“I guess the Kingmaker found use for you after all. In this, I assume, you’re good at doing what your told.”
Luna didn’t respond.
“Oh, but she was a sad little thing once you were gone. After all, I had to find someone new to keep my interest. No one could hold a candle to you, I’m afraid. Not even your precious Cat, though she has been of good use.”
Her grip on the gun tightened, but she was careful, very careful, not to react to his goading.
“I won’t ask a second time.”
“You’ll never be anything more than a whore,” Lawrence spat at her. “The only difference is now you’re a whore with a gun.”
Luna struck without warning, sending the butt of the gun into Lawrence’s face, feeling the satisfying crunch of cartilage.
Now, it was her turn to smile. “That makes all the difference in the world.”
Barely catching himself with his hands, his grunt of pain masked by mocking laughter. Looking back at her with hate-filled eyes, he said, “By the end of this eve, I’m going to fuck you bloody.”
Aiming her gun lower, “The first one will go in your cock.”
“Fine,” he said, a bit too agreeably. “I’ll take you to her.”
Lawrence struggled to his feet, holding his hands out when she raised the gun a little higher, but he didn't try anything. Not yet. Instead, he pushed a rolling bookcase out of the way, revealing a door behind it.
He didn’t hesitate in entering, bright light spilling out, but Luna was a bit more hesitant as she followed, not sure what to expect.
But what she found …
Now the nausea returned, bile clawing its way up her throat.
She couldn’t help but notice the smell first—the sharp tang of blood mixed with the foul odor of someone soiling themselves—but once she found the source of it, she couldn’t believe her eyes.
There was a woman tied up with intricate ropes, binding her limbs to her body, hooks pierced so deeply into her skin that purpling bruises outlined them, and the rope twining between them all kept her suspended in the air.
Not a single inch of her was bare of bruises or cuts or dried blood.
And though it had been a year, and even as her hair had been crudely shaven, Luna could tell it was Cat hanging from the ceiling.
Shock had settled over her, but she was snapped back to the present as Lawrence laughed, the sound a bit manic.
“She was a masterpiece,” he said almost reverently, as though he expected her to take as much enjoyment in this as he did.
He was fucking sick.
Looking in his direction, seeing the satisfaction that oozed out of him, the first pinpricks of red spotted her vision.
Tossing the gun away, she didn’t watch it clatter to the floor, sliding across until it was nearly on the other side of the room, but Lawrence did. He was practically calculating the time it would take him to get it before she did.
She only watched him.
“Do you know why I like knives?” Luna asked, drawing in a deep breath as she pulled one of the blades gifted to her from Uilleam free, flipping it open with a quick twist of her fingers. “It’s harder to kill with them.”
Kit hated the plan the moment he’d heard it.
He understood the need for it—men like Lawrence were easily panicked and should he have arrived with Luna, the man would have been less likely to go off with her alone.
Lawrence had to make sure that his future prey wouldn’t be escaping him as opposed to one that might have a significant other looking for them.
No, every part of Kit understood the reasoning—even knew that Luna could handle herself.
It was that fucking dress.
A dress that she didn’t need to be wearing unless it was in the privacy of his bedroom. Yet, there she went, hips swaying in that natural way of hers that had his cock hard and his need for her pounding away in his head.
But beyond his desire for her, he was more concerned with how well she would process the events of the night.
Aidra had already shaken her head at him earlier saying, “She’s distracted you,” before they had even left the penthouse. Kit would be the first to admit that he was distracted, but not enough that it compromised what he knew needed to be done.
But what a lovely distraction she was.
He didn’t think there was anyone that captivated him as much as Luna.
“I don’t see why you’re so worried,” Aidra said glancing at him. “If I recall, you sent me to take out a Columbian drug lord. Alone.”
“If I recall, you nearly died in the attempt, and I decided it was best to avoid unnecessary hindrances. This assignment, as personal as it is, is already enough of a challenge for even the most experienced.”
Aidra was silent a moment before she said, “She’ll never walk if you only let her crawl.”
Kit glanced at his watch again. “You’re missing the point.”
“And you’re making excuses,” Aidra returned.