aHunter4Saken (aHunter4Hire)

by Cynthia Clement

  “You can’t sleep there.”

  Kimi spread the blanket over herself. “Why not?”

  “You don’t know anything about him.” Jake’s voice was incredulous. “He’s a stranger.”

  “I know enough.” Kimi put her head on the edge of Niail’s pillow.

  “He could be a psychopath for all we know.”

  “He’s not.”

  Kimi snuggled into Niail’s side. A sense of belonging pulsed through her when she heard him sigh. This was where she wanted to be. She wasn’t going to argue with Jake or anyone else about it. The floor was hard, but after a few minutes, the rest of the world faded as sleep claimed her.

  She woke to dark eyes staring down at her.

  Niail was awake.

  “How do you feel?” Kimi covered her yawn with her hand.

  “Better.” Niail sat up and looked down at his side. “Did you put this on?

  “You collapsed.” Kimi scooted upright. “The towels were soaked through. There was blood everywhere.”

  Niail grimaced. “It should have held.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” A shiver went through her. “You probably made it worse.”

  “There was no time.”

  Niail stood. For a second she thought he might fall again as he grabbed the back of the couch. After a couple of deep breaths, he eased away. She got up and folded the blankets. The fire had died down, and there was no sign of Jake.

  She frowned and went to the bedroom. The door was still closed. When she opened it, neither Mark, nor Jake was there. Where had the two of them taken off to? She turned back to Niail, who had pushed aside the curtain on one of the windows and was looking outside.

  “It is daylight.” He let the curtain fall back into place. “Where is your brother?”

  “He said he was taking the first watch. Mark was supposed to be sleeping.”

  Niail raked his hands through his dark hair. “I have never been felled by an injury before. I failed you.”

  Kimi went to him and put her hand on his arm. “You should have told me earlier how seriously you had been injured.”

  “We needed to get away.”

  Niail clasped her hand and she felt a surge of warmth sing through her body. What was it about this man that made her feel weak, and then strong, at the same time? He looked like a regular man, but he talked, and acted like someone from another place. She had always believed that the Star People were spirits sent to guide humans. Now she knew that they were living, breathing beings, just like humans.

  “You lost a lot of blood.” Kimi led him to a table chair. “You should sit.”

  Niail shook his head. “I will rest when I know where the others are.”

  “My brother would never hurt us.”

  “I trust no one.” Niail opened the door. He took the key from its hiding place and put it in his pocket. “I will be the only one who can enter. Lock the door after me.”

  Kimi watched him walk toward the trees that surrounded the cabin. She bolted the door and then turned back to the room. There was a chill in the air. She banked the ashes of the fire and laid some larger logs on top of kindling. Within minutes, it was a blazing glow of flames. Now all she needed was water.

  She pulled the water jug off the counter and put it by the door. When Niail returned, she would get water. She rummaged through the cupboards. There were a few tins of beans and canned meat. She had brought some energy bars in her bag, so she put those on the table. By the time she had finished organizing the supplies Niail had been gone for over half an hour.

  Panic clenched at her chest.

  Where was he?

  At that moment there was a loud retort from outside. She ran to the door, and was about to turn the lock when she remembered Niail’s words. She was unarmed so storming out wasn’t an option. She glanced at the bedroom door and made her decision.

  She ran into the room and crouched down beside the furthest bunk. It was the closest to a window. She heard the rattling of the front door. Niail should be the only one with the key, unless he had been shot. Kimi’s heartbeat faltered at the thought. She held her breath when she heard the unmistakeable sound of the door opening.

  Someone was inside the cabin.

  A second later, the bedroom door opened.

  “It is safe.”

  A surge of relief flooded her. It was Niail.

  “That sounded like a gunshot earlier.”

  “It was.”

  She stood and went to him. She forced herself to walk even though she wanted to rush into his arms. She needed him near.

  “Who was shot?” Her eyes narrowed as she examined him. “Not you?”

  “I am unharmed.” Niail opened the door wide and waited for her to enter the main room.

  Jake was sitting at the table. Beside him was Mark with his hands tied behind his back. Kimi’s eyes widened and she looked back at Niail for an explanation. His face was emotionless. He grabbed the water container at the door.

  “I will fill this.” He opened the door. “It would be best for your brother to explain.”

  Kimi looked back at her brother. She heard the door close. Her gaze didn’t leave Jake. He wiped a hand over his face, before looking up at her. His shoulders sagged, and there was an air of defeat about him. She went to the table.

  “I didn’t know.” Jake leaned back into the chair. “I thought I could trust him.”

  “How long before they find us?” Kimi kept her voice low.

  “He didn’t have a chance to call anyone.” Jake pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and put it on the table. “There’s no reception here. I caught him trying to sneak away in his car.”

  “Who fired the shot?”

  “Mark did.” Jake looked down at the table and shook his head. “If Niail hadn’t come up from behind, I would be dead.”

  Kimi turned to Mark. She drew in a slow, steady breath. Now wasn’t the time to lose control. They needed their wits about them if they were going to get out of this alive. Who knew what information Mark had passed on to Kowal’s men before he had met up with them?

  “Why?”

  Mark rolled his eyes. “You can’t be that stupid.”

  “I’m assuming you needed money, but why try and kill us?” Kimi crossed her arms over chest, keeping her clenched hands hidden.

  Mark shrugged. “We wanted the Hunter. He won’t stop coming after us, so we have to be certain he doesn’t live.”

  “You know what he is?” Kimi kept her tone calm. She longed to yell at Mark, but that would get them nowhere. They needed information.

  Mark frowned. “It’s not exactly a secret. They advertise on the internet.”

  “There are actually people out there called Hunters?” Jake shook his head. “Why haven’t I heard of them before?”

  “You’re obsessed with catching Kowal.” Mark twisted his shoulders. “These guys have rules. All bets are off if you break them.”

  Jake snorted. “Let me guess, Kowal hired them, but left out the part about him trafficking in drugs.”

  “Niail said it was dishonorable.” Mark spat the words out as if it left a bad taste in his mouth.

  “That sounds like him.” Kimi smiled. “Was he alone?”

  “He’s the only one that showed up.” Mark heaved a sigh. “It got messy after that.”

  “How messy?” Jake leaned on the table.

  “He injured quite a few of Kowal’s men before they overpowered him.”

  “Then what happened.” Jake’s voice had a hard edge to it.

  Mark shrugged. “He was taken away. We assumed he was dead, until Kowal went back for the body and it was gone.”

  “Bobby found him.” Kimi shuddered at the thought of what would have happened if he hadn’t.

  “It didn’t take long to figure out where Bobby had taken him.” Mark’s voice was dry.

  “That’s why Kowal sent men to my house.”

  Mark grunted. “Kowal could have handled all of this on his own
. There was no need to get outside help.”

  “Then ask them to leave.” Jake rolled his eyes. “If you can find these guys on the internet, surely you can get rid of them?”

  “You don’t understand.” Mark’s voice went low. “If you lie they won’t stop until you’re dead. It’s something about honor.”

  “So now Kowal has a group of mercenaries tracking him.” Jake’s tone was doubtful.

  “Not yet, but if he doesn’t kill Niail soon, he will.”

  “That doesn’t explain why you staked out my house.” Jake’s voice was a growl. “I’m not involved in any of this.”

  Mark’s gaze skittered away from Jake. “Kowal wanted you dead.”

  “That’s why he hired Niail?” A nerve pulsed at the side of Jake’s face.

  Mark nodded. “He refused to do it.”

  “Nice to know.” Jake’s voice was dry. “Does Kowal know where you are?”

  “I left a message that I was meeting you.” Mark heaved a sigh. “You didn’t tell me where we were going.”

  “And you expect me to believe that?” Jake slammed his hand on the table. “You tried to kill me.”

  “Anger is not a solution.”

  Niail spoke from the door. While Jake had been yelling, he had come inside. Kimi’s stomach fluttered and her breath caught in her throat. The control he had over his emotions was amazing. If Mark spoke the truth, then he was a mercenary for hire. That didn’t fit with what she knew of him. Perhaps the concussion had destroyed more than just his memory.

  Niail took the water to the counter and filled a kettle and then set it on the woodstove.

  “I told my sister what happened, but there’s something I don’t understand.” Jake crossed his arms over his chest.

  “It was simple. Mark aimed a gun at you and I took it away before he could kill you.”

  “That’s not it.” Jake’s eyes narrowed. “He says you had plans to kill me.”

  Niail shrugged. “I have already told you what I am. I would not have killed a police officer without a valid reason.”

  “He says that you are for hire.”

  “We help people.”

  “So you answered a request from scum like Kowal?”

  Kimi’s stomach clenched. Niail didn’t deserve Jake’s scorn. He had already proven himself. He had saved their lives more than once and he was wounded. He should be in a hospital, not answering Jake’s accusations.

  “Sit.” Kimi pulled out a chair. “Jake can get longwinded.”

  Niail obeyed with a heavy sigh. “We live by honor. Kowal pretended he was a man with a just cause. We always investigate before we carry out a request.”

  “That’s what you were doing?” Jake threw his hands up in the air. “What if your investigations aren’t thorough? That means anybody can ask you to kill someone and you’ll do it?”

  “I follow orders.” Niail’s tone was calm. “I can’t remember the details of my meeting with Kowal, or even if I did meet him. You only have your partner’s word for that.”

  Jake looked from Mark to Niail.

  Kimi knew her brother couldn’t decide who was telling the truth. That meant he was going to take both of them into custody. She moved closer to Niail .She wasn’t going to allow Jake to arrest him. He didn’t deserve to be treated like a criminal. He was the victim.

  Before Jake could speak they heard the loud backfire of an engine.

  Someone was coming.

  Chapter 12

  Niail motioned Kimi into the bedroom.

  He moved to the door and waited.

  Like a thousand times before, he braced himself for battle. He steadied his breathing and slowed his heart rate. There was the sound of stomping feet, then a pause, before the door handle turned. He pulled the door wide as it was opened and blocked the intruder before they could step into the cabin.

  An elderly man with grey hair tied into two braids stood there.

  He took a step back. The man raised an eyebrow. Niail tilted his head and then motioned the stranger into the cabin before shutting the door.

  “Grandfather!” Jake pulled the man close. “I thought you were in Billings.”

  “I am here now.” The old man’s eyes roamed the cabin in a slow perusal before coming back to Jake. “Why is your partner tied up?”

  The old man turned to Niail. “Who is he?

  Kimi stepped out of the bedroom. “This is Niail, Grandfather. Niail, my Grandfather, Eluwilussit.”

  Niail nodded at the old man. Steady brown eyes were turned on him; intelligence shown from their depths. Niail’s respect for the man grew. The man turned to Kimi.

  “Your visit is not for enlightenment.”

  “No Grandfather.” Kimi took the old man’s hands. “We are in danger.”

  Eluwilussit merely nodded and then he went to the boiling kettle on the stove. “I need a tea.”

  Niail led Kimi to a chair at the table. He remained standing at her side. He sensed her anxiety and fear even though it was dissipating since Eluwilussit’s arrival.

  “So Mark is no longer welcome?” Eluwilussit put the steaming tea he had made on the table. He pulled out a chair opposite Mark. “What have you done son?”

  Jake snorted. “What hasn’t he done? He tried to kill me. I thought he was working with me to get evidence against Kowal and his men. Instead I find he’s on their payroll.”

  “Mr. Kowal is a well-respected member of the community.” Eluwilussit took a sip of tea. “What is he accused of?”

  “You name it.” Jake went to the cupboard and pulled out three more mugs. “Drug trafficking, prostitution, extortion, and now hiring assassins.”

  “Those are strong words. Do you have evidence?”

  “You sound like my boss.” Jake put a teaspoon of instant coffee in each mug and then filled them with the boiling water. “I have Kowal on video receiving money that came from drug dealers. These dealers are too young to drive. They’re kids off the reservation.”

  “So he sells poison to our children?”

  “Yes.” Jake put a mug in front of Kimi and then pushed one toward Niail. “Worse, his men have been enticing young girls to work for them. They’re babies for Christ sake, and he has sold them to men double their age.”

  “Do the girls go willingly?”

  Jake shrugged. “It makes no difference; they’re not of legal age. The whole business is steeped in corruption and filth.”

  Eluwilussit nodded. “That is the way of the modern world.”

  “It’s my job to stop it.” Jake’s voice rose. “They’re ruining our children with their drugs and sex trade.”

  “It is a great sadness. Our youth have lost connection with their heritage.” Eluwilussit glanced at Niail with a raised eyebrow. “Who is this one?”

  Kimi straightened in her chair. “Bobby found him. He was injured and I have been helping him.”

  “He looks as if he can take care of himself.”

  “I can.” Niail crossed his arms over his chest. “These men that Jake speaks of have been persistent in their efforts to kill your granddaughter. I have vowed to protect her.”

  Eluwilussit’s eyes swept over him in a slow, thorough motion, lingering at the bloody shirt before moving on. “You are still injured.”

  “He was shot.” Kimi reached for Niail’s arm. A surge of warmth flowed through him at her protective gesture. “He still has a concussion, but he refuses to rest.”

  “We rest when the battle is won.”

  Eluwilussit paused. He lowered the mug of tea to the table and then leaned back in his chair. “You are a warrior?”

  “He calls himself a Hunter.” Jake snorted.

  Eluwilussit nodded. “I have heard mention of them.”

  “Don’t tell me you know what they are?” Jake threw his hands up in the air. “How the hell can everyone else know but me?”

  “You do not take time to learn the ways of the people.” His grandfather’s voice was sad. “You scoff at our legend
s and teachings.”

  Jake shook his head. “I’ve never heard of them in the legends. Wil thinks he’s one of the Star People.”

  “Are you?” Eluwilussit turned his brilliant gaze onto Niail.

  “I do not know.”

  “He wears some of the symbols.” Kimi put her hands around her coffee. “Their meanings are close to ours.”

  “Where did you get these symbols?”

  “They are reminders of my battles and events in my life.” Niail pulled up his sleeve. “All warriors wear such things.”

  Eluwilussit stood and came to look at Niail’s arm. He examined it with his eyes and then his fingers traced the symbols tattooed there. Niail sensed a repressed excitement, almost as if the words on his arm spoke to Eluwilussit about something hidden.

  When he was finished Eluwilussit pulled the sleeve down and looked into Niail’s eyes. He held his gaze for several seconds before turning back to his chair. When he was seated he pursed his lips and then turned to Kimi.

  “You did right to take him into your home. The others would have harmed him.”

  Jake heaved a sigh. “So is he a Star Person or not?”

  “He is one who was taken away. Now he has returned home.”

  “That makes no sense at all.” Jake shook his head and then leaned toward Mark. “What do you know about them?”

  “Just what their website says. They right wrongs.”

  “He’s a mercenary.” There was no mistaking the loathing in Jake’s tone.

  Niail moved closer to Kimi. “We protect.”

  “Is that why you answered Kowal’s demands to kill me?”

  “I have no memory of what happened with Kowal, but if I had accepted his request you would be dead.”

  A mere human, whether trained in combat or not, wasn’t a match for him. Niail’s gaze didn’t falter from Jake. Jake continued to hold it for several seconds before lowering his eyes.

  He pushed his coffee away. “I’ll just have to believe you.”

  Mark shifted in his chair. “These ropes are uncomfortable. You need to untie me.”

  “Not until I have answers.” Jake leaned back in the chair until it was resting only on its back legs. “The safest place to speak would be back at the office.”