Chapter Twenty-Three

Hunter

Two hours dragged by and Hunter was getting antsy. With another two to go, Hunter stepped into the weapons room to gear up.

He couldn’t wait for this to be fucking over with and get to Seven. He’d never worried about another person like he did with Seven. Sure, he worried about his brother, and Pegasus, but with Seven it was different. If anything happened to Seven, it would punch a hole into his universe and leave a gap he’d never recover from.

Darkness had dropped over the town as it grew later, but due to their control of the lighting, they could keep it as light or dark as needed in their immediate surroundings. However, he still had a few hours until the meeting.

His plan was to head out early and get a good vantage point. It only made sense to move in the dark. He became a better killer in the shadows.

Laughter from the other room filtered through, and it wasn’t hard for him to overhear the various conversations going on.

Kellum was teaching Creed about a tracking app that he could install on his phone and Creed talked Kellum into putting it on his own phone.

“That way if anything happens, I…” Creed cleared his throat. “We can find you.”

“Okay,” Kellum said softly, and Hunter smiled.

Those two were a mystery. Sometimes, Hunter thought they liked each other and other times, they couldn’t stand one another. It was a crapshoot depending on the day. All he knew was that Kellum kept his distance. That man had a story to tell.

All of the men at the safe house seemed to come and go, but mostly they hung out in the comms room—kind of like making it their own.

He selected the same Glock 34 he’d used before and placed it on the metal table. Would he use it to kill Malcolm? The answer depended on if Malcolm really wanted to talk or if this was a setup.

Honestly, he wasn’t sure any longer. While Malcolm’s name had been used on the bogus account, the man could actually be using that to make himself look innocent. But then why not disappear with the money already?

“Kind of early, isn’t it?” Jaxon said from the doorway, interrupting his thoughts.

With his shoulder-length hair loose, Jaxon took up a shoulder lean against the doorjamb and crossed his arms, looking all badass in a tight black t-shirt.

“Did you get highlights?” Hunter studied the light strands threading through the brown of Jaxon’s hair.

“Fuck no, why?” Jaxon looked at him like he was crazy.

“It’s lighter than the last time I saw you.”

“It’s the sun. I took some time off in Florida a few months ago.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, oh. It’s really too early to gear up,” Jaxon said, reminding him that there was still over an hour to go.

“You’re right.” Hunter sighed and stepped away from the table.

“Theo made fresh coffee,” Jaxon said before heading out the door, and Hunter followed.

Entering the comms room, Link and Eagle sat at the end of the large table nearest the kitchen area. Link wiggled a deck of cards, and Hunter shook his head. The guy shrugged and dealt a hand of what looked to be five-card stud to Eagle.

At the counter, Hunter grabbed an empty mug and filled it with coffee.

“You know, I’ve been thinking,” Jaxon said, and Hunter slanted him a humorous look. “And before you say, “Don’t strain yourself,” ya smartass, hear me out.”

“Go for it.” Hunter smirked and took a sip from his mug.

Jaxon sighed. “I agree with Stone.”

“About Dave taking responsibility on this one?” Hunter asked just to be sure.

“Yes.”

“So, you really don’t think either Solomon or Malcolm is in on it?”

“I don’t know, but I trust Stone’s judgement like I trust Hayden’s,” Jaxon said.

Okay, that was saying something. Having known Jaxon for years, Hunter knew there were only a few men outside of Jaxon’s bodyguard family that the guy truly trusted.

Hunter smiled thinking of Hayden Thorne. Hunter had met the man several times while passing through Colorado. During the few years before he joined Pegasus, Hunter had stayed at Jaxon’s place on numerous occasions, sleeping in the spare room because Hayden had taken over Jaxon’s basement for the past several years.

“How is Hayden? Is he still working with you at Cobalt Security?” Hunter asked.

The change of subject seemed to throw Jaxon and it took a moment for him to respond.

“He’s doing good and yes, why?” Jaxon said suspiciously.

“No reason.” Hunter huffed and shook his head. “You brought him up.”

Jaxon looked contrite but only grunted.

“Who’s Hayden?” Kellum said, jumping into the conversation.

“Hayden is Jaxon’s best friend. A really good guy,” Hunter said.

“He’s my roommate,” Jaxon amended, causing Hunter to lift his brows in surprise.

“So, you trust Hayden implicitly…but he’s not your friend anymore?” Hunter returned sarcastically.

Called out, Jaxon gnashed his teeth, shifted his shoulders, and rubbed at the back of his neck. “I didn’t say that,” the guy mumbled and tucked his face down to sip from the mug cradled in his free hand.

“You’ve got to meet Hayden.” Hunter turned suddenly to Link and then Kellum. “He is a hoot and a hottie.”

“No, he’s not.” Jaxon scowled and Hunter wanted to laugh, but he held it back.

“He is,” Hunter goaded.

“Don’t be introducing Hayden to—” Jaxon waved his hand at Link, Kellum, and the table. “—single men.”

Hunter laughed when Link chuckled.

“I’ve met Hayden before,” Link told Hunter. “He was at that Cobalt party several years ago, and yeah, he is a hottie.”

Eagle scowled at Link before shooting Hunter a death glare, but he ignored that. Getting in between couples and making them jealous was his specialty and since he was no longer available—because he had Seven—he had to find some other way.

He sent a smirk toward Jaxon, who gave him a flat look.

“If you’re trying to stir me up about Hayden, you’re wasting your time,” Jaxon rasped, and Hunter smiled.

“Well…” Hunter tipped his head like he was going to spill something juicy—just to fuck with Jaxon—but then he only shrugged. “Never mind.”

“Never mind what?” Jaxon hissed.

“Hey,” Stone said from the window.

“You stay out of this!” Jaxon growled at Stone.

“Hey!” Stone snapped.

“What?” Jaxon snapped back.

“Somebody’s out there.”

That got all of their attention and Hunter stopped fucking with Jaxon to make his way over to the window next to Stone. Jaxon and Link crowded up behind to gaze out the blind Stone had pulled slightly down.

“I don’t see anyone,” Hunter said.

“Trust me,” Stone murmured. “Someone’s out there.”

Selecting the same Tactical Taran rifle he’d used the other day, Hunter lifted the Glock 34 from the table and tucked it into one of the deep pockets inside of his overcoat. Slipping in extra ammo clips, he strapped on the sheath that carried the OTF knife.

Jaxon eyed the rifle. “You might want something a little stealthier.”

“Nope, I don’t plan on getting up close and personal to whoever is out there,” Hunter said. “I’ll leave that to you and Stone.”

Stone grunted and tucked away a pair of twin STI 2011 Combat Master 9-millimeters. Several clips were added to his pockets before Stone slipped a Remington Tac-14 rifle inside of a specially designed back holster. The fourteen inches of death was hidden when Stone pulled on one of the large black overcoats hanging on the weapons room wall.

“What?” Stone said, glancing up to find both him and Jaxon staring at him.

“Overkill?” Hunter smirked.

“It’s either Malcolm or Solomon out there. I’m not taking any chances.”

“Good idea,” Jaxon said and lifted up a Mossberg 590 Shockwave 12-gauge firearm. The man ignored them both and slung the strap of the multi-shot pump-action weapon over his head and shoulder before putting extra ammo into his coat.

“That fucker’s loud,” Hunter said, nodding at Jaxon’s choice of weapon.

“I have quiet.” Jaxon shrugged, holding up his Glock with an attached suppressor. “Sometimes I want to make a little noise.”

Stone snorted.

“You three are loaded for bear,” Link said, coming into the room wearing black Pegasus tactical gear. Strapped to his thigh was a dark sheath with a wicked and deadly blade. The operative probably had three weapons tucked away; he looked like a modern-day ninja bandit.

“Where’s Eagle?” Hunter asked, selecting a pair of the night vision goggles on the rack near the guns.

“He’s coming,” Link said.

“You’re going to wear that?” Stone eyed the goggles.

“Yeah. I really am. I told you, I’m not going to get up close and personal. Pick a pair if you want,” Hunter said and smirked when both Stone and Jaxon shook their heads.

“It’s too confining. I’m always afraid I’ll miss someone coming from a blind spot,” Stone said, and Jaxon nodded in agreement.

“Suit yourselves.” Hunter tucked them into his coat.

Eagle stepped into the doorway looking dangerous in black tactical gear wearing identical weapons to Link’s. To Hunter, out of all the Pegasus men, Eagle rivaled Seven in the big, good-looking guy department. With an unshaven face, steely gaze, muscles galore, and a sharp jaw, Eagle was fucking hot. Not like Seven, but close. Although, Link stole the show with his lean build, messy hair, and hooded gaze—Link’s sexy look did complement Eagle’s badassery perfectly.

After a quick nod, Link kept his eyes turned away from Eagle, and Hunter had to wonder why those two hadn’t had sex yet. The tension was thick between them. From what Hunter had heard, they had known each other for years. Hell, before Link moved abruptly into the bunker a while ago, both Eagle and Link had lived at Eagle’s aunt’s house. Maybe they had had sex and it ended badly.

“Ready?” Eagle said, breaking into his nosy thoughts. The words were spoken to the room, but the man’s attention was all on Link.

“Yeah, let’s do this.” Hunter stepped out of the weapons room and into the comms room where Owen, Creed, Kellum, and Theo waited.

“If we don’t come back, call Ace. He will get in touch with Dave,” Hunter told Owen.

“I would still feel better coming along,” Owen grumbled.

“Like I said, they’re more than likely assassins,” Hunter said simply. “It’s no offense to your skills, it’s just a fact.”

“I know, I know. Like you said, they move to a different beat.” Owen ran a hand down his beard. “But I still don’t like it.”

Owen didn’t argue the fact that Link and Eagle had no previous experience with Erebus, but both had been on a highly skilled three-man kill team in Special Forces. Fury hadn’t been known for their fun, easy-going nature.

“Don’t open that door no matter what,” Stone said to his cousin, and Creed scowled but didn’t answer.

“We won’t!” Kellum piped up and then tipped his chin when Creed aimed a squinty-eyed look his way.

“Going out the front?” Theo looked worried.

Hunter shook his head. “We’re taking the back exit.”

“All right, let’s move,” Jaxon said, heading out of the comms room and into the foyer.

Before Hunter could follow, Theo stepped up and hugged him. Surprised, Hunter patted Theo on the back. When the slighter man pulled back, Theo held his eyes.

“Try not to get killed.”

“I will.”

“And try not to kill Malcolm.” Theo mouthed the last part so only he could see.

Hunter patted Theo on the back again and headed toward the hallway that would take him down the stairs.

He couldn’t make that promise to Theo.

If Malcolm was out there and he was gunning for them, then the guy he’d once respected needed to be neutralized.

Either way, he had a feeling that someone was going to die tonight.