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Authors: Cynthia Clement

aHunter4Life (aHunter4Hire)

BOOK: aHunter4Life (aHunter4Hire)
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aHunter4Life

 

 

By

 

Cynthia A Clement

 

Text
copyright © 2014 Cynthia A Clement

 

Kindle
Edition

ISBN:
978-0-9920189-9-3

 

All
Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced
into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means
(electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior
written permission of the copyright owner and publisher. For the purposes of a
reviewer, brief passages may be quoted in a review to be printed in a
newspaper, magazine, or journal.

 

This
book is a work of fiction. The characters and incidents are from the author’s
imagination. Any resemblance to actual incidents or persons, living or dead, is
coincidental and unintentional.

Book Cover designed by RomCon®

Cover Image: Jenn LeBlanc / Illustrated Romance

Dedication

 

To my editing team. Thanks to you, lair
is not liar.

 

Table of Contents

Dedication

Table of
Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Author’s
Note

About the
Author

aHunter4Hire
Series

 

 

 

Chapter
1

 

She
was near.

Deep
in his bones, her essence surrounded him. The memory of her was an ache that eight
long years had not dulled. His head spun with the possibilities of what this
meant. His breath caught in his throat; he forced himself to exhale. He’d been
frantic to find her, but his efforts had been futile. She chose this moment,
when he was on assignment in Beverly Hills, to reach out for him.

Why
now?

Why
here?

She
had lived in Columbia when he’d last seen her. Her brother Juan had hired a
unit of Hunters to help defeat a group of local guerrillas. They’d gone out on
a mission and he’d returned to a massacre at the compound. All of Juan’s
security team was dead. Juan and Selena were missing.

He’d
feared the worse.

He
hadn’t given up, though.

All
his energy had gone into finding her in Columbia. She had blocked him from
sensing her thoughts and feelings. He refused to believe that her silence meant
she was dead. That was too painful to even consider. He would die trying to
find her, because accepting that she was gone, wasn’t an option.

The
night air was cool and sounds of barking dogs and night owls gnawed at the edge
of his consciousness. Catal took a deep breath and blocked out everything. He
focused on her. Fear and anxiety flooded him. She was in trouble, and she was
in the house that he was headed for.

He
was lightheaded with relief.

There
was still time to help her.

He
spotted a hand signal to his right. Partlan was motioning for him to climb the
fence. He nodded and edged along the shrub covered border. He pushed away the
white berries of the firethorn bush and was rewarded with torn skin. He shook
his hand and continued through the barrier. All that mattered was that she was
beyond the wall. She needed him, and he wasn’t going to fail her.

The
fence was stone, with an electric wire running along the top. Malac was at the
house’s junction box on the street dealing with the perimeter alarms and
security. Catal took a deep breath and tried to mind connect with her, but
still she blocked him. He shook free of his regret. He had to focus on the job
at hand. Later, he would make things right with her.

“It
is safe.”

Malac’s
voice reverberated in his head. He jumped up and hung onto the first handhold
protruding from the wall. The stones were warm from the retained heat of the
day’s sunlight. It was a welcomed contrast to the brisk breeze of night. He clenched
his arm muscles and pulled his body up, reaching for the upper ledge with his
free hand. His feet dangled in the air before he heaved himself to the top. Two
strands of coiled wire ran along the edge. It pricked his skin, but no
electricity flowed through. He nodded to Partlan before jumping to the damp
grass below.

He
was inside the estate’s grounds.

Firbin
joined him next, followed by
Ranon
, and Partlan.
Breanon
stayed on top of the stone fence as lookout. His
body was angled along the edge, his rifle and scope scanning the house and
gardens. He would remain there until it was safe. Malac would manipulate the
security and communications from outside the compound. Once his job was
finished, he would follow the others into the house.

They
grouped together at the base of the fence. Partlan took the lead. Catal veered
to the right and kept pace. He’d done similar operations for many years. There
was nothing complicated about it, but it didn’t pay to be preoccupied. Just
knowing she was near was distraction enough for him.

Partlan
put his hand up for them to wait.

Memories
came flooding back. Hot and humid nights spent in the jungle wrapped in each
other’s arms. Kisses that lingered. Tongues that dueled. Sighs as their bodies twisted
against each other, teasing and exciting with each movement.
Catal’s
body hardened just thinking about the love they had
shared.

The
slam of a door brought him back to the present.

His
ears strained as he made out the echo of feet on concrete. He was hiding in the
dense garden foliage a few yards away from a fountain. The steady splatter of
water from its spout was interrupted for a few seconds. Someone had stopped for
a cooling splash of water. Catal held his breath and waited for the sound of receding
footsteps.

The
darkness surrounded him, along with the seclusion and luxury of the estate they
had infiltrated. The call for help had come from here. It had been verified
before
Ardal
, their leader, had sent them on the
mission. Everything looked normal, but it was a façade.

Two
children had been abducted.

Partlan
motioned them forward. Catal kept his body low to the ground, his powerful leg
muscles straining as he crept closer to the house. The whole south side of the
building was glass. Bright lights shone from the inside, but there was no
movement. It was too exposed. Only those who wanted to be seen, would occupy
these rooms.

Catal
couldn’t blame them.

Fame
had its price, and the first one was privacy.

The
entranceway to the estate had been ten deep with paparazzi. Iron gates twenty
feet high and controlled by electronics kept even the most determined
photographer at bay. The only way to get access had been from the forested area
to the south. They had skirted through the neighboring estates to reach this
one. So far they’d been undetected, but now the real problems began. Police and
FBI were stationed around the house.

That
was good. It might mean that there would be leads to follow. Catal had some experience
with kidnappings. He’d been involved in a few investigations when he had hired
out as a mercenary. The others in the unit were more familiar with recovering
the victims of abduction. They would never have done anything as dishonorable
as snatch a child. He’d learned a lot in the past months with
Ardal’s
unit.

Like
the others, he was from another world, Cygnus. He’d been on Earth since he was
ten, but it wasn’t until
Ardal’s
unit had crashed on
the planet last year, that he’d fully understood what it meant to be an elite
warrior.
Ardal
was the commander, and he’d taken
Catal into his unit and finished his training.

This
was the first recovery mission he’d been deployed on. It was a common operation
for Hunters on Cygnus. They followed the trail left by others, and rescued
those that needed it. Catal now lived by the same Sacred Code that all Hunters
vowed to obey. After this mission, he would have earned the right to be a full
member of
Ardal’s
unit. His training would be
finished.

“The
rear door is clear.”
Malac’s
voice
whispered in his mind.

Partlan
nodded at Catal.

That
was his cue to move.

He
sprinted to the edge of the house and skimmed along the wall. He was the expert
on surveillance and monitoring equipment. Once he had located the main bank of
computers, then he would disable everything so the others could follow. At the
door he moved his hand along the casement. A thin white wire ran along the
edge. He pulled pliers from his combat jacket and took a deep breath before
snipping it.

Silence.

He
eased the door open and moved inside. It was empty. Leather bound books lined
the walls and several red wingback chairs stood in the center. Everything was
in pristine condition. A room straight out of a design magazine that was
probably used for interviews and photo ops. He leaned against the wall, gun
ready, and waited a minute to be certain no one was coming to investigate. He
released the breath he’d been holding and then crossed the room.

Their
knowledge of the house was limited. The security room had to be on the main
floor and common sense would put it at the rear of the house. Catal hoped that
would be enough. He didn’t relish wandering around this mansion for long. He
had a job to do. Once the area was secure, the rest of the team could help.

He
crept down a hallway and heard the distinctive noises of pots and pans being
banged together. He glanced in at the huge expanse of cupboards and gleaming
stainless steel. There was a woman in a maid’s uniform standing at the sink.
Her back was to him, so he slid past the doorway and moved further down the
hall.

The
next two rooms he came upon were a laundry and a storage room. To his right,
across the hall, was a closed door. Catal twisted the handle and opened it a
few inches. Banks of screens and glowing lights glared back at him. A guard,
with his back to him, was doing a crossword puzzle. He was seated in front of
the computers. Catal pulled the
taser
from his side
pocket.

Ardal’s
orders were clear.

No
unnecessary casualties on this operation.

The
jolts of electricity made the guard’s body shake and then go limp. Within
seconds, Catal had gagged and tied him to his chair. By the time the guard
recovered, Catal would have finished his work at the computers.

His
fingers flew across the keyboards as he rerouted the camera feed and
disconnected the monitors at the rear entrance. He’d been lucky. The guard was
sloppy. Otherwise, his entry to the house would have been noticed. Catal shook
his head. Most humans took the easy way out. Within a couple of minutes, he had
all cameras online again and had looped a feed that showed no activity. It was
safe for the others now.

“Coast
is clear.”

“What
coast?”

Catal
rolled his eyes. He forgot that the others were new to English and Earth.
Idioms did not work with them. They took the words too literally. He really had
to start teaching these guys the nuances of the language.

“The
security is off-line. You can enter now.”

The
guard shifted in his chair. Catal looked behind his shoulder. The guard had
twisted his body so that his arms were high on his back and his chair was
tipped back on two legs. Having a hostage was a new situation for him. Usually,
he killed the people he encountered.

“You’ll
hurt yourself.”
Catal’s
voice was devoid of emotion.
“Struggle is useless. We mean no harm, but this was the only way to access the
house.”

The
guard tried to shout through his gag and he bucked his body so the seat jumped
across the floor. Catal shook his head. He checked the bindings before securing
the chair to a table bolted to the wall. The man might struggle, but he wasn’t
going anywhere. Catal pulled a syringe from one of his pockets and jabbed it
into the man’s upper arm. It was a sedative and should keep him quiet for a
while. He left the room.

BOOK: aHunter4Life (aHunter4Hire)
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