Deadly Hunt (Deadly #1)

by K. L. Humphreys

  “Have you spoken to the woman yet?” he looks down to the floor.

  “No, she won’t answer my calls or texts.” Damn, he seems really tied up.

  “Do you know where she works?” He nods. “Well go to her workplace and don’t leave until she hears you out.” He smiles.

  “Okay, I’m going now; she will be there soon.” He says and then leaves my office.

  I’m sorting out which cases to take next when there is a knock on my door.

  “Boss, I have new Intel for you, but there is a woman outside says she has an appointment at 9. She says her name is Hailey Myer.” I glance at the clock and see it’s quarter to nine.

  “Dwayne, how long is your Intel going to take?” he closes the door.

  “It’s about Alexandra boss.” Okay Hailey can wait a few minutes.

  “Take a seat Dwayne I’ll be back in a few minutes.” I walk outside and see a pretty blonde dressed professionally, sitting in reception, I walk over to her.

  “Hello Ms. Myer, I’m Nathan Slade. I’m just receiving some intel on a case, as soon as I’m finished I’ll start your interview.” She smiles.

  “That is fine Mr. Slade.” I walk back to my office.

  “Okay, what you got for me Dwayne?” He fidgets in his seat.

  “Alexandra “Alex” Anderson, was born in 1996, she grew up in a rough neighbourhood with a drug addict and a prostitute for a mother. Alex has served a stint in juvie when she took a car for a spin without the owner’s permission. Since she has been out of juvie, she has had a slew of jobs, she hasn’t managed to keep one for more than 2 months. I also found out she was in a relationship with Scott a year or so ago, while she was in a relationship with his brother. Man what’s up with the crazy chick? Anyway I also found out she has been looking for a way to get her mother, who she visits regularly, out of jail. She also lives two blocks away from here.” Fuck. She is definitely up to something, but what?

  “Ok thanks for the update Dwayne, this stays between us. Don’t tell anybody, not even Scott, understood?” He nods.

  “I understand boss. If I find out what she is up to or find anything on Mullah I’ll let you know.”

  I walk out into the reception area and ask Hailey to come into my office.

  “Ok, so Sophia was saying you’re a great receptionist, that you’re reliable and trustworthy. Will your sister have a problem with you working here?” I might as well get the main stuff out of the way.

  “No, sir, she understands that it is time for me to make my own decisions.” Thank god.

  “Also I answered the phone a few times while I was waiting, I hope that was okay? I couldn’t leave them ringing. I wrote down notes with the person they were calling for. I placed the sticky notes on that person’s door; I didn’t want to invade their privacy.” Damn she’s good.

  “No that is perfectly fine. Do you have any questions?” She is nodding.

  “I need to see your filing system; everyone has a different way of filing things. I need to see if it will take me days to re-file, if I’m getting the job that is.”

  “Of course come on I’ll show you now.” I take her out to reception, and to the door that is virtually hidden.

  “This is where we keep all our records and paper work.” She looks around and grimaces.

  “The last person had no organization skills; this is going to take me all day. Do I have the job?” She is fast, she is making my head spin.

  “Yes, you definitely do. You need to go talk to Dwayne and he will set you up on our Payroll and get you set up in our systems.” She smiles, then walks straight to Dwayne’s office.

  About an hour later Connor comes into my office, “I spoke to her, she heard me out not that I gave her much of a choice, but she did hear me out.” I’m smiling.

  “That’s great.” He’s shaking his head.

  “Yeah, she heard me out, but she shut the door in my face afterwards.” Ouch.

  “Dude, I got to ask you, how did you know you wanted Sophia? I mean the night you saw her you were pretty much zeroed in on her.” I smile.

  “It was just a feeling you know, I saw her ass, and was like wow, then it was like a sucker punch seeing her face. I’m not the type of guy to get jealous, but seeing her dancing with another man made me see red. Does that make sense to you?” He’s nodding.

  “Yeah, that makes sense. I don’t feel like that, I’m not going to lie, I’m out of my depth. For the first time I’m actually thinking about dating. But she’s mad. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do?” I feel bad for the guy.

  “Don’t give up. Keep fighting.” He smiles and nods. “I have the perfect thing.” Then he pulls out his phone

  “Hi, yes can I order ten pink roses to be delivered to Madeline Myer at Thunder Ltd.” He pauses.

  “Yes the fashion house, yes she is a personal shopper, and can I get the card to say “Thinking of you, always, Connor. “He pauses again. “Perfect, thank you.” He hangs up with the goofiest look on his face and leaves my office.

  With what Connor said something clicks in my mind, Madeline Myer. It can’t be. He wouldn’t have fucked up with Maddie by being with Winter that makes no sense. It mustn’t be her. I hope not, if he upsets Sophia, I’ll kill him after she rips him a new one.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Sophia

  “You need to calm down and tell me exactly what is wrong with you.” I just received a frantic phone call from Maddie; she says she is going to kill someone.

  “That dickhead actually thinks it is okay to come to my work and harass me in front of my co-workers and customers. He thinks because he didn’t kiss her back, it doesn’t count, well he didn’t fucking push her off him. I’m so mad at the two of them.” I’m so damn confused right now, who was kissing who?

  “Ok Mads, you got to fill me in. I haven’t a clue who you’re talking about.” I can hear her sighing down the phone.

  “Ok, so the night you met Nathan, he introduced us to his friends, then a few nights later me and you met up and had a few drinks and Nathan and his friend came.” She says and I can kind of guess where this is going.

  “Yeah I remember, Connor was there, he walked you home.” She sighs again.

  “Yeah, and we hit it off. Anyway he kept asking for my number. You know what he’s like, typical playboy, so I refused. He kept pestering me anytime he met me for my number. I finally relented and we started texting. I honestly thought he was into me so I had sex with him, I told Winter about him.” Her tone turns pissed “I walk into the bar to find Winter and Connor kissing.”

  What the hell, Oh Mads!

  “What happened then?” She is so mad right now; I can hear it in her voice.

  “Well he must have heard me gasp because he turned and saw me. He tried talking to me, but I didn’t want to hear it. You know what pissed me off the most? The fucking smirk on Winter’s face. I came so close to bitch slapping her.” I don’t fucking blame her, there is a line you don’t cross and Winter crossed It. You don’t go after guys your best friends are interested in. There is something wrong with her lately and I’m going to get to the bottom of it.

  “Hon, meet me and Hails for lunch, your sister told me she owes me lunch for getting her a job. Ha-ha.” I tell her, hoping she will come out and forget about him. She starts giggling.

  “Hailey pay for lunch? I’m definitely there. Meet you at the office at 1? I don’t want to go in though, that douche is probably there, and I’m not in the mood to see him.” Maddie says and I sigh.

  “That’s fine I’ll meet you in an hour and a half.” I tell her. The fucking meeting went on for ages, nothing got sorted out and we’re still where we were, nobody knows where Mullah Al Mohammed is. Apparently he came into the US and hasn’t been sighted since. I hate the feeling that the fucker has leverage over us, obviously he knows where we are, but we don’t know where he is.

  I grab my keys and leave my office and see Mary. She’s amazing, she is so organized, and she has h
er files already sorted out, whereas the rest of us are giddy that we have a fancy office each. Sarge keeps giving us the look, like we’re children. I walk into the reception and see Skye talking to Mary; Skye spots me and walks over.

  “Hey Soph, you okay?” Skye asks and I hug her, she hasn’t been dealing with everything that happened in Afghanistan, she feels really guilty for me being tortured while she sat and watched. I know the rest of the guys do too, it’s something I can’t help any of them with, no matter how many times I tell them I would rather it have happened to me, they still feel guilt.

  “Yeah, I’m doing okay; I have a lot of people looking out for me. I’m meeting the girls for lunch, want to come with us?” I ask her as she hasn’t got any friends here in New York. She smiles, it’s the first smile I have seen her give in a while.

  “Yeah, I would love too.” She replies and I smile back at her.

  “I’ve got to run an errand, but I’ll swing by at 12:45 and we will walk to meet them.” I tell her and go towards the conference room as the rest of the guys are in there.

  “Sounds good. I’ll see you in a bit.” Skye says just as I reach the conference room. I throw her a wave and she shakes her head whilst smiling at me.

  I tell the guys I’m finished for the day; I need to do a few things today.

  I get into the car and head towards Winter’s house. I’m worried and pissed off. She has been acting out a lot. I know she has been drinking non-stop, but to do what she did to Maddie was out of line. I pull up to her house, we all have keys to each other’s houses so I let myself in and come to a grinding halt just inside the front door. The smell of alcohol is making my stomach turn. I walk further into the house, it’s absolutely filthy, I mean filthy, there is not a clean surface anywhere. I make my way upstairs and into her room, she is flat on her back asleep.

  I’m so pissed to see her house in this state. I walk into her bathroom, take her toothbrush out of the glass fill the glass up with water and walk back into her room. I raise the glass and pour it over her face.

  “WHAT THE FUCK!” Winter screams. She hops out of bed ready for a battle.

  “What you going to do Wints? Are you going to hit me? The fucking state of you, what the fuck happened to you?” she looks so confused right now.

  “Don’t answer yet. Jump in the shower, brush your teeth and meet me in the kitchen.” she looks like she wants to argue but I’m done being nice.

  “Don’t fucking test me today.”

  She gets the message and goes to the bathroom. I go back downstairs and start cleaning. By the time she gets back downstairs her kitchen and living room are clean, it just needs a vacuum, she however, still looks a state; her eyes are completely red, there is no white part. She looks like she is out of it.

  I walk back into the kitchen and pour her a cup of coffee, she takes it without looking at me.

  “What is wrong with you, you have been drinking constantly, fuck, you’re sleeping around, you fucking kissed the guy Maddie told you she was interested in! Your house is fucking disgusting, it stinks of alcohol, and you’re not at work. No lying Wints, what the fuck is up?” She just stares at me, saying nothing. I’m losing my patience fast.

  “You don’t give a shit that you have probably ruined your friendship with Maddie do you?” now I see something, I see pure rage in her eyes.

  “Maddie, good old Maddie, she can’t do anything wrong. She is always perfect, always the better friend.” I’m so damn confused.

  “Winter, what is your problem with Maddie? What happened?” She laughs manically.

  “It’s Maddie’s fault I’m like this, everyone thinks she is so damn perfect but she left me to get a quick fuck, and now my life is fucked up.”

  We’re going around in circles, “Winter, you need to give me something, you’re acting crazy.” I don’t know what to do or say.

  “You have always been my best friend, we have always been there for each other and you weren’t here, I don’t blame you, I blame her.” Ah I get it.

  “So kissing Connor was revenge?” She laughs again.

  “Of course it was. She ruined my life, so I’m ruining hers, although she will never feel like I do.” I’m so confused, she’s making no sense, but I see the pain in her eyes.

  “Come on Wints, spit it out for fuck sake, you go on and on about how she ruined your life, well how the fuck did she?” she stands up and starts screaming at me.

  “Fuck you, get the fuck out of my house.” I stand; I need to know what’s going on. No matter what she has done, she is my best friend, and she is in so much pain.

  “Tell me Wints, please?” She takes my hand and drags me out of her house. I’m pissed.

  “Fucking tell me.” I yell in her face; she pushes me down to the floor.

  “Maddie left me in a club, I had no money so I decided to walk home, only I didn’t make it all the way home.” She’s crying now, tears streaming down her face.

  “You see while Maddie was getting fucked by some random person, so was I, the difference was she wanted it. I was raped and beaten, because she wanted to have sex. Because of her I ended up walking home alone.” I stand up; I have tears streaming down my face.

  “Hon, tell me they caught the bastard?” She shakes her head.

  “No, I went to hospital, and they performed a rape kit, but they haven’t been able to find him.” I’m crying so hard I can’t see.

  “Honey, why haven’t you told me before?” she sighs.

  “I know that you aren’t allowed to talk about your missions, but I do know something awful happened over there, you came back wounded. I couldn’t add more pain to you.” I want to hug her so bad.

  “Can I hug you?” she nods and holds her arms out to me, I fly into them.

  “No matter what happened, you should have told me. I’m your best friend if you can’t tell me, who you can you tell?” she gives me a small smile.

  “Thank you.” I give her a look

  “Hon, why are you thanking me?” She shrugs her shoulders.

  “For believing me, for not telling me I’m crazy for blaming Maddie, for hugging me.”

  “Winter how long ago did this happen?” she looks to the floor.

  “24th January 2014. It happened 18 months ago.” Oh God. How has she managed to keep it a secret for so long?

  My heart breaks for her. How do I tell her it wasn’t Maddie’s fault without making her upset?

  “Winter, honey, what happened to you wasn’t Mads fault. Honey have you spoken to a counsellor? We will get you some help from others who have been in similar situations to you.” She is shaking her head.

  “No I haven’t, do you think it will help?” Winter asks me and I shrug.

  “Hon, it can’t be worse than drowning in alcohol. I have one question for you. I don’t want to upset you; you can tell me to mind my own business.” I say and she nods.

  “You want to know about the sex?” She asks. She knows exactly what I was going to say so I nod my head,

  “The first time I had sex was six months after being raped, I freaked out. The guy was so nice, he let me take the lead and dictate all the action. I was in charge. I felt like I had my control back. I know it sounds weird, but it helps that I control what happens. Does that make sense?” She asks me with doubt in her voice.

  “It makes perfect fucking sense hon. I’ll get you help. You will keep your control.” She smiles at me.

  “I love you Soph. Thank you.”

  “Love you too Wint. I got to go. I hate to run, and I’ll research the best help I can get you. I’ll be back later on. Go lie down, get some rest” She nods; she has tears in her eyes. I make it to my car, just as I’m about to get in she calls me.

  “Soph, I’m not ready for anyone to know.” I nod.

  “Winter, it’s your story, only you can tell it. I’ll be there when you’re ready, holding your hand.” She nods.

  “You can tell Nathan.” I nod, I’m glad I can tell him, I’m going to ne
ed to lean on him when it finally sinks in.

  I drive to the office; I’m cutting it close on time. What Winter told me is playing on a constant loop. I can’t get it out of my mind. How she managed to go this long without telling anyone is truly amazing, but she needs help. And it’s help I can’t give her, but I’ll be there to support her every single step of the way. I pull up about 2 blocks away from our offices. I lock the car as I look up I spot Doc across the street. I smile and wave at him and he does the same, taking his phone out he carries on walking. I walk the 2 blocks, as I turn the corner I see Skye coming out of the building. She takes one look at me and narrows her eyes I must look a mess. She walks over to me

  “No bullshit, what the hell happened? You look like a raccoon.” Fuck.

  “Look I found out something about someone I care about, I can’t say much more than that. Do you have a mirror?” she laughs and digs into her suitcase, I mean handbag and pulls out a compact. I do look like a raccoon.

  “Come on I can multi task, lets walk and I’ll fix my face.” We start walking while I fix my face, I look more like myself.

  “You seriously okay?” I love Skye to death, she is so sensitive, it’s a quality that hasn’t changed since the very first day I met her. It’s the characteristic I think Sarge likes the most.

  “Yeah Skye, I’m okay, it was a shock and I felt helpless but I’m okay.” We walk in an easy silence to P.I.G.S offices.

  “Come on up, and meet Maddie’s little sister.”

  She follows me up and I notice Maddie is already here, she’s glaring at Connor who has a smile on his face. Hailey looks fit to be tied.

  “You’re an arrogant jackass.” Hailey says. Connor finds this amusing.

  “It’s your first day of work, I don’t think insulting a fellow employee is getting off to a great start.” Connor says. Every time he opens his mouth I just want to punch him, I hear a door to the side open but I keep my eyes firmly on Maddie, she is pissed, Hailey speaks before anyone else gets a chance.