aHunter4Trust Page 4

  “Where do you think you’re going?” He had a video camera in his free hand and he was aiming at her. “It’s time for your big shoot.”

  He pulled her back to the center of the room where a large black area rug covered the floor. He placed her in the center and set up his camera on a tripod before undoing his belt. The sound of him snapping it sent terror and revulsion through Tamsin.

  She was helpless.

  He brought the belt up to her chin.

  “Do you like it rough Tamsin?” His voice sent a chill through her.

  She shook her head. “Don’t do this.”

  “I’ll take that as a no.” He stood up and pulled his shirt off. “That’s good. I like it when they try and fight me.”

  “You’re sick.”

  “Maybe, but you’re not going to get out of here alive. You should have finished your wine.”

  “No.” Tamsin throat went dry as the implication of his words became clear. He was going to kill her.

  “I can’t afford to have women remembering and going to the police.” George ran the edge of his belt down her cheek. “That means I can do anything I like to you, and believe me, I have a vivid imagination.”

  “Let me go and I swear I won’t tell anyone what you threatened to do.”

  “Where would the fun be in that?” George’s fingers moved down the bodice of her gown. “Besides, the dead can’t speak.”

  Tamsin struggled to push away. She couldn’t feel her feet and when she tried to move, nothing happened. She balled her fingers into a fist and raised her arm to hit George. He laughed.

  “Is this what you want to do?” He slapped her face, sending her head reeling backwards.

  Pain seared through her.

  George grabbed the silk of her dress and yanked. It ripped down the middle, exposing her lace bra underneath. She struggled to cover herself, but her hands refused to obey. Her stomach churned with nausea and a part of her wished she’d drank more of the wine. It was only a fleeting thought. Anger burned through her and she used the last surge of her strength to bring her knee up into George’s groin.

  He howled in agony before he pulled her up to her knees and dragged her over to the chair. He bent her over the chair arm and pulled her dress up over her shoulders. He pushed her face into the cushion and kept a hand on her neck so that she couldn’t move. Every nerve in her body cried out at in outrage over the violation, yet she was powerless to fight.

  The image of Darrogh came into her mind.

  She swore she could hear his voice reassuring her that he would be there.

  He would never have let something like this happen to her. She was in this predicament because she’d put her trust in the wrong man. What a fool she’d been. It was her own fault. She struggled once more to rear her body off the chair. George was too strong for her. There was no escape.

  She was going to be violently raped.

  Then she’d be murdered.

  Chapter 5

  Inaction was fueling Darrogh’s frustration.

  The purr of the van’s engine was a constant reminder that they were no closer to finding Tamsin now, than ten minutes ago. They had the CCTV video from the bar and the alley, but no real clue as to where Tamsin had gone.

  “There.” Savis pointed at his computer.

  Darrogh glanced over his shoulder and nodded. “Can you read the licence of the vehicle she’s getting into?”

  “I’m already searching for it.” Images were flashing on the screen where Kerm was working. “I’ll have an address in a few minutes.”

  “Good.” Darrogh exhaled a breath.

  “She has probably gone home.” Firbin spoke for the first time since they had entered the van. “She told me she wanted time alone.”

  Darrogh glanced over at the young warrior and nodded. “I hope you are right.”

  “We cannot assume that.” Savis’s voice was low. “We were hired to protect so that means she is in danger from someone. This might be that person.”

  Darrogh’s hands tightened into fists. He had been a soldier too long to rely on things going smoothly. Tamsin was a difficult woman to guard, yet that did not excuse his failure. If she wanted to be alone and escape them, it was because she was uncomfortable with his skills.

  The van door opened and Breanon entered. He’d kept his watch across the street until Darrogh was certain that Tamsin was not returning to the Club. There was no doubt that she had left with the man that Firbin had seen her talking to in the Club.

  Now they had to find her.

  “Firbin, and Jehon go to Tamsin’s house.” Darrogh turned to the warriors. “If she is there, make certain she stays there.”

  The men jumped out of the van.

  “You believe she is in trouble.” Savis’s words were a statement.

  “My instinct has never been wrong.”

  “We will find her.” Kerm’s fingers raced across his keyboard. “A Hunter does not fail.”

  Darrogh clenched his jaw. “We will have to cover our tracks. If the man she is with has harmed or touched her in any way then he will answer to the Sacred Code.”

  Breanon reached into the metal box beside him and started pulling weapons out. He checked each pistol for bullets and handed one to Darrogh and Savis. He then rested his rifle across his lap and leaned back against the side of the van.

  “I have already cleared the CCTV footage showing us entering the club and Tamsin leaving.” Savis turned back to his computer. “There will be no evidence of our presence.”

  “Good. We need to keep our existence here quiet. There are cameras inside the club. Make certain the footage for tonight is also destroyed.”

  Savis nodded. “It has been done.”

  “Got him.” Kerm announced. “The vehicle is registered to a George Saxby. He has a flat in Knightsbridge.”

  “Drive there.” Darrogh put his gun into his waistband. “Savis do a search on Mr. Saxby.”

  “Already started.” Savis frowned at his laptop. “He attended the same school as Tamsin. He also works with finances.”

  Darrogh looked at the picture of the man on the computer screen. He had dark hair and brown eyes, pleasant features that humans would consider handsome. Darrogh did not trust the deadness in his eyes. That might be the trick of the photographer, though.

  “Firbin said that she recognized him.”

  Savis looked up from his computer. “He owns the building where his flat is and I cannot find any other residents there.”

  “Good.” Darrogh held onto his seat as the Kerm pulled away from the curb. “We will not have to worry about witnesses. What about security cameras?”

  “I’m searching the database now.”

  Five minutes later Savis spoke. “I have the vehicle arriving at the address. It is underground parking and I cannot see if she is with him.”

  “She is there.”

  Darrogh could feel her in his bones. Her fear and horror were racing through him. He had never connected with another like this before. He hoped it was because this was the first time he had been responsible for a woman’s safety. Any other reason was unacceptable to him. Darrogh still followed the rules that had governed his life before landing on Earth.

  Women were forbidden to Hunters.

  “Knock out the security cameras and the CCTV in the area.” Darrogh’s voice hardened. “If you cannot see if he has a passenger, then no one else will either.”

  “Done.”

  Silence filled the van until Kerm came to a stop.

  “Kerm stay here. We will get Tamsin.” Darrogh nodded to his men.

  They picked up their weapons and exited the vehicle. It was a cool, summer night with only a slight mist in the air. Fog would have given them better cover, but it was not to be. Darrogh led the men to the large warehouse where the car had been seen entering. There was no obvious front entryway, so they made their way along the side. In the rear, there was a large loading dock door.

  A computer pad lock
was beside it.

  Darrogh motioned to Savis who went to the security lock. Within minutes, he had the door opened and they entered the darkened building. It took a couple of seconds to focus their eyes before they could see. It was one of the benefits of this planet. Hunters had already been genetically modified for improved night vision. Earth made it that much better.

  There was a lift, and beside it, stairs. Darrogh started up the steps. An elevator would only alert someone to their coming, and surprise was their best weapon. They stopped at the first floor, Savis and Breanon waited with guns ready while Darrogh opened the door. There were construction tools scattered throughout a large open surface.

  They exited and moved up to the next landing.

  It too was empty.

  In total they searched five floors before they came to the sixth. It was the last one in the building. Tamsin had to be here. There were no other places to search. Darrogh leaned against the wall beside the door and took a deep breath. He was just about to open the door when he received a mind connection from Firbin.

  “We are at Tamsin’s house. She isn’t here.”

  Darrogh closed his eyes for a second before replying. “We have found the man she left with. We will make certain she is safe.”

  Darrogh turned the handle.

  They entered a hallway.

  There was only one other door and the lift. This was the only floor that had been renovated, so it had to be George Saxby’s home. Darrogh looked up, noting the two security cameras on the ceiling. One was aimed at the lift and the other at the door. He signalled to Breanon, who used his rifle to push the cameras up to the ceiling. Darrogh did not want to take the chance that they would be seen coming.

  He turned the knob of the entrance door.

  It was unlocked.

  Saxby was a fool if he thought that he was safe. Darrogh pushed through the opening and then crept into the flat. Breanon and Savis followed, moving out on each side of him. They moved forward in unison, scanning the room as they made their way to the area of the floor that was lighted.

  There was the sound of a hand slapping bare skin.

  Ahead, Darrogh could see two people. A man who was holding a woman by the back of her neck over the edge of a chair arm. He could not see if it were Tamsin, but the dress was the same color as the one she had been wearing this evening. There was no struggle, so the woman might be a willing participant. He could not take that chance.

  Darrogh controlled his breathing.

  He inched his way closer.

  “Stop,” he said as he placed his pistol on the man’s temple.

  “What the hell?” The man started to turn and Darrogh pulled back the trigger of his gun. “Do not move.”

  “How did you get in?”

  “No lock can stop a Hunter.” Darrogh’s voice was cold. “Turn around slowly.”

  The man raised his hands and turned. He was tall for a human, but still shorter than Darrogh. He was the same man who owned the vehicle Tamsin had driven away in. He was bare-chested and the zipper was down on his pants.

  The woman’s dress was over her head and she made no attempt to cover herself. She did not move or speak. Darrogh pulled her dress down. It was obvious that Saxby had intended to have sex with her.

  He did not know if it was consensual.

  He grabbed George Saxby by the shoulder and threw him at Breanon. Breanon trained his rifle on Saxby, who backed himself up against a side table. Only when the man was under their control did Darrogh look at the woman. He knelt beside her and turned her face so he could see if it were Tamsin. It was only a formality because from the moment they had entered the flat, he had known she was there. There was a red mark across her cheek and tears running down her face. His thumb brushed the tears away. Her eyes were still filled with terror.

  “Do you want us to leave?”

  “Of course she does.” Saxby shouted. “You idiots have ruined everything.”

  “Please.” The word was so faint that Darrogh had to bend closer to hear. “Help.”

  Her words were slurred, but unmistakable.

  “Kill him.” Darrogh stood.

  “What?” Saxby sputtered. “You can’t get away with that.”

  Darrogh lifted Tamsin off the chair. The bodice of her dress was torn so he took his jacket off and put it around her shoulders before easing her back into the chair. She didn’t resist him. Neither did she help. He frowned and looked at her eyes. They were bloodshot and she could barely keep them open.

  “What did you drug her with?”

  “Why should I tell you?”

  “I can make your death quick and painless, or drag it out. Which would you prefer?”

  “Neither.” Saxby crossed his arms over his bare chest and clamped his mouth shut.

  “Search the place.” Darrogh ordered. “Start with the kitchen and the bottle on the counter.”

  Savis opened cupboards and in a few minutes he held up a bag of white pills. “It is Rohypnol.”

  The man had no honor. Worse, he had done harm to a woman. The Sacred Code was very clear about the consequences. George Saxby would die for what he had done to Tamsin.

  “Hey, it was only a joke.” Saxby’s voice was a whine. “I never meant to do anything, just scare her a bit.”

  Darrogh looked at the video camera mounted on a tripod. “You were filming this?”

  “Broadcasting.” Saxby straightened his shoulders. “Everyone on the internet has seen what you’ve done.”

  “I doubt it.” Savis picked the camera up and pulled the memory card from it. “The camera is not connected to a network.”

  “Search his flat. I want his computer and any other evidence of his activity. No one can trace this back to Tamsin.”

  Savis nodded and pocketed the memory card before he started searching the bookcases that lined one wall of the apartment. Darrogh flipped open the computer on his desk and searched the files. What he saw turned his stomach. Tamsin was not his first victim. There were dozens of video clips of women being abused and drugged.

  This man’s actions had condemned him.

  “There is more here.” Savis had opened a locked cupboard.

  Darrogh left the computer and went to Savis. There were memory cards, video tapes and discs. All of them had labels with women’s names on them. It was a neat and orderly library of George Saxby’s evil.

  “Make sure there is nothing with Tamsin’s name on it.” Darrogh turned back to Saxby. “I do not want the police making any connection with her and this monster.”

  Darrogh walked over to Saxby who was now standing with his hands behind his back. “You have broken every code that I live by.”

  “I took what they were offering.” Saxby sneered. “They strut around in dresses that barely cover them. They want to entice us. All I do is give them what they’re asking for.”

  “A crime against a woman is never tolerated.”

  “A good lawyer will get me off.” Saxby shrugged. “You can’t prove that I’ve done anything worse than have sex with these women.”

  Disgust filled Darrogh. The man showed no remorse or regret. He would never see that his actions were wrong. His abuse must stop and there was only one way to ensure that.

  “I am not bound by your laws.” Darrogh leaned close to Saxby. “To defile a woman is punishable by death.”

  Saxby’s eyes widened and he took a step back, moving his arm forward as he did so.

  Cold metal pressed into Darrogh’s side.

  The fool thought he could kill a Hunter. He was a mere human and his reflexes were too slow. Before he could pull the trigger, Darrogh had grabbed the gun and pushed it up and away from him. It was now pointed under Saxby’s head.

  “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.