aHunter4Trust

by Cynthia A. Clement

  Darrogh cleared his throat. “It has been my experience that if a person has done one wrong, they are more than likely to have committed several.”

  “I suppose you’ve had a lot of contact with criminals.” Her father’s tone was reflective. “Does that mean you expect to find other irregularities in our records?”

  “More than likely.” A muscle tightened in Darrogh’s jaw. “The people of your planet do not always behave with honor.”

  Her father sighed and sank into the chair behind his desk. “What other surprises do you think there are?”

  “Savis is correcting all that has happened at Creighton’s. I am certain he will find that Nethercott has not been totally honest in his own bookkeeping. If possible, Savis is going to see if there is a way to bring Nethercott’s illegal activities to the attention of the authorities without implicating Creighton’s.”

  “That’s a wonderful plan.” Tamsin felt a rush of relief. At least he didn’t intend to hurt the man.

  “Nethercott has been skirting the law for a while.” Her father’s voice was resigned. “There have been rumors for years, but no one was able to prove it. After Winchester’s father stepped down as chairman, talk died down. I just assumed Winchester had straightened everything out.”

  “Instead, he made it worse,” Tamsin said.

  “Now that we know what has happened, we’ll be on guard in the future.” Her father picked up his phone and pushed a couple of numbers. “Kingsley, in my office now.”

  “After I fire him, I need you to escort him from the building. Make certain he doesn’t have a chance to call anyone, or tamper with the computers.”

  At that moment there was a knock on the door.

  “Come,” her father ordered.

  Henry Kingsley entered, hesitating a second, when he noticed her and Darrogh. Tamsin almost felt sorry for the man. She’d been on the receiving end of her father’s wrath more than once, and she’d never done anything as serious as Kingsley had. Sir Robert Creighton wasn’t a man who tolerated being thwarted in his personal or business life.

  Her father waited until Henry had shut the door before speaking. “Some serious allegations have been made against you, Henry.”

  Henry straightened his necktie. “I’m certain they’re false.”

  “How long have you been stealing from me?” Her father raised a hand when Henry opened his mouth. “Don’t bother to deny it. I’ve seen the proof. What I want to know is why I shouldn’t have you arrested right now?”

  Chapter 20

  “You’ve been siphoning money away from Creighton’s. Why?” Sir Robert made the accusation in a stern voice.

  Darrogh watched Henry Kingsley for a reaction. The man’s eyes widened and then he looked toward the door. Darrogh moved fast. He blocked the exit before Kingsley had a chance to turn around. He leaned against the door and glared at the traitor. The only reason he was still standing was because Tamsin had asked for no violence.

  “Sir Robert asked you a question.” Darrogh’s voice was harsh.

  Kingsley wiped his hand over his brow. “You’re mistaken. I would never steal from you.”

  “We have the evidence of your theft. How could you?” Tamsin’s voice was filled sadness. “My father treated you like family.”

  Henry’s lip curled. “I was no more than an errand boy. The minute you wanted something, I had to stop everything and get it for you immediately.”

  “She’s my daughter.” Sir Robert’s voice was filled with exasperation. “If you were in need, I would have done the same.”

  Henry shook his head. “I asked you for money and you refused to help.”

  “You wanted one hundred thousand pounds and no questions asked. You can’t expect someone to hand over that kind of money without a reason.” Sir Robert ran his hand through his grey hair. “I offered you ten thousand. You refused.”

  “After all of the years of service, you should have considered it a bonus.” Henry’s voice rose.

  “So it’s my fault?” Sir Robert scoffed. “You need to take responsibility for your actions.”

  “I did what was necessary.”

  “You stole money.” Sir Robert leaned back in his chair. “What was it? Gambling?”

  “You gave me no choice.” Henry lifted his chin. “I would have paid it back.”

  “What about the funds you transferred to Nethercott’s Bank? Was that personal too?”

  “The bank was going to be taken over by the Albirsion Corporation anyway. All I did was quicken the process.”

  “I never expected this kind of betrayal from you.” A shudder went through Sir Robert. “You’re fired. Consider the fact that I’m not reporting you to the police, as your severance pay.”

  “You won’t get away with this.” Henry Kingsley’s face contorted with anger. “The people I work with are very powerful. Tamsin isn’t safe, and the bodyguards you’ve hired won’t be able to stop their attack.”

  “You are a fool if you think Albireons can defeat Hunters.” Darrogh spoke through clenched teeth. “You had Tamsin followed for the past several months. Was that out of concern for her safety?”

  “The Corporation needed to know her whereabouts.”

  Darrogh clenched his hands into fists. Honor and the Sacred Code demanded that Kingsley die. Kingsley’s every action since joining forces with the Albireons had put Tamsin’s life in danger. Tamsin shook her head at him. He exhaled and forced himself to relax.

  Patience was necessary.

  He would deal with Kingsley later.

  “That makes it worse for you.” Darrogh’s tone was a threat. “The people you work with will not tolerate failure. They are not to be trusted. You would be best to give us everything you know and ask for our protection.”

  “From you?” Kingsley snorted. “You lost Tamsin in Beauvie’s, and it was sheer luck that you found her. Remember, I have the pictures to prove it.”

  “You also sold those photos to the papers.” Tamsin’s voice shook with outrage. “What did I ever do to you?”

  “You were out clubbing every night. It was only a matter of time before you became front-page news.”

  “Enough.” Sir Robert’s command reverberated through the office. “Pack your things and leave. Darrogh will escort you out. You’ve done enough damage already.”

  Darrogh followed Kingsley to his office and watched as he took a couple of pictures from his desk before grabbing his coat. Once Henry Kingsley had left the building, Darrogh returned to Sir Robert’s office. Tamsin was seated beside her father and Savis was leaning over both of them pointing at the computer screen.

  Tamsin looked up.

  She smiled and reached a hand out to him.

  A wave of pleasure shot through him. A Hunter was usually only welcomed when there was a need for him to protect or fight. He had always accepted his role as a warrior and had never desired anything else. It was a new sensation to have someone happy just because he was there.

  “What have you found?” Darrogh asked after he shut the office door.

  Savis looked up. “The firewall around Nethercott’s outgoing transactions will take days to break through.”

  “We don’t have that much time.” Exasperation filled Tamsin’s voice. “We have to find out what they did with the bank’s money.”

  “Our money has been transferred back.” Sir Robert frowned. “Isn’t that enough?”

  “No.” Tamsin pushed away from the desk. “We need to follow the trail. That’s the only way we’ll find the people who are responsible for this corruption.”

  “The Albireons will have covered their tracks.” Savis sat on the edge of the desk. “This is not the first planet they’ve taken over.”

  “What can we do?” Tamsin asked.

  Darrogh sensed the frustration that flowed through her. His only goal was Tamsin’s safety. The flow of money through this planet’s institutions did not concern him. The Albireons must not find her. She would never live through t
heir brutal experimentation. He knew without a doubt, that if Tamsin died, so would he.

  “This is a sophisticated firewall that I have never seen on Earth before.”

  “It’s alien?” Tamsin frowned. “How can you tell?”

  “It uses codes and fail-safes that have not been developed on Earth yet.”

  Tamsin’s eyes narrowed. “This is proof that the Albireons are in control of Nethercott Bank.”

  “Perhaps.” Darrogh kept his voice neutral. If the Albireons were unafraid to use advanced computer technology, then they considered themselves to be protected. “What are the safeguards?”

  “If we try to infiltrate without a password, then the whole system shuts down. It collapses into itself and would be beyond repair.” Savis gave Darrogh an intense look. “We cannot breach the firewall until we are certain we can get in.”

  “There has to be a way.” Tamsin sighed.

  “The firewall is deployed at Nethercott’s, so that means someone there has access.” Savis straightened away from the desk. “If we find out who controls it and get their entry code, then we can infiltrate without their knowledge.”

  “We could be a ghost in their system.” Tamsin tilted her head. “You just need the password?”

  Savis nodded. “I’ll be able to access everything from here.”

  “No.” Darrogh knew what Tamsin was thinking before she said it. “I will not let you risk your life.”

  “I want to.” Tamsin turned to her father. “There is only one person who would be responsible for this and that is Winchester.”

  Her father looked undecided. “It could be any one of his employees.”

  “Winchester would never let someone else near these records.” Tamsin tapped a finger on the desk. “He doesn’t have an assistant and whenever I visited, he made certain that his computer was shut down. I’m certain that he’s the only one who has access.”

  “You won’t be able to get the information if he’s that protective.” Her father’s voice was doubtful.

  “He keeps everything on his cellphone or in a small black book locked in his top desk drawer.” Tamsin’s voice rose in excitement. “His cellphone is always with him, but I have a chance of getting the book.”

  “It is too dangerous.” Darrogh fought back the urge to pull her out of the room and away from here. The longer she stayed in London, the more treacherous things became. She already had Henry Kingsley threatening retribution from the Albireons. If Nethercott guessed her real purpose, there would be no saving her.

  “I can handle Winchester.”

  Darrogh shook his head. “He is not the man you think.”

  “Really?” Tamsin’s eyebrows rose. “I think he’s a deceiving low-life with absolutely no moral compass. He’s ambitious and will do anything to get what he wants.”

  “I’m glad you don’t harbor any resentment.” Her father’s voice was dry. “If you had gone through with the wedding, none of this would have happened.”

  Savis cleared his throat. “The transfer of funds began two years ago.”

  Sir Robert’s shoulders sagged. “He’s been stealing from me all that time?”

  Savis nodded. “Initially it was done so that a cursory glance at the records would not alert your auditors. In the last year, he has become more aggressive. He would have had everything within a month, and then I suspect you would have been facing criminal charges for misappropriation of funds.”

  Sir Robert groaned. “What a fool I was to trust him.”

  “Now do you understand my hostility toward Winchester? Finding him sleeping with Liz was a small betrayal compared to this.” Tamsin squeezed her father’s arm. “Marrying me would have made his fraud easier. We were a minor roadblock to his ambition.”

  Her father straightened his shoulders. “That doesn’t mean you should endanger yourself. The funds have been transferred back to Creighton’s.”

  “I need to do this.” Tamsin leaned close to her father. “If we can trace his connection back to the Albireons, then we can stop the flow of money.”

  “That has nothing to do with us.”

  “Everyone in the world will be affected if the Albireons take over Earth.” Tamsin looked up at Darrogh. “Remind my father what these monsters are capable of.”

  Darrogh hesitated. He understood the necessity of stopping the infiltration of the Albireons and defeating them. He did not want Tamsin to get involved. It was enough that he had already experienced the torture and clinical experimentation of these fiends.

  “Your father has been told.” Savis spoke up. “He has chosen not to believe. Hunters protect women. We do not let them put themselves in danger. We will get the codes another way.”

  “You also obey women.” Tamsin’s voice was firm. “I insist on doing this.”

  The silence in the room was broken by Sir Robert’s quiet chuckle.

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you this interested in something.” Her father leaned over and kissed her cheek. “You can’t go alone. You must have someone else with you and an escape plan.”

  “You are willing to let Tamsin take this risk?” Darrogh’s voice held disbelief.

  Sir Robert stood. “My daughter has always been stubborn. She’ll find a way to do it with or without protection. It’s easier to keep her safe, if you go with her.”

  Darrogh felt the determination that was coursing through Tamsin. Her father was right. Already, she had almost been killed because she had chosen to go out on her own. He might not be lucky enough to rescue her a second time, and after what they had learned about Winchester, he did not want to chance it.

  “You will follow my direction.” His voice brooked no argument.

  “He’ll be suspicious if we’re together.” Tamsin’s voice became pleading. “I have to meet him in his office. You can stay outside the bank.”

  Darrogh shook his head. “It will not give me enough time to reach you if he discovers your true purpose.”

  “He’s a liar and a cheat, but he’s never been violent before.” Tamsin pushed away from the desk. “I can handle him.”

  “You have never been caught stealing from him.” Darrogh crossed his arms. “If he finds you riffling through his desk, he will know that you are out to hurt him. He has been involved with the Albireons for at least two years. He will have taken precautions.”

  Tamsin shrugged. “I’ll tell him I want a reconciliation.”

  “Nethercott isn’t a fool.” Her father shook his head. “You’ll have to come up with a better story than that.”

  Tamsin heaved a sigh. “By the time I get to his office, I’ll have everything planned out.”

  “We need to get the passcode before they discover that we’ve siphoned the money back to Creighton’s, otherwise they will close the system themselves.” Savis shut his laptop. “I’m going to stay here and try a couple of other tricks to unlock this firewall.”

  Darrogh opened the office door for Tamsin. “We will go and meet with Winchester.”

  She walked into the hallway and grinned back at him. “It’ll be fun.”

  “Be careful.” Sir Robert’s voice sounded weary. “Getting Winchester is important, but not at the expense of your lives.”

  “I will protect her.”

  Darrogh left the office. Tamsin was waiting for him at the top of the stairs. She was tapping her finger on the oak railing, and Darrogh had the sudden urge to grab her close and refuse to let her leave. None of the warnings about Winchester had affected her eagerness to get the password. He understood that she felt betrayed and angered by his actions, but that was no excuse for putting herself in harm’s way.

  Tamsin was determined to see justice done.

  No matter what the cost.

  “I will not let you go into Winchester’s office without me.”

  “You made that quite clear.” Tamsin started down the stairs. “I can take care of myself.”

  “I would die if something happened to you.” Darrogh
spoke in a quiet voice. “We are connected and what happens to one of us, happens to both.”

  Tamsin stopped her descent. “I hadn’t considered that.”

  “I cannot allow you to walk into this danger alone.”

  Tamsin turned to him and put her hand on his chest. “A compromise then. I will go into his office and you can wait outside the door. Will that give you enough time to reach me?”

  Darrogh nodded. “If you sense danger, then so will I.”

  Tamsin stood up on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “It’s settled. Let’s go get the information.”

  Darrogh fought the urge to touch the cheek she had kissed. It felt as if he had been caressed by lightning-infused pleasure. He shook off the sensation and forced his mind back to the protection of Tamsin. He stilled his breathing, and followed her as she moved through the customers. She headed to the side door and had opened it before he could stop her.

  He blocked her way with his arm. “This exit is not being monitored.”

  “It’s quicker.” Tamsin dodged under him and out the door. “The sooner I speak with Winchester, the better.”

  “Let me go first.”

  Darrogh stepped out the door into a side alley.

  It ran the full length of the bank.

  One end was the rear of another building that had a junction that led into two other side streets. The other end was the main street. Opposite the bank was a brick building with a number of empty doorways. Darrogh looked up at the camera monitoring the entrance. It was directed toward the rear alley and away from the door.

  A tingling sensation raced up his spine.

  He held his arm out to stop Tamsin from moving.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he caught movement from one of the doors across from them. It was out of range of the camera. He pushed Tamsin back against the building just as the crack of a gun being fired split the air.

  Chapter 21

  Tamsin’s heart froze.

  They were being shot at.

  A bullet whizzed by Darrogh’s head and slammed into the wall beside him. Shards of brick flew off and hit his face. Tamsin gasped when she saw the blood oozing down his cheek. He didn’t wince. He continued to stay in front of her and move both of them back toward the building.