Atonement: The Hunter Mercenary Series (Book One)

by Morgan Kelley

  He needed to find Gus Cobb, and fast.

  * * * H U N T E R * * *

  Somewhere In

  The Outskirts

  Of New Orleans

  In the dirty cold room, she sat in the corner with her back to the wall. She could hear the one man on the phone, and it wasn’t sounding good.

  She was as good as dead.

  As she listened to him planning out her death, she couldn’t cry anymore. She couldn’t panic.

  If this was going to be her end, then so be it. She’d fight. If that scumbag came near her, she’d fight with all she had.

  Maybe he’d leave his filthy DNA all over her, and someone would solve her murder.

  Stella knew the second she was taken that this wasn’t going to have a good outcome.

  She was naïve to believe her white knight would ride in and save her. It was a good fantasy to have to pass the time, but that was the only thing it had done.

  It was a pipe dream.

  When her abductor peeked his head in the dingy cell, she pushed herself back against the wall, the chains around her ankles and wrists reminding her she was a trapped animal.

  “Oh, Stella, you’re a beautiful girl. I’m going to have fun with you,” he said, grinning. “After your daddy pays this last time, you’re mine. I’m going to fuck you until I can’t fuck anymore.”

  She stared at him, refusing to break.

  Stella wasn’t going to cry.

  “I’m going to love getting you on your knees in front of me. I hope you know how to give head.”

  “You’re nothing more than an animal,” she said to him. “You think you can scare me?” she asked. “You’ll get caught,” she said, “and when you do…I hope you like the chair, you worthless bag of skin.”

  He moved toward her, picked her up by the neck and squeezed until she turned blue. When she passed out, he dropped her to the floor like a broken doll.

  “Later, Stella, we’ll see if you’re so brave. I was going to have mercy, but now…I’m going to make you beg for death.”

  Then, he got to work, setting her free from her chains and her clothes.

  He moved quickly so she wouldn’t wake up.

  If she was going to fight, he’d end that before it even started. He knew exactly how he wanted her.

  And he’d get what he wanted.

  Before he killed her.

  * * * H U N T E R * * *

  Danforth Harrington’s

  Home

  When the three of them arrived, they knew from the way they looked, this wasn’t going to be a cake walk. Zayn, Rogue, and Dakota didn’t look like people who did this kind of thing for a living. In fact, they looked the opposite.

  Well, two of them did.

  Dakota knew this could go bad fast with all the security around them.

  He honestly hoped no one got shot.

  If Mr. Harrington was hoping for some government agency to swoop in and save his family, he was bound to be disappointed.

  If he were in the man’s place, he’d be expecting some swat team or people who were carrying badges.

  They weren’t that.

  This…

  This was ridiculous, and there was a chance the man would toss them off his property the second they tried to help him. Dakota couldn’t believe that Ethan Blackhawk and Marcus Hunter thought this would work. They looked like some rag-tag group of misfits. Two natives, and a man who had a Native name but not a drop of the blood.

  Yeah, this was going to be interesting.

  As they headed toward the main gate, Dakota made notes of everything around the vast estate. Even the surrounding property was monitored for security.

  Now, was that prior or after the abduction?

  “There’s a camera there,” he said, pointing at the top of the gate. “There’s also about twenty more up the drive. You can see them from the road. The people who did this had inside help. There was no way they could out maneuver all of these cameras.”

  Both Zayn and Rogue agreed.

  There was no way that house was accessible without someone knowing what kind of system they were using. The best criminal wouldn’t break into a house without a plan, and this had to have taken one.

  A damn good one.

  The person behind this had studied Mr. Harrington too. His schedule was watched and noted. Had they broken in while he was there, this wouldn’t have been a ransom.

  They wanted the money and they knew the man would pay to get the women back in his life.

  At the gate, there was a guard, and he looked like he was ready for a platoon of Marines to come at him. It was clear he was worried about his life.

  The death of the previous guard must have rattled his cage. Maybe the whole ‘bullet put in his brain’ thing had motivated him to be extra careful.

  The guy looked like he was ready for just about anything. He, alone, had more weaponry than the three men in the vehicle.

  “We’re expected,” stated Zayn once he rolled down the window.

  The man looked in and made them wait while he called the main house.

  “Where’s the dog?” Dakota asked, realizing they didn’t have him with them.

  That couldn’t be good.

  “He’s guarding the house,” Rogue stated.

  “Alone?”

  “No, he had a few of his buddies over and they are playing poker.”

  Dakota looked back at the man.

  Zayn laughed. “That’s where that painting originated. Dogs do play poker!”

  “We don’t need two smart asses on the team. If he eats through anything in that million-dollar home, including that high-tech shit, heads will roll.”

  “Kugsha is well-trained.”

  Zayn laughed again. “Yeah, so well-trained that a chick in leather could make him forget his name. Why don’t you just call him Odin and call it a day? He likes having a name.”

  With this, Dakota agreed.

  “He’s got a point.”

  “No one will get in the house. Relax. He’s been around nice places, and I’m not calling him Odin. He’s Kugsha. It’s simple and easy. Dogs don’t care if we name them. They are dogs. They have a pack mentality.”

  Dakota was curious about these two men, but specifically the quieter of the two.

  “So you’re talking about your home? Is that the nice place?”

  “Yes, my family’s home.”

  He left it at that.

  The guard was back.

  “You’re clear. Mr. Harrington wants you to head in,” the guard said.

  Zayn rolled up the window and headed down the long tree-lined drive.

  “We need to find where the security line was cut. There’s no doubt in my mind that they started there,” Rogue stated. “That would take out everything.”

  Dakota agreed.

  “So the line gets cut after the ‘pop-pop’ in the guard’s head?” Zayn asked. “That’s backward. The reports say they killed the guard, and then the line was cut. Then whoever was in the house might be alerted.”

  Dakota agreed with Zayn.

  “Inside work,” the man said. “That power was cut first so the dead guard wouldn’t have raised suspicions.”

  “Well, that’s going to be your project,” Rogue said. “Let me talk to the father,” he said, straightening his black jacket. While the other two men had worn military style gear, he’d gone with nondescript for a reason.

  He liked to blend.

  They…didn’t.

  Oh, and his specialty wasn’t kicking in doors. His skills were more finesse and charm.

  “Go for it,” Dakota stated. “We’ll wander around.”

  Rogue headed for the door, and the man opened it before he could even knock. “Please tell me there’s more of you,” he stated.

  “No, sir, just us.”

  He began weeping.

  “Let’s have a seat inside and talk.” Rogue led him in, and Dakota and Zayn got to work.

  They headed around the
house. They found the power lines into the home, and from what they knew from experience, the house definitely went down first. When someone had this much money, it meant that his security likely had a backup power source.

  But where?

  They traced all the lines to one pole.

  “Who’s going up?” Zayn asked.

  “Me. You’re like a brick wall. You’ll take the pole down,” he said.

  “I’m deceivingly nimble for my size, u-ka-sha-na,” he stated.

  “Do I have to Google that? Or do you want to tell me what you said?” he asked.

  “It’s Cherokee for asshole. You’re acting like one, and it’s not pretty on you, white man. You wonder why Natives don’t like your kind?”

  Dakota laughed. “Listen up, my Cherokee wall. I’ve gone head to head with meaner Natives than you. Blackhawk is a bastard and his brother would love to pull my colon out of my nose. I was pointing out a fact.”

  “Maybe he should.”

  Dakota rolled his eyes.

  “Give me a boost, okay?” Dakota asked.

  “How do you have a Native name, but no skills? I can climb this pole without a boost, you pussy.”

  Dakota took a step back. “Oh, well, have at it, my friend. I can’t wait to see this.”

  Dakota took a step back, and Zayn did too. Then he ran at it, jumping as high as he could. He actually reached the one foothold, and then lifted his whole bulky body up.

  Dakota stared in amazement.

  “Well, someone can do pull-ups.”

  “You think?” he asked, as Zayn easily scaled the pole. “I was a soldier. I can carry my own weight. You should try it. That ego of yours has to be damn heavy.”

  “You’re funny. Be careful not to mess up your hair, princess. We can’t take a brush break,” he said, as the man’s long hair blew in the breeze.

  Hanging by one hand, he flipped Dakota off.

  “Show off.”

  It made Zayn laugh.

  “Hustle up. We don’t have all day, muscles.”

  Once at the top, it wasn’t the box that had his attention, but the house.

  “What do you see?”

  “There’s a kill switch here,” he said, trying to pull on it. “It’s rusted in position.”

  Again, they were right.

  “It wasn’t killed at the pole. It was killed inside, which makes our theory the logical one.”

  He pulled on his leather gloves and then tugged it off at the pole. The whole house went down.

  Zayn turned the power back on.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m coming down. This power was turned off inside. There is no freaking way they shut it off here and used those flimsy lines to repel into the window. They used the trellis. I’m going in that way.”

  Dakota stared up at him.

  “I wouldn’t stand beneath me. If I fall…”

  Dakota was out of the way before he could even finish his sentence.

  “Some leader you are, Ah-ni-U-ka-sha-na.”

  “What does that mean?” Dakota asked.

  “You don’t want to know.”

  With that, he dropped down from the pole and headed toward the house.

  “That window is an office. I’m going in.”

  Dakota watched as he climbed the trellis and pulled himself into the window.

  “Holy shit. That was easy.”

  Zayn disappeared inside for a few seconds.

  The house power went down, and then he was back again at the window.

  “Speak for yourself,” Zayn said, staring down at him. “Someone knew where the power cut-off was, and that this window was unsecured. Inside the closet in here is the power to the security system. They knew right where to find it too.”

  “Yeah, this was definitely an inside job.”

  Zayn pointed. “Meet you inside with Rogue. Now you get to climb up and get some thorns in your limbs.”

  Dakota rolled his eyes and stared at the flowers.

  Screw that.

  He was going in the civilized way. If he was going to be the leader, he wasn’t playing in the flowers.

  Instead, Dakota headed to the front porch. Breaking into this man’s home…it had been cake.

  But why not just rob the place?

  Why only kidnap the girls?

  It looked like they had to find that out.

  And fast.

  Inside, Rogue was sitting with Danforth Harrington on the couch. In front of them were bags with a shit ton of cash.

  It was tempting.

  So.

  Damn.

  Tempting.

  Rogue had to struggle not to think about it. There was something about that kind of loot that made his palms sweaty and his longing for a yacht almost uncontrollable.

  Instead, he focused on the man and his grief.

  “Mr. Harrington, we’re going to help you get your girls back,” he offered.

  “I don’t understand. The FBI…”

  “We’re who they sent.”

  He wept even more. Behind him stood five armed men, and they didn’t look amused by the man being there at all.

  “I need you to tell me what happened a month ago when you came home.”

  “I returned from a business trip, and…my girls were gone. Someone took my daughters and wife. I paid them already, and they keep saying it isn’t enough. I don’t know what to do. At first, the feds told me to buy time with money. Now, they’ve given up. Recently, they told me that if I continue to pay, they can’t help me. I just want my girls back. What do you think I should do?”

  He listened.

  This was a tough situation. While he got why the FBI couldn’t work with the man, a grieving father wouldn’t. The feds knew that the second they got the money, they’d start killing them. With three victims, they could ask for bigger money to keep at least two alive.

  “I’d pay.”

  “Okay, and you’re knowledgeable because…?” he asked.

  “Let’s just say I’m a specialist when it comes to ransoms. My first question is where did you leave the money?”

  “A boat, some mailbox, and the front seat of my own car. I’ve done everything they’ve asked.”

  Rogue knew they were checking out his willingness to keep paying.

  “What do you recall about the boat?”

  “It was small.”

  When Dakota walked in, the security went for their guns. “WHOA! I’m with him. Blackhawk sent me. Calm down. Do you think the person who took them is going to stroll in while you’re standing here?”

  His point seemed to help them relax.

  He hoped so because Dakota didn’t want to get shot. That seemed to be the theme of the day.

  “Was there a name on the boat?” Rogue asked.

  “No. The letters were scratched off.”

  He made notes.

  When Zayn came down the stairs, they all looked over.

  “Who the hell are you?” Danforth asked as five guards all went for their guns again.

  “I’m with them. I know how the men got into your house. They climbed the trellis.”

  He didn’t say anything about an open window or inside man. If one of those guards was involved, the less he thought they knew, the better. “They went right to the power source. The backup power is housed in the office closet.”

  “I know that but how do you know that?”

  Oh, maybe because he rustled through the drawers, closet, and room.

  “I saw the box.”

  The man shook his head.

  Dakota took over.

  “The bigger question is who else knew? There’s no way that someone outside this house could tell that without being in here.”

  Zayn gave Dakota a look that said, ‘I hope you know what you’re doing’. Clearly, he wouldn’t have given them information.

  Mr. Harrington was shocked.

  “You think it’s an inside job?”

  “YES,” they all said.
/>
  That made all the guards standing there uncomfortable. It was written on their faces.

  Dakota wasn’t done.

  “Anyone who works here, or the company that installed it, would have knowledge of where you had the panel box hidden. It wasn’t out in the open.”

  Dakota had a point.

  That made Zayn curious.

  “Who installed it?” he asked.

  “A company by the name of ‘Synergist Security Unlimited’.”

  Rogue was the only one who recognized the name. “Um…I have good news and bad news for you,” he said, handing him some tissues from the table.

  He was going to need them.

  The man looked at him.

  “What?”

  “The good news is they have amazing security systems that are practically hacker proof.”

  “And the bad?” Dakota asked.

  “They are bogus. They install in houses that they later break into for profit. They buy the super system, learn it, and then plant it in a place with lots of money or pretty women. You were set up. They targeted you.”

  “How do you know?” Dakota asked.

  “They once requested my assistance on a specific model they couldn’t get the details on.”

  He left it at that.

  The man cried even more.

  “They came recommended, and the install crew seemed really nice!”

  Rogue pulled his phone out and pulled up a few pictures. “Do any of them look familiar?”

  The man kept looking.

  “He installed it!”

  He showed Dakota.

  It was Gus Cobb. The same one who matched the fingerprint that the FBI had pulled and that Zayn was tracking to find who took his sister.

  Well, that explained how they realized the layout of the house. They could tie one person to the abduction so far.

  Rogue kept flipping.

  “HIM! He’s the owner! He sold it to me! His name is Jefferson. He’s behind this?”

  Well, again, he had good news and bad.

  “Sir, his name isn’t Jefferson. It’s actually Austin Sharp. He’s done this before.”

  Dakota realized that working with criminals had its advantages. They knew all the players in the game that the cops wouldn’t have knowledge of on a normal basis.