No Remorse_A Manhunters Novel

by Skye Jordan

  Austin followed Decker’s gaze and smiled. “She texted me a few minutes ago. Gave me a ‘told you so’ about this place being one of the best locations on the planet to star gaze and listed all the constellations they’d seen. I’m glad the neighbor finally nabbed Kujo.” He turned his attention back to the documents. “Bella will probably be tangling up the names of the stars as she falls asleep.”

  And he wanted to get through these numbers so he could spend the evening with Everly. A bottle of wine under the stars letting her teach him a thing or two sounded like nirvana to him. He wanted to get to know her better. Learn more about her childhood, her experiences. He was sure they had more in common than either of them realized. He couldn’t release classified information about his missions, but there was plenty he could talk about. Things he’d bet she could relate to and understand.

  The thought made him smile. He’d never been so sure about a relationship before. Never so sure a woman matched him on so many levels—intellectually, physically. Sexually.

  “Did she seem quiet today?” Decker was still standing there, frowning toward the south.

  “I…” Austin refocused. “I haven’t really seen her much. I’ve had my head in these reports.”

  And she was the main reason he’d had laser focus today—partly because she did such an amazing job with Bella, they never needed him, and partly because he felt so physically and emotionally satisfied, he had his head in the game.

  He looked at Decker, but his mind drifted back over the night before. Over his utterly axis-tipping night with Everly. “Something wrong?”

  He didn’t immediately answer but finally shook his head. “Suppose not.”

  “Where did you put Green and Washington?” he asked of the two extra guards on duty.

  “On an east-westerly rotation every two hours.”

  Austin nodded. That would give the two weakest access points to the property—by road and sea—extra coverage. “It’s been a rough few days, but we’re home now.”

  Decker nodded and turned toward the house.

  Austin glanced south and caught movement among the trees. “I think that’s them.”

  Decker refocused as Everly came up the path. But as soon as they came into full view, Austin knew something wasn’t right. Everly was running with Bella in her arms.

  He put down his pen and stood.

  When she came closer, her expression confirmed his suspicion. But whatever was bothering Everly hadn’t registered for Bella. His daughter wore an ear-to-ear grin.

  Everly came to a stop on the pool deck and put Bella down. Resting her hands on her knees to catch her breath, she told Bella, “Go wash your hands. I’ll get your gummies.”

  Bella ran inside. As soon as she was out of earshot, Everly straightened and turned a sharp, frightened gaze on Austin. “Are you training tonight?”

  “No, why?”

  “Because there are men…” she said, pausing to pull in air. “On the property.”

  Austin’s mind sharpened into combat mode. “Where?”

  “How many?” Decker added.

  “What did they look like?” Austin prodded as she pulled in air.

  “Three, maybe four,” she said. “They looked just like your guys. Camo. M4s. American.”

  “How do you know they’re American?” Decker asked.

  “I heard them talking, and I’m pretty damn sure ‘dude’ is exclusive to the States.”

  Decker shot a look at Austin and pulled the radio from his belt. “Possible hostile sighting in southeast quadrant, camo and M4s.” He walked to the edge of the pool deck, issuing orders for the security team. “Reportedly American. Hold fire.” He got off the radio and cut a look at Austin before turning toward the garage. “I’ll be back with gear.”

  “Dispatch the drone,” Austin told Decker, then gripped Everly’s arms and bent to look into her eyes. Her pupils were dilated. Her quick pulse throbbed at the base of her neck. “Get into the house and lock yourself inside. Tell Renalda not to open the doors for anyone but me or Decker.”

  “Austin—”

  “No time,” he told her. “There are weapons locked in a safe in my bedroom closet. The combination is Bella’s birthday. Go to Bella’s bedroom and read her stories, break out the Legos, turn on The Little Mermaid, feed her gummies. Just keep her distracted.”

  He released her and turned to follow Decker.

  “Austin.” Everly grabbed his arm and met his gaze with a familiar intensity. “Don’t let your guys shoot anyone.”

  “This is my property,” he bit out. “They’re coming after my daughter.”

  “They’re American,” she repeated. “If this is Seaver and you kill one of her men, you can bet your ass she’ll be using it to her advantage. With her political pull, you could find the Costa Rican government giving that Hague Convention a closer look. You could blow your little haven to smithereens.”

  God dammit. She was right. And that only added fuel to his fury. “Fuck.”

  He turned away, but she fisted his shirt and dragged him to face her again. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. And neither does Bella. Promise me you won’t start a fucking firefight out there.”

  Right again. Dammit. He cupped the back of her neck. “I promise.”

  Relief washed over her face. She pushed up on her toes and kissed him deliberately. Then whispered, “I… I…”

  He clasped her face between his palms and kissed her again. “It’ll be okay.”

  She closed her eyes, turned her head, and kissed his palm. When she looked at him again, he swore he saw the swirl of love and fear and…something he couldn’t name. “Be careful.”

  “Always.” He released her and jogged down the path along the side of the house, revved for battle. Doors on the house closed and locked, smoothing the edge on his nerves. He and Decker donned fatigues, helmets, and weapons in three minutes flat and ran toward a rendezvous point in the southeast quadrant.

  Roman waited with Ian, Sam, Granger, and Anders as Sawyer, the new kid, rappelled out of the chopper. Once all six of them were on the ground, Roman led the team off the ridgeline and into the jungle.

  They paused beneath the canopy to adjusted their night vision. Then they set off through the thick underbrush to their rendezvous point with Everly thirteen miles west. Creatures of all kinds screamed their surprise and anger at the trespassers.

  “So much for a covert operation.” Ian’s murmur came through the com in Roman’s ear as if his teammate was right beside him, not watching the team’s six. “These monkeys are the best fucking security in this place.”

  The whap of Cody’s chopper blades faded into the distance, and the jungle inhabitants calmed as the team moved with sleek precision through the thick underbrush.

  The men fell silent as they made deliberate progress through the jungle. The day’s heat still simmered beneath the canopy. Sweat slicked Roman’s face and slid down his spine. Monkeys screamed overhead, jumping from tree to tree, following their progress. With night vision, the jungle lit up with all the critters scurrying across the forest floor and moving in the trees.

  They made good time, approaching the rendezvous point within thirty minutes.

  “Hawk to Hunter One.” Cody’s voice filled Roman’s ear.

  “Hunter One, go,” Roman said.

  “Heat map shows a team of seven hostiles headed your way.”

  Roman slowed. “How close?”

  “Two klicks,” Cody said.

  Roman stopped and his team followed in a loose cluster around him. “Roger that.”

  “Maybe they’re training,” Ian said.

  “All the guys Hix uses to train are either deployed or in the Caribbean with the Titus group,” Granger countered.

  Roman looked at Ian. “Contact Everly.”

  While Ian dug out his phone, Sawyer said, “Couldn’t have been the chopper. We’re miles from the house.”

  Evidently, not far enough. “Maybe they heard the ch
opper when we fast-roped in, and came out to check.”

  “She’s not answering, boss.” Ian’s voice held a note of alarm.

  “That’s not good,” Roman muttered.

  “Hawk to Hunter One,” Cody came over the com. “Hostile team one klick out, directly in your path.”

  The skin on the back of his neck rippled with warning. Roman changed direction. “Let’s head east and pick up the pace. We’ll get around behind them.”

  The team complied. The monkeys followed. Five minutes passed before Cody came back on the line.

  “Hawk to Hunter One. Hostile team has veered west and is again directly in your path. Closing at a quarter of a mile. Looks like you’ve got a small drone overhead.”

  Roman’s gut tightened, and he halted. “What the hell?”

  “The drone must be using heat maps to track us,” Sam said.

  “Or Everly outed us,” Sawyer added.

  Ian gave the kid’s shoulder a hard push. “Shut your mouth.”

  “I’m not sayin’ she had a choice,” Sawyer said. “Just saying it looks like they were tipped off.”

  “Take cover,” Roman told the men. “If they’re not using heat maps and their moves aren’t intentional, we can ambush them.”

  “And if they are?” Granger asked.

  “Then,” Roman said on an exhale, “we’ll be working on the fly.”

  He pressed his back to the thick trunk of a tree, and his men scattered nearby to find adequate cover.

  “I need move-by-move updates, Hawk,” Roman told the chopper pilot.

  “Copy that,” Cody said. “They’re slowing.” A moment passed. “They’re regrouping.” Another moment. “They’re taking cover.”

  Fuck. Roman closed his eyes and tilted his head back.

  “They see us,” Sam confirmed. “By our movements, they’ve got to know we also see them.”

  Anders, always on the quiet side, murmured, “And I see mutually assured destruction in our future.”

  “Should we abort?” Granger asked. “Regroup and come at them a different time? A different way?”

  “Try Everly again,” Roman told Ian.

  “We’ve lost the element of surprise,” Sam said. “They’ll be just as ready when we come back as they are now.”

  “Something’s wrong,” Ian said. “Everly’s not responding. We can’t leave without her.”

  “We know you’re out there.” The yell—probably from Hix—pierced the jungle. A flock of birds took flight from the sanctuary of the canopy. “Put your weapons down and surrender.”

  “Fat chance,” Granger muttered.

  Roman ran scenarios through his mind. All but one ended with a high risk of injury and very possibly death—to Hix’s team or his own.

  “You’ll never make it back to the ridge for the chopper,” Hix yelled. “Not without casualties.”

  The fucker was reading Roman’s mind, reminding him they were up against an equal.

  “And you’ll never make it home without the same,” Roman yelled back.

  A moment of silence followed.

  “Are you seriously going to risk your lives for a dirty politician?” Hix yelled. “She can’t be paying you enough for that.”

  They could argue about this all night. Roman decided to aim the conversation toward the integrity he claimed to live by.

  “She’s concerned about the safety of her granddaughter,” Roman told him. “If you were the father you say you are, you wouldn’t put your daughter at risk like this.”

  “I’ve been minding my own business,” Hix yelled back. “She’s the one putting my daughter at risk.”

  Sweat slid down the side of Roman’s face. “She’s the one with custody. That means you’re the one putting your daughter at risk.”

  “I had custody first. She bought it back,” Hix yelled. “I don’t have to justify myself to you. I’m well within the law here. You’re not. We’re up one man, and we know this terrain inside out. If you push this, you’ll be the ones to suffer. Lay down your weapons, come back to the house, and let’s talk this out. No one has to get hurt.”

  “This is going nowhere fast,” Granger muttered.

  Roman was thinking the same thing.

  “Hey, boss,” Ian murmured. “Remember Islamabad and that Australian journalist?”

  Roman’s mind darted back to the hostage situation they’d solved with off-the-cuff ingenuity. “The inside job.”

  He considered using the same technique now. If they got inside the house, they could gain proximity to their captors and possibly take them out. They could gain proximity to Everly and the girl. If Everly was still intact, she could find a way to free their team and trap Hix’s men. If she wasn’t, they could get her out of a dangerous situation.

  But those were a lot of ifs.

  He thought about Everly’s assessment of Hix from the very beginning. She saw him as a devoted father, a man of integrity. And she didn’t dish out those compliments easily. He was also showing all those signs now by not charging his team with a take-no-prisoners attitude.

  “Who’s up for making this an inside job?” Roman asked.

  “I’m in,” Ian answered first.

  “Me too,” Granger quickly added.

  “I want to see how you’re going to do this,” Sawyer said. “Count me in.”

  “You know I’m always with you, boss,” Anders murmured, “two-hundred percent.”

  “I need a skills refresher,” Sam said. “I spend too much time behind a screen.”

  Roman heaved an exhale. “Okay,” he yelled. “We’re coming out. Don’t shoot.”

  Austin and his team moved in. The hostile team had laid their M4s on the ground and clasped their hands behind their heads.

  “Everyone,” Austin ordered, “eat dirt now.”

  The enemy took their sweet time getting facedown. Austin was juiced with adrenaline. Something wasn’t right. That had been too easy.

  Once they were all cuffed individually, Austin shoved his boot into the ribs of a guy on the end of the row, rolled him to his back, and demanded, “Who are you?”

  He got nothing but an angry stare. Not a surprise.

  “Night vision up,” he instructed the team before dragging his penlight from the pocket of his vest and shining it on the man’s face. He winced and turned his head away, but something nagged at the back of Austin’s mind. “Look at me.”

  “Get that fucking light out of my eyes,” he demanded.

  Austin angled the penlight down while still illuminating his face. When the man looked back at Austin, familiarity flared. “No fuckin’ way.”

  He leaned down and gripped the man’s tactical vest, then hauled him to his feet. He pushed him back against a tree. “Mr. Coleman,” he said in a sarcastic greeting. “You really took my disinterest in your company hard.”

  The man didn’t respond.

  Austin angled his light toward the other five men. “Let’s see who you’ve got with you. Roll ’em over, boys.”

  One by one, Austin’s guys rolled the members of the other team to their backs. Austin lit up each man’s face in turn and found two more he’d seen before. “You and you were at the party too.”

  “Boss,” Decker said, pointing at another. “He’s the one I saw in the market.”

  “Right.” He zeroed in on the man’s face. “Chatting up my nanny.”

  The man smiled, shrugged. Just another day at the office.

  “What’s going on here?” Austin directed his question to Coleman. “Are you with Titus Security, or are you working for Seaver?”

  “Are you running your business?” Coleman shot back. “Or hiding your daughter like a chicken shit?”

  “That answers that question.” Austin lifted a chin to his team. “Hook ’em up, boys.”

  By the time he and Sam had collected the weapons, the six hostiles stood with one arm linked through another teammate’s, their hands cuffed in front. “That’s a real pretty daisy chain, ladies. Le
t’s get going. Looks like we’re going to have a lot to talk about tonight.”

  On the hike back, Austin asked Coleman everything from “How much is Seaver paying you?” to “What branch of the military were you with?”

  The man never responded. But more immediately concerning, Everly wasn’t answering his calls or texts. Her plea not to open fire on the men kept replaying in his head. And by the time they congregated on the pool deck, Austin’s nerves were strung tight.

  He let his team take care of the hostiles while Austin moved to the glass sliding doors off the dining room and punched in the code to the door lock. He’d left so quickly earlier, he hadn’t thought to grab his keys. But the door didn’t open.

  “Everly,” he called. When he got no answer, he tried, “Renalda, it’s Austin.”

  No one answered. He cut a look at the hostiles, his gaze lingering on Coleman. Strangely enough, Coleman watched Austin with intense concentration. Austin’s mind darted back to the cocktail party and Everly introducing the man to him. Dread joined the anxiety in his gut. These men had been watching him—from every vantage point. They’d tried to make inroads—with Everly and Austin. And the fact that Everly wasn’t already at the door struck a raw nerve.

  “Dayum,” one of the hostile’s muttered. “Nice digs, man.”

  “Like a fuckin’ day spa,” another commented. “Must be nice.”

  “Shut up, girls,” Ty ordered.

  “Deck,” he called. “Did you change the fucking code? It won’t open.”

  “No, boss.” Decker recited the code Austin had tried. He punched it in again. “It’s not working. Throw me your keys.”

  While Decker fished his keychain from his gear, Austin kept knocking on the door. And knocking. And knocking.

  Decker finally tossed Austin his keys. He searched the mass of keys for the ones to the house. By the time he opened the back door, fear tightened his throat.

  Renalda peeked out from the door to her room. Once she saw Austin, she scurried forward. “Oh, I sorry, Señor Hix,” she told him in broken English. “Everly say no let anyone in.”

  “It’s okay.” He passed through the door, his gaze on the stairs. “Where are Everly and Bella?”