aHunter4Life (aHunter4Hire)

by Cynthia Clement

  Selena pulled her hands away. “That’s a poor excuse. Even on the planet you’re from, there must be people you can and cannot trust.”

  “I was never permitted near anyone but my teachers and fellow Hunters.” Catal sat back on the couch. “We are not meant to interact with others. We are meant to battle. That is the only thing that has occurred to us on this planet that was part of our training.”

  “What else happened?”

  He shook off the panic that rose in his throat. It was a child’s fears and he was a man now. The crash had made him that. Selena needed the truth from him. His fears wouldn’t help.

  “When we crashed, our teachers thought it would be possible for us to return to Cygnus. They tried to contact others on our planet, but our communication systems were destroyed.” Catal swallowed back his terror of what happened next. “When they knew we were stranded here, they decided to try and find a way for us to return to Cygnus on our own. Your planet wasn’t as technologically advanced, so they inserted themselves into some of your scientific communities and tried to accelerate your progress.”

  Selena swallowed. “What agencies?”

  “Your space exploration and weapon developments.”

  “For which side?”

  “Whichever country had a program. We weren’t here to take sides.”

  “What did your teachers do with you?” Selena pushed back a strand of hair from her head with a shaky hand. “You had to be too young to help.”

  “We were.” Catal heaved a sigh. “We were expendable. They left us to fend for ourselves.”

  “You were a child.” Selena’s voice held outrage.

  Catal nodded. “Unfortunately, our crash didn’t go undetected. Our teachers were able to escape, but not all of us were that lucky.”

  “What happened to you?” Selena’s voice was low.

  “I was captured.”

  Chapter 11

  A shiver raced through Selena as she saw the dead calm in Catal’s eyes. She remembered clearly the first time she’d seen that look. They had returned from a rendezvous outside the compound gates. He held her close, but when she looked up, he was gazing with unblinking eyes at a point just beyond the gatehouse. Before she could ask what was wrong, he’d pushed her behind him.

  She’d barely had a chance to blink when Catal had pulled out his sidearm. In the next second, he’d reached for the knife in his boot and threw it. A harsh groan and the sound of someone falling was followed by two quick shots from his pistol. Running footsteps from the main house ended the assault, as the guerrillas retreated. Catal had seen her back to the house before leaving with the rest of the Hunters to pursue the intruders. Throughout the ordeal, he didn’t speak and his eyes had the same focused calm.

  She knew it was bad, but she had to ask.

  “What happened?”

  “Another Hunter and I had hidden under some debris near the crash site. We’d been ordered to stay put by one of our teachers.”

  “Why would you stay there?” Selena’s tone was incredulous. “The crash site would be the first place searched.”

  “Hunters are bred to follow commands, no matter what the order, we obey.”

  “Did the other boys have the same instructions?”

  Catal shook his head. “No. They were given different locations so that everyone was scattered. The teachers thought that if some of us were captured and found alive, the humans would stop their pursuit.”

  “You were used as a decoy.” Selena stifled a moan. “How awful.”

  “It meant that the rest had a chance to escape.” Catal shrugged. “It is a strategy often used with success. Capture is part of battle, and that’s what we were conditioned for.”

  “What about protecting children or working together as a team?” Selena didn’t hide her indignation. She took a deep breath to calm her anger. “What happened next?”

  “I killed my first man that day.” Catal’s voice was devoid of emotion. “It was one of the soldiers who seized us. He had a gun aimed at my head and I didn’t hesitate.”

  Selena winced. “So they took you away.”

  Catal’s face went blank. “I had training in handling pain and torture, but it wasn’t sufficient. I learned enough to last a lifetime by the end of my ordeal. These are things a warrior accepts.”

  Selena reached out a shaky hand to Catal. “You don’t have to continue if you don’t want to.”

  “You deserve the truth.” Catal looked down at their joined hands. “I didn’t understand about pair bonds before, but now I do. You are the only person I have ever told this to, not even my brother Hunters know what happened to me.”

  “You must have escaped or did they let you go?”

  Selena tried to keep the tears out of her voice. Whatever happened to Catal, it must have changed him. She remembered the numerous scars that were spread across his body. A large cluster were on his chest and back. She’d always assumed they were battle wounds and he’d never told her different. Now she wondered.

  “I escaped. The other Hunter with me wasn’t so lucky.” Catal shuddered. “I saw an opportunity and I took it. I told him I’d return with help. Once I found my brothers, we went back, but the place was deserted. He was gone.”

  “So you don’t know what happened to him?”

  Catal shook his head. “I should have waited until both of us could go.”

  “No.” Selena grabbed Catal’s hands. “If you hadn’t escaped, you would have died there.”

  “The others said the same.” Catal’s voice was low. “It was decided that he must be dead. When we couldn’t make contact with him, we stopped looking.”

  “Was he the only one taken?”

  “No.” Catal stood and started to pace in front of her couch. “Over the years, more than half our numbers have been killed by humans.”

  “You must hate us.” Selena’s voice was a whisper. “Is that why you left all of Juan’s men dead?”

  Catal frowned. “I never killed your brother’s men.”

  “Juan saw a Hunter killing everyone at the camp.” Selena clutched her hands together. “He didn’t lie about what he witnessed.”

  “It wasn’t us.”

  “The Hunter told him that he was working for another government and he was following orders. He started shooting. Juan barely escaped with his life, but the rest were massacred.”

  “We had orders from your brother that morning to do surveillance.”

  “He says he never gave you any commands.” Selena’s voice was apologetic. “I asked him numerous times about what happened, and he’s very clear. You and your men deserted rather than guard the compound.”

  “Pablo brought the orders.” Catal’s voice was firm. “We were to scout General Ramirez, the guerrilla leader. Our orders were to assassinate him in retaliation for the kidnapping of your neighbor’s daughter, Rosita. It took us two days to track him down.”

  “Pablo volunteered to drive me into town that day.”

  Selena’s stomach sank. Pablo must have been the traitor. All these years she’d blamed Catal and he was innocent. Her eyes widened as she realize what a horrific mistake she’d made. If she had trusted her love for Catal, she would have known he couldn’t have betrayed her brother.

  “We returned from our mission to find a massacre at the base camp.” Catal’s voice was devoid of emotion. “I searched everywhere for you, but you weren’t there. I didn’t leave a body or stone unturned, even when I was ordered to stop.”

  “Juan said you were responsible.”

  “No.” A muscle twitched in Catal’s jaw. “We were mercenaries and took money from humans to kill, but we were still Hunters. We had honor.”

  “So you weren’t working undercover for a government black ops agency?”

  “Juan paid us.” Catal’s crossed his arms over his chest. “We did his bidding. We went to do the assassination that he ordered. Surely you heard that we succeeded.”

  “Juan said you betrayed hi
m.” Selena’s voice was weak. “He is my brother. I believed him.”

  “So you ran?”

  Selena nodded. “My love for you turned to hatred and bitterness.”

  “You thought I was your enemy. That is why you denied our connection.”

  “You weren’t the only one I shut out of my life.” Selena wiped her hand over her forehead. “I left my brother and country. I couldn’t live with the violence any longer.”

  “You were afraid.” Catal’s words were a statement.

  “You always made certain I was protected.” Selena shook her head. “I was a coward. I should have waited for you and demanded an explanation, but I thought everything that had happened between us was a lie.”

  “Don’t say that.” Catal crouched in front of her. “I remember every second of our time together. It is the only true thing in my life.”

  “I thought you’d used me.” Selena looked up at him. “How can you continue to aid me? If it had been me, I would have walked away the minute I realized who was seeking help.”

  “You almost did leave when you saw that I was one of the Hunters who answered your call.” Catal smiled. “I would do anything for you. That is the nature of the pair bond.”

  Selena’s chest felt as if a vice were tightening around it. Catal had never stopped loving or looking for her. He had never betrayed her. Her throat thickened at the thought of her own deception. She inhaled a shaky breath. She must tell him the truth.

  “I have to confess something.” She looked down at her hands. “You might not be able to forgive me.”

  “There is nothing you could do…” Catal started to speak and then stopped. He frowned and then stood. Selena swore he was listening to someone, but there was only silence in the room.

  “We have a new lead.” Catal reached for Selena.

  “What is it?” Selena’s voice shook.

  “We were suspicious of some of the paparazzi already. Now the evidence confirms we were right.”

  Selena’s dark eyes widened. Her lip quivered and her hands clenched at her side.

  “You’ve found the boys?” Her voice was hushed.

  “We have a suspect.” Catal moved to the door. “I have to leave and meet up with the others.”

  “I’m going with you.” Selena grabbed a jean jacket from the wall hook and slipped her arms into it. “This is my son you’re talking about and I should be there.”

  Catal waited at the door. “I think it would be better if you stayed here, but I won’t stop you from joining us.”

  Selena grabbed a large beach bag and threw in a sweater, pants, shirt, underwear, and a change of clothes for Tarrin. She ran to the bathroom and scooped up their toiletries. She picked up the cellphone and envelop of money that Juan had given her and shoved them in last.

  Selena took her purse from the table. “Good. I need to be there when you find him.”

  “As you wish.”

  Catal opened the door and looked up and down the hall before heading to the rear of the house. Selena followed. They passed the kitchen and went through the rear entrance. Outside the air was cool. It was a welcomed relief from the humid, muggy day. The sun was low in the sky and dusk surrounded them. She took a deep breath and joined Catal.

  "Are you certain they won’t find us?" Selena's voice was a hushed whisper.

  "We’ve altered the security cameras." Catal eased his way along the outside wall of the house. "It’s running in a loop so they’ll only see what we want them to see.

  Catal crouched and tilted his head.

  Sounds of the night creatures and water fountain were all that Selena heard.

  He reached back and waved her over to him. She took a deep breath and forced her heart to beat at a normal pace. As frightened as she was, she now knew that she could trust Catal to protect her. She followed him as they ran through the gardens and across the wide expanse of manicured lawn. By the time they reached the outer fence, her chest was rising and falling at a frantic pace. She leaned against it to catch her breath. Catal waited until her breathing eased, then he pointed up at the fence.

  The stone wall was the last barrier to freedom.

  Catal glanced back at the house and then motioned for her to start climbing. She reached up with both arms and he lifted her at the waist. Her hands slipped a couple of times, but then she found a rock to hold onto. She pulled herself up, swung her leg over the smooth mortared top, and dropped to the other side. He followed her.

  Once on the ground, Catal took her arm. They ran through the back garden of one of the neighbors that bordered the rear of Steve and Nikki’s estate. When they reached the street, he stopped. She looked behind. There was no one following them and Catal nodded to Selena.

  They crossed the road.

  A block away they stopped beside a black van.

  Catal knocked on the rear door. It was opened immediately. He grabbed Selena by the waist and helped her into the vehicle. He followed and shut the door behind him.

  "Is this wise?" Partlan’s voice was low.

  “She insisted.”

  Catal motioned for Selena to sit on a bench that ran along the one side of the van. On the opposite side a number of computer screens were set up. Malac and Ranon were sitting at the monitors.

  Partlan nodded. "It is best that we move. There have already been FBI agents on the road. It will be more difficult to follow if we are traveling."

  “Did they get close to the van?” Catal reached into a toolbox on the floor. “I don’t want them to have a tracking device on us.”

  “They were not close enough, but check.”

  Catal pulled out a small monitor and scanned the van. Selena heard a few bleeps, but Catal ignored them.

  “It’s clear.”

  Selena released the breath she’d been holding. At least the FBI wouldn’t be following them. Once they discovered that she and Catal had escaped, they would assume the worse. They’d take it as proof that she was involved in the kidnapping. She didn’t want to worry about the police catching them before they found the boys.

  “What have you discovered?” Catal’s voice was low.

  Malac turned away from his monitor. “We have numerous angles of the Greystone garden area. I’ve been looking at the ransom drop site in slow motion, screen by screen. There are some interesting points.”

  Firbin was driving the van and eased up as he came to a stop sign. He looked over his shoulder and grinned. "They were not clever enough for us."

  "Who do we have?" Catal leaned close to the monitor.

  Malac pointed to the screen. "It seems the brother paparazzi team were at the ransom drop."

  Selena moved forward on the bench so she could see the video. Her eyes narrowed as she picked out a couple of familiar faces. It was two brothers that often followed Steve and Nikki. They were both wearing large dark jackets. It was an unusual outfit considering the day had been extremely hot.

  “Are they close to the drop area?” Catal’s eyes were glued to the monitor.

  “Watch.” Malac moved the mouse and the video sped up.

  Selena watched as the figure of one of the brothers moved to the rear of a fountain.

  “Stop.” Catal’s voice was clipped.

  The shot showed one of the brothers bending down. Malac continued to let the video move frame by frame. The other paparazzi hid his movements, but there was no mistaking that he had the opportunity to take the briefcase.

  Catal turned to Selena. “Do you recognize these guys?”

  Selena shifted forward on the bench. “That’s Mike and Nathan Gordon. They’re often outside of the mansion.”

  “Is there any reason they would have had to take the boys?”

  “None that I know of.” Selena frowned. “I often talk to them. They’ve always been very friendly with Tarrin and Gates.”

  “So the boys would trust them?”

  “Yes.” Selena looked up at Catal. “Is there any reason they shouldn’t?”

  “They
were at the soccer park the day the boys went missing.” Partlan gave Selena a picture.

  It showed Mike and Nathan Gordon at a park. There were a group of people standing on the sidelines of a soccer field with the players in the middle of action. Selena looked closer and recognized a number of familiar faces. They were the boys and parents of Tarrin’s teammates.

  “Where did you get this picture?” Her voice shook as she looked up at Partlan.

  “It was in the photo cache of one of the other paparazzi.” Partlan handed her another picture. “This was in another group.”

  Selena’s eyes widened. “Did you guys steal these?”

  “We copied them.” Catal’s voice was low. “You asked us to do everything possible to get the boys back. We are doing that.”

  Selena concentrated on the second photo. “Gates is talking to Mike.”

  “That is the last time we see the boys in the photos.” Catal pointed at the picture. “They were close to a wooded area. It would have been easy to disappear in there.”

  Selena gave a slow nod. “Why would they have taken the boys though?”

  “We are going to ask them.” Partlan took the pictures.

  “So you think they’re the kidnappers?” Selena’s voice cracked.

  “They were at the drop site.” Catal reached over and took her hand. “We have them on video disappearing behind the fountain where the money was.”

  “And they could easily hide it under their jackets.” Selena finished in a low voice. “I’ve always been generous to them with tips of where Nikki was going to be. Steve only had one altercation with them, but he apologized and has given them preferential treatment since then.”

  “What was the argument about?” Catal leaned toward her.

  “He broke Nathan’s camera.” Selena frowned. “It was almost five years ago. Steve apologized and replaced the camera. Ever since then, he has always treated them with respect.”

  “Why did he break it?”

  “Nathan took a picture of Gates in the pool.” Selena shrugged. “It was nothing, really, but Nathan climbed over the stone wall and perched in one of the trees. He used a telephoto lens. When Steve saw it, he went ballistic.”