aHunter4Rescue (aHunter4Hire) (7 page)

“They
have guns.”

“So
do
I
.” He took a step toward the men. “Can we help
you?”

The
lead man ducked beneath the blades and walked toward them with his rifle
resting across his arms. “We’re looking for survivors from a plane crash.”

Ardal
relaxed the tension in his body. He forced his breathing and his heart rate to
slow. He did not want these men to suspect anything. If he had to attack, he
wanted the element of surprise on his side.

“We
have seen no strangers here, unless you count the neighbors that came around
earlier.”

He
felt Fiona move to his side. By Cygnus and Warrior if these men threatened her,
he would have no recourse but to kill them. Jehon had better be in position.

“Did
Marshall and Clyde send you here?” Her voice held a note of disgust. “I told
them nothing had crashed last night. If it had, it was probably just a meteor
or space junk.”

“And
you are?” The lead man’s voice was devoid of expression.

“I
live here.” Fiona took a step forward before Ardal could stop her. “Who are you
and what are you doing landing a helicopter on my property?”

“We
aren’t at liberty to discuss that with you.”

Fiona
crossed her arms. “Then I’m not at liberty to discuss anything with you.”

Ardal
inhaled deeply and banked back his irritation. Aggravating these men would only
bring others. He held up his hands in a conciliatory motion. “They are only
doing their job.”

The
first man seemed to relax a fraction. “We need to ask a few questions.”

Fiona’s
eyes narrowed and then she threw up her arms. “Go ahead.”

The
lead man motioned for two of the others to follow him. Ardal led them away from
the noisy helicopter and in the opposite direction. Jehon was good at blending
in, but he didn’t want to make it any more difficult for him.

“Why
do you think a plane crashed here?” Ardal asked once they were out of earshot
of the noisy blades.

“We
don’t.” The man eased his rifle a bit lower in his arms. “There was a radar
inconsistency and we sent out a plane to investigate and it disappeared.”

“It
disappeared here?” Fiona shook her head. “I would have heard something that
loud.”

“It
happened during the night.” The man turned unwavering eyes on Fiona. “It’s
possible that you were sleeping.”

Fiona
started to fidget under the man’s gaze. Ardal cleared his throat and drew the
man’s attention back to him. The man was a trained soldier and he was
suspicious. If he had to kill these men, more would follow. He dare not risk
Fiona getting hurt.

“We
will help you as much as possible.”

The
man raised one eyebrow. “We’ve already searched the property from the air. Now
I want to look into the buildings. We’ll start with the barn.”

“No.”
Fiona was too startled to stop her response. “You’ve no right to search here.”

“We
have whatever rights are deemed necessary.”

“I
don’t even know who you are.”

“I’m
Captain Wilson. I have been assigned to search all the properties in the area.
Your consent is not needed in this matter.”

“So
we’re a military state now?” Fiona brushed aside Ardal’s hand. “I’m sick of
what you men decide is your right. I live a quiet life here. Then you come and start
poking your noses where they don’t belong.”

“That’s
an interesting reaction.” The man motioned his men to the barn. “What are you
hiding?”

“Myself.”
Fiona fairly screamed the word. “I came here so I could be free of men who take
what they had no right to.”

Ardal’s
hand gave her back a tentative pat. He was trying to calm her, but she’d had
enough. First,
aliens
crash and now the military
wanted to search everywhere. It was too much to take. She’d been up all night,
had only a couple hours of sleep, and now this. Everyone was poking their nose
where it didn’t belong. David would find her now. Tears started to prick her
eyes and as hard as she tried, she couldn’t stop them.

“She
is overwrought.”

Ardal
squeezed her arm. His touch was gentle. His message was clear. She needed to
get control of herself. That was easier said than done. She was making these
men uncomfortable, but she didn’t care. They’d turned her world upside down.

The
soldier cleared his throat. “We have to ascertain that there is no one hiding
here.”

“I
understand, but Fiona is in hiding from an abusive man.” Ardal eased her closer
to him. “Your helicopter and guns are upsetting her.”

Fiona
hiccupped and then turned to face the soldier. “I thought I’d be safe here and
now you come and start threatening me.”

“I
apologise, ma’am.” The soldier rocked on his feet. “If you let us check the
buildings then we’ll be able to move on. No one will disturb you again.”

“Do
you need to look in the house?” Ardal’s voice was low.

The
soldier hesitated for a second. “Yes.”

“Do
that first.” Ardal’s thumb moved in a soothing pattern on her arm. “Then I can
take her there to calm down.”

“Of
course.”
The soldier whistled to his men and
motioned them to the house.

Fiona
wiped away her tears. What was Ardal thinking to let these men search the
place? Ardal tightened his hold and instead of being uncomfortable, she felt
safe. There was no point in fighting. If he didn’t care, then why should she?

She
sniffed. “I’m sorry, Captain.” Her apology was met with a nod from the soldier.

“We’ll
be as quick as possible.”

“You
won’t tell anyone about seeing me?”

“No
ma’am.” The Captain didn’t blink an eye.

He
lied like every other man she’d known. Everything that happened here would be
in a report to some bigwig in the military. Did they think she was a fool?
Still, what choice did she have? She turned her face into Ardal’s chest and
inhaled. The man smelled divine. She’d never noticed that about a man before.
Maybe it was because he was from another planet.

Her
mind skittered away from the direction it was going. It wasn’t okay to be
intrigued by this man. She knew better. Men only brought her grief and she’d
had enough of that to last a lifetime. The sooner she found a new hiding place,
the better.

She
was overtired. That was the only explanation. She’d been running for over a
year now without any hope of true safety. Surely her luck had to change soon.

“All
clear.”

The
shout startled Fiona and she jumped. Ardal held her tight though, and somehow
she sensed that he always would.

“I
will take her back to the house.” Ardal kept her close as he walked alongside
the soldier.

“I
can find my own way.” Fiona shook his hand off her arm and pushed away.

She
moved a few feet ahead of them. A burning sensation tickled her neck and she
knew that both men watched her as she walked ahead. In the past it would have
sent her into a panic attack. Now she didn’t care. The sooner she was away from
all men, the better.

The
house felt cool after the hot glare of the sun. She went to the stove and turned
the burner back on. Best to act like nothing important was happening. “Do your
men require refreshments?
Coffee or tea?”

“Nothing.
We’ll be finished soon.” He left the house, closing the door behind him.

Ardal
watched at the window for a few seconds and then turned to her. “Are you
better?”

“Yes.”
Fiona heaved a sigh. “I usually don’t cry. It was stupid to get upset. Why did
you let them search?”

“It
was safer.” Ardal reached for the door handle. “I do not want them to think
that we are hiding something.”

“Well,
we are.” Fiona pushed her hair away from her face.

“If
they get suspicious, I will kill them.”

Fiona
inhaled sharply. “Then the place will be crawling with soldiers.”

Ardal
nodded. “True. It would slow down our escape.”

Nothing
ruffled the man. “Where are Firbin and Jehon?”

“Following
orders.”

Fiona’s
eyes narrowed.
“And the Captain?”

“Firbin
took care of him.”

“He
didn’t kill him?” Fiona’s heart started beating rapidly. “I thought we’d
agreed.”

“He
put him somewhere safe.” Ardal opened the door. “I will be back once the
soldiers have left.”

“Fine.”
Fiona muttered a few choice words under her breath. It was just as well he
didn’t understand some of the more colorful words of the English language
because she didn’t feel like explaining them.

He
waited until she’d stopped. “Is there something else you wish?”

“No,
everything is wonderful.” Fiona forced a mock smile onto her face.

“You
lie. You have no reason to fear.” Ardal hesitated a second before stepping
closer to her. “I will not let these men harm you.”

Fiona
couldn’t pull her eyes away from his. Sincerity shone from them. Never had she
felt so safe before. “I know.”

“I
need to make sure these men leave.” He turned and left the house.

Fiona
sank into one of her kitchen chairs. Her hands were shaking. How could a man
she barely knew affect her so deeply? It was insane. Yet she couldn’t deny how
she felt.

***

Ardal
walked toward the barn and took a deep breath to steady his heart rate. So this
was what it felt like to care for a woman. No wonder it was forbidden for
Hunters. Never in all of his thirty-five years had Ardal experienced this
before. His men’s safety should be all that he was concerned with, but that was
not what consumed his thoughts.

It
was Fiona.

The
ancient scripts said that Hunters were not from Cygnus. The Cygnusians had
taken them from an inferior and primitive planet because they would make
perfect warriors. Hunter genetics were considered inferior. The Cygnusians had
improved them, but allowing a Hunter to mate made him useless. They became
uncontrollable, refusing simple orders and worse, it was discovered that
Hunters formed permanent attachments with their mates. They became unreliable
and unfocused.

There
was truth in this. Fiona haunted him. When the Captain had questioned her, his
chest had tightened with anger. They were standard interrogation tactics. As a
warrior he understood the need, but how dare the Captain harass her. He shook
his head at his inconsistency, but seeing tears in Fiona’s eyes was worse pain
than any wound he had received in battle. For that he would have killed the
man. The only thing that had stopped him was his years of training and command.

He
had to take control of this situation fast. He looked to the barn where the
soldiers were just leaving and then glanced at the helicopter in the field.
There was still a man guarding it, but that would not have stopped Jehon from
following his orders. Soon he would know what he was dealing with.

He
walked toward the soldiers, keeping his eyes on the lead man. It was good that
Fiona was safe. Now he could focus on dealing with the threat that these men
presented. If they were suspicious, then he would kill them before they could
reach the helicopter.

The
Captain was relaxed when he reached him. He stopped and waited for Ardal. The
other two soldiers were joking to each other as they walked by their commander
toward the helicopter

“Did
you find anything?” Ardal kept his voice pleasant.

“Not
a thing.” The soldier gave him a brief smile, his eyes assessing as they
searched his face. “How long have you lived here?”

“A
few weeks.”
Ardal glanced toward the house. “She
needed protection, so I came.”

The
soldier nodded. “Let me guess, ex-military and now you’re a bodyguard.”

Ardal
grunted. He was not sure what a bodyguard was, but it sounded like a protector.
“How did you know?”

“You
carry yourself as if you’ve had a military background; that and the scars.” The
man nodded at Ardal’s exposed arms.
“Knife wounds?”

“Yes.”
In truth, lasers had sliced his skin numerous times.

“Where
did you see action?”

The
soldier relaxed his hold on his rifle, almost as if waiting for a reaction.
Ardal knew that only a man secure in his abilities would chance that. He also
knew that only a desperate man would try and take away this man’s weapon.

“Everywhere.”
Ardal watched the man lift an eyebrow. “I was in the forces for over twenty
years.”

The
man grinned. “You must’ve joined up when you turned eighteen. I’m not sure
guarding people will be easier.”