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

by Alessa Thorn

  "Usually, when I'm on a job, I live on energy drinks and whatever sweet thing I can get my hands on," Leo said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

  "I'm sure we can find you something," Dante replied. "Istanbul has great sweets."

  Athena rolled her eyes at Kon when Dante couldn't see. Kon accepted the bowl of food from her and held it while she squeezed a lemon wedge over it.

  "Thank you, güzelim. It looks delicious," he murmured, looking her over. The tips of Athena's ears turned pink, and she quickly stepped away from him and prepared her own bowl.

  "How did it go with Altun?" Izabella asked.

  "She's a total fucking spider," Athena replied, sitting down on the other side of Silas. Leo moved closer to Dante and pulled an empty chair in so Kon could join the circle.

  "I could've told you that before you went. I've heard enough rumors about Buruk to convince me to never meet her," Silas replied. He looked at Kon. "Did she give you anything useful?"

  Kon pulled out the piece of paper and passed it to him. "Just this. She said he's the only person she knows to have met Liddell in person."

  "This address is in Steinwerder. It's a shipping, import and export area," Silas replied, giving the paper to Dante.

  "Sounds like a useful area for someone trading in black market antiquities and God knows what else," Dante said. "Ryker Lange. Doesn't ring a bell."

  "Altun wouldn't give us anything fake. She wants us to succeed too much so she can rifle through Liddell's collection," Kon said. He ate a mouthful of the surprisingly good paella and then another. "I can get on a flight to Hamburg tomorrow and check it out while you all keep digging."

  "You're not going alone," Athena said stubbornly.

  "Why not? I always work alone."

  "Not when you've got a hit out on you!" Athena put her bowl down on the table with a thunk. "I'll come with you. You need someone watching your back in case Ryker is feeling like making some quick money off you."

  "I think Silas will agree with me that you should stay out of the line of fire. There's a hit on you too," Kon said calmly.

  A trip across the Bosphorus was one thing; going to Germany was quite another. He didn't want to put her at risk like that, and he would be worried about her if she was there.

  "Don't drag me into this," Silas said, putting his hands up in surrender. "She's going to do what she wants whether I think it's a good idea or not."

  "We can travel separately if you're worried about us being spotted together."

  "You should get separate hotels too," Silas added innocently.

  "Yeah, if we have to. But you're not stepping one boot into Steinwerder without me, Konstantius," Athena insisted. "Iz? Can you take care of the tickets? Leo can sort Kon out with a new identity in case Liddell has burned his other aliases." As Athena began to rattle off instructions, Kon looked at Silas for help. The bastard only grinned.

  "Yeah, she's always like this when she's fixated on a plan. No point in fighting her about it."

  "Did you have any luck with your contacts?" Kon asked.

  "We found out the bounty on us is being funded by a private bank in Switzerland, but the name they gave us was just a shell company," Silas replied.

  "And Athena is worth more than you. Your amount is half a mil, and Athena is seven-fifty," Dante added with a chuckle.

  "But I'm the one that so-called betrayed him," Kon complained.

  Athena laughed wickedly. "It's because I'm clearly more dangerous than you."

  Kon shook his head, his brain catching up with his outrage. "No, it's because he blames you for me betraying him. He wants you to die first so I can see it happen and know it was my fault. He's right into suffering."

  "Speaking of which, you said you had seen something like the site at Pokrovskoye," Silas prompted.

  "It was the closest I ever got to Liddell." Kon put his bowl down, the words robbing him of the rest of his appetite. "About two years ago, I was asked to go to Belfast to look into a relic of St. Patrick. I got a call while I was there from Liddell. He usually never rings while I'm already on a job, so I knew something was up. He was irritable, told me to get to Dublin as quickly as I could because a deal with a branch of the Irish mob had gone badly."

  Kon swallowed hard, the smell of hops and blood and magic hitting his memory.

  "I missed Liddell by fucking minutes. He had left his driver there to greet me and to guard the entrance of a club. When I went inside, there were bodies everywhere. It was exactly like you said. It looked like everyone in the bar, mobsters and party-goers, had turned on each other with whatever they had in their hands at the time. Then they turned on themselves."

  "It was a nightmare. There was a sensation in the air, something similar to the day my parents were murdered…a wrongness. There was a smell, sharp like ozone. I don't know how else to explain it. It was the reek that is sometimes left in the air when magic is used. It's one of the few things I remember from my childhood, the feel of energy in the air when magic is happening…." Kon shook himself, forced his thoughts out of the memories and to the watching faces around him.

  "We had to burn the place to the ground and bribe the investigators to say it was a gas explosion from the kitchen." He rubbed at his face, suddenly exhausted. "Apart from Aurora being labeled on the paperwork you found, Silas, it's the madness magic that makes me believe that Gadal is a Secret Chief as well."

  Athena's foot nudged against his calf under the table, and he risked catching her blue gaze. "We will start with Ryker and see what he knows. We get these bastards together. Deal?"

  Kon nodded. "Deal."

  15

  Athena checked the exists and side streets of the bar before going inside. It was filled with dock and shipping workers, all having beers and playing darts.

  She wasn't the only woman, which was a good thing. She didn't like standing out, especially when she was on a job, relying on intel provided by someone she didn't trust.

  Athena waited her turn at the bar and ordered a pint of beer. It was good, like all German beer. She didn't want to get wasted; she just needed something to take the edge off.

  She rechecked her phone. Kon still wasn't anywhere to be seen. They had left Istanbul on different airlines and at different times. Iz had booked them into hotels three blocks from each other, clearly taking Silas's suggestion seriously.

  It's probably a good thing.

  Kon was chaos and lust, and she didn't need those things distracting her while working. Athena thought of their casual hand holding the night before, their scorching make-out session in the park. She didn't want to question whatever was going on between them. It wasn't the time.

  Would there ever be a good time? She doubted it. Seeing Kon daily, getting to know his secrets and other sides of him wasn't making her feel less confused but more. Going to some random address in a shipping district in Germany in the middle of the night wasn't helping her anxiety. It was a warm night, the threat of a storm later making everything sticky and even more uncomfortable.

  Athena took a selfie of her lifting her middle finger and sent it to the number of Kon's burner phone: Where the fuck are you?

  She took another mouthful of beer, her leg bouncing on the rung of the barstool. They had used new identities, and Kon would be able to cover his tracks, but she didn't like being separated from him when there was such a high price on his head.

  "It's only been six hours, güzelim. Did you miss me?" a voice said by her ear.

  "No, I just don't like the idea of some ambitious bounty hunter shooting you before I can," she replied, shifting to look at him.

  Kon stood in a pristine suit and looked so fucking good, she could probably have come just by staring at him too long. Fuck.

  In a bar full of people in workwear and high vis, Kon stuck out like a sore thumb. Athena looked down at her usual jeans, boots, and leather jacket.

  "Everyone is going to think that I'm your bodyguard because no one is going to believe you bel
ong here."

  "Maybe I'm not wearing it to fit in." Kon's eyes sparkled with amusement. "You look like you're about to eat me alive."

  Athena picked up her beer. "I was just thinking about my husband."

  "The one you have the four kids with?"

  "The very one."

  Kon slid his arm around the back of her chair and leaned closer. His scent of wood and spice and sex invaded her senses. Athena wanted to bury her face into his neck and suck on his collarbone.

  "Does your husband know that you masturbate over me?" he whispered. "Or was that a post-coital lie you told me."

  Athena smirked. Kon was trying to play? She would play. They were going to be staying in different hotels, so she would give him something to think about. She slowly leaned back into him.

  "I do think of you when I touch myself," she replied in his ear. "And when I get into my big empty bed tonight, I'm going to slip my fingers into my panties to touch my sweet pussy that you like so much. I'm going to whisper your name over and over as I come all over my fingers."

  Kon's nostril's flared, the hand gripping the edge of the bar tightening. "Fuck Edgeworth. If you do have a husband somewhere, I'm going to have to kill him."

  "What about my four kids?" she asked innocently.

  "Them too."

  "Even little Timmy?"

  "Especially little Timmy."

  Athena grabbed his tie and tugged him closer. "You're a sick fuck, Zalam."

  "Keep pretending that's not what you like most about me," he replied. "Be careful not to crumple that tie."

  Athena smoothed it down again. "We wouldn't want your pretty outfit to get ruined. Everyone is going to think you're a drug dealer or a prostitute."

  "Really? And how much would you pay to spend the night with me?" Kon asked, a challenging gleam in his eye.

  "All depends. Can I do anything I want to you?" Just the thought of it made goosebumps rise on her legs.

  Kon bit his bottom lip slowly, and Athena's skin went hot. "Like what?"

  "Like go and meet with the person we are actually here for and stop fucking about?" she said, draining her beer and hopping down off her barstool.

  Kon pouted, and no one had a right to look that good when they were sulking. "Oh, very well. Let's get this over with so that you can get back to your plans in your hotel bed."

  Outside, Kon pressed the key fob to a black Jag, and Athena rolled her eyes. "You couldn't grab a cab like a normal person?"

  "We are too isolated out here. If something goes wrong, I don't fancy trying to swim across the fucking Elbe in a Gucci suit to get away," Kon replied, opening the passenger door for her.

  "Fine," she sighed and got in.

  Kon drove them slowly towards the prongs of the docks, cruise ship ports, and container transport yards that made up the district of Steinwerder. It wasn't the type of place Athena imagined the graceful Altun frequenting.

  Kon pulled up in front of the warehouse that backed onto its own dock. The parking lot was packed, and the lights were burning.

  "Nightshift workers, maybe?" Athena suggested. She spotted four guards, two outside a metal access door and another two on the waterside. There had to be more in a yard this size.

  "I'm sure it's made to look that way," Kon said. He reached into the glove box and pulled out a Glock. "You have some daggers on you?"

  Athena snorted. "Of course."

  "Good. I don't like the vibe I'm getting off this place." Kon's hand paused on his door. He reached into his pocket and pulled out another fob for the car. "If things go south like it did at the auction, I want you to leave. I'll swim the Elbe if I have to. Don't think about how I'll get out. Just go."

  Athena took the key from him. "Careful, Basty. If you keep this up, I'm going to start to think you care."

  Kon gave her a look she didn't know how to interpret before it slipped into his cockiest smile. "I care about that ass of yours getting shot off before I get to sink my teeth into it again. Just keep that key safe, and let's get this over with."

  Athena slid the key into her bra, alongside her tiny dagger, and got out. The two guards at the central door gave them long, calculating looks.

  "Guten Abend," she greeted them cheerfully, giving them her biggest smile. "We are here to see Herr Lange."

  They looked her over, eyes assessing. "He only talks to winners. You here as a fighter, pretty girl?"

  Athena felt Kon tense beside her, even as her smile widened. "Why yes, yes I am."

  16

  Kon was going to kill Altun. She would've known what they were walking into and could've warned them about what to expect. Clearly, she still wasn't ready to forgive him for leaving her for Liddell.

  The guards let them inside, one taking the lead to direct them through the primary production and fabricating floor and down a broad set of metal stairs.

  It had to be in a fucking basement.

  Kon's hackles rose; if anything got out of hand, they would have no way out. Athena's smile was wide and reckless, like a shark who smelled blood in the water.

  "We have a contender," the guard told the doorman at the bottom of the stairs. He gave Athena an assessing glare. Her smile shifted to something violent, her pale eyes going wolf. It disturbed and aroused Kon every time she looked like that.

  "Who's the guy?"

  "He thinks he's my manager. All betting amounts should be checked and approved by him," Athena replied, her confidence magnetic. "Now, do you have a place a girl can stretch and get ready to take all your money?"

  "I like you," he replied and opened the door for them. "Back of the pen is where you can get ready. Your manager can introduce himself to the bookie."

  "Bet big on me," Athena replied, shooting the guy a wink. His laugh was a boom that did nothing to put Kon at ease. Athena went through the door and into the dim light.

  "Have a look around. I'll find you after my fight," she said, and before Kon could reply, she vanished into the crowd. She was way too comfortable with what was happening.

  How do you know she hasn't fought in a hundred illegal dens? It was something he could see her doing.

  Kon pressed his way forward and almost tripped down the stairs. They were in a large underground warehouse smelling of sweat, piss, beer, and blood.

  People were sitting on concrete benches that looped around a caged fighting ring. Inside, two scantily clad women were kicking the shit out of each other, every hard smack of flesh making people shout out.

  Behind the cage, he took note of a guarded shipping container that fighters were going in and out of.

  Back of the pen. He couldn't see Athena, but she could take care of herself. She was less concerned than he was.

  Kon glanced up at the metal walkways above him and saw more guards around one stocky man with white hair, smoking a cigarette. He was watching the crowd and the fight with calculating brown eyes, people coming and whispering in his ear intermittently.

  Ryker.

  Kon contemplated walking up the stairs and shooting his way to him, demanding an audience. Still, there were too many people, too many guards, and only one way in and out.

  What a fucking nightmare.

  Kon was suddenly glad that Silas wasn't there. He doubted that he would be okay with Athena fighting for the entertainment of sharp-eyed men. Although he really couldn't say that for certain. Athena had grown up surrounded by mercenaries in some of the roughest places in the world. She had no doubt seen worse than an illegal fight club.

  Kon knew he was being overprotective and possessive. He had never felt either thing for another human being, and he didn't like the messy inconvenience of it. He might have teased Athena at the bar for missing him, but he had felt like he had angry ants under his skin for the six hours that they were apart.

  They might have booked two rooms for the night, but if they survived the next hour, there was no way in hell he was letting her out of his sight.

  To keep up appearances, Kon found the bookie. He was
a short, greasy looking man with a bald head, a black notebook in his hand, and two guards flanking him.

  "Hundred Euro on the Goddess of War," Kon said, passing the notes over.

  "Ah, that the new girl who just came in? We haven't had an unblooded fighter for a while. It's going to make for some fun," the bookie said, taking his money and passing him back a piece of paper with a number in.

  Kon tried not to laugh at the man referring to Athena as 'unblooded.' Athena Edgeworth probably had more blood on her hands than the majority of people in that shithole.

  A roar rose up around them, drowning out whatever the bookie had been saying. Kon turned in time to see one of the fighters in the ring snap their opponent's neck.

  Fucking hell. Kon should've known that these were lethal fights. Just breathe. Athena can handle it.

  If she looked compromised, Kon would shoot whoever she was fighting and anyone else that got in his way.

  He found a space to the side of the row of seats, one with a clear view of the pen and Ryker, who was sitting like a caesar in his balcony. A woman in a glittering dress appeared as the body of the dead fighter was dragged away. She started talking in a microphone in German. Kon was rusty, only roughly making out that she was announcing the next fight.

  His breath caught as Athena stepped out of the shipping container. Her hair had been braided back tight, and her hands were strapped. She was still in her jeans and boots, but her shirt had been replaced by a lacy black corset.

  She had gotten hold of some make-up from somewhere, and black now circled her eyes like a mask of war paint. She stuck both of her middle fingers up at the jeering crowd and stepped into the ring.

  Seconds later, her opponent followed her, dressed in silky shorts and a crop top. She was a massive woman, at least six foot tall and all muscle, her hair clipped short and a scar down her cheek.

  “Bärchen! Bärchen! Bärchen!” the crowd shouted.

  "You don't look like much of a bear cub," Athena said, her voice cutting through the noise.