Celt. (Den of Mercenaries #2)(19)

Many, especially those that rivaled Uilleam and his family, feared the he was coming into too much power. It wasn’t the team of mercenaries he had, or at least that wasn’t the problem entirely. But coupling that with his family owning a number of banks around the world that entire countries were in debt to, his rivals didn’t like the power imbalance.

It made them nervous that, one day, Uilleam would have them killed and take over their businesses.

That was where the Jackal came in.

Some said the man didn’t exist, that he was just a figment of someone’s imagination that was meant to inspire fear in Uilleam and those that followed him.

But Luna knew the truth, perhaps a little better than most. So did the others of her team.

A year-and-a-half ago, one of their own had gone up against the Jackal, barely escaping with his life, though he had ultimately been confined to a Siberian gulag that, officially, didn’t exist. They couldn’t even find the place.

Then there was Uilleam’s run-in with the Jackal. Three bullets to the chest, but none had proved fatal, and after being examined by one of the doctors on his payroll, the man had speculated that the mysterious assassin hadn’t intended for any of them to be fatal.

A message, Uilleam had said.

“You think he’s the one that did it?” Luna asked.

But she already knew the answer to that. Everyone else might have feared Uilleam too much to make a move against him, but whoever pulled the Jackal’s strings, they obviously didn’t.

“Are you any closer to finding him?” Lucia asked next.

“Closer? Yes. Have I found him? No. It’s a process, you know.”

“And you think Elias is the answer for that?”

Uilleam blinked. “I forgot you lot gossip like children. Tell me, have they sought answers from you yet?”

“They asked, but I haven’t told them anything.”

And she wouldn’t, at least not anything that she considered his private life. Like she had said, she wouldn’t betray his confidence because of everything he had done for her, but Elias, and anything having to do with the man, she would be reporting back.

Luna knew what it was like playing a game without knowing who all was involved—she wouldn’t let them do the same.

“Should I assume whatever I say will be offered to other ears?” He asked, resting his ankle on the opposite knee.

“Depends on what you tell me,” she answered honestly.

He studied her for a spell, his gaze steady on her face, before finally electing to answer. “A fish rots from the head.”

Luna shook her head, not understanding. “Oh?”

“Elias is merely a means to an end, a man who has proved quite adept at disrupting my business. However, I’m concerned with the individual he answers to.”

“Is that what you want from me? Find Elias?” It wouldn’t be the first time he used her for something similar.

“I’ll get to him soon enough, but I do have a job for you.”

Yesterday was the first time he had ever spoken those words to her in any official capacity. Unlike the others that had more than a dozen jobs under their belts, Zachariah only allowed her to infiltrate and report back. She hadn’t learned until later that it was because Uilleam’s brother only allowed her to take assignments he approved of.

Unable to help herself, Luna whistled and said, “He’s not going to be happy about that.”

Uilleam’s smile wasn’t nearly friendly as it had been before. “And when did you start concerning yourself with my brother’s happiness again?”

“I’m not.” Not anymore, anyway—and maybe if she said that enough, she would begin to believe it. “But I can’t do a job if he’s at my back.”

“For this job, you won’t have a choice in the matter.”

She didn’t like the sound of that at all. “Why?”

“Carmen and Ariana.”

How long had it been since she heard any mention of their names? Not long enough.

Had it only been seven years ago that Uilleam had bought her freedom?

“What about them?”

“Carmen has asked that I send her one of my own for her to use during the duration of our … negotiations. Who better to send than you?”

Growing up the way she had, Luna had learned rather quickly that it was in her best interest to keep her mouth shut, especially if Carmen was within hearing distance. Just the thought of her former prison, the cloying smell of artificial perfumes turned her stomach.

She shook her head hard before the rabbit hole could swallow her down. “Send someone else.”

Uilleam’s head tilted to the side. “Are you turning down the assignment?”

Luna could feel the panic she first felt as a girl when that first man entered the room, but she tamped it down. She wasn’t that girl anymore — and though she didn’t want to admit it, she knew that Uilleam’s brother would never let that happen to her again. “Not her. You can’t make me work for her.”

“Are you turning down the assignment?” He repeated, expression never changing despite her outburst.

“Why me?” she asked. “After what she did, why would you want to send me back? You of all people know why I would never go near her.”