“How long have we known each other now, Nix?” she asked, grabbing his arm to stop him from continuing on. “The most invested I’ve ever seen you in someone’s training was T?cut, and that was only because he’d been empty in the beginning.”
Back when he was an integral part of the Lotus Society, Kit had overseen a number of subjects for training, making sure their skills were up to par before they ever left the ‘school.’ For those that failed—and there had been many—some were allowed a second round to try and prove themselves, the others were taken out.
Each member of the Wild Bunch had their own faults, and Kit couldn’t recall a single easy training session with any of them, but T?cut had been different. From the very moment he was brought in, he had been difficult.
Not in the sense that he lashed out at anyone that came near him, but rather he had remained huddled in a darkened corner, refusing to do anything but stare at nothing.
Ever so often, however, he could be seen over video feed rubbing the brand that was burned into the flesh of his arm.
Only one word: t?cut.
Romanian for silent—the name had stuck because there was nothing else to call him.
It wasn’t until much later that Kit even realized his vocal cords had been removed, leaving him without a voice.
Even if he had wanted to speak, he couldn’t.
Two more months of searching had provided him with an answer to the man responsible.
As he had for Luna, Kit delivered the man to T?cut, but with him, he had allowed him the privilege of killing his tormentor himself.
No, with Luna, he had wanted to do it for her.
Avenge her.
“It was incentive,” Kit said to Aidra, though he knew that was a lie. “And besides, I wanted to see how she would fare in the face of carnage.”
And face it, she had.
A part of him had worried what her reaction would be. There were times she reminded him of a broken little thing that was afraid of her own shadow, others she had a backbone of steel.
She had shown him that Uilleam was right in giving her the opportunity at something more. Not only had she watched him work, but she hadn't looked away either—not once during the thousand cuts that he delivered to Benjamin's body.
“Did she pass your test?”
“We’re training today, aren’t we?” he asked in lieu of an answer. “Not to mention, I don’t remember me asking this line of questioning when you invited Fang into your bed.”
They had tried to hide the affair since it started nearly a year ago, back when he first started bringing the Wild Bunch around more often.
As long as their work wasn’t affected and he didn’t have to suffer through tedious fights between them, he didn’t care what they chose to do with their time.
“And is that what this is?” Aidra asked, surprise lighting up her eyes. “You’re interested in the girl?”
“That’s not what I said.”
They were nearly to the stairway leading into the lower level of the house when Luna came around the corner, her gaze behind her so she didn’t notice them straight away, giving Kit a chance to study her.
It was amazing the difference time could make for one’s health. Already, she had gained weight, though she was still a touch too thin, and the sallow pallor to her skin was nearly gone.
She almost looked like an entirely different person.
Kit couldn't for the life of him remember a time when he had noticed women's athletic wear—he hadn't cared for it one way or the other—but his gaze was drawn to the way the skin-tight pants hugged her legs and the barest hint of the strap of her bra peeked out beneath the shirt she wore.
“Right,” Aidra said in Welsh, the barest trace of a smile on her lips as she spun on her heel. “You definitely didn’t say that.”
“This is your doing,” he said right back, though he never took his eyes off of Luna who was now looking at him with interest—probably wondering what they were saying.
“Don’t blame me when the mind and apparently, the body, are weak.”
She disappeared before he could respond, Luna looking after her as she folded her arms across her chest, self-conscious. Kit knew it was rude to keep her in the dark, especially since their conversation was essentially about her, but he thought it best to keep it to himself.
“Are you ready?” he asked her, taking her down the stairs, around the pool and across the way from the room they had been in the night before.
This one, too, had a heavy metal door, the inside padded to keep the sound from echoing. There was a table that spanned the width of the room, and on the other end were five paper targets hanging against the wall.
On the table spread out before them was a dismantled handgun, along with an M16 on the other side.
“I was going to ask what the first lesson of the day would be,” Luna murmured as her gaze darted around the table.
“Practice, remember,” he said, “you’re still learning how they work. Sit”