Hunted

by Velvet Vaughn

  “Wow. That’s impressive,” Darren said.

  “Does it still hurt?” Lauren asked, glancing at him in the mirror again.

  “Does what hurt?”

  “Your tummy.”

  “Oh, uh, yeah, a little.” His cheeks heated again at the fib. He hated lying to Lauren, but this was important. Zoe trusted him to keep her secret.

  Since Lauren was a frequent visitor to the COBRA Securities compound, she had an automatic gate opener on her car. When she pulled up to the guard booth, she smiled at Tucker Nash, the ex-Military vet who manned the booth.

  “Hey, Lauren,” he greeted. “Is that Kai in the back seat?”

  She nodded. “His stomach is upset and I was at the school, so I’m giving him a ride home. This is Darren Dixon.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Tucker greeted, as he scribbled Darren’s name on a sheet. “Feel better, Kai.”

  He waved as Lauren pulled away. He glanced around, hoping to spot Sawyer before one of his parents spotted him. He had some ‘splaning to do and it would be much easier after Sawyer agreed to help.

  God was looking out for him because as they neared the offices, there was Sawyer walking to the building with Wyatt Hollister.

  “You can let me off here, Lauren.”

  She braked and then glanced back at him. “I should really take you home and talk to Taylor.”

  “No need.” He already had his belt unbuckled and the door open.

  “Kai, wait.”

  “Thanks, Lauren.” He started to shut the door but manners made him stick his head back inside. “Nice to meet you,” he begrudgingly said to Darren. What was worse was that he actually meant it. Then he took off for Sawyer. The two men were just about to enter the building.

  “Sawyer!”

  Sawyer turned around. “Hey, Kai.” His brows dipped and he checked his watch. “What are you doing home this early?”

  Kai came to a stop in front of the men. “Hey, Wyatt.” He bumped fists with the giant Aussie, then he grabbed Sawyer’s arm and tugged. “I need to talk to you.”

  “Sure, bud.”

  “I’ll head on in,” Wyatt said, disappearing with a wave.

  Kai glanced around, checking for any unsuspecting parent that might be lurking around, ready to ground him over skipping school. “Can we go over there to talk?”

  Sawyer studied him. “Sure.” They started walking. “It sounds serious.”

  “It is.”

  Sawyer stopped and clutched Kai’s shoulder. “Are you okay, Kai?” He placed a hand on his forehead, much like Lauren had done earlier.

  “I’m fine. I faked a stomach ache to get out of school.”

  “You lied?” One of Sawyer’s brows raised ominously.

  “I had a good reason.”

  “A good reason to play hooky.” Sawyer crossed his arms. “Let’s hear it.”

  “I had to come and find you.”

  “Me? I have a phone, you know.”

  “Yeah, but this is urgent, and I needed to do it face to face. It’s about Harlow.”

  Sawyer dropped his arms and stood straighter. “Harlow Duquesne?”

  Kai nodded. “Yes.”

  “What about her?”

  “She’s missing.”

  Chapter Four

  A huge man dressed in a black suit and sunglasses chased her down the crowded street. She dodged displays of vibrant garments and sightseeing tourists in a bid to get away, accidently knocking over a cart filled with variegated flowers. She uttered an apology as she glanced over her shoulder, horrified to realize he was gaining on her. Suddenly her feet wouldn’t move. She looked down to find her shoes embedded in chunks of thick, gray concrete. She tugged urgently but nothing happened. Finally, she was able to pull her feet loose from the shoes and run barefoot, only to come up against a brick wall.

  Her eyes darted around the area, looking for an escape. When she checked behind her, she was shocked to discover there were dozens of people pursuing her now. They were yelling at her and waving guns. There was a gap in the wall and she crawled through, only to stop short when a set of legs blocked her progress. Her eyes trailed up into the smirking face of Andrés.

  “Harlow!”

  Sawyer! He’d come to rescue her. He appeared out of nowhere, looking as handsome as she remembered, and her heart thumped in joy. Andrés lifted his arm and pointed a gun. No! She opened her mouth to warn Sawyer, but nothing came out. Then a loud bang.

  With a gasp, Harlow shot up in bed, her heart racing. The unfamiliar surrounds slowly came into focus. It took a few moments before she realized where she was. A hotel in the middle of Coslos. She pushed her hair from her face with a shaky hand. The bang that woke her from her dream must have been a door slamming down the hall. She checked her watch and sucked in a breath. It was so late! Zoe would be calling the national guard to track her down. She needed to call her sister right now. She did a quick calculation in her head. Zoe would’ve been home from school and soccer practice hours ago. She had to be worried sick.

  She picked up the receiver and went through the motions of making a long-distance, international call. Zoe picked up on the first ring, her voice breathless.

  “Hello? Who is this?”

  “Zoe, it’s me.”

  “Harlow! Oh, thank God. Where are you calling from? Why aren’t you using the cell phone you purchased for the trip? I’ve been so worried, I even let Brittney Bainbridge score on me in practice and she couldn’t find the goal if you drew her a map. Why haven’t you called sooner? What’s wrong? I’ve been so worried.”

  “Take a breath, Zoe.” Her sister tended to chatter when she was nervous. And leave it to her to assume the worst. In this case, she was correct. “My battery was dead and then there were some…complications. I had to abandon my phone.”

  “I know. I called. Some strange man answered. Harlow, what’s going on?”

  “I’m not sure, but it’s not safe for me to stay here any longer. I’m going to catch a flight home in the morning.”

  “Why can’t you leave right now?”

  “It’s late and I don’t know the city. I’m not sure how to get to the airport.” She didn’t want to tell her sister she was afraid it was under surveillance. “I’ll head there first thing in the morning and let you know the det—”

  A tingling on the back of her neck had her head jerking to the door. Scraping sounds and hushed voices. They’d found her!

  “Zoe, I have to go.”

  “Harlow, wait—”

  She hung up and jumped from the bed, her eyes darting around the room. She hadn’t noticed when she entered, but on the far wall was a window that led to a fire escape. God bless old buildings. She rushed over and shoved the window as far as it would lift. Before she crawled outside, her gaze lit on two armed men scanning the area below. Were they waiting for her? Her head jerked back to the door. The knob started to turn. She couldn’t go out on the fire escape and she couldn’t stay here. There was another door and she rushed to it, breathing a sigh of relief when it opened into the next room. She slid inside and gently closed the door. The snores coming from the bed told her that she hadn’t wakened the occupant. It was early for someone to be asleep, but the curtains were pulled, leaving the room in total darkness. Only the glowing numbers from a bedside clock and a sliver of light filtering beneath the door from the hallway provided illumination.

  She heard the men enter her room, their voices low and angry. She hustled to the window and pulled the drapes around her body, making sure to stay out of the line of sight from the street below. The curtain fell to the floor, so her feet were covered. Her heart was hammering so loud, she was surprised it didn’t wake the man in the bed. Her hand flew to her mouth when the connecting door burst open.

  The man shot up in bed and demanded in Spanish, “What is this?”

  Light flooded the room. “Where is she?”

  A chill racked her body. Andrés. How had he tracked her down? She’d been so cautious, hidi
ng her face and using a fake name. Apparently, she hadn’t been careful enough. Somehow, they traced her to the very room she occupied a few minutes ago.

  There was a pause. Harlow wanted to peek around the curtain, but she held her ground. Then the man said, “Where is who? I am alone here. You have made a mistake. Now go away.”

  “Tell us where she is, old man, or I will kill you.”

  “Didn’t you listen? I don’t know who you are talking about.”

  “Do it.”

  Two muted pops. Harlow jumped. What was the sound? She prayed it wasn’t what she thought…silenced gunshots. She held her breath as the men stomped around the room, obviously looking for her. Her breath caught in her throat when the curtain was ripped open with enough force to rip the drapes from the rod. The momentum wrapped the fabric around her body, disguising her. She stood stone still, not even breathing until the man moved away.

  Finally, the footsteps retreated and then the walls shook with the force of the slammed door. She chanced a look, relieved to discover the men had left. Then her gaze settled on the bed.

  Oh God, they had killed the man. He was lying in a pool of blood, his sightless eyes staring at the ceiling. The man was innocent. He died because of her.

  She slid to the floor, her muscles refusing to hold her up any longer. What did Andrés and his men want with her? The most obvious reason was ransom. God, she hoped that’s all it was. She didn’t want to think of alternatives.

  She was at a loss at what to do now. She was trapped in a nightmare. Suddenly her dream returned, and Sawyer’s face flashed in her mind. Oh, how she wished he was here. He’d know what to do. She was strong and self-sufficient, but she was still honest with herself and her abilities. If only there was a way to get in touch with him. She thought about using the phone next to the dead man, but she had no way of knowing if Andrés had bugged the phones. They might be tracking calls made to the United States. She had no idea how they found her. She had to be overly cautious. Maybe she could call Sawyer from the airport. However, if she did manage to get there, she wouldn’t need him to rescue her. She just longed to hear his voice.

  She glanced at her watch again. She didn’t want to spend the night with a dead body a few feet away, but she couldn’t leave now. No doubt Andrés and his men would be scouring the hotel looking for her. She needed to wait a few hours, give them time to move along.

  A thought struck. What if this man had a cell phone? She could use it to call for help.

  Andrés and his men had left the lights on and the curtains were open, so she’d have to crawl on the floor. The rattling of metal stopped her in her tracks and she eased the curtain around her again. She forgot about the fire escape. It sounded like an entire army was directly outside.

  The clanging went on as they must have looked inside every room in the hotel. Finally, the noise stopped. She waited to make sure it didn’t start up again. The coast remained clear, so she crawled out from the curtains and made her way to the bedside table. The man had emptied his pockets. A thick wallet, a comb, nail clippers and change. No phone. She opened his billfold and checked the ID. Javier Gonzalez from Costa Rica. His wallet was stuffed with money. She hated to do it, but she slid the bills out. Then she memorized his address. She would send the amount plus interest to his family when she returned home. She might need the cash to get out of the country safely.

  Once she returned the wallet to the dresser, she crawled around the bed to his suitcase on the dresser. With a quick glance to make sure it was clear outside, she pulled it down and drug it back to her hiding place. She didn’t want to be out in the open in case Andrés came back inside or one of his men walked the fire escape. Once her back was against the wall again, she opened the bag and rooted around inside. Clothes, shoes, a bag of toiletry items. No phone. She checked every pocket and even beneath the lining. Nothing. She slumped back against the wall. She thought she’d figured out a solution to her problem. Who didn’t have a cell phone in this day and age? Her eyes scanned the room and lit on a jacket tossed over a chair. It was a longshot…

  After another check to make sure it was clear, she crawled over and tugged it down, taking it back with her. Once she was safely out of view of the window, she patted down the pockets. Something solid. She slid her hand inside to investigate.

  Chapter Five

  Kai could’ve picked up a sledge hammer and swung it into Sawyer’s gut and he’d felt the same way he did right now. First there was shock, followed by excruciating pain intermixed with tense moments where he couldn’t catch his breath. “What do you mean Harlow is missing?”

  “She went on some kind of trip out of the country to help children and stuff and she used a different name and she was supposed to check in with Zoe, but she never called, even though her plane landed and—”

  “Wait, wait, Kai. Slow down. Start at the beginning. Where is she?”

  “Coslos.”

  “In South America?” At Kai’s nod, he asked, “Why is she there?”

  “To feed hungry children, I think. I really don’t know.”

  “How do you know she’s missing?”

  “Zoe called me. Harlow was supposed to check in but she never called.”

  After the initial shock, Sawyer’s blood pressure was slowly lowering, so he could think straight. “The first thing we need to do is get Zoe on the phone. Come on.”

  He started for the offices, but Kai grabbed his arm. “Sawyer, wait.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nobody knows she went on this trip except for Zoe. We can’t tell anyone. Zoe’s afraid it’ll become an international incident and make things worse for Harlow. She might be harmed.”

  Damn, the kid had a point. Still… “Kai, you know I have to tell Luke and Logan. We’ll need the resources of COBRA Securities to bring her home safely. Nobody here will talk.”

  Kai glanced at the ground and sighed. “I know.” He looked up. “Okay. Let’s call Zoe.”

  They made their way to his office, which took longer than he wanted since every person they passed wanted to either congratulate him on a job well done on the Lightkeeper case or question why Kai was out of school. Most did both. He hated to be rude, but time was of the essence. When they finally made it inside, he closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief.

  Kai dropped into a chair and wiped his forehead dramatically. “Man, that was brutal.”

  “Tell me about it, kid. Give me Zoe’s number.” Kai recited the digits and he dialed on speaker phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Zoe. It’s Kai and Sawyer.”

  “Thank God! I just spoke to Harlow. Guys, she’s in trouble.”

  “Tell us what happened, Zoe,” Sawyer said.

  “She said there had been a complication and she was coming home. She wouldn’t tell me what happened, just that she would call with her new flight details. She was in the middle of talking when she suddenly stopped and gasped. Then she said something like, ‘Oh my God, they found me’. Then she said she had to go and hung up before I could stop her.”

  “Do you know where she was calling from?”

  “No, we didn’t talk that long.”

  “What about the name of the organization she’s travelling with?”

  “Oh, that I can answer. Relief Now.”

  “Relief Now. Never heard of it.” Sawyer met Kai’s gaze as he spoke. “Zoe, Kai told me you’re worried about anyone finding out Harlow is missing. I’m going after her, but I have to tell my coworkers. They’ll need details so they can help in the search.”

  Zoe sighed. “I know, and I understand. I trust you guys. That’s why I called Kai. Plus, at this point, I don’t even care who finds out. I just want her home safely.”

  “I’ll make sure of it. Keep your phone on. I need to make some arrangements and then we’ll let you know what’s going on.”

  “Thank you.”

  As soon as he disconnected, there was a knock on his door…not so much of a kno
ck, really, as a pictures-on-the-wall-rattling pounding.

  “Come in.”

  The door banged open to a huge pissed off man that Sawyer would not want to meet in a dark alley or in the ring inside the training facility. He’d been there, done that. Had the scars to prove it.

  “Uh, oh,” Kai muttered.

  “Someone said, ‘Dante, I just saw Kai at the offices’ and I said, ‘you must be mistaken.’” He narrowed his eyes at his son. “He’s still in school.”

  Kai jumped to his feet. “I can explain, Dad. Right, Sawyer?”

  Kai looked at him with pleading eyes, his head gyrating up and down like a bobble-head doll. Sawyer held up his hands in surrender. He had no desire to get into it with the former SEAL. The man packed a mean right hook. And a left one.

  “Traitor,” Kai mumbled.

  He took pity on the kid. “While I don’t condone his methods,” he pointed at Kai, “stay in school, he did it for a good reason.” He quickly explained about Harlow’s impromptu trip and subsequent disappearance.

  “Oh man, she’s over there alone?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Taylor will worry. They’ve become close.”

  Sawyer’s brows winged up. “They have?”

  “Yeah, they kept in touch after the incident.”

  “Huh.” Sawyer had no idea. Guilt assailed him. He could’ve kept in contact, too. Should have. Maybe if he had, she wouldn’t have gone off on her own. He shook off the thought. He couldn’t go back in time, but he could fix the here and now. “So, though Kai’s methods are questionable—”

  “Hey,” Kai protested.

  “His heart is in the right place.”

  Dante sighed. “That’s his problem.” He ruffled Kai’s hair. “He thinks and acts with his heart and not his head.”

  “Are you calling me stupid?”

  “You know better than that,” Dante chastised.

  “You make me sound like a sissy.” He made a face and lowered his voice to match his dad, “Kai thinks with his heart, he’s way too in touch with his feminine side.”

  Sawyer hid a smile behind his hand. Dante quirked a brow at his son. “Do you even know what that means?”