Atonement: The Hunter Mercenary Series (Book One)

by Morgan Kelley

  “That’s your opinion. I had peace from your harpy yapping. I get it. You hated being a mother. You hated seeing our child. You were so damn selfish! It was all about you.”

  “I would have walked.”

  “Yeah, and wanted to leave her and take half of everything that was mine! I know you, Maxine. You would have played martyr or you would have blown the divorce judge. I had to take care of it.”

  “Of course. Now, we’re going to do something even better. Something I’m going to take care of for both of us.”

  “What?”

  “As you’ve figured out, I’m sure, by this conversation, I have your home bugged. Yes, I had Gus Cobb do it. Well, my man did. See, when you dumped me, literally—into the gulf—I had nothing. I was scared and alone. I thought you’d kill me if I reappeared, so I hooked up with him.”

  “Isn’t he lucky?” he muttered.

  “He dropped me off, and when I get what I need, he and I are heading out of here.”

  “I’m not giving you anything.”

  “Oh, I know. Back to the bug. I know our dear daughter, Stella, transferred all the money out of that shared account. She’s smart like her mother. I’ll give her that. Well, she’s going to transfer that money again. How much did she take?”

  He closed his mouth.

  Maxine moved closer and grabbed him through his pants. Slowly, she began twisting his dick until his mouth worked like a fish.

  “How much?”

  “Twenty-five million.”

  She smiled and let his tiny dick go.

  “Well, then she’ll be giving me the best Mother’s Day gift. Then she’ll be out of both of our hair.”

  He felt bad for his daughters. They were the ONLY ones he gave a shit about. Women came and went. His kids…

  Well, until she stole from him.

  “Did you have to kill Maia?”

  “Oh, that was all because you pissed me off and were flagrantly hooking up with the nanny. You didn’t even pretend to mourn me. You’re an asshole, so it’s your fault I really just wanted her dead. I wanted you to suffer. You stayed with her for almost twenty-five years.”

  “Where’s Mercedes?”

  “Oh, she’s on her way to a buyer in New Orleans. The man I’m with, who hasn’t tried to kill me, may I add, likes to peddle flesh, and not in the traditional way. But that’s none of your business. Take me to our daughter.”

  Shit!

  This was all his fault.

  He’d led her right to Stella and the money. Had he just stayed at home…?

  “No.”

  “Oh, aren’t you valiant. I know it’s because you don’t want her to know the truth or for me to get your money. So drop the act. You killed her mommy. Awww.”

  “I wouldn’t use the word ‘Mommy’, Maxine. You didn’t really want her, the maid fed her, and you didn’t even hold her. You called her mommy’s little golden egg. Once she finds out, she’ll see you for what you are. A money hungry slut who killed her real mom—Maia.”

  “Ouch. That hurts. I may never sleep again,” she said, laughing.

  “Take me to her.”

  “Then?”

  She laughed. “Then you both die, and the man she’s married to also. No loose ends. You know what happens when you let that happen…”

  Yeah, unfortunately, he did.

  They came back to bite you when you least expect it.

  * * * H U N T E R * * *

  She was helping him with the prep. He was up to his elbows in fry bread dough, when there was a knock on the door.

  “It has to be the team. No one knows this address,” he said, giving her a kiss on the lips.

  She grabbed his ass.

  “That’s the ONLY reason you want me teaching you—so you can molest me. I feel cheap.”

  “Later, I’ll really show you cheap,” she teased. “Do you want me to get it?”

  He hesitated as he tried to pull the dough off his hands.

  “Well…”

  “You said no one knows where we are. I’ll be safe. It’s only the door.”

  “Okay, call me if you need me.”

  Stella headed for the door, taking off the apron she’d been wearing. When she got there, she couldn’t look out the peep hole to see who it was.

  Damn short girl issues.

  “Who is it?” he called.

  No one replied.

  She unlocked the door and peeked out. That was when she saw him standing there.

  It was her father.

  And he had a gun pointed at his head.

  “DAD?”

  Stella wanted Zayn to know they had trouble. She’d just let the mess into his home.

  God!

  She was having a horrible month.

  When he was pushed in, she saw the woman with the gun and her gut dropped.

  “Mom?” she asked, her hand over her mouth.

  Zayn came running, and the second he rounded the corner, he saw the gun.

  “Drop yours, Indian. I know you have one under your shirt. There’s no way that you’re that happy to see me. Well, maybe. I am her mother and we look alike.”

  Zayn went into protection mode. He began trying to figure out a way to save Stella and himself.

  “What the hell?” he said, placing his gun on the counter as he raised his hands.

  This is bad.

  “Hello, son-in-law. I’m Stella’s mother. Her real mother and we’re going to have a talk.”

  “We’re actually kind of busy,” he said.

  Maxine pointed the gun at Stella’s head and put her finger on the trigger.

  “Does this clear up your schedule?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I’m free.”

  Yeah, this wasn’t good.

  At all.

  * * * H U N T E R * * *

  They were getting worried. Neither Zayn nor Stella were answering their phones.

  They called them each at least four times, and they were going right to voicemail.

  “What do you want me to do?” Sarah asked.

  He thought about it.

  Then it hit him.

  “You know the address, don’t you?” he asked. “Zayn only told you.”

  She did know it.

  “Pull up the location on the map. Let’s see what we’re dealing with,” he stated.

  When they saw it, it looked like a normal neighborhood.

  “Ping the tablet. Maybe they’re in bed.”

  She got to work.

  Something was off.

  He could feel it.

  * * * H U N T E R * * *

  Zayn heard the beeping, and it was their only chance.

  God!

  He hoped they didn’t think he was fornicating and didn’t keep trying. While he had guns hidden all over, he had to worry about Stella. She wouldn’t know what to do.

  “What is that?” Maxine asked.

  “It’s my tablet. I have a call coming in. If I don’t answer, they will show up.”

  She didn’t look happy.

  She didn’t want that.

  “Answer it, but I want to hear them and you. If you try anything…”

  She grabbed Stella and held the gun to her head.

  This was a dangerous situation.

  Her mother had her finger on the trigger. She was willing to shoot.

  “It’s okay, Stella,” Zayn reassured.

  This was far from okay.

  Anything Stella might have felt for the woman, and her father, went out the window.

  This was fight or flight, and she would side with her husband. He was the ONLY one in the room she trusted.

  Zayn picked up the tablet from the coffee table. He saw the mirror, and he had an idea.

  Well, she’d hear the convo, but they’d see her reflection in the mirror behind him.

  Perfect.

  “Hey,” he said, calmly.

  “Why aren’t you answering your phone?” Sarah asked.

  Zayn glanced over at the woma
n holding his wife hostage. Again. This had to end. He was getting pissed.

  “I was prepping for dinner. You know…just the two of us having Stella’s famous fry bread. I must not have heard the phone ringing.”

  Dakota stared at him.

  Something was wrong.

  Stella couldn’t cook.

  What was he saying?

  That’s when Rogue saw it. Immediately, he hit mute as the man was talking about dinner.

  “Look! Stella’s mother is there, and she’s holding a gun on them. We have to go!”

  Dakota unmuted the tablet to play along.

  “Oh man! I wish we were invited. I love fry bread. It must be the Native in me.”

  He acknowledged the situation by lying.

  “Well, you know how we Natives are. We learn from a young age from our mothers that fry bread is like mother’s milk.”

  “Can we come over?”

  He glanced up at Maxine, and she put the gun in Stella’s mouth.

  He laughed. “We told you already that we wanted to be alone.”

  He got it.

  Dakota wished he had a way to make the man understand that he was on to the whole thing.

  Then he remembered.

  Zayn had been a Marine.

  He gave him a thumbs up signaling that he got it. Then he gave him the hand signal that they would be there in fifteen minutes by tapping his watch.

  That helped Zayn relax.

  Dakota made the motion of stretching it out until help could get there.

  He wanted him to stall.

  “Won’t you change your mind?” Dakota asked as Rogue and Sarah got their gear on out of view of the camera.

  He looked at Maxine. The woman had his wife by the hair. She wasn’t messing around.

  “Oh, what, Stella?” he asked, pretending to talk to her. “Oh, okay, baby. Sorry, Dak, my wife has a headache, and she wants to see you guys tomorrow. We’ve been cooped up.”

  “Oh, no! Are you feeling okay?” he asked.

  “I think I’m getting something. We may go lie down for a while. I’ll call you later if anything comes up.”

  Dakota got it.

  He was going to try and get them upstairs. With the home’s balconies, it would be easier to get in.

  “We haven’t had any luck with the case. So far, everything points at Danforth.”

  “Really?”

  Zayn could see them moving out the door and getting into the car.

  He had to hope that Maxine didn’t hear them driving.

  “Yeah, nothing. It’s the craziest thing. He has to be behind this.”

  “What about what you told me about the Butler being a possibility?” he asked, making sure they got it. At this point, he was making it up.

  “It might be. We’re still running him.”

  Maxine put the gun against Stella’s temple and shook her head.

  He got it.

  It was time to go.

  “The food is burning. I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow. Call me then.”

  “Okay, Zayn, watch your back.”

  “We will. I always watch my back. You never know what’s coming.”

  He placed the tablet on the table, making sure the case held it up as it was pointed away from all of them. It was still on, and it was giving the team everything.

  They would be his best hope.

  “Good boy. You don’t want your mother-in-law to get upset, especially when she’s holding your wife hostage.”

  “Now, Stella, my love, we have some money to transfer,” she said, letting the girl go.

  Stella knew they needed to stall. Zayn could take her since her father looked like he was a prisoner too.

  “Why did you leave me?” she asked, trying to get her mother to keep talking.

  “Technically, I didn’t leave, did I, Danforth?”

  He didn’t speak.

  “Tell her!”

  “She didn’t leave. She wanted a divorce and I tried to kill her. I took her out on the boat into the gulf, and I shoved her overboard. Unfortunately, she survived.”

  Stella gasped.

  Maxine laughed. “Yes, unfortunately for you.”

  “You’re working with Chesky?” Zayn asked, trying to keep calm. He was moving closer to Stella.

  He had to protect his wife. His gun was in the kitchen. They were in the living room. The one there was empty.

  Damn those gun lessons.

  “Yes, he’s my lover. By the way, he sends his regards. He said your sister was a sweet piece of ass. They all shared her. Of course, that was right before me.”

  Zayn felt the temper rising.

  “Have him come here. I’ll be more than happy to talk to him—man to child molester.”

  She laughed.

  “No, he’s waiting for me at a meetup. What you’re going to do is transfer the money, and then I’m going to kill you all.”

  Yeah, they couldn’t let her do that.

  Stella stalled more.

  “So, he tried to kill you but you wanted me, right?” she asked, hoping she’d feel something for her. Her mother could have the money if she let them live.

  She laughed. “Not really. You were a brat. He wanted you. I just wanted to cement my way into that money.”

  “Oh.”

  Her father smirked.

  “I told you fast relationships don’t work. You should have listened. I married a trash bag whore. You’ll regret him.”

  Maxine had enough.

  She shot Danforth in the leg.

  “Well, at least someone shut him up,” Zayn said. “Next time go higher.”

  She laughed.

  “It’s too bad you got into this mess. I actually like you. We have a lot in common.”

  Yeah, no, they didn’t.

  He wouldn’t betray his family for money.

  Ever.

  Still, he let her talk.

  Meanwhile, he was moving closer to his wife. She must have seen the movement.

  She pointed the gun at him.

  “If you move again, you get shot and then so does she. NOW let’s transfer the money.”

  She waved the gun at Stella and then the tablet.

  Oh shit!

  It was about to go from bad to worse if she realized that he’d never disconnected the call from Dakota.

  “You can’t from the tablet. It’s in my account. I have to access it upstairs in my office.”

  She was getting impatient.

  Still…she was so close.

  “Fine. Let’s go.”

  Zayn had to hope the team would arrive.

  All he could do was cross his fingers, and pray.

  The threesome arrived, but now they had a bigger issue to deal with before saving Zayn and Stella.

  They were going to lose the conversation as they all went upstairs to his computer.

  They’d be going in blind.

  That was dangerous.

  Then, Sarah had an idea.

  “We have to get to the second floor. We can go in through a balcony,” she said, pointing up.

  They agreed.

  As they headed toward the building, they found the secluded courtyard.

  Doing this and making noise would be dangerous. One sound and…

  Yeah, bad things would happen.

  “I can get in there if you guys can boost me,” she whispered to them.

  Dakota was wary.

  “We can’t boost you or me,” Rogue said. “She’s the lightest,” he whispered.

  It was their only chance.

  “Be careful, baby,” he said.

  Sarah pulled off the ring and put it in her pocket for safe keeping. The thing was flashing fire in the sun, and she didn’t need to be seen—not yet.

  “I will,” she promised.

  They locked arms and got ready.

  Three.

  Two.

  One.

  With all their might, they tossed Sarah as high as they could. She was within
reach of the balcony. Slowly, she pulled herself up and then leaned against the wall.

  “What do you see?” he said softly so she could hear him from her vantage point.

  The doors were closed, but she could see straight through and to the desk.

  “I have one shot.”

  “Then you better make it count.”

  Yeah, no pressure there.

  Now…to get their attention.

  Sarah had just the way.

  Diamonds were a girl’s best friend.

  She pulled it out and got to work.

  In his office, he was sitting behind his desk as the computer booted up.

  This was bad.

  “Where do you want it sent?”

  “Let me see what you’re doing. I want to make sure you’re not sending anyone a message.”

  He turned his monitor around so she could see it.

  It was the bank’s website.

  “Good boy. Because you’ve been so helpful, I’ll give you the choice. Do you want me to kill you or her first? Do you want her to see you die, or her to die and you watch?”

  He flipped her off and then called her every name in the Native book.

  She was clearly amused.

  “Yeah, you picked a good husband, sweet daughter. He’s nothing like your father. You picked a criminal. You must get that from me. Then again, your father is a murdering bastard so…”

  “Great, MOM. Let us live.”

  She laughed. “No freaking way. What’s the first rule of your business?” she asked Zayn.

  “Don’t trust scumbags.”

  She laughed again.

  “Okay, rule two?”

  “No loose ends.”

  “And there you go. You’re both loose ends. So, Mr. Thundercloud, here’s the account number.”

  As she was reading it off, Stella was standing there beside her mother. Something outside caught her eye.

  A prism on the desk.

  From?

  A ring.

  She looked over and there was Sarah trying to get her attention as she waved the diamond in the sun.