Hunter (In the Company of Snipers Book 14)

by Irish Winters

  It gave her no comfort to know that Eddy wanted her to live while everyone else would die. Swallowing hard, she bumped her butt against Xander’s cluttered desk. Feeling behind her, she found a pen. A piece of paper. And courage. “You know what? You’re right. I think I will go home.”

  “Now, you’re talking.” Jed gave her a thumbs-up. “I’ll put this thing under your desk. Whatever’s in it will keep for another day. You go home to Courtney where you belong. Get some rest.”

  Jed strolled to her desk and tucked the Halliburton beneath it. Meredith gulped. If this next part didn’t work, her kindly friend and benefactor would die along with everyone in this part of the complex.

  “Move your ass,” Eddy ground out.

  She jumped at the rise in volume inside her ear, but pushed the limit. Meredith took three steps toward Jed, her hands extended. “Can I just tell you what an honor it was to be selected to go to Brazil? Even though it didn’t turn out like we’d planned, all versions of the ACS performed better than expected.”

  “What the hell are you doing?” Eddy shrieked.

  Tenderness glowed in Jed’s eyes. “I’m glad you came home, Meredith. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d lost you. Dan’s and Lyle’s funerals will be early next week. I’m speaking at both, so I hope you’ll be able to attend them.”

  Trembling, she transferred the now crumpled paper into Jed’s palm with her sweaty handshake. “I wouldn’t miss them. That was such an awful loss.”

  “That it was.” Jed didn’t bat an eye as he accepted her—gift.

  “I’ll blow you to kingdom come if you don’t get your ass out of there,” Eddy snarled. “Cut the bullshit and run.”

  “Have a good day, Mr. McCormack,” she said, trembling at the risk she was taking. “I might just take the rest of the week off if you’re sure you don’t mind.” Because I may be in jail after I find my son and kill his father.

  Jed eased his hand from hers. “See that you do, now skedaddle.”

  Fighting to maintain her composure, Meredith turned woodenly to leave. She’d done all she could. Eddy’s message to the world was right where he wanted it to be.

  So was hers.

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  “How about that, you do listen,” Eddy grumbled. “I might have another job for you.”

  “No,” Meredith answered quickly, keeping her head down as she punched the button to ground level. She didn’t need to see any co-workers or friends. “You promised—”

  “I know what I promised, but you’ve got the brains and the looks for this business. Who’d suspect a sweetheart like you? Once MI is dead, there’s still General Dynamics. Hell, they’re headquartered down the road from your place in Falls Church. It’ll be a snap getting you in. All you’ve got to do is show ’em your credentials and wiggle your ass. You’ll land a job in no time.”

  “No, Eddy,” she ground out. “You can’t make me—”

  He laughed in her ear. “Want to bet? I’m the one holding the detonator. Just think. Northrup Grumman. Lockheed Martin. Maybe Boeing. With you in my corner, we could rule the world.”

  When the elevator opened, Meredith stepped inside. Her heart sank. Eddy Welch was insane. In less than thirty steps, she’d be at the front entry, but she’d never be free. Even if Jed deciphered her hastily scribbled message—even if he somehow neutralized the bomb, he couldn’t get to Eddy in time.

  Her courage wilted. There was no way out of this nightmare, not for her. Eddy would use and abuse Courtney to make her do his dirty work. In the end, she and Courtney would die.

  She’d barely stepped out of the elevator when Xander bellowed, “Meredith!”

  She jumped, her nerves strung so damned tight.

  His face was flushed. He must’ve run up the stairs. “I thought I’d missed you. Here.” He forced a blue MI award box at her. “Jed wanted you to have this before you left today. He said you could use it.”

  She shook her head and waved him off. Today wasn’t a day for gratitude after what she’d done.

  “Keep walking, Flynn,” Eddy threatened, “or the kid dies.”

  You think I don’t know that!

  “Take it,” Xander insisted, shoving the box at her until she had no choice. “Mr. McCormack was going to give it to you in some big ceremony later, but he thought you could use the cash today.”

  Meredith pressed the box to her chest. It felt heavier than the usual Mi awards. Did she dare hope? Had Jed awarded her with a—pistol? Was he omniscient or was he just that good that he’d known how desperate she was? Hope blossomed in her chest. As casually as she could, Meredith balanced that MI award box against her thigh. “Tell Jed thanks.”

  “You betcha.” Xander chin nodded at the exit. “Go on now. He’s waiting for you.”

  She glanced over her shoulder, half expecting to see Hunter. Could she be so lucky?

  Maybe…

  “You got five minutes to get your ass in this bucket seat,” Eddy hissed. “I don’t know what that crap was about, but I want to see what’s in that box.”

  “I’m coming.” She set a quick pace to Eddy’s car. He wanted it. He was going to get it.

  “Coming your way, Hunt,” Maverick advised from MI’s courtyard.

  “Copy that. I see her.” Hunter lowered his head, his gaze still fixed on that classy lady headed straight toward his vehicle. Meredith couldn’t see him through the tinted windshield, but he had no trouble seeing her.

  The Oakleys were still in place, but the Halliburton was gone. She seemed to have left her timid self behind. She carried herself proud, a small navy blue box in her hand at her thigh. Her chin was up and her stride seemed—determined. She had that look on her face, the same look she’d had when she’d yelled at him to stop swearing. She didn’t see him though. Didn’t glance his way. Just walked on by.

  Throwing his arm between the two front seats of his SUV, he twisted his torso to maintain the visual. Lee had hunched down in his seat. “Your woman’s got balls.”

  Yeah, I know. They’re mine.

  Meredith paused for a second at the passenger door Welch had just shoved open. She glanced to her left, then to her right, fumbling with the box before she ducked inside.

  “FBI’s in position,” Alex murmured.

  “Finally,” Lee muttered.

  Thank God! “Can we move on Welch then?” Hunter snapped.

  “As soon as we—“

  BOOM!

  “Shots fired!” Lee bellowed.

  Hunter scrambled out of the SUV. What the hell just happened? What’d Welch do to her? So help me, I’ll kill him!

  “You ain’t got what it takes to make—”

  “I said take your clothes off!” With another roar, the pistol in her shaky hand invited more sunlight in through the pricey roof of Eddy’s ego-trip car. “You hurt my son. MY son! And you put him somewhere without telling me where. Believe me, I do got what it takes. Take your fucking clothes off!”

  And now I sound just like Hunter.

  Eddy stripped down to his boxers, balling his pants, shirt, shoes, and tie to the floor. The bully’s hands actually shook more than hers. “Listen. If it’s money you want—”

  “I don’t want your money!” This man didn’t get it. “Toss your clothes out the window. All of them. Do it!”

  Out they went, and there sat Eddy, his hands gripping his hairy knees and a glimmer of sweat on his brow. The man was nervous. Now Meredith understood why Hunter stripped the bodies of the men he’d killed. There was a certain power in humiliating this pompous ass. She pressed the barrel of the pistol that had been hidden in her award box to Eddy’s temple. “Where is he, Roger Teach? Where’d you put Courtney? Tell me!”

  He offered a twitching half smile, his fingertips drumming his kneecaps. “Pretty clever, huh, using a nom de plume when I’m plundering fat cats who—”

  “Shut up!” Did he honestly think she cared? The police had to be on their way. She’d made enough noise. When they
showed, her chance of getting her son back would be gone. “Where’s Courtney?”

  Eddy kept skirting the answer she needed. “You want revenge ’cause I roughed up your little girly boy? You want—”

  “Enough!” She gritted her teeth and squeezed the trigger and—

  The driver-side door jerked open. Just that fast, a man stuck his pistol in Eddy’s neck. “Put your hands on top of your fat head, Welch, or should I call you, Master?”

  Hunter? Oh my God! Hunter! But he was too early. “No!” Meredith cried. “Not yet!”

  He ducked inside and peered past Eddy. “Hey, Merry. I’d let you have more time with your ex, but Alex has this crazy idea you might shoot him.”

  “Courtney?” she asked, her finger still on the trigger. And tempted. “Where is he? Do you know? Is he okay?”

  “Don’t worry, I found him yesterday at Aberdeen Proving Ground. He’s safe and sound with your parents right now. They’re spoiling him rotten.” Hunter pocketed the detonator, bumping Eddy’s nose with his elbow when he reached for it.

  Meredith nearly laughed. Hunter did that on purpose.

  Eddy growled, batting him away. “Watch it, Christian.”

  Wrong move. Hunter stuck his elbow in Eddy’s throat and, while Eddy sputtered, nonchalantly asked Meredith, “You wouldn’t know what happened to Bear, would you? Courtney’s been worried sick.”

  Eddy grunted, but Hunter looked… So. Damned. Good. Meredith could barely see past the tears in her eyes. Hunter talked as if he knew Courtney.

  She nudged Eddy’s head with her pistol. “I was just about to find out. Where’s Bear?”

  The jerk only shrugged. “Hell, I don’t know.”

  Determined to get a better answer and maybe inflict of little justice, Meredith leaned forward, but the door opened and Lee leaned in. He reached around her, as if he disarmed angry women every day. “You’re sure making a ruckus. Mind if I take that major award off your hands?”

  She nearly chuckled at the Christmas Story reference, but this was no leg lamp she was holding. She had to be certain. “There’s a bomb. Third level down. In the MI lab under—”

  “Under your desk. Understood. Already taken care of,” Lee replied. “Jed called in a bomb threat, but Zack and Seth couldn’t wait. They disarmed it already. Look down the street.”

  She could barely believe what she saw. Crowds of MI employees in the street. Arlington County PD cruisers. Several FBI vans. Thank God!

  “It’s really disarmed?” She needed to hear it again.

  “Of course. All us guys can diffuse explosives. Come on now,” Lee persisted. “Jed wants his pistol back.”

  “But Eddy needs to pay,” she whispered out of the corner of her mouth. And I want him to!

  “He’ll pay. Believe me, he’ll pay.” The glint in Hunter’s deep brown eyes settled her once and for all. “Give Lee the gun. Courtney’s sick with missing you, Mama. Let’s go home.”

  That tender endearment was her undoing. So was that fatherly thing Hunter didn’t realize he did so well. Her need for revenge stilled. Lee easily lifted the gun from her fingers. Eddy never looked so glum. “You’re a bitch, Flynn. Always were. Always—”

  The. Last. Straw!

  Meredith launched across the console of that posh little car, her fists balled tight and she punched Eddy’s big mouth. Hunter played along, opening Eddy’s door as Meredith shoved his nearly naked ass to the curb. Down he went with a grunt, Meredith giving him hell all the way. Eddy didn’t offer as much resistance as she’d expected—not after her knee landed in his crotch.

  “You fight like a girl,” he whined.

  “I am a girl! ”She balled her fist and landed a hefty smack to his lying mouth.

  Somewhere in the distance, Lee asked, “You think we ought to pull her off?”

  “Not yet,” Hunter answered. “My girl’s got this.”

  Wasn’t that the perfect thing for her man to say?

  Smelling victory, Meredith mashed the heel of her hand into Eddy’s already bleeding nose. He rolled to his side to get away, but Mean Girl wasn’t done with him yet. With one pointed knee in his kidneys, she cranked two of his fingers until he squealed. “You... you win. You’ll never see me again.”

  “Time to stop playing,” Hunter urged. “The FBI’s here. He’s their property now. Let me have him.”

  “FBI?” She looked up to several stern-looking federal agents. Where’d they come from?

  “Yes. Captain Hook’s been on their watch list for money laundering and insider trading, not to mention murder and his predilection for little boys. Looks like he’ll be walking the plank.”

  “I don’t think that’s what they call it in prison,” Lee muttered, “although it does have something to do with a plank.”

  Meredith didn’t understand what Lee meant. Regaining what little charm she had left, she pushed up from the sidewalk and straightened her red dress, tugging it down over her thighs. Combing her fingers into her tangled hair, she dragged it out of her eyes and with a puff, she blew it off her face. By then, she looked halfway presentable. Her nylons were still shredded and so were her knees, but Courtney was safe. That was what mattered.

  She tossed her head, her battle won.

  Hunter winked. “Nice dress.”

  “She’s a slut,” Eddy hissed, and enough already!

  Meredith whirled on her ex. With a mighty growl, she kicked him in the face with the very practical black pumps he’d forced her to wear. “Just! Shut! Up!” she yelled, punctuating every word with her heels. “Stay away from Courtney and me!”

  Eddy squirmed, shielding his bleeding face with his arm. “She’s killing me!”

  Hunter was smart enough not to tell Meredith what she could and couldn’t do. Instead, he crouched beside Eddy. “Then stop making her mad, Welch. She’s lethal. Remember that.”

  Meredith stilled. Was this the same guy who’d given her hell for losing her gun?

  Eddy glanced up at her through puffy eyelids. “Her? She ain’t nothing.”

  Hunter secured his arms behind his back and hoisted him to his feet. “You’re never going to learn, are you? Don’t you know about the power of a woman? ’Cause I sure do.”

  Meredith’s heart melted at Hunter’s feet. The most charming mega-watt smile brightened his face. He barely had time to hand Eddy off to Lee before she plowed into him.

  “I love you, Hunter Christian,” she growled, her hands on the sides of his head, holding him in place.

  “Not like I love you,” he muttered hotly. “Marry me.”

  “Where? When?”

  “Justice of the Peace around the corner. As soon as my best man can get here. You know the guy. Courtney Flynn.”

  Could he have said anything sweeter? “Done.”

  Lee Hart coughed politely somewhere behind them. “Ah, guys. The boss just pulled up.”

  Untangling herself from Hunter’s arms, Meredith snaked her hand around his waist. Ahh, this man’s body. She tucked her fingers into his belt while she settled under his arm. Next to his heart. Her war was finally over.

  Looking down at her, he asked, “May I have the earpiece and wire you’re wearing?”

  “Sure. The sunglasses are in the car.” Somewhere. “You can have the earpiece, but the wire’s under my dress, and I can’t—”

  His eyes lit up. “I can.”

  Once again, it was just Hunter and her, two kids in love and lust like they should’ve been all along. He turned his back, shielding her from Lee and the rest of the world. “It’s time to go home.”

  EPILOGUE

  Never in a million years could Hunter have predicted that he’d end up with a wife and son after a deadly South American operation, nor that he’d be cured of his nicotine craving. But he was. The only thing he craved now was the woman sleeping in his arms, her blonde hair cascading off the pillow around her, her nose twitching against his chest like she couldn’t breathe enough of him. The innocent gesture made him smile. Mered
ith’s appetite for sex was ferocious, and he was happy to oblige.

  As much as they’d played over the last weeks, neither seemed able to get enough of the other. It was as if they had to make up for their years apart, and the foolish decisions they’d made. With her ex safely behind bars, and Courtney thrilled that Hunner got to live with him and his mom, life couldn’t get any better.

  Except for one thing. Hunter was hungry for more make-up sex. It was well after midnight when he smoothed his fingers over the satiny skin of her shoulder and down her arm. Even in her sleep Meredith responded, pushing her bare breasts against his bicep. Heat flamed where only seconds before a steady ember had simmered. Her sleepy body arched into his and no words were needed.

  They moved by memory over each other now. Easing a palm down her spine, he cupped one cheek of her plump bottom and rolled to his back with her. They were made for each other. They fit together. The delicious heat of her core worked magic on him. Arching his hips, he pushed into her slick warmth, reveling in the luxury of making love anytime and anywhere he wanted.

  “Hmmm,” she murmured, still mostly asleep, her head heavy under his chin and her breasts mashed against his chest.

  If there was something better to live for, Hunter didn’t know it. He clutched the swell of her hips and drove his love for her home with one deep thrust. She arched back, her hands on his pecs, her fingernails holding him secure. Captured in her silky curtain of hair, he set a gentle rhythm. Only after she cried his name to the ceiling, did he let himself fly with her.

  A smile of male satisfaction curled his lips. It pleased him no end to please her. To shelter her. To provide for her and Courtney. Still locked together and breathing hard, he whispered, “I love you, Wife.”

  “You’re up early,” she murmured.

  “I’m up all the time,” he teased, thrusting deeper. They lay in silence until their bedroom door cracked open and the light from the hallway glanced over them.

  Meredith stiffened. “Not again. That little boy’s got radar or something. He’s always catching us.”