With that, he and the other two Mercs headed for the door.
Rona went with them.
She glanced back at Brundage on the stage. The little man probably would have liked to leave the Common Hall too, but the crowd was already pressing in around him, blocking his escape.
CHAPTER 31
Outside, the sun was sinking lower in the sky, stretching long shadows from the western hills and the crooked roofs of the surrounding hovels. The streets were quiet. Everyone was inside the Common Hall. Everyone except Rona and her three Mercs.
They walked as they had the first time Rona had seen them, in a triangular formation with Aeron at the front and the other two walking side by side a few paces behind him. The only difference was that now Rona was walking in the middle of them. It felt good being surrounded by such large and deadly men. It made her feel safe, protected.
But there was a problem.
Thus far, none of them had talked about the days to come, aside from a few vague references about reporting to the nearest chapterhouse of the Mercenaries Guild. There had been no discussion regarding what would become of Rona or the child she was now incubating in her womb. The last time that topic had come up had been three days ago in the holding cell with Aeron, when he had laid the whole situation out for her.
And that shit simply wasn’t going to fly.
Rona stopped walking and pressed her fists against her hips. She expected the Mercs to stop after a few paces, but they didn’t. They continued on ahead of her, not once breaking their stride. Rona waited until they had traveled about ten yards before calling out to them.
“Hey!”
The Mercs halted and turned around to look at her. They were quite a sight in the late afternoon sun. Three massive soldiers with broad shoulders and bare, muscled arms, their augmetically enhanced eyes glowing redly within the shadows of their hoods.
“Yes?” Aeron asked.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Aeron jerked his head back in the direction ofthe Talionis
“To the ship,” he said. “Where else? Job’s over. Time to go home.”
“What about me?”
The Mercs didn’t answer. They just glanced back and forth at one another for a moment, then they fixed their eyes on Rona again. Their expressions gave nothing away.
Rona’s throat felt tight all of a sudden. Her eyes ached with unshed tears. Tears of sadness. Tears of rage. It was only through a supreme effort of her will that she managed to hold them back.
“Alright, listen up,” she said, jabbing a finger in the direction of the three massive men. “And listen good: I don’t give a shit how other Mercs do things. I’m coming with you guys, and that’s fucking final.”
Aeron started to say something, but Rona cut him off.
“Shut up!” she said. “I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to hear any excuses. I don’t want to hear any bullshit about how the Mercenaries Guild operates. I don’t want to hear any of that crap. You’re gonna take me with you in your spaceship, becauseif you don’t, I’m gonna raise so much goddamn hell, you’re gonna have to come back and put my ass in line. And then I’m gonna keep raising hell, and keep raising hell, until you stupid, thickheaded sons of bitches get the fucking picture. Do I make myself clear?”
When she was finished, Rona stood there panting and glaring at the three Mercs. The men exchanged another series of glances, then all three of them started to chuckle. After a few seconds, the chuckles became full-on laughter.
Rona could not hold back her tears any longer. They ran down her face as she shook with rage.
“Stop laughing at me!” she shouted. “I’m not fucking kidding around!”
The Mercs stopped laughing. Aeron came toward her, his expression suddenly solemn. He took Rona’s face in both of his hands and thumbed the tears from her cheeks.
“I’m sorry, little one,” he said. “We didn’t mean to make you cry. We know you aren’t kidding, and we weren’t laughing at you. Not really.”
“What were you laughing at then?” Rona asked.
“Come here. Let me show you…”
Aeron took her by the hand and led her toward the ship, but he didn’t take her to the boarding ramp. Instead, he took her around the eastern facing side of the vessel. The side which was shaded from the westering sun.
