by C. Lymari
“I’m going to protect you, Petal,” he vowed when he saw what I had been looking at all along. I didn’t look at him until I heard the door. When I did, I saw it in his gaze—remorse. It all happened in slow motion; bad things always did. It’s like time stood still so it could stamp itself on your soul.
The door burst open, and Gideon tried to put himself in front of me protectively, but I removed my shoulder before he could touch me. I sidestepped him and stopped pretending to be something I wasn’t.
“If I would have known we would have company for breakfast, I would have dressed up.”
“Petal,” Gideon growled, a warning for me to keep quiet.
When I turned my head, my eyes met with the other guard who had been in the room at Sinestre. He was young, tall, pale, with gray eyes and chestnut hair. I’ll admit I didn’t see this coming.
“Hey, friends,” Gideon said. “I think there’s been a mistake.” He talked to the guy who had been in the room with us.
“Hayes,” someone called out to him. “Look at this.”
Other agents came at me, and they threw me on the ground, putting my hands behind my back.
I didn’t resist; I let them have their little moment. What I did do was crane my head to the side to see what the agents were talking about. They pointed to the bed that was smeared in blood.
Gideon ignored that part but gave them his Interpol ID. Just as I suspected, he was British intelligence.
His eyes met mine from across the room. The whiskey color that used to make me dizzy now burned. He waited, and wanted for me to start rattling some numbers, to prove my allegiance to a nation.
I bowed to no one.
I didn’t have a license to kill like him. I was born of a broken kingdom into the shadows of the new world, with the task of setting it right. I smirked at Agent Hayes as the other guard brought over the weapons we’d left in the bloody bedsheet.
“What can I say? We fucked like savages,” I smirked at the agent.
They took me away from Gideon. This wasn’t his domain; he had no say on what happened to me. It was okay because last night, when Gideon left me alone, I used the hotel’s phone to make two calls.
We took the elevator door down into the lobby. People looked, wondering what garnered a woman like me to be carried out at gunpoint. Quickly I scanned the place, and there he was across the hall. The broken prince—my protégée.
Safe house.
I mouthed the words at him, knowing he would leave this shithole and get himself to safety. There was no need for him to get involved. I wasn’t a damsel, and killers didn’t need a prince.
A blacked-out van was parked right at the entrance, and they loaded me into it.
“Isn’t anyone going to read me my Miranda rights?” I sassed.
Was I afraid? No, I wasn’t.
The ride was silent when we arrived at an undisclosed building. I feared things might not be what they seem.
They took me out, two agents on each side of me. It was now a waiting game to see what they wanted from me.
The room they took me into was bare, with nothing but dark tinted glass, a table, and a chair. As soon as we had walked in, they had my hands cuffed to the table.
They had yet to accuse me of what I was being tried with. Which meant they wanted something from me or they didn’t have enough evidence to hold me and were trying to see what I would say.
Two could play this game.
Hayes walked in, and it was clear that he was in charge of this mission, which struck me as odd since he was on the young side. He was handsome, detached—cold. He looked at me like I was scum.
“Fancy seeing you here.” I winked at him. I knew my charm wouldn’t serve as anything more than to piss him off. I didn’t know how I knew it, but I knew he was watching. I turned my head to the two-way mirror and stared.
“What’s your name?
“Usually, guys buy me drinks before they ask me that question, Hayes.” I let his surname roll off my tongue.
“I’m not playing games,” he spat.
“Neither am I.” I leaned back as much as the cuffs would let me and dropped my shoulders. The cuffs weren’t tight enough that if I wanted, I could dislocate my thumbs and slip out, but then that would be stupid. I would be stuck in a building full of agents.
“Why were you in the club?”
“Didn’t lover boy tell you?” I turned my head to the mirror. “He kidnapped me.”
“Why were you with Yorovich Morozov?”
I took a deep breath.
“I’d like to contact my lawyer. You have nothing against me, so you can’t hold me for long.”
For the first time since stepping into the room, the agent smiled. If anything, it turned his face even more lethal. He had all perfect white teeth with his canines a bit longer, making his smile wolfish.
“Daphne—can I call you Daphne? That’s what lover boy said was your name.”
I glared at him and didn’t bother to look at the mirror.
“We don’t make deals with terrorists.”
Oh, this was getting good.
I licked my lips and leaned forward. “Please enlighten me and tell me what horrendous crimes I have done to garner such a label.”
He went back to looking pissed off, then threw a folder in front of me.
“You’re going to have to help a girl out. It’s kinda hard to do things when I’m bound. I mean, next time buy me dinner before you tie me down and try to fuck me.”
The door burst open, and Gideon was there looking pissed.
“Stop playing with him, Petal. Give him what he wants and he’ll let you go.”
I didn’t acknowledge him.
“What is it you want?”
Hayes grabbed the picture and showed it to me. It was a picture of me from a few years ago with my father.
“What’s so special about this picture?”
Hayes heaved a sigh, and I felt Gideon’s angry stare.
I knew why Gideon was here. The CIA had supposedly abandoned torturing as a method of interrogation, and Gideon was their loophole.
“Ivan, alias the Russian Dragon. How do you know him?”
Dismissing the picture, I leaned back again. “I’m ready to be dispatched to some black ops prison.”
Hayes looked murderous. “You want your girlfriend freed? Get her to talk.” He stormed out of the room. It was all for show, making me think I had privacy with Gideon while everyone was watching us.
I refused to look at him, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t aware of his every move. He stood behind me, his chin coming to my shoulder. He took a deep breath, and it felt like he was trying to comfort himself.
“Come on, Petal, give them what they want. It’s the only way I can keep you.”
My throat felt heavy, and my eyes burned. Keep me? Was that all I was? A fucking object to be passed around from man to man.
“You want me to be a rat?”
“I want you to be out of here so I can show you that you’re mine.”
Right, I was his. He’d decided this for me.
“Sit across from me, and I’ll tell you what you want.”
It was brief, but I felt him kiss my cheek softly like he was happy. I complied with his demands. Gideon sat across from me. He wanted the truth? Well, if he wanted that burden, it was on him.
“I was eight years old the first time I was sold.” His eyes widened with surprise because this was not the truth he wanted. “Ivan wanted to run a pipeline through the Middle East. He offered money, countless favors, but the sheikh had all of that and more. What he did have were very selective tastes, and let’s just say a little girl that looked like winter with the youth of summer was his taste.” Gideon’s eyes were burning up, but I forced myself to look at him no matter how much it was killing me to go back to the beginning. “One night for one line.”
“Stop,” he said.
“He tied me up so I wouldn’t hurt him. My wrists were bound and my l
egs spread. My first time was with a man forty years my senior. His fingers dug into my bony legs, but that pain was nothing to what would come. He tore through me, making me cry in pain. My little body shook—I wanted to die. So vicious and violent, I didn’t even feel human. Thrust by thrust, he stripped me of my innocence, making me forget about my humanity. I was a little girl who begged for her parents. I begged for my mother, pleaded for my grandmother, I wondered why my fucking father would sell me for one night.”
Gideon let out an audible gasp at my admission.
“Stop.” His voice was gruff.
I didn’t stop. “He had me from dusk till dawn, and he made sure to take his fill.”
Gideon got up and threw the chair across the room. “Stop.”
I didn’t even flinch. My heart was pounding in my chest, but one thing was clear now. I knew what my destiny was. I now knew what I was supposed to do to avenge not only myself but my babushka. It was time to make everyone pay.
“It doesn’t matter what I give you on Ivan because he’s dead, but before he died, he sold me to Yorovich.”
Gideon didn’t even look at me. I didn’t give him the chance to ask any more questions. I kept talking. He wanted the truth—I hoped it was sharp enough to cut him.
“The agent you were looking for was a double agent. His real name was Adrik.” He turned to me, his eyes shining with hurt. “I don’t know much, but I do know someone from your agency was helping Yorovich.”
“Tell me everything you know, and don’t fucking lie to me anymore.” He seethed. Part of the anger wasn’t even because I’d lied to him. He had to have known that all along. He played himself by turning me in.
Ignoring Gideon, I leaned my body forward, dislocating my thumbs, biting my lips so I wouldn’t cry out in pain. Gideon noticed when I pulled my hands out but waited to see what I would do. The door opened, and Hayes walked into the room. I looked at the camera and pulled my sleeve down, revealing my S tattoo.
“I want to speak to Smith or Walsh. You have twelve hours before they come for me.” I fixed my thumbs, put my hands in front of my tilted my chin, and stood quietly while I waited for them to cuff me again.
Hayes looked at Gideon. “Let me guess, Walsh is your director.”
Gideon’s jaw was set, but he tipped his head, his form of admission.
Both men left the room angrily. My face was stoic as I stood there, thinking of all the moves I had made since landing in Chicago.
I went to look for Adrik because he had gone missing. He was an MI6 operative, but his true alliance was to the Sekt. He had discovered a link between someone in his government and Yorovich. My guess was that Yoro wanted to hit the Estacados from another angle since he couldn’t overpower them here in Chicago. Controlling London would be the first step. Now usually, this wouldn’t be a problem, but he’d excluded the Sekt from his plans.
The one thing the head of the Sekt hated above all was when people double-crossed him. I couldn’t prove it had happened, at least not yet, but giving him White’s head was a nice apology on my part for leaving Yorovich’s estate.
When I’d called Bas, I gave him the location of where I was staying. I’d also asked him to deliver a message to Damian. I knew Damian, and he would want proof of the carving. Like the pompous ass he was, he would demand Bas to get it for him, and in return, Bas would trade the picture for a vote. With his face, his background, his training, he was all but guaranteed a seat at the round table.
That’s how you killed two birds with one stone. When I called Damian, all I said was to be on standby because I would need his help soon. I hung up, and Bas was going to do the rest. Once he completed the task, our rendezvous point was my safe house in Sweden.
I believed things happened for a reason, and everything that was happening was predestined. I always knew I was destined for something bigger than myself, and love was not for someone like me.
I closed my eyes, remembering every moment with Gideon, knowing this was as close as I would ever allow myself to get with a man. I couldn’t afford to get attached to him or to anyone. I belonged to no man, but let all men have me. I was a whore who didn’t work for money, but favors and secrets. I lapped up their confessions then killed them with lies.
Taking a deep breath, I remembered his kiss, his touch, the way he felt like sins and blessings on my skin. I thought of last night, and when I exhaled, I let him go. In a few hours, Damian would contact the head of the CIA and MI6 and blackmail them. Unless they wanted their secrets exposed, they were going to have to let me go.
The good guys wouldn’t win, but justice would still prevail.
Laws were meant to be broken because governments were corrupt, and kingdoms looked out for their crown and not their people. There was no perfect system, and in the shadows was where I lived.
They forbade me from seeing Daphne. The orders came from high above, leaving me to wonder about whom exactly I was serving.
Savage were the nations that killed for their secrets. Savage the men who abided by their own rules. Savage were the kingdoms that abided by no laws, who lived in harmonic chaos.
In savage kingdoms was where my Petal thrived, and savage I already was. The only thing I needed was to be lawless.
Something had felt off since I stepped foot in Chicago. It felt like I was on a wild goose chase. The little information Daphne gave me only confirmed my suspicions. The crown I served was corrupt, cracked. Why bow to a kingdom that didn’t respect its subjects?
Daphne could run, but there was no place in her savage kingdom she could hide.
Death was patient, and so was I.
Goodbye
Saying goodbye is the easy part, for you can’t hold on to something that was never yours. It’s the torturous memories that hurt you every time you think of them. They creep on your mind, stab at your heart, confusing what’s right and what’s wrong.
—Daphne
Location: London
Leaving behind everything I knew was easy. I wasn’t the same man I had been a few months ago. The invisible leash I had around my neck was broken. I no longer had to follow the rules, and there was something incredibly satisfying about that.
I had to watch my back now more than ever. Still, over the years, I had amassed a reputation, and now that I was lawless, nothing was stopping me from causing destruction.
Agents didn’t just get to quit. When you were terminated, a lot of the time you died. You became a liability, and governments couldn’t have them. One wrong word and an empire came crumbling down.
Before my departure, I gathered all the information I could that would break our crown and stashed them around the world with people I trusted. If they sent someone to kill me, those secrets would be unleashed, causing havoc.
I guess it made me a traitor, but I didn’t see it that way. Why do we blindly follow corrupt governments? I was just playing their game, but I was doing it better.
I tried to be more careful whenever I was in London, but my new job brought me here.
Xander Yates owned the house I was looking at. He wasn’t my target; one of his associates was. Every last Friday of the month, Yates threw parties where he let his host sample his goods.
Yates was a respectable businessman with a fascination for stolen virgins.
I was doing a perimeter search to figure out where to go in through. I needed an in; once inside, I could blend in.
“I wouldn’t go in through there if I were you.”
My body locked up at that voice. It was still soft with a raspiness that made me get hard in seconds. The last time I saw her, I betrayed her. Our game of lies came crashing down on us, but I think it was time for a new game.
“We could kill some time while we wait for an in. Wanna take a quick ride, Petal?” I turned around with a grin on my face, trying to hide the excitement I felt at seeing her again. She was still fucking gorgeous. She looked like a goddess under the moonlight. She was all in black, her hair in a braid that went to h
er side, with some kind of shiny headband that seemed rather odd on her head, but it didn’t take away from her beauty.
“I’m not in the mood to be disappointed,” she said before she turned around to walk away.
I watched her walk away, the sway of her hips while I bit my knuckles. I could stand here and pretend like every move I’d made after Chicago was all for me, but I wasn’t a fan of lying to myself.
It was all for her.
I ran up to catch up to her. Holding on to her elbow I turned her around to face me.
“Missed you, Petal.”
Her face stayed blank. “Funny, I didn’t know you could miss something that was never yours.”
I tipped her chin up, forcing her to look at me. “Baby, we both know I own you. Deadly attraction like this is not one-sided.”
“It will be after I kill you,” she said right before she raised her foot, hooked it behind my knee, and took me down.
She was on top of me, straddling me with fake disgust on her pretty face.
“It’s okay. I love tasting your lies, having them run down my chin.” I licked my lips, and her eyes followed the movement. Her eyes took me in; she was allowing herself to see me for the first time tonight.
Her head cocked when she looked at the tattoos on my neck, and then her gaze trailed down my body. I brought my hand to remove stray hair from her face when she took hold of my wrist before I could touch her. She inspected the broken crown and the word mad that was tattooed on my knuckles.
“Why are you here?” She got up without another word to me.
“Business,” I told her.
She looked me up and down again. “Stay out of my way, and I’ll stay out of yours,” she said before running to the window that led to the basement—the one I was going to go in through.