Hunter (The Bang Shift Book 2)

by Mandy Harbin

  Tears streamed down Maya’s face as she blinked up at her mother’s brother. The man who’d always sent her birthday cards. The man her mother spoke fondly of. “Please,” she whispered.

  Jake groaned. “God, I’ve missed that word on your lips.”

  Bile rose in her mouth at the image his gross statement created.

  Uncle Al snapped his fingers at Jake and shook his head like the man was being an annoying child who needed to be taken to task, and Jake quickly fell in line as if he strived for obedience and praise from the man. It was so surreal.

  “Don’t worry, child. You’ll be fine. This has nothing to do with you.” His uncle laughed. “Your mother will not be pleased with me, but she’ll get over it. She always does.”

  “Your uncle is a monster,” Blade muttered against the floor.

  “Can I hit him again?” Jake asked, taking a step toward Blade, but checking himself. It was obvious he didn’t want to do anything without her uncle’s approval.

  “Shut up,” the other woman on the floor hissed in Blade’s direction. Maya’s gaze flew to her, but she couldn’t see her very clearly. She knew who it was, though. The only other person involved in this mess who hadn’t been accounted for. Anna Sue. The FBI agent who’d been sent back to impersonate Maya.

  Blade glanced at Anna Sue, and some emotion flashed in his eyes before he looked at Jake. “Give it your best shot, small fry.”

  Jake took two steps, ready to give Blade just what he sarcastically asked for.

  “Jake,” Uncle Al barked. The guy almost pouted as he stepped back to the spot he’d been standing before, minding like a good little dog. God, why did she ever think him attractive?

  “What your uncle doesn’t want you to know is that he paid lover boy over there to date Heather, but when that didn’t work, he ordered him to fuck you over, literally,” Blade said, struggling to sit back up and panting as he did so. “Heather posted some photo online of her in her cap and gown with her proud brother, Hunter, by her side. Alonzo’s people discovered it, and he set the plan into motion. Figured out where Heather was going to attend college, and planted you there.”

  Maya shook her head. “No.” That couldn’t be true. Her family had always been strict, straight-laced, and very stern. She’d had to talk to them for weeks about attending an out-of-state college. After all that time, they still almost hadn’t gone for it. “That’s crazy.”

  “I’m afraid it’s true,” her uncle said. “Don’t you remember when I visited you that summer how I talked about how great Texas was? I was the one who put the idea of that school in your head. When your mother didn’t want you to go, I assured her you’d be watched over.”

  “But, but they called you Alonzo Rudolph-something-or-other,” Maya stammered, still not wanting to believe what she was hearing. It didn’t make any sense.

  “I took that surname long before you were born. Couldn’t have my enemies coming after my sister, now could I?”

  The gravity of the situation slowly sank in as she mulled over his words and took stalk of who all was in the room. He uncle had set her up. He’d been behind all of this. He really was a bad man. Evil. Vile. So much worse than she’d ever thought Jake even was.

  And everyone battered, bloodied, and broken slumped around on the floor was here because of her uncle.

  Because of Maya.

  Because she’d been so naïve she couldn’t see what kind of man her uncle was or that he’d use her like this.

  She should’ve seen the signs, but she hadn’t. Now, people who’d tried to help her, who’d trusted her, had been deceived. Many were held captive right here. Another one possibly dead. This was an utter nightmare.

  And it was all her fault.

  Hunter looked out the side window as they slowed to a stop near the old train depot. He watched for any signs of activity around the building, but he saw nothing. That didn’t mean no one was out there, though.

  “Roc, you almost here?” Bear asked over the phone.

  “Twenty-two seconds.”

  “Get Gauge on the line,” Bear said to the guys in the vehicle. “We need to know how close he is.”

  Hunter made the quick call. He figured Brody wouldn’t be patient enough to deal with communication. The man looked ready to bolt to the building and get his woman.

  “Gauge, what’s your twenty?” Hunter asked as soon as the other man picked up.

  “Right behind you. You’re gonna wanna hear this.” He ended the call before Hunter could ask for more details.

  Looking out the side window, he watched as Gauge pulled up beside them. The man killed the engine, got out, and slipped into the vehicle with the others.

  “Blade activated his emergency comms.” He started fiddling with the knobs on the hand-held radio. “He’s inside.”

  “What the hell is he doing here?” Hunter barked. He was supposed to watching his sister.

  “Sounds like he didn’t come willingly,” Gauge said grimly.

  Ice cold fear drenched Hunter. “Heather,” he breathed. If Maya hurt one hair on her head, he’d kill her himself. The stabbing pain he got in that moment was because of the fear he had for his sister. He wouldn’t allow it to be about anything else.

  Blade’s voice suddenly came through the radio, “…Uncle doesn’t want you—”

  “Turn, it up,” Bear whispered heatedly.

  “…He paid lover boy over there to date Heather, but when that didn’t work, he ordered him to fuck you over, literally.”

  Blade stopped talking and it sounded like he was struggling to breathe.

  “Shit, we gotta move.”

  A car came running up toward them. Hunter grabbed his gun on instinct, but before he could move into a defensive position, Roc jumped out and yanked their door open.

  “He’s got Heather.”

  Blade’s voice came back. “Heather posted some photo online of her in her cap and gown with her proud brother, Hunter, by her side. Alonzo’s people discovered it, and he set the plan into motion. Figured out where Heather was going to attend college, and planted you there.”

  “Fuck!” Hunter banged the dashboard. He should’ve known something would happen to her out of state. He should’ve never let her go back to school.

  “I’m getting her back from that conniving little bitch,” Hunter muttered before jumping out of the car.

  “No, man,” Gauge said as he, Bear, and Brody got out and rounded the vehicle. “It sounds like she doesn’t know what’s going on.”

  “What?” Hunter asked, frowning, his head reeling. “If she didn’t know then that means—”

  “No,” Maya’s breath came though the radio now. “That’s crazy.”

  “I’m afraid it’s true,” Alonzo said. “Don’t you remember when I visited you that summer how I talked about how great Texas was? I was the one who put the idea of that school in your head. When your mother didn’t want you to go, I assured her you’d be watched over.”

  “But, but they called you Alonzo Rudolph-something-or-other,” Maya stammered.

  “Jesus Christ,” Hunter breathed before grabbing the hair on top of his head and stumbling back. “She didn’t know. Fuck me, she didn’t know.” He’d accused her of being behind all of this.

  He’d called her horrible names.

  He’d been ready to fucking kill her for putting Heather in danger.

  God, what had he done?

  “Deal with it later,” Brody snapped. “Xan is in there, and I ain’t heard her speak yet. I’m goddamn done waiting.”

  He took off with Roc on his heels. With the shock of this revelation, Hunter was the last to find his feet, but with fear and rage fueling him, he ran, passing everyone else on his team.

  The fear was for the women.

  The rage, though? That was directed at himself.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Everything happened so fast.

  The window in the corner behind Maya shattered so quickly that if she hadn’t been
facing it, she’d have missed it. Luckily, she hadn’t been close enough to be hit by flying glass.

  Before anybody could react to whatever was happening, smoke filled the room.

  “Fire,” Jake shouted, but Maya didn’t think fire could cause that much smoke immediately like that.

  Then again, what did she know about anything?

  “Anna,” Blade roared, and the intensity of his tone had Maya scrambling for cover, not that she could move much.

  Gunfire erupted around her. She was nothing more than a sitting duck in the middle of all this chaos.

  Whatever movies made people believe about slow motion in a life-or-death situation was completely true. Didn’t matter that everything was happening incredibly fast around her. Time stood still for Maya. All her motions were slow, exaggerated, as glass-filled debris flew through the air. She ducked, trying to cover her head as best she could as the door blasted off its railing and more shots rang out.

  People shouted, but she couldn’t make out any words. Within moments, a body dropped beside her. One of the guys who’d been guarding the door now had a bullet in his head.

  She shook all over and bit her lip to keep from screaming out. Whatever was happening, she didn’t want to draw attention to herself.

  “Maya!” Now she was hearing things. Hunter’s voice in her mind helped drown out the noise around her. It was a welcomed distraction among the death and mayhem. “Maya!”

  She looked up, not believing she’d see him, but needing to know what was happening. The gunshots had slowed and she was still breathing. That had to be a good sign, right?

  Like a dark savior, Hunter materialized from the smoke, running toward her.

  “Hunter?” she breathed, not loud enough for her own ears. He was really here. But why was he calling her name?

  Had he come to have her arrested?

  “You okay, baby?”

  Baby? Her mind was too frazzled to comprehend him. Maybe she was in shock because no way had she heard him right.

  “Heard everything off Blade’s transmitter once we got in range. Fucker started talking as soon as we made contact, so we’d know what was going on. Stay down.” He turned his head away from her with his hand to his ear as he said, “Affirmative. Where’s my sister?”

  The smoke thinned a little as another shape took form. Maya opened her mouth, but fire popped from the figure before she could make a sound. Hunter jerked and fell over.

  Maya screamed as blood splattered across her face.

  “I’m hit,” Hunter muttered, but she knew. It was why she’d started screaming. And hadn’t stopped.

  Uncle Al leaned over and smacked her. “Shut up.” She blinked in shock as she rubbed her cheek. “Well, criado, we meet again. I knew we would one day.”

  “You didn’t have to come all the way out here to see me,” he said as he gripped his chest, panting. “Postcard would’ve worked.”

  Alonzo laughed. “You always did have a humorous streak.”

  “Know what else I always had?” Hunter asked as he winced.

  “What?” The smile left Maya cold. But the gun he lifted had her flinching, wanting to do something. Anything. Hunter covertly grabbed the side of her leg to keep her still.

  “A faster hand.” He moved so quickly that she never saw the gun, only heard the shot. Her uncle fell to his knees, his eyes glazing over in death, as blood leaked from a hole between them.

  Three more shots fired in the distance.

  “Where’s Flint?” Bear yelled.

  “No sign of him,” someone else answered.

  “Clear,” an agent shouted, followed by a chorus of others. Hunter sat up, ripped his shirt open, and grabbed at the straps underneath. The breath whooshed out of her lungs. He’d worn a bulletproof vest. He’d be okay.

  The haze around them drifted up, revealing the bodies scattered around on the floor. Maya moved her wrists, trying to break free of the binding, fear crashing over her. It was silly that she felt herself freaking out now that the shooting had stopped. It didn’t matter, though; she had to get up now. Get away. Breathe clean air.

  I’ve never seen dead people before. She couldn’t look at her uncle or she’d throw up. Yes, she need clean air right now.

  “Stop, stop,” Hunter said as he grabbed her arms, stilling her. “You’re bleeding.” He dug in his boot, pulled out a knife, and cut the rope. “Take a deep breath. You’re okay now.” Then he turned to the side and yelled, “Heather? Where’s my goddamn sister?” as he looked around.

  “Got her!”

  Maya looked in the direction of the voice and saw Roc bending over Heather, stroking her hair.

  “C’mon,” Hunter murmured, pulling Maya up beside him. He wrapped an arm around her and tugged her along with him. Maya’s gaze darted around the room, and amid the men with bold letters on their jackets were the guys she’d met at the garage, most of them tending to those who’d been captured.

  Blade fussed over Anna, but she kept swatting him away. Maya figured there was much more to the agent than most people saw.

  Brody kissed Xan.

  Bear sat on the floor, his arms around Roxie, rocking her gently back and forth. She wasn’t crying. She seemed to be staring off into space in shock. Still, Bear looked ready to murder anybody in the room who dared to looked at her.

  As they neared where Heather was on the floor, Hunter stiffened and Gauge gaped. Roc’s head was bent near Heather, his hand on her cheek as she cried, sobs tearing through her as if a part of her soul had died. And this man, that she got the feeling most of the guys didn’t like, was sitting beside her.

  Consoling her.

  It was something, she figured, he wasn’t used to doing, given the look on Gauge’s shocked face.

  “You can back away now,” Hunter said, low and lethal.

  Roc looked up, and Maya knew her own shock was evident at this point. His eyes were red, as if he was fighting tears. Tears. She knew very little about these men, but even the few times she was around Roc, he’d thrown off the don’t-fuck-with-me vibe. Seeing him battling emotions was extremely odd. Almost as odd as how he hovered over Heather, as if he was shielding her from the world.

  “I will fucking gut you, brother, if you try to make me,” Roc said.

  “Hey, hey,” Gauge said, stepping between them. “We’re all just worried.”

  Brody came up beside them, holding Xan’s hand. He clapped Gauge on the shoulder. “Damn fine shooting. You took out three of those guards, man.”

  “No choice, brother. No choice.”

  “Paramedics are here,” one of the agents announced.

  Heather moved, and Roc wrapped his arms around her to help. Hunter let go of Maya and grabbed his sister from the other side, easing her up and away from Roc.

  Heather huffed. “Jeez, Herman, stop.”

  “Herman?” several people said. Maya was one of them.

  “Godammit, Heather.” Hunter’s cheeks turned slightly pink.

  Brody laughed. “Why didn’t we know your real name? That’s priceless.”

  “No way in hell can you start calling me that,” he grumbled.

  “He’s always gone by Hunter,” Heather answered. “But calling him Herman gets his attention.”

  “That’s almost as bad as Gauge’s,” Brody said.

  “Don’t,” Gauge barked. “My handle has been a godsend.”

  Maya watched as Hunter pulled Heather closer to him. It was obvious he wanted to protect his sister, but it seemed he was overly concerned with protecting her from his teammate.

  “I’m not a chew toy.” Heather yanked her arm away and stumbled. Roc jumped and caught her before she could fall.

  “I said back the fuck off,” Hunter yelled, glaring at Roc. He clearly took any touching on Roc’s part as manhandling.

  “Let him help her,” Brody urged.

  Hunter looked at him, ready to argue, but then his gaze shifted to Maya. He blinked a few times; whatever fight he felt toward Roc
she could tell was fleeing from his stern face. When he closed the few steps that were between them, she braced herself for whatever he was going to say now that the adrenaline from moments ago was dwindling.

  Maya quickly threw a shield over her heart. For some reason, it had gotten knocked off during the gunfight, and hers hadn’t been the only one. She was sure the baby comment had been a slip, that or he was being nice until he got his sister out of harm’s way. She had no idea. There could’ve been any number of excuses why. Whatever the reason it had been was temporary. That battle hadn’t changed the war in her heart, nor had it changed what’d happened earlier.

  Hunter had accused her of some awful things.

  Had called her names.

  Wouldn’t listen to her.

  Had thrown her out of his house.

  He’d been completely and totally unreasonable.

  A brutish bad boy not listening to a woman who he acted like he cared about. Those feeling of affection had been fine with him until they no longer suited him.

  If he cared about her, he would’ve tried hearing her side of things rather than jumping to judgment.

  “C’mon, let’s get you checked out,” Hunter said as he put an arm around her. He nudged her to walk, so she did. Not because she wanted to do what he asked, but because the faster she complied, the sooner she could get away. Maybe he wanted to talk to her alone. Maybe he wouldn’t want to talk to her at all. Whatever it was, she’d get through this and move on. She couldn’t deny his touch was comforting in the midst of this mess, but she couldn’t rely on it. She wouldn’t.

  As far as she was concerned, nothing had changed between her and Hunter. And because of what happened to Heather, it wasn’t as if she could just go back to school or move back in with her. Too much had happened. She honestly didn’t know if she could ever show her face around school again.

  First chance she got, she was flying home. She never should have left the protective bubble.

  No matter how big of a lie it was. Her mother would be crushed to learn the truth, but at least Maya could be there for her.

  She had nowhere else to be.