Mercenary Read online

  I snapped my head around to stare at him, remembering at the last second to close my mouth before I could question him in front of the other wolf.

  The challenger crossed his arms and rocked back on his heels, an odd gesture to see in a guy that stocky. “Now would I ask you for a challenge fight here? At a racino?”

  Liam didn’t answer that. He just waited, silently. Staring.

  After a few seconds, the other shifter snorted. “Need to hear the words, huh? Typical brass. Fine, I acknowledge here, in front of witnesses, this is not a challenge fight.” He rolled his eyes. “Like I’d want your job,” he muttered.

  Liam inclined his head toward the ring. “After you…?”

  “Rafe.”

  Liam nodded and started unbuttoning his shirt. “Liam.”

  I did an incredible job holding my mouth shut. It wasn’t just the surprise that Liam had agreed to what would apparently be a no rules, last man standing sort of brawl in a fight club. It was also the sharp sense of deja vu that came over me as I stood there watching him strip from the waist up.

  I’d always thought it was a little unfair the way people talked about shifters tearing their clothes off at the drop of a hat. But I had to admit that I’d seen Liam’s bare chest an awful lot for someone who still acted like I might stab him in the back at any given moment.

  He folded the shirt and held it out to me. “Hold this for me? I’d rather not get blood on it.”

  I almost pointed out that my Cinderella spells would take care of any blood or rips, but the words wouldn’t come to me. Instead, I took the shirt, still staring at his bare chest. “Sure,” I managed.

  As he walked to the ring, Peasblossom crawled up to sit on my head. “No scars on that one.” She drummed her fingers on my scalp. “A little weird this Rafe just struts up and asks for a fight. Liam isn’t the most subtle man, and if his energy is enough to scramble your brains like a fried cricket then you’d think he could feel it too. Is he looking for pain? Maybe he has some goblin blood?”

  “He works for Katie.”

  I jumped, my heart in my throat and my magic burning a path to my fingertips so fast and so strong that I had to flex my fingers to cope with the sudden ache. One hand was already up when I spun around to face the goblin that had spoken.

  The goblin from the ring wore a T-shirt that was three threads away from being un-wearable. At one time it had been black. But now it was a dusty grey with a logo I couldn’t read emblazoned in a splatter pattern across the area that used to cover the right pec but now hung closer to his navel. His jeans hadn’t fared much better, and he was covered in bloody patches from the top of his blond hair to the bottom of his bare feet. Some blood was his, but considering the state the giant had been in when he fell, I was guessing most of it wasn’t.

  Goddess, what is his name? I broke his arm yesterday, I should know his name.

  “Who’s Katie?” Peasblossom demanded. She’d plastered the front of her body to the top of my head when I jumped, and I could feel her heart pounding against my scalp. “And what’s he do for her?”

  Broken Arm inclined his head toward the row of tables to the immediate left of the arena. A tall redhead with wild, bouncy curls that brushed her shoulders sat at the table, her gaze focused on Liam and Rafe as they entered the ring. “Katie’s the witch. Rafe is hers.”

  “Hers?”

  “Her lover. One of them. They come here to find alphas for him to challenge to a fight.”

  Unease rolled down my spine. Since Broken Arm didn’t seem to be in a threatening mood, I lowered my hand and glanced toward the arena. Liam and Rafe were circling one another, letting themselves adjust to the energy of the ring, the rush of adrenaline that came before a fight. Rafe’s eyes gleamed, growing three shades lighter as his beast rose closer to the surface.

  “It’s not a challenge fight. They said so, formally.” I shook my head. “I’m sorry, what’s your name?”

  “Kendrick.” The goblin leaned closer, and sniffed my skin. I narrowed my eyes and he backed off. “She doesn’t want him to challenge them officially. She wants him to fight them. She wants to learn how they fight, what their strengths and weaknesses are. She sells the information.”

  Peasblossom slid down from my head to land on my shoulder. “That’s grey hat, that’s what that is.”

  Kendrick shrugged. “Nothing illegal about it. She gathers that sort of information on everyone who fights. All of it available for a price.” He tilted his head. “Not all that different from what Flint does with you, really.”

  “I’d heard there was a wizard here who liked to be the one in charge. Does he know about Katie?”

  The goblin frowned. “You mean Stavros? Of course he knows about Katie. He gets her intel for free, that’s why he allows it.” He snorted. “Stavros knows everything that goes on around here.”

  “That’s right.”

  I jumped and whirled to face the speaker, magic buzzing against my palms. A man stood behind me, a smile curving his lips below a thick black mustache. He wasn’t very tall, only five-foot-six or so, and there was a lazy confidence in his body language that looked out of place among the monsters in the room.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met.” I gathered my wits as best I could and held out my hand. “I’m Shade Renard. Mother Renard. You must be Stavros Rosso?”

  The wizard’s smile broadened and he accepted my handshake. “I am. Lovely to meet you, Mother Renard. What brings you to my humble establishment?”

  His eyes glanced from me to Liam, a knowing glint in his eye. I forced myself not to react, but it was more than a little disturbing that he’d apparently been watching me.

  “I’m looking for a baobhan sidhe. His name is Nathan. Do you know him?”

  The wizard frowned. “There are baobhan sidhe who come here, but I don’t pay them much attention. They’re here to drink the blood of those who fight. I’m more interested in the fighters themselves.”

  I winced as Peasblossom tugged on my hair, trying to get comfortable where she perched on my shoulder. “How about a centaur named Stasya? I was supposed to meet her a couple weeks ago on May 17th, but she never showed.”

  “Sounds like Stasya,” Stavros agreed. “When the urge to battle hit her, wild horses couldn’t keep her out of the ring.” He laughed at his own joke, then nodded. “She was here. I remember because that was a rough night, even for her.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Well, Stasya was never one to hold back during a fight, but that night she seemed particularly…aggressive. She fought three rounds in a row with different opponents, and she would have gone a fourth if they hadn’t had to carry her out of the ring for the last one.” He shook his head. “She must have had another fight with her boyfriend. That always drove her a little battle-crazy.”

  “They fought a lot?” My heart pounded, adding to the background noise of the club. I had to lean in to make sure I didn’t miss Stavros’ answer.

  “They’d been fighting a little more recently,” he agreed. “Seems her employer was getting increasingly frustrated with her relationship with his brother.” He leaned in too, speaking conspiratorially despite the noise. “She was dating an ifrit. Those boys are known for having hot tempers.”

  He chuckled again at his own joke. I didn’t.

  “So Stasya and Charbel were fighting about his brother?” I pressed. “When was the last time you saw them?”

  Stavros’ brow furrowed. “Now that you mention it, it has been some time. Stasya hasn’t been here since…” He frowned. “Huh. I don’t think I’ve seen her since that night, now that you mention it. That’s odd, Stasya was a regular.” He paused as if remembering something. “I wonder if she went through with it.”

  “Went through with what?” I asked.

  “The last fight I overheard between Stasya and Charbel, Stasya said if his brother had such a problem with Charbel dating one of his employees, then maybe she wouldn’t be his e
mployee anymore. I thought it was an empty threat at the time.”

  “Why empty?”

  “Because maintaining employment was a condition of her citizenship here.”

  “Employment with Aaban’s company, or employment with anyone?” I pressed, trying to tamp down on my growing excitement.

  “It could be employment with anyone, but Stasya’s skill set was rather specific. Not to mention that Scoria Security is the one who paid for her to come here, so I can’t imagine she’d have left them already. My fee is not insignificant.”

  “Your fee?”

  He nodded. “Stasya had some difficulty with her paperwork. Aaban came to me and fortunately, I was able to help.”

  I stared at him, trying to process everything. “You arranged for Stasya to come to this country. To work for Scoria Security?”

  Stavros’ eyes glittered and he focused on me with more intensity than I was strictly comfortable with. “Why does that surprise you?”

  “Someone mentioned that you do a lot of work for Underhill, Scoria’s main competition. I’m just surprised you would—”

  “Play both sides?” Stavros suggested. “I am not a judgmental man. I will help anyone who asks for it. Assuming they can meet my price,” he added.

  The wheels in my head turned so fast, it was hard to keep up. “Have you done any other work for Aaban? Any contracts?”

  “I’m afraid my contract work is confidential,” Stavros said smoothly.

  “You must do good work if Ian Walsh was willing to overlook the fact you helped out his number one competitor. One might argue his only real competitor.”

  Stavros snorted. “Oh, he wasn’t happy. But Walsh is too busy staying squeaky clean to keep his precious government contracts to raise too much of a fuss. He barely deigns to come here unless he’s rousting one of his newer employees from the ring. Between you and me, he thinks he’s too good for this place.”

  Another thought struck me, so obvious I kicked myself for not thinking of it before. “Have you done contract work for Ian Walsh?”

  A sudden ruckus by the bar drew Stavros’ attention, and he narrowed his eyes. “As I said, my contract work is confidential. Now if you’ll excuse me, Mother Renard. It seems there’s a situation that needs my attention.”

  “Did you put a binding on Roger Temple?” I blurted out, staring hard at his face, trying to read his expression.

  I’d expected him to keep a straight face, to hide his emotion. Instead, he scowled. “You continue to ask me these questions no matter how many times I tell you it’s confidential. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say someone has been besmirching my reputation.” He leaned closer. “I will not speak about my contract work. Do not ask again.”

  I pressed my lips together in frustration as he left in an indignant huff. I had so many questions.

  “My brother told me about last night.” Kendrick stepped closer, invading my personal space.

  I jumped. I’d forgotten about him. “Last night?”

  “With the fire elemental.” He licked his lips. “Will you fight me?” He gestured toward Liam and the wolf. “When they’re done?”

  I swallowed past the sudden lump in my throat. “I’m working, so I’m afraid I’ll have to decline.”

  “Yeah, Asher mentioned you were working. He said there’s a lot of fun to be had in your vicinity right now.” His red eyes gleamed. “Are you here to arrest someone? Do you think they’ll resist?”

  “No, I’m here looking for a witness.” I looked at him. “Were you here the night of May 17th?”

  The goblin tilted his head. “Maybe. My nights run together, if you want the truth. Did anyone die that night?”

  “Not here. I’m looking for someone who saw a female centaur, her name was Stasya.”

  The goblin’s eyes lit up. “Stasya! Oh, I know her. She was always fun.” A smile curled his lips, revealing his sharp bottom canines. “She could take almost as much damage as a goblin.” He met my eyes. “Let me tag along on your case, and I’ll tell you everything I know about her.”

  “I appreciate the offer, but I’m afraid I have to decline. I’ve already got a partner helping me.”

  The goblin tilted his head. “I hope you’re not expecting him to get information from that wolf. I heard what he said, and if Liam doesn’t win, he gets nothing.”

  I glanced toward the ring, wincing as Liam drove a fist into the other wolf’s solar plexus. “I like his chances.”

  The goblin wrinkled his nose. “In a fair fight, sure. But he’s never going to beat Rafe when Katie’s helping him.”

  I jerked my face back to stare at him. “What?”

  “It wouldn’t work on the night of an official fight when they have people scanning for spells,” he clarified. “But there’s no one like that here today. I’m sure she gave him the talisman.”

  “What talisman?” I said sharply, grabbing what was left of the front of his T-shirt.

  The goblin’s red eyes burned and he leaned into me. “The talisman acts like temporary steroids, increasing his strength, dulling his response to pain, giving him more energy. It makes him almost twice the man he usually is, physically speaking.” He took another step toward me, leaning in until my knuckles dug into a deep cut across his left pec. “But the clever part is that it’s all temporary. Once he leaves the ring, he’ll feel the brunt of everything he shook off during the fight.”

  “So he comes out of the fight looking as he should, and everyone assumes his performance was just adrenaline,” I finished. “That is clever.” I narrowed my eyes. “It’s also cheating.”

  “Well, they won’t stop the fight for you,” the goblin pointed out. “And your boyfriend might be good, but so is Rafe. And with that talisman, Rafe is better.”

  My stomach bottomed out. He was right. Liam was surging forward, delivering powerful blows that by all rights should have left Rafe on the ground wheezing for breath. But the shifter met Liam’s blows with his own, and while Liam’s punches drew grunts from the other wolf and slowed him down, they didn’t stall him out. And as I watched, Rafe landed a punch to Liam’s temple that snapped the alpha’s head to the side.

  Liam hit the ground with a bone-jarring thud. I couldn’t breathe, could only stare at his chest, watch it rise and fall, trying to gauge the damage. Rafe’s foot came back and he kicked out, aiming for Liam’s ribs.

  Liam rolled away at the last second, then shoved himself to his hands and knees. His eyes twitched back and forth, and I noticed the tightness in his neck. He was hurt, but not out. But the goblin was right. He wasn’t going to win this fight as long as his opponent continued cheating.

  “You said there aren’t any rules, right?” I asked Kendrick.

  He shrugged. “You can’t join the fight, if that’s what you’re asking. Beyond that, no.”

  I nodded. “Right, then. Peasblossom?”

  The pixie darted to hover in front of my face, her eyes shining with anticipation. “Talisman?”

  I nodded grimly. “Talisman.”

  I didn’t watch Peasblossom fly for the arena. I had every confidence she could find the talisman on Rafe, and could get it off him. Considering that her skills had been honed along with my own during the last month, there was even a decent chance her glamour was good enough that most people in the room wouldn’t notice her at all.

  But right now, my concern was the witch.

  The woman the goblin had indicated sat in a chair at the table closest to the arena, and I saw her lips moving as I came closer. I didn’t know if she was casting a new spell, or renewing the talisman. Or maybe just murmuring encouragement to Rafe.

  I didn’t care.

  “Tell me, do you cheat because he can’t win if you don’t, or do you just like to see what you can get away with?” I asked.

  She didn’t take her eyes off the arena. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Go away.”

  Before I could respond, something dangled in front of my eyes, somethin
g the size of a small coin hanging from a delicate chain. I smiled and held out my hand to catch the talisman. “Thank you, Peasblossom.”

  Peasblossom clapped her hands as she hovered in front of me for a second before perching on my shoulder. “That was fun. And it’s already made a difference.”

  I looked back into the ring, bracing myself for what I might see. Liam still looked bad. I couldn’t make out much detail behind the curtain of blood over his face, but considering how fast he healed, if he was bleeding that much, it wasn’t good. I held my breath as Rafe pulled his arm back, tight fist aimed at Liam’s jaw.

  Liam struck first. I barely saw him move, wouldn’t have thought he could in the condition he was in. But his fist struck Rafe just beneath his arm pit. The other wolf choked on a breath and his eyes bulged as he tipped over.

  Katie sat up straight, both hands braced on the table. I saw her shake her head and lean forward, squinting.

  “Looking for this?” I asked.

  She whirled in her chair to look at me, her gaze locking onto the talisman dangling from my grasp.

  “I suspect without this, your friend is going to take quite a beating,” I said lightly.

  The witch stared from me to the talisman, her cheeks turning bright red with rage. She raised her hand, and I felt the warning build of energy as she called her magic.

  “We can fight right here if you like, but if that’s the route you choose, then everyone will know about your talisman. Who will fight Rafe then? How will you get all that juicy information to sell?”

  “What do you want?” Katie seethed.

  I put the talisman on the table and covered it with my hand. “There was a centaur here two weeks ago. Stasya. She was here all the time, just like you, so you must have known her.”

  “I know her. What of it?”

  “Tell me about the night of May 17th. I want to know what she said, what you know about her. Who she left with.”

  The witch clenched her teeth. “She was here. Fighting, as usual. She took a particularly bad beating from a troll, and they had to carry her out.”

  “Who carried her out?”

  “I didn’t know them. But the guy giving the orders was an ifrit.”