Page 51 of Her Mercenary

“We’re not saving the world. We’re following orders and getting paid to follow those orders. Our job is the mission we get assigned, and the successful completion of that mission. That’s it. Once the job is done, we’re on to the next. And on and on it goes.”

“Are you given information as to why you’re being sent on the missions?”

“We receive what’s necessary to complete the mission.”

“You don’t ask questions?”

“Not nearly as many as you do.”

I snorted, the quip catching me off balance. “Sorry.”

I chewed on my lower lip, replaying in my mind seeing Roman for the first time.

The guards knew him. They called him the King. Roman Thieves was respected within the trafficking community.

This was not just some in-and-out mission. This wasn’t just about me, as he’d said. Roman would have had to work years on building his cover, his reputation. For what? What was his end goal?

I decided to poke. “So I, Samantha Greene, am this mission? Only me?”

He looked away. Yes, there was definitely more to the story than just me.

“You said the government hired you to save me, right?” I asked.

“Correct.”

“Because they thought—incorrectly—that I knew where this USB thing is.”

“They thought you might be able to provide valuable information, yes.”

Lost in thought, I nibbled on something brown and chewy.

“Does my ... mom know?” My voice cracked. “That I’m alive?”

“No.”

Breath escaped me as I hunched forward, shaking my head, fighting the tears that came with the gut-wrenching guilt for how much pain I was causing her. “Oh my God, someone has to tell her. I can’t imagine ...”

“I’ll get you home, Samantha. Soon. You’ll tell her yourself.”

I sniffed, mad at the emotions. I could feel him watching me.

“You two are close?” he asked.

“Yes.” I angrily scrubbed my eyes, willing the pain away. “She used to ... never mind, it’s so stupid.”

“Tell me.”

“No, it’s—”

“Please.”

I frowned, trying to understand this rare show of an emotion that didn’t involve anger, and the sudden interest in my relationship with my mother.

“When I was a little girl, she would sing ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ to me. After I was kidnapped and put in the cage, singing that song in my head was the only thing that could console and calm me.” I shook my head, waving my hand in the air as if to wave away the emotion. “Anyway. Yes, we’re close. She’s my everything.”

Our eyes met.

Roman had leaned toward me, leaning in, hanging on my every word. “I’ll get you home to your mother, Samantha Greene. I promise you that.”