“What happened?”
Not once in the years since she had been an official part of the Den had Luna ever failed on an assignment. And though she knew she should have been focusing on what Z was saying beside her as they observed the police going in and out of the building, her mind was seized on thoughts of what Andrei had been telling her before someone silenced him.
“He knew who I was,” Luna said, dragging her gaze away from the scene before her and to the man at her side. “Not because of the Den though.”
But because of the warehouse.
There was only two that she had ever confided in about that place—Kit and Uilleam, and only the latter because he asked. She didn’t like to talk about it, or remember, and she preferred only allowing people to know about the her she had become once Calavera was her name.
And because of that, she never thought she would have to tell the story again.
Taking a breath, Luna gave him a rather condensed version of the truth before adding, “And he thought The Kingmaker sent me because of what he did at the warehouse, but I don’t know why he would think that.” Truthfully, she didn’t understand anything.
Zachariah frowned, narrowed eyes turning to Luna. “This warehouse, do you remember where it was, or anything familiar about it?”
“Not really. I think it was by water—I could always hear the waves crashing. I never saw much of it, not until someone set it on fire.”
And even then, all she could remember was the smoke and flames, and not much else.
Zachariah was silent, lost in his thoughts, but he looked troubled. “Something isn’t right here.”
No, it really wasn’t. “What do you want me to do?” Luna asked.
“Report to the client,” he said, straightened his hat and turned for the car. “Inform them of what’s happened. Your work is done.”
With no other choice but to nod, Luna walked in the opposite direction, maneuvering around the crowd to her bike. Thankfully, she’d had the foresight to park well away, so there was no trouble driving out of there without drawing attention to herself.
The penthouse was empty by the time she made it inside, but was secretly glad—the last thing she felt like doing was telling Kit about what happened. Of course she couldn’t get into specifics, but she still felt the urge to talk to him about it, if only because he could offer some clarity.
Luna was doubtful there was much he hadn’t seen over his long career as both assassin and facilitator, so it was possible that he had experienced a similar situation.
Tossing her keys on a nearby table, Luna headed straight for the bathroom to hop in the shower.
She wasted no time washing the blood away, scrubbing her skin clean until it was sensitive to the touch.
Her mind was on Andrei and the mystery behind the man when she heard the shower door open a moment before she felt Kit at her back, his hands sliding along her hips.
And almost instantaneously, she relaxed. There was always something comforting about having him near—the one person that could make her thoughts go silent, if only for a short while.
“You’re going to make me regret this decision, aren’t you?” he asked next to her ear, turning them so his back was to the raining water.
Smiling as she spun in his arms, she followed a few droplets of water with her fingers, dragging them across the flexing muscles of his abdomen. “What decision?”
“To allow you to take on these more dangerous jobs.”
Luna’s hands froze in their descent as she looked up at him, frowning. “What do you mean by allow?”
But she knew before he even opened his mouth, and worse, he didn’t express any guilt over what he had done.
“Did you get some kind of say of the assignments Z gave me?”
“Don’t be upset,” he said back rationally.
Rationally, as though he had any right.
“You told me you wouldn’t interfere, promised me.”
“And I haven’t. I merely made a suggestion.”
She put a hand to the center of his chest as he attempted to draw her closer. “Do you really want to argue semantics? And how did you even know about what happened today?”
“After the unfortunate incident with my brother, I took precautions.”
Precautions? “Meaning, you’re having me followed?” Of course he was, it would be just like him to do something like that. “By who?”
“Does it truly matter?” he asked, allowing her to retreat, turning to duck his head beneath the water. “You’re already angry with me.”
“Should I not be?” Luna asked, eyes gone wide. “I’m not a child, you know.”
“And I’ve never alluded to otherwise. This is for your protection, after all.”
“Then why not tell me about it?”
“Because I knew this was how you would react.”
Ignoring that, she asked, “Who’d you send?”
“Luna, you’re being irrational.”
“It’s a simple question—one you’re avoiding.”