Nix. (Den of Mercenaries Book 3)(56)

There was a woman tied up with intricate ropes, binding her limbs to her body, hooks pierced so deeply into her skin that purpling bruises outlined them, and the rope twining between them all kept her suspended in the air.

Not a single inch of her was bare of bruises or cuts or dried blood.

And though it had been a year, and even as her hair had been crudely shaven, Luna could tell it was Cat hanging from the ceiling.

Shock had settled over her, but she was snapped back to the present as Lawrence laughed, the sound a bit manic.

“She was a masterpiece,” he said almost reverently, as though he expected her to take as much enjoyment in this as he did.

He was f*cking sick.

Looking in his direction, seeing the satisfaction that oozed out of him, the first pinpricks of red spotted her vision.

Tossing the gun away, she didn’t watch it clatter to the floor, sliding across until it was nearly on the other side of the room, but Lawrence did. He was practically calculating the time it would take him to get it before she did.

She only watched him.

“Do you know why I like knives?” Luna asked, drawing in a deep breath as she pulled one of the blades gifted to her from Uilleam free, flipping it open with a quick twist of her fingers. “It’s harder to kill with them.”



Kit hated the plan the moment he’d heard it.

He understood the need for it—men like Lawrence were easily panicked and should he have arrived with Luna, the man would have been less likely to go off with her alone.

Lawrence had to make sure that his future prey wouldn’t be escaping him as opposed to one that might have a significant other looking for them.

No, every part of Kit understood the reasoning—even knew that Luna could handle herself.

It was that f*cking dress.

A dress that she didn’t need to be wearing unless it was in the privacy of his bedroom. Yet, there she went, hips swaying in that natural way of hers that had his cock hard and his need for her pounding away in his head.

But beyond his desire for her, he was more concerned with how well she would process the events of the night.

Aidra had already shaken her head at him earlier saying, “She’s distracted you,” before they had even left the penthouse. Kit would be the first to admit that he was distracted, but not enough that it compromised what he knew needed to be done.

But what a lovely distraction she was.

He didn’t think there was anyone that captivated him as much as Luna.

“I don’t see why you’re so worried,” Aidra said glancing at him. “If I recall, you sent me to take out a Columbian drug lord. Alone.”

“If I recall, you nearly died in the attempt, and I decided it was best to avoid unnecessary hindrances. This assignment, as personal as it is, is already enough of a challenge for even the most experienced.”

Aidra was silent a moment before she said, “She’ll never walk if you only let her crawl.”

Kit glanced at his watch again. “You’re missing the point.”

“And you’re making excuses,” Aidra returned.

“You don’t think I made a mistake in pushing you so far so soon?”

“If you hadn’t, would we be here? All I’m saying is give her a chance. Besides, you won’t always be there to save her. Learning to stand on your own is a part of one’s growth.”

Instead of responding, Kit glanced down at his watch. Fifteen minutes had already passed since she was escorted in. If she were to follow his instructions to the letter, she would be coming out within the next five.

But there was something that wasn’t settling well with him—and his instincts had never been wrong before.

Except, Aidra was right.

He couldn’t step in unless absolutely necessary—not if Luna expected to make it out alive. He could never guarantee, no matter how he wanted to, that he would be there to help her out of a bind.

But after these five minutes wound down, he was going in whether Aidra liked it or not. For this first assignment, he would make an exception.

Each one of those minutes passed with agonizing slowness, and by the time the fourth arrived without any sign of Luna, he set his untouched drink on the bar and started across the floor.

“You have two minutes, Nix,” Aidra called after him, the familiar warning ringing in his head.

It was a lesson he had drilled into many heads during his bout at the firm. The deviation of two minutes from the scheduled extraction time was the longest he would permit for others. And should they not make it out in time, then they were burned and left to get out on their own.

If he and Luna weren't back in the required time, Aidra was out the door—though after a distraction, Kit was sure.

For now …

Kit, very carefully, snuck up behind one of the guards that had trailed Luna and Lawrence to the empty hallway. When he was sure no one else was standing watch, he struck, snapping the man’s neck with one brutal twist of his hands.

With his phone, he opened a covert app on his home screen, sifting through other contacts before he got to the one he needed. In seconds, a red icon glowed on his screen before it grew smaller as it pinpointed Luna’s location.

The collar he had given her wasn’t just for him, but there was also a tracking chip embedded in the metal.

It didn’t take more than thirty seconds before he was in the private study, his gun now in hand as he followed the sniffles he heard coming from the other side of the room.