Releasing the Hunter hn-168 Read online

  When she left this town, if he didn’t come with her, she was okay with that because she knew he was alive and driven to complete his own mission. She would be able to endure being separated from him...at least for a while.

  “Okay, now we want to know about the key.”

  Quinn looked from her to Ronan and then back. “What do you know about it?”

  “I’ve been told you have it,” Ronan said. “And Quianna Lang informed us of its purpose.”

  He sighed, then asked, “How is Quianna?”

  Ivy interrupted, “Who cares how she is? I want to know about this key.”

  “Ivy, you don’t want to know. To know is to bring this,” he gestured with his hands, “on you. It’s important that I keep it hidden. If it fell into the wrong hands, it would be, well, nothing you can even imagine.”

  “I can imagine quite a bit.”

  “This war here in Sumner would be just the beginning. If the wrong person had the key and opened the chest—” he closed his eyes and shook his head “—it would literally be hell on earth. Those demons cannot be released.”

  “Who do you think is looking for it?” she asked.

  Quinn stared straight at Ronan. “Besides the demons here in this town, I’d say you know perfectly well who wants it.”

  Ivy glanced at Ronan, then back to Quinn.

  “You’d be right,” Ronan said, his voice calm and flat.

  “Who hired you?”

  “Crimson Hall.”

  “The Crimson Hall Cabal?” He shook his head. “Jesus, they’re worse than most of the demons in this town. Do you have any idea what they would do if they had the key?”

  “I don’t really care.”

  Ivy stepped between them. “He’s not going to take it, Quinn. At first that was his plan, but that’s changed.” She glanced at Ronan for his confirmation.

  Except Ronan made no motion to contradict Quinn. He just kept staring at her brother. He refused to make eye contact with her.

  She stepped into his line of sight. “Right? You’ve changed your mind, right? It’s not about that now.”

  He glanced down at her briefly, then dropped his gaze. “You don’t understand, Ivy.”

  “You son of a bitch.” Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. “I trusted you. I can’t believe you’re doing this for a few lousy thousands.”

  “It’s not about money.”

  “What’s it about then, huh?” She pushed him back. “Screwing me over?” She tried to shove him again, but his hands came up and locked around her wrists.

  “This was never about you.”

  Those words stabbed her hard in the chest. The tears she was so desperately trying to hold back fell. She couldn’t seize them any longer.

  “I suggest you let go of my sister.” Quinn’s voice quivered with anger. Ronan let her go and took a distancing step away. Ivy turned to see Quinn leveling his gun at Ronan’s head. “Now, we’re going for a little walk.”

  “Don’t kill him, Quinn.” She hated the desperation in her voice.

  Quinn frowned. “I’m not going to kill him. But he’s no longer welcome in this compound.”

  “Where are you going to take him?”

  “Back to town. He can fend for himself.”

  Quinn motioned with his gun to the door. Ronan walked to it, seemingly unaffected. Ivy always thought he was stoic and unflinching, but she’d never seen him so cold. It was as if he was made of ice.

  “Shooting me won’t do you any good,” Ronan said as he neared the door. “I can heal myself pretty fast. Benefit of my demon blood.”

  “Yeah, I bet.” Quinn snorted. “Except I’m pretty sure you’d have a harder time healing if I put this silver bullet in your head.”

  Ronan nodded. “Yeah, that might hurt a little more.”

  “Open the door and go out,” Quinn ordered.

  Ronan did as he instructed and moved out of the room. Quinn followed, Ivy behind him, still unsure of what she was doing or how she was feeling.

  She followed them all the way out onto the driveway of the farmhouse. There Quinn had two of his gunmen standing by to take Ronan away.

  They were about to hood him when Ivy stepped forward. “Wait.”

  She went to stand in front of Ronan. “Tell me this wasn’t all for money.” She needed to know that he’d felt something for her. That the passion between them hadn’t been fake. That he hadn’t just slept with her to get to her brother and the key.

  “It was never for money. The cabal has a cure. I need the key to exchange for it.” He lifted his hand and traced a finger down her cheek. “I needed you at first, but then, I—”

  “Doesn’t matter why,” Quinn interrupted. “You’re still a traitor.”

  Ronan dropped his hand and straightened. “I’m sorry, Ivy. I never meant to hurt you.”

  She glared at him for a long while, her heart snapping in two. “Don’t worry about it. You didn’t.” She lifted her chin, then walked back to stand beside her brother. Although her legs quivered like jelly, she stood straight and tall.

  One of the gunmen shackled Ronan’s wrists behind his back and pulled a hood over his head. Then they grabbed him and tossed him in the backseat of a Chevy POS.

  Ivy stood in the driveway and watched them drive away. Quinn holstered his gun and turned to her. He touched her on the shoulder, much like Ronan had done before when he knew she was feeling sad. “Are you okay with this?”

  She shrugged off his hand. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

  “I just thought, you had, you know, strong feelings for him or something.”

  “He was a job and nothing more. He helped me get here, which was what I wanted. End of story.” She turned and started for the house. “Now, tell me how I get to kill some demons.”

  Chapter 22

  They dumped Ronan out into a ditch just outside the other end of town. Although they’d taken several turns and backtracked a few times, he still had an idea how to get back to the compound. He’d just had to cross the demon-infested town to do it.

  Still shackled, he rolled onto his knees then pressed to his feet. He leaned over and shook the bag off his head. He’d been right; he was on the outskirts of the town. He could see the scattering of houses as they pressed together to start the town limits.

  Now to take care of these handcuffs.

  Closing his eyes and concentrating as hard as he could, Ronan conjured a ball of heat in his body. He moved it up to his shoulders, down his arms and into his wrists. Gritting his teeth, he poured all he had into his hands. Within another two minutes, the metal started to melt. He could feel it drip off his wrists until, finally, he yanked his hands free of their bindings.

  Wincing, he looked down at his wrists. They were raw and red, blisters starting to form. Thankfully it wouldn’t last long. After an hour or two his skin should be healed.

  He checked his surroundings. There was no one around. It looked like about a two-mile hike back into town. He had no weapons but he figured he’d find some on the way. After cracking his sore neck, he started to jog on the dirt road.

  It didn’t take him long to reach town. He hunkered down inside a burned-out building along Main Street and took stock of the situation. He found a knife on the floor in the building; he pocketed it. He also found an aluminum bat that might come in handy.

  Peering through the broken and black window, he spotted about six people out on the street. Two appeared to be demons, not the same ones as before, and the other four were of the possessed persuasion. He hated dealing with the possessed. Because he didn’t have any exorcist tools with him, no salt, no silver, no bible, he couldn’t relieve the human hosts of their parasites. So if they came after him, he had to take them down without prejudice.

  Ronan watched as the two demons conversed on the street. One was talking into a radio and then relaying information to the other. It looked like a serious conversation. The one on the radio pointed to various points along the street. It appeared
they were planning something. He needed to get closer so he could hear exactly what.

  Slowly, silently, he crept out of the building through the busted door. He crouched against the wall for a minute, then continued on. He spotted an abandoned car about six feet behind the demon duo. If he could get to it, he’d be able to hear them, but he had to cross an open part of the street to get there.

  Looking up at the buildings, he searched for snipers or scouts on the roofs. He didn’t see any. He glanced down the street, looking for any sign of more demons or the possessed. As far as he could tell, the road was eerily quiet and void of more problems.

  Still, it felt like the calm before the storm.

  Under his breath, he counted to three, then shot across the street, mindful of where he stepped. He made it to the car and crouched down behind it. He sighed with relief, then crept along the metal body and planted himself near the bumper, just out of the line of sight of the two demons. But he was close enough now to hear every word.

  “They kicked the cambion out,” the radio demon said.

  The other one nodded. “No surprise considering the Stroms’ reputation. I was surprised to hear that the bitch Ivy Strom had been partnered with him to begin with.”

  “Well, true to form, she cut him loose. I was surprised that she didn’t kill him.” Radio demon smiled. “I almost admire her cold, calculated ways. It’s almost going to be a shame to kill her.”

  The other demon smiled. “We could play with her first.”

  “True.”

  And they laughed together.

  It took all Ronan had not to come up behind them both and jam his knife into their throats. He had to be patient. He would get his chance soon enough, he was sure.

  The radio crackled in the demon’s hand. He pushed a button and spoke. “Yes?”

  Ronan couldn’t hear what was said through the radio.

  But after a few seconds the radio demon said to the other with a satisfied grin, “We have their location. In an hour we will be happily feasting on the Stroms’ blood. They don’t stand a chance.”

  “Does he think they have any idea they have a traitor in the camp?”

  Radio demon shook his head. “He says they are dumber than a sack of hammers. He says instead of kicking out the cambion, they should’ve been looking at those closest to Quinn Strom.”

  They both laughed again.

  “When are we moving out?”

  “Right away. The rendezvous point is three blocks from here at the old church.”

  Ronan had heard enough. He knew what he had to do. Slipping his knife out of his belt, he pushed away from the car and rushed the demons.

  He had the radio demon’s chin in his hand and his neck exposed in two seconds flat. The knife went in nice and easy. After dispatching him, he let go and reached for the other. But the demon was already on the move.

  Gripping his knife tight in his right hand, Ronan took off at a run in pursuit.

  * * *

  After a briefing with her brother about their current demon situation, Ivy stepped outside for a breather. She wandered down to the barn and around the other side. There she found a tree stump that was perfect for sitting. She took a swig from the bottle of water she’d taken with her, then set it down on the ground.

  No matter how much liquid she drank, she still felt hollow and thirsty. She knew it had nothing to do with being dehydrated. No, it had everything to do with a certain cambion.

  She understood her brother had to make a decision for the compound. And she knew he honestly believed it was the right one, but Ivy couldn’t help thinking it had been a stupid one. Quinn thought he was protecting his people, but she felt they would’ve been better off with Ronan here in the camp.

  And she supposed she wanted him here for other reasons, as well.

  Although his admission about still wanting the key stung her, she still couldn’t stop the feelings she had for him. She couldn’t stop her heart from beating fast when she thought about him. Or halt the way her belly flipped and her thighs clenched when she remembered his lips on her skin, his hands sliding up and down her body.

  No amount of water was going to fill up the hole that had been ripped inside her.

  She took another drink anyway.

  Standing, she decided to go back into the house. Maybe she’d track Quinn down and ask him to reconsider his decision about Ronan. Maybe she’d ask to be dumped in the same place they’d dumped him.

  Her brother didn’t need her. He was doing just fine on his own. Here she thought she was coming to rescue him, that he was in need of her help, but the reality was he’d never really needed her.

  And as it was, she’d finally realized she didn’t need him. She was okay on her own. She was actually more than okay. But she wasn’t really alone, was she? She could have Ronan at her side if she wanted.

  Truth be told, she did want that, despite his decision to take the key. He needed it. To get a cure to his cambionism. She understood that desire to fix who he was. How many times had she wished she could fix the defects in herself? But what she wanted to say to Ronan was that he was fine the way he was. The demon blood inside him didn’t alter who he truly was. She wished she could show him how incredible he was, as is.

  She made her way around the barn and was about to head up to the farmhouse when something flashed at her out of the corner of her eye. Without looking directly, she turned her head a little, as if studying the tree next to her.

  There it was again. A flash of metal. A gun, she suspected. Someone was hunkered down in the tall grass in the field beyond the compound. They were under attack.

  Ivy ran the rest of the way to the house, bursting through the door and locking it behind her. She found Quinn in the kitchen at the table going over a map of the town.

  “They’re here. We’re under attack.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked, already folding up the map.

  “Deadly sure.”

  He nodded to the others in the kitchen. “All right, arm yourselves. Everyone to their points. Just like we planned.” He looked at Gloria. “Get the children in the cellar.”

  Gloria ran out of the room already calling for the kids that were in and around the camp.

  Quinn tossed Ivy a shotgun. “You’re with me.”

  “We should split up. I’m a good shot. You can use me to our advantage.”

  He looked at her for a moment and she thought maybe he was going to argue with her, but he finally nodded. “You’re right. You aren’t a little girl anymore.”

  “I haven’t been for a long while.”

  “Okay, take the west point. Bill, go with Ivy. Take three others with you.”

  Before they separated, Ivy grabbed Quinn’s arm. “Even though I’m still angry at you, I love you, you damn idiot.”

  He smiled and kissed her quick on top of the head, like he used to when she was little. “Love you, too, pain in my ass.”

  Pumping a round into the chamber, Ivy looked at Bill and the others. “Let’s go kill some demons.”

  Chapter 23

  It didn’t take the demons long before they stormed the farmhouse. But like the cowards they were, they sent in their possessed counterparts. Regular people who had no clue what they were doing. Puppets for the demons to play with.

  For the townspeople with Ivy, it was difficult for them to watch as their loved ones and neighbors sprang at them from the tall grass firing rifles or wielding pipes and bats that they would no doubt use to bash their heads in. So for that reason, Quinn had given every group tranquilizer guns as well as regular weapons.

  At a distance it proved difficult to tell who was a demon and who was just possessed, so Ivy just started shooting everyone she could see with tranquilizer darts. One by one the attackers fell. They would be out for at least twelve hours, which would give Quinn time to go out and do a mass exorcism.

  The first wave came and went, with about ten people charging toward the west corner where Ivy, Bill and a co
uple of others were stationed behind two beat-up pickup trucks. But she knew that was just the beginning. She knew an all-out offensive when she saw one, and this was it. The demons were sending out everything they had.

  Ivy reloaded her shotgun and the tranquilizer, her heart sinking. She glanced at Bill. “We only have five darts left.”

  He sighed. “What do you think we should do?”

  “I don’t know. We can’t really start shooting townspeople. We could kill someone.”

  “We need someone up front to take them out with a bat or something as they advance.”

  She nodded. Made sense. Unless of course the possessed had a gun; a bat wasn’t going to stop the bullet.

  “I’ll go,” Bill said.

  “Are you sure?”

  He nodded. “I know these people. If I don’t recognize someone I’ll be more discerning.” He lifted his gun.

  “Okay, good luck.”

  With a nod to her and the other two, Bill slid around the side of one of the trucks, and then ran across the yard to a spot near the house behind some hay bales.

  He got in position just in time for another wave of people to jump out of the tall grass and run screaming and grunting across the gravel driveway, brandishing all manner of weapons. Ivy picked up the tranquilizer and waited to see how Bill fared. If she needed to, she would put down anyone that got past him and hope for the best.

  She held her breath as two men holding tire irons rushed toward Bill like madmen. She wouldn’t have been surprised to see foam spilling out between their lips. The looks in their eyes were ones of pure madness. As they approached, getting closer and closer, she picked up the dart gun and set her sights.

  Then it all went wrong.

  She lowered the dart gun and cursed up a storm. “Son of a bitch!”

  “What?” The guy called Stewart or Chuck, she couldn’t really remember which, grabbed her arm. His eyes were as wide as dollar coins.