for Luna since that’s who I addressed it to.”

Actually, Kit hadn’t bothered to read the label, but as he flipped the box around, turning the flap over, it was, in fact, labeled for Luna. “And why would you be sending her gifts?”

There was a smile in Uilleam’s voice as he asked, “Do I detect a note of jealousy? I’m disappointed, brother. I never thought it would be a woman that came between us.”

“You’re not in the habits of freely given presents—that’s not your style.”

“Isn’t it? A place in my Den is considered a gift to many. Besides, I’m kind to those I appreciate.”

Kit smirked. “You’re never kind to me.”

“So that should tell you the extent of my feelings toward you.”

Kit might have laughed if his brother’s words weren’t partly true. “So you intend to gift her with knives? Are you surveilling me?” Kit asked, glancing around his office. He wouldn’t put it past the man to do something like that.

Uilleam scoffed. “Of course not. I respect your privacy.”

That, Kit didn’t believe for a second. “Then how could you possibly know she had a predilection for knives?”

“Don’t
you
?”

Kit chose not to acknowledge that. “Then I guess my question is
why
you’re sending them to her.”

“Because I have a job for her,” Uilleam said, “one I would have delivered in person if not for this unfortunate business with my banker.”

“Is that Donald you’re having tortured? What has he done now?”

“Nothing that concerns the Runehart trust. Now, back to the job.”

“Go on.”

“Her target is Lawrence Kendall.”

“That’s not wise.”

“By all means,” Uilleam replied dryly. “Provide me with an opinion I haven’t asked for.”

“The first assignment should never have personal ties.”

There was too much room for error.

Kit had seen the result of those that went after the ones who burned them, and how they barely managed to see the job done. They were still too fragile, too green to what had happened to them to allow them a clear head.

And those had been men.

Luna, even with his training, could falter against someone that had caused her such horrific pain, and that moment of doubt could get her killed.

“Quite aware of that, brother, but time is of the essence and I need to see this done.”

Ignoring that, Kit asked, “I thought he was a client of yours?”

Uilleam had a rule that so long as a client was under contract with him, they were safe from his mercenaries. And sometimes, depending on the client, even after the contract ended, he wouldn’t accept a new client that meant to go after them.

“Yes, but seeing how our business has come to an end, I thought it would be to my benefit if I got rid of him. I’m sure Luna wouldn’t mind.”

“She probably wouldn’t,” Kit agreed, “but just because you’re given permission to do something, doesn’t mean you should.”

“I think you’re forgetting something, brother.”

“Am I?”

Uilleam’s tone darkened. “She answers to
me
.”

A spark of irritation swept through Kit as he dropped his feet to the floor from where they had been propped on his desk, sitting upright in his chair. “And should I think you’ll cause her harm in any form, that means
you’ll
answer to
me
. How long would you wager your mercenaries can protect you from me?”

“Ah, so you’ve sampled—”

“Uilleam, don’t test me.”

He laughed, sounding genuinely pleased. “If she knew who you were—who you
truly
were—I wonder if she would still warm your bed?”

Sometimes, Kit wondered the same.

He had done many things he wasn’t proud of, more so before he had joined the Lotus Society. And over the span of the near decade he spent with the organization, the number of targets he had neutralized was a number that would boggle minds.

No, even he didn’t know the answer to that.

“The job,” Kit said, ignoring the rest Uilleam had said. “What is it?”

“He’ll be throwing a masquerade party—a final auction, if you will. Since someone has systematically taken out his associates, he believes it’s in his best interest to go underground. He plans to use the money made off the last of his stock to disappear.”

Kit whistled even as a smile threatened. “
All
of them? He must be truly desperate.”

“I would be too if I knew an assassin was nipping at my heels.”

“Former assassin.”

“D’you honestly believe he’ll see a difference? I wouldn’t want to be the reason an assassin decides to come out of retirement. Do me a favor though. When the deed is done, take pictures, would you?”

“I would ask if you were dropped on the head as a child, but I believe we both know the answer to that.”

It hadn’t been abuse he’d taken as a newborn, but rather when he’d been a child up through puberty.

“I should really get back to the torture and things. I’m on a schedule, you know.”

“You’ve still yet to tell me
why
you’re gifting her with knives.”

“If she does well—and I trust she will—those knives will give her a name.”

A name.

A new identity, and sometimes the only one that mattered.

“What do you think to name her?”

“Calavera.”

Kit thought of sugar skulls … “Why?”

“I found her on the first of November—day of the dead. Quite fitting, I think.”

Uilleam didn’t elaborate before ending the call, but as Kit tossed the device on his desk, he thought he should have asked.

L
eaving
Kit’s château a second time, Luna didn’t feel the same wonder as she had the first time when they had gone off to Europe for her test run.

It could have been that she was now used to the luxuries money afforded Kit, or it could have been because she knew by the end of the night, the man who was responsible for nearly every bad memory she possessed would be dead.

Luna poured over every inch of the file she’d been given, memorizing facts that she was sure weren’t relevant to the task she was going to perform.

She didn’t need to know Lawrence’s birthday to know that he deserved a stab wound to the heart.

She didn’t need to know that Lawrence had strangled his childhood pet to death with his bare hands—though that would explain a lot.

The only thing she cared about was the schematics of the building she would be entering, complete with exit routes mapped out, and the role she was meant to play.

It was simple really …

She would dress the part, as any other guest at the masquerade party would, then she would lure Lawrence away where she would then remove her gun with the silencer affixed to the end and put a bullet in his head.

She would be out in a matter of minutes.

He
would be reduced to nothing in a matter of minutes.

By the time they landed in San Diego, Luna was ready.

This time, as she showered and readied herself in the penthouse suite, , the girl staring back at her in the mirror didn’t surprise her. She was proud of who she saw.

Now, she possessed the confidence that had been sorely lacking over the years.

Kit had disappeared into the walk-in closet to change, selecting a navy blue suit with a crisp white shirt beneath.

She didn’t have to ask whether he liked what she was wearing—she could see it reflected in his gaze. In that unguarded moment, the languid heat in his gaze revealed everything.

Lust … such a dark, heady emotion. And when it was reflected in his eyes, she felt it all the way down to her bones.

Not once had she ever responded to it in another’s eyes—the sight of it usually sickened her. But on Kit, she felt it in return.

Sometimes she forgot how much taller he was, the way she had to actually crane her neck back to see his face when he was close.

Or just how much bigger he seemed.

All that muscle packed beneath a tailored suit.

Neither spoke as each studied the other.

As his gaze drifted over her skin-tight dress and back up again, he only said one word. “Soon.”

A promise … and a threat.

She couldn’t wait.

Luna noticed then that he was carrying a silver case, one that he set on the bed and gestured for her to open.

Curious, she clicked the locks, watching them spring free before pushing the top open.

Knives, crafted from heavy silver. They were exquisite, with skull detailing around the handles. At this point, she was so familiar with knives, she could appreciate the craftsmanship.

Luna didn’t think twice before she was plucking one from the case, familiarizing herself with the weight.

“They’re yours,” Kit said with a nod of his head. “Should you need them.”

Glancing down at her dress, Luna frowned and asked, “where would I keep them?”

With deft fingers, Kit held up a holster, and she only had a moment to wonder where it went before he was kneeling in front of her, strapping the thing to her thigh and placing the knives inside of it, his touch barely lingering though he left goosebumps in his wake. It was just hidden beneath the hem of her dress, and while no one else would see it, she felt secure in the knowledge that it was there.

“I’ll be around should you need me,” he said as he got back to his feet, “but this is
your
op. I'm not meant to interfere.”

“I understand.”

“Regardless,” he said stroking her cheek with the back of his hand. “Nothing is going to happen to you.”

She believed him, with every fiber of her being.

“One last thing, however.”

She watched as he retrieved another case, this one slimmer and more delicate. When he opened it, revealing the gold jewelry inside, she chanced a look up at him, but his expression was unreadable.

It was a necklace, but not like any Luna had ever seen before.

It wasn’t until he was slipping it out of its holding and unscrewing the clasp at the back of it did she realize that the metal didn’t hang freely, but rather wrapped snugly around the column of her throat.

Luna was struck mute as his fingers drifted back around, making a shiver work through her as he gifted her with a dark smile.

“I could tell you that this will work in your favor, that Lawrence Kendall notoriously covets what isn’t his, but that’s not why I want you wearing this.”

She didn’t understand what he meant, not completely. Even so, she asked, “Then why did you want me to have it?”

“Because I wanted there to not be any confusion.”

“As to what?”

“As to who you belong to.” He punctuated the words with a quick, but lingering kiss to her lips.

Oh, but every part of her melted at his words.

It wasn’t too much longer before they were leaving, and before she knew it, they were parked outside the private residence where Lawrence was holding his party.

“Careful,” Kit said with one last squeeze of his hand before she was exiting the car, starting up the pathway to the front entrance.

Luna didn’t notice, not until she was well enough inside and had a very good look at the others in attendance that unlike the vast majority of the people there, her mask was far more elaborate. Most wore little scraps of lace that were more for aesthetic as opposed to concealment as hers was.

It was more like a headdress she thought, with feathers that arced back over her hair.

Lavish parties had always seemed so exciting from the outside looking in, and she didn’t doubt that had she not known the person behind this one, she might have thought it amazing.

The decor was decadent, the wait staff trotting around with trays laden with food. It was almost like stepping into a dream.

Or a nightmare.

Perching on the edge of the bar stool, Luna looked out toward the floor, scanning what little the masks didn’t hide as she tried to find Lawrence in the crowd.

She had almost given up, thinking that he was probably in a back room and would have to wait until he reappeared, when she caught a glimpse of him.

He was hard to miss.

He didn’t come with the sudden recognition that filled her with butterflies—like with Kit—but rather revulsion, her lips turning down into a frown with hated remembrance of him.

It also didn’t take long for him to catch her staring at him, his gaze dropping to the heels she wore, and up to the choker around her neck, but he didn’t bother to venture any higher than that.

But she smiled all the same, playing the part expected of her.

He was already whispering to the guard that stood at his side before she had even bothered angling her body in his direction, passing off his drink as well.

As he started in her direction, Luna swiveled on her bar stool, watching his approach in the reflection of the liquor bottles behind the bar.

Adjusting in her seat, there was something comforting about the feel of the knives strapped to her thigh—another reassurance that tonight wouldn’t end as so many others had.

She could already imagine plunging one into his neck, but timing, Kit had drilled into her head, was everything.

So no matter how ready she was to end Lawrence’s life, she refrained.

It was only moments later that she felt a hand on the small of her back, the unease she felt growing as his hand slid down until it rested along the curve of her hip as he circled around to her front.

The fact that she had yet to forcibly remove his hand from off her was a testament to her newfound control.

“A succubus,” he murmured, looking down the front of her dress, as though he had any right.

Never mind the man was a pig, his arrogance was offensive.

Instinctively, Luna reached up with careful fingers to ensure her mask was still in place, and for the first time, she thought he was
actually
looking at her face, and not her body.

There was a curious glint in his gaze, like the wheels of his brain were turning, but she needed to ensure they didn’t catch up too fast.

That glint vanished when she smiled, brushing the shorter strands of his brown hair with her fingers.

Then, his gaze dropped right back to her breasts and the way they nearly spilled out the cups of her dress.

Easily distractible.

“And to think I was going to leave early,” Lawrence said with a click of his tongue. “My mistake.”

He lifted a hand, but instead of groping her as she anticipated, he touched a finger to the gold around her neck, pressing the pad of it against one of the sharpened spikes.

“Who do you belong to?”

She remembered Kit’s half-smile as he whispered words that made her want to kneel at his feet. He had known exactly what he was doing when he put it on her.

Unbidden, her gaze searched the floor of the house, hoping to spot … there he was, looking every bit as foreboding as he meant to.

Just the sight of him there was enough ease any worry she had.

Noticing where her stare had gone—though he didn’t seem to recognize Kit—Lawrence stepped in front of her, blocking her view. “Let’s go somewhere a little more private,” he suggested with a gesture of his hand, his smile curling slow and mocking as though he meant to challenge her claim.

Luna risked one more glance in Kit’s direction. He still watched them, a peculiar look on his face, but when he caught Luna’s gaze, he tipped his glass in her direction.

Her cue.

Sliding off the bar stool, Luna straightened the front of her dress, mindful of Lawrence’s eyes on her. The thumping bass of the sound system faded as they started down a private hallway toward a room off to the right in the hall.

It wasn’t a bedroom they entered, rather an office that was nearly as big as one. Luna didn’t pay much attention to the decor of the space, only took in the window that was closed with the shades drawn, and the position of the desk in relation to the door.

Venturing further into the room, she stopped at the desk, leaning back against it as she rested her hands on either side of her.

His gaze dropped to her breasts, hunger reflecting there before he finally dropped it even lower, lingering on her legs.

Not once did he bother to actually look at
her
, and she was thankful, because had he, she was sure he would recognize her.

He shrugged out of his jacket, tossing it aside as he came toward her, and by the time he was standing directly in front of her, her spine had to be made of steel with how straight she was standing.

She imagined he was Kit.

That was the only way she could stomach feeling his hand drift down her stomach, rushing to the hem of her dress. For once, there was no nausea churning at the feel of him.

But there was no fury either.

There was nothing because for once, by the end of this night, it would be his turn to be the victim.

Before he could get ahold of her dress however, she grabbed his wrist, not hard enough to scare him away, but just enough that he looked at her eyes in surprise.

“Get on your knees,” she said, releasing him as she placed her hand back on the desk.

How many times had he uttered those words?

How many times had she been forced to do his bidding though she had wanted to do anything but?

Now, it was his turn, and as she watched him sink down, she felt a thrill at the flare of temper in his eyes. He would make her answer for this, she knew.

“I’m not one to follow commands,” Lawrence said with a bit of an edge to his voice, “but I’m willing to make an exception for you.”

Removing her heels, Luna circled him until she was at his back. Then, she finally removed her mask and opened the clutch she carried, removing the Beretta from inside it.

“Will you do something else for me?” she asked sweetly, running her fingers up the curve of his shoulder and through his curling blonde hair. The moment she felt him relax, she fisted her hand hard enough to make him hiss out a curse before pressing the barrel of her gun to the side of his head. “Tell me where Cat is and I won’t kill you.”

That was a lie—her job
was
to kill him after all, and she would gladly do as she’d been instructed … but only after.

He was confused a moment, jerking his head around to try and see her face, but a mirror hung on the other side of the room, and as she forced him to his feet, he saw who she was all too clearly.

“Luna?” There was genuine surprise in his voice before he masked it with an arrogant smile. “You couldn’t stay away, could you?”

Luna wasn’t fazed. “Where is she?”

“I’ve missed you,” Lawrence went on, as though he didn’t feel any fear, but the tension in his shoulders betrayed him.

Instead of feeding into his game, she cocked the hammer back, and could almost hear him swallow as the sound echoed between them.

“I guess the Kingmaker found use for you after all. In this, I assume, you’re good at doing what your told.”

Luna didn’t respond.

“Oh, but she was a sad little thing once you were gone. After all, I had to find someone new to keep my interest. No one could hold a candle to you, I’m afraid. Not even your precious Cat, though she has been of good use.”

Her grip on the gun tightened, but she was careful,
very
careful, not to react to his goading.

“I won’t ask a second time.”

“You’ll never be anything more than a whore,” Lawrence spat at her. “The only difference is now you’re a whore with a gun.”

Luna struck without warning, sending the butt of the gun into Lawrence’s face, feeling the satisfying crunch of cartilage.

Now, it was her turn to smile. “That makes all the difference in the world.”

Barely catching himself with his hands, his grunt of pain masked by mocking laughter. Looking back at her with hate-filled eyes, he said, “By the end of this eve, I’m going to fuck you bloody.”