Nix. (Den of Mercenaries Book 3) (32 page)

I
n the cold
hours of the night, I think of you when sleep evades me. I'd once believed there was no cure for my insomnia until you came into my life.

I didn't want to believe, not at first, but during those many nights I spent with you, my mind was quiet, my thoughts clear.

Do you remember the nights we spent on Efate Islands—you asked me for a truth I had never told another person? I told you about my desire to sleep as I had when I was a boy.

Now, my answer would be different.

I wish I could sleep as I did when I was with you. Is it selfish of me to say I wish you were here—that you were the only thing keeping me sane?

You were a great many things to me—a lover, a consort, and often a confidante, but I miss you because out of everyone in my life, you were my friend, and I have very few of those.

Yours,

Uilleam

The minute he’d finished the note with a scrawl of his name along the bottom, Uilleam tossed the pen on the desk, watching some of the ink splatter along the dark wood. He sat back with a sigh as he scrubbed a hand down his face, feeling a bit restless as he tried to focus.

The ease in which he worked was lacking as of late, the pressure he was under making him feel as though he were drowning beneath the weight of it. It was in these moments that he drew out the small square of black paper and penned another note to a woman that would never read them.

Once the ink was dry, he tucked the page away within a small box in his desk, locking it back when he finished.

It was unhealthy, he knew, this obsession he had with penning his fleeting thoughts, but the need to keep her alive, if only in his own mind was too great to ignore. And it almost,
almost
, made him feel like the black thing in his chest could beat once more.

So for now, he entertained the foolish notion that this act was helping him—that it allowed him a brief reprieve from the grueling tasks he had ahead of him.

Even in death, she was like a balm on his soul.

“Sir?”

Shifting only his eyes to Dominic, the lone man willing to engage him when he was in one of his moods, Uilleam nodded for him to continue.

“Someone is requesting to speak with you.”

In his current state, he would have much rather played another game of chess alone, matching wits with himself than to entertain another sniveling man complaining about his lack of power.

They never understood the sacrifices once they had the very power they craved.

Uilleam waved his fingers, a silent command to reject the call—or just hang up as he was prone to do when he wasn’t in the mood.

Dominic didn’t heed it. “The caller says his name is Elias, sir.”

Finally.

Finally
.

The moment he’d been waiting for.

This time when he lifted his hand, he was eager for the feel of the mobile phone hitting his palm. It was only a matter of seconds ago that he had contemplated venturing somewhere to ease the rage he was feeling, but now delighted anticipation thrummed inside of him.

“I believe I gave you too much credit,” Uilleam said when he had the phone to his ear. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you this soon.”

There was silence, then, “Well, you couldn’t have thought I would ignore your blatant disregard for proper business, could you? Truthfully, Uilleam—you don’t mind terribly if I call you Uilleam, do you?” the man asked, his tone dripping with condescension—the sound of it making the urge to do murder rise in Uilleam. “As I was saying, you’re not nearly as interesting as you presume yourself to be. But now that you have my attention, I thought it time we met, wouldn’t you?”

That was exactly what Uilleam wanted.

How long had he waited now just to learn the man’s name, and even then, it had taken one of his mercenaries to find that out. But once he had it, there was much that could be done with a name.

Elias was good at covering his tracks, only allowing few deals to be linked to him, but those Uilleam had found, he had made it a point to get the other man’s attention.

And once he grew tired of playing, Uilleam was going to have him killed viciously.

“Give me a time and a place.”

No matter what answer Elias threw out, Uilleam would agree. There wasn’t really a question as to his safety—he had a number of mercenaries on call.

“The Royal Eve at seven-fifteen tomorrow evening. I’ll have someone find you.”

He ended the call before Uilleam could get another word in, and had he not passed the phone off the second he heard the trio of beeps in his ear, he would have launched the fucking thing across the room.

Control, he had to remind himself.

It was all about control.

And with the progress he’d made, he couldn’t afford to lose it now.

He knew why that particular restaurant had been chosen. It was where he had gone with Karina during his attempt to glean information from her in regard to an investigation she was launching into one of his clients.

It seemed only fitting that his thoughts of her had also resulted in him venturing back to a place that he had once shared her company.

Had he not remembered the way she loved the place, he might have burned the place to the ground just so he wouldn’t have to think about it being
there
that he had last seen her.

“Dominic, ready the jet. I have a stop to make before tomorrow’s meeting.”

“Right away, sir.”

* * *

S
and was sinking
into his shoes with every step he took, the gritty feel of it a nuisance, but Uilleam didn’t complain. No, he was too focused on the man he had come to see.

Dealing with someone like him, Uilleam had to be prepared for whatever mood the man would be in.

Most of his mercenaries flocked to cities, disappearing within the crowds, and the one he had come to see was no different. If one didn’t know any better, they might have thought him like any other beach bum that spent their days in the water.

At least until they took in the sheer size of the man.

After his retirement, Uilleam hadn’t made it a point to call on the man for any favors, not needing his particular expertise—back when he was still under a contract and obligated him to follow orders.

Skorpion had never done well with following authority.

As Uilleam cleared the side of the rather large beach house, coming around to the front, he could just see the man he had come to talk to coming up the beach, a surfboard beneath his arm.

Even at a distance, the man looked like a threat. He was big and imposing, whether he wanted to be or not, and had Uilleam not gotten a few assurances beforehand, he might have worried how his unwelcome intrusion would make him react.

“Whatever it is,” Skorpion said the moment he was close, “the answer is no.”

“Are you always in such a welcoming mood?” Uilleam asked, standing his ground.

“For you? Yes. You weren’t my handler then—you sure as shit aren’t my handler now, so leave before I have a mind to do it myself.”

“I thought we made quite a team, you and I, all those years ago.”

“Yeah?” Skorpion stuck his board in the sand, walking over to a small booth that worked as an outdoor shower and turned it on. “That was then.”

It had been Skorpion that travelled with him—his personal security until the very end when he’d fallen in love with a Parisian girl, only to lose her soon after. Uilleam hadn’t known her, never cared to, but whatever hold she’d had over Skorpion had caused him to sever his contract and walk away.

“It’s only one meeting,” Uilleam said, wanting to clarify. “You’ll even be home in time for dinner.”

“Still not interested.”

Head cocked to the side, Uilleam asked, “Is it a matter of getting a babysitter on such short notice?”

The shower cut off then, the door creaking open as Skorpion came out from behind it, his mouth set in a grim line. He didn’t address the fact that Uilleam knew his secret—that shouldn’t have been a surprise considering who he was—nor did he threaten him should he ever share that information with anyone.

His presence in front of Uilleam was threat enough.

“You’re done here.”

“Even if my meeting is with the man that harbors the man who stole the girl’s mother from you?” Uilleam went on, seeing the way Skorpion’s hand twitched. “I’ve recently been able to move pieces around and see what I couldn’t before.”

Uilleam wasn’t one to forget debts, and had it not been for him and Luna, Uilleam would have died the night the Jackal had come for him. If he could bring the man some peace, he would, even if he hadn’t been asked.

“If vengeance is what you want,” Uilleam offered with a wave of his hand, “I can give it in spades.”

“But only when you allow it, isn’t that right?” Skorpion shook his head. “If this were about permission, you would’ve led with that.”

“If you aid me, I will gladly give you leave to do as you wish—but
only
once I have what I need.”

That was the best he could offer the man, especially since he couldn’t say if it were even possible to acquire the information he wanted, especially when he wasn’t sure how this meeting with Elias would end.

“Let me get something figured out for Soleil,” he said with a glance at his house, then back to Uilleam. “Still doesn’t make me a part of your Den.”

No, it didn’t, but Uilleam was very good at bending people to his will.

* * *

L
ocated
at the corner of Brix and 14
^th
, the Royal Eve was a rather quaint restaurant meant for lovers. It was to this place that Uilleam had brought Karina, though at the time, he hadn’t anticipated that she would become something far more than he could have ever imagined.

Or that she would die …

Already seated at a table in the far corner of the main floor, Elias Harrington didn’t appear concerned in the slightest by Uilleam’s sudden appearance an hour early.

But once Uilleam got his first look at Elias, he didn’t much care how the man felt because an internal clock had begun to tick.

There was only a matter of time before he was no longer a problem.

“Elias, it’s nice to finally put a face to the name. You’re a bit …
smaller
than I expected.”

Though condescending, his words were true. Elias couldn’t be more than five-eight, if an inch. Nor was he particularly built, but rather slight of frame. He looked like any other man that was average with a power complex.

Had he not witnessed first hand what the man was capable of, Uilleam might have been disappointed.

“A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Uilleam,” Elias returned, but he didn’t look pleased.

His smile was too tight, his posture too stiff for the man to feel comfort as he stood a mere few feet from Uilleam—a man he had spent years trying to destroy.

For once, Uilleam didn’t take pleasure in someone’s discomfort around him.

Elias’ gaze skirted to Kai as he stopped a few steps behind Uilleam. He didn’t have to speak, letting his presence and sheer size speak for him.

“You asked for a meet,” Uilleam said as he took a seat. “Here I am.”

“Did you know,” Elias started, “three years ago, I was able to clear thirteen-point-four million in profit?” With nothing but time on his hands, Uilleam chose to entertain him. “I would be impressed if that number was significantly higher. But we can’t be all good at what we do, can we?”

“Do you recall what
you
were doing three years ago?”

Uilleam lost his smile. He remembered all too well.

“
You
were recovering from five bullet wounds. I’d hoped you would cease to be a problem for me then, but—” Elias shrugged, gesturing at Uilleam with a wave of his hand, “—you’re still here, unfortunately.”

Uilleam remembered all too well the feel of the heated metal tearing through his flesh. Worse, that pain had only multiplied as more bullets plugged their way into his chest. It was an agony the likes of which he never wanted to experience again.