Atonement: The Hunter Mercenary Series (Book One) Read online

  He didn’t think of it like that.

  “I wouldn’t have found you and been someone’s ‘my sweet Stella’. You wouldn’t have by ‘my man’.”

  Emotion filled his eyes. “You don’t hate me?”

  “You didn’t do this, Zayn. Evil did this. There’s not a mean bone in your body.”

  He pointed at the door.

  “In your defense, you did warn him.”

  He laughed. “I did. I always do.”

  “I couldn’t hate you for this. I love my stepmom and sister, but I love you too.”

  His heart skipped.

  “Did we become victims of love at first sight, my sweet Stella?”

  She moved closer. “Yes, we did.”

  He tugged her against his body.

  “You slept alone?” she asked.

  He lifted her chin. “I will never cheat on you. I valued you enough to share myself with you, Stella. I went to a bar. I drank way too much whiskey, and I crashed at a hotel. If you don’t believe me, you can call. I will give you the details.”

  She didn’t want to do that.

  Stella had never trusted anyone before. They all left. Her mother died, boyfriends bailed when she went to medical school, and then last night…

  “I need a promise.”

  “What?” he asked.

  “You won’t do that to me again. I want to be here for you like you are for me. I don’t want to feel like a burden to you. Let me help carry some of your pain.”

  He stared into her beautiful, calm, serene eyes. “I’m sorry I made you feel excluded. When I get mad…”

  He pointed at the door.

  She laughed. “Yes, I noticed.”

  She rubbed against his body, and he woke to her touch. It was amazing. That feel, her scent, and the way she made him feel helped heal that wound.

  “We are a team.”

  He looked at her bed. “Have you ever had sex in it?”

  She stared at him.

  “Uh, no. It’s my father’s ho…”

  He shut her up with his mouth. When he lowered his to hers, she forgot everything she was thinking. The sexy Zayn Thundercloud stole every last thought.

  When he picked her up, she wrapped her legs around his hips and held on. His mouth was destroying her with that sinful kiss. He was showing her what lived in him.

  She did.

  In that sucking black hole of his heart, there was now the gentle blossom of love.

  Stella.

  His sweet Stella.

  When she pulled away, he was watching her with those deep dark eyes.

  “I’ve never met a more handsome man. I’m lucky to have found you, Zayn. I hope you stay forever.”

  His heart kicked.

  “Is that an invitation?” he asked, putting it all on the line for her.

  “Yes, it is.”

  “I accept that invitation. We should shake on it. Like right after an amazing orgasm. I have to practice.”

  She smiled and let down her hair. Then she tugged his free from the long braid.

  “Let’s break my father’s rules.”

  “Well, since you put it that way…”

  As she hung on with her legs, he tugged the shirt from her body. Beneath it was some sexy little lace thing that he really, really liked.

  “Pretty.”

  “Well, there was more, and you would have seen the more scandalous things had you come back last night.”

  “Sex to soothe the savage beast?” he asked.

  “Sometimes, the beast is the most beautiful creature because it’s felt the pain and fought through it. Beauty is only skin deep, but that tenacity is sexy, alluring, and amazing.”

  “If I didn’t already love you, that would have sealed the deal,” he stated.

  She knew how he felt.

  When he was gentle and tender, her big strong mercenary, it melted her heart.

  Stella reached around and unfastened the bra. Her breasts fell free, and Zayn grinned.

  “And that begins the festivities.”

  He tossed her onto the bed and followed her. They laughed, she giggled, and she even screeched when he bit her on the nipple.

  As he tugged off her pants, he wiggled his eyebrows. “Hello, beautiful. Oh, and you, too, Stella.”

  She snorted. “Nice.”

  “No, this is nice.”

  He found that tiny bud and worked it hard. She moaned, her hands bunching in the sunny yellow bedding.

  Zayn had no control.

  The more he tasted, the stronger the addiction became. She was his drug, and in the world he lived in, he knew how important that was.

  He found his muse.

  When he got to that point in his life where he couldn’t handle the darkness, all he had to do was call for his sweet Stella. She would lead him back to the light again.

  “Zayn!” she said, as his mouth pushed her off that precipice and into the pleasure waiting for her.

  She shook, her body bowed, and she came with his name on her lips.

  That was a gift.

  As he watched the goosebumps crisscross her body, he undid his belt. When he pulled himself from his boxers, she sat up, and stroked him with her delicate fingers.

  The visual of her pale skin against his tan drove him wild. He wanted all she could offer and so much more.

  He wanted all.

  In that moment, he wanted this life, this chance to be happy, and he’d swallow any humiliation to have her. He might not be worthy of her, but she was a miracle he couldn’t pass up.

  As her mouth closed over his erection, his hands found their way into her hair. With it tangled among his fingers, he slowed her mouth down.

  And he watched.

  It was so erotic. He was sliding in and out of her mouth, slick from her saliva, and he never wanted it to stop.

  This was perfection.

  As he got closer and closer to the edge, he knew she needed to stop or he was going to explode.

  “Sweetness, I can’t,” he whispered.

  She sent him free. “I want to feel you in me,” Stella whispered. “You fill me, and I feel whole.”

  He felt the same. She laid back, and he leaned over her body. He found her wet, ready, and waiting for him to claim her again.

  Slowly, he slid into her body.

  She moaned in pleasure.

  He moaned in ecstasy.

  “So perfect,” he whispered, sliding out of her body. As he began moving, her eyes filled with tears.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked. “Did I hurt you?”

  “No. You healed me.”

  She staggered him.

  With those words, he kept moving, driving them up and over, until they were seconds from the fall.

  “I love you,” he whispered. “I will die for you.”

  She couldn’t speak.

  As the climax rushed them, they held on for that one second.

  “I’m going to cum,” he muttered, his whole body shaking with that glorious feeling.

  She tightened down on his erection, forcing them both off the edge.

  They fell, him over her body.

  The veil of hair cascaded down, giving them their own private hideaway.

  He opened his eyes.

  “Well, did I get any better?” he asked.

  She laughed as he stood up.

  “Yes, that was an A plus.” She was about to say more when her bedroom door was kicked in, and a man stood there with a gun.

  Before Zayn could react, freeing one of his own weapons, the man in the doorway pointed the gun at Stella.

  He did what he needed to do, and prayed for the rest.

  He dove onto her, placing her beneath his big frame as the gun sounded.

  He felt the impact, and he took her with him, rolling off the bed and to the floor where they would be safer.

  There were shouts from downstairs as he watched the man vault the bed, head for the balcony, and jump.

  Stella couldn’t br
eathe.

  Then she saw the blood.

  “Oh, Jesus! Zayn!”

  He pulled the bedding off the bed to cover her up.

  He wasn’t going to die, but now…he was pissed.

  Someone put a damn hole in his body.

  And they tried to kill his girl.

  They were going to pay.

  Chapter Fourteen

  W hen they got to the man’s office, secluded from the security that had been hired, they popped the disc into the laptop and watched what had been sent to the man. They knew it was going to be bad, but exactly how bad?

  When a mechanical voice came on, they knew that was going to be of no use. They didn’t alter it on the disc. They altered it as they were recording. No amount of software was going to give them the person’s voice.

  Sitting in two chairs, they could see both Mercedes and Maia. On the young girl’s lap was the paper from the previous day.

  Well, they had a time frame.

  “As you can see,” said the mechanical voice, “they are alive. You may have gotten your one daughter back, but I assure you that you’re not going to get these two. In fact, because of your little stunt in the park, using a mercenary to drop the money, one of them has to die.”

  They all looked at each other.

  “We will let them pick.”

  A hand reached out and slapped Maia.

  “You or your daughter has to die. Which is it?” the voice asked.

  “ME! Take me! Don’t hurt her,” she said, struggling to get free from her bindings. She kicked at the man.

  He only laughed.

  “Well, that’s decided.”

  He raised a gun, and he pulled the trigger. Blood splattered from the wound on her body. Her head slumped, and Mercedes began screaming hysterically through her gag.

  The screen went black.

  Then these words.

  ‘You will drop another two million at the same spot in the park when we contact you. If you screw with us, Mercedes dies. If you use the mercenaries for the drop, Mercedes dies. Stella will do the drop or Mercedes will die. This is your last chance to get your daughter. Don’t screw with us.’

  Then the screen went blank again.

  Rogue whistled.

  “That’s heavy,” he stated.

  “Yeah, and we don’t know the timeframe. It could be tomorrow. It could be a week from now,” Sarah stated. “They did it on purpose.”

  Rogue glanced over. “Why? It gives us time to investigate and track them. By now they must have figured out that we’re cleaning up their loose ends.”

  “Because we can’t set up,” Dakota stated. “If we get a notice that it’s an hour from now, they have time to prep. We don’t.”

  “That’s ingenious.”

  They stared at him.

  “What? I’m not going to use it. Maybe.”

  Dakota shook his head. “We have to tell Mr. Harrington that it’s a good chance his second wife has joined wife one in the great beyond.”

  No one looked pleased.

  Sarah sighed. “Fine. As the newest member, I’ll take the notify. You two will be assholes. I know it.”

  They both smiled.

  “And that’s why I like having a partner,” he stated. “You can divide up the shitty assignments.”

  They got up. As they headed out of the office, the man was pacing not far away.

  When he saw them, he looked up.

  “I heard the gunshot on the video. Who died?” he asked.

  Tears filled his eyes.

  “Is my Mercedes okay?”

  Sarah put her arm around his shoulders. “She’s alive. The killer gave her mother a choice. She chose to protect her daughter.”

  He began crying.

  “I lost Maia too? My life is a mess. I have a good wife, and I lose her because I’m an asshole. I have a second wife, who I loved, too, and I lose her. Why!”

  “At least Mercedes is alive,” Rogue said.

  They all stared at him

  “Well, it’s true. We have time. We need to get working on it.”

  Sarah pulled out her phone. “I need you to look at this man. Can you tell me if you’ve ever seen him before?” she asked.

  Chesky Jensen’s face appeared on her phone.

  “I’ve seen him before.”

  They waited. “Where?” asked Sarah. “It’s really important that you tell us.”

  He thought about it.

  “I ran into him at Stella’s graduation from school.”

  They looked at him.

  “She graduated? I thought she had her residency yet,” Dakota asked.

  “Yes, she graduated with her undergraduate degree, then she just graduated with her four years of medical school. Her residency isn’t starting until January. There’s lag time between.”

  This was curious.

  “So he was stalking her at her graduation? Which one?” Rogue asked.

  “The one this past May—so about seven months ago.”

  They had planned this one for a while. The person behind this was patient, maniacal, and willing to watch.

  That was the worst kind of criminal.

  Patience was deadly.

  They made fewer mistakes.

  “Have you seen him ever again?” he asked.

  “No. It was one time. He actually bumped into me and apologized. I was getting a seat for the ceremony with Maia and Mercedes.”

  They were going to have to work this like Chesky was a patient man.

  “Did they say where they were going to leave my wife?” he asked, wiping his eyes.

  “No.”

  “Who hates me this much?” he whispered.

  “They want your money. They are running out of bargaining chips.”

  Speaking of which…

  It was time to drop more bad news.

  “They want two more million, and this time, they want Stella to do the drop. They made Rogue. That means they are surveilling all of us.”

  He looked scared.

  “What if they grab her? What if they take my Stella?”

  That was the dilemma.

  It was a possibility.

  “She has to stay safe! Nothing can happen to her! You have to lock her down!”

  It looked like that was going to be the outcome. If the person who made the video specifically wanted her to do the drop, there was no doubt why.

  “Okay. We lock her down.”

  “I’ll send her to a foreign country. I’ll get her out of here,” Danforth stated.

  “You can’t. We need her for the drop. We just have to hope they are giving us a few days. We can teach her to defend herself. We can teach her to shoot a gun, but we can’t get to her if she’s not in the country and the drop is in an hour.”

  “I can go in undercover,” Sarah offered. “I’m a little taller, but with a wig, her clothes, and sitting on a bench, I might pass.”

  Or she might piss them off and get hurt too.

  “Let’s play this one by ear.”

  “Yeah, we’ve been doing that. The only thing I can do is lock my daughter in my house. She’s only safe here. Maybe all of you should get away from her. What if they’re watching you? What if one of you is helping them?”

  He began walking backward away from them.

  “Sir, it’s not us. We’re here to protect her.”

  They were about to insist that she be kept with them when there was a shout, another gunshot, and then screaming. They all ran for the stairs and down the hall. When they arrived at the top, security was dragging a bleeding Zayn out by his vest. A man with a clearly broken wrist was holding a gun to his head.

  “Move and you die!”

  “What the hell happened?” Danforth asked, as his daughter ran out of her room in a bloody sheet.

  “Let him go!” She said, throwing herself on one of the security.

  “He’s getting away!” Zayn hissed, as he tried to get up when the man tossed Stella to the floor.


  He was getting angry.

  “I will pull the trigger asshole. Admit it! You were raping her, you filthy Indian!”

  Odin appeared, and he was barking like a maniac, the men were getting trigger happy, and Zayn looked pissed.

  This was escalating.

  Stella got up and threw herself onto Zayn to protect him. She put her hand between the gun and his head.

  “He didn’t rape me!” she shouted. “DAD! Help! Call them off! The man that tried to shoot me took off from the balcony! Watch the security footage. Zayn was with me. We were having sex!”

  The man called off the guards. “Where’s this blood coming from?” he asked, staring at her sheet. It was covered.

  “Me,” Zayn stated. “The guy kicked in the door, had a gun, and I put my body over hers. He got my arm.”

  He shifted his body.

  There was indeed a flesh wound.

  They all looked at the guard holding the gun.

  “He broke my fucking arm! He was hurting her. We heard the scream.”

  Zayn got up, and he picked Stella up.

  “Go get some clothes on, sweetness. I’m going to kill someone, and I don’t want you watching.”

  She hurried into the room with Sarah behind her.

  He turned on the security guy. “I will forgive you for calling me a filthy Indian. I will forgive you for wanting to shoot me in the head, but I will NOT forgive you for terrorizing my woman. So you have two minutes to leave or I will break your other arm, and you won’t be wiping your ass let alone jerking off.”

  He stepped back.

  “Last time I warned you. Look what happened.”

  The man backed up.

  “Head out,” the one guard said. “We apologize for the issue. We heard her scream, and Tony said he was raping her.”

  Zayn rolled his shoulders and there was that popping sound. Then he clenched his fist.

  He punched the wall, leaving a hole.

  “Next it’s your heads.”

  The four other guys backed up.

  “Y’all scared my girl. Now. I suggest you leave before I shoot all of you!”

  They left the hallway.

  “Well, so much for good security. Apparently, Hulk here scared them.”

  Stella returned, fully dressed.

  “Why was she naked but you aren’t?” Rogue asked. “If you were…you know…?”

  “That’s what flies are for, Rogue. I don’t have to get naked.”