Black Ice (Hunters Inc Book 2) Page 16

  If he had known she had been in the next hotel room, he might have been tempted to pay her a visit, after all, she looked the kind of girl who would drop to her knees, he should know, he’d had plenty of them.

  He checked his phone, nothing.

  The final pieces were taking what seemed like forever to fall into place, he needed the call that Morgan Andrews has been taken care of, then he could have the nice bottle of something special delivered, a conference video call to toast their success would see the three remaining goons down the laced liquor and then he was good to go.

  Gavin Smith was feeling pretty damn smug right about now, and why not. He had earned it.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  The sound of the TV was more than a welcome camouflage as the six men made their way silently through the house.

  None making even the slightest sound as they split again and reformed into three pairs. Ghosts.

  The office where Smith was, had two internal exits, each now covered by a two-man team leaving Jenson and Harry to make good on their entrance and bring Smith to his fucking knees.

  Connor stood, holding his nerve, he gripped his weapon firmly in his palm, he still hadn’t had a chance to use his new piece anywhere except the range, maybe tonight was going to be his lucky night.

  He was holding his shit together, just, but he knew it wouldn’t take much.

  The sound of a grunt and a light scuffle was the signal to enter the room and Connor was now just feet away from the man who was willing to watch Sarah rot for the rest of her life in prison, while he sat drinking fancy fucking cocktails on a sun lounger. Not happening.

  Gavin Smith was sat on his couch, the crystal tumbler empty and on its side on the floor. The man’s face was pale, he didn’t look like such a smug bastard now, that was for sure, Connor thought.

  He would have to remember to high five which one of them had clearly given Smith a nice fist to the dome, although it would have been far more satisfying if he’d had the pleasure. Still, his time would come.

  “Who the fuck are you? what do you want, Money?”

  Christ, did the prick think money could buy anything, anyone? In Smiths world maybe, in Connors, not a fucking chance.

  “You Mr. Smith, in layman’s terms, we want you.”

  Connor had never heard Jenson sound so aggressively calm, if that was even possible. It had sent a cold shiver through him, Connor was glad he wasn’t on the receiving end of this cluster fuck.

  Smith didn’t offer to get up.

  Connor didn’t blame him, the room although large in size for a home office was now feeling claustrophobically cramped as the six men filled the void around him.

  “What are you talking about?” Smith glanced at the TV the smirk though faint had been caught by Connor, and therefore everyone else in the room.

  Even now the prick thought he had the upper hand. Talk about cocky, Connor didn’t do cocky.

  Connor turned his head, for the first time since he had come face to face with Smith, he allowed his eyes the briefest of glances away and he focused on the TV to see what had made the smug bastard smile.

  Sarah…

  What the fuck? Why was she being put into an FBI vehicle? Why did everyone else seem oblivious to what was playing out on the TV screen, and acting like it was an episode of fucking Sesame Street?

  Unless they knew, that was it, there was something else in play that he hadn’t been made aware of and his was pissed. Kill a man with his bare hands pissed, Smith’s chances of leaving this house alive where depreciating by the second.

  Connor felt a sharp jab to his rib, he saw Harry moved his head slowly from side to side, the movement was subtle, but there, and he knew he had to hold fast.

  Something was definitely going down, something that he hadn’t been made privy to, yeah, he was pissed, yet it gave him a knowledge that his team was working to ensure they left no lose ends when it came to making sure Sarah was safe and in the clear.

  He could lose his shit later, and he would.

  Smith, ever the confident, seemed to have regained his composure, his frame oozed an arrogance that made Connor think the prick wouldn’t last five minutes before he became someone’s ‘wife’ when he went to prison.

  And there were plenty of guys who were looking, and who would be willing to share him around for the right price.

  Suddenly, Connor had to fight the urge to smile himself.

  “Whatever this is, I can assure you you’re wrong. So, I suggest you leave before my men come back and I call the police” maybe not so confident after all Connor thought as the clear wobble in Smiths voice gave away that the prick was shitting himself.

  “And I can assure you, we don’t make mistakes.” Jenson stepped forward.

  His presence towering over the coward of a man who had all but pissed his pants.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about”

  Connor watched as Smith backed further and further into the couch as though backing away from a rabid dog, until he had nowhere left to squirm.

  “Sarah Williams…” nothing more needed, the man on the couch froze and right on que, a dark wet patch appeared in his pants, fucking weasel had pissed himself like a baby.

  This was too easy.

  “I…” Smith stumbled over his words.

  “We have Andrews and we have the three fucktards that you sent to kill him, they are sat singing like a trio of fucking canaries, Andrews is pinning all this on you as we speak, so I suggest you start talking, see which one of you rolls over first. Its first come first served on making a deal.” Jenson stood no more than a couple of feet away from Smith who was sat staring, his gaze shifting from one of the large imposing figures that filled the room to another.

  The man shifted nervously, not quite the arrogant figure he had tried to portray.

  “Either way, this is going to end badly for you, so you have two choices, talk, leaving no detail out, or I walk away and leave you in the company of my men and there is one in particular who would be more than happy to have a little one on one chat with you, your choice, but I suggest you make it fast, I am not a patient man” Jenson shifted so that Smith had a good look at his semi-automatic weapon that was being stroked with an impatient trigger finger.

  Connor raised his eyebrow out of curiosity.

  Jenson was fucking good, hell, even he would have dropped to his knees and confessed after having that thrown at him.

  To say the piss wet weasel was in politics, he sure didn’t have the balls for anything.

  “It was Andrews, I swear. He wanted the bomb planting to discredit the rival company that hosted all the major sporting venues, he said if we could do a little damage, then it would show the safety was compromised and the other venues would lose their licenses, he was the next highest bidder and his company would get all the major contracts to hold future events and he would make millions from sales and sponsorships.”

  The man was spilling his guts, Connor thought he would have at least tried to talk his way out of it, play the victim card, something, but no… he had sold Andrews out like he thought it would get him off Scott free. Big mistake.

  After peado’s and terrorists, a grass was one of the most hated kind of inmate there was, Smith really wasn’t doing himself any favors, and a short phone call would make sure the prick went into general population, it was the least Connor could do for him.

  “So where does Sarah Williams come into this?” Connor stepped forward, he looked at his CO, Jenson gave him the nod.

  He wasn’t about to stand by and not get the answers he needed, couldn’t do it, he had to know, needed Smith to tell him in his own words, from his own mouth.

  “She was collateral damage, on her part at least, a scape goat, nothing more. After she was seen at the hotel, and I had confirmation that she had been on the same floor, she was an opportunity to good to pass over. She had seen me; probably heard things she shouldn’t have and she needed to be taken care of. Morgan
wanted her dead, but I said she could be used. So, we set her up”

  The punch landed clean on Smiths jaw. Connor was surprised he had managed to keep his hands to himself for this long.

  Smith slammed back, his fall cushioned by the soft material that covered the back of the couch, he hadn’t seen it coming, wouldn’t have mattered anyway, he didn’t stand a chance.

  There had been a definite ‘crack’ but Connor knew he hadn’t used enough force to break the man’s jaw. He still needed answers and having the prick with his teeth wired would only hinder the process. Unless Smiths bones where as weak as the man, in that case Connor would be willing to wait, maybe even break a few more bones for good measure.

  It had felt pretty damn good. Fuck that he had been told to keep his hands off, every single one of the men he stood with now would have done the same in his situation, Jenson included, he knew it, they knew it and that was why not a single word of protest was uttered.

  Call it even for leaving him out of the loop over Sarah, Connor thought.

  Connor felt a firm hand on his shoulder, it was enough to stop him from pummeling the bastard sat rubbing his jaw in his piss soaked pants.

  Not so fucking arrogant anymore. Smith looked pathetic, broken and Connor has an unparalleled feeling of satisfaction.

  “You get all that Super girl?”

  “Every last word. And thanks to the new body cams, I even got to see Mr Gavin Smith piss his pants” yeeha… “oh, and nice punch Doc”

  Connor liked how she had used his old call sign, gave him a nostalgia trip as he stood with the men from his unit.

  Man, he fucking loved his team.

  “Everyone outside…except Doc, I’m sure you and Mr. Smith here have a few more things you need to discuss in private, I’ll give you five minutes, no more, so I suggest you make them count, this is a one off, understand?” had he just been given a free pass from his CO?

  Hell, fucking yeah…

  Smith sat, his face pale, the piss patch on his pants growing larger as he faced the lone wolf in the room.

  Connor wasted no time, he grabbed the prick by the cloth of his shirt, hoisted him to his feet.

  Even when Smith stood, Connor towered over him, but the man was trying to pull away, almost cowering as Connor landed the first of several blows to the man’s face.

  The crack of a cheek didn’t deter him, instead spurring him on, left, right, left, gut punch, hit to the ribs, the smaller man grunted and groaned as the impact of every fist took its toll.

  Smith was winded, struggling for breath, blood trickling from both his mouth and nose, eyes starting to swell as Connor released every ounce of frustration that had been building with in him.

  “Enough Doc, we need him alive…” Connor heard the words, but didn’t, couldn’t stop.

  “Con, stop man, we got him ok, you got him, she’s safe, you need to stop…let it go” Harry pulled him back, a semi-conscious Smith now curled in a helpless bloodied mess on his office floor.

  Connor stepped further back, needing distance before he lost all control and started in with his boots, only a coward set onto a man who couldn’t defend himself, and it was clear to see, Connor had done a hell of a job on Smith, and defending himself was the last thing the broken man was capable off.

  Smith would have trouble eating solids for quite a few months, shame… still, there would be plenty of time for him to learn to suck dick where he was going.

  “Explain it to me again…”

  Connor walked outside and watched with an immense feeling of satisfaction as four blacked-out Chevrolet SUV’s approached the house.

  Jenson stepped forward, dragging a semi-conscious Smith forward, his hands now zip tied just a little tighter than was comfortable, not enough to actually make him loose the use of his hands once the blood had returned to them. But tight enough so he would remember the ties had been there.

  His pants were still wet.

  Connor couldn’t help but let free the smug grin that had been screaming to be released ever since Smith had sold Andrews down the river.

  “We had to make it believable, he had to think Sarah had been taken into custody, if we had told you that she was gonna be arrested, even if it was fake, you would have wanted to do the doting boyfriend shit and stay with her and we needed you here” Smiths swollen eyes narrowed further as Jenson gave Connor the explanation he’d asked for, the realization that he had been made caused him to almost give into the weakness that had invaded his body and drop to the floor like a fucking pussy.

  Connor watched as Jacks made his way down the soft verge to join the rest of the team. He’d almost forgotten that the seventh member of the team had been hunkered down just waiting for Smith to try and do a runner, like that was gonna happen.

  As they stood together, Smith swollen and broken and tied, it made him realize that it was over, the job was done.

  It wasn’t there place to secure a conviction, they just needed Sarah cleared, and they had done their part, this job was over.

  Just the thought of her made his chest rise and fall in a rapid motion, here he was all six foot whatever, solid wall of muscle, and he was being brought to his knees by the pretty little blonde who had come in to his life like a god damn Tornado leaving a path of destruction in her wake.

  She was fucking perfect, and she was his, he just needed to show her that when he said forever, he meant it.

  “Not one fucking shot fire, man… talk about frustration” Jacks itched out of his guile suit as he spoke. Only he would be disappointed that they didn’t kill some fucker Connor thought.

  “I call that a success, I don’t know about you. You’re gonna have to find some other way to work off your sniper frustration” Chris pulled the Velcro strap of his tactical vest.

  Connor knew how uncomfortable those things were, something he had never gotten used to. He loosened his own but it didn’t give him any relief from the hard pounding that was battling inside his chest.

  “And what about Andrews?”

  These were questions that Connor knew could wait, but he still needed answers, until Sarah was in his arms, in his bed, he wouldn’t believe this whole fucked up nightmare would finally be over.

  “There’s a team on its way over to his place, he’s not in any danger, I just needed Smith to think we already had him and come on, be honest, it worked a treat. I have no doubt that as soon as they get Andrews, he’s gonna roll over faster than a puppy wanting his tummy tickled”

  Connor and Harry exchanged a look. Puppy, tummy tickle? What the fuck?

  “So, who arrested Sarah?” She had been in cuffs, he had seen it.

  “That was Hannah and Mikey and I called in a favor, made it look authentic, didn’t I?” the look of smug gratification drawing more than an approving nod.

  Mikey was the head of security at the compound and was very quickly becoming a firm favorite amongst the team, although Connor wasn’t so sure he was happy about anyone putting his girl in cuffs, except him. So not the time to be getting a fucking cock twitch.

  Connor stood and listened as Jenson explained that he had been contacted as soon as Sarah had got back to the states. Every plane had to file a flight plan and it didn’t take long for the powers that be to work out that Sarah was more than likely on the private flight from Helsinki.

  Turned out, the FBI was already on to Sarah being framed, Em had intercepted an exchange that had revealed Sarah was only being kept on as a suspect while the real culprits were flushed out, but it was taking too long, the FEDs just needed a little push in the right direction and that’s where Jenson had stepped in, made a deal which involved sharing information, but no questions would be asked as to where the Hunters Inc boys had gathered their intel.

  Em was far too valuable an asset too loose and he wasn’t about to put her or any of them at risk for that matter.

  Connor needed this wrapping up, he needed to get back, he needed Sarah.

  Had to see for himself that she
was ok, that she was safe.

  Not until he had her in his arms, and his lips on hers would he be satisfied, then and only then would he allow himself the luxury of breathing.

  “You ladies about done?” he looked over to Jones and Briggs who seemed to be getting more than a little friendly with a couple of female FBI agents.

  Somethings never changed.

  Ironically, up until a few days ago, he would have been right there with them, turning on the old charm, maybe even working the proposal of a drink into the conversation, but not anymore, things had changed, he had changed…

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  The ride back to the warehouse was taking far too long, talk about Driving Miss Daisy. Connor needed Harry to get a fucking move on, he had a woman to wrap his arms around and they weren’t moving fast enough for his liking and being stuck in the confines of the dam ride was all but driving him crazy.

  “What the fuck…” Jenson had all but blown out his ear drum as his graveled voice filled his comms.

  Connor looked across at his team leader who had his cell in his hand “you’re sure? How the fuck did you let this happen?”

  “Boss?”

  “Keep me informed, and just do your fucking job, or do I have to teach you how to wipe your own fucking ass as well”

  Connor watched as Jenson threw his phone onto the dash. The big man gave a deep breath out and ran his hand down his face.

  “Well…?” something had gone wrong? right now, all Connor could think about was Sarah, she was safe, right?

  “Andrews is dead, best guess is part of the goon squad got there first. Fucker was hog tied, single bullet to back of the head, execution style. Mother fucker”

  Connor sat, rage bubbling closer to the surface, but the small confines of an SUV wasn’t the best place to go psycho.

  If the goons had killed Andrews, they were tying up loose ends and whether he liked it or not, Sarah was one hell of a fucking loose end.