Chapter 20 The Hunter Becomes the Hunted
THE HUNTER BECOMES THE HUNTED
SYDNEY
“Ithought we were friends,” Sydney said.
“We used to be friends,” Robby whispered, still trying to disguise his voice. “Back when we were kids.”
She needed to coax him into taking off that terrifying mask. He looked like a pyscho out of a slasher movie. And she needed to humanize him. Right now, her cousin was hiding behind the mask, allowing his alter-ego to take over.
“What’s your business deal with Bjorn Shariff?” she asked.
“You should be on your knees when you speak to me,” he bit out. “Do you know who I am? The power I wield? The wealth I’ve attained? I’m everything. You’re nothing, but a snoop. I mean, who are you with anyway?”
“You’re right, King A.” She stilled. “Help me get on my knees.”
“Yeah, right, so you can knock me down? I don’t think so.”
She pushed off the chair, dropped to her knees on the hard floor. Then, she lowered her head, said nothing.
“Hmm, so maybe you do know your place,” he said as he strutted back and forth in front of her. “Do you know what TSM stands for?”
She raised her head. “The Sovereign Method.”
“That’s my ingenious cover name. It really stands for To Serve Man.
I train men to take control of their lives.
I teach them how to master their women through power, fear, and domination.
The more women, the better. These women are taught to satisfy their every need.
They’re trained to learn the fine art of seduction so that they can attract more paying customers. ”
Sydney froze. Had she heard him right?
He was instructing men to pimp out women? And their primary jobs were to service men sexually so he could make millions?
Anger churned in her guts, but she had to be patient. Striking at the exact right time was crucial to her success… and to her survival.
I’m gonna take you down, asshole.
She had questions, but she stayed silent.
Being subservient was challenging, but she had no problem playing the part.
If her cousin had been torturing that woman, and there was a small cemetery nearby, he was telling the truth when he said he’d have no problem killing her…
or anyone else who found their way into his torture dungeon.
“Even with my successful business of helping lonely losers, my business deal with Bjorn Shariff will make me wealthy beyond my wildest dreams.”
He knelt beside her, tipped her chin toward him, and removed his mask.
“I’m sorry we didn’t connect sooner,” he hissed.
“You would have been nice to farm out. I could have made a lot of money on you. Caroline too. You two turned out good. Very good. Such beautiful specimens. Men would love fucking you. You look like a wild thing.” His lips drew back into a terrifying smile.
“Am I right or what? You’re a horny one, aren’t you? ”
She stared into the eyes of this insane man who’d taken power in the completely wrong direction. Absolute power without checks is akin to running with the devil.
Sweet, fun Robby had lost touch with reality.
“What’s your deal with Bjorn Shariff?” She braced for another assault.
Instead, he leaned in, kissed her on the mouth. Her stomach heaved, but she refused to vomit. Then, he stood, stared down at her. The hatred in his eyes and his arrogant expression had her fingers tingling. She glanced at her SIG on the floor.
She’d never used a weapon with her wrists tied together.
“When we were kids, I had the biggest crush on you,” he said. “I couldn’t wait for summer so we could spend it together.” This smile touched his eyes. “You were nice to me. Always.”
“Were you bullied?” she asked.
“Wasn’t everyone at some point? Girls weren’t interested in me.
Women only flocked to King A’s mystery and power.
No one ever wanted me for me.” He shrugged.
“I’m two weeks from landing myself fifty mil—fifty million dollars!
I’m gonna disappear like Houdini, reinvent myself in a new country, and live like the true king that I am. ”
You won’t win.
“I’d like to ask you a question before you torture and kill me,” she said.
“Go ahead.”
“Who’s buried in your cemetery?”
He pulled her from the floor and shoved her back in the chair, then dragged another over, spun it around, and sat across from her. “The twelve women who tried to stop me.”
Fury burbled from the depths of her soul.
“They failed. I won,” he continued. “Do you know why?”
“Because you’re King A.”
“Yes! And I always win.”
“You said I was always nice to you, so I’m going to ask for a favor,” she continued. “Just one.”
“You want me to let you go, don’t you?”
“No,” Sydney replied. “I want you to release your victim. Let her go free, then untie me. I’d like the chance to defend myself. We both know you’re gonna win, but I would die with some dignity. That would help my mom and dad process their grief.”
The prisoner tied to the cross choked back a sob. Though Sydney had her back to her, she could feel her pain and her desperation from across the room.
His eyes widened and he stared at her for the longest time. “Why would you do that? Why wouldn’t you ask for yourself?”
“I signed up for this job,” she said. “There are inherent risks in what I do.”
“What exactly do you do?” he asked.
“I hunt down and eliminate the scum of the earth,” she answered matter-of-factly. “And I’m the one who’s been hunting you.”
Anger and hatred billowed from his eyes. “I’m going to put all my energies into making you wish you’d never found me. I hope you have a high pain threshold, cousin, ‘cause you’re gonna need it.”
A rush of fear and hatred filled her.
Sydney heard a sound coming from upstairs, like the cry of the wind whispering in her ear.
Come on, baby. I’ve stalled him for as long as I could.
TEDDY
Teddy stepped on the metal ladder fully expecting it to buckle under his weight. When it didn’t, he took a step down, and another. He had no idea what he was walking into, but he was confident it was not good.
Whoever was down there had Sydney, and he was prepared to do whatever it took to get her out of there alive.
Whatever it fucking takes.
At the bottom rung, he pulled his Glock, strode toward the closed door. When he yanked it open, he paused to take in the room, and a fury he’d never known turned his blood to ice in his veins.
Wearing his freakish white mask, King A had Sydney in a choke hold, the tip of his blade digging into her neck. A trickle of blood seeped from her throat.
“Put down your gun,” King A rasped, “or she gets a one-way ticket to hell.”
Teddy set his Glock on the floor.
“Kick it over here,” King A said.
With his gaze cemented on Sydney, he looked for a signal. She nodded once, but it was the look in her eyes that surprised him the most. She was at ease. Complete ease.
Like she was holding a knife to that motherfucker’s throat.
In that moment, he respected her more than he ever imagined possible. Her courage spilled from her. There was no fear in her eyes, no tears either. She stood there like a warrior fully prepared to do battle. Even without their weapons, they were lethal.
King A just didn’t know it.
Yet.
“Last chance to do the right thing,” Teddy ground out.
“I’ll kill her and her blood will be on your hands,” King A said.
“Send it over,” Sydney rasped out.
Teddy kicked the Glock and it sailed toward the side wall.
King A released Sydney, grabbed the weapon, and flew out a barely visible back door, painted black to match the wall.
Teddy strode to her. “Are you okay?”
“I need to find him so I can kill him, then shove his heart down his goddamn throat,” she bit out. “King A is my cousin, your poker pal.”
“Not Haqazzii?”
“No,” she said. “He was alone with the woman. What about the house?”
“Empty.”
Sydney regarded the victim. “There are people here who will help you. I’m sorry, but I gotta fly.”
“Kill him for me.” Her hoarse voice sliced through the cold air.
Teddy tried the door Robby had fled through, but it was locked. “I’ll slash his tires so he can’t leave.”
He bolted up the ladder steps, then tapped the comm. “Greystone, Caroline.”
“We discovered a cemetery near the main house,” Greystone said. “Where the hell have you been?”
“In a dungeon under the garage. King A—Robby Waters— is in the woods and he’s armed.”
Sydney rushed over. “Tell them to cover me. I’m going to the SUV to get my rifle. He’s in for the fight of his life.” She racked her SIG.
Teddy relayed her message to Greystone and Caroline.
“Give me your key fob,” Sydney said.
He handed it over, and she ran out. Teddy unsheathed his knife strapped to his ankle and slashed Robby’s tires. When he peered inside the car, he spotted the keys in the cupholder. After grabbing them, he bolted out.
“Sydney,” he said into the comm.
“I’m at the SUV.”
The four met at the back of the vehicle.
“There’s a prisoner in Robby’s torture dungeon under the garage,” Teddy said to Greystone and Caroline. “She needs help.”
“We’re on it,” Caroline said.
“We’re going after him,” Teddy said.
“It’s hide-n-seek time and it looks like we’re it.” A sinister smile brightened Sydney’s eyes.
Jolts of energy soared through him. “The hunter becomes the hunted.”
As he and Sydney took off into the woods, she whispered, “I know exactly where he’s hiding.”
SYDNEY
Cradling the rifle, Sydney inhaled a calming breath. She needed to focus-up. There would be plenty of time to analyze the gruesome situation, days and days to gather evidence and unearth bodies. She needed to find her cousin and neutralize him.
After she whispered Robby’s likely location to Tank, he’d figured out a plan in seconds, his brilliant mind working like a computer.
“Love it,” she murmured. “But I don’t like that you’re risking your life. Why don’t I—”
“It’s a go,” Tank whispered through the comm as they continued forward. “I know what I’m doing.”