It wasn’t as if she’d foolishly developed feelings for the one person in the world she probably shouldn’t have feelings for.
Besides, he wasn’t thinking clearly.
Neither was she, for that matter.
She should have been thinking about what her next move would be once the Wraiths weren’t on her back.
But now, she was too caught up in Synek to think about anything else.
So instead of hanging around, forced to listen to them talk about her as if she wasn’t in the room, she grabbed her jacket and the envelope she’d left on her dresser before coming out this morning and quietly left the brownstone.
She knew what Synek would say if she told him she needed to drop it off in the mailbox—that it wasn’t safe, and probably deny her altogether—so she didn’t ask his permission before she left, climbing into her car and driving off.
She didn’t have to go far, just a fifteen-minute drive into the city where she vaguely remembered the location of a USPS mail dropbox. She parked a couple of blocks away from it, gripping the two halves of her jacket as she stepped out of her car and jogged toward the box.
One pull of the hatch and it popped open. She slipped her letter inside and closed it back. It would be a few days before he received the letter, and another day or two to sort through it, but once she was able, she would make sure to go visit him in person to make up for her lack of attendance.
Turning back, she was nearly back to her car when she heard—a sound so familiar it instantly made her hair stand on end.
Pipes.
She kept moving forward even as she scanned the street, but the moment she saw them, she knew it was too late.
Iris didn’t know how they’d found her, but there was no point in worrying about that now. She needed to go.
She turned in the opposite direction, ready to run, but came up short when she spotted Raj standing too close for her to run. He smiled when he noticed he had her attention.
Too late did she realize she shouldn’t have run.
*
Throbbing pain brought Iris around as she woke up inside a room that was too familiar for comfort. She was surrounded by Wraiths, and right at the front of that crowd was Rosalie.
Her arms folded across her chest, smug arrogance written over every line in her face. “I warned you never to betray me.”
Iris shook her hair out of her face, refusing to be intimidated though her heart was beating hard in her chest. She was afraid, though she would never admit it, that this was going to hurt.
“I really hope he was worth it.”
Iris smiled coldly. “You have no idea.”
The slap that came a moment later made her head jerk to the side, the pain flaring before a throbbing ache took its place. She didn’t make a sound as she turned back, boldly staring up at her.
She couldn’t let her break her.
She’d come too far for that.
As Iris turned her gaze from Rosalie, she saw that she wasn’t the only one in this room held against their will.
Wren was in a chair opposite her, a strip of black tape across her mouth, a gash just above her right eyebrow. Unlike Iris, her fear was more visible.
“Syn will come for me,” Iris uttered, shifting her gaze back to Rosalie.
She pulled out a knife, running the tip of her fingernail along the metal. “I know he will. I made sure someone relays the address for me.”
Bear, Iris assumed.
Which explained why Wren was bound too. They were trying to lure them into a trap, and knowing the two of them, they’d walk right into it if it meant getting them out.
Rosalie came closer. “Did you sleep with him?” she asked.
Iris didn’t respond, grinding her teeth together to prevent herself from answering.
“Yeah, I thought so. He was always good that way. He could charm the skirt off a nun.”
Rosalie sounded thoughtful as she spoke, but it was merely a cover for the rage she felt because in the next minute, she plunged that knife into Iris’s thigh, drawing a scream from her.
Rosalie hit her again. “I’m going to send you back in pieces.”
As tears flooded her eyes and the searing hot pain of having a knife in her leg grew worse, Iris wished Synek would hurry.
*
“Of course, you crush on the one person you shouldn’t,” Winter said, still ranting though Synek had long since tuned her out. “You have a sickness.”
“You ever think for a moment that if she wasn’t actually worth it, we wouldn’t be having this conversation? Did you think about that?”
“Then why were you hiding her?”
“I was enjoying her. You think I don’t already have enough shit going on with the Wraiths? That’s already enough before letting her know everything else.”
She might have known that he worked for the Kingmaker, but she didn’t know everything. He hadn’t had the chance to tell her yet.
Soon, he’d always told himself.
There just hadn’t been the right time.
“Do you at least know her interest in the governor? I’m sure the Kingmaker is gonna wanna know about that.”
Iris had told him some the night before, but he didn’t want to share what she said. It was her business, and he had no right to tell it to anyone—not even to the person he told everything to.
“I’m handling it,” he said, “so leave it be.”
When it was time, he’d deal with the Kingmaker.
He’d been doing so for years.
Winter sighed, looking as if she wanted to argue further, but she didn’t. Tăcut, on the other hand, merely looked curious, sitting in silence that was even more quiet than usual.
Synek preferred him that way.
“You’d like her if you got to know her,” Synek said after a moment, glancing over at Winter whose frown had finally smoothed away.
“What makes you think that?”
“Because she mellows me out.”
He was happy with her, and that was something he couldn’t say about anyone really … with the exception of Winter.
She stared at him for a long while before she sighed. “That’s something then.”
The deafening roar of Harley pipes made Synek tense before he was sprinting to his feet.
He had the front door open in seconds, but instead of a calvary, there was only one man outside—a seriously pissed off one, as it were.
Bear snatched off his helmet and tossed it away as he came toward Synek.
The thing about Bear? He was usually level-headed in the worst of circumstances. Even when provoked, he hardly ever lost his cool, but if there was ever a shining example of what it meant not to poke a bear until it attacked, he was the shining light of it.
Bear had him by a few inches and a solid fifty pounds, and he used every bit of it to his advantage.
“I’ve got half a mind to knock your fucking teeth in, Syn.”
“Which would only piss me off,” Synek returned, standing his ground. “So unless you want to have a fucking row right here, how ’bout you explain what the hell you’re doing here?”
Where the hell was Iris?
“She took her.”
“Took who?” Winter asked from behind Tăcut who might have appeared bored on the surface, but he and Bear were about evenly matched, and he would do anything to protect her.
Bear’s gaze cut to her before he blinked twice. Yeah, he was realizing the extent of Rosalie’s madness.
“Wren?” Synek asked, though he already knew the answer.
There was only one person in the world who would have Bear this angry.
Where the hell was Iris?
“I’m guessing Rosalie figured out you came to me for help.” Bear dug out his phone, turning the screen around for Synek to see.
IF YOU WANT HER, COME AND GET HER. TELL SYN I SAID HELLO. :)
He knew, without having to ask that she had Iris too—which explained why she hadn’t come back down, and how Bear knew
where they were staying. And it made him uneasy wondering what she could have done to make Iris give up the address.
She wouldn’t have done so willingly.
“If anything happens to her—”
“We’re gonna get them back,” Synek said before he could even finish.
There was no doubt in his mind.
“But there’s only one way this doesn’t blow back on us,” he said, meeting Bear’s gaze. “You know what has to happen.”
It was the one thing they both had vowed never to do, and Synek was the first one to break it.
The choice was simple—his girl or the Wraiths.
“This ends today, Syn. Somebody’s not making it out of the compound alive.”
And they both knew who that person would be.
“Go,” Synek instructed, “and tell your guys to get the hell out of there. I won’t have time to differentiate between friend and foe.”
Bear nodded once. “I’ll let you know when it’s done.”
Synek watched him go, that familiar itch to do violence simmering beneath his skin.
This meeting was long overdue, and he was going to give Rosalie exactly what she wanted.
Chapter 22
Synek had one cigarette to his name—the one he was currently turning over between his fingers.
The only reason he wasn’t climbing the bloody walls was because he knew Rosalie—even though it had been years since he was last with her—wasn’t really interested in Iris. She wanted him.
That was the reason she’d taken her in the first place. It was her way of punishing him—the only thing she had left to use against him.
If he could count the number of times he’d been frustrated in his life, now would be the only time. He usually wavered somewhere between bored, annoyed, and homicidal, but never frustrated.
He couldn’t go about this the way he normally would—shooting first and asking questions later. Rosalie wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. The second a wall was blown in, she’d shoot Iris in the head before the smoke could clear.
He had to be smarter than that.
“You actually like her, don’t you?”
Synek contemplated sending Winter away as she dropped down next to him, her gaze trained straight ahead, but her presence helped eased some of the building pressure in his chest.
“Am I that transparent?” he asked, glancing over at her.
“You remember my junior year of high school when that kid cut off my ponytail because I wouldn’t go to the dance with him? I called you in tears and told you all about it.”
“What about it?” He remembered that day well.
“That was the only time you were ever calm when I was in hysterics. I thought you were busy at first until a few days later when he stopped coming to school. You broke his hands.”
He nearly smiled at the memory. “It felt more poetic.”
“My point is, you’re calm now. That’s when you’re at your worst.”
“We’re not all built for torture, little miss,” he said with a shake of his head, thinking of what he’d had to suffer at Rosalie’s hands. “It breaks you.”
And the more he thought about the possibilities—the more he imagined her suffering the way he had—the more the red-hot anger swept through him.
“You don’t have to do this alone,” Winter said quietly. “You don’t have to be alone. I’m with you, you know that, right? Till the end of—”
“If you quote that movie again, I will seriously consider harming you.”
“Whatever you need,” she said with a laugh. “I’m here for you, always.”
Synek stood and flicked his cigarette away. “Then let’s get my girl.”
*
“Well, I’m glad I was the first call,” Red muttered from his position on the couch, a beer in his hand as he watched the Wild Bunch walk in.
He’d only arrived twenty minutes after Synek called him, but there hadn’t been a moment’s hesitation in him showing up simply because he asked him to. Mercenaries, by nature, weren’t loyal to anyone, just the money they were paid.
And the Wraiths had been that way as well.
For a long time, he hadn’t trusted anyone outside of Winter—he hadn’t wanted to trust anyone or give someone a chance to betray him again. It was far easier closing himself off than allowing someone in.
He had Iris to thank for that.
Fang cut his eyes to Red but didn’t respond to his remark before he was focusing back on Synek. “You rang?”
Not even nine months ago, he had wanted to hurt the four standing in front of him, and he’d very well nearly killed Tăcut the first time they met.
And the second …
Even the third.
But now, he stood in front of them, ready to ask for their help. “The people I used to work for took someone from me. I want her back.”
His gaze went to Tăcut because it didn’t matter that Fang was the leader of their group, or that it was he who would voice the decision—it was all ultimately his choice.
“The one who had you taken, right?” Fang asked. “Why the hell would you want her back?”
Because she’d chosen him, even when he didn’t deserve it. Even when it was her own life on the line if she did.
Because she stood up to him.
Because she laughed when he told her jokes, and he loved her laugh.
Because she looked at him without seeing the damage.
“She’s my one,” he answered simply.
A moment’s pause.
Tăcut glanced at Fang—no words had to be spoken.
“Yeah, all right,” Fang said. “What’s the plan?”
Truthfully, Synek didn’t have one—the only thought to dominate his mind was that he wanted Iris back by any means necessary. He wanted to finish this with Rosalie to ensure it wouldn’t happen again.
He needed to end it.
But he’d given Bear his word. He’d promised that in the end, whatever was left of the Wraiths, the man could rebuild and start over.
He couldn’t kill everyone at the compound, not if he wanted to keep his word.
“I point, you shoot.”
“Sounds legit.” Fang looked at Red. “What’s he for?”
Red cut his eyes to Fang, gaze narrowed even as he smiled. “I’m good at what I do, ty rumynskoye der’mo.”
If Synek wasn’t loading his gun, he might have laughed at the expression on Fang’s face. He didn’t know why the two didn’t get along—could have been that they both titled themselves the best sniper—or maybe Red just wasn’t a fan of him. Either way, it was entertaining when the two were in the same room.
“This Romanian shit can put you on your knees,” Fang replied easily, flashing one of his canines. “Better watch yourself there, Russian.”
“Unless you’re mud wrestling in Speedos, both of you shut up,” Winter called from across the room, rolling her eyes. “Though if I had to bet, my money’s on Fang.”
“Good to see where your loyalty lies, Winter,” Red said with a shake of his head, though there didn’t seem to be any malice behind the words.
“Don’t worry. I won’t ever have to choose between you, so it’s all in good fun.”
“Care to put money where your mouth is, Russian?” Fang asked, finishing strapping his rifle to his back.
“You don’t want to bet against me, that much I can tell you.”
They bantered back and forth, betting on who was the better shot. By the time they finished, there was nearly half a million dollars on the line.
“I can guarantee you half an hour,” Winter said with her laptop in hand. “But the way their security is set up, they’ll know the moment I get into the system.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Understood.”
“Come back alive,” she said before looking over at Tăcut. “You too.”
“Right.” Synek glanced back at Red and the Wild Bunch. “Let’s make some noise.”
&n
bsp; *
Iris closed her eyes against the pain in her leg, trying to force herself to breathe through it and focus on anything else.
For a time, the cracks that spidered up the floor were enough, then counting the water stains on the ceiling.
At least the blood had finally slowed, though she was sure she’d lost too much from how light her head felt. Even if she was able to get free, she doubted she’d be able to get very far before she passed out from blood loss.
Wren was still passed out, her head lolling forward, her body slack even as she was strapped to the chair. The bruise on her eye had darkened further, along with another mark next to her mouth.
She wasn’t sure if the girl hadn’t gone quietly, or if they’d been unnecessarily cruel in their treatment of her. Either way, Bear wasn’t going to respond well.
But that was only if they found them in time.
Rosalie was growing more anxious with each passing minute, her heels clicking on the floor as she paced. Iris wasn’t sure which of them was most looking forward to Synek walking through the door.
“I should have fed you to the dogs,” Rosalie spat at her as she walked over, still holding the knife from earlier.
Her gaze flickered over her slowly, as if she was trying to desperately find something in Iris worth looking at.
“I was never good enough for him. Nothing I ever did was good enough. Yet he’d choose you? You’re as pathetic as he is.”
As she turned, setting her sights on Wren, Iris spoke up. “You called him puppy.”
“What did you say?”
“You actually thought he would feel anything for you when you treated him like he was your pet?”
A cold smile curled her lips. “Are you going to educate me on someone you’ve known for”—she snapped her fingers—“this long?”
“Yet I know him well enough to say that he’s more than just your personal hunting dog.”
Never mind the things he’d had to do to survive—Synek was a person. A human being. With thoughts and feelings. Undoubtedly, he had done things that she never wanted to know about, nor would he ever share, but she didn’t care.
She saw him for who he was—and she liked every fucked up and precious bit of him.
“Don’t worry,” Rosalie said with a shake of her head, “he’ll ruin you the way he ruins everything.”
Den of Mercenaries: Volume Two Page 45