The Hunted (The Chronicles of the Hunter Book 1) Read Free Page A

getting pulled over with a woman strapped into the back seat of my car would not be a good thing at the moment. It would create attention we don’t need. Now, stop that. Or, I’ll pull over and handle it.”
    She stilled instantly. Her eyes were huge. Kane cursed silently before looking back to the road. He was doing poorly already, and they had a long drive ahead.
    “You need to calm down. Please. You’re safe.”
    “I don’t...feel safe.”
    Her voice shuddered. He sighed heavily. “I belong to an elite group. I can’t tell you much, but trust me. I’m one of the good guys.”
    “Good guys don’t break into hotel rooms. Nor do they kidnap people.”
    “They do if it will save lives. Or are you forgetting that?”
    “How can I believe anything you say?”
    “My...group monitors chatter. Somebody put out a hit on a LeeAnn Schultz. Arriving on Tuesday. 6 pm. I was given the assignment.”
    “I arrived on Wednesday morning.”
    “I know. Your flight was overbooked. You gave up your seat. I’ve been tracking you since before you landed at Miami/Dade International. I know every place you’ve been, everything you purchased, and what hotel you were staying at. And when they coded your room key, I even got your room number.”
    “No way.”
    “You know that little chip on your credit card? That isn’t just for security. It collects and sends data every time you use it.”
    “You can hack that?”
    “Pretty much. Especially since you kept using free Wi-Fi service.”
    “That’s...unnerving. Is that how you got in my room? With a spare room key?”
    “Nope. The rooms above yours were vacant. Told you it was a mistake to leave your drapes open.”
    “You climbed down from a balcony?” 
    “Three of them.”
    “At thirty-plus stories above the ground? I can’t—no. This is too unbelievable.” 
    “It gets worse.”
    “How?”
    He sent a glance into the mirror toward her. She had her lips pursed. She didn’t look frightened anymore. She looked young. Unsure. And cuter than—
    He didn’t dare quantify it. He could have sworn his heart just skipped a beat. That was illogical and ill-timed.
    “Since I missed your would-be assassin, we got problems. I don’t know who he is. What he looks like. Or when he’ll strike again. All I know for sure is, he will.”
    The Chopin selection finished. Beethoven’s Symphony No 5 started up. That was a little too lively. Kane reached over and turned the stereo system off. Music hadn’t worked at calming him, anyway. That was another oddity. He was unsettled. On edge. Extremely wary.  
    “Will what?”
    “Strike again.”
    She gasped. He didn’t have to see it. He heard it.
    “Don’t worry. First, he has to find you.”
    “So...I’m going into hiding?”
    “That’s the plan.”
    “Where?”
    “The Keys. Safe house.”
    “Key West?”
    “Close.”
    “Hmm. I’ve never been to Key West. Is it nice?”
    “Yeah.”
    She was silent for so long, he had to check to see why. The sunlight had moved to his side of the vehicle, putting her in a shadow-land back there. She looked sleepy. She even yawned. His heart skipped another beat.
    Uh oh.
    This was bad. First he was engaging? And now getting interested?
    She looked toward him and caught his glance. Kane immediately shifted it back to the road before realizing that idiocy. He wore dark glasses. She couldn’t possibly see through them.
    “What’s your name?”
    Kane sucked in his cheeks and tilted his head. That was a big one. He twisted his lips next. He had his orders. No entanglements. No names. No history. No trail.
    “What? Is it a secret?”
    “Yes. And no,” he answered.
    She yawned again. He had a hard time stopping the smile.
    “Fine. I’ll name you. You look like a Kane.”
    He wasn’t prepared. He jerked slightly and sent a quick glance at her again. She was smiling. Sunlight was just touching her left side. She looked angelic. And wide awake.
    “Is that it? Your name is Kane?”
    He