aHunter4Life (aHunter4Hire) (4 page)

Her
brother changed after that. No longer did she have any friends from the
village. She was sent away to a private school and only when she rebelled at
sixteen, had she been allowed to continue her education at home. That was when
she realized how different her brother had become. He was surrounded by
security teams and hired mercenaries. The house was an armed camp with
bodyguards and guns visible everywhere. He lived in constant fear. Never had
she thought that her brother’s suspicions might become reality.

The
day after
Catal’s
betrayal, Selena had fled Columbia
and her brother. All she wanted was to escape the violence and bloodshed. When
she’d found out she was pregnant, she had vowed her baby would never grow up as
she had. The United States seemed to be the safest place to raise a child.
Nothing in her past had prepared her for the mind numbing horror of these past
few days since
Tarrin’s
kidnapping. She had been too
young to understand when her parents had been abducted, but now she knew what
Juan had lived through. She understood his fear and need for revenge.

“You
can get back to your jobs.” Agent Kelly motioned for the other agents to leave.
She only raised an eyebrow when she saw
Firbin
and
Ranon
follow the agents out of the room.

“What
kind of mother do you think I am?” Selena’s voice was a hollow whisper.

 “I
have wondered.” Agent Kelly walked further into the room. “You must admit that
it is a possibility, given your background, that you would know how to
orchestrate a kidnapping.”

“I
rejected that life and all its violence.” Selena straightened her shoulders. “
Tarrin
is an American citizen.”

“What
about your brother Juan?” Agent Kelly crossed her arms over her chest. “He’s
never renounced his cause. In fact, he’s quite a powerful man now.”

Selena
shrugged. “I can’t tell you where my brother is, but I know he would never hurt
Tarrin
. He’s family.”

“Don’t
you find it strange that a woman as privileged as you, would renounce
everything for the life of a nanny.” Agent Kelly’s voice had a hint of steel in
it.

“I
had to think about
Tarrin
.” Selena moved away from
Catal. “Governments and causes come and go. There is no future in fighting the
inevitable.”

“Very
profound.” Agent Kelly’s voice was dry. “I imagine your brother has enemies
that know where to find you?”

“My
son has been kidnapped and all you can do is accuse me of causing it. Is it any
wonder I called in the Hunters.”

Agent
Kelly’s eyes widened. She glanced at Catal and Partlan. “We’ve been getting
chatter for years about a group of mercenaries calling themselves ‘Hunters’. I
thought you guys were an urban myth.”

“We
are real,” Partlan answered.

Agent
Kelly turned back to Selena. “The fact that you would go to the extreme of
calling in these guys has me concerned. What are you really afraid of?”

“I
want my son found, nothing more.”

“Not
good enough.” Agent Kelly’s tone was emotionless. “I need answers now, or I
will call in backup. No matter how good these guys think they are, I will take
them down.”

Agent
Kelly reached into her jacket to pull out her gun. In that second, glass shattered
and the whirring of air passed through the room. A crack and then the
splintering of wood on the fireplace mantle. The distraction gave Partlan
enough time to grab Kelly’s gun. He spun her around and pulled her second
weapon from her back.

“I
have never broken the Sacred Code and hurt a woman.” Partlan put the weapons
into his combat vest. “Do not make me chose between you and
Catal’s
mate.”

“Where
did that shot come from?” Hysteria was evident in Nikki’s voice. “I thought you
said we were safe.”

“It
is one of my men.” Partlan pushed Agent Kelly into a chair. “I think we should
continue this discussion without accusations.”

“I’m
doing my job.” Agent Kelly tried to stand, but Partlan put a hand on her
shoulder.

“Perhaps,
but two children are missing.”

Catal
led Selena to the armchair beside the agent. She sank into it with a sigh of
relief. She didn’t think her legs could hold her much longer. The visions of
her past life were horrible. Worse, was the thought that it might have been the
reason
Tarrin
had been taken.

“Selena’s
brother would not harm the boy.” Catal stood with his legs wide and arms
crossed. “It is more likely that the boys were taken because of who Gates is.
His parents are celebrities. Abducting their child will make the kidnappers infamous.”

“You
obviously don’t know Juan Duarte.” Agent Kelly rolled her eyes. “He has a list
of crimes longer than most streets.”

“It
depends on which side of the government you are on.”
Catal’s
voice held a note of reason. “The man fights for his beliefs and what he thinks
is best for his country. It wasn’t so long ago that the United States felt the
same about organizations like his. They did train and arm them in the
beginning.”

“We
have never condoned their violence.” Agent Kelly leaned forward in her chair.
“They don’t know what they’re fighting for any longer. It’s just an excuse to
ensure their power.”

“That
may be true, but I fought beside him. I know he is not capable of hurting a
child.”

Selena’s
heart skipped a beat. Surely Catal wasn’t defending her brother? Juan had
insisted that Catal was a traitor, a non-believer who had sacrificed the lives
of Juan’s men for money. It also sounded as if Catal was unaware of what Juan
had been doing recently. She’d lost track of her brother. For all she knew he
might be more ruthless and powerful than he had been in the past.

“We
are wasting time. Tell us about the kidnapping.”
Partlan’s
voice was clipped. “If you do not wish to share with us, then we will begin the
search on our own, but it will take longer.”

“They
were taken at a soccer game.” Steve spoke first. He rubbed a hand over his
face. “It was my fault. I was late picking them up.”

“You
are certain this is when they went missing?”
Catal’s
eyes narrowed. “Could they have wandered away from the game, or taken a ride
with someone else?”

“We’ve
talked to the other parents. No one saw the boys after the game.” Agent Kelly
cleared her throat. “They seemed to have vanished.”

“Who
else was at the game?”
Partlan’s
tone was crisp.

“The
usual spectators.” Steve shrugged. “No one stood out. I dropped them off and
made certain they were with the coach and then I went to a meeting.”

“So
there was nothing unusual.”

“No.”
Steve’s voice was defensive. “I’ve done it many times before.
Tarrin
is very responsible and he usually makes certain
that no one comes near Gates.”

A
sob escaped Selena. “
Tarrin
always takes care of
Gates.”

“Which
soccer field were they at?”

“Coldwater
Canyon Park off of North Beverly.” Steve’s voice was intense. “We’ve gone
through this with the FBI so many times, and nothing stands out.”

Partlan
nodded. “Tell us what
is the norm
.”

Steve
frowned. “There were the parents of the other players.”

“How
many?”

“There
were thirty-two children and approximately seventy spectators.” Agent Kelly
answered before Steve could reply. “We do not suspect the children. We did
interview them, but they hadn’t seen anything.”

“What
about the other parents and the coaches?”

“They
all checked out.” Agent Kelly’s voice was clipped.

“Why
do you not know the exact number of spectators?”

“There
were several photographers there.” Agent Kelly cleared her throat. “It seems
the soccer team is made up of a number of celebrity children. The paparazzi
follow the games on the off chance that they may get a picture.”

“Leaches.”
Steve’s voice was full of venom. “It’s one thing to follow me, but Gates should
be off limits. These guys have no boundaries.”

“Then
we use them.” Partlan looked over at Catal. Selena could have sworn a secret
message passed between them, because Catal nodded and left the room.

“Continue.”
Partlan nodded to Steve. “How late were you getting back to the children?”

“Fifteen
minutes.” Steve sighed. “It’s happened before, but the boys are always there. Usually
one of the other parents waits with them until I show up.”

“So
this is a known behavior.”
Partlan’s
voice carried no
censor.

“I
usually bring them to the games.” Selena shuddered and pushed back her horror.
This was the first time she’d heard that Steve was so casual about picking up
the boys. “Nikki asked me to attend a meeting with Gates’ teacher that
afternoon.”

Partlan
turned to her. “How many times has this happened before?”

Selena
shrugged. “Maybe four times.”

“It
sounds as if it were a spontaneous abduction, or else the kidnapper was very
patient.”

“We’ve
already considered that.” Agent Kelly’s voice was patronizing. “We are trained
in this type of work.”

“You
received a ransom note?”

“The
first day.” Agent Kelly heaved a sigh. “It was brief. It stated that the
children were safe and that further instructions would follow.”

“We
called the police right away.” Steve leaned forward on the couch and hung his
hands between his knees. “At first I thought the boys would be home. It seemed
reasonable to think that one of the other parents had given them a ride, but
when they weren’t here, I called the police. The note arrived later that
evening.”

“And
now everyone knows the boys are missing.”

“We
went to the press immediately.”

“We
asked them to.” Agent Kelly’s voice was bored. “We needed the public’s help. An
alert went out. Someone had to have seen something.”

“And
did they?” Partlan raised an eyebrow.

Agent
Kelly turned away and crossed her arms. “No.”

“People
must have thought what they were seeing was normal or else it happened out of
view of the others.”

“You
can’t know that.” Agent Kelly’s voice was strident. “Assumptions can be
dangerous. We have to consider all possibilities.”

“People
do not lie in this kind of situation.”
Partlan’s
voice was low. “They want to help. Our job is to find the truth and work from
there.”

“You
make it sound as if we aren’t doing the same thing.”

“You
do not have our experience.” Partlan turned back to Steve. “Was there another
contact?”

Steve
looked at Agent Kelly. She nodded. “We received a note from Gates yesterday.”

Selena
jumped up. “You didn’t tell me.”

“It
was addressed to us.” Steve shrugged. “We let the FBI handle it.”

“We
thought it was better not to upset you.” Nikki’s voice was soothing.

Selena’s
eyes widened. She knew Nikki well enough to recognize her actress mode, and she
was definitely in it now. She was playing the caring and considerate heroine.
The real Nikki was completely opposite. She was abrupt and to the point. There
was a reason she hadn’t been told. Her heart started to pound.

“Why?”

At
that moment the door opened and Catal came in. Selena turned to him and for a
second forgot the anger and pain he had caused. She reached out a hand to him.
Instantly he was at her side, his hand gripping hers. A wave of calm washed
over her and for a second she let herself be lost in it.

She
took a deep breath and turned back to Nikki. “I knew you were hiding things
from me. That’s why I called in the Hunters.”

Nikki
gave a light laugh. “You’re family Selena. We would never harm you or
Tarrin
.”

Selena
shook her head. “You’ve kept me in the dark about the search for the boys, even
though I’m
Tarrin’s
mother. What are you hiding?”

“We
have told you what you need to know.” Agent Kelly’s voice was brisk. “We can’t
be certain that you aren’t involved.”

The
words hung in the room for several seconds.

“You
think I would kidnap my own son?” Selena swallowed back her horror and let
anger replace it. “How dare you suggest such thing? Why would I do it? What
would I have to gain by letting my son suffer?”

“If
you’re behind the plot, then most likely your son isn’t suffering.” Agent
Kelly’s voice was matter of fact. “From my experience, money is usually a good
motive.”

“I
was at the teacher meeting.” Selena spat the words out. “How could I be in two
places at once?”