The Line: The Complete Series

by Nikki Rose

  She leaned back on the couch making herself comfortable. Her long slender leg crossed over the other, making her skirt slip up her thigh a little more. Even though it had been weeks since Addy told me she didn’t want me in her life anymore, I was still in love with her but damn it, I was still a man and Olivia was most definitely all woman.

  I poured her wine and my whiskey before returning to the living room. I was halfway back to my seat when she stopped me.

  “I won’t bite, you know. You can sit closer to me.” She patted the couch next to her and although my senses told me to keep my distance, the other part of me—the lonely, discouraged part as well as the part exclusive to the male anatomy—told me there was no reason not to let myself get closer to this woman. We could be professional when the time came and enjoy each other’s company when we were off the clock. An added perk of her being an agent was that she understood my job. She wouldn’t blame me or think less of me for following through on my orders.

  I flashed her one of my most charming smiles and sat on the other end of the couch. I rested my arms out on the back of the couch and crossed my leg at the ankle to appear casual and confident as she drew the glass to her lips, tilted it back, and let the rich red wine slip past her plump lips. I wouldn’t move too fast or show too much interest. No, I was going to drag out the hunt.

  CHAPTER 28

  Hunter

  Work was slow. Even after two months, we hadn’t made any significant progress toward finding who had blown up my apartment. On the upside, after so long without incident, the Director had allowed me to go back to semi-regular duty.

  I unlocked my door and hurried for the shower. I didn’t have long before Olivia would arrive for dinner. After her impromptu visit to check in on me, we’d come to a mutually beneficial arrangement where we got together a couple times a week—usually Friday night and one other night that worked for both of us.

  Sometimes we would have dinner or drinks before winding up in my bed. Other nights we’d barely make it through my apartment door before I was inside her.

  We weren’t dating, not really. But this arrangement worked on a more primal level. We both had needs and were able to satiate those needs without the complications of a relationship. It helped that I had no interest in her other than physically. Olivia was a tedious, cold woman outside the bedroom.

  I rolled off of Olivia and collapsed onto the smooth sheet. I glanced over and gazed on her naked breasts glistening with dew. Most men would count themselves lucky to be lying next to a beautiful, naked woman but just like every time before, as soon as I was finished with her it was Addy that popped in my mind.

  If I could, I’d close my eyes and pretend the warm body I’d just been plunging into was Addy, but the scent of Olivia’s perfume pulled me back.

  “That was amazing.” Olivia panted through her words.

  “Yeah.” I rolled off the bed and slipped on my discarded boxers and pants, not bothering with a shirt.

  “I do enjoy that there’s no pretense with you. No wasteful small talk or uncertainty of what to expect.”

  I turned around to see Olivia already slipping her dress down over her head. She smoothed down her hair with her hand and bent down to secure the straps of her heels.

  “I’ll walk you to the door.”

  “Such a gentleman” She kissed the corner of my mouth and patted my shoulder. “But I can see myself out. I’ll see you at work.”

  “It was fun.” I nodded to her and she walked from the bedroom.

  Once I’d heard the front door click shut, I dropped into my favorite chair which allowed me a front-row seat to my large picture window and passed that, into Addy’s apartment. She said she didn’t want anything more to do with me, but I couldn’t stop watching her. There was something that drew me to her—an impulse to watch over and protect her even if she didn’t know. So, I sat there every day like clockwork watching and waiting.

  She was predictable. I knew exactly when to expect her home from work, from the gym, from the shooting lessons I’d bought for her. Friday nights she went out with her friends to a local bar. It was everything I could do not to follow her out there. I think a part of me planned the nights with Olivia on Fridays to keep me from doing just that.

  I poured myself a whiskey and adjusted my binoculars as Addy returned home. I followed her from one room to the next until she disappeared into her bathroom to take a shower. I could imagine her beautiful naked body as the steam billowed around her and the rivets of water caressed her soft skin. Watching her night after night was torture but not watching would have been even harder.

  Movement in the living room caught my attention and I readjusted just in time to see a man dressed in all black wearing a ski mask coming through her front door. I swung my binoculars back to see Addy emerge from her bathroom.

  I jumped up from my chair. My heart pounded in my chest as I fumbled for my phone, never taking my eyes off of the scene playing out in front of me. I hit my speed dial to call Addy and watched through the window as she picked up her phone, frowned, hit ignore, and put the phone back down. Okay, so maybe I’d called her a time or two to check up on her since she went home, but this was important, damn it.

  She began towel drying her hair and I called again. This time she finally stopped long enough to answer.

  “Hi Hunter, I just got out of the shower, can this wait—?”

  “Addy, someone’s—” Before I could warn her, her bedroom door flung open and the masked man burst in. Addy’s scream pierced through the phone before the line went dead. I watched in horror as the man threw Addy’s phone against the wall before grabbing her. His arms encircled her small frame, pinning her arms at her side as he lifted her off the ground. She fought him, kicking and flailing in his arms. My brave, strong girl. When he placed a white rag over her mouth and nose, her eyes fluttered closed and her body went limp.

  Everything moved fast in front of me. I stood frozen, unable to take my eyes off of that man with his hands on my girl until he dragged her toward the front door. He’s going to take her.

  I tore my eyes from the horror before me and made it to my car in record time. One thing was on my side—the man who took Addy didn’t know anyone saw him, which meant he wouldn’t be in any real hurry. If I was lucky, he’d take his time and play it cool so not to bring attention to himself. As I turned the corner, the man pulled out onto the main street. The roads were still busy. I had to catch up to him before I lost him. I wove my way through the streets littered with evening commuters. He was still several cars ahead of me and making more progress than I could without being reckless. The light up ahead of him turned red and he rolled to a stop. It gave me just enough time to catch up with him.

  I needed to get him off the road without harming Addy. Chances were, he had her in the trunk or backseat. Her laying low gave me some advantage but not much.

  I waited, following him through the still busy streets of the city. He was heading away from the crowds and before long the dark streets were nearly empty.

  It was time for me to make my move. My best chance was to act clueless. I’d make up some excuse about his trunk being ajar and hope he pulled over.

  I got into the left-hand lane and matched his pace once I was beside him. I rolled down the passenger window and tried to get his attention.

  “Hey. Hey, man.”

  The guy looked in my direction and when our gaze met, his eyes widened to the size of saucers. He recognized me.

  He put on the gas and his little black sedan lunged ahead. He knew I was after him. I couldn’t lose him so I sped up to match him.

  The last thing I wanted was for him to crash at a high speed with Addy in the car. The longer I kept up, the more reckless he became. I had to stop him before he did something to get them both killed.

  I swerved toward him, lightly tapping his rear bumper. He swerved to avoid a harder impact and managed to keep the car under control. I whipped the wheel toward him and clipped hi
s bumper with enough force to send him spinning. I moved fast enough to avoid an all-out collision.

  I pulled up beside the car and kept my head low as I climbed out. I approached the car slowly but there was no movement from the driver’s side.

  As I neared him, I could better see the bloody windshield and the slumped driver draped over the wheel. He could still be alive so I kept my hand on my gun until I made it to Addy who was still passed out in the backseat. I lifted her in my arms and carried her to my car where I called Chris and waited for a cleanup team to arrive.

  CHAPTER 29

  Addy

  After my latest abduction, Hunter insisted I stay at his apartment so he could protect me. I knew it was a bad idea with our feelings but Hunter made me feel safe even after so much bad. The first two days he didn’t leave my side, but on the third evening, he was called into work he couldn’t get out of. I’d dozed off on Hunter’s couch watching some singing contest and waiting for him to get home from his late night. A loud knock on the door jolted me from my sleep as I jumped up and ran to the door.

  “Who is it?”

  “Addy? Addy, it’s Olivia. I need you to let me in.”

  Hunter was at work and I wasn’t sure why she would be at his apartment in the middle of the night. I opened the door and looked her up and down. She had a professional look tonight in her pin-stripe navy skirt and white blouse with her hair tightly bound in a bun.

  “What’s going on? What are you doing here?”

  “Something’s come up at the office. Hunter sent me to come get you.”

  “Hunter sent you?” That didn’t sound right. He knew how I felt about this woman.

  “Yes. It’s urgent. Grab your coat and throw on some shoes. We need to hurry.”

  “Why didn’t he send Chris?”

  “Chris is handling something else right now. Hurry, we need to go.”

  I rushed to the bedroom to get dressed and grab my coat. In the living room, I slipped on my shoes without bothering to untie them first and we hurried to Olivia’s car.

  Olivia and I rode in uncomfortable silence to the old warehouse where Hunter worked. I wasn’t sure why he needed to see me there. I assumed it had something to do with finalizing the case he’d been working on. Or perhaps his captain needed another statement. They’d already given me roughly three interviews that felt a lot more like an interrogation to me.

  It was dark when we arrived and the deep shadows added to my anxiety about being with this woman that I despised. Hunter and I were together and doing well but I couldn’t help the feeling that she was more interested in him then as just a fellow agent.

  Olivia guided me inside opening the door and allowing me to enter first. When I stepped inside the entryway a man’s pain-filled cries echoed down the empty hall. I ran as quickly as I could to find where the screams were coming from. All my worst nightmares flashed before my eyes. I had to help Hunter. As I neared the room, I realized it wasn’t Hunter screams I was hearing.

  I burst through the door to find a poor haggard-looking man chain from the ceiling by his wrists while the cruel sadistic torturer held a knife to his throat.

  “Stop.” I cried and gasped as the man turned around revealing himself to me. Hunter.

  “Addy, what are you doing here?” He threw down the knife and ran to me.

  I pushed out of his arms feeling every bit of blood drain from my face. “You—you were causing those screams?”

  “Addy let me explain.”

  “This is what you do? This is your job?” I stammered as I backed up almost running into Olivia as she entered the room.

  “This is only a small part. I don’t do this part anymore.”

  “Well, it sure looks like you do.” My stomach rolled and I felt like I might be sick.

  I turned to run out the door but he grabbed my arm and pulled me back so that I collided into his hard, muscular chest. He pinned me against the wall with his body. Gripping my chin, he forced me to look into his eyes.

  “I let you go once and you saw what happened. I refuse to let you go again. You’re mine, Addy. You’ve been mine since the first time I saw you. You just didn’t know it yet. Now, stop being ridiculous, sit down, and listen to what I have to say before I tie you up. You know I’m not above it.”

  He stepped away and released me but didn’t move far. I sidestepped him slowly and moved to the chair in the corner of the room. He relaxed slightly as I lowered myself into the seat.

  “You torture and kill people for a living. That is something I will never be okay with.”

  “I hate torturing those people. I’ll admit when I was just starting out, I used to enjoy it, because it was something, I was good at and it let me release all the built-up frustrations from my days of dealing with my abusive asshole father. It was a way to fight back like I couldn’t back then. But not anymore. Now I hate it.”

  “You still kill people.”

  “I get rid of people who are ruining our society, people who threaten innocent men, women, and children.”

  “That’s what the police are for. That’s what jail and prison are for.”

  “We’ve tried it that way. These people find ways to get around it to put themselves above the law. That is when they call me in. That is when I have to step in. I do the things that everyone wants to pretend doesn’t happen so that they can continue on with their safe pretty little lives and act like these ugly horrible things don’t happen. I save lives by taking the lives of evil men.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that. As much as I hated what he did for a living I knew deep down that on some level he was right.

  “I don’t like it. But I get it. I trust you. If you say this is for the best then I believe you.”

  “Thank you. Your trust means so much to me.”

  “Very touching,” Olivia said from the edge of the room I’d forgotten she was even there. “Addy and I should leave you to your work. I’m sure you have a long night ahead of you with Agent Williams.”

  “Actually, Olivia I’d like for you to stay for a minute.”

  “Oh? Do you need my help? I’ve always said we make such a good team.”

  “I won’t be needing your help. You see Williams already gave me all the information I need.”

  “He what? I mean that’s great. What intel were you able to extract?”

  “It was interesting, actually. Once I explained to him how helpful you were in his capture, he became very forthcoming about your involvement in leaking intel to our enemies in Russia.”

  “He blamed me?”

  “He did,” Hunter said matter of fact.

  “Well, you know how some people get during these interrogations. They will say anything to get the pain to stop.”

  “That’s true. Except I wasn’t inflicting any pain on him at the time of his admission. We were just chatting.”

  “Well, he clearly is lying to blame an innocent agent as retaliation for his capture.”

  “You see I would think that too except for the fact that he was able to offer some very convincing evidence in the way of video and voice recordings he had uploaded to his private cloud.”

  “But when we came in, you were torturing him. Addy saw it and so did I.”

  “Security alerted me the minute you drove onto the premises. I have to admit Agent Williams really missed his calling in the theater.”

  “That’s not true. You’re lying. You’re making this all up.” Olivia backed away toward the door like a panicking animal.

  “Security’s already waiting outside. You’re not getting out of here.” Hunter said, taking a step closer to her.

  Olivia pulled a gun from her thigh and shot Agent Williams in the chest. He cried out but his bound arms didn’t allow him much movement. Hunter ran to him and applied pressure to the man’s chest. I jumped from my seat to rush to help.

  Before I could reach them, Olivia fired the gun grazing Hunter’s arm. I jumped back and my hand bumped my side piece. Everyt
hing moved in slow motion as Olivia fired another round but her gun clicked quietly. She must have neglected to check that her gun was fully loaded beforehand—something my shooting instructor had always impressed upon me.

  She was quick to discharge the clip and grab her spare. Hunter charged toward her but she was faster lifting the gun to better aim at him. I wasn’t sure how my gun made it from my hip to my hand but I lifted it and blindly shot in her direction not caring if I merely startled her long enough for Hunter to get to her or shot her. Either way, she would be stopped from hurting Hunter.

  Olivia fell back against the wall, blood seeping through her clean white blouse like red paint spilled on a canvas.

  Her gun dropped from her hand with a loud clatter on the cement floor. Hunter and I both ran to her. He kicked the gun out of her reach. I stood there staring down at her as the red spot spread. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. I just stared.

  Hunter bent down and pressed two fingers to the side of her neck. He shook his head with a solemn look on his face.

  As much as I was against using my gun on another human being, I was surprised that there were no regrets as I looked down at her lifeless eyes staring back at me. I had killed a woman. But I had done so protecting the man I loved. I didn’t just cross the line, I leaped over it willingly—without regret.

  I vaguely heard the rattling of chains. From my peripheral vision, I could see Hunter releasing the captive man and lowering him to the ground with a rag pressed to his chest.

  “Addy, are you okay?” Hunter called to me.

  “I’m fine I’m not hurt. But I—I...” My lip trembled and tears ran down my face in hot streams.

  “I know baby. I know. I’m sorry you had to go through this but right now we need to get him some help.”

  Hunter was right. Whatever I was going through could wait. I would process what happened later but right now there was another life at stake. The last thing I wanted was two people’s blood on my hands.

  I gave Hunter a nod and rushed over to them. “We need to keep pressure on the wound. Can you handle that while I call for help?”