Mercenary (6 page)

Drawing to a stop in front of a set of
barricades, I evaluated the ten men on guard, displaying SISA riot
gear. Behind them, a block away, was an armored vehicle blockade
with some serious firepower and beyond that, a metal gate topped
with barbed wire and probably sporting some serious security
deterrents I wasn’t able to see from here.

“Cleon,” I said. “This is an official
blockade. I suggest, before I smash through it, you do what you do
best and see if you can’t get us in another way.”

“I’ll handle this,” he said and opened the
back door of the van.

I put the vehicle in park then leaned down
to grab weapons, just in case Cleon’s political sweet talking
didn’t pan out. He approached the SISAns with his hands up and
began to talk. Several minutes later, one of them radioed back to
someone else. Cleon remained where he was, and my eyes stayed glued
to the situation.

A full ten minutes later, two armored cars
drove through the second layer of blockades to us. Two men dressed
in purple exited the lead car.

“Oh, thank the gods,” Dosy said when she saw
them. “It’s the Queen’s royal guard.”

Cleon led them to the van and opened the
back doors.

The two men bowed deeply to the teen girl.
“We thought you dead, Your Majesty!” one exclaimed. “Praise the
gods!”

“Screw the gods,” I muttered under my
breath.

Dosy slapped my arm before she got out of
the van and circled it to act as the intermediary between the mute
Queen and her guards.

Within seconds, everyone was hurried out of
the van and toward the awaiting cars. I hung back, eyeballing the
SISA guards who lifted their weapons when they saw how well armed I
was.

“Hey, Niko, can I have the keys to the
van?”

Dosy’s question drew my attention from the
nervous SISAns. “Why?”

“Does it matter?”

“If you don’t want to tell me, yeah.”

She sighed. “I have to go somewhere.”

“In this mess?” I asked.

“It’s important.”

We stared at one another.

“I don’t know if I’m coming back,” she said
in a hushed tone.

“Want company?” I asked casually. “I’m
pretty good at surviving shit storms.”

She almost smiled for the first time
tonight. “No. If I don’t make it back, promise me you’ll watch over
Tommy. And the Queen. We’ve never met the DC arm of the royal
guard. I don’t trust anyone here yet.”

But you trust me to protect
our son.
“Done,” I said. I handed her the
keys without another word. I couldn’t begin to imagine where she
was going, but I found myself looking forward to spending time with
the boy I never wanted.

Dosy pocketed the keys and strode away from
us, back through the barricades, and to the waiting van.

I watched her for a moment before facing the
car my son was in. I slid into the backseat beside him.

“Phoibe says we’re safe now so not to
worry,” Tommy told me matter-of-factly.

I glanced at the Silent Queen on Tommy’s
other side. I didn’t trust her any more than I did Cleon, although,
she appeared to be fond of Tommy. If Cleon’s plan failed, then
maybe the strength of the relationship between the Queen and Tommy
would offer my son some protection from what was going on outside
of DC.

Tommy slid one of his hands into mine. The
knife I’d given him protruded from the pocket of his jeans.

“What’s this mean, Daddy?” He touched the
tattoo of a winged foot displayed on my neck. It was the mark of
Hermes, the patron god of mercenaries.

“It means people hire me to do jobs they
don’t want to do,” I replied.

“Like dusting the house?” he asked. “Mommy
hates that.”

“Something like that, kid,” I said, the
corner of my mouth lifting in a smile.

One of the guards closed the car door,
extinguishing the light.

“Will Mommy be okay?” Tommy whispered.

“Yeah,” I lied. I had no idea what she was
doing or whether she was coming back. I didn’t think Tommy needed
to hear the truth after his rough night.

We were whisked away from the barricades and
towards the compound, everyone except Theodocia, who, for some
reason, had somewhere else to be.

My hand closed around Tommy’s, and I
couldn’t help thinking again about where I’d been at his age. There
was a time when it was smarter to keep my distance from him; that
time had burnt to the ground with the rest of the world. Cleon was
right. We were on the cusp of an existence very unlike the lives we
used to live where we had to learn to survive both the wrath of
gods and the ruthlessness of men. I didn’t belong in Tommy’s life
when the world was safe, peaceful and secure.

But in this world, I was the right kind of
dysfunction to keep Tommy alive. I’d do whatever it took to protect
him, even if it meant working for a man like Cleon.

Theta Beginnings Miniseries

Silent Queen (Available now)

Mercenary

Shadow Titan

People’s Champion

Non-Series – 2014 & 2015

Black Moon Draw (about a reader sucked into
her book)

Highlander Enchanted

The Door

Water Spell (2016)

Dragon Tear (2016)

Trial Series

Trial by Moon

Trial by Thrall

Trial by Blood

Trial by Heart

Super Villainess Chronicles

It’s Not Easy Being Evil

It’s Complicated

(untitled)

Lost Vegas Novellas
– young adult post apocalyptic

Aveline

Tiana

Arthur

Black Wolf

History Interrupted
– Time Travel Romantic Adventures

West

East

North (2016)

South (2017)

Omega Beginnings Miniseries – individual
episodes

Alessandra

Mismatch

Phoibe

Lantos

Theodosia

Niko

Cleon

Herakles

Omega Beginnings Miniseries – complete
set

Theta Beginnings Miniseries (2016)

Silent Queen

Mercenary

Shadow Titan

People’s Championi

Omega Series

Omega

Theta (2016)

Alpha (2017)

Starwalkers Serials (with
Julia Crane) –
new adult science fiction
serial

Severed

Trapped

Exiled

Revealed

Escaped

Heart of Fire –
sexy dragon shifter

Charred Heart

Charred Tears

Charred Hope

Incubatti –
Buffy meets 50 Shades

Zoey Rogue

Zoey Avenger

Rhyn Trilogy –
new adult paranormal with demons

Katie’s Hellion

Katie’s Hope

Rhyn’s Redemption

Rhyn Eternal –
Death finds love

Gabriel’s Hope

Deidre’s Death

Darkyn’s Mate

The Underworld

Twisted Fate

War of Gods –
paranormal with gods, guardians and exceptional
humans

Damian’s Oracle

Damian’s Assassin

Damian’s Immortal

The Grey God

Damian Eternal

Xander’s Chance

The Black God

Hidden Evil –
paranormal with angels and four
horsemen

Hear No

See No (2016)

Speak No (2016)

Unnamed Series

Unnatural (2016)

Unmade (2017)

Omega

Omega

Theta (2016)

Alpha (2017)

Anshan Saga –
new adult science fiction romance

Kiera’s Moon

Kiera’s Home (novelette)

Kiera’s Sun

Santa’s Ninja Elves (short stories)

Natasha & Hunter

Non-series titles – 2011 - 2013

Star Kissed

A Demon’s Desire

The Warlord’s Secret

Maddy’s Oasis

Rebel Heart

Witchling –
young adult paranormal

Dark Summer

Autumn Storm

Winter Fire

Spring Rain

Broken Beauty
Novellas –
new adult dramatic
fiction

Broken Beauty

Broken World

Voodoo Nights
-
young adult paranormal

Cursed

Chosen (2016)

Writing as SE Reign, erotica writer

101 Nights

Claimed

Tainted

Crushed

Volume One Box Set (Serials
1-3)

Tempted

Captured

Twisted

Volume Two Box
Set

Cornered