Chapter Fourteen

The summer sun was just peeking through the window when there was a knock at the door. Spirit was the first up at the knock. Her rusty fur instantly stood on end as she pulled her lip back and growled at the door. The impression Amara gave had given her was that no one knew they were here. No one knew where they were staying. Who would be at the door at six in the morning?

The second knock was louder, more confident, and woke the rest of the room with a start. The hunters grabbed their guns. Amara rolled out of bed and walked to the door slowly, keeping her gun steadily pointed for the door. She stood a little off to the side. If someone were able to fire through the door, she didn’t want to be in the way.

“Can I help you?” she called to whoever was on the other side of the door.

“It’s Marc,” a male voice ran from the other side of the door. “I have a message from Alexander.”

Amara glanced back to Spirit. Marc? She mouthed the question. She didn’t know anyone named Marc, and why would Alexander send someone else with a message this early? He was old enough and strong enough to deliver the message himself.

Evidently, Spirit didn’t know anyone by that name either. She shook her head, and the other two hunters moved into position. Christopher moved off to the far side of the wall, his gun pointed at the door. Stephanie stood at the wall that protruded a bit from the basic square shape of the room to separate the ‘powder room’ from the sleeping area.

Amara opened the door, still standing off to the side. As soon as the door was open, Chris saw the gun in the man’s hands. He fired quickly into the man’s shoulder, and he fell backward. Marc lifted his gun and fired for Christopher’s chest, but Chris moved quickly. He fired again, this time aiming for Marc’s leg. He needed to be sure he couldn’t run off. When the shot missed, the man fired for at Chris’s gunning arm. Chris cried out as the bullet ripped his arm open, but fired another shot. The bullet dug into the assassin’s leg, and he let out a short yelp of pain.

Amara flung the door open, and Marc fired at her, forcing her to use the door as a shield. That was when Stephanie used his moment of distraction with Amara to take her shot. She fired at the gun in his hand. Marc screamed as his fingertips were blown off. With the gun on the floor Spirit lumbered over to him. Her lips were curled back in a snarl, her canine teeth were far too long to be a normal wolf’s mouth.

“Don’t kill him,” Stephanie shouted to her. “We need him alive.”

Spirit paused, just a foot short of the man, ready to pounce if he went for another weapon.

“Wanna put your other hand up?” Stephanie shouted to him as she walked over to check on Chris. “Wouldn’t want the wolf to rip it off.”

The man was shaking in pain as he put his left hand up in the air. Amara walked over and dragged him into the room. She threw him in the corner and knelt down in front of him. They would have to make this quick. Who knew how long it would take the hotel staff to get complaints about the gunshots? There wasn’t enough time to get The Administration involved before the police would get here. They would cover this up later.

“Who are you working for?” she demanded as she put her gun to the man’s shoulder.

“Shoot me,” he snapped. “You think worse wouldn’t be waiting if I told you?”

Blood splattered over Amara and soaked the man’s shirt. She put the gun to his left kneecap. “Who are you working for?” she repeated the question, her voice oddly neutral.

“Just kill me. I’m not telling you anything.” The man shook his head.

Amara looked up back at Stephanie and Chris. She was busy wrapping Chris’s arm. Luckily, the bullet hadn’t settled in his arm. It was more of a graze than anything, but the blood still poured from the wound, and it still needed to be tended to or he might pass out.

“I don’t think pain is going to work with him. We don’t have the time,” she called to them.

‘So let me eat him,’ Spirit said, sure that everyone, including the hit man, could hear her.

Christopher glared at the gunner and pulled away from Stephanie. He walked over to him and kneeled down in front of him. He put his gun between the man’s legs. “Live without ‘em or die with them.”

His eyes widened. “You wouldn’t,” but as soon as the words were out of his mouth, he looked like he regretted saying them.

When Christopher saw the fear in his eyes, he smirked. “Oh, I love a challenge.” He pushed the barrel of the gun a little harder against him, and the man nearly choked on his words.

“Okay. Okay. I’ll talk,” he shouted.

Amara laughed and shook her head. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“You don’t know the importance,” Christopher said to Amara, then looked back to the man bleeding on the floor. “Who are you working for, Marc? Who hired you?”

“He’s going to kill me if I tell you. He’ll rip me apart,” he said quickly as if it might change their minds.

“You just shot at us, Marc. You tried to kill us. I don’t think you really know who you came to kill if you’re going to waste time begging and pleading.”

“I do know.” He shook his head. “Christopher Hoyt, you’re a fucking madman. You’re probably the worst in the damned group here. Who shoots their only remaining best friend and guts him, then—”

Christopher fired, and the man shrieked. He beat the assassin across the jaw with the butt of his gun, and a crunch rang out through the air. Chris dropped the gun and punched him in the face. Stephanie grabbed him and pulled him off of the man quickly.

The man scrambled for Christopher’s dropped gun and Spirit lunged. She grabbed Marcus by the back of his neck and shook him hard. It was like watching her shake a rag doll or some limp chew toy.

“What the hell was that?” Amara shouted at Christopher, but he didn’t answer. He stood there, blankly staring at the body. Tears glistened in his eyes, but there was no emotion there. It was like he dazed out.

“We have to get out of here,” Stephanie said quickly to Amara. “Someone’s going to be here any minute.”

“Grab his wallet,” Amara said quickly as she pulled Chris away. He followed her as if he were in some sort of trance.

Stephanie grabbed the man’s wallet carefully, as if she were uncomfortable touching the body. She grabbed their own two bags of luggage and ran after Amara and Chris. Spirit followed closely behind.

They squeezed into the car and tossed the bags in the back. Somehow, they managed to fit Spirit into the back of the car with the baggage. It took Amara a moment to realize she actually changed size and was now the size of a German Sheppard. Amara got in and drove.

‘Where are we going?’ Spirit asked from the floor in the back of the car.

“We’re sticking to the plan,” Amara said evenly. “Stephanie, call the HQ and tell them we need a cover.”

Stephanie nodded as she pulled her phone out and dialed quickly. Amara tried to focus on the road, but Christopher’s reaction to what the gunman said made her nervous. What had he done? To his best friend? Maybe some of the rumors were true. She hoped not. She’d rather not be working with a complete and total psychopath.

Her thoughts were broken by the ringing of her own phone. The shrill beeping rang out over and over until she finally answered the phone.

“Hello?” she answered as she fumbled with it a bit.

It was suddenly very hard to focus on driving and talking at the same time.

“Amara, we have another body,” Jeremy’s voice came over the line. Jeremy had been the hunter to find the first body known to The Administration.

“What? Where?” Amara pulled over to the side of the road as quickly as she could.

Jeremy gave her the location of the newest body. It wasn’t far from where they were, perhaps a half an hour at most and just up the road. Jeremy gave Amara the details. I It was nearly identical to all the others.

“We can be there in a half an hour. I’ve got a new team member, so warn the police to just let us through.”

“A new team member? I hope it’s someone who is authorized.”

“No, not at all. She’s a werewolf lent to us, but she’s going to help. Just trust me on this one.”

“Okay. I’ll warn them,” Jeremy said. “No one is going to like it.”

“They’ll deal with it,” she said and hung up.

“Amara,” Stephanie asked. “New body?.”

“Yeah, I have the address. We’re on our way now,” she said as she pulled back onto the road. “Try to help Chris get himself together.”

* * * *

Stephanie nodded and grabbed Chris’s face in her hands, forcing him to look at her.

“Chris, come back to me. Stay with us. You don’t want them to win again, do you?”

Chris shook his head, his eyes still a bit hollow, but he responded.

“No, I don’t.” He pulled away and shook his head a little. Tears formed in his eyes again.

“Are you going to be okay?” Stephanie asked him gently, leaning over the back seat so she could get closer to him. Evidently uncomfortably close for Chris.

“I’ll be fine. Just…bad memories.”,“ The hunter pulled away from her and nodded.

“Sounds like it,” Amara said softly. “You’re sure you don’t want us to drop you off somewhere?”

“No. Really.” Christopher shook his head. “I’ll be okay. I just need some air and some time.”

Stephanie nodded and looked back out the window. Time went by in silence, giving her a rather long period to sit and wonder what exactly happened with Christopher. He seemed so very collected and calm. He seemed like he knew exactly what he was doing, and then suddenly, it was all gone. She shook her head and tried not to think about it.

When she saw the blue and red lights flashing in the distance, she knew they were close. It was like an alarm or a signal for them. Not so much keeping people away by letting them know it was a crime scene as it was a beacon for other people who were forced to get involved.

‘I smell blood.’ Spirit got up and climbed over Stephanie to stick her head out the window.

“How bad do you think it’s going to be?” Stephanie asked her.

‘Pretty bad.’