Chapter Eighteen
HUNTER
Another two weeks…
I was nothing but ash before Coby found me.
In trouble with the law again, I was forced into counseling for the profound grief over the loss of my mother.
My public defense attorney had cleverly attributed it to my bad behavior in order to keep me from doing hard time after I was caught burning down my father’s house with him inside of it.
Unfortunately for the world, my sperm donor survived.
Coby’s relentless optimism had pushed back the hopeless obscurity, laying siege to my mind until there was only her. I’d become so dependent on her light that I could barely last a few hours without seeing or hearing from her before I began to slip back into darkness.
She had been the only person I could count on in a long time and the one time she’d needed me…
My chest cracked when a sob was trapped inside.
I’d failed her.
I wouldn’t fail her now.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the reason I was standing alone in the middle of the street with a rocket launcher hoisted on my shoulder. Was it slightly over the top? Maybe. But for Coby, I would travel to the depths of hell to get her back.
“Okay,” Destiny spoke into my ear. She was safely hidden on top of one of the buildings with the handgun I taught her how to shoot, just in case.
I’d taught Coby, too, but she was determined not to ever use one.
“According to the security feed, he’s in the second vehicle.
A direct hit will almost definitely kill him, so unless you want to never find Coby… ”
“Got it.”
In addition to offering me temporary shelter from the Fola’s reach, Destiny was the one who located one of their weapon caches, and with her help, I was able to escape with enough hardware to make sure Ocean got the message of just how serious I am.
I knew he could see, but I would give almost anything to know if he was scared yet.
Smiling a little at the thought of him pissing his pants, I pressed the trigger and fired the rocket.
The lead vehicle exploded, but the blast’s force launched the second vehicle into the air, flipping it and landing it on its roof.
I only had time to toss the rocket launcher away and grab a couple of smoke grenades before the doors of the trailing SUVs flew open.
Snatching the rings free of the canisters, I ran forward and tossed them on the ground toward the SUVS.
While they rolled to a stop, I quickly removed the automatic rifle from my shoulder.
Heavy smoke started filling the street as I ducked behind one of the parked cars.
“Where did she go?” one of the goons asked.
“I can’t see shit!”
“Someone check on the boss.”
“You’ve got two heading toward Kilpatrick,” Destiny whispered in my ear. “Ten o’clock. Good luck.”
Breathing heavily, I closed my eyes and said a prayer before shooting to my feet, aiming in the direction Destiny indicated, and unleashing on the men. With their backs turned to me, they stood no chance as my bullets dropped them like flies.
“Oh shit!”
“There she go! There she go!”
Ducking just in time to avoid their bullets, I belly crawled to another car and returned fire.
“Fuck! There!”
None of their bullets could touch me since it was so hard to see past the smoke.
I was shooting just as blindly until I remembered the thermal imaging camera I’d also pilfered from Ocean.
Heart pounding in my ears, I ducked behind the car once again and freed it from the pouch on my waist as the shooting continued around me.
Moments later, I had their heat signatures showing on the small screen, so I swapped out my rifle for the handgun in my holster and weaved between the cars as I hunted down Ocean’s men within the smoke and shadows.
Time stretched endlessly, but in reality, it was only a couple of minutes before the white opaque smoke thinned out and the hunter became the hunted.
I was ducking behind a red car riddled with bullets and broken windows when I peered around and saw them. There were only three left now, but they had regrouped and were slowly stalking the street in a triangulated formation.
And I was out of bullets.
“Well, fuck…” I shook my head and swallowed my whimper.
“The things I do for you, bestie,” I whispered as if she were here.
I would need a massage, a pedicure, and a good ass nut after this.
The likelihood of any of those happening was a firm zero.
Pulling the stun grenade free, I tossed it over the trunk of the car without looking.
There was a flash, and then a chorus of shouts rang out before the bang.
Rushing from my hiding spot, I unsheathed my hunting knife as I sprinted for the one in the middle.
As soon as I reached him, I didn’t hesitate before burying the blade deep in his gut and driving it up toward his sternum.
Blood spilled from his mouth through clenched teeth and splattered my face (yuck), so I turned my head to the man gaping next to him and smiled.
“Ah, hell nah! Fuck this!”
Realizing that they were on the losing side, the remaining two retreated in desperation to the safety of the armored SUVs, but my bloodlust could not be sated.
One slit throat and a stab in the back later, I was the last man standing.
Well…almost.
Remembering the spare bullet I always kept in a special place, I wedged my fingers underneath my vest and dug into the space between my breasts until I was able to pinch the warm metal between my fingers.
I strutted toward the overturned Denali as I loaded the single bullet into the magazine and slid back the slide. It took some effort to wrench open the door, but when I did, I was immediately facing down the barrel of a gun.
“Ah, Hunter,” the underboss of the mafia casually greeted, as if I didn’t also have a gun pointed at him. “You really are a bloodthirsty beauty, aren’t you?”
A multitude of responses entered my mind as I looked around the SUV. I knew Coby wasn’t with him, but I still had to see for myself before I finished this.
Where’s Coby?
I should have barbecued you.
Where’s Coby?
Villains should not be allowed to look this good.
Where. Is. Coby?
In the end, it wasn’t meant to be because I didn’t get a chance to say a damn word before I caught movement in my peripheral vision.
“Oh fuck!” the man in the front seat shouted.
“No!” Ocean roared.
I threw myself out of the way in time to avoid the bullet his head of security had for me, and I weaved through the enflamed and bullet-riddled cars until I was standing out of sight but still within earshot.
Panting, I rested my head against the brick building and fought to catch my breath as I listened to Ocean and his bodyguard climb out of the Denali and then drag the driver out.
“What the fuck!” the bodyguard screamed moments later. “She fucking killed everybody!”
The last thing I expected to hear in response was Ocean laughing, as if the carnage delighted him.
I guess his moniker as the Bloodthirsty Prince was well earned.
Those were his men, and he didn’t even care.
Peering around the corner, I saw him tipping his head back to the sky while lightning flashed.
“I think I’m in love!” he shouted.
Gasping, I ducked back into hiding and closed my eyes while my heart raced all over again and butterflies erupted in my stomach.
I couldn’t have heard him right. There was no way.
Confusion, mixed with shock, held me in place until it started raining, and then I did the only logical thing when I heard them start calling in reinforcements.
I peeked around the corner of the building again to see Ocean looking around, swiveling his head back and forth as if he was searching for me.
When his gaze reached my hiding spot and peered a little too long in my direction, I gasped again and ran like hell in the opposite direction.
I told myself that was the only reason I ran and not because of what I thought I’d heard.
I sprinted all the way to the meeting point with Destiny, and then I saw her home safely before choosing to sleep in my car.
Fortunately, Destiny hadn’t actually been home as I led him to believe when Ocean had shown up, but if he was looking for me there, it meant staying at her place wasn’t an option.
Destiny insisted that it was fine. Her over-the-top security measures meant we would see Ocean coming long before he arrived, but I wasn’t willing to take that chance, so Deborah it was.
I didn’t mind.
The Thunderbird and I go way back. She was the first real home I ever had.
Coby was my second.
I think I’m in love. Ocean’s words replayed in my mind as I got comfortable in the backseat of Deb. Eventually, they lulled me to sleep, but not before I had the disturbing thought that in another life, I could have been too.
The next morning, I woke up to three messages from Ocean that chilled my blood and ignited my fury.
Unknown: I hope you’re as good at running as you are at killing, Vengeance.
Unknown: You can run, but there is nowhere you can hide where I won’t catch you
The third message was an attached photo of Coby standing on the balcony of some library that looked straight out of a fairytale. She was smiling widely down at the cameraman like she didn’t have a care in the world.
Like she didn’t miss me at all.