Page 18 of Axel (Reed Hawthorne Security #6)

Savvy

After beating Hunter at chess three times, we had dinner. Agent Myers grabbed us a pizza from a place a few blocks away. Hunter had warned me we would likely be eating frozen meals, so the pizza was a nice surprise.

As I’m about to suggest a card game for all of us, Stevens asks Hunter, Durango, and Myers to join her in the office to discuss the case further.

Seriously?

“You can discuss your case out here. I’m going to go upstairs.” I grab the cards and head to the bedroom. I have no idea who is supposed to sleep where, but I’ll figure it out.

At the top of the stairs, I pause, listening to their conversation.

“How long do you think it will take to catch Bennett?” Durango asks.

“It could be a while,” Stevens says .

“The problem is that even if we apprehend him, we don’t have enough evidence to hold him,” Myers says.

Something slams on the table. “What do you mean, not enough evidence?” Hunter says. “I thought you were working on a case against him.”

“Not against him. It’s his boss we are after.”

A chair leg scrapes on the wood floor.

“Then what the hell are we supposed to do? Hide out forever? Do you at least have a plan?” Hunter asks.

“I do,” Myers says.

They are all silent for a moment.

“Are you going to share it?” Durango asks.

“Afraid I can’t. But I can assure you we shouldn’t need to be here more than another day,” Myers says.

Again, more silence.

“Do you know what the hell is going on?” Hunter asks.

“No idea,” Stevens says. “Other than, I’ve been told there is a team out there looking for Bennett now.”

“Looking for,” Durango says. “And if they find him, then what? Apparently, you don’t have enough to hold him.”

“At least then we will have eyes on him,” Stevens says.

“You never sent a photo of him. The only reason I know what he looks like is because he came to my house,” I say.

“Sorry about that. Everything has been moving fast today.”

“We should all go to sleep early tonight. We can wake with clear heads in the morning,” Myers says.

Another chair scrapes against the floor. I hurry to check out the bedroom situation.

There are four bedrooms. Three have one bed, and one has two twin beds. I grab one with a queen bed. I’ll likely be placed in the room with the extra bed, with one of the agents in there guarding me.

Footsteps come up the stairs as they survey the layout as well.

“I’ll take one of the twins,” Stevens says. In every interaction I’ve had with her, she’s decisive and quick to act.

“I’ll take the one at the top of the stairs,” Durango says.

Hunter steps into the room I’m in. “I should sleep in here.”

“Oh, I guess I’ll take the other twin then,” I say as I walk to the door.

Hunter stops me. “No, I meant I should sleep in here with you.”

My mouth drops open, but nothing comes out. Sleep together in this bed?

“I’ll take the floor,” he says, as if reading my mind. “It’s carpeted, so it will be fine.”

He goes to the closet and grabs a pillow and a blanket.

“Hunter, the bed is big enough for both of us if you want to sleep up here.” I say it to be nice, but honestly, I’m not sure I could sleep if he were that close.

“I’ll be fine down here.”

We both settle in, and I turn off the lamp. However, it’s not that late, and I’m wide awake.

“Hunter?”

“Yeah?”

“Why did you want to go into the military?”

“What do you mean?”

I sit up a little. “When you were younger, did you think to yourself, I want to go into the military when I grow up? Or did you want to do something else?”

“I was pretty set on becoming a SEAL. It’s something I’d always been drawn to.”

I can’t imagine being drawn to something you want to do.

“How about you? Did you always want to be a real estate agent?”

I laugh. “No, that’s something I sort of fell into.”

“How?”

This isn’t a story I have told many people, but for some reason, it feels right to share it now.

“My parents weren’t very responsible. I knew college was out of the question because we never planned on it and couldn’t afford it.

I ended up working at a restaurant as a waitress.

Bob was a regular there. He was always so kind.

And then he suggested I consider his line of work.

He offered to be my sponsoring broker. I got my license, and everything was going great until recently. ”

He’s silent for a moment.

“Are you still awake?” I ask.

“Yeah, I’m wondering if you enjoy it at all.”

I shrug, then remember he can’t see me. The room is too dark. “It’s fine. I enjoy the money I make. I’m good at it so that helps.”

He doesn’t ask any more about it. But I have a question for him.

“Hunter, if you always wanted to be a SEAL, why did you leave the military? ”

He sighs. “It’s a long story. But after our mother died, Maria needed me. We can discuss it another time.”

“Oh, okay.” Dammit, that’s probably too personal.

“Good night, Savvy.”

“Good night, Hunter.”

I stare at the ceiling and the shadows of the trees swaying in the wind. I can’t work for Bob anymore. I’ll need to find a new broker. If Bob hasn’t already poisoned the well. How do you explain that you witnessed a cartel deal and lived?

I spend the next several hours barely getting any sleep. My mind is racing. A tree branch keeps scraping against the window, and it sounds like creaking stairs. But no one is going up the stairs because I would have heard them go down first.

I close my eyes and take several deep breaths. Then I hear another creak. I sit up. I’m certain it did not come from the window. No, it came from the direction of the stairs.

“What’s wrong?” Hunter asks.

“Did you hear that?”

He sits up.

Of course, now it’s silent.

I lie back down and stare at the ceiling. The room is partly lit by moonlight. The only creaking noises I hear now are from outside.

I’m almost asleep when the door to the room swoops open. A dark figure dressed in all black moves quickly to the bed. I scream.

Hunter is up, and he knocks the man down to the floor .

I turn on the bedside lamp. Hunter has the man on his stomach, holding his arms behind his back.

“That’s Clinton!” I yell when I see his face.

Durango appears in the door. He’s fully dressed.

“I need wire ties!” Hunter yells.

Durango pulls something from his pocket and hands it to Hunter.

Agent Myers comes in next. “Bennett. Nice to see you.”

That’s Bennett? My mind races, knowing I was in a building with him. Would he have simply killed me on the spot if I hadn’t brought Hunter with me? This was before Bob was arrested. That means Bennett was after me the entire time, too.

The man on the ground struggles. “You set me up!” he yells. “You son of a bitch!”

Hunter secures Bennett’s wrists behind his back. “What do you mean he set you up?” Hunter asks.

“He told me to come here!”

Myers steps forward. “He’s lying. Here I’ll take him. I’ll need your statements later.”

Hunter stands up, hauling the man up with him. “Bennett? How did you know about this house?”

“I told you. That asshole told me to come here. He texted me the address. It’s on my phone in my back pocket.”

Hunter retrieves the phone.

“Passcode is 1234.”

“Really?” Hunter asks.

“Yeah, I’m usually not worried about someone trying to steal my phone. ”

Hunter scrolls and then hands it to Durango.

“What the hell is going on?” Stevens asks from the hallway.

“I’ll explain everything downstairs,” Myers says.

“Yes, you will. This man entered the room and went after Savvy. His phone shows someone gave him this address. He states it was Agent Myers.”

Stevens looks at me. “Are you all right?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, everyone else, downstairs,” Stevens says.

“I’ll go. You stay up here with her,” Durango says.

They all leave, and Hunter takes my hand in his. “Seriously, are you okay?”

I nod. “What time is it?”

He turns a clock around that’s sitting on the nightstand. “About four in the morning. You should try to go back to sleep.”

“Okay, will you go downstairs and figure out what’s going on?”

“Of course. I’ll be back.” He squeezes my hand and then leaves, closing the door behind him.

Back to sleep? I don’t think so. My heart is racing, and so is my mind. Did Myers put me in danger? But why?

I have too many questions. After getting dressed, I slowly descend the stairs, listening to the conversation.

“We got him!” Myers says. “He broke in and had intent to hurt or kill her. He was armed!”

“Do you really think this will hold up in court?” Durango asks.

“It will if you let it!” Myers yells .

“You kept this from the Bureau?” Stevens asks. Her cheeks are flushed, and her fists are clenched.

Good, she’s as angry as the rest of us.

Myers doesn’t answer. He doesn’t have to.

“Why the hell did you do this? You ruined everything!” Hunter yells.

I go down a few more stairs.

“We needed to get Bennett off the street before he hurt that girl,” Myers says.

“He almost killed her!” Hunter yells.

“Relax. She was never going to get hurt. I was right there,” Myers says.

The sound of cracking and then a thud echoes up the stairs.

“Dammit! That hurt!” Myers yells.

I race down the rest of the stairs. Myers is on the floor, rubbing his cheek. Hunter stands above him with a crazed look. Durango grabs Hunter’s arm and pulls him back.

“You weren’t right there. The only reason he didn’t get to her is because I stopped him,” Hunter says. “And for what? He’s going to be released within a day.”

Myers remains on the floor, but he sits up and grins. “That works, too.”

“You better explain,” Stevens says. “Explain why I shouldn’t report you.”

Myers stands up but keeps his distance from Hunter. “Because his arrest will get back to his boss.” He glances at Bennett, who is tied to a chair. “What will your boss do when he finds out how messy you’ve been?”

Bennett is pale, his lips trembling as his eyes dart to every exit in the room. “No, you can’t let Marco find me. If you let me go, I’ll leave the country and never come back. I promise. I don’t care about her.” He nods at me.

This is when they all realize I’m down here with them. My heart is pounding so hard as I stare at the blood coming from Myers’s nose and Bennett’s panicked expression.

Hunter steps over to me. “How long have you been down here?”

I take a calming breath. I don’t want that asshole Myers to think he got to me. “Long enough to know you should have punched him harder.”

Hunter smiles but then suppresses it. “I probably shouldn’t have hit him. I let my anger control me.”

“No, you were justified,” I say.

Myers smirks, and now I want to punch him. “I did all this to protect her. Now, instead of waiting for Bennett to strike when we aren’t expecting it, he will be a target that Marco will want to handle personally. And I’ll be there to capture Marco.”

“You son of a bitch,” Hunter says.

“This was never about her,” Durango says.

There’s a knock on the door.

“That would be Bennett’s ride,” Myers says.

He goes to the door, and two agents enter. They take Bennett and walk out with him.

“I’m going with them. I’ll check in later,” Myers says to Stevens.

“Don’t bother,” Stevens says.

Myers shrugs and leaves .

“Seriously, can you get him fired?” Hunter asks.

“I’ll certainly try,” Stevens says.

I step into the kitchen and start making coffee.

“Hey,” Hunter says. “You should try to get some sleep. It’s early.”

I shake my head. “There’s no way I can sleep now.” I sniffle. Dammit. I was keeping it together.

He’s by my side instantly. “Savvy.” He turns me to face him.

The moment my eyes meet his, all the emotion I’m trying to hold back rushes out of me.

Even a sob escapes. He wraps his arms around me, and honestly, it’s what I need right now.

The safety and security he provides. If it weren’t for him, I could be dead.

Or at least injured. All because that asshole Myers wanted to arrest someone else.

For Myers, this is all a job opportunity, a potential career boost. But this is my life, dammit. I’m tired of it being determined by other people. First, I dealt with Bob’s trying to kill me. Then Bennett. And tonight, Myers decided his needs were more important. Who’s next?

“That was Clinton,” I say.

“I know.”

“I need to get out of here,” I say.

“I agree. I’ll talk to Durango and figure something out.”

I take a step back. “No. We will talk to Durango. I’m tired of not having any say in my own life.”

He opens his mouth but then closes it. Instead of arguing, he nods. “We will talk to Durango.”

Good. Because I’m ready to let them both know, no more hiding. If I’m in this battle, I’m going to fight back.