Hunter's Find Read online

  “It was practically the same instant. I was so deep into both covers…I couldn’t do anything about it.”

  “Both covers? The FBI and his bed? So everything was a lie? The pregnancy, making up at the cabin, the birthday party…Was anything you told me not total bullshit?”

  “I’m sorry, Hunt. Once I said I was after my daughter the rest of the story just…flew out.”

  “And the bullet story?”

  “You wanted me to come out and say I had field training with the FBI after all the other lies I had to tell you?”

  “Can you two carry on later? I’d really like to get down to business, Gerard,” Willy said. He turned to walk back into the lodge.

  “What do you want me to do with her?” Bennett asked.

  “Tie her up out here with him. Maybe he’ll gnaw through the restraints and kill her and save me the trouble.”

  Bennett backhanded her and she was out cold.

  “When I’m free I’m going to fucking kill you. I hope you realize that.” Hunt said the words through bared teeth.

  Walking over to Hunt, Bennett took hold of his chin. “Not if I kill you first.” He spat back in Hunt’s face before tying Mandy into a chair not far from him.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Hunt stared out the screens, wishing now that it wasn’t so secluded and that he had called for backup. Wait…he had. That dumb sonofabitch was what got them in this situation in the first place. He had told Luke to make sure Roy didn’t use the walkie-talkie first, and the dumbshits didn’t communicate. He tugged at his restraints, but it was no use. He wasn’t getting free. Movement caught the corner of his eye. Mandy was finally coming to.

  “Hey. You okay?”

  Her head went side to side a few times before she answered. “What do you care?”

  “Because if I’m going to be killed, I’d at least like to know the truth for a change. You’re FBI?”

  “Ex-FBI. They dropped the case out of the blue, saying we had nothing to go on. I spent too much time working on putting Menusco away. There was no way I was just walking away.”

  “You were so undercover you married someone involved?”

  “I thought he was unrelated in the beginning, then…yes. I thought he would be useful and used it to my advantage.”

  “So you stayed with him even after you knew?”

  “I’d like to say ‘what better cover?’ but that’s not all it was. Call me stupid, but I honestly thought we’d get out together someday.”

  “How did you sleep at night knowing what he did? What you were allowing to take place?”

  “How did I sleep? Usually with his big Italian dick between my legs! That’s how I slept. Is that what you want to hear? Ever hear the phrase, ‘you can’t help who you love’?”

  “Don’t remind me.”

  “Oh bullshit, Hunt. You don’t love me. You practically used me the way I used Gerard in the end.”

  “Wrong, doll face. I was here to help you get your daughter back. I didn’t care what he did. I didn’t use you to catch him. Until you strolled into my life, I had no idea this shit would ever cross my path. I’m a small town sheriff for a reason. I don’t do killings and extortion. I like knowing everyone by name and getting cats down out of trees for little girls. But most of all, I like going out of town for my sex. Until now, I didn’t think I’d ever get involved with someone like you!”

  “Stop your damn arguing so I can come save your ass.”

  A voice outside of the screen caused Hunt and Mandy to freeze in their seats. “Roy?” Hunt whispered.

  “In the flesh.”

  “Get your ass in here. They’re in the house, but I don’t know for how long. You have your knife?”

  “Of course.”

  Roy walked up the small flight of steps, gun drawn. He took each one cautiously and kept one eye on the door to the house at all times. As he cut Hunt loose, Hunt asked how he found them.

  “Gotta love that tracker on my truck. I found it down the road. The rest wasn’t hard.”

  “You paid a visit to Mom’s coffee shop, didn’t you?”

  “Yup. She knew I was a new face and asked if I was here for the party. Some party you throw here, Hunt.”

  When Hunt was free, Roy went over to Mandy. He whispered as he cut her free. “If there is one scratch on my truck, I’m taking it out on your hide.”

  When he pulled the last of her ropes free, Mandy stood and walked over to Hunt. “Now what?”

  “Now we get my arsenal and some local back up and come back and take care of these guys.”

  Mandy turned to Roy and slipped the gun from his holster before he knew what was happening. She ran for the door of the house.

  As she ran, Hunt ripped the shotgun off of Roy’s shoulder and took off after Mandy. There were several shots before he reached her. Hunt walked through the door in time to see Willy on the floor with a shoulder wound and Bennett flat on his face. Her gun was pointed at Gerard. His hands were up and he was begging her not to shoot him.

  “We can work this out, Mandy. Don’t do this. I’ll see to it that you have anything you want.”

  “Anything? How about Darci, asshole.” A tear ran from her cheek as she spoke the name.

  “Darci? I thought there was no kid,” Hunt said with great surprise.

  “You still busting my balls about that? It wasn’t my fault.” Gerard took a step closer and Mandy shot his arm. He screamed and stepped back. “Don’t do this!”

  “Mandy, stop,” Hunt pleaded. “Let the law handle him.”

  “The law? What are they going to do? I turn Gerard in and there will be another mob lawyer to set him free. All of them.” Roy had joined them at this point and was covering them with a backup gun he had on his calf. Hunt was grateful he thought to bring a few extras, considering he’d never had to discharge the one he had on him for the past four years. Maybe he wasn’t as dumb as Hunt gave him credit for.

  “You killed her, Gerard,” Mandy said. “She was an innocent kid, and you killed her.”

  “I had no control, Mandy. You know that. I had to do as I was told like everyone else. She got in the way. I’m sorry.” He tried to step toward her and she fired again. Hunt was surprised that she missed. At least he thought she did, until there was a thud behind Gerard. Another man had walked into the kitchen. Hunt was so intent on Mandy he hadn’t even noticed the man walking toward them.

  “How many more are here?” Hunt asked.

  “None.” Hunt cocked the gun. “None. I swear. We wanted to keep this simple. We didn’t expect the hassle.” He glared at Mandy as he said so. “Do you really think I wanted to kill my own niece?”

  “Your niece?” Hunt said as he turned to Mandy again.

  “Darci was my niece. His niece. She was the only thing worth staying in this fucked up family for.” The tears grew stronger and Mandy struggled for a steady aim with the gun. “He took it upon himself to see that his brother-in-law left the family business. He killed her in the process.”

  “That’s not my fault, Mandy.”

  “You pulled the trigger!”

  “I didn’t know she’d be there!”

  “Liar! It was their home. You knew I was there visiting her!”

  “He had to go and he had to go then. It was unfortunate she got in the way.”

  “Unfortunate? They wanted out, Gerard. Why couldn’t you just let them go?”

  “You don’t leave the family business, doll. You know better than that. Saying it was his mistake. I thought you loved me, Amanda. Stop this. We’ll talk about it. I’ll set you up away from all this. We can still have a life together. I’ll make it work. I’ll figure it out.”

  “It’s too late, Gerard. Way too late for that. I stopped loving you long ago. I knew it was over for good when you couldn’t even shed a tear for Darci. No ‘I’m sorry’ to your sister.”

  “I never found her. How could I tell her sorry?”

  “You didn’t even try. You didn’t give
a shit about anything. How could I be so stupid? Why would I want a life with a heartless man like that?”

  “I want to set you up, baby. No money worries. No more dealing with my family if that’s what you want. No more FBI. What more do you want?”

  “Darci back.” Mandy shot him three times in the heart before he hit the floor.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Mandy sat by the fire in sense of shock. She hadn’t spoken, only stared into the fire. Five police cars showed up after Hunt called it in. One of the officers was a woman. She put herself in charge of Mandy and tried to see to her comfort. It was obvious she had been raped. They were treating her with kid gloves while they sorted out the details.

  Hunt was fast on his feet with explanations. He had sent Roy on his way so things didn’t become more complicated with his involvement. He didn’t care what Willy said. No one would believe him anyway. It worried him that he couldn’t get Mandy to talk. He kept glancing her way as he talked to the officers. Revenge isn’t as sweet as they say. She set out to kill Gerard and did, but he knew that only added to her burden, not relieved it.

  He couldn’t believe the lengths she went through to get her revenge. Looking back, he wished he opted for beers at home that night instead of walking to the Ace bar. No, not really. He had fallen in love with her, and it hurt. He knew better, but he became involved anyway. Reality told him it was over before it even started. All he could do was get out of here and never look back. Hunt had said terrible things to her. Things she’d never forgive—and he couldn’t blame her. She had done nothing but lie to him from the beginning. He had been a pawn in her revenge. There was no kidding himself about any kind of relationship after this.

  The local PD bought his explanation hook, line, and sinker. Tests would show Gerard had raped Mandy. Her rope burns from being tied to the chair and bruised face would help that story. Hunt’s face showed enough damage to support his story of just passing by and hearing her screams and having to fight the group of men he didn’t expect when he rushed in the house. They could sort out the details of who they were on their own time. Being a sheriff, there was no reason to question him. He had no reason to be in the area. Oddly, no one dug deeper into his story of staying at a friend’s cabin. He threw around some names he got from Mom and that bought him enough trust. Roy’s gun that Mandy used was licensed to the department. Things pieced together fine for a self-defense plea.

  Hunt declined any medical attention for his cuts and bruises and the offer of being driven home. After he was done with telling and retelling the story, he asked for a minute alone with Mandy. The female officer was hesitant, but agreed.

  “I suppose since you are the hero of the hour, it’s okay. She probably hasn’t had a chance to properly thank you.” She patted Hunt’s shoulder in thanks as she walked away.

  “You holding up okay?” Mandy didn’t look at him or reply. “I didn’t tell them anything about who anyone is. I suggest you don’t try to hide it. They’ll find out. I know your thoughts on small town cops, but we’re not as stupid as you think.” She still offered nothing for a response. “You have a boss of sorts you can call? Someone at the FBI who will stand by you?” Hunt reached for her hand but she pulled it away.

  “I can take a hint.” He stood up. “Goodbye, Mandy. I’d like to say it’s been great knowing you.”

  Hunt made sure the local PD was done with questioning him. He said his goodbyes and left. One ambulance was pulling away with Willy, and another was pulling up for Amanda.

  “Shake it, Blaine,” Hunt said to himself. “There’s hundreds more like her in the cities. Less history, less baggage, less firearm involvement.” He walked to the neighbors to claim his truck, trying everything to get her out of his mind. He’d send Roy and Luke back for Roy’s truck later. He’d worry about that tomorrow.

  Eleven months later, Hunt watched Amanda from across the courtroom. She wore large sunglasses and a scarf over her head. He wasn’t sure who she was trying so hard not to be seen by, him or the mob, but the get-up attracted more attention that it deterred.

  Everyone listed as the judge read the verdict. No witnesses were called. No final statements given.

  Due to the circumstances of the shooting, Amanda was never charged with murder. Hunt’s testimony was enough to deem it self-defense. He wasn’t quite sure why he had lied for her, but once he lay the story down for the officers, there was no taking it back. He didn’t even need to go to her trial, but couldn’t help getting into the state computer to look up the final outcome of it. He conveniently took a week of vacation and went to see his parents in Florida when her trial date was set two months after the incident. No one questioned him needing to get away mid-winter.

  The only one left to face charges was Willy, who was dealt with in true government speed. Eleven months after being arrested for criminal activity with the mob, he was being sentenced. Hunt listened as the long list of charges were rattled off, then he applauded quietly as they announced multiple life sentences. When the judge hit his gavel, Hunt looked over to see Amanda had disappeared.

  Hunt’s knocking on the hotel door got louder as he received no response. He grew angry, mostly at himself, as he stood there. Thinking he avoided making a fool of himself, he turned to walk away right as the door opened up.

  “Hunt? What are you doing here?”

  “I’m wondering that myself.” He stood there staring at Amanda, knowing it was a bad idea that he was here. She was even more attractive than he remembered. Her breasts more than filled the low-cut blouse she wore. He didn’t remember them being that big. Catching himself staring at her cleavage and not into her eyes, he looked up again, embarrassed. “Can I come in for a second?”

  “I…uh…I’m not sure…”

  “I’ll only be a second. We need closure on this.” He didn’t wait for an invitation; he let himself in and walked around her. He pretended to be interested in the hotel room. “This is nice. I’ve never been in the suites here.”

  “I certainly didn’t need anything this big. Government picking up the tab and all.”

  “I see.” Hunt said, suddenly feeling very hot. He loosened his tie, hoping it would help. “I saw you at the courthouse.”

  “I saw you there, too. I just didn’t know what else there was to say, Hunt.”

  He took a few steps closer to her, closing the large gap between them. “I’m sorry, Mandy.”

  “For what?” She tried a little too hard to laugh off his apology. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

  “Yes I do.” He took her face in one hand and held is so he could look in her eyes. “I was horrible to you. I said things—”

  Mandy trembled as she spun to get out of his grip. “It’s okay, Hunt. I got over it a long time ago.”

  She tried to walk away from him but he took her by the wrist and spun her to face him again. “Well, I didn’t. I was a jerk. I always assumed the worst about you. I need to tell you I’m sorry.”

  “Apology accepted. I’m not angry with you. I know what it looked like. I take responsibility for the things I did. I was never able to thank you for lying for me. So thank you, okay? Now I really have to get packed for my flight back.” She tried to pull free again, but he didn’t lighten up his grip. Hunt kept trying to get closer and Mandy kept backing up until she was against the wall. “Please, Hunt.”

  “I tried to find you a few months ago. You moved.”

  “I was under protection. Willy still hasn’t spoken. They aren’t sure if Gerard put him up to this or if the Menuscos will be after me themselves.”

  “Why didn’t you try to contact me?”

  “Why would I, Hunt? You hate me.”

  “Far from it.” He dropped his head close to her. He could feel her shaking even harder. Her breaths were getting shorter, too.

  “You certainly called me a whore enough times.”

  “I said I’m sorry.” He brushed his cheek against hers. “I’m sorry for every hateful thing I said.
Everything I thought about you. I was wrong.” He took her face in both hands. “I missed you. I’ve been waiting for this day, hoping beyond hope you’d have to come to testify.”

  She pulled his hands away. “Don’t do this to me, Hunt.”

  “Do what? This?” He placed his lips over hers and plunged his tongue possessively into her mouth. She struggled at first then let out a loud moan and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Hunt moaned in relief when Mandy returned his kisses, and he leaned his midsection into hers. He ground at her for only a moment before picking her up and sitting her high on his hips. Reaching under her skirt, he broke her thong then gave a hearty pull at his button-fly jeans and lowered them. He entered her in one thrust, both of them searching for a gasp of air. Hunt covered her mouth with his again and kissed her hard as he made love to her, holding her against the wall.

  Mandy’s whole body quivered. She threw her head back as Hunt nestled deep within her. It was only minutes before they came together. Hunt dropped his head to her neck. It was a long moment before he could speak. “I’ve been dreaming about this every day for the last eleven months, Mandy.” She still couldn’t or wouldn’t talk. “I haven’t even been with anyone else. I could only think of you. You know what a grouch I am to begin with. Imagine the guys putting up with me after almost a year of no sex.” She still wasn’t talking. Hunt rested his cheek to hers again. They were wet with tears. He leaned back and stared into her eyes. “What is it? Did I hurt you?” She shook her head no. “Then what?”

  “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”

  “What are you sorry for? Your lies? I don’t care. I want you, Mandy. Stay here with me. Transfer. I know you more than qualify for a ton of local jobs with your background.”

  “I’m not in the service anymore, Hunt.” Her voice was soft.

  “Then what’s keeping you?”

  He smothered kisses down her neck and across the top of her breasts through her blouse. His eyes finally fell to the wet spots at her nipples when a baby crying caught his attention. He looked up at Mandy with a question in his eyes. “You have a baby?”