aHunter4Trust (5 page)

“Justice will be had.”

Saxby struggled to push the gun away. His
muscles strained with the effort and Darrogh waited until he weakened. That’s
when Darrogh pushed the gun higher so that it was at Saxby’s temple. A second
later, the gun fired.

Saxby was dead.

Darrogh let his body slump to the floor and
turned away. To kill another was never pleasant, but as team leader, it was his
responsibility to carry out the sentence. Having Saxby pull a gun on him had
made it easier. He took a towel from the kitchen and wiped away the blood from
his hands.

“Leave him for the authorities. They will
probably label it a suicide.” He turned to Breanon and handed him the towel.
“Secure the building and make certain there is no evidence of our presence.”

“Should I leave these videos here?” Savis
asked. “There is nothing with Tamsin’s name on it.”

“Bring his computer. Leave the rest of the
evidence. Saxby’s victims will at least know that justice has been done.”

Darrogh walked over to Tamsin. She looked
to be sleeping. When he stopped beside the chair her lids fluttered opened and
there was a question in her eyes. Now was not the time to tell her what had
happened. Soon enough, she would learn about her attacker’s fate. She needed rest
and the comfort of her own bed.

He picked her up in his arms. “You are
safe.”

She cuddled close to his shoulder and a
surge of warmth spread through him. He had never felt anything like it before.
It was paralyzing and at the same time exhilarating. His heart stuttered to a
stop and then started beating at a frantic pace. He was losing control over his
body and he did not care.

“Thank you.” Tamsin whispered. “I prayed
that you would come.”

Darrogh knew that he would always be there
for her. She was more than a mission. He should never have held her because now
he could never let her go. As much as he was connected to her, he would still
have to leave after their operation was finished. It was not right for a Hunter
to bond with a woman.

When they reached the door, Breanon was
waiting. “I have cleaned off any surfaces that might have held prints.”

“What about the lift and the cameras?”

“The camera feed went straight to his
computer. The lift has been cleaned.”

“Good. We will exit back through the
stairs.”

The weight of Tamsin in his arms gave him
comfort. He had spent his life on the battlefield, mired in death and killing.
This was the first time that he had been able to use his skills for saving
someone. Years of training and fighting had honed the instincts that had let
him reach Tamsin in time.

When they reached the bottom floor, Darrogh
waited while Breanon and Savis went to clean away any evidence of Tamsin in
Saxby’s car. When they came back, they left by the loading door and Savis reset
the keypad. No incriminating evidence would be left behind.

They kept to the shadows as they edged
along the warehouse. They were almost at the street when Firbin reached out to
him by mind connect.

“
Tamsin’s father is at her house and is
insisting on seeing his daughter
.
What should I tell him?
”

Tamsin opened her eyes.

She closed them immediately.

The world was spinning and she waited a few
seconds until it stopped, before looking again. This time, the bright stream of
sunlight that filtered into her bedroom sent a piercing jab of pain through her
skull. Her mind was fuzzy and her mouth dry. What had happened last night?

She struggled to sit upright.

That was when she remembered.

She’d gone to Beauvie’s and tried in vain
to lose her father’s bodyguards. She’d been unsuccessful until she’d run into
George Saxby. He’d agreed to give her a ride home. Glimpses of being in his
apartment and talking with him, flitted through her mind. The last thing she
remembered was agreeing to have a glass of wine with George.

A memory of him slapping her and ripping
her dress sent a shock of horror through her.

She jumped out of bed and stumbled to her
vanity mirror.

Her hand ran down the side of her face
where the telltale signs of a bruise was forming. She pulled her pajama top
down and saw another bruise at the base of her neck. Her hands shook and her
legs could barely hold her weight.

It hadn’t been a dream.

She forced herself back into bed and pulled
the covers up. Questions flooded her brain. Why couldn’t she remember? How did
she get home? Who undressed her? Horror and dread filled Tamsin. She’d heard
about women waking up and not remembering what had happened, but they’d been
drugged.

“No,” she whispered. “George wouldn’t do
that.”

“He did.”

The sound of Darrogh’s voice sent her head
flying up. He was sitting in the shadows in the corner of her bedroom. One leg
was crossed over the other knee and he looked as if he’d slept in his clothes.
His dark eyes were unwavering and a shiver of awareness raced up her spine.

“Why are you here?”

“Someone had to watch you. We could not
risk something happening to you in your sleep.” Darrogh’s voice was matter of
fact. “Do you remember last night?”

“Vague images and feelings.” Tamsin
swallowed past the lump in her throat. She dreaded the answer, but she had to
ask. “Did he rape me?”

“No.”

Relief flooded through her. An image of her
head being pressed into the cushion and being unable to move gnawed at the back
of her mind. She looked up at Darrogh. His gaze was intense and filled with
concern. Another memory came rushing back. He’d looked at her like that last
night after the drug had already taken effect and she was immobilized.

Darrogh had witnessed everything.

Humiliation filled her.

Her cheeks heated with embarrassment and
for once, she was at a loss as to what to do. How could she ever look him in
the face again? He’d seen what George had done to her. She dropped her face
into her hands and groaned.

“It was not your fault.”

Tamsin wanted to crawl away and hide. “I
went with him.”

“He was not a man to be trusted.” Darrogh
put both legs on the floor. “You could not have known that.”

Tamsin shook her head. “I hadn’t seen
George in a few years. I was crazy to accept a ride from him.”

“We would have taken you home.”

“That was the whole point.” Tamsin leaned
back in her pillows. “I just wanted to go home alone. George said he’d drive
me, but once I was in his car, he insisted I visit his flat.”

“He had taken many women there.” Darrogh’s
voice was matter of fact. “He will not be doing that again.”

Flashes of movement and the sound of an
explosion came rushing at her. Her heart hammered in her chest as she
remembered the blast of a gun. Surely they hadn’t killed George? The police
would be all over her apartment any moment now.

“There is no need to be concerned.”

“Is he alive?”

“No.” Darrogh’s face was impassive. He
could have been announcing that dinner was being served.

“You can’t murder someone in cold blood.”
Tamsin’s voice trembled. “You’ll be arrested and sent to jail.”

“It was necessary. He pulled a pistol on
me.”

“It was self-defence.” Tamsin nodded as
legal strategies raced through her mind. “That means you’ll probably go free.”

“I would have executed him anyway. He could
not live after what he did to you.”

“It’s wrong to take another’s life.”
Tamsin’s head was whirling with the calm manner in which Darrogh was talking
about killing George.

“A Hunter lives by the Sacred Code, and
metes out justice when necessary.” Darrogh stood. “Your laws cannot hold me.”

“The police would have arrested him.”

“They will not be involved. We have taken
care of everything.”

“What does that mean?”

“We made certain that no one could connect
you to Saxby.” Darrogh flexed his shoulders.

Tamsin was transfixed by the sight.

She had never seen him in anything but a
loose jacket before. Now, he was in a tight T-shirt and it emphasized his
impressive physique. He looked as if he spent every waking moment in a gym. She
didn’t know how she’d missed that about him before. She’d been so intent on
hating the men that her father had hired to spy on her, that she’d hardly
noticed them.

“We do not spy.”

Tamsin’s breath caught in her throat. That
was the second time he’d anticipated what she was thinking. “How did you guess
my thoughts?”

Darrogh shrugged. “You face is easy to
read. I am a trained warrior and even though I have spent little time around
women, I do understand facial expressions.”

“So what am I thinking now?” Tamsin crossed
her arms over her chest.

Darrogh gave her a lopsided grin. “You
would like some privacy. I will get your morning tea. After that, we will
talk.”

He left the room with a quiet click of the
door.

She had to stop thinking about Darrogh. He
was her bodyguard, nothing more.

Tamsin released the breath she’d been
holding and pushed back her covers. Maybe she was too transparent. What she
needed now was a shower, long, and hot enough to wash away George’s brutal
attack from last night. Nothing would truly take that away, but a shower would
go a long way toward making her feel better.

When she was finished, she dressed in an
old pair of ripped jeans and a loose blue blouse. She was bare of makeup and
glamor this morning, and it felt good. She’d been on edge since her father had
installed his henchmen in her house. She didn’t care what they thought of her
appearance anymore. They’d probably seen her at her worse last night. She
deserved to be comfortable in her own home.

Breakfast was waiting for her in the
kitchen. Tea, eggs, and toast were sitting on her glass dining table. Darrogh
was also there, elbows on the tabletop and a cup of coffee in his hands. He
looked comfortable. None of the other men were in sight. This was the first
time since he’d been hired to guard her that they were alone together. He’d
said they needed to talk and she had to agree with him. He deserved an
explanation after last night, and she had some questions she wanted answered.

“I see you’ve been paying attention to my
morning ritual.” She pulled out her chair and sat.

“It is our role to attend to your needs.”
Darrogh watched her as she sipped her tea.

“My father only paid for you to guard me,
not to be a servant.”

“It is true that a Hunter usually protects
and fights.” Darrogh’s tone was serious. “All men are meant to serve women,
though.”

Tamsin choked on her tea. She coughed for
several seconds before she could catch her breath. Darrogh looked as if he was
going to pound her back, so she raised her hand to stop him. When her breathing
returned to normal she sat back and looked at him.

“You have to be kidding me.”

Darrogh frowned. “Why would I do that?”

“All week you’ve referred to yourself as a
Hunter.” Tamsin shook her head. “What is a Hunter and why do men serve women?”

“A Hunter is an elite soldier that has been
genetically modified to be the best warrior in the universe. We are a
brotherhood and there is no force that can defeat us. We help those who ask for
us.”

Tamsin tilted her head. “You’re
mercenaries.”

“We right wrongs.”

“You’re vigilantes then.”

Tamsin rubbed her head. She was still a bit
groggy after last night and Darrogh’s explanation about who he was didn’t help.
It sounded as if science was involved, and that had never been her strong
point. It only confused her. She’d let the comment about serving women pass for
now.

“Are you certain my father didn’t tell you
why I was in danger?”

“I do not lie.” Darrogh straightened his
shoulders. “He did not elaborate.”

Tamsin frowned. “My father has been trying
to get me back under his control since I called off my wedding last year.”

“I know nothing about a wedding.” Darrogh
took another sip of his coffee. “He requested our help. He is paying us for our
security services, not to spy on you.”

“Let me get this straight.” Tamsin tapped
the table with a finger. “You protect people without knowing where the threat
is from?”

Darrogh nodded. “I was given a team and
instructed to guard you.”

“Who sent you here?”

“Ardal, the leader of our unit.”

“And he didn’t bother to find out the
details?” Tamsin shook her head. “I don’t believe you.”

“I follow orders.” Darrogh’s voice was
harsh. “Your father requested our help.

“I still am not convinced it’s necessary
for your team to be here.”

Darrogh’s eyes narrowed. “You needed help
last night.”

“And I am grateful that you came to my
rescue.” Tamsin’s voice shook. “I just don’t understand how you found me so
quickly.”

“A warrior needs the skills to hunt people.
Your planet may have different technology, but some things are the same.”

Tamsin raised her hand to stop him from
speaking. He’d said planet, but he must have meant country. She knew that her
father had hired these men from North America. Their accents were definitely
not British. Still, he kept referring to himself as a warrior and that was a
term that had gone out of favor in the middle ages. Her head hurt too much to
try and figure out his meaning.

“You tracked me.” Tamsin took a bite of
toast. “I get that. What I want to know is how you can be so certain the police
won’t find me. We all leave evidence on a camera somewhere.”

“We erased it.”

“Are you certain you got everything?”

“We wiped the feed from Beauvie’s, the
streets you passed through, Saxby’s apartment, and we took the memory card from
his video camera.”

“That’s pretty thorough.” Tamsin didn’t
hide her approval.

“None of that would have been necessary if
you’d allowed us to stay with you last night.” There was no anger or
recrimination in Darrogh’s voice. “We almost did not find you in time.”

“And you think I’m ungrateful.” Tamsin
grimaced. She was grilling him about his methods and instead she should be
thanking him. “Believe me, when I realized that George had drugged my wine, I
wished I hadn’t given you guys the slip.”

“What did you slip?” Darrogh frowned.

“It’s a saying. I should never have left
the club without you.”

Darrogh nodded. “We are in agreement.”

Tamsin smiled and took another bite of
toast. In the end it didn’t really matter why her father had felt the need to
hire these men. They’d saved her life and she was thankful for that. They’d
also kept her name out of the whole incident and that was a miracle. The last
thing she needed was more negative press. The fallout from her cancelled
wedding had been bad enough. To be caught in a murder investigation would have
been a nightmare.

Tamsin finished her breakfast and pushed
her plate away.

“Where are the rest of your men?”

“They are waiting for us to finish our
discussion.” Darrogh leaned back in his chair.

“There’s more?”

“It is necessary to know if you are unhappy
with my command.”

That was the last question Tamsin had
expected. “How can you think that?”

“There is no other reason for your refusal
to accept our protection and because of that, I failed to keep you safe.”

Tamsin shook her head. “You don’t
understand.”

“Explain.”

She clasped her hands and took a deep
breath. “You make me nervous.”

“So it is my command you do not trust.”
Darrogh’s eyes narrowed. “I will request another team leader for you.”

“No.” Tamsin reached out and touched his
arm. A jolt of sensation raced up her fingers and when she looked up at
Darrogh, his expression was grim. “You felt that too.”