Something Green Read online

  “The rest is what you know, but I’m getting ahead of myself, aren’t I? You still haven’t told me what it is you think I do.”

  He spun her, as smoothly as if he had been dancing all his life … or had taken lessons. She vividly remembered the sheer number of them she had been forced to take from the time she was five until just after her seventeenth birthday.

  Had his parents forced the same on him? Or had he learned at a prestigious boarding school where that was a standard?

  Uilleam certainly had the demeanor and manners that said he might have attended one. Not to mention, the careful way he enunciated his words, his accent a touch more posh.

  Did it really matter considering what she knew about him?

  Why was it even a thought?

  “Would you tell me?” she asked curiously. “If I were to guess correctly, I mean. Would you tell me if I was right?”

  His smile was a touch more rueful. “I’ll certainly tell you where you’re wrong.”

  “You broker deals,” she started, thinking back on the board she had created in his honor. Remembering the various bullet points and question marks that had rested beside each written out assumption.

  “Not in the way you think, I’d imagine.”

  “Are you going to elaborate on that?”

  “You’re a journalist,” he said, pulling her in close. “Phrase your wording better.”

  “You make desperate people offers they’re too stupid to decline.”

  When Uilleam was amused, she was beginning to see, only one corner of his mouth tilted up in an infuriatingly sexy smirk, but when he was impressed … his smile took over his face, lips splitting to reveal perfectly straight white teeth. It would have been impossible not to get lost in his smile for a little.

  No one could possibly ignore it.

  She couldn’t be blamed for the way she stared.

  “On their own merits, they all believe they’re the smartest men in the world.”

  “Is that what you are?” she asked. “You believe you’re the smartest man in the world?”

  “Decidedly not. But I know enough about people that it all becomes rather predictable.”

  “How do you pick them?” she asked, trying very hard to ignore the way his fingers flexed against the small of her back.

  “So certain that people don’t merely request my services and I see it done?”

  “They might come to you, but it’s ultimately your choice,” she said. “Otherwise, we’d have had this little meeting sooner.”

  Because he would have worked for anyone if the price was right, and the more people he worked for, the likelier it would be that someone like her caught on to what he was doing.

  While she didn’t doubt that he had probably worked on a number of other jobs before she caught wind of the first she’d stumbled onto, she doubted there would be more than a dozen more.

  Mere minutes in his presence made her think he was more selective, leaning toward cautious. She still vividly remembered the way Orion had reacted to her describing him, and how he had seemed so reluctant to talk about him. Not to mention that when she had casually mentioned Uilleam’s name to others, they either had no idea who he was, or changed the subject entirely

  It was odd the effect he had on people, but instead of scaring her off, it made her more curious.

  “So sure about that?” he asked a question of his own, pulling her to a gentle stop.

  “Quite certain.”

  “And why is that?”

  “Because you’re standing here with me right now. I don’t imagine you make it a point to get close to anyone, let alone a journalist who’s trying to unravel your secrets.”

  He stared down at her with unreadable eyes, though in this position, she could see the darker ring of brown that outlined his irises. “No,” he said. “I don’t.”

  But something about her was different.

  She could almost hear the thought running through his head. And the last thing she should have been was happy about that thought.

  “Our paths would have crossed eventually.”

  He looked as if he was readying to speak, but something snared his attention to the left of them. “The man you came with, who is he?”

  The sudden turn in conversation momentarily made her blink in confusion before her brain caught up with what he was asking. She turned to where his gaze had gone, spotting Orion lingering at the edge of the crowd of onlookers, his expression anxious.

  Curious how she had forgotten all about him the moment Uilleam’s attention fell on her.

  “A friend,” was all she was willing to say. “But whatever problem you have with me, you shouldn’t take it up with any but me.”

  “My motives are a touch more singular.”

  Uilleam didn’t seem like the sort of man to flirt for flirtation’s sake, and his expression all but confirmed that.

  His gaze was steady and unflinching, no denying the question behind those words.

  “Have you always been this arrogant?” she asked, genuinely curious while also guessing he had.

  With a face like his, it had probably been all too easy for him.

  “I was being genuine when I said I’d hoped you would show up here tonight. You’ve already been warned about staying away from Paxton, yet here you are.”

  “If I didn’t, who would?” she asked, believing those words now more than ever.

  Everyone else had backed off the story—had accepted it at face value and allowed a man like Paxton to continue with his life as if he hadn’t prematurely ended the life of another like she thought.

  “But what does that have to do with my question?” she asked next.

  “Not many are as bold as you. Daring, even. I find that … refreshing.”

  Did that really make her so different?

  “You won’t for long,” she warned him. “I’m not going to stop this story just because you look good in a suit. Paxton deserves to pay for what he did.”

  “Perhaps.”

  Karina waited, expecting him to continue, but he just stopped.

  One word.

  Perhaps.

  What the hell?

  “If you stand in my way, Uilleam, I will go through you.”

  “I look forward to your attempts.”

  “I guess we’ll see.”

  “Excuse me, miss.”

  Karina turned at the sound of a new voice, only to find two men in security uniforms staring back at her.

  It seemed Paxton was finally ready to do something about her presence here. Unless Uilleam was far more good at subtle cues than she had thought.

  What was almost comical, though, was the size of the two men he had sent over to escort her out of the dinner. She was only five-five, if an inch, and couldn’t have weighed more than one hundred and twenty pounds, yet they were both nearly a foot taller that her and looked as if they hadn’t missed a meal since the moment they were born.

  “It’s time for you to leave,” the one on the right said, his eyes narrowed even as he reached to grasp her upper arm.

  Karina was all but ready to snatch her arm out of his hold and move out of reach, but Uilleam’s hand was suddenly on the man’s wrist, applying enough pressure that the man grunted.

  “Remove your hand or lose it.”

  The words were spoken carefully, though even she could hear the thick layer of steel surrounding the command. And despite his casual tone, the room seemed to fall silent around them.

  As if his threat had been heard by them all.

  The youngest man in the room … yet he held the most power.

  Uilleam Runehart was a different breed of animal.

  Though it was clear the man, who had quickly let her go, was employed by Paxton—his company’s logo was stitched on the pocket of his suit jacket—Uilleam didn’t seem to care one way or the other.

  But the man didn’t, not even for a second, take his eyes off Uilleam.

  “I’m just following—”<
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  “Move,” Uilleam said, this threat more clear. “Or I’ll have you moved.”

  Without another word, the security guard took a step back, his companion right beside him—who still had yet to speak a single word.

  “I don’t believe you understand the magnitude of this game you seem intent on playing with me, Karina Ashworth,” Uilleam said after a moment, turning his eyes back to her.

  “All the same,” she said in return, taking her own step back, feeling as if the rest of the world was finally filtering back in now that his hands had fallen off of her. “I look forward to playing it with you.”

  And as she risked one last glance back in his direction, she saw it.

  The thrill.

  Excitement.

  He was looking forward to it too.

  Afterword

  Yep, you read that correctly. The Volkovs and the Murphys, along with so many others, will be returning in a new series following the next generation. I have a number of books to write before I get to this series, but I’m super excited to get into their stories. They already feel like they’re going to be some of my favorites!

  Of course, I want to thank you so much for loving Kyrnon and Amber and the mercenaries! It was such a joy to write them, and even this little time back in their heads was much needed.

  And don’t worry, you’ll be seeing more of the mercenaries later on—one or two might be in the Kingmaker Saga …

  Thanks for reading!

  xx LM

  About the Author

  London Miller is the author of the Volkov Bratva series, as well as Red., the first book in the Den of Mercenaries series. After graduating college, she turned pen to paper, creating riveting fictional worlds where the bad guys are sometimes the good guys.

  Currently residing in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and two puppies, she spends her nights drinking far too much Mountain Dew while writing.

  For more information:

  www.londonmillerauthor.com

  [email protected]