FIRE & LIES (Hunters Inc Book 1) Read online

  One of Sanchez ‘lieutenants’ had seen pictures and realised who ‘Hannah Taylor’ was. His brother had been stationed with Jacks and Harry in Afghanistan when he had been killed, so Harry had been given the heads up about the hit, a nod for when he had called the family personally to inform them of their son’s death.

  A loyalty repaid when the decision had been made to off the 'little bitch', that’s what Sanchez had called her 'little bitch' ... that alone had made Jacks want to kill some fucker.

  As he pulled into a parking space at the side of the hanger, his phone rang, Jacks looked at the screen, Harry.

  "Just pulled up at the airport, using the old man’s plane so should be wheels up in about twenty minute's my friend." He opened the car door, before taking his bags from the back seat and walking forcefully towards the waiting plane. He might not be a soldier anymore, but he still held himself well and had a presence that made people pay attention.

  "How soon do you think you will be here?" Harry asked.

  Jacks noticed an urgency in his friends’ voice, it unsettled him, he had known this man the better part of eight years and knew there was little that phased him, Hannah probably his one weakness, threaten her and you had threatened him. God help the poor son of a bitch who had done just that.

  "Flight's about nine, ten hours’ tops, I have a car waiting for me so should be with you half an hour after that." Jacks took the plane steps two at a time, greeted the pilot and cabin crew before taking one of the four seats, each covered in soft cream leather, and provided the comfort and privacy that he was grateful for.

  "I'm gonna need you to stay with Hannah, tell her you’re crashing in her spare room, that you’re in town for a few days so we can catch up. I figured she wouldn't get suspicious that way" Jacks thanked the steward as she passed him a bottle of water, silently grateful for the liquid, the word’s he has just heard suddenly made his mouth dry ...

  “Come again?” He was almost sure he heard a laugh in Harrys voice, if the situation wasn’t so serious, he would have laugh himself, “Hang on a minute, I thought I was crashing at yours, how the hell are we going to explain this little scenario? What are you going to say ...'Hay Han, this is Jacks, you’ve never met him but he's going to be sleeping in your spare room. Don't mind do ya?” He took a swallow of the ice cold water, Harrys words still running around in his head “she's not going to buy it, not for one second and what's the reason I have to stay at Hannah's and not yours?" he asked.

  “I’ve got boxes in my spare room, what can I say, I'm a lazy fuck, haven’t unpacked yet” came the reply.

  "Bullshit, you are the most organised dick I know, no way you have a room full of unpacked boxes, try again." Jacks fastened his seat belt, took out the file and settled into the flight.

  "War room" Harry said quietly

  "I'm sorry what? Did you just say 'War room'?" Jacks couldn't hold back the laugh this time, his deep voice filling the cabin.

  "Shut it fucker, I couldn’t exactly leave shit laying on the coffee table, could I? She doesn't miss a fucking thing, so I turned my spare into a room where I can have everything on hand" Man, this had got Harry on edge.

  "I bet you have a cork board with little coloured pins and shit, what is they say, once a soldier always a soldier" Jacks laughter boomed.

  "Shut the fuck up, we need somewhere that we can talk, plan our moves from. I have brought Mikey in, he's head of security here at the bar, he’s been briefed and will be working with you, another pair of eye on Han." Jacks heard the change in Harry voice, knew his friend had been shaken by the threat on his sister.

  "Well I suppose if that’s what you have come up with, that’s the story we stick too, although I can't see her being best pleased about it. Still think you should tell her the truth. I will leave you to break the good news to her, see you in a few hours." Jacks hung up the phone, dropped it on the seat next to him, he let his head fall back and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose.

  Fuck! He had to spend a week living with a woman who had been the main featured in more than one hand job fantasy over the past couple of years, he had lost count of the times he’s imagined what she would look like naked and now he had to sleep in the same apartment as her. Fucking Harry!

  Jacks read the file for maybe the fifth time since he boarded the plane, in all honesty, he had lost count. Whatever intel was on those pieces of paper now well and truly etched into his brain, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

  Jacks was being woken to say they had landed, well shit, if he hadn’t just slept almost the entire flight. He took out his phone, called Harry and told him he was wheels down and leaving the airport, and would be with him within the hour, if Harry hadn’t clued Hannah in yet, now was the time to do it.

  "I could just stay at home, you do remember my parents have a house that’s about an hour from yours?" Jacks as much as he wanted to see Hannah for real this time, wasn't sure how he was going to handle living with her, even if it was just for a few days.

  "Thought about that, still too far away, I need you as close to her as we can get away with, shit, I even had our bouncer babysitting her today, I'm freaking out man, just get here."

  “Be there as soon as I can” Jacks threw this phone on the passenger seat and left the airport.

  CHAPTER THREE

  "Won't be long Harry" Hannah called as she turned towards the entrance of the stairs that lead to her apartment.

  They were hard to see if you didn’t know that they were there, hidden purposely behind a flat door that was covered in flyers of local bands and posters advertising the latest fashionable drink. Harry had the door installed so it could act as a panic room, something Hannah thought totally unnecessary and completely over the top, but kind of cool at the same time, not that she would ever tell him that.

  "Han, you got a minute?" he called from the back office.

  "You better make it quick Harry, we open in less than an hour and I have to make myself look fabulous ..." she exaggerated the 'fabulous' in a 1940s movie star drawl as she held onto the door frame and swung herself into the room.

  Harry was sat behind his desk, his laptop open and phone next to it having just ended a call. She took a step closer to the large mahogany desk waiting for him to tell her what he wanted, but he paused a little too long before he spoke and it made her nervous.

  "Harry what’s the matter? What did you want?" She asked looking directly at him, but he didn’t or wouldn’t look at her, mistake.

  "That was an old Army buddy of mine on the phone, he's gonna be in town for a few days, needs a place to crash so I told him he can use the spare room upstairs. You won't mind, will you?" Harry looked up to see Hannah staring at him open mouthed.

  "I'm sorry ..." she started slowly, it wasn't an apology, more of an 'I beg your pardon' kind of answer. "I don't think so, he's your friend, let him crash at yours."

  "I don't have room, my spare is full of boxes, besides, he's not gonna be here that long, couple of days, week at the most." Harry stood to his full impressive height and walked from behind the desk, closing the laptop as he passed it, he stopped in front of her and sat on the edge of his desk. "Jacks is one of the good guys Han, I trust him with my life and yours, you're perfectly safe."

  "You're actually serious?" She glared at him "No! For god’s sake Harry, I can't believe you sometimes" she started to protest "I'm not worried about safe you idiot,” She glared at him “No, absolutely not, call him back, tell him he is staying at yours." she backed away from him, folding her arms across her chest, she might have been a lot smaller than him in the physical sense, but was more than a match when it came to the spitting hell fire temper that was brewing inside her gut.

  "Boxes Han, and like I said, I already told him he can stay with you, what would it look like if I went back on my word." Harry stood again, his 6ft frame towering over her.

  The look on his face told Hannah this was non-negotiable. There was more to Jacks whatever hi
s name coming to town, she was sure of it, the just passing through bullshit didn’t sit quite right, but she couldn’t think why, and right now she was pissed, seriously pissed.

  "Do this for me and I will owe you big time, I haven't seen him in a couple of years, I know it’s short notice, but you won’t know he's there, I promise. We are trained shadows remember" he smiled and gave her a wink.

  "Oh fuck off Harry. As if I’m not going to notice one of your fugly Army buddies lounging on my couch, probably scratching his balls like you do every chance you get. And if you could be bothered to unpack your shit any time in the next 10 years that would be great. I love you, but I swear to god sometimes arghhh!" She threw her arms in frustration turned and stormed from the office, pissed beyond limits that she would have an unwanted house guest for the next several days. The more she thought about it, the more she found herself wanting to smack Harry, and hard, very hard "When is this 'buddy' of yours supposed to be coming?" Hannah asked, turning back as she reached the door at the bottom of her stairs.

  "In about an hour " Came the reply

  "Oh for fucks sake Harry" she spun back around just in time to see him smirking. "An hour, what the hell ...? Sometimes I think you deliberately piss me off for your own entertainment. Tell you what, why don't I just ask Emma to move into your spare room for a fucking week, her apartment is small, she wouldn't mind the boxes. See how you like it." Not waiting to see the colour drain from his face she took off up the stairs to her apartment.

  Hannah was still condemning Harry to the fiery pits of hell as she stripped her damp sweat covered clothes from her petite frame, she loaded them into the washing machine before walking through her living room towards the bathroom, she would have to remember no more wondering around naked, how embarrassing would that be if she forgot herself and walked out of her bedroom? on second thoughts, it would be one way to scare off an unwanted house guest.

  She was used to not having to worry about anyone walking in on her and she liked living alone, at twenty four she was finally starting to enjoy her life again, but her private space was just that, private, somewhere she could still stand and scream when the images of her father’s murder crammed their way to the front of her thoughts. It didn’t happen so often anymore, but it did still happen and this apartment was her Haven, how could Harry just expect her to let a stranger crash in her spare room for a week and think she would be ok with it? A fucking week, this was her space, hers! She had picked out pieces of furniture to match the things her Dad had in the apartment already, not wanting to throw any of his stuff out.

  Harry hadn’t even asked her first and that wasn't like him, he could be a pain, he was her big brother, that’s what big brothers do, but to just invite someone to stay in her apartment without asking first, and what about her usual method of stress relief? No chance of getting her trusty vibrator out while Jackson Hunter was in the next room, the walls where thin and the last thing she needed was her brothers friend listening to her getting herself off. She could seriously kick Harry. This one was gonna take some serious sucking up.

  Less than thirty minutes later and she was almost ready, had showered, washed her hair which she left to dry naturally. Dressing up was out of the question, no point, by the end of the night her shorts and t-shirt would probably be covered in spills of beer from where she and Emma would be bumping into each other as they served the rowdy customers, there was always a spill or five, usually towards the end of the night when those a little too worse for wear were having trouble holding a glass steady, at which point, she would serve them a pint of ice water and free coffee just to help soften the blow that would be a raging hangover in the morning. It was usually good fun, and she was hoping her mood could be lifted after the bombshell that Harry had dropped earlier.

  A quick lick of mascara, hair up into a loose messy bun and she was good to go, denim shorts, loose t-shirt and her trusty air max trainers were the comfort clothes of the gods when working behind a bar and she was hoping that by the end of the shift Harry might tell her that his friend had cancelled so she could flop on the couch, down a cold bottle of Bud and watch some girly chick flick as she unwound from her shift before crawling into bed and passing out.

  "Han " she looked up at the sound of her name as she walked into the bar, Harry was stood talking to a man who had his back to her "Han, I'd like you to meet Jackson Hunter and Jackson, I'd like you to meet my sister Hannah "

  Hannah stopped, what the holy fuck, was she staring? Yes, she was, a man mountain with short dark brown tussled hair stood and turned to face her, he was stunning and she was lost for words, stunning.

  Jackson Hunter wore a black shirt and faded jeans that clung to his muscles, fuck, he was massive, had arms to die for. He was as broad as Harry, but a couple of inches taller at least. Christ, did the army lock these boys up and work them until they came out looking like Gods? and that face, those eyes, shit...!

  Hannah focused on this chiselled jaw, the couple of days’ worth of growth where he hadn't shaved seemed like a good place to look, besides, gazing higher would probably strain her neck. She stood, frozen on the spot.

  Blood had shot to the nerve endings of every part of her body, what the...? She hadn’t been expecting Jackson Hunter to look like this, she didn't know what she had expected exactly, but it sure as shit wasn't this. She willed herself to move forward, still staring as she took his extended hand to shake it in a greeting. It was rough, the hand of a man who wasn’t afraid of hard work, of a man who had done his fair share of labour.

  "Nice to meet you Hannah, I'm Jackson, but my friends call me Jacks " he watched her as she appeared caught off guard by his English accent. 'My friends call me Jacks' What the shit was that? Straight out of some cheap TV movie he thought to himself. Here he was in front of the one woman he had thought about for years, had palmed himself over more times than he could remember and that was the best first line he could come up with. Fucking jabbering dick.

  "Your English ..." She suddenly snatched her hand back, had he held it a little too long?

  "Yeah, didn’t Harry tell you?" he smiled as he spoke, had noticed her reaction, "English parents, but I was born here in the states so dual citizenship. I grew up in England moved back here when I was twenty."

  Pull yourself together, what are you some awkward gawky teenager? She thought "No, he never mentioned it, come to think of it, until an hour ago, he hadn't actually mentioned you." Hannah looked between the two towering men that stood in front of her, catching the quick glance they shared with each other, she knew it, knew there was more to this crap than just happen to be in town "So ..." she stepped back and stood with her hands on her hips and tapped her right foot on the wooden floor, "Are you two going to keep this fake just passing through crap up or are you going to tell me what’s really going on?"

  Jackson found himself staring, she had caught him off guard. He had already seen her picture, already knew her face, memorised every line, had been reading up on her for hours. The description of 5'4, curly brown hair, brown eyes, hadn't even come close to what she actually looked like, she was ... hell she was stunning, but he could understand why Harry had left the description vanilla, this was his sister and all he saw was cute curly haired kid, except she wasn’t cute or a kid, cute didn’t even come close, she was knock a man on his arse gorgeous, and very much a woman. He was suddenly having a hard time trying to remember the bullshit they had agreed to tell her about why he was here in the first place. Shit man!

  "Didn’t Harry fill you in?" Think, what was the story again? "Found myself with a couple of weeks free time, booked a flight and here I am. Thanks for putting me up by the way, sorry it's short notice, hope it’s not too much trouble." Was he waffling?

  Jacks looked directly at Hannah, his attention briefly caught by the swell of her breasts as they rose and fell in time with the rhythm of her breathing, and her hands on her hips made her look like a little fire cracker ready to explode.

  How lon
g had he waited to see her in the flesh? And now she stood in front of him. Shit, she was everything he has imagined and more and he had lied to her from the off. At this moment, he felt like a dick.

  "Han is cool with it aren’t you Han?" Jacks saw the look she gave Harry, cool was the total opposite to what she was, was it wrong that he found her annoyance amusing?

  Jacks was sure she could see through the lie, but it wasn't his truth to tell, it was Harry's and until such time she needed to know, if she ever needed to know, that’s the line he was sticking too, old friend in town for a few days.

  "Han didn't have much of a choice did she 'Harry'" She glared at them both, Oh, she was pissed alright, and damn if that didn’t make him want her all the more.

  One thing he knew for sure, if she was his he would never tell her a lie, shit, just being close to her made him want to drop to his knees and confess all his sins.

  Hopefully she wouldn't ever need to know the truth, they could do what needed to be done and he would be out of here, week tops, and she would go back to being an unobtainable fantasy, At least that was the plan.

  "You are both full of bullshit, I can tell when he's lying at a thousand miles and I can tell you would cover his 'arse' if he asked you too, cause that's what you Army guys do, he could tell me Barny the dinosaur was real and you would back him up" she exaggerated the word 'arse' in a fake English accent as she moved her point finger between the two men.

  Jacks head fell back as he laughed, his deep voice boomed, filling the empty room. Yeah, fire cracker had been spot on. He sat down on the bar stool, his long limbs stretched out, she was certainly worth the ten hour flight alone and he had no doubt she would be the cause of more than one cold shower before this job was finished.