Mercenary by Lizzy Ford Read Free Book Online Page A

as the intermediary between the mute
Queen and her guards.
    Within seconds, everyone was hurried out of
the van and toward the awaiting cars. I hung back, eyeballing the
SISA guards who lifted their weapons when they saw how well armed I
was.
    “Hey, Niko, can I have the keys to the
van?”
    Dosy’s question drew my attention from the
nervous SISAns. “Why?”
    “Does it matter?”
    “If you don’t want to tell me, yeah.”
    She sighed. “I have to go somewhere.”
    “In this mess?” I asked.
    “It’s important.”
    We stared at one another.
    “I don’t know if I’m coming back,” she said
in a hushed tone.
    “Want company?” I asked casually. “I’m
pretty good at surviving shit storms.”
    She almost smiled for the first time
tonight. “No. If I don’t make it back, promise me you’ll watch over
Tommy. And the Queen. We’ve never met the DC arm of the royal
guard. I don’t trust anyone here yet.”
    But you trust me to protect
our son. “Done,” I said. I handed her the
keys without another word. I couldn’t begin to imagine where she
was going, but I found myself looking forward to spending time with
the boy I never wanted.
    Dosy pocketed the keys and strode away from
us, back through the barricades, and to the waiting van.
    I watched her for a moment before facing the
car my son was in. I slid into the backseat beside him.
    “Phoibe says we’re safe now so not to
worry,” Tommy told me matter-of-factly.
    I glanced at the Silent Queen on Tommy’s
other side. I didn’t trust her any more than I did Cleon, although,
she appeared to be fond of Tommy. If Cleon’s plan failed, then
maybe the strength of the relationship between the Queen and Tommy
would offer my son some protection from what was going on outside
of DC.
    Tommy slid one of his hands into mine. The
knife I’d given him protruded from the pocket of his jeans.
    “What’s this mean, Daddy?” He touched the
tattoo of a winged foot displayed on my neck. It was the mark of
Hermes, the patron god of mercenaries.
    “It means people hire me to do jobs they
don’t want to do,” I replied.
    “Like dusting the house?” he asked. “Mommy
hates that.”
    “Something like that, kid,” I said, the
corner of my mouth lifting in a smile.
    One of the guards closed the car door,
extinguishing the light.
    “Will Mommy be okay?” Tommy whispered.
    “Yeah,” I lied. I had no idea what she was
doing or whether she was coming back. I didn’t think Tommy needed
to hear the truth after his rough night.
    We were whisked away from the barricades and
towards the compound, everyone except Theodocia, who, for some
reason, had somewhere else to be.
    My hand closed around Tommy’s, and I
couldn’t help thinking again about where I’d been at his age. There
was a time when it was smarter to keep my distance from him; that
time had burnt to the ground with the rest of the world. Cleon was
right. We were on the cusp of an existence very unlike the lives we
used to live where we had to learn to survive both the wrath of
gods and the ruthlessness of men. I didn’t belong in Tommy’s life
when the world was safe, peaceful and secure.
    But in this world, I was the right kind of
dysfunction to keep Tommy alive. I’d do whatever it took to protect
him, even if it meant working for a man like Cleon.
     
     
    Theta Beginnings Miniseries
     
    Silent Queen (Available now)
    Mercenary
    Shadow Titan
    People’s Champion
     

Also by Lizzy Ford …
     
    Non-Series – 2014 & 2015
    Black Moon Draw (about a reader sucked into
her book)
    Highlander Enchanted
    The Door
    Water Spell (2016)
    Dragon Tear (2016)
     
    Trial Series
    Trial by Moon
    Trial by Thrall
    Trial by Blood
    Trial by Heart
     
    Super Villainess Chronicles
    It’s Not Easy Being Evil
    It’s Complicated
    (untitled)
     
    Lost Vegas Novellas – young adult post apocalyptic
    Aveline
    Tiana
    Arthur
    Black Wolf
     
    History Interrupted – Time Travel Romantic Adventures
    West
    East
    North (2016)
    South