The Hunter

by Gennita Low

  “It takes a lot to wear me down,” she said.

  “I have time,” he said.

  He didn’t know it, but there wasn’t enough time for anything in her life. A quickie here or there, maybe, but nothing that she knew would be what she wanted, if she allowed this thing happening between her and Brad to grow. She didn’t need another complication, either. No room for romance, or love, or anything permanent.

  Let’s face it. Bradford Sun was an upcoming bureaucrat, sworn to uphold the law. She was at the opposite end of the spectrum, running illegal art booty and mingling with criminals. Oil and water, and ne’er the twain shall meet.

  “I like it when we’re friends and talking,” Brad continued.

  “We aren’t friends,” Lily muttered. “We’re just being friendly.”

  “Not going to argue with you right now over semantics,” he retorted mildly. “We’ve an agreement about the coming interviews, then?”

  “Yeah.” She had agreed to ask several of the girls who could speak English whether they would tell their story. She sighed, hating the fact that she had to admit it out loud. “I like the idea, Brad. And it’s really good of you to facilitate the meetings. I wouldn’t have been able to get hold of any big-shot newsman to run this kind of story.”

  He regarded her quizzically. “There, it wasn’t that difficult, was it? While you’re all relaxed like that, you can throw in a line or two about how wonderful being with me is and that you would like to stay the night.” He laughed, then added with a wicked grin, “If it helps, here, have another drink.”

  More than relaxed. Lily seldom drank so much in one sitting, especially with a man around. Alcohol made her horny. There, she admitted it. And Brad wasn’t helping by showing her this side of him. She had always known it was there, and she had diligently avoided being alone with him because of it, yet here she was, doing exactly that, enjoying that hidden side and wanting him more than usual. He chose that moment to look back at her and his smile was that easy masculine curve that always made her insides clench.

  She was so fucked.

  The man was in phenomenally good shape. He had scaled walls and run on the top of narrow ledges as if he had been living in this city of old buildings all his life. Amber had determinedly followed along, but he had managed to keep just out of reach, turning around now and then to make a show of checking his watch.

  Amber scowled. He had hardly been out of breath when she had finally jumped in front of him a few minutes ago, a mile away from where they had started.

  “Not bad. You’ll do,” Hawk said.

  “There has got to be a better way for me to spend my nights than doing this,” she said, trying not to breathe too hard.

  “Chasing a guy can be good.”

  “Not if he keeps running off,” she pointed out.

  “Consider it foreplay. Here’s your car. I’ve got to get back to Dilaver, and I’ll be gone for a few days on a trip with him. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  Amber looked speechlessly at his back as he disappeared in the direction of the kafenas. Foreplay? That was play? Her aching muscles didn’t think so.

  Once she reached home, Amber sat down on the bench behind the restaurant and removed her wet shoes. The wooden steps that led up to her back deck had a tendency to creak, especially when the weather turned warm after a cold night, and she didn’t want to wake Lily. She stretched her legs out, ruefully wondering whether she would be able to walk on heels in a matter of a few hours. God, was she going to be tired today.

  Hawk had purposely taken her on a workout. There was no question in her mind that he had been testing her stamina as she began the chase that had taken her a solid hour to catch up with him. Even then, she wasn’t so sure it hadn’t been because he had wanted to be caught.

  She made a face as she rubbed the bottoms of her aching feet. One thing was for sure. Hawk continued to surprise her each time they met.

  A creak from behind her made her turn around quickly, only to find Lily standing at the bottom step of the wooden stairs. Her friend stopped at the sound.

  “Damn it,” she whispered to herself. “Forgot to take off my shoes.”

  “Busted,” Amber said, standing up.

  Lily gasped and whirled around. “Shit! You nearly gave me a heart attack!” She cupped her hand over her eyes, trying to see Amber. “Where the hell are you?”

  Amber stepped into the lighted area. “Ta-da.”

  Lily looked her over, taking in the tight dark outfit she had on. “Oh, you’re so busted yourself,” she said mockingly. “You just got home from your rendezvous with Hawk. I want all the details.”

  “And you just got home from yours with Brad,” Amber retorted. “So let’s hear your excuse for creeping in after curfew hours, young lady.”

  They stared at each other for a few moments, then began to giggle. Lily leaned against the banister, her shoulders shaking. Amber flopped down at the foot of the steps.

  “You look dirty and tired. Doesn’t look like a romantic night out,” Lily noted as she joined her.

  Amber snorted at the thought. “That man’s idea of romance is me chasing his ass all over Velesta at top speed.”

  “Ooooh. You were doing the chasing, huh? Why? Where did you guys meet?”

  Amber didn’t feel like sharing what she saw at the kafena. Not right now. It would only upset Lily, especially when she herself hadn’t done anything to save that girl. Guilt sat heavily inside her.

  “Hey.” Lily interrupted her thoughts. “You got all serious all of a sudden. What’s the matter?”

  “I’m exhausted,” Amber said. It wasn’t a lie. Now that she was off her feet and the adrenaline from the chase was gone, her energy level was near zero. “Hawk isn’t much of a talker, that’s for sure, but I managed to get an outline of his operation. I’ll tell you tomorrow, when my brain’s working again. Now tell me about your meeting with Brad. And don’t lie about talking business till the wee hours in the morning.”

  “Well…” Lily studied her fingernails carefully. “We had dinner.”

  “And?”

  “And we talked about art and stuff,” Lily added.

  “And?”

  “And we watched a movie.”

  Amber sighed. “Are we going to get to the good part or not?”

  “And nothing. Then I came home.” Lily stood up and offered Amber a helping hand.

  Amber got up slowly as her thigh muscles protested. “Normally, I would believe you,” she said, wincing as she lifted one leg onto the first step. “But we’re talking about you and Brad here. No quarrels, just a good old nice evening dining and watching movies. Uh-huh, sure, I believe you.”

  “He was very charming tonight,” Lily conceded. “You sure are walking up these steps like a grandma. If Hawk’s so full of energy at night outside, can you imagine his endurance indoors? Say, in bed?”

  “Nu-uh, I know a changing-the-subject tactic when I see one,” Amber mocked. “So, you find Brad charming, huh? I told you that he isn’t all bureaucrat. That’s a really interesting man once you get to know him, Lily.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m not exactly in town long enough to do that. His lifestyle and mine aren’t going to converge anytime in the future, either.”

  Amber admitted that that could be a problem. Brad was all black and white, and Lily was obviously as gray as one could get when it came to the law. If there were ever an example of opposites attracting, then her friends were the prime example.

  “Things have a way of working out,” she said as they reached the top. She wiped her damp feet as Lily opened the door. “Maybe you’ll retire from your line of work, and who knows?”

  “And maybe pigs will fly.” Lily turned on the kitchen light. She went straight to the refrigerator. “Want a drink? I think we have some mimosa left.”

  Amber closed the door behind her. “Nah. I’ll just have water. I have a restaurant to run in…oh…a couple of hours.” She sighed. “We’ll talk sometime tomorrow,
okay? Maybe I’ll skip the bookkeeping in the morning, stay in bed, and curse at Hawk McMillan.”

  She watched Lily pour a large drink. Something had happened tonight, she could tell. She had hoped that Lily would see that she deserved Brad, no matter what her background was, but it would take time. Lily’s darkness wasn’t exactly something one light could brighten immediately. Anyway, Brad would talk to her later. She poured a glass of water for herself.

  “Goodnight, then,” Lily said, heading for the sofa. “I’m going to stay up a bit. We’ll definitely have a lot to talk about today. Brad has info about a new group coming in. There’s also his interview venture and our plans for that. You have this thing going with Hawk McMillan which might take up some of your time, so we definitely have to look at schedules.”

  So it was “our plans,” was it? That was interesting in itself. Amber nodded. “It’s all tied together in one big Dummy package. We might be able to use it as hot stuff.”

  Lily raised her eyebrows. “It looks like we all have something in common—Dilaver.” She took a gulp from her mimosa. “Maybe we can get Hawk to help us with our venture.”

  “We’ll see. The man’s a bit one-track.” Amber thought of how Hawk’s focus was on his mission, even when there were other things that needed his immediate attention. “He might not help.”

  “Oh, be your persuasive self, Amber,” Lily said, settling back comfortably in the sofa with a yawn. “Stop competing with one another and talk to the guy. He can be an asset to us.”

  “Umm, I could say the same thing about your being nice with Brad,” Amber pointed out as she limped toward her room. “You must tell me the rest of this date. Girlfriends are supposed to do that, you know.”

  “Horrors, next you’ll want us to paint each other’s toe-nails,” Lily quipped.

  Amber laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind for our next slumber party,” she promised lightly. “Goodnight.”

  “’Night.”

  She quietly closed the bedroom door and leaned against it. Don’t go there. Hawk’s quiet words came, sliding between her and the painful images. She took a deep breath, finished her drink, then started to undress.

  As she headed for bed, the laptop by her bed caught her eye. She crawled between the sheets and purred appreciatively. Her laptop was on an adjustable table that slid over the bed at lap level. Within such easy reach, it was way too tempting. She had to check.

  Yes, he was online, waiting for her, it seemed. She found it disconcerting that he read her mind and knew that she would look for him.

  Don’t you ever sleep? You’re always up, no matter what time of the night it is!

  There wasn’t a reply for a few minutes. Maybe he was asleep after all. It didn’t matter. Amber yawned, then grinned. Maybe he was tired out from the night’s activities.

  I was waiting for you. Make sure you got home safely.

  Damn. So much for that thought. I can take care of myself, Hot Stuff.

  You had a rough night. Thought you might want some company.

  She was touched at his concern. He’d said it would be tough to shake off the memory of what she’d seen. She rubbed her eyes with the heel of her palms. Will the anger ever go away?

  No.

  What do you do about it? How did one live normally after watching that? She bit her lip. How did those girls she helped out live normally after going through that? She was beginning to understand that the stories she had been told before were a mere fraction of this horrific display of inhumane torture.

  I meditate.

  His reply surprised her. Meditate? He didn’t look like the meditating type. Like ohm-ohm-the universe is perfect? Not my cuppa. She preferred to deal with a problem more directly. Like total destruction of Dilaver’s network, for instance. You’re full of surprises, Hot Stuff.

  So are you, Ambrosia. Not just a pretty face, after all.

  She could hear the smile behind the words. She had only met and talked to the guy, what—three times?—yet she could read between the lines, understand that he was trying to distract her. It dawned on her that the guy was very much a gentleman, in an odd covert operative sort of way. She laughed softly. She supposed she could reciprocate and give him the same comfort he was offering—gently teasing each other to sleep.

  I’m not the only one with a pretty face, you know. But I’m sure you know that. He was, by far, the nicest-looking man she had seen in Velesta, or anywhere, for that matter. I’m sure you hear that all the time.

  Yeah, all the time.

  Must be tough. Amber almost asked him whether he had any special girlfriend waiting for him somewhere, then shook her head. Where did that come from? It was none of her business. A man who looked like him had to have lots of girlfriends, if not one. Girls must flock around you like bees to honey.

  Actually, they make me feel like a candy bar. Or a big pizza with all the toppings.

  Startled by his reply, Amber settled back against her pillow for a few moments. Wow, do you really feel that way?

  A pause. Sometimes.

  She didn’t quite know what to say to that. She had started out teasing him and he had once again flummoxed her. She thought of how he had looked when she had first seen Hawk…the outline of his body against the windowpane, with outside snow flurries forming a halo around him. She hadn’t known he was totally nude then, but that sight of him had caused her to pause. In fact, she realized now that it had given him the split second he needed to realize he hadn’t been alone. She smiled ruefully. An assassin she was not.

  Go to sleep. He interrupted her reverie. I’ll contact you when I’m able.

  Where are you going? Would he tell?

  No idea. D’s going on the road, and that’s good. He wants me with him on this trip, which has to do with other business, so that’s good.

  She understood what he wasn’t saying. Dilaver was beginning to trust him more, and this trip had to do with weapons, not women. Okay, Hot Stuff. Hamburger waiting for ya when you get back.

  5MW/MTL/PF/18/69. ’Night, Ambrosia. He signed off immediately.

  Amber stared in disbelief. It was the same line he had written on the side of her thigh, but she had just realized 69 wasn’t on her menu. She clicked off the program with a snort. Smart-ass.

  10

  Veza. Every country has a form of exploiting connections, and Hawk was finding out that the Slavic states were practically run through veza. The right connections could get one a good government job, or a bigger, better-equipped hospital room, or a place in the university. In the world of mercenaries, veza could get one freedom to move from province to province, state to state, without too much trouble.

  Through his weapons and drug trades, Dragan Dilaver had accumulated and given many vezas, thus making him very powerful. His weapons, Hawk discovered, were very much sought-after. He hadn’t been kidding when he’d told Hawk that what he had couldn’t be found on the streets yet, that they were the most current state-of-the-art weaponry. Someone in the United States had been dropping these shipments for him to distribute in any way he wanted, as long as he armed the KLA. Of course, Dilaver made sure he made a lot of money while following orders.

  “My aunt is a genius, isn’t she?” Dilaver boasted, as they rode through the bumpy roads in a Humvee, courtesy of a veza with a high-end peacekeeping official. “She’s coordinated this for years, you know. I’m really looking forward to meeting her again.”

  “When’s she coming?” Hawk asked. He wanted to know who this “aunt” was, too.

  Dilaver shrugged. “She says she’s been delayed and will call again later. I want to get as much of the business in order as I can so she can see I can take care of bigger things, you know?”

  Hence the road trip. Dilaver wanted to take care of certain gangs who hadn’t been “respectful” enough. He also wanted Hawk to see how it was done over here. Hawk knew it was also a test to see how he would handle a “situation” if he were to work for Dilaver.

  Hawk didn’t
mind. Taking out a gang was appealing, anyhow. Who cared whose side he was on? They were all alike, in the same trades, killing each other over illegal weapons and drugs. All this watching and waiting was wearing on him; he looked forward to taking a few of them out. And along the way, he would be mapping Dilaver’s routes and trying to find out where the weapon depots were.

  Their convoy rode boldly through the city streets onto scenic country routes. Dilaver’s men were armed to the teeth, waving weapons at passing vehicles. Sometimes they shouted, their anticipation of some action ahead obvious to Hawk. He understood the adrenaline running through their blood; he felt it, too.

  “Sometimes I miss being young,” Dilaver commented, gesturing at the younger men leaning out of their open Jeeps. “They aren’t afraid of dying. They just want to kill.”

  “Are you afraid of dying?” Hawk asked.

  “Of course not. But I don’t take stupid chances like I used to. Money and old age will make one a cautious man, Hawk.”

  Hawk ran his hand down the AK-47 standing between his legs. It was on the tip of his tongue to point out that mercenary-turned-old-farts became pimps, just as Dilaver now was. Somehow, he didn’t think the kingpin would like to be called that. He deliberately changed the subject. “So we’re going to cautiously attack some group of militia, and then what?”

  Dilaver laughed. “Cautiously attack? Damn your odd American-Serbian translations. In this country, it’s all war and no caution, my friend. That’s why I keep solidifying my power base. That’s why I make and take care of certain friends in need of veza. You never know who will help you out later on, so you help out as much as you can.”

  “That…doesn’t make one bit of sense, but keep talking,” Hawk said.

  “It’s easy to demonstrate. This group we’re going after has been bothering a few friends of mine. I also suspect they’ve been hijacking my shipments. Now, you lead my guys and take out this group, right? My friends will hear of this, and also your connection to me, and now you can get some favors done through veza, you see? You’ll be a friend, too. Around here, you can’t buy connections, like you do with the coffee money stuff in Asia; you earn it. Much more deserving, don’t you think?”