Darkest Night: Mercenaries and Magic: A scorching enemies to lovers romance

by Alessa Thorn

  "Fuck, Kon," she cried out. He cursed, trying to slow down, but it was too late. She was coming hard and hot, tears leaking from her eyes as she was reduced to a sobbing and soaked mess.

  "You even have to beat me at this," he hissed and pushed her down onto her stomach. He fucked her hard and relentlessly before pulling free and coming over her back and ass.

  Kon kneeled above her panting, before he leaned over and ripped his belt free, releasing her hands. Athena didn't move, just let her spanked ass and body thrum with the pulsing of the aftereffects.

  "Feel better?" she asked, tilting her face towards him.

  Kon let out a soft, hopeless laugh. "I fucking hate you."

  "Good," she replied.

  They both knew the other was lying, and it didn't matter. Athena brushed his hair back from his sweaty brow.

  "Did you really have to fight your way out with a machete?"

  "Yes. With cobras loose from their cages and gang members shooting at me while—"

  Athena grabbed his face and kissed him hard and brutal. He tasted of sex and sweat and salt. Kon. She had missed him but would never admit it. Not even fully to herself. He cupped her face with uncharacteristic gentleness.

  "At least tell me you got a good price for the medallion, güzelim," he sighed.

  Athena bit back her smile. "Pro bono."

  Kon rolled his face into a pillow and exclaimed passionately in Turkish. "I didn't spank you nearly hard enough."

  Athena only threw her head back and laughed.

  4

  Athena woke the following morning, alone and every part of her exhausted. There were feathers all over the bed from one of the pillows Kon had pierced with the knife.

  Athena's eyes narrowed, and she went for her suitcase. Her passports were missing, even the one that she had hidden under the lining. She hurried to the bedside table and pulled out the drawers. One passport was still taped to the back.

  "You're slipping in your old age, Zalam," she said, grinning despite the loss of five passports. She found her backup phone in the bathroom, tucked behind the toilet, and rang Izabella.

  "What's up, Atomic Blonde? How did the medallion job go?" she answered, chipper despite the time difference between Barcelona and Semarang. Athena wondered if Izabella slept at all or if she had somehow evolved enough to no longer need it.

  "Medallion was fine, but I'll need you to book me another plane ticket out and use the name 'Susanne Passau,'" Athena replied, tossing her things back into her suitcase.

  "What happened to your other passports?"

  Athena was stubbornly silent, long enough that Izabella started to swear at her in Spanish.

  "Really? Turkish Delight stole them again?" she said in English finally. "What do you think he does with them all? I like to imagine he's got a whole wall of your stolen IDs that he masturbates furiously to."

  Athena frowned, noticing all of her underwear was missing too. "Why furiously?"

  "Because he's hate wanking. Of course it's furiously. He probably doesn't even use lube, just spits on it angrily because he's so disgusted with his own urges."

  "Probably." Athena laughed loudly and tried not to get hot over the idea of Kon jerking off over her.

  "How long are you going to be in London for this time?" Izabella asked.

  "Why? You thinking of coming for a visit?"

  "I don't know. Is Silas going to be around?"

  "I don't think so. Would it matter? I thought you liked Dad."

  Izabella made a strange sound at the back of her throat. "Of course I like Silas. I just don't want to interrupt if you are having catch-up time."

  Athena wriggled into a pair of jeans, bare assed because Kon had been more thorough with his underwear thieving than the passport hunting.

  "It's fine, Iz. Silas would like to see you too if he's around."

  "You think so?" Izabella asked, suddenly shy.

  Athena frowned. "Yeah, it's fine. How's that plane ticket coming?"

  "It's done. It's in your inbox. I'll let you know whether to expect me," Izabella replied. "And Athena? Do try and stay away from Konstantius Zalam. That man is bad for your health."

  "My ass agrees with you," Athena said, hanging up on Izabella's exclamation. The jeans were going to chafe her butt all the way back to London, and as he planned, she would be thinking of Kon every time she sat down.

  There was a knock at the door, and Athena slipped one of the daggers down the back of her jeans and pulled a shirt on. Outside was one of the staff members with a cart.

  "I didn't order any room service," Athena said with a frown.

  The woman smiled. "Your partner stopped by the concierge on his way out and ordered it for you. He said that you were going to need the energy after such a big night?"

  Athena groaned internally but smiled and took the tray anyway.

  Partner! Not in this lifetime. Oh, Kon, when I get my hands on you…

  It took thirty hours to get back to London, and Athena was dying for a shower and twelve hours of sleep. She stared at the rain-slicked, nighttime streets as she got off the train station at Battersea Park and wondered why she went to London for a holiday.

  A few years ago, Silas insisted on at least one permanent safe house for them, and they had brought the loft in a converted warehouse. Other friends of theirs used it as well, but only those Silas vetted and trusted. It was the safest place in the world for Athena and the only place where she ever slept deeply.

  Except when Kon fucks you unconscious.

  It still riled her that he could leave without waking her up after a night together. Kon and Athena had threatened to kill each other more than once, so neither of them should fall asleep near the other. But she always did and didn't know what that meant either.

  Athena put in the security codes of the alarm system and opened the metal sliding door. The place was empty, but there was still beer in the fridge, which told her that someone had used it recently. She pulled out her new phone and typed in Silas's number before sending him a message.

  Where you at, Zeus? In London, if you're close.

  Athena put the phone on the kitchen counter and walked up the spiral stairs to her room. No matter who used the rest of the place, Athena had her room that no one else was allowed in.

  Silas had his own room too, and as he explained it, they didn’t have a home base when she was growing up, so this was his way of making up for it.

  Athena tossed her small suitcase in the corner and made sure all her knives were in their proper places. She had a wall of them, all mounted and from all corners of the world. She had been collecting them since she was old enough to own anything.

  "Hello, my babies," she crooned at them before heading to the bathroom. She drowned herself in the shower for thirty minutes to stretch out the sore muscles from too much time in a cramped airplane seat.

  Her body carried small marks and bruises that Kon had mapped out over her. Something had been different this time around, but she couldn't figure out what. He had wanted to mark her so she couldn't forget him as soon as they parted. Like she could.

  Athena had always lived a life of adventure and adrenaline, but her rivalry with Kon was a rush she couldn't seem to give up. She might leave him in a room full of pissed-off cobras, but she had always known that her blade would never take his life. She hated that weakness. Athena could compartmentalize her emotions, was a pro at it, but Kon made her feel…messy.

  "Asshole," she muttered and got out of the shower. She was tired and a bit lonely, that was all, and once she had some time off, she wouldn't give Kon and his bullshit a second thought.

  Downstairs, Athena was hunting for food when her phone started ringing.

  "Hey, Silas," she answered, putting her phone between her shoulder and ear as she opened another beer.

  "Hey, Cub, how's London?" Silas replied, and Athena smiled at the nickname. She had been given the name from the crew of mercs Silas had been running with when he found her in a f
orest twenty years ago.

  The guys had been fans of the old Samurai 'Lone Wolf and Cub' movies, and with eight-year-old Athena tagging along behind Silas, the name had stuck.

  "London is fucking raining as usual. Where are you?"

  "Dubai. Fancy bodyguard job, boring as fuck, but the price is right. How was Indo? Run into any trouble?"

  Athena had a big mouthful of beer. "Does Zalam count?"

  "He was there again? That motherfucking, stalking piece of—"

  "He was already there. Same job again. He got there first," Athena explained.

  "And you finally shot him and took it?"

  "Not exactly. I got the medallion off him and left him tied to a chair."

  Silas made a frustrated sound in the back of his throat. "You two have the most fucked up idea of foreplay. Of all the people you could play with, why did it have to be the Basty of Istanbul? You need to cut his throat and be done with it. I'm sure there's still a bounty out on his head if you want some pocket money."

  Athena blew out a breath. "If it makes you feel better, the chair I left him tied to was in a room full of cobras?"

  Silas laughed, a deep booming sound. "That's my girl. What's next?"

  Athena walked to the wall of windows that looked out over the city. "I don't know. I was thinking of taking a few weeks off."

  "Izabella coming for a visit?" Silas asked. He was the only person who ever called Iz by her full name. Always. Not Iz, Izzy, or Bella. Silas could know someone for ten minutes and give them a nickname. Not her.

  "She was thinking about it. I don't know if she is going to or not. What's happening between you two anyway?"

  "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm respectful of Izabella because you never want to piss off a hacker who routinely gets you out of shit," Silas replied. "Hackers are touchy. You gotta treat them nice."

  "Sure. Maybe you two need to just fuck already and get it out of your systems," Athena replied.

  Silas was only just forty-eight years old and was fitter than guys half his age. Izabella was seven years older than Athena at thirty-six and eye-fucked Silas whenever he was nearby. Athena wasn't dumb. She knew Iz had thought about it. She just didn't understand why they didn't hook up and be done with it.

  "No offense, Cub, but I'm not going to take dating advice from the woman whose longest relationship has been with some asshole who honey-potted her. And then instead of killing him like she should, she plays Moriarty shit with and fucks him every chance she gets," Silas replied in his usual laid-back manner.

  "Don't call him Moriarty. His ego is big enough."

  "Was actually calling you Moriarty, not him. I know you're more of an evil mastermind than him, which is why I don't get why the prick is still breathing."

  "I'm sure he'll push me too far one day, and I'll do it," Athena said, resting her head against the cold glass.

  "I'll do it for you as a Christmas present if you want."

  Athena laughed. "I'll think about it. When is your job over?"

  "Eight days. You want company?"

  "Yeah, I think I do."

  "You sure you're okay? You sound off," Silas said, becoming the dad instantly.

  "Yeah, just tired. Indo to London is an asshole of a travel route."

  "Okay, well, rest up, and I'll see you soon," he replied.

  "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, and don't fuck your client's wife again," Athena said.

  "Oh, come on, that only happened once. Get some sleep." Silas hung up, still laughing.

  Feeling better about life, Athena opened her takeaway app and ordered some food. A holiday catching up with Silas was precisely what she needed to take her mind of dark-eyed assassins with attitude problems.

  5

  Istanbul was unseasonably warm when Kon arrived at midnight. He was sticky from traveling and still uncomfortably worked up from his encounter with Athena. That morning, he had watched her sleeping as the sun rose, her ass still a little red from his hand. He contemplated killing her but without any real intent.

  Instead, he had pressed a kiss to the top of her head and had left before he did something stupid. Like climb back into bed and wrap himself around her. Those were his feelings for Athena in a nutshell, both extremes unacceptable.

  Kon unlocked his apartment in Laleli and checked to make sure none of his security alarms or feeds had been tampered with. He longed for his real place down at the port. Still, until his business with Liddell was over, he had certain appearances to maintain. He knew he was watched, and he didn't want to give the old man any reason to suspect him. Like he knew he was thinking about him, the phone in Kon's back pocket started vibrating.

  “İyi akşamlar, boss,” Kon answered.

  "Konstantius, back in Istanbul already?" Liddell asked, crisp, British, and to the point as always. "Where is my medallion?"

  "In the bin where it belongs." Kon clenched his teeth in irritation. "It was a fake, boss. Total bullshit. The guy bought it from a market in Bali and told everyone that it gave him mystical powers. They all thought he was some kind of sorcerer, but he was a hack."

  "A great pity."

  "Well, you know how this business is. You have to go and be sure."

  Liddell hummed. "I don't suppose you know anything about Athena Edgeworth being in Semarang at the same time?"

  Tendrils of ice crept up Kon's spine. He knew Liddell watched him in Istanbul, but to have eyes in Indonesia as well?

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

  "She was? I didn't see her. She must've been after something else. You know how mercs are, always chasing a buck anywhere they can get it," Kon replied nonchalantly.

  "I think we both know that she's more than just a simple mercenary. She's getting quite the reputation for unique finds. If Miss Edgeworth becomes any more impressive, I think I'm going to have to recruit her to our great cause," Liddell said.

  "Are you trying to replace me?" Kon asked, forcing a laugh.

  "Not at all, Konstantius. I just figure if she's working with us instead of against us, we might have better luck with these magical relics."

  Distract him away from Athena right fucking now.

  Kon ground his jaw together. "The medallion was a fake, Liddell. I tested it myself. You really think a woman like Edgeworth can get the drop on me?"

  Liddell let out a sigh. "Dear boy, don't be so sensitive. I trust your judgment, and if you say it was fake, I believe you. To be honest, I'm currently more concerned about the secret dig the Vatican is funding at Tarsus than some trinket from a lesser Indonesian deity."

  Kon cleared his throat. "Tarsus? The place where Saint Paul was from? What is going on there?" he asked, knowing Liddell could never pass up the opportunity to talk about his latest obsession.

  "It is, and if my sources are to be believed, they have found his lost Bible. He was the first great mystic, building his faith off the Source itself. It is my hope that the lost book will talk more about his process for accessing it. Fascinating," Liddell replied and began to rattle off information.

  Kon hummed his interest while his stomach unclenched. He didn't want Liddell paying any attention to Athena.

  "I'll let you know if I need your services for the dig, Kon. In the meantime, have some days off. I'll be needing you again soon," Liddell said, and Kon thanked him and hung up.

  Kon walked into his bedroom and kicked off his shoes before pulling out the passports he had taken from Athena. Every photo was different, and every one of them mocked him with her smirk. He left the one in the bedside table drawer for her; he was an asshole but not unreasonable.

  He opened a locked drawer in his walk-in wardrobe and dropped the passports into it. He was assembling quite the collection and would make a point of moving them to his secret warehouse in the next week.

  Years of experience told him a change was coming, and he wanted no loose ends or breadcrumbs for people to follow back to him.

  Kon's eyes snagged on the antique dagger in the drawer. It was one of t
hree he had bought over the years without really knowing why. Now, in light of the events in Indonesia, he knew that he had been buying them for her all along.

  Fuck. Kon ran his hands through his hair in frustration. His scalp was still sensitive from Athena yanking on it, and he grinned despite everything.

  "Keep to the plan. Worry about Athena Edgeworth after the job is done," he murmured and locked the drawer once more.

  It was hot in the cupboard. Kon bit into the soft teddy bear in his arms to hide his frightened whimpers.

  "Remember what we practiced, little one. You stay in here until baba or I come and get you," his mother had whispered. "I love you, little emperor."

  "I love you too, anne," he had replied before she had kissed him and locked him inside.

  There were strange voices in the house. A British man talking, demanding something. His parents always had visitors, but Kon didn't recognize him.

  Kon screwed his eyes shut as his mother started to scream, his father shouting something in a language he didn't know. A loud crack like thunder had Kon's eyes opening again. A bright red light was flashing through the room. The British man was chanting something just outside the door.

  Kon risked leaning forward and peeking through the gap. He should never have looked. His mother lay dead on the carpet, strange cuts carved into her body. The British man put something into his pocket before dropping a burning lighter onto the carpet. Kon heard his footsteps trail away, and the flames roared through the house. Kon slammed his body into the door.

  " Anneciğim! Wake up!" he shouted, beating at the wood with his tiny hands. The fire started to burn into the door, and Kon slammed himself through it, the hot flames searing his back as he fell onto his dead mother. He needed to get out of the house, but the flames were already burning too hot out in the hall.

  He ran into the bathroom ensuite, clambering up onto the toilet and to the small window above it. It hurt to squeeze his body through it, but he forced himself out even as the frame cut his chest and tore at his burns. He crashed into his mother's small garden, only narrowly missing the stakes for the tomatoes.