Four Mercenaries - The Complete Collection

by K. A. Merikan

  The soap-like scent clung to his throat, a memory that would guide him back here once Apollo had been dealt with, the anchor he needed in moments of doubt, because thinking about Tank, Pyro, and Boar was only a distraction. If he’d wanted their opinions, he’d have stayed in bed, but he was no longer a boy and couldn’t rely on others for decision-making.

  Still, it was Drake’s presence that made him so confident. At Drake’s side, he could take on the world. He even slipped his hand into Drake’s as they walked. He felt like a kitten trying to imitate his panther mentor, but even a kitten had sharp teeth and claws. Drake had told him that if they remained stealthy and struck fast, the job would be simple. That maybe venturing out as a small force would maximize the surprise factor. After all, Apollo was just a man, and all that was needed to end him was one bullet.

  The house was eerily silent, though Clover paused as they were about to walk past Tank’s room. The door was open, and he couldn’t help but see the ray of light on the floor in the hallway as a physical barrier to cross. Drake stilled too, his hand somewhat damp in Clover’s as they listened to the steady breathing coming from inside. Guilt touched Clover like a hand pulling him back by the wrist, but when Drake gave him a slow nod, they both moved, neither heard nor seen. And this same way, like two ghosts, they would come for Apollo before retreating into the night.

  They left the house through the open back door, and the scent of the garden filled Clover’s lungs, letting him breathe again.

  Drake’s fingers twitched in his, as if he too wasn’t immune to the stress of this secret outing. Their eyes met in the moonlight, but when something thudded right behind Clover, only Drake’s hand on his mouth kept in a yelp that would have given away their presence.

  Drake’s body was tense as dried wood when he spun Clover around to make him face the back of the aviary. “Must have been a bird. Shhh.”

  Clover scowled at the sight. The cages brought back memories of Diana’s menagerie. Even though he’d just spent a few hours in the gruesome place, he would never forget that it. Others caught by Diana hadn’t been as lucky as him. They hadn’t suffered the captivity for hours but weeks. Months. Years.

  “Tank… he’ll forgive us, won’t he?” he asked the moment Drake’s fingers slipped off his lips.

  Drake hesitated, and each second of his silence had Clover’s stomach twisting into a tighter knot. In the end, Drake let him go and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it in a practiced move of the wrist. “Eventually.”

  Clover wondered if smoking would relax him too, but he’d tried it in the past and unlike the taste of nicotine on Drake’s lips, cigarette smoke did nothing for him.

  “Have you ever… betrayed Tank’s trust? I mean, once you two actually got to the conclusion you weren’t about to kill each other.”

  Drake shrugged and Clover saw fire burning through the cigarette at an accelerated pace. “Yeah. We were on a job, and I didn’t stick to the plan. Worked out fine in the end, but he lost it. He’s a control freak when it comes to this.”

  Clover smiled nervously. “I’m guessing he didn’t spank you?”

  “He wouldn’t dare.”

  “So did it all just go away after a while?”

  “Time passed, and he’d barely talk to me, but in the end we had a long conversation, and I promised I wouldn’t stray from the plan again.”

  Clover swallowed, watching Drake finish his cigarette. “But you are doing it again.”

  Smoke shot from Drake’s nostrils as if he were a dragon preparing to charge, and he stubbed the cigarette out in a plant pot. “We’re family. He’ll understand.”

  They walked toward the van in silence, but Clover’s head was full of messy thoughts that unwound, knotted, and went nowhere. Tank had given him so much love and stability, and here he was, about to drive off with Drake to do what he’d been specifically asked not to. He felt like a traitor. But if he refused to go or revealed Drake’s intentions to the others, that would have made him a traitor too.

  He needed to make a choice that would do least damage to their relationship, and this time Drake needed him more than Tank.

  “Do you want to stay after all?”

  “No. I’m going with you. We are taking him down, and then dealing with the fallout together. I want to get this over with.” Clover hesitated but followed his impulse and pushed his hand into Drake’s hair before tugging him down for a kiss.

  The sharp flavor of nicotine still lingered in Drake’s mouth, but when their bodies clashed together, arms slotting into place, all Clover could taste was sweetness.

  Drake hummed and rested his forehead against Clover’s. “We’ll take him down. You and me. That’ll be enough.”

  Clover opened the passenger door to the van slowly, because that one creaked a bit, but Drake was already getting in from the other side. Maybe he was feeling too confident after killing Jerry, but Clover had a hunch that everything would go according to plan tonight.

  He took a deep breath and grabbed the safety belt, about to strap himself in for the ride. Tonight, they’d eliminate the danger once and for all. He’d be free.

  “Where the hell are you going?” came from behind him, and he froze, letting go of the buckle and about to raise his arms in submission, but this wasn’t some secret assailant, a spy, or a cop hunting Jerry’s killer.

  Behind them sat Boar.

  “What are you doing here?” Clover whispered, turning around alongside Drake, who stared into the dark back of the van as if he’d just discovered vampires exist.

  “Yes. What are you doing in my van?” he asked and switched on the small light on the ceiling. Its glow brought Boar’s face out of the shadows, his eyes slits.

  “I have the spare key, since we didn’t take my car!”

  Drake took a deep gulp of air, and he tightened his hold on the steering wheel. “That explains nothing!”

  Boar scowled. “How is it that I’m the one who needs to explain himself? I couldn’t sleep, and I always calm down in a car, okay? No big deal. What’s your excuse?”

  Clover rubbed his face and turned in the seat to see Boar better. “Why do you need to calm down?”

  Boar rolled his eyes. “You’re changing the topic. And both of you are wearing kevlar.”

  Drake growled. “Boar, my patience is limited tonight.”

  “I was just nervous about everything with the Apollo guy, and what we did with Jerry today, and that we don’t really have a plan.”

  “We’ve got a plan,” Clover said. “And we’re going to execute it tonight.”

  Boar watched them in silence, his Adam’s apple working slowly. “Are you nuts? We know nothing, and this guy is some big player. Getting to him will be virtually impossible without preparation.”

  Clover swallowed, but Drake was as confident as ever. “We’ll just shoot him at a distance if we can’t get close. It’s not a big deal.”

  Clover nodded and followed up on that quickly. “Yes, exactly. We know where he is, and we’ve got a map of the zoo. It’s gonna be an in and out kind of thing.”

  Instead of relaxing, Boar’s eyes only got wider. “What? That’s your plan? The other guys don’t know, do they? Tank would never agree to this.”

  “That’s why he can’t know. Didn’t want to burden you with this either, but here we are,” Drake said in a low voice. “Now go to the rental, because we can’t go while you’re here.”

  Boar’s eyes were wide as saucers. “You’re kidding. I won’t let you do this. Clover... come on! You must see this isn’t the way to go about things!”

  Clover scrambled between the two seats and climbed all the way to the back of the van so that he could touch Boar. They would not have their mission thwarted because of this chance meeting.

  “Boar, babe, you’ve got to understand how important this is. We end it tonight, and we can get on with our lives.”

  The big chest rose and fell as Boar took hold of Clover’s arms, staring straight at him, as if
he believed there was room left for negotiation. “There will be no lives to get on with if those people get you. Drake, for fuck’s sake, how can you endanger him like this?”

  Drake spun around and clawed the headrest, his eyes shooting daggers. “It’s his decision. And I wouldn’t let anything happen to him. Safety isn’t always in caution.”

  Clover frowned, pulling on Boar’s beard to get his attention. “I want to do this. It’s my choice. You can either help, or leave, but if you tell Tank and Pyro about this, I will not forgive you.” His heart thudded at the finality of his own words, but he saw no other way. They weren’t sneaking out to Disneyland. This was life or death.

  Darkness flooded Boar’s eyes. “How can you say this?”

  Clover grabbed Boar’s hands. “Because it’s not a game. We need to do this, Boar, even if Tank says it’s a bad idea.”

  Drake shook his head and opened the door. “I’m gonna have one more cigarette. You two figure this out. You’ve got five minutes. If you don’t, I’m going even if I have to take a fucking Uber to that zoo.”

  Clover could sense Drake wanted to slam the door but had to stop himself from making noise.

  Boar pulled on Clover’s wrists as soon as they were alone. “I can’t let you do this, Clo. I love you. It’s too risky.”

  Clover looked straight at Boar. “If you love me, come with us and help end the bastard.”

  Boar’s lips tightened, and the yellow light deepened the appearance of little creases around his eyes. “That’s not fair, Clover. Why are you listening to Drake of all people? Doesn’t it matter to you that everyone else agreed attacking tonight made no sense? It’s suicide!”

  They didn’t have time for going over this again and again.

  “Are you in or not?”

  Boar swallowed, shaking his head. “Clover, don’t do this. Nobody’s saying you should give up on killing Apollo. Let’s just wait until we come up with an actual plan.” He looked at the wall of the van and lowered his voice. “Drake’s not himself when it comes to this. Don’t you see that?”

  “Do you have any idea how much suffering Drake’s gone through because of this guy? Of course he’s not himself. That’s why we need to be there for him. Before you guys, I always only looked out for myself, but that’s because I never cared enough for anyone else. When I think about what those people did to Drake, I want to see them dead. Don’t you?”

  Boar watched him for a long moment. His brows drew together, but just as Clover was about to continue with his tirade, Boar shook his head and let go of him. “I’ll go, because you two are going to die without someone halfway sane to back you up. Wait here,” he said, scrambling toward the back of the van.

  “You’re not going to tell Pyro, are you?” Clover watched Boar’s every move.

  Boar stilled, hand resting on the door. “I’d lose you if I told him, wouldn’t I?” he asked, and it stung Clover that he’d resorted to emotional blackmail against someone as sweet as Boar. But that was what would get the job done. Drake was right. It was always easier to apologize than ask for permission.

  “We really need to do this, babe. Everything else can wait until after. The clock’s ticking and an opportunity like this might not happen again. I’m scared, I won’t lie. Having you there will help, but Drake needs this. He’s been so terribly hurt. None of us can even comprehend what he’s been through, and I’ve been to some shitty foster homes. Drake’s hell needs to end.”

  Boar took a deep breath, contemplating their luggage. He opened his mouth several times but only spoke after a long moment of silence. “I was brought up in a house where family was the greatest value, but when push came to shove, I was left to fend for myself. What we have is important to me. I can’t lose any of you. So better make sure I don’t lose you tonight, Clover,” he whispered, and maybe it was a trick of light, but Clover could have sworn he spotted a damp glint in Boar’s eyes.

  Clover hugged Boar tight and kissed his cheek. “You won’t.”

  Chapter 11 – Boar

  The breeze carried the smell of dung, and Boar once again asked himself what in sweet hell pushed him to go with Drake’s insane idea when the official map of Raw Ranch Clover had downloaded from their website was pretty much all they had to go on in terms of planning. With the main entrance as their only waypoint, they’d skirted along the fence, to find a spot where solid wall had been replaced with thick mesh with barbed wire on top.

  He didn’t know about Drake, but he wasn’t yet ready to become roast boar if that fence was electrified.

  The area was quiet, even though Boar occasionally heard noises made by nocturnal species somewhere within the zoo, and the longer they stayed in this one area, the sharper his senses became. Hair rose at the back of his neck, enforcing the feeling of someone watching, even though there were no indications of immediate danger. They were just three guys stalking a tourist attraction after hours, and while there was security in place, it wasn’t as if the owners anticipated people trying to get in.

  Or so he hoped, but every single object his eyes discerned in the dark was still a potential threat, as was every noise, so Boar stiffened when Clover shifted in the grass a bit too fast.

  The boy wore a beanie to obscure his white hair, but that was hardly a precaution when they were about to attack the person who was on the lookout for him. Yet another reason to retreat, but regardless of his sweet face and a precious smile, Clover was an adult, and nobody could make his decisions for him. He’d worked hard to become a part of their team, he was twenty, he knew how to make a bigger man squirm by hitting the right spots on his body, and just earlier today, he’d killed a man.

  Boar wasn’t the poetic type, but he still thought of Jerry’s death as the final nail to the coffin of Clover’s innocence. There was no going back from that. But was this, someone else’s revenge, a good follow up? Did Drake absolutely have to draw Clover straight into Apollo’s claws? The level of danger would have been unreasonable for anyone with a brain and a bit of experience, but hate was clouding his brain. Boar couldn’t stop Clover. He couldn’t stop Drake, but he would be there to protect them.

  “Are you guys sure you want to do this? We can still go back and regroup. We don’t know what we’re even dealing with,” Boar whispered, but flinched when Drake sent him a venomous stare over his shoulder.

  “I know more than I’d like.”

  “It’s been seven years. Things must have changed since you last saw this guy. And for all we know, he might be here with a small army.”

  Drake hummed. “It’s been more than that. This guy trafficked me, but I haven’t seen him since I was thirteen.”

  Boar scowled. He didn’t want to confront Drake about this with unnecessary prodding. “Even more so. Let’s just wait in the car and follow them to wherever they’re staying. What’s the point of walking into the woods before checking out the freaking map!”

  Drake huffed like an angry dragon about to spout sulphur. “Clover’s got a map. Go home if you don’t want to do this.”

  Boar shut up. Maybe he should have woken Pyro up after all. This was why they worked as a team—to have more backup. Then again, Pyro wouldn’t have approved of this stunt. He’d have told Tank, and Drake would have cut out Boar’s Adam’s apple before having it for breakfast. Boar had gone through tough shit in life, but he didn’t even know a quarter of what had happened to Drake, yet could still imagine the need for revenge he harbored.

  But what was the point of attempting revenge in a hasty way that could get them all killed? “Clover has a tourist map. You can’t seriously think that’s enough—” His voice broke when he saw Drake produce metal cutters he always had in his van. Blood drained from his face when bits of the mesh parted, slowly but surely creating a hole big enough to crawl through. “Clover, come on. Be reasonable.”

  Clover faced him, and none of that fresh-faced wonder was left in his expression. Boar could only hope it was just the sparse light playing tricks on him. “Th
is Apollo fucker deserves to die. The sooner the better.”

  Drake didn’t even look back, crawling through the hole with such haste a stray piece of wire made a tear in his long-sleeve despite there being enough space to roll in without damaging clothes.

  For fuck’s sake.

  Boar was between a rock and a hard place, and when the wind combed back his hair, his mind went straight to the narrow bed he shared with Pyro at Jolene’s. He should have woken him up, even if Drake and Clover would have hated him forever. But it was too late to back out now. He needed to either think of the skin on his back or follow them into the lion’s den to ensure their survival. Between the three of them, there would always be more guns, eyes, and ears. He needed to keep that in mind if he didn’t want to go crazy.

  A hyena laughed at him somewhere in the distance, but Boar counted to five and crawled through the hole behind Clover.

  He stilled when the wire caught hold of his hoodie. The opening was clearly Drake-sized, and Boar wondered whether Drake hadn’t made it so small on purpose, but he chose not to engage in a verbal fight while they were already in danger.

  “I can’t believe you pulled Clover into this. We all know he’s not experienced enough, and that’s the second job you’re taking him on?” Boar growled, managing to drag himself through the hole once he rolled on his back and pushed with his legs.

  The rich scent of regularly-watered grass filled his lungs once he took a few steps away from the fence, but the fact that no one was shooting at them yet was no more reassuring than Drake’s erratic behavior.

  If the plants were well-maintained, then this couldn’t be a backstage area. They were in an animal enclosure, and Boar hoped it didn’t belong to a tiger. But when he accidentally kicked a stone, sending it across the grass, something moved, and Boar grabbed his gun, ready to save all their lives.

  His brain short-circuited when black figures leaped in the dark, but it was only when one passed on the background of the sky that he recognized them as antelopes and let his hand drop while his heart still worked overtime.