Peace had finally found him.

He had finally fulfilled his promise to Luna, and no more obstacles stood in their way, but before he could take her away to give her a much needed vacation, he needed to handle one last thing.

Taking his jet back to New York while Luna remained in California, Kit told no one of his plans, not even Aidra, as he made his way to Manhattan, parking in front of a rather obscure office building right in the middle of the city.

Riding the elevator up to his floor, he gave the building a cursory look around, from the glass walls, to the elegant but simple décor—clear that it had a woman’s touch.

Once the doors opened with a ding, Kit cast his gaze around as he walked forward, carefully removing his leather gloves.

A man with sharp and angular features in a powder-blue suit was seated behind the receptionist’s desk, his smile already forming before Kit was fully in front of him.

“Mr. Runehart,” he greeted professionally, rising to his feet before coming around the desk. “I was instructed to bring you to conference room A.”

Kit merely lifted a brow in response as he followed the man. He didn’t hasten his step to keep up. Rather, he took his time as he surveilled the floor, taking in as much detail as he could possibly need.

At first glance, the décor seemed rather ordinary—the walls white with the occasional framed quote on the wall, and desks of the same color were broken up by brighter hues due to the vases of flowers on each desk.

As he entered the room where he would be waiting, Kit wondered whether it was company policy to always keep fresh flowers, or whether they were offered.

Frosted glass shielded the room he was in from curious eyes, and it too followed the same colorless theme as the rest of the floor, but the only color to be found here was the single blue rose in a vase in the center of the table.

Blue roses …

Kit tried to recall why that felt significant, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

And on a wall—this one situated behind the chair at the head of the table—a word was painted in the center of it, the color only two shades darker than the paint on the walls, making it hard to distinguish.

Kit didn’t think he would have noticed had he not been so close and able to see the difference in tones.

There was only one word painted there …

Legend.

“So sorry to have kept you waiting,” a woman with a softly accented voice called as she entered the room with an apologetic smile. “I understand your time is valuable, and I terribly hope I haven’t wasted it.”

This woman, whoever she was, was not who Kit had expected.

This one had cropped hair, only a touch longer than Tăcut’s buzz cut. Four piercings lined her right ear, while the other only sported two, and despite the impressive heels she wore, it was obvious the woman was no taller than five-five, if an inch.

Karina, Kit remembered, had wavy brown hair that she usually kept in a messy bun, and she had kind eyes that missed nothing.

This woman might have tried to appear innocent, but Kit could see right through the mask.

Whoever she was, she didn’t want Kit there, and if he had to guess, she wasn’t Belladonna.

“Nearly two years ago,” Kit began, observing her, “a woman by the name of Belladonna contracted an assignment with the Kingmaker—I’d like to speak with her.”

“Yes,” the woman said with a blink. “You’re speaking with her now, but you don’t have to call me Belladonna—Kava will do just fine.”

Kit doubted that.

It could have been that his mind had seized on Karina, and fully expecting her to be the mysterious Belladonna, he wasn’t prepared for the woman standing before him.

“My apologies,” Kava said with a slight shake of her head as she gestured toward the table for them to sit. “I was under the impression that a contract with the Kingmaker offered anonymity. While I understand your relation, I don’t understand why you’re here today questioning a job I asked of him.”

“I’m not here about whatever contract you signed with him—I’m here because of Calavera.”

Kava’s expression didn’t change as she regarded him. There was no fear at what he might do to her, though even she would have to know there was a reason to be. “Your wife, is she not?”

The way the woman emphasized the word made Kit believe she knew about Luna’s leaving—which only made sense considering she had been the reason Luna left in the first place.

“Your business is your own,” Kit said, eyes narrowed. “But once you decide to make my business a concern of yours, you open yourself up to scrutinization.”

“You misunderstand. As I’m sure you’re aware, I contracted one of the Kingmaker’s mercenaries to find a man who owed me a debt. If your wife happened to learn the truth about other matters in the process, I can’t possibly be blamed for that, can I?”

Kit leveled his gaze on her. “I don’t believe in coincidences.”

“Duly noted. Now, are you going to tell me why you’re here, or shall I guess?”

“Who told you his name?”

Now, she blinked, momentarily confused. “I’m sorry?”

“Andrei Kanekov may have done work for my brother occasionally, but he worked for me—meaning very few even knew of the man, let alone how to find him.”

“You’re treading dangerously close to asking about my business, and I regret to inform you that my business is none of your concern. As I’ve said, if your wife stumbled upon information, that’s no fault of mine.”

“Don’t make an enemy of me, Kava,” Kit warned, meaning every word. “You won’t like how I play the game.”

“I welcome you to try, Mr. Runehart—I know how you Runehart brothers feel about idle threats, so I won’t bother issuing a warning. Move against me, and I’ll ensure you regret it.” Kava stood, smoothing the front of her skirt. “Besides, you have far more important things on your plate at the moment, no? I suggest you finish what you started in California. Carmen Rivera isn’t done with you yet, and rather than try to bully me, perhaps you should prepare for the problem you’ll face with her.”

He wouldn’t break her, not today—Kit could tell from the assurance in her voice, the way she spoke with absolute clarity.

Whether he wanted to admit it or not, a part of him knew she was right. Carmen wasn’t the type of woman who went down without a fight. And Elias was still in play as well.

She didn’t seem to care who he was, or what he was capable of, and for Kit, that was answer enough.

The only people who didn’t feel fear were those with nothing to lose.

Whoever this woman was, she wasn’t Belladonna …

But she knew who Belladonna was.

“Understand something, Kava,” Kit said as he slowly rose to his feet, pulling his gloves back on. “Ghosts don’t stay hidden forever—I’ll always find them. And you tell her, or whoever it is you work for that the second I become available, I will make it my mission to flush her out.”

Kit didn’t wait to see her reaction to his words. He left, and it was on his way back out, driving back to the airport, when he got a phone call he couldn’t ignore.

---

Sitting in the office well above the city, Kava Alexion removed the earpiece from her ear, tossing it down on the table as she took in a much needed breath.

No amount of preparation could have told her what to expect with Kit Runehart.

“You did well,” came a voice from behind her.

A hidden panel was built into the wall behind her, a secret office of sorts only used by one person in the entire staff. When the door was closed, the wall was seamless.

“I’m not so sure,” she said softly as she faced the woman who had become her mentor over the last two years. “He’s not giving up on this—I can tell.”

Belladonna’s smile was wistful as she took a seat at the table, her gaze drawn to the bouquet sitting in the middle of the table. “They’re like dogs with bones. If I didn’t want his attention, I wouldn’t have approached his wife.”

“Then you know …” Kava said hesitantly. “You know they’re going to figure out you’re alive then.”

All of the staff—all twenty of the women who Belladonna had personally selected to work for her—knew her secret, the one they had all swore never to speak a word of. It wasn’t that she hid who she was or the life she led in the past. In fact, she liked to use her own experiences to teach them—just as her mother and sister had done before her.

But as she liked to remind them, names had power, and Belladonna was the most powerful of all.

“Kit knows—he just wants proof to offer that thick-headed brother of his—he’s practical that way. Uilleam …” Her eyes flashed as she said the name, as though it conjured all the best and worst emotions. “If he doesn’t believe by now, then he’s in denial.”

Kava wasn’t so sure.

She knew her mentor had faked her death—though the reasons behind it had never been revealed—and the way she had gone about it would have made anyone believe she was truly gone.

But it wasn’t Kava’s job to question her boss—she was merely meant to be Belladonna’s voice when she couldn’t.

“Are you planning a big reveal?” she asked, her mind still on the former assassin and their rattling conversation.

She didn’t think anyone had ever looked at her with such coldness before.

“I have one more thing in play, and should that happen as I anticipate, I’m sure the Kingmaker and I will soon be having a very nice chat.”

“And Kit? What do you plan to do about him?”

Belladonna’s smile was gentle, as everything else seemed about her.

When Kava had first come onto the team—thanks to the opportunity that changed her life forever—she hadn’t anticipated for a second that Belladonna was capable of the things she did daily. She’d seemed fragile almost—even more so than the women she saved.

But it had only taken one interaction with a client to see why Belladonna was to be feared.

Beneath the prim outer layer, the softly spoken words, and gentle demeanor was the heart of a savage—one who was intent on getting even with the Kingmaker for a slight only she knew.

“Kit will be too preoccupied with his wife and his orphans to devote too much of his time on me. But considering his brutish behavior this afternoon, perhaps I should show him that he’s not the only powerful one in this city.”

Kava glanced down at Belladonna’s hand, studying the intricate tattoo—solid lines, loops, and dots—that covered nearly the entire breadth of it. It was hard unless one was looking for it, to notice the name hidden within the ink.

“And the Kingmaker?” Kava asked, looking from the man’s name carefully placed there to her mentor’s face. “What will you do about him?”

“I’m going to make him feel what he has made so many others feel over the years.”

“And that is?”

This time, nothing was gentle about Belladonna’s expression, it had turned almost feral—as though she had transformed right before her eyes.

Plucking the blue rose from the bouquet, Belladonna brought it to her nose and inhaled. “Pain.”