Daniel (10 page)

“I didn’t want to be a victim, so I had
someone train me. He was supposed to be quiet about the whole thing. You didn’t
tell me you worked for the Feds either, so we’re pretty much even, I think.” She
sat up straight in the bed and was about to toss the covers off her when the
door opened again. This Hunter wasn’t very happy with her either, but she’d had
enough of all of them. “It’s time you all leave. Now. I’m going to have a lot
to do tomorrow and it doesn’t involve happy hour with the Hunter clan.”

“Stay there.” She heard the anger in Daniel’s
voice and nearly snapped at him to fuck off when he lifted his finger at her to
be quiet. He turned to his brother and Doyle. “I have to stay until tomorrow
and I’m going to spend the night with O’Reilly here. She won’t be going
anywhere until I say so.”

Well, fuck this shit. She got out of the
bed and lifted her hands to Doyle when he stepped to her. “Come on, old man.
Even hurt, I can cause you serious pain.”

She went into the bathroom while the
three of them laughed. Stupid men. What the hell did they think they were going
to do, sit on her? Tie her to the bed? The police had just cleared her and she
wasn’t going to waste another minute screwing around there.

She came out of the bathroom a few minutes
later to get her clothes. The nurse said that she’d put them in the little
cabinet by her bed, and she nearly screamed when the light came on and Daniel
was sitting in her bed…without his shirt, and if his pants lying over the chair
were any indication, he wasn’t wearing those either. She was going to go about
her business as if he wasn’t there.

“You can put them on you, but I’m going
to simply take them off again. I think you should come here and save us both a
great deal of energy and let me make love to you.” She couldn’t believe him and
pulled her bag out of the cabinet without a word. “Too bad. I gave you the
chance.”

He pulled his cell out and pushed a
button. She should have moved, but the door burst open and three men walked in,
each of them with vests on and head gear. She would have laughed that someone
thought it’d take three men to do whatever they thought they were going to do
to her but simply dropped her bag and picked her stance.

Chapter
10

“Well, find someone else. What the fuck
did you do, find the first person you came across and hired her? Mother fuck.
If she wasn’t ready for us before, she certainly will be now.” Berto wanted to
throw his phone across the room but didn’t want to go through the hassle of
buying a new one and having it programmed. He didn’t know a single number without
the speed dial on the stupid thing. “Get someone in there now and kill the
cunt. I want her dead.”

“She’s got someone in there with her at
all times. And the way he took out the woman, the
trained
woman I had go
into her room, means he’s got some major training of his own. He took her out
in less than a minute. With a bullet in his gut.” He heard Jeannie laugh. “He
sounds like someone you should hire on instead of having me kill.”

Berto decided that as soon as this was
over, Jeannie Whitney was dead. He didn’t like that someone tried to tell him
what to do, and even less that it was a woman. He took several deep breaths
before he said something that they’d both regret.

“Where are you?” She told him that she
was in Nashport, Ohio, in a little hotel outside of a smaller town called
Dresden. “I’m coming there. Book me into something, and it had better be five-star
or I’m taking it out on your ass.”

“Promises, promises,” she said in that
sultry voice that made his cock ache. “I don’t know what you expect in the five-star
range, but I’ll see what I can do. There are a couple of bed and breakfasts
that are nice. If you want something more, then you’ll have to travel a ways. Columbus
is the only place near here that has even a Radisson.”

He told her to book the entire B&B
and hung up on her. She’d either do it or she’d be finished working for him a
lot sooner than either of them expected. He called for his butler to get him a
bag set up for several days and to get the jet ready. He hated to leave his hometown
right now; there were many things going on that he should be overseeing, but
this woman owed him. And he wanted to collect right now.

He picked up the picture of the woman. It
was blurry and he couldn’t really make out more than it was a female, but it
was the best that could be found of her. He tossed it on his desk with a snort.
The stupid woman was harder to find than he was. He thought about taking lessons
from her the next time the Feds went looking for him, but decided he wouldn’t
stoop low enough to figure it out from a woman. Besides, she’d be dead in a few
days, and then they’d be focusing on her and not him and the upcoming trial.

He was being indicted. Not unusual for
someone in the business like him, but still it was something he didn’t have
time for. He had a shipment coming in on a ship in a few days, and having to
leave now to go to Podunk, Ohio, wasn’t what he wanted to do right now. Plus there
was the arsenal that was always waiting at the end of his private drive ready
to take him in if he so much as walked out of the gates. Fucking bastards.

Berto looked around his home. It was
lavish and rich, not only in money but in things he’d “collected” over the
years. Things that he’d wanted, and when he couldn’t buy or steal, he’d simply
claim. The house he was currently living in wasn’t really his, but had belonged
to someone he’d killed for their territory last year. The idiot had stupidly
decided that he wanted a bigger chunk of Berto’s territory, and well…he’d
objected. Quite harshly. His phone ringing again brought him to the present.

“Sir, the plane is on standby, and your
luggage is on its way to the airstrip now. I have taken all the usual precautions
and have alerted the guard. Will there be anything else you require?” Berto
grinned. This was what paying for the best got you.

“Yes. I’d like for you to make sure that
the household goes on as if I’m here.” He didn’t want his butler, whatever his
name was, to think he had pegged his needs perfectly. “And I want you to make
sure that when the vase comes in sometime over the next few days, I want to be
notified immediately.”

There was no vase. He just wanted to see
how he would react to the news. The “very good, sir” was always the same answer,
and he wondered if the man ever got ruffled or pissed. When he’d applied for
the job, Berto had been hesitant. Now he wished he’d had him at every one of
his homes.

The limo was at the front door when the
door was opened for him, and Rogers—he remembered the butlers name now—had his
coat and hat over his arms. He didn’t register why he thought he’d need a hat
and coat in Florida until he was zooming toward the runway. Laughing, he
decided to give him a raise. The man was a genius to remind him gently that it
was chilly where he was going.

They were speeding down the runway when
his champagne was brought to him. Soon after they were in the air, three women
came out of the back room. Smiling, he thought about Rogers again. The man was
definitely going to get a bonus for this. He lay back on the couch and let each
of them take any part of him they wanted. He nearly came when one of them had
his cock in her mouth before she even had him completely out of his trousers. Christ,
this was going to be a relaxing trip, after all.

~~~

They stood there and waited. Doyle
smiled when he heard the first crash. Then when something bumped hard against
the door, he looked over at Royce. The man looked worried.

“She won’t hurt them too badly. She
knows not to kill them.” Doyle didn’t think he’d helped, especially when Royce
took a step forward. “You go in there and she’ll flatten you, too.”

“How do you know it’s not her getting
tossed around? What if they’ve gone overboard on what you told them to do?” He
looked at the door again. “And how do you know that it’s not Daniel throwing
them around?”

“Because I trained her.” He took pity on
the man and walked to the door when it was finally quiet. “Look, if she’s not
hurt and still standing, I’ll…I’ll work for you for free for a whole six
months. If she’s down due to them and not because your brother has finally
figured it out and took her to bed.”

“Daniel and her?” Royce looked at the
door and grinned. “Daniel can be very persuasive. You should see him in court.”

Doyle didn’t doubt it. But he also knew
Dawn…Reilly. The woman had been obsessed with learning from him. And he’d been
a very willing teacher. The girl…woman had a fire in her, a need. He only
wished now that he’d taken the time to understand what drove her, rather than
marvel at her ability to learn so well.

Doyle knocked on the door and laughed
when he heard her ask if it was round two. “No, it’s me. Can I come in without
you kicking my ass, too, or should I send in Royce here to wear you down a bit
more?”

When she didn’t answer, he thought something
was wrong and nearly went in anyway. But when she spoke, much closer to the
door this time, he knew there was something else going on.

“Okay, but I didn’t do anything to Mr.
Hunter. One of the guys…well, he sort of hit him and knocked him over. I guess
if he’d not been trying to help so much I might have found a way to throw him
somewhere else, but…. Is Royce going to be pissed?”

Doyle looked at the other man who was
grinning and shaking his head. “No, he’s okay with it. So long as Daniel isn’t
too badly hurt.”

“Nah. He’ll make it. Too bad really.” The
door opened and he looked at her. Not even a drop of sweat on her. “Those guys,
however, won’t be walking all that well for a few days. And that one,” she
kicked him in the ribs. “He doesn’t play well with others. He needs to have his
ass kicked again.”

Doyle knew who the guy was and hadn’t
wanted to send him in with the other two. He tended to get a tad overzealous
when he was doing hand-to-hand. Then Doyle thought maybe this was perfect. He
laughed when he picked up a glass on her bedside and dumped it on the other
two.

The room was a mess and Daniel was just
coming around. The man had a small bump on his head but no blood. Doyle thought
he was lucky. Not many men or women came up on her without having more to show
for it. When they got the men rounded up and on their feet, the younger one,
Billy Shore, stuck out his hand to Reilly.

“I’ve been trained by the best, and you
sure are fantastic. I’d like to have another go around with you sometime when
you have—”

The low growl from across the room had
all of them turning. Daniel Hunter had the look of a man who was having his
favorite toy played with and he’d never given permission. Reilly, of course,
ignored him.

“I would love to have some fun sometime.
I can’t for a while yet. I have a big show coming up in another three weeks,
and I want to get a few more pieces done for it. But I’ll give you my number
and you can call me.” She took the paper and pen he handed her and glared at
the man who snatched it away.

“Get out of here now while you still
can.” The low words had the desired effect. All three men moved to the door as
if a fire had been lit under their asses. When Daniel raised a brow to him and
his brother, Royce laughed and went out, too. He stopped at the door before
going out.

“You mind what you’ve been taught,
little brother. Mom won’t be happy if you aren’t protecting her.” He went out
the door laughing. Doyle didn’t move.

“The woman from this morning was found
with a great deal of cash in her possession. We figure it was either from
Carver or a jilted lover.” He’d tried for a joke but failed miserably if
Daniel’s face was any indication. “There will be more attempts. And from my test
just now, I know you can protect yourself and probably the kid, but it would
help us a great deal if you told us what you think he wants from you. After
four years, the man has a powerful hard on to get it back.”

“I don’t know. I swear to you I don’t
know if it’s not Benny.” Doyle nodded. So she’d figured out it might not be the
kid. But he had a feeling she might know more than she was letting on. “All I
got from my sister was her things that the police sent me. And they were
already packed up. They told me when they went to her home.”

“Why don’t you think it’s Benny
anymore?” They both looked at Daniel when he asked. “You seemed to think he’s
not it, why? There has to be something I missed. What is it? You? Does he want
you?”

“As far as we can tell, it’s not her. He
seems to believe, like most of the world, that O’Reilly Harlequin is a male. And
for as long as you’ve been famous, he figures he’s older. Much older.” Doyle
walked to the door as he finished up. “There’ll be a guard posted outside this
door twenty-four seven, so I wouldn’t plan on leaving tonight if I was you.
Benny has a guard, too, at Curtis’s home. And we have somebody watching both
your houses. Carver will be on his way soon if he hasn’t left already. So
settle in and enjoy your evening.”

Doyle’s phone was ringing when he exited
the room. He smiled when he heard Reilly start cussing, and laughed when he
heard her calling Daniel a great many colorful names he’d never heard of
before. Some of them in another language.

~~~

“He’s on his way to Ohio. His plane left
just over twenty minutes ago and will land in a little runway in Zanesville.
There are trackers on his plane and on his luggage. Ping number to find him is being
texted to you. I don’t know where he’s staying yet, but I’ll give you that when
I have it. Happy hunting.”

The phone went dead. He knew that the
next time his plant called there would be only a message like this one and no
conversation. He hoped that this person didn’t ever get caught. It would be
nice to have someone like this on the side of the Feds and not out there on
their own.

His phone alerted him he had a text, and
he read the numbers there. He’d have to get to his house to see what he could
bring up with this frequency, but wasn’t worried. There wasn’t any way Carver was
getting away again. Doyle called his contact with the Feds he’d been using for
a few weeks now.

“He’s on his way. He’s coming in
somewhere in Virginia, I heard. You going to go with me there?” Doyle grinned a
sardonic grin. He’d had this man pegged as the leak for months now. “I can be
there in about two hours.”

“Yeah, you go to Virginia and I’ll send
a couple of men to meet you there. Meantime, I’m going to see if I can get in
to see this girl again. She might know something she doesn’t realize yet. I heard
some bastard took out a shooter this morning. He must have some major balls.”

Doyle turned around and headed back to
Reilly’s room. “Yeah, heard that. I’m leaving the hospital now. I only hope I
can get there in time to stop this killer. He’s been around long enough.” Doyle
opened the door to the room without knocking and looked wide-eyed at the couple
breaking apart from what appeared to be a very heated kiss. “You sending over
someone else to keep an eye on the girl, or should I get a couple of my guys to
come in? The Hunter Corp has a big security firm.”

“No. We don’t want any civilians hurt. Just
have the three there wait, and when I get there with a few more, we’ll let them
get home. They need to come in and write up a couple of reports anyway.” He
hung up a few seconds later.

Doyle closed his phone and looked at the
couple. “Change of plans. We have to move now. You’re going to be having
visitors in about ten minutes, and I’d just as soon not have to explain why
you’re one kickass broad.”