The Hunted (The Killing Hours Book 1)

by Christy Anderson

Tears blur my vision. I never thought I’d find this here, him. I can’t stand the thought of him not coming back.

  “I don’t want to watch you walk off again and not know if it is the last time I’ll see you.”

  I know this is the truth. I curl my arms around myself, dreading these final few moments with him. It’s morbid, final. It’s as if in my heart, I know I will never see this man alive again.

  How can I live without him?

  “I have to finish this. There’s no other way. If I could choose, I’d take you in my arms and never turn back, but we would have to look over our shoulders the rest of our lives if I don’t kill him. I can’t let you live your life that way, baby. I just can’t. He’s done so much shit to everyone I care about. It has to end. He has to end.”

  His sad eyes hold mine as he rakes his fingers through his hair. I wish I could wash away everything this strong, kind man has gone through.

  “I know.” I answer as I lower my head.

  Sadness for him, for us, for what we could be if given the chance swallows me. Knox tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.

  No matter how horrible a person Vaughn is, he’s still Knox’s’ father. Taking his own father’s life won’t come without some sort of sacrifice on his part.

  What will that do to him?

  “If something happens, if I don’t make it out, Ace will take care of you. You’ll never have to worry about a thing again.”

  I look to him. Those warm amber eyes have seen so much pain and death, it breaks my heart. His face displays his sadness, but he’s resigned to his fate. This man to some is a monster, a killer, death, but to me, he’s my warrior, my hero, my friend, my lover. He’s come to mean so much to me in such a short time.

  “I don’t need Ace to take care of me. I need you, alive.”

  “I will be. Stay here. If it gets out of hand, leave with these men. They’ll take you away from here. I’ll find you.”

  His lips find mine and a gentle kiss becomes more as I pull him to me.

  “So beautiful, my Little Bird.”

  His sweet whispered compliment across my lips causes my heart to thump wildly in my chest. This man, is everything I could want. How could I possibly lose him now? We’ve just found each other.

  “Raven!”

  I turn to find Scarlett barreling toward me. A sob breaks loose as I run to my sister, crashing into a hug.

  “Oh, my God, Scarlett! I thought I’d lost you.”

  “Never.”

  It’s just a whisper, but to hear her sweet voice is music to my ears. I pull back and take in her appearance, clasping her shoulders in my hands. The varying shades of bruises on her exposed skin tell the story.

  “Are you okay?” As soon as I ask it, I wish I hadn’t. Of course, she isn’t okay after what she’s been through.

  “No, but I hope to be.”

  Tears fill her eyes and mine. My poor, sweet sister. I hug her to me, and she begins to sob quietly. Knox squeezes my shoulder and moves toward Ace who stands to our side, watching Scarlett intently.

  “Can we get out of here now? I just want as far away from all of this as I can get.” Her words are cried into my chest.

  “Yes, very soon. We’ll go home.”

  “I don’t want to go home, Raven. I can’t. I just can’t stand the thought of Mom and Dad seeing me like this.”

  “Honey, they’ve missed you so much and are worried to death about you. You can’t just run off. They will want to help you.”

  “I can’t go back there. Not yet. I’m not the same daughter they know anymore. I need some time.”

  “Okay. We’ll figure it out, together.”

  Our parents will be heart broken. They’ve done everything they can to find her. I can understand her reluctance to go home, though. I think she needs some time to adjust, and she probably needs therapy, too. Our parents are loving people, so they will hate not seeing her right away, but they will respect her wishes. She needs time to process.

  I release her and wipe the tears from her face as I kiss her gently on her cheek.

  “I love you, so much.”

  “I love you too, Raven.”

  She hugs me once more, then she heads back to Ace. He pulls her, tucking her into his side. He whispers softly to her as her sobs begin to fade. I have no doubt he’ll keep her safe.

  “I have to go, baby.” Knox comes up and wraps his arms around me, engulfing me in a hug.

  “I’m so scared, Knox.” I whisper the words into the skin of his arm as I inhale his scent, trying to commit it to memory.

  “It will be over before you know it. I’m going in, getting this done and coming out, then we will leave and never have to see him again.”

  “Come back to me, okay?

  Knox squeezes me tighter.

  “I promise.”

  He places a lingering kiss to my lips before turning to go back inside the manor, to slay his demon.

  29

  Knox

  Walking away from Raven, after what my father just did to her, is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. I keep forcing myself to believe that once I kill my father, I can get myself out of Albatross. I can dismantle this fucked-up organization piece by piece. I know there are others like my father, but hunting people and taking out my targets is one thing that old bastard taught me to accomplish with perfection. I’ll do anything to keep Raven safe.

  She is mine. Mine to fuck. Mine to love. Mine to protect.

  Mine.

  Lazz and I close in on the manor. Shots ring out in the distance.

  “What’s our plan?” Lazz asks as he pulls his gun out of his waistband.

  “Stay low and get dirty.” I pull my borrowed piece from the holster and cock it.

  We make our way closer, and the shots grow louder. We crest a small hill, ducking behind some brush to take in the scene below us. It’s all-out war. Men shooting one another, bare hand fighting, and stabbing at one another. It’s chaos, as the men from Albatross clash with rest of the men from Iron Mayhem.

  “You didn’t think I was going to let you two have all the fun, did you?”

  I turn to see Ace ducking down on the other side of Lazz.

  “Who’s got eyes on the girls?”

  “Don’t worry, Romeo. I left them with Lucian.”

  “I’m about to get me a piece of the action. See you ladies down there.” Lazz stalks off toward the chaos, a gun in each hand, firing shots into the men of Albatross who are battling his MC brothers.

  I’ve never told anyone what the organization did to Lazz and his family. It’s the only reason he didn’t eat a fucking bullet after the shit he did to Raven. I can’t imagine how such a loss can fuck you up. The near loss of Raven has made me see how it could drive a man to insanity. I just hope he doesn’t totally lose his shit. He could be an asset in the take down of Albatross.

  “That’s one crazy bastard,” Ace says as he watches Lazz.

  “For good reason. You ready, brother?” I ask.

  “Born that way, Knox. Let’s go get you some pay back.”

  We take off down the hill and enter the fray in a hail of bullets. Lazz has drawn a knife to add to his mayhem. Blood splatters his face, and he smiles as he shoots a soldier from Albatross between the eyes. Ace is to my left, clearing a path through the field with deadly precision. I’m taking down men left and right as I scan the grounds for my father.

  Where the hell is he?

  He’s too precious to get dirtied by it all. The brothers of Iron Mayhem are laying waste to the soldiers. Men in various stages of death lay all around. It’s a gruesome but fucking glorious sight. I make my way through with one place in mind. The manor. That’s where Vaughn Bane will be.

  I leave Ace, Lazz, and the men of Iron Mayhem behind to go find my father. This is a reunion I’m all too happy to have.

  When I enter the manor, and I head straight to what was once his office. I know that’s where he’ll be. The door stands ajar. He’s seated
in the chair behind the desk. I press the door open with the barrel of my gun.

  “I knew you’d find me.”

  “Only a matter of time, old man. This day was a long time coming.”

  “You think you have it in you to take my life, boy?”

  I cock the gun and aim it right at his fucking face.

  “Absolutely.”

  “I don’t think you do. I think you know, deep down, that you are more like me than you care to acknowledge.”

  “I’m nothing like you.”

  “You are. You are dangerous, determined, lethal, smart.”

  He ticks his points off on his fingers like he’s taught me some grand life lesson.

  “Those are the things I taught you. Everything I did was necessary to make you the killer, the future leader that Albatross deserves.”

  “After I kill you, I will dismantle this fucked-up organization. You placed it above everything you should have loved! You ruined me! You killed my mother and made me watch. You beat me. Had others beat me within an inch of my life. Starved me, then set me upon the world to kill for you. You taught me hate! Blinding, raw, brutal hate!”

  The words I’ve longed to say for years rip from my throat. Fuck does that feel good.

  “Always dramatic, son. I made you a man. I made you!”

  Spittle flies from his mouth, and he rises from behind the desk. His face, so similar to my own, turns red with rage as he walks toward me.

  “You were always an ingrate. Everything I did was for you, to make you strong, make you a leader. You were born to carry on my legacy!”

  “I was born to fucking end you.”

  I stare into the eyes of my father one last time and see nothing. Nothing of the man who should have loved me. Nothing but blackness and unending emptiness. I take a breath. He reaches for his gun, and I squeeze the trigger. The shock registers on his face right before the bullet pierces his skull. His lifeless body falls to the floor. Just like that, the man that gave me nothing except his name, is gone.

  I stand over his lifeless form, and the hate that has lived and raged inside my heart and mind for years, finally quiets. No more looking over my shoulder. No more living up to false expectations. I’m free. My smile finds its way onto my face before I even realize it’s there. It’s over. This nightmare is finally fucking over. I should feel some sort of grief for killing my father. A better man might, but I don’t. I feel light. I feel alive, free.

  That’s the last thought I have before a loud bang rings in my ears and pain floods my chest. I look down to see my blood bloom across my chest, slicking my shirt to my skin.

  30

  Raven

  “You really like him, don’t you?”

  I turn at Scarlett’s question. Her red hair still glows like fire. Even after all she has surely been through, she’s still there. A little spark under all the dirt and bruises.

  “I do, Scar. I think I could love him. I’m terrified he’s not walking back out.”

  It’s already been an hour since he disappeared through that gate. I made Lucian give me his watch so I can keep track.

  “He will. I saw it in his eyes. The way he looks at you, he eats you up with his eyes. Nothing is keeping him away from you.”

  “He looks at me like that?”

  A small smile stretches my lips, and my face heats at the thought. I hope she’s right. I want him to look at me that way.

  “Like he’s a starving man staring at a buffet. He’s got it bad.”

  Her light laughter is music to my ears as I pull her into my arms.

  “I missed you so bad, Scar. I was so worried about you. I didn’t think I’d see you again.”

  “I didn’t think I was getting out alive, Raven. It…it was hell. The things I’ve seen, that have been done to me, I’m not sure how I come back from this. If I can come back from this.”

  “We’ll get through it. We will. I’ll be there for you every step.”

  I squeeze her a little tighter, assuring her I’m here.

  “I love you, Raven.”

  “I love you, too.”

  Scarlett pulls back from my embrace. “What is this place, anyway, and why are you wearing this god awful, filthy dress?”

  “That’s a story for another day, Scarlett.” I can’t imagine ever telling her what I might have had to do here, in the hopes of finding her. If that first Hunt had ended differently, had Knox not caught me the night of the second Hunt, this could have been a completely different scenario right now as far as she’s concerned. For that matter, as far as I’m concerned. I’d do it all again, a hundred times over if it brought her back to me.

  “Ace.” She breathes the word softly, almost reminiscent of a prayer as she pulls from my embrace.

  “What about Ace, Scarlett?”

  “He’s coming out.” I turn and see Ace, who walks out covered in blood.

  “Oh, my God! Are you okay?” Scarlett walks up to him, and he tucks her under his arm. I’m not sure what’s going on with these two. Something’s there. Maybe he makes her feel safer. I just hope he doesn’t hurt her. She’s been through enough.

  Lazz comes out behind him covered in blood from head to toe, and a member of the biker gang follows behind him. He looks up and gives me a nod with his chin as he walks toward the motorcycles. Slowly, the men trickle out, and I wait, my breath caught in my chest. My knees weaken as they struggle to keep me upright. Slowly, the amount of men coming out is dwindling.

  Where are you?

  Something’s wrong. I know it. I’m going in. I begin to run toward the gate. Voices call out behind me.

  I’m not stopping, not until I find Knox. I hear someone giving chase, shouting at me, but they can keep running. I’m not stopping. I crest a hill and the sight before me does stop me in my tracks. Dead bodies everywhere, littering the ground, the moonlight casting an eerie glow on their lifeless forms.

  “Raven, what the hell are you doing?”

  It’s Lazz, but I can’t take my eyes away from the carnage before me. Someone’s arms engulf me.

  “Don’t look.”

  Ace. I turn my head into his chest and squeeze my eyes tight.

  “My God. You all have been through hell. I have to find Knox. Something’s wrong. I…I feel it. I know it.”

  “Let’s go over to the side, this way.” Ace ushers me along, my head still tucked into his bloodied shirt. “We’ll walk around, head toward the manor.”

  It seems to take ages before he finally releases me, and I run again. Ace and Lazz keep pace. I almost feel bad that they’re following me. I know they must be exhausted.

  “My sister?” My panicked voice carries on the breeze.

  “Lucian, my brother, is watching after her. She’s fine. He’ll keep her safe.”

  I have to trust his word. I have to find Knox.

  We race across the grass. The manor looms in the distance. We make it to the doors, and luckily, Ace has access.

  He touches the lock and pulls the door open. Lazz draws his gun.

  “Stay here a minute. Let me check it out. I’ll be right back,” Lazz says as his hand rests on the door.

  “I’m not waiting.”

  “Raven, we can’t walk in blind. This place is too large. They could be anywhere.”

  “Lazz, I will go through you if I have to. I’m going in.”

  “Jesus, woman.” He huffs out a frustrated breath, hanging his head down and shaking it softly.

  “Remember what I showed you about using a gun?”

  “Yes.”

  “Here.” He takes his gun and hands it to me. I look at it. I copy what Lazz taught me earlier and slide the safety off. I smile as I walk around him into the manor.

  “Fuck. I may love you.”

  His light laughter follows me through the door.

  “Let Knox hear you say that shit. I’m pretty sure you’ll have a bullet in your brain, Lazz.”

  “Boys, let’s go.”

  “Let’s head towar
d his dad’s old office. He used to spend all his time in there when he was around,” Ace whispers as he takes the lead.

  Lazz trails behind me as we make our way through the corridor. It’s eerily silent. Our soft footfalls seem to echo through the quiet of the night, as moonlight spills through the windows, casting a glow across the marble floors. Ace stops and turns to Lazz when we reach the end of the hall. There’s a turn to the right. Ace and Lazz throw some hand signals around. I’m not sure what they are quietly communicating but they obviously get it as Ace draws out a knife from the sheath at his waist before tucking his gun into his holster. He disappears quietly around the corner. Lazz bands his arm around my waist, drawing me back from peering around it. I hear a slight scuffle, and a few seconds later Ace returns with blood splattered across his face, fresh blood. He wipes the blood from his knife on his pant leg before securing it back in its sheath.

  “Good to go. Clear line to Vaughn’s office.” He turns, and we follow.

  The sound of a gunshot sends me reeling.

  No! Knox!

  I fly around Ace with Lazz hot on my heels. The door I assume is Vaughn’s office is slightly ajar. I push it open to see an Albatross soldier dressed fully in black pointing the barrel of his gun at a lifeless body lying on the floor. Only a fire in the fireplace illuminates the space. I don’t even think, I just react. I lift the gun. Its weight is steady in my hands as I fire off shot after shot until there’s no more bullets and the soldier falls to the floor, dead.

  Light blinds me from overhead. My eyes struggle to adjust.

  “Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Ace moves around me. I’m still frozen in position, the gun gripped tightly in my hands, still pointing ahead. Everything blends into a fuzzy haze when I see what Ace is staring at.

  Knox. My Knox on the floor. Lying nearby, a dead Vaughn Bane. The gun begins to tremble in my grip as the weight of what is before me crushes my soul

  He’s dead! Knox is dead!

  Oh, my God. They’ve killed him!

  Tears slick my face. My heart fractures and splinters, and a hollowness consumes me.

  I…I shot a man…