Absolution: The Hunter Mercenary Series (Book Two) Read online

  “Tell Stella we need some drugs.”

  “Uh, do you think she’ll be uncooperative?” she asked, wondering what he was thinking.

  “No, she’s starting to detox. It’s going to be rough. We have a guard coming, but the next forty-eight hours might be rough. We need her lucid tomorrow morning. She has to brief us before we head to that drop. We don’t know what he looks like.”

  Dakota didn’t have to say his name.

  She knew who he was talking about, and that told her how bad it had been.

  “Got it.”

  “Don’t talk about the case. Use kid gloves,” he stated. “She can’t bolt. We need her, and I don’t want to lock her in a room. That might push her over the edge.”

  Sarah understood and nodded in agreement.

  “Got it.”

  Sarah headed away.

  When Zayn came back down, his face said it all. Immediately, he put his big beefy fist through the plaster wall beside a hole from two weeks ago.

  “That has to hurt,” Dakota stated.

  “That’s the point.”

  “She got to you.”

  “My sister…”

  The big man sat at the counter in the kitchen and pulled out his wallet. In it, there was no ID, in case he was taken, but he had one picture. He pulled it out and showed Dakota.

  It was cradled in his hands.

  That said it all.

  “She was beautiful, Zayn. All that hair must run in the family,” he stated.

  “I don’t cut it for her. It’s how I remember her. We had that in common.”

  “I’m sorry she was hurt. I wish I had the words to heal that part of you, but no one can. That’s something that lives in a person forever.”

  “Storm suffered the same thing. We have to find Rosemary and Danforth Harrington. I want his head on a pike.”

  Oh, he was aware.

  They all did.

  “We will, once we figure out what the hell is going on here. Maybe you can put the word out?” he asked. “You have some connections in the underground other than Charlotte, right?”

  “Yeah, but they are pricey.”

  “Do it. I’ll get you reimbursed by the Blackhawks.”

  He stood.

  “Don’t, Dak. I’ll do it. We’ll use Danforth’s money. It only seems right. Stella grabbed it, and I’m going to put it to good use.”

  And there was a bad guy doing things the right way to save someone’s life. He was proud of him.

  “You’re a good man, Hulk.”

  “I really hate that,” he stated. “I don’t even wear green.”

  Dakota laughed and patted the big man on the arm as he walked past him.

  Yeah, heartless killer?

  No way.

  Zayn had a huge heart, and that was the truth.

  * * * H U N T E R * * *

  Upstairs, they began helping the woman acclimate to her space. As she stood there in a blanket, it was not hard to see that she was one hot mess.

  “I need to check you out.”

  Storm watched her warily.

  “I swear to God I will not hurt you,” she said, picking up her medical kit. “I just want to check for any infections. I don’t want you to get sick.”

  Yeah, neither did she.

  When she dropped the blanket, it was hard not to be horrified. Her back was scarred up, she had healed burns, and she looked like someone enjoyed hurting her.

  “Oh, honey,” Stella said, tears filling her eyes. “I am so sorry you were hurt,” she whispered.

  Storm didn’t get that.

  Why did she care?

  She was nothing to any of them.

  She was simply NOTHING. The last year proved that to her.

  Sarah knew how hard this was for Stella, who had been taken too. By the grace of God, she’d escaped before being sold, but her sister…

  Yeah, it was hard.

  “You can climb into the tub, and I’ll get your vitals,” Stella stated.

  “Are you really a doctor?” she asked. The whole idea of a bath of warm water sounded so wonderful. She couldn’t remember the last time she had warm water touch her body.

  It made her want to weep.

  “It’s a long story, but, yes, I am.”

  Storm wanted the bath more than an explanation, so she climbed into the warm water and sank down.

  That’s when the dam broke all over again. It was the little luxuries that took her to her knees. Before this, she had taken such things for granted.

  Immediately, she began crying.

  It was a release of adrenaline, and both women got it. This was going to be hard for her.

  She’d been through hell.

  They let her cry it out, and no one tried to stop her. Storm deserved this moment now that she was safe.

  When it passed, she had some questions. Dakota said not to talk about the case, but he didn’t say they couldn’t make her at ease with the truth.

  “Has Greyson Croft really been out of the FBI for the last year?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  “For sucking at his job?” she asked.

  Sometimes, it was easier for a person to learn things on their own. Sarah turned on the TV and found a tabloid channel. Sure enough, he was on it.

  “He’s the mob now?”

  They nodded.

  She laughed.

  “Oh, this day is weird. First, I try to kill the Hulk, and now this.”

  Stella lifted a brow.

  “Pardon?”

  “The big man? I tried to slit his throat. I’m so glad I didn’t do it. I owe him an apology. I was trying to fight my way out of there.”

  Stella was horrified, but that wasn’t Storm’s fault.

  “I’m glad you didn’t either since he’s my husband,” she joked. “I kinda like the Hulk as is.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be,” she reassured, touching her arm. Immediately, Storm pulled it away. “I just need to check your pulse. I promise I won’t hurt you.”

  “Sorry. That’s automatic.”

  “It’s okay, Storm. We understand. You ask questions, Sarah will answer, and I’ll check you out.”

  That seemed okay by her.

  “How did I slip through the cracks?” she asked through the tears.

  “Marshall Cameron was the one who ratted you out to Rosemary Harrington.”

  Her face said it all.

  “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  “He was my handler on the case. He was posing as a customer in one of the bars. He really sold me out?” Storm asked.

  They both nodded.

  They’d read the file.

  “I want him dead.”

  Sarah had something that might make her happy.

  “Well, then, I have good news. He’s dead. Elizabeth Blackhawk put a bullet in his head. The man who was heading the FBI after Greyson, he’s dead too. He was involved. He wiped the files so no one could find out who was the one who turned you over to Rosemary. It wasn’t Croft who betrayed you. He was shit-canned from the FBI, and the new director buried it.”

  “I want Rosemary dead.”

  “We’re working on it,” Sarah stated. “Tomorrow, you need to give us everything you can think of,” she stated. “It’ll help us.”

  “I want to help.”

  Sarah lifted a brow in surprise. This was NOT what they expected. They were pretty sure she’d want to run and hide—not offer to help. Someone was balls to the wall strong.

  “Pardon?”

  “I want to do something. The man who did this to me made me nothing. Please help me get back to being human. Please let me help.”

  Whew.

  This might not be as hard as they thought.

  “I’ll talk to Dakota. I’ll see what I can do,” Sarah said, knowing the man would be happy with that.

  “I need to ask you some personal questions,” Stella stated. “It’s how I’ll figure out what he gave you.” />
  “Okay.”

  “Birth control?” she asked.

  “I was on the shot before the operation. It wore off. He knocked me up, or one of the hundreds of men that I had to have sex with did.”

  That made both women sick. They could hear the horror in her voice, and they wanted to protect her at all costs.

  She was shaking.

  Stella took her hand.

  “We have you now. Sarah and I will take care of you. It’s okay.”

  “He had some doctor come in and give me an abortion. I begged him to kill me.”

  They couldn’t blame her.

  In that situation, they would want one too. A year as a sex slave had to be a nightmare.

  “After that?” Stella asked.

  “Then it was regular shots. He didn’t want to risk me dying of sepsis or some infection from a backroom abortion. I want the doctor dead too.”

  Well, at this rate, the team was going to be taking them apart one by one.

  “What drugs did he give you?” Stella asked. “You were a Fed who worked undercover. Tell me what you can.”

  “He gave me Rohypnol, GHB, and Ketamine. I heard him ask someone to bring him R-two, Easy Lay, Black Hole. Those are the street names for those drugs.”

  Storm, while a mess, was damn smart and on point. Sarah didn’t think she’d be as composed. That hate was fueling her. She hoped one day she filled it with peace. It would be the only thing that saved her.

  “Okay, so he had access to them,” Sarah stated.

  Stella sighed.

  “They are all common here. This is a party town. He drugged you so much your body got accustomed to it. You’re going to go through wicked withdrawals.”

  “Great.”

  “I can get you something to take the edge off of it to help you through it.”

  “Will it make me forget? I want to forget.”

  Oh, they only wished.

  This was going to be a process, but they would be by her side. She needed someone to take care of her.

  “Do you have a family?” Sarah asked. “Is there anyone you want to talk to?”

  She shook her head.

  “Orphan.”

  She sank lower in the water.

  “I don’t make friends easily. I didn’t trust before, and I know I’ll never trust again. I can’t even…”

  Sarah took her hand, and Stella took the other and they sat there with her.

  While she wept, they let her have that time to work through it. They got it.

  She was suffering.

  Now…

  They would do the right thing.

  They would stand up for Storm.

  Until the end.

  * * * H U N T E R * * *

  He was still angry.

  Her ambivalent comments only pissed him off. Did she not know who he was?

  Carter Foley may be a made-up name, but the man behind it?

  Oh, he was angry and had power.

  Oh, the heat was on.

  Yes, he’d offered to take Rosemary’s issue off her hands, when Storm was taken from Vegas, but now…

  He’d paid good money for her.

  It wasn’t like it grew on trees. He had to be larcenous, and he had to play dirty to get those greenbacks.

  It put his life at risk, and she didn’t get that.

  She’d pay for this.

  But until then, he needed to find a scapegoat and dangle that person in the trap.

  His life was valuable.

  Oh, Rosemary’s motto may be ‘every man for himself’, but that was NOT going to work for him.

  He’d let her come back to his city.

  When her partner died, and her best customer, too, she couldn’t look back, and he’d allowed her to hide there.

  Well, that was over.

  He stewed over it.

  As he drove back to the city, and his real home, he let it fester in him.

  Then he had a plan.

  What Rosemary didn’t know was there was someone out there gunning for her. The word on the street was that there was another player coming up.

  Well, the men who took his prize would get a new prize. He’d dangle this fish.

  And then he’d sit back in the shadows and do what he did best.

  Watch.

  Let Rosemary fix her own shit.

  And then die.

  * * * H U N T E R * * *

  Rogue’s Home

  The mission was over, and they were a success. By now, Storm St. Clair was safely tucked away at their base, and hopefully, she’d be able to give them something to work with on this part of the case.

  Well, he could hope she could.

  As he stood from his desk, stretching his body, he happened to glimpse out his big window to check out the storm.

  He couldn’t believe it.

  The detective was still sitting out there. She was parked in her car, out in the pouring rain, likely freezing her ass off.

  Why?

  To watch him.

  This whole thing was insanity. He may be a lot of things in life, thief, criminal, crook, but he wasn’t responsible for Charlotte’s death.

  Hell!

  He wasn’t even part of her life, for that matter.

  Well, this was it.

  Rogue was getting irritated, and now, he was going to give her something to watch. While Dakota told him not to provoke the detective, he couldn’t help but want to study her—like she was studying him.

  He was a watcher too.

  They had something in common.

  It was his job to study, get a plan, and make a move, and with her, he couldn’t study her locked away in his house.

  It made him feel impotent.

  Like a chicken.

  It made him feel like he was running, and while he’d done a lot in his life, he hadn’t done anything to make her suspect him of killing Charlotte.

  No, he didn’t kill or hurt women.

  So, he was going to play her game.

  Cat and mouse?

  Stalker and victim?

  Fine.

  He was sick of being the mouse, and he wondered what she’d do if he flipped the script.

  Just temporarily, of course.

  Heading into his kitchen, the man who worked as his personal chef was still there, prepping for dinner.

  “Dinner for two tonight. I have company,” Rogue stated, out of the blue. “Can you swing that?” he asked.

  “What would you like me to serve you and this mystery guest?”

  He told him.

  The man laughed.

  “What?” Rogue asked.

  “Someone is whipping out all of the stops. It’s going to be a lady,” the big burly man said.

  “Yeah, well, I’m not gay. Clearly.”

  Joey laughed even more at the man’s frustration. Never in his life had he seen someone struggle so much with the opposite sex. Rogue Ravenscroft was handsome, wealthy, and a good, decent person. Yet, he couldn’t function with the opposite sex. It was like a piece of him was broken.

  “Well?” he asked.

  “Your words. Not mine.”

  “You’re hanging around Zayn too much. That smarminess doesn’t look good on you. Don’t be a dick. I have one of those in my life.”

  The man ran his hand down his well-fed body.

  “It takes work to be this awesome.”

  Rogue genuinely liked the man. He knew how to make him laugh, and he valued that. The only other person who amused him as much was Sarah.

  “Dinner will be how long?” he asked.

  “Fifteen to twenty. I’m done prepping. There will be three courses, and I’ll hook a guy up. You’ll be getting laid…”

  He flushed.

  “Stop. It’s not a date.”

  Joey laughed.

  “UH HUH.”

  Rogue gave up.

  The more he fought, the more Joey would ride his ass over it. He knew better.

  For now, he needed to handle
the detective, and handle her, he would.

  Heading toward the hall, he grabbed his coat, his leather gloves, and an umbrella.

  Then he prepared to do the stupidest thing in the world.

  He was letting the fox into the hen house.

  HIS VERY PRIVATE SPACE.

  * * * H U N T E R * * *

  Somewhere in New Orleans

  Evening

  When his phone rang, he angrily picked it up.

  “Hello?”

  “If you want to catch Rosemary, be at forty-seven Milton Road. It’s an abandoned house. She’s going to be there tomorrow. Word on the street is you want her head on a silver platter.”

  His heart soared.

  This was exactly the break he needed.

  “I do.”

  “I want the reward when you catch her.”

  “Where do I send it?”

  There was laughter.

  “Maybe we can meet up at Purgatory.”

  The phone went dead.

  Danforth paced his small room and angrily wanted to put holes in the wall. Yeah, he had been screwed over by his own child, his supposedly dead wife, and life, but he wasn’t done.

  No.

  He was far from finished.

  Tomorrow, he’d go earlier, and he’d catch her in the act. Then he’d kill his sister once in for all.

  She owed him money.

  And it was time to pay up.

  Chapter Seven

  Monday Night

  Post Retrieval

  A ll the way out to her car, that little voice in his head told him to be careful. He was treading on dangerous ground, and Rogue didn’t like living this close to the edge. He was a man of patience.

  He tried to keep reminding himself of that.

  He was a man of control.

  He was…lonely.

  He led a life of solitude, and now that he had been gifted with a boisterous child, the chances were that he wouldn’t ever get an evening with a beautiful woman again.

  A prickly.