My friend paused on the phone. “And here is… where, exactly?”
I gave a short laugh at her teasing tone. “Nice try, Jude. Look, I better go. I need to get somewhere safer.”
Jude was one of my two friends, and although she technically worked for the Guild, too, she wasn’t privy to my assignment details. She knew I was on a job, and that was it.
“Okay, but hey,” she quickly said, before I ended the call, “please take care of yourself. Call me back when you’re safe? I worry.”
I smiled, dropping my shirt back down. “I know you do. I’ll be fine, though. I always am.”
Jude huffed, but she couldn’t disagree. I hadn’t told her that I’d been shot. Fuck me, I could hardly believe I’d told Leon of all people. I’d blame shock for that lapse in judgment.
“Alright fine, I’ll let you go,” my friend muttered. “Love you, DeLuna.”
“Love you, too, Mackenzie,” I replied, feeling the warm fuzz in my chest that only my two friends could ever muster up.
Ending the call, I tossed my phone onto the bed and hunted through my small bag of clothes for a clean top. I groaned in pain as I wrestled my way out of the dirty one I’d been wearing, but before I could reach for my replacement, a familiar click sounded through the room.
A split second later, the door swung open.
“Holy shit, you really did get shot,” my intruder commented, eyeing my exposed abdomen as he tucked his lock-picks away.
I glowered. “You’re lucky I didn’t shoot you . Ever heard of knocking?” My gun was in hand, I’d grabbed it and aimed without even forming conscious thought.
Leon just offered a lopsided, confident smile and shrugged. “Figured this had a better dramatic flair.”
I rolled my eyes, lowering my gun but not putting it away. Not just yet. “You always do like dramatics, don’t you?”
Leon and I had worked together on and off for years, but the assignments were never particularly involved or in depth. He was a hacker, one of the best in the Guild, and we’d typically been paired up on reconnaissance missions or thefts. Neither of those were really my specialty, but that was likely why I hadn’t worked with him in a while.
Actually, those jobs I’d worked with Leon still stuck out in my mind as odd assignments for my skill set. But they’d been easy, didn’t require me to sleep with anyone, and paid well, so I hadn’t questioned it.
His sharp gaze ran over me, reminding me that I wasn’t wearing a shirt. I wasn’t modest about him seeing my bra—or my tits, seeing as my bra was little more than lace and see-through mesh—but I didn’t like the way he eyed my injury.
“You’re one to talk about dramatics,” he commented, his gaze flicking back to my face as I reached for my shirt once more. “Calling me in the middle of a gun fight to say you’d been shot?”
I grimaced, placing my gun down ever so briefly while I tugged my clean tank top on. “Yeah, well… you were the first person who came to mind. What are you doing here? I thought you were in Shadow Grove?”
Leon stiffened ever so subtly. He was so thoroughly Guild that he probably had the Circle’s crest tattooed on his ass. That is to say, for a techie, he was still an impeccably trained mercenary. His body cues would’ve been totally imperceptible to anyone who hadn’t gone through the exact same training.
“How’d you know that?” he asked in a cool, expressionless voice.
I smirked. “You’re not the only one with connections, Leon. But I asked a question, and you haven’t answered.” My gun was back in my hand, held casually at my side but ready to shoot if he gave even a flicker of threat.
He knew it, too. His gaze dipped to my gun, then back to my face. “I’m not here to kill you, Danny.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Would you admit it if you were?”
His lips curled slightly. “I suppose I wouldn’t. But I suspect they’d need to send someone a whole lot better than a hacker to take down the infamous DeLuna herself. I’m not suicidal.”
He had a point there. I wasn’t dumb enough to think he wasn’t deadly in his own right… but certain Guild members simply excelled in non-combat areas. As good as Leon was with tech, I doubted he’d be the one sent to kill me.
“So why are you here?” I repeated.
“Curiosity,” he replied without a lick of deception on his face.
I studied him a moment longer, then made up my mind. He wasn’t here to finish the job the Algerian mobsters had started the night before.
“Well, I hope you’re satisfied,” I sighed, strapping on my thigh holsters and sheathing my guns. “Because I’m in a hurry to get the hell out of Prague.”
Leon didn’t seem rushed, though, instead leaning against the wall near the door and tucking his hands into his pockets. “You said the Guild tried to have you killed. Wanna fill me in? Maybe I can help, if you’ve landed in trouble?”
I scoffed a bitter laugh. “Oh yeah, you’re gonna help a fugitive from the Guild? No thanks, I’ll do just fine on my own until I work this out.”
“Suit yourself,” he murmured, seemingly unconcerned by my refusal. Which was at odds with him turning up in Prague after a two-minute phone call from me.
I wasn’t in the mood to pussyfoot around why he was really here, though, and didn’t want to remain in one place for too long. Those mobsters last night had been expecting me, which says someone leaked my mission. Maybe it wasn’t a Guild kill order, but it was as good as. Only the Circle members had access to active missions. If someone leaked, then it was someone on the Guild’s leadership council.
Not wasting my breath on chitchat, I stuffed all my belongings back into my backpack and slung it over my shoulder with a wince.
“Well, it was nice to see you, Leon. Thanks for the assist last night.” I jerked the door open and exited. He followed me closely, and I wasn’t even a little bit surprised. “No offense, but I think I’m better off on my own.”
Leon didn’t seem bothered by my unsubtle implication that he was a liability, just followed me into the stairwell. I hated feeling trapped in elevators and wasn’t keen on standing out in the hall to wait for it. Besides, I was only on the third floor.
“I can’t argue with that,” he replied after a few flights of stairs, “but at least let me give you a ride out of the city. I’ve got a car here, and it’d save you being in public.”
I halted sharp enough that he bumped into my back.
“Leon… why are you here?” I demanded, spinning to face him. He was just a step above me but seemed to tower over me with our already substantial height difference.
He pushed his black-framed glasses up his nose and shot me a boyish smile. “I had a gap in my schedule, and when you called… I dunno. We had fun on our last assignment, didn’t we?”
We did. But that didn’t explain him showing up unannounced and uninvited when I’d just had a damn close brush with death.
“I don’t believe you,” I announced, continuing down the stairs, “but I also don’t have time to torture you for answers.”
He gave a short laugh. “So, is that a yes to accepting a ride?”