Out of Plans (The Mercenaries #2) by Stylo Fantome Page B

have nothing left.
    “I can't believe you kept it,” Marc muttered. When he lifted his blue eyes to her, she couldn't handle what she saw in their depths, so she quickly walked past him.
    “I didn't really have a choice – it was the only piece of luggage you left me with, it was a while before I could buy more,” she snapped as she made her way back to the camp.
    “Lily. You know I had to leave,” his voice wasn't far behind her.
    “I don't know that. I was told that. I was informed that. In a letter. You got some big balls, De Sant. A real man, sending a ' Dear John ' letter,” she didn't even try to hide the venom in her voice.
    “Hey, you think that was easy for me? Doing right doesn't exactly come naturally to me, but I knew what I had to do,” he replied. She laughed as she walked back into the clearing.
    “I don't think you'd know what was right if it came up and bit you on the ass. But I think you're correct about one thing – you did what you had to do. You had to get back to work, and you had to dump some unnecessary baggage before you left,” her tone was snide. Before she could enter the tent, Marc grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop.
    “You don't believe that,” he said it as a statement, not a question. She snorted.
    “I do believe that.”
    “Seriously?”
    She glared and stepped up close to him.
    “You want to do this, De Sant? I'm giving you an out. Take what you need and go. I don't want any explanations, I don't need you, and I can't have you slowing me down. I have spent the last five years of my life trying to complete one mission. You already almost ruined it once. I'm not letting you ruin it again,” she hissed at him.
    “What do you think I've been doing these last six months? I've been trying to complete that ' mission '. I would've ended it tonight, if you hadn't stumbled into the mix.”
    “Stumbled into the mix!? I was blending in seamlessly. Ten more minutes, and I would've had Damiano half naked and begging for it from me, and then you had to blunder into that ballroom and fuck everything up, like you do everything! ” she yelled at him.
    “This is what I've been doing, this whole time. You think I like working without pay?”
    “Don't blame me for you being an idiot. It's been six months for me, too, and I've been getting paid the whole time.”
    “Shocker. What idiot did you sucker into helping you this time?”
    “Someone smarter than you.”
    “Doubtful, if he's helping you.”
    “Okay, fine,” Lily raised her voice. She shrugged off her small backpack and tossed it into the tent. Marc looked surprised, but he dropped the pack he was holding, as well. “You wanna do this? Let's do it. He's better than you, smarter than you, and more talented than you. Is that what you want to hear? How about he also takes care of me. He worries about me. He keeps me around for more than my skills in bed, and for more than any potential payout he might get from me.”
    Marc's eyes narrowed on her.
    “You were never about a payout, and -”
    “ Liar. ”
    “- and skills in bed, huh? How long did you make him wait for it? I had to wait a month.”
    She lashed out then and she kicked him right above his knee. He let out a strangled shout and dropped to the ground, gritting his teeth in pain. Lily slowly stalked around him, moving in a circle, and watched as he felt around his kneecap, assessing the damage. She unzipped her jacket and shrugged out of it, letting it hit the ground. He finally looked up at her.
    “Such a fucking idiot,” she sneered at him. “Jealous, De Sant? Why? You're the one who left it all behind. Why do you care who I might be fucking? You wanted me to go home – did you think I would go back there and then just sit on a block of ice?”
    His face told her that, clearly, he had thought she would, but he didn't say anything. He took a deep breath, then focused on the other parts of her speech.
    “You're mad, and I get that, but that doesn't change