aHunter4Life (aHunter4Hire) (15 page)

“What
is it?” Selena’s voice shook.

“We
were suspicious of some of the paparazzi already. Now the evidence confirms we
were right.”

Selena’s
dark eyes widened. Her lip quivered and her hands clenched at her side.

“You’ve
found the boys?” Her voice was hushed.

“We
have a suspect.” Catal moved to the door. “I have to leave and meet up with the
others.”

“I’m
going with you.” Selena grabbed a jean jacket from the wall hook and slipped
her arms into it. “This is my son you’re talking about and I should be there.”

Catal
waited at the door. “I think it would be better if you stayed here, but I won’t
stop you from joining us.”

Selena
grabbed a large beach bag and threw in a sweater, pants, shirt, underwear, and
a change of clothes for
Tarrin
. She ran to the
bathroom and scooped up their toiletries. She picked up the cellphone and
envelop of money that Juan had given her and shoved them in last.

Selena
took her purse from the table. “Good. I need to be there when you find him.”

“As
you wish.”

Catal
opened the door and looked up and down the hall before heading to the rear of
the house. Selena followed. They passed the kitchen and went through the rear
entrance. Outside the air was cool. It was a welcomed relief from the humid,
muggy day. The sun was low in the sky and dusk surrounded them. She took a deep
breath and joined Catal.

"Are
you certain they won’t find us?" Selena's voice was a hushed whisper.

"We’ve
altered the security cameras." Catal eased his way along the outside wall
of the house. "It’s running in a loop so they’ll only see what we want
them to see.

Catal
crouched and tilted his head.

Sounds
of the night creatures and water fountain were all that Selena heard.

He
reached back and waved her over to him. She took a deep breath and forced her
heart to beat at a normal pace. As frightened as she was, she now knew that she
could trust Catal to protect her. She followed him as they ran through the
gardens and across the wide expanse of manicured lawn. By the time they reached
the outer fence, her chest was rising and falling at a frantic pace. She leaned
against it to catch her breath. Catal waited until her breathing eased, then he
pointed up at the fence.

The
stone wall was the last barrier to freedom.

Catal
glanced back at the house and then motioned for her to start climbing. She
reached up with both arms and he lifted her at the waist. Her hands slipped a
couple of times, but then she found a rock to hold onto. She pulled herself up,
swung her leg over the smooth mortared top, and dropped to the other side. He
followed her.

Once
on the ground, Catal took her arm. They ran through the back garden of one of
the neighbors that bordered the rear of Steve and Nikki’s estate. When they
reached the street, he stopped. She looked behind. There was no one following
them and Catal nodded to Selena.

They
crossed the road.

A
block away they stopped beside a black van.

Catal
knocked on the rear door. It was opened immediately. He grabbed Selena by the
waist and helped her into the vehicle. He followed and shut the door behind
him.

"Is
this wise?"
Partlan’s
voice was low.

“She
insisted.”

Catal
motioned for Selena to sit on a bench that ran along the one side of the van.
On the opposite side a number of computer screens were set up. Malac and
Ranon
were sitting at the monitors.

Partlan
nodded. "It is best that we move. There have already been FBI agents on
the road. It will be more difficult to follow if we are traveling."

“Did
they get close to the van?” Catal reached into a toolbox on the floor. “I don’t
want them to have a tracking device on us.”

“They
were not close enough, but check.”

Catal
pulled out a small monitor and scanned the van. Selena heard a few bleeps, but
Catal ignored them.

“It’s
clear.”

Selena
released the breath she’d been holding. At least the FBI wouldn’t be following
them. Once they discovered that she and Catal had escaped, they would assume
the worse. They’d take it as proof that she was involved in the kidnapping. She
didn’t want to worry about the police catching them before they found the boys.

“What
have you discovered?”
Catal’s
voice was low.

Malac
turned away from his monitor. “We have numerous angles of the
Greystone
garden area. I’ve been looking at the ransom drop
site in slow motion, screen by screen. There are some interesting points.”

Firbin
was driving the van and eased up as he came to a stop sign. He looked over his
shoulder and grinned. "They were not clever enough for us."

"Who
do we have?" Catal leaned close to the monitor.

Malac
pointed to the screen. "It seems the brother paparazzi team were at the
ransom drop."

Selena
moved forward on the bench so she could see the video. Her eyes narrowed as she
picked out a couple of familiar faces. It was two brothers that often followed
Steve and Nikki. They were both wearing large dark jackets. It was an unusual
outfit considering the day had been extremely hot.

“Are
they close to the drop area?”
Catal’s
eyes were glued
to the monitor.

“Watch.”
Malac moved the mouse and the video sped up.

Selena
watched as the figure of one of the brothers moved to the rear of a fountain.

“Stop.”
Catal’s
voice was clipped.

The
shot showed one of the brothers bending down. Malac continued to let the video
move frame by frame. The other paparazzi hid his movements, but there was no
mistaking that he had the opportunity to take the briefcase.

Catal
turned to Selena. “Do you recognize these guys?”

Selena
shifted forward on the bench. “That’s Mike and Nathan Gordon. They’re often
outside of the mansion.”

“Is
there any reason they would have had to take the boys?”

“None
that I know of.” Selena frowned. “I often talk to them. They’ve always been
very friendly with
Tarrin
and Gates.”

“So
the boys would trust them?”

“Yes.”
Selena looked up at Catal. “Is there any reason they shouldn’t?”

“They
were at the soccer park the day the boys went missing.” Partlan gave Selena a
picture.

It
showed Mike and Nathan Gordon at a park. There were a group of people standing
on the sidelines of a soccer field with the players in the middle of action.
Selena looked closer and recognized a number of familiar faces. They were the
boys and parents of
Tarrin’s
teammates.

“Where
did you get this picture?” Her voice shook as she looked up at Partlan.

“It
was in the photo cache of one of the other paparazzi.” Partlan handed her
another picture. “This was in another group.”

Selena’s
eyes widened. “Did you guys steal these?”

“We
copied them.”
Catal’s
voice was low. “You asked us to
do everything possible to get the boys back. We are doing that.”

Selena
concentrated on the second photo. “Gates is talking to Mike.”

“That
is the last time we see the boys in the photos.” Catal pointed at the picture.
“They were close to a wooded area. It would have been easy to disappear in
there.”

Selena
gave a slow nod. “Why would they have taken the boys though?”

“We
are going to ask them.” Partlan took the pictures.

“So
you think they’re the kidnappers?” Selena’s voice cracked.

“They
were at the drop site.” Catal reached over and took her hand. “We have them on
video disappearing behind the fountain where the money was.”

“And
they could easily hide it under their jackets.” Selena finished in a low voice.
“I’ve always been generous to them with tips of where Nikki was going to be.
Steve only had one altercation with them, but he apologized and has given them
preferential treatment since then.”

“What
was the argument about?” Catal leaned toward her.

“He
broke Nathan’s camera.” Selena frowned. “It was almost five years ago. Steve
apologized and replaced the camera. Ever since then, he has always treated them
with respect.”

“Why
did he break it?”

“Nathan
took a picture of Gates in the pool.” Selena shrugged. “It was nothing, really,
but Nathan climbed over the stone wall and perched in one of the trees. He used
a telephoto lens. When Steve saw it, he went ballistic.”

“He
didn’t want his son’s picture taken.” Catal leaned back.

“No.”
Selena remembered the incident vividly. It was the first time she’d realized
what a risk she took by working for Nikki. She’d brushed it off at the time.
There was no reason for
Tarrin
to be hurt by her job.
Now she knew better.

“It’s
not unusual for celebrities to feel that way. They want to protect their
children from the press.” Selena looked up at Catal. “Did I do wrong by letting
Tarrin
play with Gates?”

“No.”
Catal’s
voice was soothing. “The boys are friends.”

“There
was just the one incident?” Partlan interrupted.

Selena
nodded. “It’s the only one I’m aware of.”

“It
hardly seems enough to make these men seek revenge.” Malac peered at his
computer monitor. “There is no mistaking that they left with the ransom money,
though.”

“So
either they kidnapped the boys, or they know more about it than they should.”
Partlan’s
voice was decisive. “Drive to the Gordon’s
house.”

Firbin
put the directional lights on and turned at the next stop. Within in a few
minutes, they were on the freeway.

“We
will speak with Nathan and Mike.” Catal sat beside Selena.

“You
have no proof that they’re involved.” Selena touched
Catal’s
arm.

A
shiver of awareness passed through her. She inhaled a sharp breath. It was as if
she was awakening after a long sleep. It had been years since she’d felt this
thrill. She had buried her memories so deep that she had almost forgotten how
intense and complete being with Catal felt.

“We
won’t hurt them.”
Catal’s
voice was steady. “They are
the best lead we have. We need to ask them questions about the ransom. They
knew the location of the drop site. That means they are either the kidnapers or
in contact with someone who knows where the boys are hidden.”

“I
understand, but since leaving Columbia, I have lived a life of peace and
non-violence. I’ve raised
Tarrin
the same.” Selena’s voice ended on a sob.

“There
is no honor in violence just for the sake of violence.”
Partlan’s
voice was quiet. “As long as these men have not broken the code we live by,
then we will not harm them.”

“What
is the code?” Selena’s voice showed her confusion. Catal had not mentioned a
code, only that he lived by honor.

“All
Hunters live by the Sacred Code.” Partlan nodded toward Catal. “Even as a child
and alone, Catal understood that.”

“The
first rule is that no harm should come to women or children.” Catal rubbed her
hand. “If they had nothing to do with the abduction, then they haven’t broken
the code.”

“What
if they are the kidnappers?”

“We
will kill them.”

Catal
pushed back his disgust and anger. He was a warrior. There should be no emotion
attached to following the life of a soldier. Yet a part of him wanted to rip
apart the men who were responsible for causing his mate pain.

“No.”
Selena shook her head. “I want them left for the police.”

“That
won’t be possible.” Partlan spoke now. “If they have harmed a child once, they
will do it again.”

“The
police will put them in jail for life.” Selena’s voice was firm. “They won’t be
able to harm anyone there.”

“It
does not make sense to keep them alive.”

“I
have seen enough violence and death in my life.” Selena straightened her
shoulders. “I don’t want to be associated with any more. All I care about is
getting
Tarrin
and Gates back alive.”

“What
if these men have hurt the boys?”

Selena’s
body sagged and she brushed her hand over her forehead. “I’ll think about that.
Right now, all I care about is getting the boys back alive. If these men were
only involved in the ransom drop, then I want them left for the police.”