Chapter 10
Hunter”s phone vibrated against his thigh, his hand shot to his side, pulling the device from the pocket of his cargo pants. The screen flashed an unfamiliar number, but when he answered, Jimmy”s voice, tinged with urgency, crackled through the line.
“Got something you need to hear, Hunter,” said Jimmy, breathless. “Meet me, twenty minutes.”
The call ended as abruptly as it had come, leaving Hunter to grapple with a sudden spike of adrenaline. Jimmy”s hushed tones didn”t sit right with him. Something was off. With no time to waste, Hunter nodded to Ghost.
“Trouble?” Ghost”s asked, reading him like a book. They’d worked closely together for years, new each other well.
“Could be,” Hunter replied. “Jimmy says he has something. Wants to meet.”
Ghost”s gaze sharpened, reflecting the same suspicion that gnawed at Hunter”s gut. “You think it”s a setup?”
“Can”t rule it out.” Hunter”s words were clipped. Last night, there’d be something off about the man they’d met. He’d failed to meet his eyes when asked direct questions and Hunter wondered if he couldn’t be hiding something.
“Jimmy?” Cameron came back into the room carrying a steam hot mug of coffee. “Highly doubtful. He’s harmless.”
“You’ve never felt anything off about him?” Ghost inquired.
“Jimmy is a dear boy,” Amber’s grandmother said, following closely behind Cameron and sitting a plate of homemade cinnamon rolls in the middle of the table. “Thought you kids might be hungry.”
Hunter couldn’t help but smile. The woman was in her eighties; he supposed they were kids to her. He was impressed by her health. She might be physically eighty, but the woman moved around like she was in her early sixties. They’d kept nothing from Amber’s grandparents who’d volunteered good insight, especially her grandfather, a highly decorated Vietnam veteran.
“He has treated us with nothing but respect since he got the assignment,” Lauren added.
“Good to know,” Hunter said without giving away any of his feelings on the matter. Most of the time, the really bad criminals, were the ones who could fool everyone around them into thinking they were one of the good guys.
“Let’s go see what he has to tell us,” Ghost said.
“Anyone else, want to tag along?” Hunter asked.
“I have work to do around here,” Lauren said.
“Same. The animals can’t feed themselves. But let us know what he has to say?” Cameron asked.
“Amber?” Hunter glanced at her. “What about you?”
“Of course, I’m coming.”
Hunter”s eyes narrowed as he observed Jimmy shifting from foot to foot, his gaze darting erratically through the trees. The man”s jittery movements painted a stark contrast to the stoic calm of the mountains around them. Ghost stood a silently beside Hunter, doing what he did best. Ghost was often not seen or heard, blending into the environment around him.
“Jimmy,” Hunter called out, his voice controlled but laced with suspicion, “you look like you”re expecting the devil to pop out from behind a bush.”
“Or maybe an angel,” Jimmy countered, attempting a laugh that faltered and died in his throat.
“Cut the crap,” Ghost interjected, his tone icy. “What”s going on?”
The words seemed to break some internal dam within Jimmy, and he blurted out the damning truth. “They paid me—to work uninterrupted, keep the feds from finding them. We had an agreement. They did their business and left me cash in an ammo box behind the cabin.”
“You knew they were here? This entire time?” Amber’s voice quivered with anger.
“I came across two men talking in the cabin one day, I could tell it wasn’t hunting related. They were having a private meeting, didn’t even bring their men with them. It’s not the normal way they work. I was armed and Hell’s Speed President talked the cartel leader out of shooting me. Didn’t want a federal park ranger’s disappearance to bring the cavalry to the area. We worked out a deal. They could use the cabin to meet in and I would be paid to look the other way. I didn’t know what kind of business dealings they had, or that they would be meeting on private land. I would have told them that your family’s property was off limits, made sure they knew the boundaries.”
“Are you kidding me right now?” Amber looked at him incredulously.
“I mean. Fuck. I figured they were up to something, but I had no evidence as to what.” He scrubbed his face with his hand. “I purposely avoided finding out too much, sticking my nose into it. I have a wife, kids to provide for. The extra money paid for sports and dance. I told my wife I’d gotten a raise…”
“Why are we here?” Hunter interrupted. “Is this a trap?”
“Last night they contacted me. They wanted to pay me to sell you out, Hunter...and Amber. They have a video of you in the cabin and want information.” His confession hung in the air, a noxious fog of betrayal.
Hunter”s jaw clenched, a muscle ticking in his cheek as he processed the information. His instincts had been right; something was definitely off.
“Keep talking,” Hunter commanded, his hand subconsciously adjusting the fit of his pistol.
“They know you”re here,” Jimmy admitted, his voice fractured by fear. “They”ve got people coming... They want to wipe you out. I couldn’t put Lauren and Jack at risk so I lied. I told them you were guests at The Lookout and have no connection to the family who owns the land.”
Ghost”s eyes met Hunter”s, a silent exchange of strategy and resolve passing between them. Hunter”s mind raced, the pieces falling into place with a clarity that sharpened his focus.
“Details, Jimmy. I need details,” Hunter pressed, aware that every second counted.
“They”ve got eyes on the camp,” Jimmy continued, his words tumbling out in a desperate stream. “They know who Amber is. They quickly found her online. Know the languages she speaks and about her documentaries... They see her as a threat. And they”re not stopping until she—and all of you—are gone.”
Hunter felt the cold touch of dread slither down his spine. Amber was in imminent danger. It was a blow that hit harder than any physical attack could.
“I never meant to get in this deep. All I did was turn my back on a couple men meeting in the woods. I didn’t know they were this bad…”
“Help us, then,” Hunter said, the threat still clear in his tone. “Prove you”re not completely sold out.”
“Anything, I”ll do anything.” Jimmy gasped, desperation etching lines into his weather-beaten face. “Just tell me what you need.”
“Information. We need to know their next move, where they”re hitting us from,” Hunter growled. “You”ve got yourself into this mess, now dig yourself out by helping us dig a grave for those bastards.”
“Okay, okay,” Jimmy nodded vigorously, wiping sweat from his brow with a shaky hand. “I”ll get you everything I can, you have my word.”
Hunter studied him, searching for any hint of deceit. The mountain air was still, as if holding its breath, waiting for Jimmy”s redemption or his ultimate downfall. “I’m not sure your word means a whole lot right now.” Hunter prided himself on being a good judge of character. He sighed. As shitty as the man’s actions were, Hunter believed him. He’d got wrapped up in it, unintentionally. He had no doubt the man’s motivation had been purely financial.
“Listen,” Hunter”s voice was low, every word deliberate. “I”m taking your offer, Jimmy. But I don”t trust you. Not by a long shot.” His gaze was a sharpened blade, cutting through any fa?ade Jimmy might have hoped to maintain.
Jimmy nodded, his eyes darting away before finding Hunter”s again. “Understood. I”ll get you what you need.”
“Keep it tight and keep it quiet,” Hunter instructed. “We can’t afford any slip-ups. You”re on thin ice, and it’s cracking fast.”
“Got it,” Jimmy said.
Ghost moved closer. “We should head back. Plan our next move.”
Hunter gave a curt nod, every second mattered now, the enemy knew who and where they were.
Hunter”s knuckles whitened as he gripped the cold steel of his gun, his breaths shallow in the crisp mountain air. The scent of pine and earth mingled with the adrenaline that coursed through his veins—a potent cocktail of readiness and rage. Jimmy”s face haunted him, the image flickering like a faulty light bulb in his mind”s eye. Betrayal stung worse than any physical wound could. They’d headed back to the spot the cartel had met up at before. There was little chance they’d return to the same area after discovery, but Hunter wanted to check anyway. They wouldn’t engage if they found them, it was a recon hike.
“Focus,” Ghost said. There was something to be said about having men on your side who knew you this well. Hunter”s gaze shifted back to the tree line, where shadows played tricks on the eyes. But this was no time for illusions; reality had come knocking with a vengeance.
They’d been gathering intel, setting up a case and the plan, before meeting with Jimmy yesterday, was to utilize Ghost’s state contacts, set up a sting operation and let the government take it from there. Not that Hunter had a lot of confidence in the government. They’d let him down a few too many times and often, men who deserved to be put down like rabid dogs, were instead out within months to victimize others. But, after the shootout, it was either get their help or call his team in. While he couldn’t trust Jimmy, he trusted Ghost with his life. Ghost came back from his meeting with his contact assured that when the time was right, he could make a call and the state police would come flying in.
Everything changed with Jimmy’s confession. They went from hunters to the hunted. One thing was for damn sure, Hunter wasn’t anyone’s prey. When they’d returned to the house, Cameron apologized profusely for misreading the man, but Hunter waived off his apology. Amber told the room how in her line of work, she’d seen plenty of good men make bad decisions in order to support their families.
But the difference was, as Hunter could see it, Jimmy wasn’t doing it to support his family. He had a good job with benefits. No, he was in the wrong place wrong time… While he could see agreeing with them to get out alive, he didn’t understand why Jimmy didn’t immediately alert the authorities and set up a sting for the next time they met. This threat could have been extinguished months, if not years, ago. Instead, he turned a blind eye on the illegal activity going on in the forest he was tasked to protect.
Too many what ifs ran through Hunter’s mind. What if a hiker or hunter had come across the group? What if Jack was playing in the woods and stumbled upon the two groups meeting? No. There was no excuse for Jimmy’s behavior. He should have done his damn job.
Amber, crouched beside him, watched with hawk-like precision. Her steady breathing was the only sound betraying her own inner turmoil. Her profile, usually softened by the gentle curves of her smile, was now etched with the hard lines of determination.
Do I want revenge for threatening her or to protect her?
The question lingered in Hunter”s thoughts, a seesaw tipping precariously at the edge of reason. Jimmy’s information could be their salvation or their undoing, and Hunter”s decision would weigh heavily on the scales.
“Jimmy”s weak,” Amber said suddenly, as if she too could read his thoughts. “But if he has intel, we need it.”
“Damn it,” Hunter muttered under his breath. “We use what we”ve got. Even if it comes from a traitor.”
The chill of the night seeped into their bones, but it was the chill of uncertainty that truly gnawed at them. Each moment that passed could bring a new threat, each sound a possible harbinger of attack. As the darkness deepened and the stars blinked into existence above, Hunter made the call with a nod so subtle it was almost missed. “We stick to the plan. Jimmy”s our double agent now, whether he likes it or not.”
Amber”s expression didn”t change, but her hand found his, a silent reminder of the one-night stand gone wrong…or was it very right?