“Jeepers! I’m glad you took it easy on me,” he said, giving Hunter a too-innocent smile.
It took a moment for Hunter’s vision to clear, and the pounding in his temples warned he was going to have a bitch of a headache later. He ignored the kid’s hand, rolling to one side and rising to his feet. He walked toward Herc.
“Fine, you slipped in a ringer. Very funny,” he said coldly. “Cute little ninja tricks won’t save him from a block of C4 in his gut.” He bent to pick up his jacket, then glanced at the assembled bodyguards. “Next time you have a fucking nuke you want disarmed, call some other asshole.”
Herc clamped his hand on Hunter’s shoulder. “Did they blow up your sense of humor, too?” he asked, and Hunter felt a stab of fresh grief.
“Yeah, they did. They took everything that fucking mattered, all right?” He couldn’t keep the bitterness out of his tone.
“I guess the question is, do you want any of it back?” The kid had joined them, his expression serious now as he gazed up at Hunter. “Or are you okay with feeling this way for the rest of your life?”
Hunter stared down at the kid in disbelief. “You don’t know a damned thing about what I feel,” he snapped. “You sure as hell don’t care either. If you’re supposed to be my babysitter, then you’d better understand up front I don’t like fucking mind games. All I want is to go back where I belong as soon as I can.”
“That’s good, because I don’t play fucking mind games,” the kid said, dropping the “golly gee whiz” demeanor that made him seem even younger. “As for knowing how you feel, well, I was stationed at Camp Victory in June 2011, if that tells you anything.”
Hunter narrowed his eyes, wondering if the kid was having him on, but without the wide-eyed look, it was easy to see he was older than he seemed at first. “Yeah? So you’ve seen people blown to shit too. Good for you. Welcome to the last fifteen years of my life.”
“Welcome to the lives of pretty much every man in here,” the kid said, encompassing the room with a sweep of his arm. “You’re not special. So again, the question is do you want to spend the rest of your life feeling the way you do right now?”
Drawing himself up straight, Hunter glared at the kid. It was on the tip of his tongue to issue a scalding rebuke. The men in this room may havebeenmercs once, but Hunter wasstillone and probably would be until it killed him. It was all he knew and all he had left. They could take his life, but no one could ever make him not a merc.
But instead he focused on a vague curiosity. “What do you care anyway?”
“I care because we’re going to be working together for a while,” the kid said, still watching Hunter with an unwavering gaze. Although his posture appeared relaxed, he was alert and paying close attention to Hunter. “My current mission involves surveillance, and frankly, I don’t want to be trapped in a van with fucking Eeyore for hours every night.”
“Then complain to your boss, not to me,” Hunter said, shrugging. His anger had faded back into a sense of weary resignation, and he looked at Herc. “That’s the deal, right? If I can get through this little exercise of yours without going batshit crazy from Suzie Sunshine here, you’ll tell Matthew and John I’m fine to return to duty?”
Herc glanced at Payne, then back at Hunter. “That’s the general idea,” he said. “If you don’t want to do it, you could always resign from L&G and join another outfit.”
Hunter made a disparaging sound. “I wouldn’t work for any of those chickenshit outfits,” he growled, and he meant it. He respected Matthew and John, and the men in his outfit were like brothers. He didn’t want to work for anyone else. Not even Herc, but it seemed he didn’t have any choice. “Fine.”
“Welcome aboard, partner.” The kid held out his hand again, giving Hunter a challenging look. “You can call me Payne or Pita. I answer to both.”
Hunter could only stare at the kid in disbelief, and then he shook the kid’s hand.
“That’s not even funny,” he said. “It’s the story of my fucking life to get stuck with partner who’s literally a pain in the ass.”
A wicked gleam appeared in Payne’s eyes, and a mischievous smile curved his lips. “Oh, honey. You havenoidea,” he drawled, and Hunter heard the Lowcountry in his voice.
“But I bet I’m going to find out, aren’t I?” Hunter was tired, having had enough of strangers and demands and expectations he didn’t want to face. “When do I start?” The sooner he began this farce, the sooner it would be over.
“Let’s say Friday night,” Payne said, his demeanor turning business-like. “That’ll give you a couple of days to flip to the night shift. We’ll meet here at seventeen hundred and proceed to the site.”
“Fine.” Hunter picked up his bag. “I’ll be here.”
He walked away, heading out of the gym. He’d originally considered working out before heading back to his hotel, but he no longer felt like it. This was only a temporary stop on his way back to the field, and he didn’t care to get to know any of the bodyguards. He didn’t want to make friends, and he didn’t want to play nice.
What he wanted was his best friend back, and that was the one thing he could never have.
* * *
Payne watched Hunter go,more concerned about this new mission now that he’d met his “trainee.” He looked at Herc, his expression somber.
“I’d like to talk,” he said.
“Of course,” Herc said. “My office?”
“Yes, please.”
