SEVEN
“DAMN, YOU’RE UP EARLY,” RT greeted when Hunter stepped into the conference room on Friday morning.
It was early. Considering Hunter rarely strolled into the building before eight, he figured he deserved RT’s harassment.
“Couldn’t sleep.” It was a lie. Partially.
He wasn’t sleeping all that much these days. And whenever he did, he found himself caught up in a fucking dream that made the last one feel like rainbows and unicorns. This one left him pissed off and looking for revenge. Because in this damn dream, Danielle and Kye ended up dead rather than embracing the pleasure Hunter could offer them. Every time he woke up, he was covered in sweat, his heart racing, and he was looking for the threat that wasn’t there.
He knew why he was having the damn dream. He’d pushed them both away when he could’ve held them close. But in his defense, Kye deserved a hell of a lot better than him, and Dani…well, Dani didn’t want him in the first fucking place.
“Well, I’m glad you’re here,” RT admitted.
At least someone was. “Yeah?”
Conner stepped into the room behind him, followed closely by RT’s husband, Z.
“Oh, good, we’ve got support,” Conner declared.
“Support for what?” Hunter glanced at his brother, waiting for someone to elaborate.
“I brought donuts!” Trace offered, grinning like a loon when he joined them.
“Shouldn’t you be taking those to your pregnant wife?” Conner questioned their younger brother.
“Trust me, I already took care of her. No way were y’all gettin’ donuts before she did.”
Hunter smiled. His sister-in-law was four and a half months pregnant with their second child and doing well. Not that you’d know it based on the way Trace followed her around like a puppy. He was there to cater to her every whim while still managing to work full-time and help her take care of their ten-month-old son, Gabriel. It would’ve been cute if, you know, it wasn’t.
“So, what’s the low-down?” Z asked, taking the chair beside RT.
“I’ll fill you in once everyone gets settled.” RT peered over at Hunter. “You hear from Decker yet?”
“Not since he threw a fit when I told him he had a new partner.”
Deck had been downright pissed, which had surprised the shit out of Hunter. Not that he cared, but he could admit he was curious as to the other man’s reaction to gaining a tagalong.
“You hear from Kye lately?” Trace asked.
The question took Hunter off guard. Why did it seem everyone was asking about him these days?
His gaze cut over to RT, who immediately turned his attention to his laptop.
“No. Should I?”
Trace shrugged.
Hunter hadn’t talked to Kye since that last night they were together. He’d thought about him a million times, but he hadn’t tried to contact him. He knew better. If Kye was ten feet away from him, Hunter would’ve ensured they were still a million miles apart because that was the way he operated. Hunter couldn’t blame Kye for not wanting to deal with him anymore.
Although he thought about him often and wished the man would simply stumble in his front door from time to time, Hunter knew it was better this way. As it was, before Kye left Sniper 1, Hunter had been meaning to sit him down to let him know that the thing between them—which really wasn’t much of a thing—couldn’t continue. For the months prior, Hunter had given in to his cravings—using Kye and allowing Kye to use him—trying to fight his past, desperate to stop the ache in his chest whenever he thought about all he’d lost.
First Dani, then Josh.
Granted, Dani was still alive, but Josh was dead. Hunter’s partner had been taken by a madman who’d been out to kill RT’s sister, Marissa. It had happened in Oklahoma, at a safe house that turned out to be anything but safe. The bastard got to Marissa by going through two of their agents. First Ian, then Josh. Ian had sustained a serious bullet wound that had broken his clavicle, but Josh had taken a fatal one. In the end, Trace had managed to save Marissa’s ass, and ultimately save the day. At least she was out of danger now, but Josh was gone forever.
Sometimes it felt like so long ago, other times…
Nope, he wasn’t going to go there.
Not that his refusal to deal with it had helped any. Hunter’s dreams were plagued with Kye, Josh, and Dani. Every single time he closed his fucking eyes, there they were, in brilliant Technicolor, haunting him in the worst way possible. With every passing day, Josh seemed to be fading more and more from his memory, replaced by Kye.
One day, they would all fade away and Hunter would be left alone. He refused to let himself get attached to anyone else, so putting space between them had been his only option. It had worked. All too well. Maybe he wasn’t willing to divulge his deepest, darkest fantasies, but he couldn’t deny that he still cared about Kye and Dani. Despite his better judgement.
Just as everyone got situated, Jayden stuck her head into the room. “Hey, RT. I’ve got Kye on line one.”
RT’s gaze instantly darted to Hunter before he grabbed the receiver to take the call.
“What the fuck?” Hunter roared, moving closer to RT.
“What’s up, Kye?”
Hunter reached down and stabbed the speaker button.
“I…uh…” RT glared up at him. “Kye, I’ve got you on speaker. Most of the team—”
“She’s gone,” Kye interrupted, his tone rough.
“Who’s gone?” RT continued to stare at Hunter and the guilt on his face spoke volumes.
“Danielle Davidson. She’s fucking gone.”
Fuck.
“You had him fucking following her?” Hunter accused, his voice far too loud for the confines of the small room.
RT ignored Hunter. “What do you mean gone, Kye?”
“I mean, she’s not fucking there, RT. At the condo.”
“Where’d she go?”
“Fuck if I know. I guess when that asshole showed up at one o’clock this morning she decided to haul ass again.”
“What asshole?” Hunter bellowed. It took everything in him not to reach across the table and rip RT right out of his fucking chair.
“If RT would’ve answered his fucking phone this morning, he’d already have the fucking answer to that.”
Hunter tried to incinerate RT with a look.
“Just tell us what’s going on, Kye,” RT said, his voice as calm as ever.
“Guy showed up in the middle of the damn night,” Kye explained. “I alerted her and she high-tailed it. I went a couple rounds with the asshole, but he got away from me.”
A couple rounds? What the fuck was going on?
“Are you hurt?” RT asked, ever the calm one.
“No.”
Well, thank God for that.
As for Dani, Hunter wasn’t surprised she’d run. The woman had bolted more times than they could count, but she’d always left everything in pristine condition upon her exit, and usually not in the middle of the damn night. Whatever had happened, it had to have been serious.
Hunter figured that could only mean one thing. Whomever she was running from had finally caught up to her.
Hunter felt several eyes on him, but he kept his attention on RT.
“Get your ass back here,” Hunter rumbled roughly. “As fast as you fucking can.”
“Yeah. I came up with that plan at one thirty. I’m ten minutes from the office now. See you in a few.”
With that, Kye hung up.
“You want to tell me what the fuck is going on?” Hunter said, his voice deadly calm. “Why everyone believed Kye resigned, yet he’s somehow on a top-secret mission for you?”
“I need to talk to Max,” RT said firmly.
“You told me Max had her safely stashed away.” Hunter rolled his eyes. “Another fucking lie?”
Conner stood beside Hunter, his full attention on RT. “What the fuck is goin’ on? You’re havin’ Dani followed? Wh
at the hell’s wrong with you?”
RT frowned his way. “It’s none of your business, Conner.”
“But it is mine. Start talkin’,” Hunter demanded.
“I’ll explain after the meeting.”
“Bullshit!” Hunter stood tall. “Are these orders from Max?”
“Yes,” RT said, his eyes leveled on Hunter’s face.
“You’re an asshole, Trexler. A fucking asshole.” Hunter shook his head, turning toward the door, but Conner stopped him with a rough hand on his arm. Spinning back around, Hunter shoved Conner back, feeling that all familiar anger surge in his bloodstream. “Leave me the fuck alone.”
Conner’s forehead creased, his eyes narrowed. “Where’re you goin?”
“To talk to Max myself.”
“RT…” Conner sounded violent.
“Look, Hunter,” RT called from behind him. “I know I went behind your back on this one, but I had to.”
“Had to?” Hunter stared at the man who had betrayed him.
“Yeah. You’re too close to this one.”
“I thought you were passing Dani back over to her cousin?” he questioned. “You told me he was keeping her safe.”
“That was my intention back when Dani left four months ago. At the time, I thought it was better left alone, but something told me Dani was in serious trouble.”
“Something? Or someone?” Namely Max. If Hunter had to guess, Max had paid RT to keep this from Hunter.
“Max wanted me to keep an eye on her. This was the best way to handle it. I won’t apologize for my decision.”
Hunter was so fucking furious. He still remembered the conversation he’d had with RT right after Kye turned in his notice. Or faked it, anyway. Hunter had gone to RT, concerned about Dani’s safety. After Claire had tracked Dani a couple of hours north in Oklahoma, RT had told him to back off. Said he needed to relay the information to Max so he could take care of it, but to back off.
In an attempt to take the high road, Hunter had done as RT requested, sharing what intel he had with Max. That was when his brother-in-law had not-so-kindly informed him that Dani would be Dani and Hunter needed to forget she even existed. They had followed it up with a fictitious story of how Max had tracked Dani and she was safely holed up somewhere.
“You’re an asshole,” Hunter repeated. “A lying bastard.”
“Hey,” Z said defensively. “That’s enough. You want to have a conversation with him, do it in private.”
“Did you know about this?” Hunter asked Z.
The remorseful look on his face said he did.
Hunter had never felt more betrayed than he did at that moment. He spun around to leave.
“Where’re you goin’?” Conner asked.
“I’m goin’ to talk to Max.” That was as much as he was willing to divulge. He damn sure didn’t intend to explain himself. And the details of what he was doing with Dani from this point forward were on a need-to-know basis. No one needed to know as far as Hunter was concerned.
Desperate to get out of there, he grabbed the doorknob and jerked it open.
“Hunter, wait,” RT stated firmly.
Pausing, Hunter gripped the edge of the door and started silently counting down from ten.
“If you’re gonna go at Max, at least take someone with you.”
He shook his head. “I don’t need anyone with me. I’ve got this.”
“You’re not thinkin’ straight,” Conner noted. “This chick has you fucked up, man. Still. She’s not your problem anymore, goddammit. You need to let it go. Max can keep an eye on her.”
Hunter pivoted once more, staring at his brother. “Yeah? Then why the fuck did someone break into her condo? Why the fuck did she feel the need to run?” He cut his eyes over to RT. “If she was so fucking safe, why did Kye lose her, huh? And where’s Max now? If he was so fucking worried about her, then why isn’t he up in your shit about this?”
“Maybe he doesn’t know,” RT mused. “Or maybe he’s got it handled.”
Z popped off at the mouth. “Maybe he doesn’t think it’s any of our business.”
Hunter frowned. “Oh, he fucking knows all right,” he told RT, ignoring Z’s jab. “I guarantee he knows.”
Conner glanced at RT, and Hunter noted the worried look on his brother’s face. Hunter shrugged it off. He didn’t have time for this.
“I’m goin’ with you,” Conner demanded.
“No, you’re not. I don’t want or need your help,” Hunter drawled, pulling open the door.
He needed to talk to Max, find out where the hell Dani was, and once that was cleared up, he would confront Kye one last time. He was done with this shit. For real this time.
In fact, he was done with all of them. As far as he was concerned, RT could take the fucking job and shove it up his fucking ass.
DANI FELT AS THOUGH SHE’D been driving for days.
Perhaps that was because she was still in her car, having stopped only for gas, a bite to eat when she had started to feel light-headed, and to change clothes. Granted, what should’ve been a six-hour drive had taken her eight thanks to all the detours she’d taken in an effort to ensure no one was following her.
Finally, she was in Dallas, ready to have a sit-down with Max. It was time she did something drastic and there was only one person who could help her with that.
Her mind drifted back to Joe. Ever since she hopped in her car in the middle of the night, she’d thought about him endlessly. Hell, she’d contemplated finding him to let him know she had to leave. Of course, she hadn’t put too much thought into that because it hadn’t been an option. If she’d gone searching for the man, she would’ve been risking her life. And his.
But shit, it hurt knowing she would never see him again. She hadn’t meant to get close to him, but she had. Now, she would never know if it could’ve been something more.
Dani really was tired of this.
Honestly, she thought she’d put all the running behind her when Samuel died. The bastard had been wreaking havoc on her life for long enough; it wasn’t fair that he could do it from the grave, too. Unfortunately, it looked as though that was what he was doing.
The man who publicly claimed her as his niece had started his attempt to ruin her life when she was only nineteen years old. He began by blackmailing her, insisting that she do his dirty work, and by twenty, he had positioned her in the Kogans’ life in order to get inside dirt on the family. She never understood why Samuel hated Casper Kogan so much, and it wasn’t until Samuel’s death that Max had told her the long, sordid story. It had been a shock. Casper and Samuel had been on the outs because of a girl. Specifically, Max’s mother, Genevieve, who had become Samuel Adorite’s bride at the age of thirteen. Apparently, Casper hadn’t taken kindly to a monster like Samuel pulling Genevieve down into hell with him.
It was no secret that Samuel Adorite had never been in his right mind. In fact, the bastard had been stone-cold crazy. And no one was off-limits to him. No one.
Dani had known early on to steer clear of the man, but evading him hadn’t been possible because Samuel didn’t do a damn thing without having a backup plan. At first, Dani had refused to be a pawn in his game, but then he’d always known her weak spot—her mother—and he had fully intended to exploit it. It didn’t take long before Samuel had trapped Dani in his web of blackmail and deceit. He’d threatened to kill her mother if she didn’t do what he wanted. Dani knew he wasn’t bluffing.
She was well aware of what he was capable of because her mother had warned her. Jessica Davidson had shared a multitude of horror stories, all painting Samuel as the monster he truly was. The crazy fuck hadn’t even cared that Dani’s mother had been married to Nick Adorite, Samuel’s younger brother. It should’ve meant that Jessica was off-limits, but their nuptials hadn’t stopped Samuel from brutally raping Jessica from the very beginning. Repeatedly.
Until, yes, the son of a bitch finally knocked her up.
Nine months late
r, Dani had been born.
Which meant her cousin Max wasn’t really her cousin. He was her half brother.
No doubt about it, Samuel and his brothers had all been crazy, but Samuel was the craziest. Dani’s father, Nick—the man who had claimed her—had merely been a liar, a cheater, and a drunk. Oh, and a coward. Not once had the man ever tried to protect his wife from Samuel’s brutal attacks.
However, when you looked at the three of them as a whole, Nick was the least of anyone’s worries. Their other brother, Patrick, was a disgusting, pathetic excuse for a human being. She’d never thought there could be anything worse than a rapist, but there was. Patrick had been a pedophile. The sick fuck had preyed on children. Dani honestly hadn’t been sad when Max had killed him after Max found good ol’ Uncle Patrick attempting to rape Max’s sister, Ashlynn. She’d been fifteen at the time.
The only person Dani had ever depended on was her mother. Hence the reason she’d given in to Samuel, doing his dirty work in an effort to keep him away from Jessica. Unfortunately, cancer had been what stole her mother from her just a few short weeks before Dani was set to marry Hunter. At that point, Samuel no longer had anything to hold over her. That was when Dani decided to cut and run. Nick had been a man for once in his life, sending Dani across the world, trying to keep her as safe as he could.
It should’ve worked, only someone had figured out their secret.
Someone out there knew that Dani was Samuel Adorite’s illegitimate daughter. And it appeared they were out to exact their revenge through her.
She just didn’t know who it was.
And she didn’t know their reasons.
But knowing what Samuel was capable of, knowing all the things he’d done, Dani knew she would never be safe until she disappeared forever, or she was dead.
Taking her secret with her.
KYE PULLED UP TO THE Sniper 1 Security parking garage at the same time Hunter was walking out of the building. He slammed on the brakes, tires squealing as he stopped his truck directly in front of the man and rolled down the window.
“Where’re you goin’?” Kye demanded, watching as Hunter stopped, his gaze intense as he peered into the truck.
Tomorrow's Too Late (Sniper 1 Security, 3) Page 12