“For disobeying you or for saving you?”
He grip on my chin squeezed gently. “For disobeying. The fact that it worked out doesn’t change that you broke protocol.”
I bit my lip—it wasn’t intentional, just my body’s reaction to him mentioning protocol. “I’ll accept my punishment, however you see fit to punish me.” And my heart raced—hoping the punishment would involved the compression of his body against mine.
He leaned in, and pulled me forward on my chin. He kissed me, then released his grasp. “You’re on the punching bag when we get back and I want you there until you collapse. Then I want you to eat porridge oats, no syrup, and take a cold shower, before you to sleep on the hard floor of my room for eight hours.”
I nodded, my throat clenching with anticipation of a second kiss.
It never came.
***
Mercy waited for us after the processing machine took all the weapons from us. She was standing outside the elevator with the biggest smile on her face.
“Proud of you,” she said, with her hands clasped together, she gestured at me.
I looked to Donovan, not wanting to take this thunder, because I really didn’t. I really wanted him to know I was grateful for everything, except that blip where he left me—and I’d become stronger now, mentally too. I wasn’t going to mope around an expensive hotel room crying, I was going to get on the punching bag.
“We secured some additional funds, which I’ve allocated between the two of you,” she said.
“I’m just a trainee,” I tried to play.
“No, I’m not having that from you, you need to start thinking and believing you deserve the world,” she said, which Donovan smiled at almost in support of. I didn’t know if that was a true feeling, but it’s the one everyone was witness to.
“How much?” Donovan asked.
“The job itself paid out a hundred, I secured an extra fifty,” she said in a quieter tone.
“A hundred and fifty?” I choked on a gasp of air, forcing Donovan to pull me under his arm and pat a fist on my back.
“Split between you, and after my fee, you’ve both got a substantial amount in your accounts,” she said, nodding and smiling.
“Sixty thousand each,” Donovan said.
She hummed and nodded, gesturing us to move away into a quieter corner. Not quite her office, but everyone here could speak freely it seemed, and I doubt anyone was her spying on Mercy—that would be like actually feeding yourself to the lions—her lions.
“Is there anything else we can help you with?” Donovan asked.
“Word is spreading in certain circles that two men took down six robbers on the I-95. That kind of reputation travels fast in this business,” she said in a hushed tone, but that same infectious smile that had me grinning from ear-to-ear.
“We didn’t take them down,” I said. “They left.”
She shrugged. “Howwe’respinning it is that you and Donovan managed to take down a single crew of robbers,” she said. “However, with that, comes requests, and another job. A little more demanding, and—” she glanced at me, into my soul. “With less room for improvisation. I heard it all. You two have a going on, but you two work, the question is whether you work together or against each other.”
“What’s the job?” Donovan asked in a monotone groan.
With the snap of her fingers, one of the fairies handed her a manila folder—thicker than the last. My heart skipped around in my chest. She handed it off to Donovan and then left without another word.
“What is it?” I asked him.
“Our next test.”
12. DONOVAN
Artemis wasn’t ready. He was nowhere near ready for this. I didn’t know what possessed Mercy to bring it to us, but she knew it was going to cause a stir. Protection detail wasn’t something I did often, they were good money. Four hundred thousand specifically for this one—which, after Mercy’s twenty percent, and split down the middle meant we’d be looking at a nice hundred-sixty thousand dollars.
I forced him to get on the punching bag as I walked around him, the spotlight intensifying with heat, the type that forced you to sweat a little more than you normally would. I read through the file twice, it was thick with information.
