Out of Plans (The Mercenaries #2) (19 page)

“Maybe not,” he said in a quiet voice, staring out across the busy street. “But I
know her
, Law. You know that, you saw it.”

“Do you also know that she has nightmares?” Kingsley's voice had gotten so soft, his accent was almost undetectable.

“Nightmares?”

“Yes. She talks in her sleep sometimes. For a while, it was a nightly occurrence. It got to the point where I simply slept in her bed. It was the only way either of us could get any sleep. Don't worry, nothing rude about it, just a friend comforting a friend. They went away, eventually. Or she got better at dealing with them, I've never been quite sure. But I do know one thing,” Kingsley told him.

“What?”

“Ivanov may have scarred her, but you
damaged her
. And as the months ticked by, I had to watch her lie to herself, even as she looked for you. Trying to convince herself it wasn't about you anymore. Stupid girl, it never stopped being about you.”

Marc wasn't sure what to do with that information. Being blunt was part of Kingsley's nature – he always called it like he saw it, especially when it came to Marc and Lily. But it was still an awkward conversation to have.

“Yeah, I finally caught onto that, when she pointed a gun at me yesterday,” he said.

“Ha! Good girl, glad to see my training hasn't entirely gone to waste. Look, I'm not trying to stake a claim on her, or something. I've never fought over a woman, and I don't intend to now. Especially when the woman in question has such poor taste in men,” Kingsley went on. Marc punched him in the shoulder. “But she is the closest thing I have to family, De Sant. I care about her, very much. Just to see her smile, I would gladly shoot you in the kneecap. So if you hurt her again, I'll kill you. And if you make anymore ridiculous mistakes like you did yesterday, if your idiocy gets her injured or killed, I swear to god … death will seem like a welcome relief in comparison to what I will do to you.”

He wasn't joking. Marc knew that Kingsley had received training from the CIA and special ops agents on different forms of torture. He genuinely knew how to make someone pray for death, and Marc didn't doubt that he would practice those techniques on him.

“Understood,” he replied.

“Is it? Because if not for her, I would have shot you yesterday, De Sant. Your actions were completely unacceptable. I told her we were going to leave you behind, and for the first time since we started working together, she went against me. She may believe in you, but I do not.
Don't fuck this up,
” the Brit growled through clenched teeth.

“
I won't
. My head's been up my ass, ever since Colombia, and -”

“Ever since Africa, mate.”

“
And
I have been very painfully made aware of it. Won't happen again.”

“
Good.
”

They fell silent again. Kingsley had his head turned to the side, but when Marc glanced at him, he could see a vein throbbing in the other man's temple. He was very, very angry, and working very hard to keep it in check.

“Hey,” Marc said, smacking him in the arm. “Today is a new day, and like it or not, we're all together again. So let's at least act like we're friends who've known each other for years, and pretend that there isn't this whole weird thing about a girl between us, alright?”

Kingsley snorted, but then he chuckled.

“Friends is being a bit generous, wouldn't you say?”

“You fucking love me. That's why you're always saving my ass – who else would you have to annoy?”

“Good lord, my life just got infinitely more depressing.”

“Would you really have shot me yesterday?” Marc asked. Kingsley laughed again, then started walking towards a crosswalk.

“Let me ask you this,” he started, waiting at the curb for the lights to change. “If you had to watch her get shot at close range by a twelve gauge shot gun, and you knew it was my fault, would you shoot me?”

Marc scowled.

“Well, it makes sense when you put it that way,” he grumbled.

“Exactly.” With that, Kingsley strode into the street. Marc went to follow, but Kingsley held up his hand. “You keep an eye on her! If she's not done in twenty minutes, go in and get her.”

Marc grumbled to himself and turned back to the patio, eyeballing Lily and the drug lord. He was on babysitting detail. Not only was he back in business, but he was low man on the totem pole, in a team with a surly hitman who might actually hate him a little, and a redhead who had the ability to turn him inside out.

Great fucking choices, De Sant. Just pray that all of you can get out in one piece.

Lily sat quietly while Damiano took a phone call and prattled away in Spanish. The cafe was noisy and bustling around them; she would have preferred somewhere more private to conduct their business, but Damiano wanted to remain mobile. After fulfilling his obligations to her team, he would be leaving Miami.

“Alright, your British friend gave me quite an extensive list,” Damiano started as soon as he hung up his phone. “I will arrange for a large amount of weapons and ammunition to be left at a designated spot for your team. Anything else you need, please, just let me know.”

“It sounds like Kingsley pretty much covered everything. Do you have the list he gave you?” she asked. A piece of paper was produced and she took it from him, her eyes skimming over the items.

“I've already called a few people and have some of the guns on their way, you took longer than your friend – Kingsley? – expected. We had lunch. He's very funny, and surprisingly, we had a lot in common. I must say, though, I find it unusual that he's gotten himself involved in your little adventure,” the drug lord chuckled to himself.

“Why?”

“Because he seems smart.”

“Screw you.”

“He told me he's never so much as taken a job for Mr. Stankovski, has had nothing to do with him, yet he is chasing him all around the world. Why is that? He's not getting paid. Very strange,” Damiano sighed. Lily nodded.

“It is. I guess he's a better friend than he is a mercenary. He won't let me go alone, and I like knowing he has my back, so it works out well,” she explained.

“All these men, falling all over themselves for you. If you ever want a real man, please, give me a call,” he flirted with her. Lily laughed.

“Very tempting, Mr. Ledo, but no thank you.”

“I'm very serious. I could take care of you better than Mr. Law, and I could pay you better than any job you might take,” he assured her.

“But what if I'm terrible in bed?” she warned him. His eyes traveled very slowly over her form.

“Then I would be very surprised, but teaching someone is always fun, too.”

“Okay, enough,” she leaned forward in her seat. “I'm super glad you and Kingsley had lunch together – did you make him the same offer?”

“No.”

“Pity, he probably would've taken it.”

“Sadly, I'm not partial to blondes.”

That got her to laugh.

“I think we're wasting time here, sounds like Law took care of everything. Did he specify a car?” she suddenly thought of that little fact. Stealing a car in the U.S. wasn't as easy as it was in third world countries, especially in a big city. The car would be reported quickly, and then any highway patrolmen could stop them. She didn't want that hassle.

“No, he didn't, but I'll make sure one is left there for you,” he promised.

“Something with space, obviously. Nothing too crazy,” she suggested.

“I will find something suitable.”

“Thank you again,” Lily said, standing up and holding out her hand. “I know we got off to a rough start. Sorry I crashed your party.”

“Don't be sorry, it's worked out well for us, and I'm oddly intrigued by you, Ms. Lily. It's not often I meet a woman who isn't either afraid of me, or isn't trying to seduce me. A very novel experience,” he assured her, then shocked her by kissing the back of her hand.

“So you're leaving Miami? Back to Colombia?” she asked as they walked towards the entrance of the restaurant.

“No, that home is too well known. I have a little hideaway that I've never told anyone about, I'm going to make use of it for a while. Try to gain back control of my business,” he explained.

“Ooohhh, a hideaway. Anywhere exotic?”

“If I told you, it wouldn't be very hidden, would it?”

“Touché.”

“Remember what I said, Ms. Lily,” he stopped her when they got out onto a sidewalk. “My offer is very real. You don't have to live life in the gutter, fighting for every dollar. I could give you a very comfortable living, being with me.”

“Meanwhile, I would make life for you very
un
comfortable. Both times we've been around each other, both of us have almost gotten shot. That's why I'm leaving right now, before the bullets start to fly, or someone blows up the building. You don't know me, Mr. Ledo. I didn't get here by being all peaches and cream,” she warned him.

Damiano Ledo was a tall man. Not quite Kingsley's height, but taller than Marc, and quite a bit taller than her. He had to lean down to press his lips to her ear, and she shivered as she inhaled his expensive cologne. His hand came to rest gently against the back of her neck.

“But you see, that's what I like best about you,” he whispered, then she felt his teeth biting down hard on her earlobe. From behind her, she heard someone clear their throat, and she realized Marc was witnessing their little exchange.

She didn't get a chance to respond. Damiano pulled away from her, winked once, then walked way, snapping his fingers as he went. All four bodyguards appeared out of nowhere and swarmed around him, loading him up into an SUV with blacked out windows. As the car started to move forward, the back window rolled down and he bowed his head at her.

He may be a very bad man, but he's charming to the point of distraction.

“Looked like an
interesting
meeting,” Marc said, his voice overly loud. She laughed and turned around.

“It was pointless, Kingsley took care of everything for us. I kind of think Damiano just wanted to say goodbye to me,” she replied.

“He wanted to buy you.”

“Hmmm, very tempting,” she sighed, then ducked when he went to smack her in the back of the head.

“Now you have to find your other boyfriend, he's pouting on the beach,” Marc informed her. She groaned.

“Which way did he go?”

“Just across the way, you can see him from here.”

“What did you say to him?”

“Me!? I was all sunshine and lollipops, sweetheart. Law is the one with the attitude this time.”

“I find that hard to believe. Five minutes, then we're getting the fuck out of here.”

Lily jogged across the street, dodging around cars. Kingsley wasn't actually on the beach, but standing at an overlook point. When she came up next to him, he had a cigarette between his lips and was patting down his pockets, searching for his lighter.

“Why didn't you tell me you'd already worked stuff out with Damiano?” she asked, standing in front of him and putting her hands on her hips.

“I wanted some alone time with our new teammate. Besides, I got the distinct impression that he wanted to see you again,” he answered.

“I could've just taken a walk, we didn't need to waste his time,” she pointed out.

“And deny the man a chance to see your face, just one last time? I could never be so cruel, darling.”

She rolled her eyes.

“He seemed more enamored with
you
. He said you're funny.”

“Really? Well. He can't be all bad, if he has such exemplary tastes,” Kingsley chuckled, his hands moving to his back pockets and digging around.

“I was thinking it made him worse, knowing his sense of humor is so poor,” she teased.

“Watch it. It was a lovely lunch. Nice to sit down with a civilized human being for once. Use a salad fork properly. Discuss pocket squares, that sort of stuff,” he grumbled, actually opening his jacket to look in his inside pocket. Lily snorted and stepped closed to him, pulling a simple Bic out of her pocket and flicking it on. He smiled and leaned into her, lighting the end of the cigarette.

“Did you try to scare him off?” she asked bluntly. He glanced at her and pulled back from the flame, but didn't step out of her space.

“No. I don't think I could scare De Sant even if I wanted to. I just cleared some things up.”

“You encouraged me to go get him,” she reminded him. He nodded, taking another deep drag.

“I know. You need him.”

“I don't nee -”

“
You do
. Needing doesn't equal weakness. You're both so stupid, I don't know why I bother. Either way, he's here, in theory to stay. I knew I had to make peace with that, and to do that, I needed to have a
chat
with him,” he explained, smoke puffing out between his clenched teeth.

“Are you all
chatted
out?” she snapped.

“As I'll ever be. He and I are good. He understands the rules, as it were, and the consequences.”

“Good.”

She went to move away, but Kingsley grabbed her arm and held her in place. For a moment, she was afraid that she was in for a repeat of the previous night. But he didn't move any closer.

“Though it has occurred to me – have you thought about what will happen after?” he asked. She was confused.

“After what?”

“After you kill Stankovski. After you end all of this, accomplish your goal. We've certainly never really talked about it, and I think it's safe to assume you haven't discussed anything with him. What's your plan?”

Lily paused for a long time, staring off into space over his shoulder. So many things, always wondering and worrying about them all. Stankovski, diamonds, Marc, killing, surviving. Always running a race. What would happen at the finish line?

Plans …

“You know what?” she started, gently pulling free of his grasp. “
Fuck the plans
. If I live through this, I'm winging everything from here on out.”

Kingsley's laughter followed her as she turned away and headed back across the street.