aHunter4Life (aHunter4Hire) (20 page)

He
still had a hard time believing that she was here with him. The years of
silence had convinced him that he would remain alone for the rest of his life.
To be given a second chance with Selena was more than he had hoped for. It was
enough to know that she was alive. It was better than the agony of believing
her dead. He would have died himself if that had been the case.

He
gave her one last look and then moved away with a sigh. There was work to do.
Finding
Tarrin
before something horrible happened was
all that mattered now. Time was not a luxury they had. He closed the door with
a soft click and then returned to the computer Malac was working on.

“I
have five of the numbers and letters.”
Malac’s
voice
was excited. “That is enough to take a run through the vehicle registration.”

“Give
them to me.” Partlan was ready to input the data.

“K23
blank 27.”

“We
have three possible vehicles.”
Partlan’s
voice
hesitated at he scanned the computer screen. “Only one fits the car. It’s for a
David Hendry. He lives on Pauma Valley Drive in Porter Ranch.”

“How
far away is that?”

“It
is about forty minutes away, but at this time of night it should be quicker.”

“We
had best head out.”

“Where
are you going?” Selena’s voice interrupted their packing up.

Catal
turned around to look at her. The sight of her caused his heart to beat faster.
She was beautiful, even with the grogginess of sleep. He still couldn’t believe
that he had lived for years without her. It hurt too much to think what might
happen if he didn’t find
Tarrin
. He doubted either of
them would be able to continue on.

“We’ve
a lead on who might have taken the boys.”

“Then
I want to come.”

“It
could be dangerous.” Partlan picked up a pistol. “
Ranon
can stay here with you while we are gone.”

“I
need to be there.” Selena walked into the room. “What if you find the boys?
They’ll want to see a familiar face. I don’t want to complain, but you guys
would scare them to death.”

Catal
gave her a crooked smile. “Good. We want to be certain we scare the men holding
them too.”

“No
problem there.” Selena moved back into the bedroom. “I’m getting my stuff and
coming with you.”

“As
you wish.” Partlan shrugged. “We will all go. Pack up everything. If we have to
follow the boys out of the city, then I do not want to waste time coming back
here.”

The
work was finished in a few minutes.
Ranon
went down
and paid the bill, and then they left. They took the freeway and were outside
of David Hendry’s residence within thirty minutes. It was a large house on a
double lot. There was a red brick wall that blocked the driveway from the
neighbors. Trees and hedges along the front street gave the house complete
privacy.

Firbin
drove into the driveway, past the brick wall, and parked. The dark vehicle from
the storage unit’s video tape was pulled up to the front door of the house.
Catal forced his anger down. He needed a clear head to deal with this man.
Anger would only interfere. They all drew their guns, put silencers on them,
and waited for
Partlan’s
command.

“
Firbin
stay in the vehicle with Selena. If anyone comes
out, stop them.” Partlan nodded to the rest of them. “You know the operation.
Surround the house and wait for my orders.”

Catal
reached over and squeezed Selena’s hands. “If the boys are here, we’ll find
them.”

He
jumped out of the van and followed the others. He skirted around the side of
the house. A golf course ran behind the dwelling. The yard had a swimming pool
and again a heavily hedged and treed lot that blocked others from looking in.
The windows of the house had heavy curtains drawn across them. Not even shadows
could be seen on the outside. No one would ever know if there were illegal
activities going on in this house.

Partlan
motioned for him to move.

Catal
eased the screen door open.

There
was no sound from inside. He tried the handle on the wooden door. It turned.
With a flick of his wrist he opened it and entered the house. Everywhere there
was darkness. He inhaled and eased his breathing before walking down the hall.

It
was too convenient.

There
was no way to miss the sound of a car coming up the drive. He was expecting
them. Catal waited at the first door opening. Partlan entered the house behind
him. When they were together Catal jumped around the opening into the room. It
was the kitchen.

It
was empty.

Partlan
took the lead at the next opening. He entered and came back out shaking his
head. That left the main living area of the house and a hallway that probably
led to the bedrooms. There was one closed door that was either a closet or the
basement. There was a lock on the door. They would leave that until the last.

They
waited.

Breanon
had set up outside the house from a location that let him see anyone coming and
going. So their man couldn’t escape without them knowing. Malac and
Ranon
were at the front entrance.

“
Try
the door
.” Partlan sent his command to the men through mind connection.

“
It
is locked
.”

Partlan
glanced over at Catal. This was it. They had to take a chance. Their quarry was
probably waiting for them, but it couldn’t be helped. Catal took a deep breath
and lowered his body into a crouch position. That should give him an element of
surprise. The guy was probably expecting them to be standing.

He
eased around the doorway.

A
dull ping rang out, followed by a swooshing above his head.

Partlan
returned fire.

A
scream pierced the air. Their quarry was standing in the center of the room
holding his hand. Blood was dripping onto the plush beige rug beneath his feet.
Partlan had shot the gun out of the man’s hand.

Catal
jumped onto him and tackled him to the ground. Partlan stepped around them and
opened the front door so that Malac and
Ranon
could
enter. They closed the door behind them and pointed the gun at the man who was
struggling with Catal on the ground.

“It
is no use.”
Partlan’s
voice was severe. “Your house
is surrounded. If you continue to struggle it will be easier for us to just
kill you.”

The
man laughed. “You guys must be nuts. Do you know who you’re dealing with?”

Catal
hauled his prisoner up and then threw him into a chair. “Your connections can’t
help you now. They never could.”

“Get
me a bandage.” The man squeezed his wounded hand. “I don’t care what you do, I
won’t talk to you. I want my lawyer.”

“You
will talk.” Partlan switched on a light. “They always do.”

“You’re
nuts.”

“We’ve
come for the boys.” Catal grabbed the man’s shirt and shook him. “You’re David
Hendry and we know you bought them from the Gordon brothers.”

“My
operation depends on secrecy. You have nothing on me but allegations.” The man
pushed away from Catal. “I won’t tell you a thing.”

“Are
the boys here?”

Just
then the door opened and Selena walked into the room. The prisoner’s eyes
widened when he saw her. For a second he just stared and then he looked away.
“Bringing her here won’t change anything. I won’t talk.”

Partlan
looked at Selena. “It would be best if you waited outside. We are going to have
to use force. No woman should see that.”

“I
grew up in a military compound.” Selena walked to the prisoner. “I’m aware of
the methods used to get information from people. I prefer to use gentler means.
I think they’re just as effective.”

“You
think I’ll talk?” David Hendry looked at Selena and laughed. “You’re pretty
sweetheart, but much too old for me.”

She
slapped him across the face. “Where is my son?”

The
man shook his head. “You can search all you want, but you won’t find him here.
They’re lost forever.”

Selena
choked back her horror.

There
was no way she was going to let this monster see how his words affected her.
She had to be stronger than him. That was the only way to get information out
of him. No personal feelings, no emotion. You had to keep the upper hand in an
interrogation. If he saw your weakness, it would motivate him to resist
questioning.

She
narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”

“I’m
not speaking anymore.”

Catal
punched him in the face. A trickle of blood slipped from between his lips.
“Answer her.”

“What
are you, her underling?” The man snorted. “Who’s in control here?”

Catal’s
leaned close to the man. “She is my mate and one of the boys you took is my
son.”

A
shiver went through David Hendry.

“We
protect our own.” Catal raised an eyebrow. “We are warriors who seek justice.
We are not law enforcement, so we have no rules to follow except our code of
honor. We’ll have the information from you that we need. The question is how
long you will withstand the interrogation before you break.”

“And
you will break.” Partlan went to
Catal’s
side. “A
Hunter is sworn to protect women and children, but also his fellow brothers.
You have taken a child who is one of us. Death is the only thing you can hope
for.”

“You
guys can’t be for real.” David gave a half choked laugh. “There are laws
against what you’re suggesting. Besides, I have friends who will hunt you
down.”

“We’ll
kill them first.” Catal straightened away from David.

Selena
shivered at the look of determination in
Catal’s
eyes. She had witnessed him and his unit in battle many times. She knew there
was no one equal to their skill or fierceness. She had never seen him in an
interrogation, though. That was something her brother Juan handled. She didn’t
know if she would be able to stomach what had to be done to find
Tarrin
.

She
straightened her shoulders.

Questioning
David Hendry was necessary if she wanted her son back alive.

Catal
touched her arm. “You should leave this to us. This man is weak and will break
soon, but I don’t want you witnessing it.”

Selena
looked at David and saw the wariness in his blue eyes. He was meticulously
groomed and wearing a designer golf shirt and pants that had to cost a fortune.
A hint of grey showed at his temples. His dark hair was cut short and he had a
perfect two day’s growth of beard shadowing his face. He could have walked off
the pages of any men’s magazine.

Catal
had assessed the man’s character correctly. He would tell them anything rather
than endure pain. She didn’t want to know what they had to do in order to get
the information. All she wanted was her son. She’d asked the Hunters to help
and she needed to let them do their job.

She
turned to leave when David’s voice stopped her. “Alright, I’ll tell you where I
took them, but it’s not going to help you. The boys are gone.”

Partlan
kicked the man’s foot. “Speak.”

“They
were too hot to keep in California.” The man shrugged. “I mean their pictures
are plastered everywhere, so I set them up for transportation out of state. I
left them with a trucker we use in Castaic. He’s already on the road by now.”

“Where
is he going?” Partlan took a step toward David.

“I
don’t know.”

Partlan
leaned close to David.

“Honest.”
David raised his voice. “That’s part of the security of the network. No one
knows what the next person does or where they go.”

“What’s
the trucker’s name?”

“I
haven’t a clue.”

“So
you expect us to believe you just handed the boys over to someone you didn’t
see, or speak to?” Partlan raised an eyebrow.

“I
didn’t say that.” David’s tone was sarcastic. “The man had a beard and was in
his forties. He had a large belly and gray hair.”

“What
kind of truck did he drive?”

David
shrugged. “How the hell would I know that? They all look the same to me. It was
big. One of those semi-tractor trailers.”

“Did
it have a name on the side?”

David
pursed his lips. “Diamond Frozen Foods or something like that.”

“You
put them in a freezer unit?”
Partlan’s
voice was a
low menace. “How did you expect them to survive?

Selena’s
breath caught in her throat. How could they throw two young children into a
freezer and not even care what happened? They treated them as if they were
inanimate objects and not living boys with feelings. Her stomach heaved at the
evil of these people.