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

  Well, that made it all the worse.

  They were living in a house that had a place to torture people.

  Then again, considering the company he was keeping…

  Torture seemed about right.

  “Get him back here alive,” Dakota offered. “We can interrogate him.”

  Zayn shrugged. “Okay.”

  “We can use Levi against him,” he stated. “We can put them in opposite cells and listen on the cameras.”

  Yeah, Zayn had bad news for him.

  “Yeah, that’s not going to be possible.”

  “Why not?”

  “Let’s just say that he had one extra hole in his head when I left and didn’t look all that talkative.”

  Dakota stared at him.

  “Wait. You…?”

  He stopped him.

  “You heard me just fine the first time. I don’t think you need me to spell it out for you.”

  That didn’t sit well with Dakota at all. He’d been the law. Now he had the band of merry killers following him around. That was NEVER a good thing.

  “Jesus Christ.”

  Both Native men looked at him. Clearly, they didn’t get why he was having an issue.

  “I can’t believe this.”

  “What’s so hard to believe, white man? I handled the situation.”

  “Murder…”

  Both men laughed as if he’d said something so outrageous to them.

  “You’re in N’awlins now, and this is a whole other game. We’re mercenaries, Dakota. We aren’t cops taking a hiatus from our nice, clean lives. You’ve bedded down with two people who have broken the law here. Besides, we’ve heard about Bonnie. You’re not taking her to jail. What makes you better than us?”

  He had a point, but still…

  “It’s a new day, Dakota,” Rogue said. “If you want to help Harrington’s family, you can’t think like a cop. They passed this off to us for a reason. It wasn’t because we had contacts.”

  Dakota was beginning to see that.

  “We kill for a living. Welcome to the club,” Zayn stated. “You can leave your moral high ground at the door. We’re all animals here.”

  Yeah, that was hard to swallow.

  “Let’s just get this setup. I need a drink,” he stated, feeling like he was out of control.

  Dakota didn’t know why.

  After all, he was out to kill Bonnie to settle a score. It really wasn’t all that different. They were right.

  Rogue reached into his jacket and pulled out a flask to toss to him. “Bottoms up, bro.”

  He did it.

  When in Rome…or New Orleans, do as the crazies did. Wasn’t that the saying?

  He tossed it back to Rogue, who slid the antique flask back into his pocket.

  “Okay, so tonight, we’ll keep in touch with you, Zayn. Your job is to extricate the woman and get Cobb under control,” Dakota stated.

  “I still think we should kill him there. If we bring him here, we’re risking base.”

  Dakota thought about it.

  The man had a point.

  Only, they didn’t have a choice. If they locked him down there, his partners could come looking for him. It was best to make it look like he’d bailed WITH the girl.

  “No, bring him here. If we get lucky, whoever he’s working with might think he’s taken Stella and run. They may think it’s a double cross. Cobb sounds like the kind of man who would do that.”

  They both agreed.

  “The only issue with that is that we can’t turn Stella over to her father,” Rogue admitted. “If his place is being watched…”

  Well, shit.

  That was right.

  The second they turned her over, into a compromised home, she could be taken again.

  Yeah, no.

  “Okay, so we’ll have to calm her down and explain. If we get lucky, she’ll understand and trust us. We can allow her to call her father, but he has to be alone when she talks to him.”

  They agreed.

  He had security following him.

  Who knew if they were part of this or not? The less the father knew, the better. They believed it to be an inside job, but which guy was doing the deed?

  “Okay, so, Zayn, are you good with handling that?”

  “Yes. I can take him out and then free the girl. I have it under control.”

  That cleared up his job.

  He was on Rogue duty.

  “How are we with the money plan?” he asked the other Native man.

  “We have the drop site. I’ve already been there and scoped it out. I’ve planted some remote cameras that the feds left us. We have full surveillance on the place right now. You can watch from a tablet around the corner, and I’ll do the drop. Once you see the man take the bait, we start tailing him.”

  It sounded like a good plan.

  What could go wrong?

  “What about the money?” Dakota asked.

  Rogue opened the bag and tossed him a bundle of big bills. There were all hundreds.

  Dakota checked them out.

  “How are we tracking them?” he asked.

  “You tell me.”

  He studied the packets.

  Nothing seemed out of place.

  “I don’t see anything.”

  “And that’s the purpose. One of those bills is a fake. I made it myself on some special paper. It’s dipped in radioactive fluid.”

  He dropped the bills as if they had burned his hands. The look on his face said it all.

  “WHAT?”

  Zayn snorted.

  Rogue laughed.

  Dakota…not so much.

  “It’s not like you’re planning a family, right?” Rogue teased.

  “Jesus. What have I gotten myself into?” he asked rhetorically.

  “Don’t worry. Your testicles won’t shrink, dude. It’s just a way we can trace the money if we find a location. It may never even be something we can try. It’s going to depend on a lot of variables.”

  “Like?” Dakota asked.

  “If they split the money ASAP, then it’s in the wind. If they leave it in a location for a while, we’re good. Think of this as plan B.”

  He understood.

  Rogue was padding their chances to trace the money if they couldn’t trace the pickup guy.

  “I got it now.”

  “Besides, they give off low levels of radiation. We have to be really stealthy. They’ll be looking for a tracker. We’ve given them something they can’t see or feel.”

  It was genius.

  “That’s a clever plan.”

  “I have my moments.”

  Zayn laughed.

  “What?” Rogue asked. “Are you saying because I’m a fucking half-breed I have less of a brain? At least I’m not a brick wall.”

  The two men faced off again.

  “Are you saying I’m big and dumb?” Zayn asked.

  And AGAIN, Dakota had to get in between them before someone got hurt.

  “WELL?” Rogue asked.

  “You need to chill out, brother. I was laughing because I pictured all of their testicles shriveling up. You’ve got some anger issues that you need to work through.”

  “Yeah, it might have a lot to do with how you keep degrading my ethnicity.”

  Dakota pushed them apart.

  It wasn’t easy.

  “Listen up! We have to work together. I want to find Lottie Tipton, you want to find your father, and YOU want to find your sister’s killer. We can’t do that if we’re having a battle. We can’t do that if we’re at each other’s throats. Chill the hell out and both of you stop being so sensitive. What are you, girls?”

  Both men relaxed.

  “As I was saying, that’s a clever little plan. We’ll get to the drop site early, and get ready. I’m going to call Danforth Harrington to let him know that IF we get only one of his family out, he can’t see her.”

  “He’s not going to like that. In fact, he’s goin
g to demand to see her.”

  “Well, that’s on him. We’ve managed to find one kid—hopefully. The feds didn’t even get close. He’s going to have to accept it and play by our rules. There’s only so much we can do when it comes to accommodating him. This is about the people being held for ransom—not the rich guy paying it.”

  He had a point.

  “I want to find her,” Zayn said, pointing at the picture.

  Dakota glanced at his watch.

  “Me too. We leave in twenty. Be ready. Zayn, check in as soon as you neutralize the situation.”

  “Oh, I will.”

  “Good luck, gentlemen. Let’s get this shit done.”

  With that, he walked out.

  He had a call to make, and it wasn’t going to be a good one. He could already tell.

  * * * H U N T E R * * *

  Saturday Night

  Eight P.M

  Cobb’s Hideout

  Zayn was in place.

  It took him a while to find the perfect location. Since this address was some backwoods place, he didn’t want to roll up there in his ride.

  He wanted to be careful.

  Honestly, he was going to get one shot at it.

  If this went south, Stella Harrington was the one who would likely be hurt. It would be too easy for Cobb to race back into the building and shove a knife through her heart.

  He didn’t doubt he’d do it too.

  The man was a sick asshole.

  So, by getting there earlier, he’d been able to hide his vehicle, and then make sure he was somewhere he couldn’t be seen.

  In this case, being Native helped. He blended into his surroundings easily.

  Since childhood, he’d loved the woods. Now he was playing in them. This was his game.

  Pulling out his gear, he pulled on his night vision so he could watch the rundown building.

  Cobb didn’t even see this coming, and that was a good thing. There was a light inside, and someone moving around.

  Then he heard screaming.

  It was a woman.

  It quickly stopped.

  Jesus!

  He had to move.

  There was a woman inside who likely was scared stupid and who knew what Cobb was doing to her?

  Zayn kept thinking about his sister, and how he’d failed to keep her safe. This was like his do over.

  That woman…she had to be okay.

  So, he texted the man’s phone from Levi’s.

  ‘I’m outside. Let me in. I want to party.’

  He waited, and it wasn’t long until he got a message back. It enraged him.

  ‘I was just feeling up my prize. She’s a wild one. I’ll be right out. We’re going to fuck that sweet little body all night long. I hope you brought the Viagra, my friend.’

  Oh, Zayn had news for him. There was no freaking way anyone was touching that woman anymore. Once he got her free, she was going to be safe.

  He’d make sure of that.

  Knowing time was of the essence, Zayn got into position outside the door. From the sound of it, he was pretty sure that Gus Cobb was alone inside with the girl. He likely wasn’t the one in charge of this abduction.

  The man was as dumb as a box of rocks.

  Here was the proof.

  He was going to walk right outside without a single freaking clue as to who was waiting for him.

  When the door opened, he was ready. He had his gun in his hand, and Zayn had to force himself not to kill the asshole. If anyone deserved it, it was him.

  Still…

  They needed him.

  Once they found the next piece to the puzzle, they’d be on their way to finding the wife or other daughter.

  Who knew what Stella could tell them?

  As the door opened, Zayn didn’t even give him a chance to call out to his ‘friend’. He used the butt of his gun to take him down.

  Gus Cobb hit the dirt ass first, and there was that crunching of bone.

  Perfect.

  Now it was time to secure him. Pulling out the zip ties, he locked the man’s hands behind him, and then his feet. When he was completely hogtied, he shoved a rag in his mouth and carried him to the trunk of the ride he’d ‘borrowed’ for the mission. There was no freaking way he was getting his truck dirty with scumbag kidnappers.

  Once he dropped him inside, he covered his stuffed mouth with some duct tape.

  And then he showed him the hood.

  Sadly for Cobb, he saw him.

  “Hold tight, you sick pervert.”

  He punched him in the gut as hard as he could. The man wheezed behind the gag and tape.

  “You and I have a date later, and I’m going to take your fingers off one by one.”

  The man’s eyes filled with tears.

  “Did you rape her?” he asked, pointing at the building.

  The man furiously shook his head.

  “If she says otherwise, I’m going to come out here and peel your dick like a banana. Got it?”

  The man nodded.

  He punched him in the face so hard he went out like a light. Zayn hooded him, so he’d be quiet.

  Pulling his goggles back on, he moved through the trees and shrubs to get to the building.

  As he headed back in, Zayn took zero chances. He cleared each and every space to make sure that Gus Cobb hadn’t had any other friends there to ‘party’.

  Zayn didn’t take chances with his life or his career. He wanted to get to the woman, but he wanted to be safe just as much.

  He made sure that there were no surprises.

  Outside of the one room, he found a burn barrel with what looked to be women’s clothing. He was pretty sure the man was preparing to clean up any evidence.

  The woman would be next.

  Hopefully, he’d gotten there in time.

  There was one locked door, and he had to use a pair of bolt cutters he found to break into it.

  Once inside the chilly room, he found her shivering on the bed, her hands and feet bound. She was wet, pale, and hypothermic.

  Dropping to his knee, he touched her.

  She immediately recoiled.

  “Shhhhh, my name is Zayn. I was sent by your father to save you,” he whispered. “I’ve come to get you out of here. Are you Stella Harrington?”

  She went still.

  “Please don’t be a figment of my imagination,” she whispered through cracked lips. “Please don’t be something I made up,” she begged.

  Zayn could tell she was also dehydrated and likely starving. Cobb had treated her like an animal.

  Gently, he pulled the blindfold off, and he prayed he didn’t scare her even more. As soon as he did, her brilliant blue eyes opened, and there were tears.

  “I have you now. He burned your clothes. I can’t take you out of here like this, so I’m going to give you my shirt. It’ll be a dress on you.”

  She nodded as he sliced through the restraints on her wrists. They were raw and bloodied.

  “Thank you for saving me,” she said, staring up at the large Native man. She wanted to kiss him for saving her life.

  He was her hero.

  “It’s okay, Stella. There’s only one thing?”

  She looked at him with tears in her eyes. “What? Please don’t tell me you’re leaving me here. Please. I’ll do anything to get away from them. He was going to hurt me.”

  His heart broke for her. When he reached to wipe the tears from her cheek, she flinched like a scared animal.

  “I won’t hurt you. Just listen to me, okay?”

  She nodded as he pulled off some of his gear.

  “We know this had to be an inside job at your home. We don’t know who betrayed your family. You can’t go right home. I can let you talk to your dad on the phone, but we have to keep you hidden so they don’t try for you again.”

  He expected her to freak out.

  “So you can find my stepmother and sister?” she asked calmly.

  “Yes. We haven’t found them
yet. We’re working on it. I don’t want you to be afraid of me,” he offered, cutting the ties around her ankles.

  As soon as she was free, she sat up and protected her body by curling up.

  “Did he rape you?” he asked calmly. This was about not scaring her.

  “I don’t think so,” she said. “I passed out when he was choking me a couple times. I woke up like this.”

  Zayn pulled off his tactical vest and then his shirt.

  “We don’t have a lot of time. I want to search the place to find anything I can to help find your stepmother or sister. Can you walk?”

  She shook her head. “I think I sprained my ankle. I tried to escape once, but he caught me.”

  He helped her put the shirt on over her cold, naked body. “Okay, then don’t move.”

  She grabbed his hand. “You won’t leave me, right? You’ll come back for me? Please, Zayn!”

  He smiled at her.

  She was making it easy for him. The woman was tough. She wasn’t freaking out.

  “I promise I won’t leave you. I’ll be right back, Stella. I just need to find anything that will help us find your family.”

  He softly patted her cheek with his big hand, and she put her smaller one over his.

  “Thank you for finding me.”

  “You’re going to be okay.”

  Stella hoped so.

  This was a nightmare.

  As soon as he left the room, she wanted to panic. She was desperate to have him return. He was the first person she’d seen the last month, and he felt like a good, decent person.

  Stella felt safe with him.

  As she stayed there on that dingy mattress, she was getting nervous, so she sniffed the collar of his shirt. The scent was spicy and warm, and it helped her focus on anything but that place.

  The fear was abating.

  Then there was a loud engine.

  It scared the hell out of her. She’d heard it before. It was one of the other men.

  Zayn came rushing in, and he raced toward her.

  “It’s them! I’ve heard it before! They’re going to get me!”

  He wouldn’t let that happen.

  “We have to get to the cover of the trees without them seeing us. We want them to think Gus took you and ran away to make money for himself. We’re going to turn them against each other.”