aHunter4Ever (2 page)

“So this code allows you to kill people willy-nilly?”

“We kill those who have no honor.” Partlan rolled the tension from his
shoulders. This was an argument that had no purpose. Humans did not understand
that there was only one punishment for breaking the first law of the Sacred
Code and that was death. “Those who hurt women or children have broken the
code.”

“You obstructed justice.” Agent Kelly shook her head and pulled a set of
handcuffs from her under her jacket. “You’re under arrest.”

Partlan raised an eyebrow. “Is that what you really want to do?”

“Just as you have your code to live by, I have a duty to protect people
from those who break the law.”

“I ensured that your laws were followed.”

“We will have to investigate further to be certain.” Agent Kelly took a
step toward him. “Until then, you need to come with me.”

Partlan shook his head and turned to the door. “Your rules make no
sense.”

Agent Bakker moved away from the door with his gun drawn. “Stop, or I
will shoot you.”

Partlan looked over his shoulder. Agent Kelly’s one hand was raised and
she was motioning for him to stop. Her eyes were narrowed, her lips pursed, and
her other hand was reaching inside of her jacket. Her intent was clear. She did
not want him to leave the room. Still, he could not let himself be captured. On
his home planet, he would have obeyed a woman, but since landing on Earth, he
knew they did not always rule with logic.

She was a woman he was connected to.

He would not fight her.

“I will not be held by your laws.” Partlan turned to face her. “I will
not hurt a woman.”

“Good.” Agent Kelly threw the cuffs at him. They landed with a soft thud
on the area rug where Partlan was standing. “Put these on.”

“No.” Partlan walked backwards to the door. “I will leave you with
information where you can contact me with your questions.”

“Stop.” Agent Kelly and Agent Bakker shouted together.

“Don’t think I won’t shoot you.” Agent Bakker had moved close to him.

Partlan reached into his jacket for a card.

Agent Bakker took a step closer and pulled the trigger of his weapon.

The loud retort of a gun ripped through the air.

Pain shot through Partlan’s shoulder. He took a step back and looked down
at the blood seeping through his upper left chest. It left a trail down the
front of his torn shirt and his skin was blackened around a small hole where
the bullet had entered. He looked up at Agent Kelly and saw the dismay on her
face. He sent her a wave of forgiveness. He could not blame her. Her laws might
be wrong, but it was her duty to follow them. Just as it was his duty to leave.
He took an unsteady step backwards.

“I’ll shoot again.” Agent Bakker’s voice was cold.

Before Partlan could take another step, the door opened and two FBI
agents rushed in. They grabbed him. He fought them off and turned away just as
another agent pushed him to the ground. A searing pain ripped through his
shoulder and for a second he thought he’d been shot again. He recognized the
agent who’d tackled him and was pressing his hand against his wound. It was
Agent Smythe.

Partlan struggled to get up, but another two other agents jumped on him.
He was losing blood and a wave of weakness washed over him. He was finding it
harder to breath and he did not think he would be able to prevent his
imprisonment. He closed his eyes and sent out a mind connection to Ardal, his
leader, to let him know of his capture. Before he could finish his report, a
jolt of massive energy pulsed through him.

Every muscle in his body went rigid.

Immense pain followed.

The last thing he heard was Agent Kelly’s voice. There was a note of
panic in her tone. “Call an ambulance.”

The gunshot reverberated around the room.

Blood oozed from Partlan’s chest and that’s when the reality of the
situation hit her. Agent Grace Kelly shuddered as a wave of revulsion skittered
through her body. Her stomach churned with nausea. She’d been involved in shoot
outs with criminals before, but never had she’d experienced this gut wrenching
panic. It was primal in its intensity. It was as if she’d been shot herself,
which was ridiculous.

She watched Smythe subdue the prisoner, pushing his hand against the
wound in Partlan’s chest. The man was a sadist. Then Smythe brought out his
stun gun and held it against Partlan’s side and shocked him until his body
jerked in response. The words froze in her throat as she tried to scream at
Smythe to stop. She shook with reaction.

Partlan looked up at her.

There was acceptance in his eyes.

“Call an ambulance.” It was her voice, but the words sounded as if they’d
come from someone else.

She rushed to Partlan and pushed Smythe off his limp body. “He’s not
going anywhere.”

“Best to play it safe with this one.” Smythe stood and kicked Partlan in
the side.

“Is that necessary?” Nikki Nevins voice rose in outrage. “The man brought
our son back to us and this is the best you can do?”

“He’s a criminal.” Agent Smythe straightened his dark suit coat. “You
should thank us for making the world a safer place.”

“He made it safer, not you.” Nikki turned to her sobbing son and pulled
him into her arms. “The only thing the FBI has done is lose our money and let
our son’s kidnappers get away. Now you’ve exposed Gates to horrific violence.
I’m sorry we ever called you in for help.”

“Your son is alive.” Smythe spoke without emotion. “Do you know how rare
that is in a kidnapping?”

“Enough.”

Grace used her most authoritative tone. The situation was deteriorating
faster than she could control. An agent in charge never allowed that. She
straightened her shoulders and let her training take over.

“Smythe you can leave. Contact the field office and apprise them of the
new developments.”

For a second she thought he was going to disobey a direct order. He
looked at her, his brown eyes narrowed and then he shrugged. He left the room
with a slam of the door. Bakker had holstered his weapon and was on the floor
beside Partlan. He pulled a pistol out of Partlan’s waistband and put it into a
clear evidence bag.

“I thought he was reaching for his gun.”

“Well it wasn’t in his upper pocket.” Grace subdued a shiver that raced
across her body. “What was he trying to get?”

Bakker reached into the pocket of Partlan’s green military style vest and
pulled out a piece of paper. “It’s a business card.”

He handed Grace the card. She looked down at the light beige stock and
noted the print. There was only one line.
aHunter4Hire.com
.
Nothing else. This must have been how Selena had contacted them.

“Should I cuff him?” Bakker picked up the cuffs she had thrown at
Partlan. They were on the rug beside him.

“He’s not going anywhere.”

Bakker nodded and continued to search Partlan’s pockets. Grace forced her
eyes away. Looking at Partlan was causing her insides to twist. It wasn’t the
sight of blood, or an unconscious prisoner that upset her. It was the
lifelessness of his body. He affected her like no other man had ever done before.
It was as if his misery, was hers.

She turned back to the Walters family. Steve was sitting on the couch
with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. Nikki was holding her son close
and running a comforting hand over his head. Anger and disbelief flashed from
Nikki’s eyes. Grace cleared her throat. No matter how she felt, she was still a
Federal Agent and responsible for the welfare of these people.

“I’m sorry for the disturbance.”

“You call shooting a man in my living room a disturbance?” Steve Walters’
lip curled into a sneer. “I’ll be billing the FBI for damages.”

“That’s understandable Mr. Walters. As soon as the ambulance arrives,
we’ll be out of here.” Grace gestured toward Partlan. “He gave us no choice.”

“He didn’t threaten you.” Nikki’s voice sounded brittle. “You could have
let him go.”

“That wasn’t possible. Agent Bakker shot because he thought Partlan was
going for a weapon.”

Grace whispered the words as she turned back to her prisoner. He was
still motionless on the floral area rug where he’d fallen. His breathing was
ragged and there were bubbles coming from his wound. She knelt beside him and
pressed her hand against his wound to slow the blood and air loss. Already his
shirt was bright red and there were splatters of blood on the rug. He looked
lifeless, but she could feel the steady beat of his heart beneath her hand.

She willed him to hold on. He might be a criminal, but he didn’t deserve
to die. The siren of an approaching ambulance eased some of the tension that
was building within her. She had too many questions. She needed him alive. None
of his answers would explain the connection she felt with him, though.

He was a stranger she’d only met a couple of days ago.

She felt as if he were the only person she had ever known.

The paramedics rushed into the room. They rolled him over to check for an
exit wound, but there was none. The next few minutes were taken up with
applying a clear bandage over the wound and then trying to lift Partlan onto
the stretcher. It took four of them and when he was situated on it, they rolled
him out of the room. Grace kept pace with them. She wasn’t about to let anyone
else have access to Partlan, or give him a chance to escape.

“Tell Smythe to finish here.” Grace issued her orders to Bakker as she
climbed into the back of the ambulance with the paramedics. “You head back to
the office. You’ll need to hand in your weapon and make a report. As soon as I
know the prisoner’s condition, I’ll debrief you.”

Bakker nodded and turned back to the house just as the rear door of the
ambulance shut the rest of the world out. The vehicle drove away with siren and
lights on. The paramedic in the rear with her, grabbed one of Partlan’s arms
and inserted an IV. He hooked up a bag of saline and then cut off Partlan’s
shirt and camo vest so he could hook up electrodes to his chest.

For the first time, she was able to see the full extent of the damage
done to Partlan. The 9mm bullet had ripped a smooth hole through his chest. The
area was surrounded by a ring of abrasion and gunshot residue. She swallowed
back the bile that rose in her throat. She’d seen gun wounds before, but they’d
never affected her like this one.

Partlan was a confessed vigilante with no respect for the law, so why did
she care? For a brief second, she wondered if she’d done the right thing trying
to arrest him. She could have let him walk away. He’d brought down a huge child
trafficking ring and captured two kidnappers. In most people’s eyes, he was a
hero.

A groan brought her attention back to her prisoner. His eyelids fluttered
and he looked straight at her. Her breath caught in her throat at the intense
compassion and acceptance she saw deep in his dark eyes.

“Do not blame yourself.” His words were a hoarse whisper before his lids
closed and his head rolled to the side.

Alarms screeched.

The paramedic jumped up and started CPR. “We’re losing him. Can you do
this while I set up the defibrillator?”

There was no time for thought, only action. Grace took over the
compressions. She counted them out in her head, one, two, three, until she lost
all sense of time as her first aid training kicked in. The paramedic worked
beside her and she heard the whining sound of the machine charging up. “Clear.”
His command reverberated through the ambulance.

Grace removed her hands.

The paddles were placed on his chest.

It took three jolts before the steady rhythm of a heartbeat sounded on
the monitor. The paramedic stepped back and wiped his forehead with the sleeve
of his uniform just as the ambulance pulled into the hospital. Grace was pushed
aside as the stretcher was unloaded and Partlan was rushed into the emergency.
She sagged against the back of the ambulance and fought for breath.

It was crazy, but when Partlan had crashed, she’d thought she was dying.
Her hands were shaking. She shoved them into the pockets of her suit coat. She
exhaled and straightened her shoulders. She had struggled long and hard to gain
the respect of her peers and supervisors. She wasn’t going to lose it now. She
had a job to do. It didn’t matter how she was affected by her prisoner. She
went through the hospital doors and pulled out her credentials. She was taking
control of herself and the prisoner.

Once the hospital had been informed that their patient was a prisoner,
she contacted the field office and arranged to have a guard for him. The
emergency room doctor had already advised her that Partlan had gone straight to
surgery and it would be several hours before she’d hear anything about his
condition. She fought the urge to stay. She was still the agent in charge. She
needed to get to the Walters’ house to debrief her agents and the family before
this got out of control.

When she reached the Beverly Hills mansion, there were a number of agents
loading computers and equipment into agency vans. She went in and saw that most
of their control room was cleared out. Smythe was standing in the doorway and
barking out orders. She braced herself for a confrontation.

“Is he going to live?” Smythe’s tone was derogatory. “Or is the world a
safer place?”

Grace took a deep breath and tamped down her anger. She knew Smythe
thought he was doing his job, but the force he’d used had been excessive. It
wouldn’t matter to his career, though. He could claim that he had perceived a
threat and taken the necessary action. The fact that Partlan had disarmed her
the first time she had met him, would add credence to his claim.

“He crashed on the way to the hospital. They stabilized him and he’s in
surgery now. We need to talk.”

“What’s the problem?”

“You didn’t have to shock him. He was already on the ground.” Grace kept
her tone neutral. “The kick was unprofessional.”

“He’s stronger than three men put together. I wasn’t taking any chances.”
Smythe crossed his arms over his chest. “It was my call. I’m sure the Chief
won’t have a problem with it.”

“I have no choice but to put this in my report.”

“I wouldn’t expect less of you Kelly.” Smythe turned back to the control
room. “The family’s waiting in the living room. Bakker debriefed them before he
left.”

She squared her shoulders and went to meet with the Walters. Nikki Nevins
had already made her position about arresting Partlan very clear. What Grace
needed to do was calm the family down and assure them that the FBI was working
in the best interest of the public’s safety.

The family were seated on the couch when she entered the living room. The
rug Partlan had fallen on, and stained with his blood, had been removed.
Everything else was the same. She took a deep breath and forced a smile to her
face.

“Is he going to be okay?” Gates small voice trembled.

“He’s in surgery now, but he should pull through.” Grace kept her tone
optimistic. She wouldn’t allow herself to think of what the consequences might
be if he died.

“What do you want Agent Kelly?” Nikki’s voice was devoid of emotion.

“We are clearing our equipment out of your house and I wanted to be
certain that you will be able to handle things once we’re gone.”

“My son has been returned alive.” Nikki pursed her lips. “The way his
rescuer was handled is another matter.”

“We will be investigating everything that Partlan did to get your son
back.” Grace walked closer to the family. “We know that people were killed in
the execution of Gates’s rescue. I need to be certain that Partlan wasn’t
involved in anything criminal.”

Steve Walters leaned forward. “When can we have our house back?”

“Within the hour.” Grace cleared her throat. “Is there anything else we
can do for you?”

“I think you’ve done more than enough.” Nikki turned away from Grace.

“I wanted to tell you how happy I am that Gates was returned to you
alive.” Grace looked down for a second before facing the family again. “It’s
not often that we have such a happy outcome.”

“After seeing how you work, I can understand that.” Nikki’s voice was a
sharp reprimand.

Grace nodded and left the room. There was nothing else she could say.
They were unhappy about the shooting and she couldn’t blame them. Hopefully
they would focus on how lucky they were to have Gates returned alive. Usually
the outcome of a kidnapping ended in death. They had their son back and they
would soon get over the inconvenience of having their house overrun by Federal
Agents. Maybe one day they’d even forget that a man had been shot in their
living room.

Grace would remember it the rest of her life.

She waited until everything had been cleared out of the house and her
agents had returned to the office before going back to the hospital. It was her
responsibility to make certain the prisoner survived. This one was personal.
Deep within her was a need to know if he lived. She sensed he still did, but
she needed the doctors to tell her he was alive.

She sat in one of the faux suede chairs in the surgery waiting room.
She’d informed the nurses that she would need to speak with the surgeon when he
was finished. Now all she could do was wait. She leaned back and shut her eyes.
The shooting kept replaying in her mind. It was useless to try and rest. She
pulled out her phone and started to check emails.

It was several hours later before she heard anything about Partlan’s
condition.

The surgeon walked into the waiting room still in surgical scrubs. Grace
put away her cell phone and went over to him.