Predator Chapter 2
Predator:
It was hard to concentrate on everything that was being said because of Dayanara. Since our meeting Saturday night, she’d been on my mind constantly.
After Stalker and I returned to the compound that night, we ended up in his room.
I wasn’t in the mood to party, even if things were lively in the common room.
More than one woman tried to entice us to join them, but all were rebuffed and left pouting.
Not that we gave a shit. We looked at each other when we reached his room.
“Her,” we both said at the same time.
“Christ, it was all I could do not to throw her over my shoulder and carry her out of there,” I growled.
“Me, too. Damn, why the hell has Stryder kept his family hidden?” Stalker asked.
“Hell if I know, but I can tell you one thing. I want to see more of her. I have to know if more meetings increase this awareness I felt or if it will lessen,” I replied.
“Same here. It was as if a live wire had been shoved under my skin and turned on. And the way she stood up to her brother and us. Fuck, that’s a turn-on. I never knew a woman defying me would do that,” he stated.
“I don’t think it would in every woman. It’s her. And that goddamn name of hers. Dayanara. It makes me hard just hearing it,” I muttered. I couldn’t help but push on the crotch of my jeans to adjust my hard-on. Stalker chuckled.
“Hey, don’t act like you’re not in the same shape as I am. You’re sporting an erection too,” I reminded him, gesturing to his zipper.
He gave me a rueful look. “I never said I wasn’t. Okay, we’ve got to find out everything we can about her, which means we have to spend time with her. If the club says no to helping, I’m gonna have to ask Bull to let us at least help Stryder. Surely, Pres wouldn’t deny us that,” Stalker stated.
“I hope to God he won’t. What we need to do is get our arguments ready in case we have to convince someone tomorrow when we meet,” I told him.
That was how we spent the next two hours. We tried out our arguments and more to be ready. Only the next day, we didn’t end up needing them. The club was easily persuaded.
Having her at the compound was as electrifying as our first meeting.
Escorting her inside had made me feel ten feet tall.
There was another reason, other than manners, that had Stalker and me doing it.
We wanted to stake a claim to her from the start.
Anyone getting ideas about her would know that they’d have to get through us first.
As introductions were made, we remained at her side.
We saw the way some of the club watched us.
There was amusement, curiosity, and lastly, contemplation.
It was the single brothers and the prospects we cared about.
No one made a move on her overtly, but Stalker and I noticed the male appreciation for Dayanara on their faces.
I didn’t believe any of them mistook the message we were broadcasting.
I had to make sure to stay on task with what was being shared.
I fought not to get lost in her. At one point, I glanced behind her back over to Stalker.
He met my gaze and gave me a single nod.
He knew exactly what I was thinking. Now, the trick would be to get to know her and allow her to know us enough to see if she’d be willing to give both of us a chance.
I knew that there was no way one of us would be able to win her without it putting a tremendous strain on our friendship.
In all likelihood, it would tear our bond apart.
And that was something I hated to imagine.
Losing Stalker as my friend and brother would be akin to losing a limb.
That depressing train of thought was cut short by the ending of the review of the information both Outlaw and Dayanara had acquired so far.
A big question I had, aside from when and how we’d take down Marshall Webb, was who her contact was within the prison.
All inmates were men. While there were probably a few females who worked there, was one of them Dayanara’s contact?
How did she know them? What had been asked of her in return for this intelligence?
She trusted them without reservation. Why?
“So first we have to figure out when his first meeting with his PO is. Once we know, we can decide when to snatch him. We’ll have to do it at night.
Less likely that anyone will see us if we do it after midnight.
It makes sense that he’ll return to his house.
There will be neighbors. We have to get in, subdue him, and get him out before alerting anyone else.
” Bear ran through the mental list we all had.
“No worries. I can get him to let us in. He’ll open the door, and when he does, we’ll hit him with a sedative. Slap a gag on him and zip ties or cuffs and roll him up and out the door,” Dayanara said without blinking.
“Daya, I don’t want you to be involved in the actual kidnapping. Gather information if you can without endangering yourself. If you want to be there when we torture his ass, then you can do that,” her brother said pompously.
She stared at her brother without saying a word for several heartbeats, then she replied.
“No, brother, I won’t. Why don’t you sit at home and wait until we’ve taken him?
I have the experience to do this. You don’t.
You’ve never imprisoned, interrogated, or killed someone.
” She calmly hit him with each reminder.
His face flushed red. “No, but I’m a man. A woman shouldn’t do those things. Come on, back me up. Tell her,” he implored the rest of us.
Heads were shaken, and muttered protests came from men and women. Saylor responded first. She came closer. Freya, her former military K-9 and current seeing-eye dog, was at her side.
“Jessup, I was a Marine like your sister. And Freya and I were in the thick of things when I was on active duty. I lost most of my sight and got these scars in an explosion. Not only was I involved in dangerous work, but when the person responsible for selling out my fellow Marines and me tried to kill me again, I killed several men who invaded this compound. I was very much involved in the interrogation and death of the man responsible. We have all, to varying degrees, been more than sit-at-home women. Each of us determines our involvement based on our comfort level. Your sister is a warrior. You should try to accept it. If you don’t, it could impact your relationship.
I’m sorry. I know we don’t know each other, but I’d hate for that to happen. ”
The silence was heavy after she finished. Player had come up and stood at her side with his arm around her.
“We all would love to protect our women from any kind of danger or bloodshed. However, we’ve learned that we can’t, and if we force it, life becomes tense, and we aren’t able to share all parts of ourselves.
That’s key to maintaining a solid relationship.
We’re alpha men, but we have to temper that.
Sure, there are times when we do have to insist that they let us take the lead.
They have learned to trust us when that happens.
Because we have included them at other times, they trust us not to let our overprotective alphaness rule.
It wasn’t always that way for some of us, and we paid the price for it. We learned,” Bull added.
The other old men in the room muttered and nodded their agreement. The redness faded from Dayanara’s brother’s face. He sighed heavily.
“I’ve always been the older brother who was told from the day our parents found out Mom was pregnant with Daya, that I was to protect my sister.
I took that to heart. It grew worse when they had Brighton years later.
It’s a habit, and after thirty-six years, it’s a hard one to break.
I’ll try. I don’t want it to hurt our relationship.
But cut me some slack, Daya,” Jessup pleaded.
“I will, but when you get overbearing, I have to point it out. Okay, if that’s put to rest, let’s get back to Marshall’s capture.
As I said, I can get him to answer the door and let me in.
We need a strong sedative. I’m not sure where to get that.
It has to be one I can administer by shot, so it’s faster-acting.
Any ideas?” she inquired. I watched her run her gaze around the room.
Zara spoke up. “I’m a physician. I can get one.
To make sure it hits him fast, administering it into his bloodstream is best. I doubt he’ll hold still for you to do that, so it has to be placed in his neck.
I can show you the best spot to hit. You might miss if he’s moving or fighting.
Can you keep him from harming you long enough for you to administer the shot and for it to work?
That’s the biggest worry. No one wants you to be harmed. ”
My body tensed at the thought. Again, I glanced over at Stalker. He was watching me. This time, after his nod to me, he spoke up.
“Predator and I will be on standby outside. She’ll wear a wire.
As soon as she’s ready to make her move, she can say a predetermined codeword.
We’ll enter to help subdue him so the shot can be administered correctly.
The three of us will then secure him and get his ass out of there.
We won’t take over completely, but we can’t allow him to harm you, Dayanara.
It has nothing to do with you being a woman. ”
The looks our brothers and their old ladies gave us made it clear they knew we were doing this for more than just helping out another brother or out of disgust for men like Marshall.
The claim was reinforced. I expected that after she and Jessup were gone, we’d be asked to explain.
I was okay with that. This second meeting had solidified my desire to do everything we could to make Dayanara Crane ours.
I knew Stalker felt the same. Dayanara turned to look at me. She appeared puzzled.
“I can handle him,” she said.
“No doubt, but it won’t be without a fight. If he fights, it’ll cause noise. We don’t want to risk alerting a neighbor who’ll come to see what’s wrong or call the cops. It’ll be cleaner this way with less chance of being caught,” I stated.
I kept to myself the part about it preventing her from getting a mark on her. If that occurred, it would send Stalker and me into a rage, no doubt. Then, we’d have to resist beating the hell out of him right then and there, thus increasing the noise.
“I think that’s a good idea. We’re all trying to stay out of jail,” Jess backed us.
Dayanara remained quiet. I waited to see what she’d say, regardless of whether she shot the idea down, Stalker and I would be there, listening. We’d breach the house when we saw fit.