Chapter Twelve

Hunter

Leaving Ace waiting, Hunter shoved back from the desk and slammed out of the comms room.

Striding across the hallway to the suite Theo had chosen, he pushed the partially closed door open.

“You’ve got a tracker on you.”

“What?” Theo turned from the mini bar with wide eyes.

“They found the SUV.”

“Fuck!” Theo yanked out his phone and emptied his pockets on the brown bedspread.

“Jesus Christ, Theo! How the fuck have you lasted this long with Erebus?” Hunter snapped and yanked up the man’s wallet. He started tearing out items and tossing them to the bed—ID, credit cards, insurance cards, and receipts.

“I kind of haven’t.”

At Theo’s whispered confession, Hunter stopped what he was doing and gave the guy his full attention.

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been helping Malcolm.”

“What the fuck?” Hunter gaped. “You’ve been taking contract jobs?”

“No! I haven’t been in the field or taking any jobs,” Theo insisted.

Okay…it took a moment to wrap his head around what Theo was trying to say. So, Theo never took on jobs for Erebus, or anyone else for that matter? Malcolm must have seen the same thing Hunter did at this moment—Theo wasn’t cut out to be a killer. Hunter only wished he’d seen it before he’d recommended Theo to Dave in the first place.

“How have you been helping Malcolm?”

“I set up the jobs and um…finalize the transactions.”

“Does Solomon know?”

“Yeah, he said that was fine.” Theo’s head tilted in thought. “It was just after you left, right when I came on. Solomon said he no longer wanted that part of the job anyway.”

So, what the fuck did Solomon actually do, Hunter wondered.

“Let me get this straight, you’re both the contact and the money man for Erebus?”

“Yes.”

Hunter lifted Theo’s phone from the bed and checked it for any type of device or app. It came out clean and he handed it to Theo.

“Get Solomon on the phone.”

Theo stood with the phone in his hand.

Hunter lifted each credit card from the bed until he found one with a patch of something pasted to the back. He dug at it with his fingernail until the small tracking device came free. Taking it to the sink, he placed it beneath running water and then broke it into pieces to be on the safe side before striding from the room.

Entering the comms room again, he lifted the phone.

“Ace?”

“I’m here.”

“We’ve been compromised.”

“I’m sending the unit now,” Ace said and ended the call.

Hunter turned to the wall of monitors where his SUV had its doors wide open. With the broken driver’s window, it would be an easy breach. It would only be a matter of time before they were located.

Damn it. He was fucking slipping. A few years ago, he wouldn’t have brought Theo here without searching for a tracking chip.

“Do you know any of these men?” Hunter pointed to the screen and Theo, hovering at the door, moved in to take a closer look.

“I’ve seen them before,” Theo whispered.

“Get Solomon on the phone,” he said for the second time.

“I can’t.” Theo rubbed his knuckles against his mouth, staring at the monitor where the SUV’s doors stood wide open.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

“The last thing Malcolm said before Solomon found us was to have zero contact. Malcolm said to call you and you’d know what to do.”

“Now you need to tell me why you were with Malcolm and not with Solomon.”

“Because after I told Solomon what I’d overheard, I realized that Malcolm wouldn’t have done that! He just wouldn’t. So, I told Solomon that, but he didn’t want to listen.”

Hunter gaped at Theo. “You could have told me that in the fucking car, Theo, instead of your ‘I don’t know,’ bullshit. You made me think that Malcolm had gone rogue.”

“Well, he may have!” Theo snapped. “I don’t really know.”

“But it was you who overheard the guy talking about Malcolm taking those jobs,” Hunter reminded the man.

“I know.” Theo nodded, guiltily wringing his hands. “But it’s Malcolm, Hunter.”

He knew how Theo felt. To think that a man he admired and respected had gone off the rails wasn’t sitting well.

“Okay…so you went to Solomon and told him you thought Malcolm was innocent and then what?”

“Solomon shut me out, so I went to Malcolm.”

“And that’s when Solomon found you two together,” Hunter probed.

“His men found us, yes,” Theo whispered.

Solomon had men? The head of Erebus having a crew at his disposal was news to Hunter, but he kept that to himself. Theo’s story sounded a bit sketchy. If Malcolm was innocent, then why run? Although, with a hitman’s squad after you, you may run and ask questions later.

“So, you do know who is trying to kill you.” He glared at Theo, who looked away guiltily. “How’d you get away?” he continued when Theo didn’t say anything.

“I’d only just gotten there a few seconds before those men arrived, and Malcolm shoved me through the bathroom window of the motel so I could run. He thought it better to split up.”

Fuck. That sounded just like Malcolm to do something like that.

“Did Malcolm tell you he was innocent?” Hunter said.

“In the seconds I was with him, I never got a chance to ask him. I don’t know the truth! And now Solomon thinks I’m involved with whatever Malcolm was doing. And Malcolm probably thinks that I led Solomon to him!”

Theo was caught in a no-win situation between two highly trained killers.

“Has Malcolm tried to contact you since?” Hunter squinted.

“No. He’s gone dark. They’ve all gone dark.” Theo gulped. “And I need to tell you about the money.”

A movement on the monitor caught Hunter’s attention. The men were growing near to their location. Even though the bug was destroyed, it would have shown Theo’s last location.

The question of whatever money Theo was talking about could wait.

Hunter yanked open the desk drawer, pulled a key, and walked to the armory cabinet on the wall. He unlocked the box and placed his eye to the scanner. The hidden door popped open to reveal a weapons room.

“Stay here,” Hunter told Theo.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to prevent them from finding our location.”

“But what if they were sent by Solomon and I get dead?” Theo’s teeth worried his bottom lip.

“They won’t get close enough.”

Going out in daylight wasn’t always the best course of action, but Hunter was very good at what he did. He had swapped out his coat with a grungy black overcoat he’d snatched from one of the pegs in the weapons room.

The larger coat hid the Taran Tactical Innovations TR-1 Ultralight rifle. The weapon had a thirteen-inch forearm with a Bravo Company mod, BCM, pistol grip, and was equipped with a sound suppressor. Let’s just say the weapon was a badass motherfucker. Tucked at his other side was a Glock 34 with the combat master package with a similar suppressor. He preferred a Glock 26, but this longer version would do in a pinch.

Hunter had thought about using the Microtech Cypher OTF knife he had strapped to his leg but figured he’d pull that out if things got up close and personal.

Instead of walking behind the building’s structure, Hunter headed into the thick trees and foliage that covered the tall hill behind the building. From beneath nature’s cover, he worked his way toward the perps. The security camera had shown the same five from the mansion on the monitor—three in one SUV and two from the other. He’d think about getting rid of the vehicles later.

His plan was to stay hidden and pick off as many of them as possible.

Reaching a higher vantage point, he settled on the ground, took position, and lifted the rifle’s scope to his eye. Slowly, he scanned the area. It took a bit before he found a target. Two of the men were walking behind the neighboring warehouse, guns out, dressed in dark clothing. Both men were loaded for bear. Releasing his breath, Hunter picked off one and then the other.

He moved then, keeping to the high tree line. Shoving through the underbrush, he was able to see the edge of the building where he’d parked his SUV. As he’d suspected, the door to the neighboring warehouse stood open. He wouldn’t be entering after them. With two down and three to go, he wouldn’t need to go inside, they’d come out when the other perps didn’t return their radio calls. It really was a waiting gam—

The buzz of his cell phone cut off his thoughts and he glanced at the text.

Seven: Don’t shoot me. I’m behind you.

Hunter smirked and tucked his phone away before he slightly turned.

“You make a tempting target,” Hunter told the sexy man.

Seven snorted from his three o’clock; the guy stood close but not too close. How the fuck had Seven managed to get several feet from him without his knowing? Fuck, he really must be slipping.

“How’d you do that?” he muttered quietly.

“I moved when you moved,” Seven said just as quietly, gesturing to the crunchy undergrowth of branches and leaves. Just the sound of the man’s voice sent Hunter’s heart racing.

“Talented,” he goaded.

“You have no idea,” Seven rasped, finally reaching him. The man’s hand wrapped at his nape and yanked him close.

Hunter leaned his forehead against Seven’s, and they stayed that way for several moments. He drank in every fucking inch of Seven, and for the first time in hours, he felt whole. Seven’s breath became harsh and the man’s beard scratched against his face and neck. Sliding one hand to Seven’s hip, Hunter pulled the man closer.

A crunch in the underbrush had Hunter lifting his free arm and weapon in the direction of the noise, only to have his hand pushed down by Seven.

“They’re friendly,” Seven murmured against his jaw, and that was when Hunter saw them.

Link, with Owen slightly behind him, were coming through the trees. While the two men moved quietly, they weren’t as silent as Seven. Link and Owen wouldn’t have gotten as close to Hunter as Seven had.

Both men were dressed in black tactical, military grade gear. They looked like a couple of ninjas—come to think of it, Seven was wearing the same thing.

Had Seven made a decision? Before he could voice the obvious question, his attention was caught by the movement in the parking lot. One man had come out of the warehouse and Fisher stood over the body.

“Fisher took care of the one you missed.” Owen jerked his chin toward Fisher.

“And Eagle and Creed went to the safe house,” Link added.

“Theo doesn’t know them.” Hunter shook his head and yanked out his phone. Just as he was sending a text, he received one.

Theo: HELP!

“Looks like they’re there,” Hunter said before responding to Theo’s text.

Hunter: They’re friendlies.

Theo: I don’t think so, they are wearing masks.

“Wait… there was more than one more perp, there were three of them!” Hunter growled at Owen. “Are Eagle and Creed wearing masks?”

“Fuck no,” Link responded with a snort as if the idea was ludicrous.

“Shit,” Hunter said and shot a text to Theo as he ran through the trees and back toward the building.

Hunter: Hide!

There was no response from Theo, but Hunter wasn’t worried. The safe house was like a fortress; there was no way inside to get to Theo as long as the guy stayed put. Not unless Eagle or Creed opened the door.

“Jaxon West is with Eagle and Creed,” Seven said, running at his side.

Yeah, having Jaxon there would help. The ex-assassin’s skills were unparalleled, but Hunter still hoped like hell that Theo did as he was told and stayed inside. One thing was for sure, he was fiercely glad that Seven was once again at his side.

And with Pegasus on the job, they’d have this shit wrapped up in no time.