Skorpion. (Den of Mercenaries Book 5) Read online

  “Get in.”

  “I’m sorry?” she asked, her brows shooting up, but he was sure she’d heard him. “I couldn’t. Soleil is—”

  “Dead to the world. Trust me, it would take an elephant in the room to wake her.”

  She looked as if she wanted to deny him again, but he didn’t give her the chance to deny him again. He reached out and snagged her hand, pulling her forward until she had no choice but to step up and under the spray of water.

  Immediately, his fingers went to the three buttons at the center of her dress, popping them open one by one, slowly revealing creamy, damp flesh he was desperate to get his mouth on.

  “I wanted to talk to you,” she said breathlessly, even as she reached for him, stroking his chest with reverent passes.

  “We can talk after,” he returned, distracted.

  He pulled the straps of her dress down, slipping his fingers into the cup of her bra and giving it a solid yank and finally, finally, he got his hands on her.

  Her audible sigh only made him hungrier as he licked the water droplets from her skin before sucking her nipple into his mouth.

  She arched into him, offering more, her hands squeezing where they clutched at him.

  She was delicate, light in his arms as he lifted her clear off the floor, waiting for the second he felt her legs close around him to press her back against the wall.

  Eyes wide, pupils blown she looked as into this as he felt. He was drunk on that look.

  And once he got his hand between her legs, an involuntary smile curled his lips. “This is what you came for, isn’t it?”

  She wasn’t wearing anything under the dress, making it far too easy to get between her thighs.

  His thumb found her clit, rubbing tight fast circles, working her until she was moaning his name, putty in his hands.

  He wanted to drag this out, see how long they could go, but just the thought of getting inside her was too good to ignore.

  Spreading her wider, he fisted his cock, angled it down and slowly thrust inside her. Heat engulfed him, a tremor working its way down his spine as he gave an involuntary flex of his hips, a low curse spilling from his mouth as he tried to wrap his brain around how fucking good she felt wrapped around him.

  Reality topped fantasy in every way imaginable, and though he’d spent the better part of three hours exploring her body the night before, it still wasn’t enough.

  Even now, he wasn’t sure if it would ever be.

  Her head tipped back, the arch of her neck tempting him to lean in and take a bite. She shuddered as soon as his teeth closed around her

  “I’m close,” she moaned in his ear.

  But she didn’t have to say it for him to know—he felt it in the way she tightened around him.

  He tugged her face back to his, smashing his mouth against hers and in the next breath, she grew impossibly tight then broke, coming so fast and so hard he had no choice but to give in to the feeling.

  Taking a second to catch his breath, he held her tight against him.

  They rinsed off, Ada losing her dress entirely before he walked her back through the door that led directly into his bedroom and grabbed her a shirt to wear.

  “You were looking for me?” he asked again, dragging on clothes of his own before joining her in the bed, feeling far too content.

  She looked thoughtful a moment before she chewed on her lip, seeming to wrestle with what she wanted to say. “I don’t mean to pry …”

  “Ask.”

  “Soleil’s mother …”

  Yeah, he figured that was what this would be about. She might have known that she wasn’t in the picture anymore, but Ada didn’t know why.

  And if he planned on keeping her around, she would need to.

  “Her name was Charlotte,” he said, casting his mind back in time, remembering the day they’d met.

  It was rare Uilleam had business in Paris—at that time, he’d seemed to avoid the city altogether for reasons he was pretty sure stemmed from his relationship with Karina, but it hadn’t been his business to pry so he never bothered to ask.

  “She worked for a man who was doing business with the Kingmaker.”

  “So, she’s always known what you are … or were?”

  Charlotte hadn’t batted an eye knowing what he did and who he did it for. If anything, it only made her want him more. She’d thought it had all been exciting—she’d craved the danger his life presented, even when he didn’t.

  “Why?” he asked, wanting to get off the subject of Charlotte. “Does what I do scare you?”

  “Not necessarily. I don’t think anything about you could truly scare me. I was just … do mercenaries have families? I know worked for him before and were his personal guard or something, but if his enemies have to go through you to get to him …”

  “Some choose not to have a family at all. My buddy Red just had twins and Celt is off in Ireland getting married. If you’re asking whether there’s a threat to our families, I won’t lie and say there aren’t any, but always remember that there’s a reason we work for the Kingmaker and passed his tests. If we’re willing to do it for him, we’d do a hell of a lot worse to someone that threatened family.”

  “Then what happened to—”

  She seemed surprised by her own question, or maybe she wondered whether she’d upset him by asking, but she deserved an answer.

  “Me and Charlotte … we were a thing when I was in town. When I wasn’t, she was free to do whatever she wanted, I didn’t mind.”

  So long as she was ready and available for him when he wanted. Which was part of the problem he’d learned in later years.

  She’d wanted him to take her away from her life in Paris, though she still hadn’t wanted to let go of her vices. Maybe, though he’d never be able to say for sure, if she had, he would have.

  “She was working for a guy, he was into some bad shit with worse people. It had everything to do with her and the choices she made.”

  His life hadn’t had a chance to fully impact her yet.

  “Soleil was …” He cut himself off, trying to decide whether to confess a truth he rarely, if ever, told another. “She was Charlotte’s daughter. Don’t know who the father was. When Charlotte … died, I brought her back here. I didn’t like the idea of letting her go into a system and who the fuck knows how that would have ended.”

  “And you loved her,” Ada said knowingly, lifting her shoulder in a shrug when he smiled at her. “It’s hard not to.”

  “She’s been mine ever since.”

  “You’re a good person, Keanu.”

  “Anyone would have done the same.”

  “Maybe,” she hedged, “but it’s beyond that, isn’t it? You saved her and you’ve been saving me since the day I met you.”

  The words struck him, and combined with the soft expression on her face made him feel a pang in his chest.

  “Don’t get soft on me, Ada.”

  She sighed, even as she crawled up the bed toward him, laying her head on his chest. “I’m afraid I already am.”

  Yeah, he understood the feeling well.

  13

  It amazed her how quickly they had fallen into a routine together—it almost felt as if they had been together for years rather than the short weeks they’d spent in the isolated house.

  Breakfast in the mornings, swimming in the afternoons with lunch by the pool, and dinner in front of the massive television in the living room where they watched enough Disney movies that Ada was positive she knew the lyrics to each song in Mulan and Moana.

  Soleil never questioned why they never ventured out of the house, or even about Ada’s sudden appearance in their lives. Instead, she treated her as if she had always been a part of their family and for that, there were no words to express how happy that made her.

  And nothing was more gratifying than having her ask that Ada be the one to read her a bedtime story even when Keanu was around.

  This life was so mundane, so ab
solutely ordinary that she was wishing, not for the first time, that she had searched for this long before now—that she hadn’t walked away from the family she already had.

  Inside this house, Keanu wasn’t a mercenary and she wasn’t an accountant for notorious criminals. Just two people getting to know each other, and worse, she was falling fast.

  For the mornings she woke up tucked into Keanu’s side, his heavy arm around her waist, or the evenings she spent weaving stories about princes and princesses.

  Numbers had always been her life, and though a part of her still missed what she did—and the money she made, even before stealing—she didn’t miss the firm and she’d yet to grow bored being here. It only served as another reminder that once this was all over, she had a lot of time to make up for.

  She’d taken her family for granted, choosing her own wants over what was important.

  There was no guarantee her father would recover and if he didn’t, she would never get the chance to apologize for being a foolish girl chasing the wrong things in life. That, above all else, was what she regretted most.

  “Ready?”

  She’d grown used to the way Keanu could move without being heard, so his sudden appearance behind her didn’t make her jump like it used to.

  Instead, she blinked, only now having realized that she was just standing in the middle of the floor, staring at her reflection in the mirror across the room instead of getting ready to leave as she’d come into his bedroom to do nearly half an hour ago.

  After their last trip to the beach when it had just been the pair of them, they hadn’t left the house again—not that she had complained in all that time—but today, he had surprised them both by suggesting they go out for a long promised snorkeling trip, a suggestion that had Soleil racing to her room screaming with joy.

  It was supposed to be fun and exciting—she wasn’t supposed to be standing here with tears in her eyes, spoiling the mood. Forcing a smile as she turned back to look at him, she could tell from the way his brows slanted together that he wasn’t fooled.

  He’d learned to read her quickly.

  “What’s bothering you?”

  Her attempt to disguise her sadness didn’t go unnoticed, and he didn’t intend to let her hide behind it either. “Nothing.”

  “Ada …”

  “Nothing important. I’m just thinking.”

  He nodded once, though still not content. “Tell me anyway.”

  She thought of denying him again, figuring if she did it long enough, he would eventually drop it, but in the weeks she’d been getting to know him, she knew it wouldn’t be that easy. “I never got the chance to make things right with my father and I’m afraid I won’t ever be able to.”

  He turned her gently, curling his fingers around the nape of her neck to tilt her face up so she met his gaze.

  “This won’t last forever. Give it time. Once everyone has what they need, you’ll be free to leave and your family will be safe.”

  A part of her was relieved to hear that, but the other part of her wasn’t sure what that meant for them. She wasn’t foolish enough to think that he owed her anything more than what he was giving her now—his protection—but before she’d realized what was happening, she’d grown to care about him. About this thing they had, even if it had only been a number of weeks.

  Before her thoughts could reflect on her face, she pulled out of his hold and walked over to the bed where her bag was sitting. “We should go.”

  She didn’t look back at him until she had it in her hand, but when she did, his gaze swept over her from head to toe, lingering in places that made her blush.

  “You’ve seen it all before, you know,” she reminded him with a small, genuine smile, touching his arm as she walked back to him.

  “And it’ll never get old, babe.”

  She could only hope so.

  The drive down the hill and back to one of the more popular beaches was a long one, only broken up by Soleil’s singing from the backseat whenever one of her favorite songs came on.

  Ada didn’t say much, only talking to Soleil whenever she asked a question. Keanu was the same, seeming lost in his thoughts. She wondered if he was thinking about their conversation and all that it implied.

  But if he was, he didn’t say anything to her, not even once they were sitting on towels on the beach, Soleil racing down to the water’s edge to fill her bucket before rushing back.

  Was she wrong to think this thing between them was impossible? Or worse, that she was the only one thinking of the possibility of even being together?

  Keanu had been nothing but understanding in the last few weeks and more nights than she could count, they’d shared a bed where it wasn’t just about sex. She told him more during those long nights than she’d ever told another person in all of her life.

  But none of that meant he wanted to keep her around longer than it took for the Kingmaker to get what he wanted. She was a job, after all. One he hadn’t even wanted.

  How did she even broach the topic?

  Hey Keanu, I know you were only supposed to keep me alive until I gave the Kingmaker what he wanted, but I like you and want to be with you …

  No, that didn’t even sound good in her own head, and worse, ‘like,’ didn’t feel like a strong enough word to describe the way she felt about him.

  Yet, Ada was too much of a coward to open her mouth and speak. Maybe once this was over and she had a clearer picture, then she might ask where they stood once they were on equal footing.

  For now, she would enjoy it for what it was.

  She didn’t think about the future as she waded out into the water with Keanu and Soleil, laughing as she was nearly mowed down by the waves. She didn’t consider the end of them as they all donned masks and swept beneath the surface of the water to fulfill Soleil’s yearly snorkeling adventure.

  She stayed right there, in the moment, and loved every second of it.

  “You’re quiet,” Keanu said some time later, both of them watching as Soleil settled on the towel, carefully building her sandcastle on her own because she, “wanted to see who could make the best.”

  “Just enjoying the day,” she said, the words partially true.

  She was enjoying being out of the house, being around other people—she just enjoyed these moments with him and Soleil more.

  He didn’t look like he believed her, but didn’t call her on it. “Shaved ice?”

  “Daddy, I need to use the restroom,” Soleil spoke up suddenly, jumping to her feet.

  There was a stand some feet away from them, but a line was already starting to form.

  “I’ll take her,” Ada said quickly, smiling when Soleil’s fingers wrapped around hers and tugged, trying to pull her to her feet. “Blueberry for me.”

  He gave a little wave as they walked off, and despite her best efforts, she was secretly pleased that he didn’t seem concerned at all about them.

  The restrooms were housed in a tiny brick building off to the side of the beach, closer to the parking lot than where they’d been sitting.

  “I can’t wait to show you my collection of seashells when we get home,” Soleil commented suddenly as they neared the door.

  “I’d love that,” she answered and meant it.

  “And then you can meet all of my friends!”

  Surprise choked her a moment as she realized they weren’t talking about the jungle house, but rather her home back in Los Angeles. The emotion that flooded her chest was bittersweet, loving that Soleil wanted her to meet her friends and be a part of her life, but knowing that that might not be a possibility for her.

  “I’d love that too,” she said, trying to keep her voice even.

  “Daddy said we’ll be leaving in a couple of weeks.”

  What joy she felt dwindled, realizing that while she might have been uncertain about where things stood with Keanu, he wasn’t. He’d never mentioned anything to her and that was an answer in itself.

  While sh
e was lost in her thoughts and the implications of them, Soleil disappeared into a stall, singing softly. Ada tried to maintain her composure, running her fingers through her hair to pull the strands up into a ponytail.

  Oh, how she wished things had been different—that they’d met under normal circumstances. Maybe this all could have turned out another way.

  But it was too late for that now.

  The toilet flushed moments later, Soleil appearing soon after to wash her hands at the sink.

  Ada hadn’t realized how empty the restroom was until that moment. Considering the sheer amount of people at the beach, she’d expected at least a few others to be inside, but they were alone. Before, that might not have bothered her, but she could only think of the price on her head and knew it would be better to err on the side of caution.

  “Let’s go find your daddy, shall we?”

  Soleil, oblivious to her sudden discomfort, took her hand again and walked two steps behind her as they started for the door, but it swung open before they ever reached it.

  The first thing she noticed was the scar on his face, a grisly mark that ran down the length of his face. Second, the gun.

  It was long and black, a silencer firmly fixed to the end.

  Ada didn’t take her eyes off him as she blindly pulled Soleil behind her, shielding her as best she could in the narrow space. She knew why he was there, even in her own mind she could see the flashing number next to her picture.

  There was a price on her head and he was coming to collect.

  “Who sent you?”

  His name could have been something as mundane as John, but it wouldn’t matter if he put a bullet inside her and she died on the tiled floor.

  No, she didn’t need to know his name. That wasn’t important.

  In the movies, they always liked to talk, to drag out the death as long as they possibly could. They wanted you to know exactly how you were going to die to build up the fear—to make sure there was nothing but dread curling in your chest so you’d beg.

  Ada had no intentions of begging him to spare her life though.

  “Sakuari,” he answered in a thick accent. “There’s a bounty on your head with my name on it.”

  “Let the girl go,” Ada said, letting his words go in one ear and out the other. She refused to be afraid now, not when she had someone else to think about. “Let her go and I won’t fight you.”