Deadly Protector (Federal Paranormal Unit Book 4)

by Milly Taiden

  Of course, if Hunter did tell Brock then he’d have to admit that he’d broken the cardinal rule of FPU. He’d breached someone else’s mind without their knowledge or consent. It was considered treason and carried a death sentence.

  “Might be easier,” he sighed.

  Thankfully, Brock, Donovan, and Kat led the parade of participants into the room, effectively giving Hunter time to come up with a plan. Trying to shake the notion that he could just slip back into Sway’s mind and find out what had the three-natured Ken doll all messed up, he tuned in as the boss ordered, “All right, people. Let’s get this show on the road.” Looking at his watch, he added, “We’ve got two hours before you people need to head out. Quiet down and listen up. We’ve got no time for any bullshit.”

  Stepping forward, her excitement unmistakable as she began catching everyone up. “I hope y’all have been following the emails we’ve sent over the last couple of days.” Her gaze captured Hunter’s making him squirm in his seat. “Only one of our suspects went forward with verbal contact and after the second call asked for a date.”

  The heat in her eyes, the conviction in her tone, the way her body vibrated with excitement was so alluring, so intoxicating, Hunter had to shift in his seat to keep the impression of his zipper from being permanently tattooed into his erection. Finally, he was able to breathe when she looked away, he glanced to the side to find Sway gone.

  Searching the room, he caught Ramirez’s eye and mouthed, “Where’s pretty boy.”

  Throwing his thumb over his shoulder, the white tiger mouthed, “Taking a leak.”

  Nothing about what was going down made sense and it damn sure didn’t set well. Shit was spinning out of control. Hunter may not want a mate, but he damned sure wasn’t letting anything happen to her. Dragons had a commitment to protect humans. That was his story and he was sticking to it.

  On his feet the second Brock dismissed the group, Cross followed the scent of the shitting-in-his-shorts shifter. Nowhere to be found on their floor, or the two above and the two below, Hunter decided it was time to alert the boss when Sway appeared out of nowhere. Suddenly calm, cool, and collected, the Ken doll smirked, “What’s up, old man? Lost again?”

  Lunging forward, Cross caught himself a split-second before he slammed Sway against the wall. Nodding to the boss, noting the pointed look and furrowed brow, he added, “I’ll be ready.”

  Waiting until the door to Brock’s office was closed, Hunter shot a fiery look at the cocky pretty boy and growled through gritted teeth, “Watch your back, asshole.”

  8

  Unable to shake the feeling that something was happening between Sway and Cross, Kat decided it was better to find out what was going on before they were out in the field. Looking everywhere for one or both of the testosterone-laden men, she stood outside a locked door where hushed voices were having a heated debate.

  Reaching for the doorknob, she jumped back when someone shouted, “Kat! Agent Kat Mejia? Are you down here?”

  Plastering on a smile and heading back the way she’d just come, Kat popped out into the huge common area at the same time a redhead dressed completely in black leather smiled and waved. Bouncing over, her green eyes sparkling with glee, she held out her hand and chattered, “It is so nice to meet you. Director Vega has nothing but great things to say about you. My name’s London, London Connor and I’m…”

  “You’re the analyst who linked the missing persons cases.” Shaking the woman’s hand, Kat said, “That was some fantastic work. You have an amazing eye for detail. I hope you’re getting a commendation.”

  With her smile stretching wider and a blush covering her cheeks, London shook her head. “No big deal. Just doing my job.” Letting go of Kat’s hand, she stepped closer and whispered, “What I really want is to come up here. Computers and data are cool, but my dream is to be a field agent.”

  “I don’t think that’ll be a problem. You’re a smart cookie with a good head on your shoulders.”

  “Thanks so much. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you saying that.” London beamed as she handed Kat a large yellow envelope. “I found some other information that might be helpful.”

  “Great!” Taking the envelope, Kat went on, “Thank you so much. I’ll let you know as soon as I’ve had a chance to go through it.”

  “Cool.” London opened her mouth to say something else, but the chirp of her phone had her saying, “London here.” Before placing her hand over the mouthpiece and whispering to Kat, “It was great to meet you. Talk soon.”

  Waving as the young woman sped away, Kat looked down at her watch and sighed. “No time to find out what’s going on with Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum.”

  Pushing all thoughts of Hunter Cross from her mind, she headed to the tech room to be fitted for her mic and earbud. With every step, the feeling grew that she was still missing something. Checking the photos of the girls at least once an hour every hour for the last three days, she was absolutely certain no one else had passed away. Why then, hadn’t Angela’s body been found?

  What she knew of their perp, hopefully the suspect she was meeting tonight, fit the profile of a narcissist. If he had any empathy at all, he wouldn’t be abducting women in the first place. There was no remorse because there were eleven missing ladies. Guilt and shame would’ve forced him to stop, or at the very least let the women go. That hadn’t happened, and she had to believe he was still hunting…collecting…creating his own harem?

  Taking a deep breath, she inhaled the warm smoky scent belonging to Hunter Cross. No matter what she did, how many times she told herself he was an arrogant asshole who didn’t deserve a second of her attention, she couldn’t stop thinking about him.

  There was just something about him. It was like the tough, macho I-don’t-need-anybody façade was all an act. That he had a heart and soul and was capable of so much more than he wanted anyone to know. God knew he was sexy as homemade sin and twice as lethal to her sanity.

  One look, hell, even a glance and Kat couldn’t catch her breath, her body shook with need, and her pussy was wet and aching. Why was she always attracted to the assholes? What was it about bad boys with bad attitudes who couldn’t admit they were human that had her ditching every iota of common sense and panting like a cat in heat?

  “I’m an idiot. That’s what,” she groaned under her breath, grabbing the handle of the tech room door and disappearing inside before she was forced to talk to the sexiest man on two legs.

  “You look like you need a drink,” Donovan teased. “Nervous about tonight?”

  “I wish it were that easy.”

  Suddenly concerned, Jane got to her feet and closed the distance between them. “Somebody giving you a hard time? Just say the word and I’ll have Ramirez kick some ass.”

  “No, no, no,” Kat shook her head. “It’s nothing like that. But thanks. I appreciate you having my back. What’s bothering me is that I can’t figure out why we haven’t found Angela’s body, or come close to where he might be keeping all these women.”

  Blowing out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, she went on, “What’s he doing with them? I would say he’s a collector, but that doesn’t ring true.” Pushing off the door and pacing the room, she thought out loud. “He’s doing this for a reason. He’s got a plan. He does nothing without a plan.”

  Tapping her temples with the heels of her hands, she had to keep going, had to keep reasoning through what was bothering her, or it would cloud her focus for what she had to do later that night. “Why do kidnappers abduct? What is their motivation?”

  “Ransom. Replace someone they lost,” Donovan responded. “Complete a fantasy. Force a relationship. Torture and kill. Take power when they feel powerless. Control another to take control of their situation.”

  “Yes, but do any of those feel right? And if they do, why eleven women? That’s a lot of people to take care of, to be responsible for. And why still be hunting? Why kill… wait! Did he kill Angela?�
��

  “Dunno. You said she was dead,” Jane answered.

  “I know, but I don’t know how or why. Only that she wasn’t afraid and felt euphoric.” Getting more excited with every second, sure she was about to latch onto another piece of the puzzle, Kat raced across the room. Grabbing a pen and paper as she sat and started to scribble as fast as she could.

  Writing the initials of each of the girls, she started to reiterate what they already knew, making her own abbreviations beside each set of letters. Everything matched leading to the same dead end.

  Then a spark, a flash of a memory she hadn’t realized she had, popped into focus. She’d seen something in Angela’s apartment, something that until that moment hadn’t materialized because it hadn’t been relevant.

  Spinning in her chair, she held up the paper and as she was underlining the last word she’d written with the tip of her finger she said it aloud, “Inhaler.” Out of the chair and dashing to the door, she continued. “There was the cap to an inhaler in the top drawer of Angela’s bedside table. No one would’ve known what it was. I didn’t know what it was until right this second.”

  Spinning on her toes, needing to finish her thought and calm down before she approached Brock, she went on. “I’m sure everyone who went through that room thought it was trash. I know I dismissed it, but now I can see it as clear as a bell. I know what it was because my roommate at boarding school used to leave those effin’ caps all over the place. I would step on them in my bare feet on my way to the bathroom in the middle of the night and want to smother her in her sleep because it hurt so damn bad.”

  Making the shooing motion with both of her hands, Donovan commanded, “Go! Go, girl, go! Tell the boss. This is important shit.”

  “Thanks, Jane,” Kat hollered over her shoulder. “Thanks for everything.”

  9

  “Hunter, get in here.” The boss’s shout had Cross cursing as he turned the corner and crossed the threshold into his office.

  “You bellowed, sir?”

  “Get in here and shut the door.”

  Eyes glued to Brock, refusing to look at either Sway or Kat, Cross kicked the door shut with the heel of his boot and stood where he stopped. “Done and done.”

  “Tell him what you remembered, Mejia.”

  The sound of Brock’s stern order made the hairs on the back of Hunter’s neck stand on end. This fucking op couldn’t get over fast enough. There were too many moving parts, not enough information, and a woman who caused him to lose focus.

  Distance was the only thing that would cure what ailed him. Hundreds and hundreds of miles between himself and that sexy little Latina before he was FUBAR and fell in love with her. God knew he already wanted to protect her from everyone, including herself. Sappy, stinking love would throw kerosene on an already blazing fire.

  “Yes, sir.” The sultry sound of her voice made his cock jump in his jeans. Just another reason he needed to get the hell outta Dodge, like yesterday.

  “I was talking to Jan…I mean, Donovan. It’s been driving me crazy that we haven’t found Angela’s body. I mean, nine times out of ten, kidnappers will get rid of the evidence of a botched abduction as soon as possible and work as hard and as fast as they can to replace what they’ve lost. At least, that’s the profile for single victim abductors.”

  Watching as she took a drink from the water bottle she was holding tightly, the glistening of her lips made Cross’s dragon roar. Dammit all to hell and back, Mejia was going to the death of him.

  “Ours is highly organized. . .” She was already talking again by the time Hunter forced enough blood back to his brain to comprehend her words. “And we now know, not in a hurry. If he had been, another woman would’ve been taken the same day or the next after Angela’s passing.”

  Tapping her bottom lip, she reiterated, “He thinks he’s smarter than we are. He’s continued to follow his schedule even though one of his victims died. But…” she paused, and no matter what he did, Cross couldn’t help but lean forward until she began again. “That’s because he didn’t kill her.”

  “What? How the hell could you know that?” Sway said, his voice rough and gravelly as he sported a scowl.

  Looking shocked, and if Cross wasn’t mistaken, disappointed by Sway’s crass attitude, Kat instantly slapped on a mask of indifference, but she couldn’t quell the flames flashing in her hazel eyes as she deadpanned, “Because we missed something when we were in her apartment.”

  “No way, we…”

  “Shut up and listen,” Brock growled. “You missed something. Regardless of what you think, you’re far from perfect. Mejia figured it out. Deal with it.”

  “We missed it,” Kat stressed. “And it was the cap of an inhaler. I saw it but it didn’t register.” Once again using her hands to talk, she clarified, “Don’t you see? If there was a cap, then there had to have been an inhaler sometime or another.” When no one immediate answered, she said, “Angela was an asthmatic. She either didn’t have her inhaler or used it all after being taken. There no way he could’ve known and no way he could’ve taken care of the problem.”

  “So, you’re saying he had no intention of ever killing her?”

  “Yes,” she nodded and smiled, making Hunter’s heart stutter in his chest. “Yes, Hunt…Cross,” she quickly corrected herself. “His intent is to keep them, not kill them.”

  Caught up in her enthusiasm and in awe of how her mind worked, his mouth was open before his brain engaged and he asked, “But why? Does he think he’s a sheik and needs a harem?”

  Laughing out loud, the sound so sweet Hunter smiled right along, enjoying the way her cheeks blushed and her eyes danced. “That’s what I thought.” At the sound of Brock clearing his throat, Kat immediately schooled her features. “To be honest, I haven’t figured that part out yet.”

  “And she doesn’t have time right now,” the boss interjected. “You all need to get wired and outta here. All your questions will be answered when you catch this asshole.” Stopping and staring again almost immediately, he barked, “I’ll have Donovan check Angela Thomas’s medical records.”

  “Yes, sir. I think she might already be working on that,” Kat nodded, giving Sway a wide berth before zipping past Hunter.

  Not ready to let the younger shifter off the hook for any of the bullshit he’d pulled, Cross stepped in front of Sway and using his first name, something he rarely did with people he didn’t know or didn’t like, spat, “Get your head outta your ass, Wyatt. If you can’t handle this mission, I’ll tell the boss to make you stand down.”

  Rolling his eyes and stepping to the side, Sway purposely bumped Cross with his shoulder and scoffed, “Try it, old man, and see what happens.”

  Prepared to rip the Ken doll into tiny pieces, Hunter stopped short when Brock rumbled, “Cross, I need a word.”

  10

  Parking outside Beastly, Kat took a second to make sure she was prepared to act like any other woman on her way to meet a man she’d only ever spoken to on the phone. The little voice in the back of her mind continued to chat, “He’s not gonna look like that picture on the dating site.”

  But Jane had checked it every way she knew how and confirmed the photo had not been doctored. Of course, that didn’t mean he hadn’t swiped it from someone else. It was only logical explanation she could come up with for “Craig Neilson” to say, “I’ll be wearing a black Adidas T-shirt and jeans” no less than three times.

  Would he really be wearing that? Could there be more than one man involved? It didn’t ring true. Their Casanova, as Kat thought of him, would have to be hard-pressed to allow another man in on his scheme, his territory, or his women. But maybe a decoy was exactly what he needed to get away clean.

  “Oh, my God, I’m driving myself crazy,” she huffed aloud. Checking her makeup in the rearview mirror for the hundredth time, she decided it was as good as it was going to get and got ready to get out of the car.

  Looking up, she was stunned immobile
as a horde of women crowded around Cross before he’d even stepped onto the patio. The word dragon floated through her mind as she watched gorgeous glittering silver scales slide up his arms, disappear under the sleeve his perfectly tight midnight blue T-shirt, and reappear at the nape of his neck.

  A shiver skated down her spine and wound around her waist, stopping right on her clit and instantly soaking when he slowly turned his head to the left before staring directly into her eyes. Heat flared to life in his eyes at the same moment the tip of his tongue slid seductively across his bottom lip.

  Her body clenched. Her pulse spiked. Her mind filled with images of everything she wanted him to do to her. Forcing her eyes anywhere but at Hunter Cross, Kat took several deep breaths, counted to ten, and with a confidence she didn’t feel, got out of the car and headed for the front entrance of Beastly.

  Playing the part, she fidgeted with her skirt, touched her earring, and looked from side-to-side several times. Waiting in line, she grinned as Jane’s voice whispered in her ear, “Girl, you’ve got the shy, introvert down to a science. If I didn’t know you, I’d swear you were scared outta your skivvies.”

  “Haven’t seen Sway yet,” Mitchell, Donovan’s new assistant reported. “Cross is on the patio playing his part.”

  “No shit,” Kat swore under her breath.

  “Repeat,” Mitchell asked. “Unable to copy.”

  “Nothing,” she whispered without moving her lips before stepping forward and letting the big, burly bouncer stamp the back of her hand.

  “First time here, darlin’?” His southern twang and the smile that reached his eyes somehow made Kat feel better, like he would do his level best to keep the peace.