Chapter 27
KIARA
Driving through the familiar streets of LA back to our apartment complex in the rental car Raiden’s been using since his Audi had an unfortunate incident with the Golden Gate Bridge, Raiden takes a sudden right, and I sit up straighter.
“Where are we going?” I ask, certain that this is where he kills me, because literally nothing else makes sense.
“You’ll see,” he murmurs, a smirk resting on his lips.
I don’t like his evasiveness, but I also trust him with every second of the rest of my life. Which, in hindsight, could someday come and bite me right in the ass. But we’re rolling with the punches here and going along for the ride.
Still, I sink back into the seat and watch the city roll by through the windshield, the glow of streetlights sliding over Raiden’s face as he drives. He doesn’t say another word, just keeps that smug little smirk tucked into the corner of his mouth like he knows something I don’t.
I hate when he does that.
A few minutes later he pulls into an industrial complex that looks like it hasn’t been updated since the late nineties. Security gate. Rows of metal storage doors. The kind of place people hide bodies. Or Christmas decorations. Honestly, it could go either way.
The gate slides open, and I do what I can to bite my tongue as Raiden drives through like he owns the place. He passes all the bigger units before pulling up outside a smaller one and cutting the engine.
We start getting out of the car, and I look down the row of units, more than impressed. “All of these are yours?”
His brows furrow, and he looks over the top of the car at me, meeting my stare. “No,” he says, pointing to the one directly in front of the car. “Just this one.”
My stomach sinks. “Oh no.”
“What?” he asks.
“This is another helicopter situation, isn’t it?”
His head turns slowly. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. Last time you pulled this mysterious ‘you’ll see’ bullshit, you unveiled the world’s tiniest helicopter.”
He has the audacity to look at me as though I’m making the whole thing up, but I have the back cramps to prove it. That thing was not meant for three people, yet somehow we made it back in one piece. “It was not tiny.”
“It looked like a child’s toy.”
“It was tactical.”
“My morgue freezer is bigger than your helicopter.”
He rolls his eyes and produces a stack of keys, finding the right one, sliding it into the lock, and pushing the roller door up. This is the real world of the Iron Viper, and he’s inviting me in as if we were walking into his home after a first date.
My brows immediately rise. It’s like getting the golden ticket for Willy Wonka’s Factory, only instead of chocolate, it’s every kind of weapon someone could want. But again, my collection is bigger.
“Wow,” I say, slowly making my way around as Raiden grabs a duffel bag and starts filling it up. Holsters, knives, you know, the usual tools of the trade.
It looks like a private armory in here—a small private armory.
Weapon racks. Gear cases. Surveillance equipment. Training mats rolled against the wall. Two lockers full of ammunition. But there is one thing missing. “Where’s your training studio?”
“Huh?”
“Your training studio,” I say again, pausing to look back at him. “You know, where you can keep up on your skills. I have a yoga-Pilates section, a gym floor, and then a shock-absorbent floor for MMA and Jiu-Jitsu. Oh, and, of course, a first aid office for those times of need.”
He just stares at me. “You have all of that?”
“You don’t?”
He lets out a huff and gets back to doing what he’s doing as I continue making my way around the small unit, already making my plan for when I get to show him mine, knowing I’ll enjoy it immensely.
“Alright, here’s the plan,” Raiden says, grabbing the go-bag and walking it back out to the car before going back for more. “Your agency would know by now that the mission was a failure, and they’ll be scrambling for a new plan before you get the chance to disappear.”
I nod, already having worked that out.
“We’re going to make you bait. Lure them out and take them down.”
Bait? Sounds like my kind of plan. Chaos is written all over it.
“Fun.”
“Stay close to me. Do exactly what I say.”
I arch a brow. That isn’t exactly going to be the easiest task to accomplish, but there’s a hint in his tone that suggests I better not argue on this, and I realize that I’m not dealing with my Raiden anymore.
This is the Iron Viper, the most lethal man on the planet.
So, I do what any other normal human being would do and offer him the double thumbs up. “Love that for me.”
Raiden huffs, sensing the sarcasm, but because I didn’t argue, he lets it go and delivers another bag to the back of his car. When he tosses me a black jacket, I catch it but look puzzled. I don’t know what good the jacket will do when I still haven’t got any underwear, pants, or shoes.
“Right. Let’s go,” he says, reaching for the roller door to close it up. “We get it done, and then we’re out of here. We’ll start a new life wherever the fuck you want. Lie low for a while. But you might have to chill on that travel blog. Doesn’t exactly help keep us covered.”
I nod as I walk out of the storage unit, having to duck my head as the roller door starts falling down.
But then I stop. Job, then scram? But what about my home?
What about . . . “Oh, hell no,” I say, stopping between the unit and his car.
“I’m not going anywhere without Spikezilla and Needles.
Are you out of your goddamn mind? We have to go home to get them. ”
Uneasiness cuts through his stare, ready to fight me on this, but I shake my head.
“There’s no me if there’s no Spikezilla and Needles.
I know it sounds trivial, but they’re part of who I am.
And it wouldn’t hurt to have just a quick shower and find a pair of pants and shoes.
I know watching me get all hot and sweaty during a fight is what gets you hard, but doing it without underwear just doesn’t feel right.
What if I got a knife right to the pussy and they cut my whole clit off? Like poof, gone, just like that.”
He gives me a hard stare before letting out a breath. “Fine. But you get three seconds to pack your shit.”
“Three seconds on top of the thirty-minute hot shower I’ll be taking.”
“Fuck no. You can have three.”
“Keep bossing me around like that, and I’ll draw myself a relaxing bath with salts and oils, that’ll see me locked inside my bathroom for at least three hours.”
Raiden groans and simply steps up to the side of his car. “Get in before I voluntarily hand you over to your agency.”
I grin and open the door, sliding straight in, a deep smugness pounding through my veins.
Raiden gets in beside me and takes off. The drive back to our apartment complex is short, and when Raiden pulls into the underground parking, I sit up a little straighter.
Ever since I manhandled his Audi, he’s been parking out on the street, but I suppose the underground parking offers more privacy.
Though it truly shouldn’t matter. My agency doesn’t know who I am, apart from my code name.
They don’t know where I live or how to find me, so I should be fine.
Hence, Raiden wants to use me as bait to lure them out.
Making our way down through the parking garage, Raiden passes my usual space before hooking the car past it, pulling off the most spectacular reverse park directly into the space beside mine—305. Then, as he cuts the engine, I just gape.
“What?” he grunts, pushing his door open.
“I just . . . I didn’t realize you were actually capable of parking like a decent human being.”
He scoffs. “What are you talking about? I park like this all the time.”
“Uhh . . . No the fuck you don’t.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Liar.”
He grins and leans toward me, his hand closing around my throat before dropping a swift kiss to my lips. “Admit my helicopter is the biggest one you’ve ever seen, and I’ll admit I park like a fucking asshole just to get under your skin.”
I scoff and kiss him again. “Not possible, because then I’d be the one lying, and I’m not sure if you’ve realized this, but I’m practically a fucking angel.”
He just grins again. “Have it your way, Firecracker,” he says, the words almost sounding like a threat, then he releases his hold on me and pushes out of the car.
I follow suit, and together we make our way into the building, choosing to take the stairs over the elevator.
“Remember, make it quick,” he tells me as we climb the stairs, making our way to the third floor.
“The sooner we can get this done and get out of here, the sooner we can figure out the rest of our lives.”
I nod, all too ready to get this chapter behind me.
“What’s that supposed to look like, by the way?
Our lives together. Got anything in mind, because I’m coming up blank.
I’ve never really considered anything past what I’ve got now,” I tell him.
“I always thought I’d be doing this until someone better came along and permanently put me out of work. ”
“I don’t know. I haven’t really considered it either, but I know I want whatever it is,” he admits, going quiet for a moment as we pass the second floor and start climbing to the third.
“Okay, tell me this. When a contract comes through, what’s the location that you tend to get the most excited about? ”
“Oh, easy. The South of France.”
“Then that’s settled. Today, we take out your agency. Tomorrow, we start our lives over as none other than Kiara St. James and Raiden Kane in the South of France.”
A dorky smile stretches across my lips. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”
“Damn straight, I do,” he says, his hand dropping to the small of my back as we reach the third floor. “What about kids? Do you want them?”