The Hunter

by Gennita Low

  “No, not with this many girls in our care!” Lily’s expression turned grim. “They’re my responsibility and transporting them will be dangerous if Dilaver sends the word out to look for a woman. Do you have any other ideas?”

  There was no way she was going to let her friend drive out into a gang war. Amber racked her brain for an answer. “Cell phone. Cell phone!” She yelled out, snapping her fingers.

  “What about my cell phone?” Lily was already buttoning her jacket.

  “Let me try getting hold of Hawk. He told me last night his would be on if I needed to call him.”

  “He tells you to call while he’s going into a firefight? Come on!”

  “Well, he didn’t know he was going to be in one. He told me Dilaver was taking him out to show him the weapon depots and routes. We were joking when I asked about contacting him in case I needed to instant message something…important.” Something sexy was what she had said, actually. Amber went to the counter to get her handbag. “Let me give it a try.”

  “I can’t believe it. You’re going to call the guy while he’s running around with a weapon in his hand.”

  “Your mercenary called you,” Amber pointed out. “I read in the papers that the Americans did it in Somalia. Called in on the embassy for help. Collect call, too.”

  “That’s true,” Lily admitted. “Shit. Men are crazy. I wouldn’t have time to call anyone while I’m in a middle of a war. Oh, go ahead, give it a try. The man’s crazy enough to break into the café and carry you upstairs, he’s probably crazy enough to answer a buzzing cell phone.”

  Despite the gravity of the situation, Amber grinned. “Maybe I’ll phone in a take-out order,” she said as she dialed.

  The descent down the hill was quick enough, with rounds impacting all around Hawk and his men. The sound of the firepower was tremendous as they moved closer. Hawk motioned the two others that they were going to the flank.

  The other side was using clumps of trees for cover. Their vehicles were parked together near a clearing behind the kill zone. To get closer, Hawk and his men would have to get nearer to the enemy’s camp and line of fire. Hawk sent the two men to opposite points. “Wait till dark,” he ordered. “I’ll move in and get closer. If we synchronize our explosives, they’ll think there are actually more of us. With Dilaver uphill, they’ll give up a lot sooner.”

  “What about those who try to escape in their trucks?”

  “Pick off as many as you can. Dilaver wants to capture them, so I’d go for the tires.” He didn’t know how good they were with weapon precision skills, and frankly, he would prefer to exterminate as many of these bastards as he could. He didn’t care whether they were of any value to Dilaver or not. “Darkness is good cover for us, so they won’t be able to see us while we can see their headlights.”

  “Okay. We’ll wait for your first charge and then we’ll toss in ours.”

  “Remember to get out of the way, American,” one of the men said in a joking tone. “We tend to just throw in all the explosives we’ve got and watch the fireworks. We don’t worry about who’s on whose side at that point.”

  “Right.” Hawk got the point. Dilaver might be thinking about business, but this was “fun” for the men. They were in this for the sheer adrenaline of bloodletting.

  The opposing side had retreated under tree and bush cover, leaving some of their trucks in the clearing. They had evidently been caught with their pants down by Dilaver’s sudden attack. Hawk wondered again why they were here in the first place. Dilaver had mentioned that he believed this gang was responsible for some of his missing trailers, so were they here to capture another? Yet the country road was so out of the way from the usual routes the gangs traversed.

  He decided that as soon as it became dark enough, he would sneak up to the trucks. It would have been easier if he had a grenade launcher, then he could just take them out from a distance, but where was the fun in that? Hawk bellied up under a clump of bushes and waited, listening to the sounds of gunshots and explosions around him.

  Stringing up explosives, as Jazz would say, was like making music; the more expert one became, the better the result. And a very well-done explosion could devastate the enemy’s psyche. If his team were here, they wouldn’t be hurling grenades at each other like these idiots were doing, making more noise than actually targeting the enemy. Hawk felt strange, removed from it all.

  The buzzing in the back of his pants made him frown. He had ignored it several times now, but whoever it was kept calling. He didn’t think it was McNeil calling, unless there was an emergency. What the hell? He was alone and he still had a few minutes before dark. He pulled out his cell phone.

  It wasn’t a number he recognized. There was a text message, too. He clicked on it. Pick up hotstuff. Now. Hawk stared at the message, then looked up into the darkening sky. He wasn’t going to—Ah, hell. He would just have to use the earphone so his hands would be free.

  Amber picked up on the first ring. “About time.” Her voice came in clearly through the earpiece. “I almost gave up.”

  “This had better be good, Ambrosia,” Hawk said, as he looked around him. “This isn’t a good time to have our usual phone sex.”

  Even her snort came in loud and clear. “I know you’re currently using your gun for other sports, Hot Stuff. That’s why I called. I can hear explosives, by the way.”

  She knew. Hawk studied the figure darting in and out of the shadows toward him, slowly sneaking up. He briefly wondered whether he should find out whether it was “his” side or the other who was trying to surprise him. It didn’t really matter. He was on neither. “Let me guess. You’re concerned for my safety and are calling me to tell me you want me badly.” Hawk took aim at the figure, his eye steady as the shadow popped up and down like a dummy target. “You do know that most people don’t answer cell calls in the middle of a firefight?”

  “The soldiers did in Somalia, so why can’t you? You’re probably just hiding behind a big tree while waiting for Dilaver to finish his war games,” she answered sardonically. “It isn’t as if you’re special ops or something and have any special skills in warfare to be any help.”

  Hawk’s lips curved reluctantly. It didn’t matter how grave the situation was, but that woman always managed to put a smile on his face.

  “No special skills…I’ll have to remedy that,” he said, then fired his weapon. The figure fell over. And stayed that way.

  There was a pause. “Hawk? I heard a shot. Are you okay?”

  “Just target-shooting. What is it you need, Ambrosia?”

  “You have to make sure Dilaver won’t take those men alive, especially a man named Dija.” There was a pause and Hawk could hear women’s voices arguing back and forth. Then Amber returned, sounding a lot more sober. “They know Lily and we prefer Dija doesn’t mention anything about Lily to Dilaver.”

  Lily. Hawk remembered the dark-haired woman with the weapons at Amber’s place the other night. “Connection?” he asked. It was about time to make his move toward the vehicles.

  “These men are mercenaries and Lily retains their services to get certain things.”

  He should have known. This place was full of shady dealings. “Let me guess. Highway robberies. Dilaver’s shipments.” The persons behind Dilaver’s problem were two women. Dilaver wouldn’t like that. “This all has to do with the kidnapped girls, doesn’t it? I know Dilaver’s after the people robbing him.”

  “Yes. A potential problem if Dija gets caught. He doesn’t intend to be, but he claims he’s surrounded and might have to give up. Dija is five-eight, scar on his left cheek, speaks English almost without an accent, and is missing a little finger.”

  “So what do you want me to do? Go looking for some man with a missing finger in the dark?”

  “If he gets caught, Hawk…” There was more muffled discussion at the other end. Amber cleared her throat, then continued, “Take him out before he talks. He doesn’t care which side he’s on, as lon
g as he’s paid. He warned Lily because she had saved his life once, but now they’re even. And you don’t want Lily in danger, because then who’s going to guide you around?”

  Her attempt at flippancy didn’t ring true. She must really need him quite desperately to make this call. He supposed, if he had to take one side, he would choose the ladies’.

  Whether Amber had called or not, Hawk was going to kill tonight. But he supposed now he had a good reason other than gratuitous violence. “Are you sure?” he asked quietly.

  “I wouldn’t call you if this wasn’t an emergency. I don’t order hits,” she replied just as quietly. “I have no choice.”

  Hawk wasn’t one to let an opportunity go by without seizing on it. She was all serious right now, her thoughts on her decision. And like the other night when he had seen her staring down into the yard, he had this urge to make her sorrow disappear.

  Besides, he enjoyed keeping her off-kilter ever since she’d taken him off-guard at their first meeting. “If I do this, you owe me. I want a date, with all the trimmings.” He got on his feet, undoing his back pouch where the grenades were tucked.

  “Trimmings?” She sounded confused.

  “Yeah…you know, makeup, stockings, garter belt.”

  Another small pause. “Those are trimmings? You make me sound like I’m a meal.”

  “That reminds me,” Hawk said as he looked through his small binoculars. “Edible underwear, preferably strawberry.”

  “Edible…you’re kidding, right?”

  “Nope. I do this for you and you owe me the trimmings.”

  “I’m not going to discuss edible underwear over the phone.”

  Hawk chuckled softly. “I’ll call back later, Ambrosia. Tell Lily she owes me, too.”

  “You haven’t done anything yet,” she reminded him. “And it’s me who’s asking the favor, so Lily owes you nothing.”

  “Well, then, you’re Lily’s veza, and I’m yours,” Hawk said, pulling out his bowie knife instead. The grenades would have to wait, since he now had to get up close and personal. “That’s double-duty veza, so I’ll have to think of more trimmings. How about the rest of the order I wrote on your thigh?”

  “You—”

  Hawk cut off the cell phone. He was learning how to get veza for future advantage.

  11

  Lily was surprised. She didn’t think Amber had the balls to ask Hawk to do it. Seeing the look on her friend’s face, she knew she was thinking about it now. She didn’t want Amber to dwell on it. She knew from experience that one couldn’t second-guess decisions like this or it would eat a hole in one’s head. Being the daughter of missionaries probably didn’t help. She needed a quick distraction.

  “Edible underwear?” Lily drawled, arching her eyebrows. She watched the heat rise in Amber’s cheeks. “Isn’t that on our Wretched Wenches List?”

  They had gotten drunk one night and made that list. A wretched wench was a desperate woman trying to get laid. It was done in fun to relieve the tension in the lives they both led.

  “You didn’t hear that,” Amber said defensively.

  Lily smiled. All she had to do was bring up Hawk. She had never seen Amber quite so flustered before.

  “As long as he doesn’t want me to wear them, too. I draw the line at edible underwear.” Lily unbuttoned her jacket. “Does that mean he agrees to do it? When will we know whether he succeeds?”

  “Yes. He’ll call back later.” Amber became subdued again.

  “Do you think he’ll get to Dija?” She had an idea that Hawk McMillan was a very capable agent. Amber hadn’t complained once about any of his skills. Another interesting observation.

  “It’s our only chance, Lily. You wouldn’t have been able to drive out there and not be seen. I heard the fighting in the background.”

  Lily sighed. “I know, but I’d have done it anyhow, if you hadn’t come up with this idea. Of course, now you’ll have to delve into the Wretched Wenches List to pay up.” She grinned. “He’s something else. Where are you going to find edible underwear?”

  “Oh, shut up,” Amber said rudely. “There isn’t going to be any, so you can wipe that grin off your face. He was just joking.”

  The woman was obviously in denial. “I wouldn’t be too sure about it. After all, you two have the most unusual courtship going.”

  Amber looked up, startled. “What the hell are you talking about now?”

  Lily cracked her knuckles. “Let’s see. Playing with each other’s body parts. Tapping each other’s phones with shadow programs. Running around in the dark alleys of Velesta. And all of this without a first date. Definitely an unusual courtship.”

  “We don’t even know each other!” Amber shook her head, her fingertips touching her lips as she looked away.

  “Look at her, deep in thought.” Lily interrupted her reverie, studying her with knowing eyes. It appeared someone else had been kissing last night. “Poor Amber. She’s joined the Wretched Wenches.”

  Amber wrinkled her nose. “I’m going to finish up here,” she said. “When we get back home, we have to make a list of girls to prep for the interview. Then you have to call Brad and make your own schedule.”

  Lily felt her grin fading. Brad. Damn, damn, damn. How could she face him after last night? She was a foolish, foolish woman, to get drunk and let her heart rule over her head.

  She had given in and done what she had wanted to do. Had her hands into that thick blond hair and mussed it up. Ran her tongue against his and tasted him again. And again. She could feel her foolish heart start beating faster at the memory of the way he had kissed her back. He had turned her into the curve of the sofa arm and had plundered her mouth with such silky skill, he stole all thought along with control. All she remembered was how soft his hair was as she’d pulled him closer, how wonderful he’d smelled, and how absolutely, obviously hard he had been.

  Lily turned around, using the excuse of taking off and folding her jacket to hide her expression. She wondered what Brad was thinking right now, especially about her. She probably deserved to be called a bitch. Or, worse, a tease.

  She closed her eyes briefly. She just couldn’t overcome her fear. She hated feeling out of control, especially during sex. Last night—she sighed—last night she had actually felt something more than lust, and she had panicked. Panicked and ran off.

  “Well, nothing to say?” Amber asked from behind her.

  Lily opened her eyes. She had to make the call first. It always felt better afterward, knowing she was in charge of something so much bigger than one man. Personal stuff didn’t mean a damn thing to her. “I’ll do that later,” she said casually. As soon as she figured out what to say. Maybe he wouldn’t bring up last night.

  A tease. She hated that kind of stuff—playing around and then not delivering. That was a big no-no to her, one of the things she and Amber…she bit down on her lip to stop the curse threatening to spill out. Horny, unsatisfied, and a tease—who had joined the Wretched Wenches now?

  The ride back to The Last Resort was a quiet one. Amber thought about what she had asked Hawk to do and how, in the middle of it all, she had still managed to flirt with the man. Like Lily had said, she and Hawk had a strange courtship.

  What a strange, alien word in her world. She was attracted to Hawk—there was no denying that when she couldn’t seem to stop thinking about him—but courtship? Trust Lily to come up with a word that seemed both ludicrous and yet so right.

  She barely knew the man. But she wanted to know more. He seemed different. He hadn’t shown any vanity like some good-looking men did around women. In fact, he projected a calm quiet confidence that had nothing to do with his outside at all; everything he did, he had done with an efficiency of someone who knew he was more than just a face.

  Amber had always liked men who used their brains. Her father was a wonderful thinker and reader, and had impressed upon her that it was the mind that made men civilized. Men who think were often the contributors of e
nlightenment, he had said. And Hawk had told her he meditated. She wondered whether he liked to read.

  Yet Hawk was also a man of action. He was in a battle right now, and she was worried. That particular emotion surprised her. He was a man capable of taking care of himself—a trained operative who was a natural tracker. What she saw last night told her a lot. How he reacted to her request told her even more. The man had killed before; it was in his eyes and attitude. That didn’t surprise her; she lived in a very violent world.

  She had her first rude awakening about that fact at a very young age, when a neighboring tribe attacked the African village at which she and her parents stayed. While most little girls were at home watching Saturday cartoons, she had seen things done to humans that made her grow up fast. Then she had struck out on her own, first as a rebellious teenager and then as a contract agent, and without the protective shield provided by her parents she had discovered how dark the world could be.

  Yet she had never felt the same helplessness as she did the other night. She had chosen her line of work to do something. The other night, she hadn’t lifted a finger.

  A man of action. But only at the right time. She had met a man like that once. Jed McNeil. Hawk had similar qualities. Jed had helped her out of some tight corners, showing her that sometimes, one had to dirty one’s hands.

  Amber looked at her own. Like Jed, Hawk was also good at hiding, appearing and disappearing at will. There was more to him than what he showed. She couldn’t quite put a finger on it yet, but that was what was intriguing. That hidden side of him. That secret ingredient to that whole recipe that every cook went after. She wanted it.

  But still, how combat-ready was he? He had thought Dilaver was just showing him the weapons routes. The shot she had heard on the cell phone just now—was that he who was firing or was that a shot aimed at him? Yet he had sounded so cool and detached, even mocking her. She gave a mental shake. The man was combat-ready, all right. Few men could talk about a date with—she gave a wry smile—trimmings in the heat of battle. He was definitely a deliciously dangerous man.