Ruthless Peril_Military Romantic Suspense

by Emily Jane Trent

  Hunter swallowed the lump in his throat. His gaze roamed over the walls. The story about Caleb’s brother was in the center of the collage. The photos had been circled and drawn on with a red pen.

  The words Murder and Justice were scrawled in vivid red, across numerous articles and photos. He spotted the article about Jared Vincent’s death. The word stalker had been crossed out wherever it appeared, and Jared’s name circled. Crosses had been drawn around the man’s mug shot.

  Hunter shook his head, his body shaking with anger. There was no telling what this guy would do to Tessa. There wasn’t a second to waste. He had to get her out of this house, and as far away as possible, before it was too late. Caleb had monitored the activity of the man he blamed for his brother’s death. He was a threat, not only to Stealth but to Travis’ family. Hunter wasn’t about to let him get away with exacting his revenge.

  He looked down at the knife in his hand, then folded it closed before shoving it deep into his pocket. If he was going to take the creep down, he wanted to remove any possibility of an accident, including getting stabbed with his own knife. Caleb had a weapon, but Hunter hoped he’d be easy to distract.

  From what he overheard from the kitchen, he was correct. Caleb was fighting mad. He was no longer shouting into the phone, but was shouting at Tessa.

  Hunter quickly moved from the living room to the dining room, which was in worse shape than the other two rooms. By sheer luck, he avoided tripping on a massive gash in the threadbare carpet, and flattened himself against the wall.

  Tessa was cussing out her captor, and loudly. Hunter smiled. Trust Tessa to have sass to spare, even when her life was in danger. She must be scared, but she was aware that he’d entered the house. So she was stalling to give him time to get to her. Her voice sounded strong and angry, and he was grateful for that. He wasn’t sure how he would deal with it, if she was hurt…or worse. The sound of a hard slap brought Hunter’s focus back to the room, and raw fury rose within him again. That bastard was going to pay for this.

  Caleb sounded frantic and desperate. Each minute that passed with Hunter’s prey on the defensive, the likelihood that Caleb would make a mistake grew exponentially. Keep taunting him, Tessa. You’re breaking him down. As though she had heard him, Tessa’s voice echoed in the kitchen. She yelled at Caleb, her tone lacking any hint that she was intimidated.

  A roar of rage reverberated through the house, then Tessa shrieked, and it sounded like a chair crashed to the floor. Hunter braced himself against the wall, his hands balled into tight fists. Caleb Vincent was going to wish that he hadn’t been born.

  “You’re a stupid bitch who doesn’t know how to keep her mouth shut.”

  Hunter straightened, peering through the small window in the swinging kitchen door. When the dark shape of Caleb passed in front of it, he launched himself at the door shoulder first. The door swung inward with surprising speed, and caught Caleb square in the center of his back. The force sent him stumbling forward with a choked cry, before he crashed into the counter, sending dirty plates crashing to the floor and his gun spinning away over the linoleum.

  Hunter crouched low, trying to anticipate the enemy’s next move. But Caleb unexpectedly dove through the shattered crockery for the gun. Hunter reeled back, covering Tessa’s body with his own. The crack of the gunshot echoed in the small kitchen, but the bullet went wide, burying itself in the side of the leaking refrigerator.

  As soon as the shot was fired, Hunter was on his feet, aiming a devastating kick at Caleb’s head. But the broken dishes and rotted food on the floor made the linoleum slippery, so his kick connected with only a fraction of its intended force. But it was enough to make Caleb drop the gun.

  Grunting with frustration, Hunter propelled his body toward the weapon, but Caleb beat him to it. Hunter grappled for the gun. He was acutely aware of the need to keep it pointed away from Tessa, who writhed helplessly on the floor, still attached to a wooden chair.

  Hunter had just managed to push to his knees when the weapon went off again, and red-hot pain exploded in his shoulder. He didn’t need to look down to know that the bullet had grazed him. Blindingly angry, he heard Tessa’s muffled scream from the floor.

  With a roar of frustration, Hunter rose to his feet, pulling Caleb with him, and slammed the smaller man into the refrigerator, causing him to drop the weapon. Hunter kicked the gun away toward Tessa and concentrated all of his focus on the man in front of him.

  Caleb was battered, his nose was bloody, but his eyes glinted with hatred, and his mouth twisted ghoulishly. “What are you going to do? Beat me senseless, and then when the cops come you’ll have more explaining to do than I will. Assault charges, breaking and entering.”

  Hunter wiped the smile off the man’s face with his fist, and Caleb’s head smacked against the refrigerator door. “You are one crazy son of a bitch. I know all about you, Caleb Vincent. You’re just as much trouble as your brother was. There’s no way you’re avoiding jail time, especially after a stunt like this. No judge in this state will listen to you, and Travis sure as hell isn’t going to either. How long have you been planning this? I’m guessing years. And it’s going to end badly for you. All of it.”

  With a howl of anguish, Caleb swung his fists wildly at Hunter, before jamming his fingers into the gunshot wound in his shoulder. Hunter cried out and dropped to one knee, then Caleb took the advantage, landing a solid punch to the side of Hunter’s head. Tessa had worked free of the tape over her mouth and was shouting words that Hunter couldn’t hear over the ringing in his ears and the pain in his shoulder.

  Hunter lurched to the side, throwing up his arm to ward off Caleb’s blows and distract him from noticing the knife he’d pulled from his pocket. He flipped open the blade, then rammed it into the side of Caleb’s knee. The other man screamed then fell to the ground. His fingers scrabbled at his leg, and the black of his jeans grew darker with the blood pouring from his wound.

  Hunter stood on unsteady feet and stepped over Caleb to get to Tessa. His first priority was to make sure that she hadn’t been injured. She had wiggled and moved enough that the gun was mostly hidden under her hair and the side of her body. She was a mess, and her face was bloodied. Behind him, Caleb whined like a whipped dog, and Hunter rounded on him. The other man had managed to pull himself up against the counter, and he was trying to limp to the open door that led to the porch and the safety of the street.

  Chapter 9

  “I don’t think so, pal. Hear that? Sounds like Travis called in the boys in blue while you were busy screaming at him like a nut case.” Hunter wiped at his chin, annoyed to see that his hand came away bloody.

  A look of abject terror crossed Caleb’s face. “No…no, no. I can’t. You can’t let them take me.”

  In three strides, Hunter was on him, and grabbed him by the collar of his blood-caked black sweatshirt. “You should have thought of that about six hours ago, before you decided to act on your years of planning. I saw your vision board in the living room, and you’re going away for a long time. Assault, kidnapping, stalking…not to mention your name and mug shot in the paper, just like your brother.”

  Caleb bared his teeth like a wild animal, and Hunter heard Tessa scream his name just as Caleb punched Hunter’s own knife into his side. Hunter drove his fist into Caleb’s face, knocking him to the floor. He stood over the fallen man, trying to determine if he was actually knocked out, or if he was faking it.

  “Hunter!” Tessa’s shout made him look down at his side. The handle of the knife protruded from his torso. He pulled the blade out, slowly, grimacing at the flash of pain that coursed up his side. Bright spots of blood wet the fabric of his shirt, and he pressed his hand over the wound to slow the bleeding.

  With one last look at Caleb, sprawled on the kitchen floor surrounded by rotten food, smears of blood, and broken plates, Hunter strode back to where Tessa lay, and kneeled beside her. Her eyes were wide with fear and pain, but Hunter had never seen her look
more beautiful.

  Tessa didn’t take her eyes off the knife covered in his blood, while he used the weapon to slice through the thick tape binding her to the chair. “Thank God you got here in time.” Tessa’s voice cracked, and he was sure that her throat was dry from all of the yelling she’d been doing. Hunter could use a beer himself.

  In the distance, sirens blared. Travis had called the cops after all. He looked over his shoulder at Caleb, but he was still prone on the kitchen floor. Blood from his knee had pooled around him.

  Hunter worked on getting Tessa free from the chair. “I know from experience that the damsel-in-distress game gets real old real fast.” He smiled at her. “So you best not make this a habit.”

  When the knife cut through the last of the tape, Tessa ripped herself free and sprawled on the floor with a groan. “Very funny…if you hadn’t been late, this would never have happened.”

  Hunter chuckled and then grimaced in pain, pressing his hand to his side again. The stab wound bled, as well as the gunshot wound, and his shirt was soaked with blood.

  Tessa frowned. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see the knife until the last second.”

  “You did better than me; I didn’t see it at all.” Hunter stood up, slowly, before helping Tessa to her feet.

  Tessa stumbled into him and braced herself against his chest, then looked up, examining his face. Her fingers trailed over the bruises, forming on his cheekbone. “Looks like we’re both coming out of this with a few new beauty marks.” Her voice was soft.

  All Hunter wanted to do was kiss her, split lip and all. He smiled and gently brushed the hair away from the cut on her forehead.

  Tessa tilted her chin and rose on her toes, bringing her lips dangerously close to his. Her eyes were closed, and all it would take was the smallest move on his part to close the miniscule distance and cover her lips with his own. Before Hunter made his move, her eyes opened.

  The kitchen was bathed in red and blue light, the whine of sirens piercing the night. Hunter took Tessa’s hand and staggered toward the window facing the street, still holding his side. Out front, five LAPD cruisers screeched to a stop, driving over the curb to block the empty driveway. Officers with weapons drawn poured out of the cars and ran toward the house. Boots thundered over the creaking wooden boards.

  “Cavalry’s here…just in time,” Tessa murmured, and squeezed his hand.

  Hunter cursed himself for not taking the hint and kissing her while he had the chance. His shoulder screamed with pain, and the ache in his side grew steadily worse. His side was warm and sticky; not a good sign. The wail of an ambulance grew closer, and Hunter weaved a little.

  Tessa tried to support his weight, barely succeeding in helping him stay upright. The LAPD burst into the house. Weapons were leveled at Caleb Vincent’s still form.

  Travis rushed over, his eyes filled with concern. “I was worried sick about you. Did he hurt you?”

  Tessa hadn’t seen Travis that way before, but she resolved to stay strong. It had been a long day, and she had a feeling that it would be quite some time before she would feel comfortable again standing alone in the dark. “I’m okay…I think.” She smiled at her boss and looked at Hunter’s side. His shirt was soaked with blood, and he was pale. “Hunter…”

  “It’s fine. I just need a quick stitch and a Band-Aid. I’ve had worse.”

  “Let’s get you out to the ambulance,” Travis said. “There’s so much blood that I can’t tell where you’re hurt. And you’ll have to give statements. We’re going to put this guy away where he belongs.”

  Tessa bent and unbuckled the straps on her high heels, stepped out of the shoes, then threw them into the pile of garbage in the corner of the room. “Damn shoes.”

  The cops had cuffed Caleb and were dragging him out of the kitchen. He was struggling against his captors, and Tessa hoped that they dropped him facedown on the concrete before shoving him inside the cruiser.

  Dodging broken plates and smears of blood, she followed the men out of the kitchen. More police officers entered the house and began to comb for evidence.

  Travis stopped to speak to an officer, giving details of the event. Caleb was handcuffed and slumped dejectedly against the door of a police cruiser, the blood from his knee smeared across the police logo on the door.

  Tessa followed Hunter to a paramedic, and stood in front of him by the ambulance. He had his ruined shirt balled up in one hand, and raised his right arm to give the paramedic room to work. “You really like to impress a woman on the first date, I see.”

  Hunter laughed, then grunted in pain.

  The paramedic shot Hunter a look and said, “You’d better keep still.”

  “I wanted the date to be memorable, but things didn’t work out like I planned,” Hunter said.

  Tessa giggled, then her eyes lingered on Hunter’s bare chest and shoulders. She dragged her gaze back up to his eyes, and her cheeks reddened when he caught her staring.

  “Do you think we could try this again?” Hunter asked sheepishly.

  “This?” Tessa waved her hand toward the crime scene. “No, we aren’t doing this again.” Then she took the bloody shirt out of his hand and entwined her fingers with his. “I think we can try the date thing again. But next time, we’re staying in, and I’m cooking.”

  ***

  Hunter was relieved to hear that she wanted to see him again. Tessa rose on her toes to plant a kiss on his jaw, but he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.

  “Hey!” The paramedic sounded angry. But Hunter ignored him, and caught his hand in Tessa’s hair. He reluctantly broke the kiss that could have lasted much longer. Tessa had a dreamy look in her eyes, and she smiled at him.

  “It’s a deal…staying in sounds pretty damn good,” he said softly, and Tessa’s smile widened. He didn’t want to let her go, but the paramedic was poking him with the handle of his scissors.

  “Do you want to get stitched up, or do you want to bleed all night? And it’s a good thing that bullet just grazed your shoulder. I can bandage that up and you’ll be fine.”

  Hunter held his position, offering no reply to the medic. But he kept a hold on Tessa’s hand.

  “You’re covered in blood.” Tessa’s tone was light and conversational, as she handed his wadded-up shirt back.

  Hunter squeezed her fingers. “So are you.”

  Tessa looked down at her ruined clothes and shrugged. “I’ve looked worse. Well…not much worse, but you get the idea.”

  Hunter caught his breath as another stitch went into his side.

  “Do you think Travis will give us a few days off…for work-related fatigue?”

  “If anyone can convince him, it’s you.”

  Tessa batted away the attempted ministrations of the second paramedic and sighed. “Right now, all I want is a giant cheeseburger and a really long shower. I’ll worry about vacation plans tomorrow. Plus, my laptop is still in the street in front of Stealth. It’s probably long gone by now.”

  Hunter perked up and jerked his chin in the direction of a large SUV parked down the street. “Nope, I grabbed your bag before I took off after you. It’s in the SUV. Your phone is dead busted, though. Sorry about that.”

  “Yeah, I had a feeling. Everyone knows what it sounds like when those things permanently break…the dreaded death rattle of technology.”

  Hunter chuckled, and Tessa untangled her fingers from his, as if suddenly a little shy around her rescuer. “Just so you know,” she said, “I’d almost gotten myself out of that tape when you showed up. The chair was broken, and my foot was almost free.”

  Hunter raised an eyebrow.

  “I just want to make sure you have all of your facts straight when you tell the rest of the guys how our date went.”

  Hunter nodded, pretending to be serious. “Facts…right. I’ll make sure to mention it.”

  “Good.” Tessa flicked her messy, blood-crusted hair over her shoulder and turned to walk barefoot to the SUV. Hunter grinned,
watching her pass by the groups of cops and neighbors who had come out into the street to watch the commotion. She opened the door of the SUV and disappeared inside, probably searching for her bag.

  When she emerged with a smile and lifted the bag in the air, Hunter’s heart skipped a beat. She had been so brave through all of that bullshit. If she could handle something like that without coming apart at the seams, she was definitely the kind of woman who could handle him.

  ***

  After she returned, Travis came over. “Tessa, I know that the last thing you want to do right now is give a statement, so I’ve asked a few of the officers to come to your apartment tomorrow, and you can give your statement then. I’ll take you home so you can get some sleep.”

  Tessa’s eyes flicked toward Hunter, standing at the ambulance doors. Her boss glanced over and said, “Hunter will be fine. He’ll get a visit from the sergeant tomorrow for his statement, too.”

  “Thanks, boss. You didn’t have to do that…”

  “You’ve been through enough tonight. You’ve both got the rest of the week off. I had better not see you anywhere near that office until next Monday.”

  “But Hunter has that route plan to hand in, and you have a case summary to deliver tomorrow, and Thursday we’re meeting…”

  Travis held up his hand. “The team can handle things, I promise. We can function without you for a few days.”

  Tessa arched an eyebrow at her boss, and he lifted his hand. “Fine, we’ll likely be a wreck without you, but I’m glad that you’re safe.” Travis pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly.

  “I’m just glad he mixed me up with Melanie. I couldn’t imagine…”

  Travis shook his head. “Well, Caleb Vincent certainly got more than he bargained for with you, and it’s a good thing, too. You bought Hunter enough time to get you out of there before anything serious happened, and I couldn’t be prouder of either of you.”