Hunter (The Bang Shift Book 2) Read online

  “Nice introduction,” he heard Maya mumble to Heather.

  He looked over his shoulder before he could stop himself and said, “Hunter Anderson.”

  Her light eyes popped. And yeah, he was a dick for liking that he startled her. “Maya, um, Carmichael.”

  “There. Now we’re practically family, Maya Um Carmichael.”

  Fire lit behind her eyes, but he slammed the door before any retort could be made.

  His sister had really screwed up this time. Question was, how bad?

  Part of him didn’t even want to know the answer to that.

  Chapter Four

  Hunter could hear a pin drop if he strained hard enough.

  All of the men gaped at him as he told them the details of what had happened last night. When he finished, no one talked. No one. He could hear them breathing it was so quiet.

  “That’s some funny shit,” Roc finally said, and burst out laughing.

  “Dude,” Blade admonished with a chuckle. That only served to get the other guys snickering.

  “I can’t believe y’all are laughing at me,” Hunter said with a huff. “This could be serious.”

  “Yes,” Bear said. “It could be. I think what Roc meant was that it’s funny how quickly your sister assumed things.”

  “Hell, if the government was that on, they’d never need us,” Brody added.

  “Hey, the government knows what they’re doing,” Gauge said, frowning.

  “Spoken like a true FBI agent,” Roc muttered, all trace of humor gone. “The government doesn’t know the difference between its ass and a hole in the ground. If it did, they wouldn’t have so many dirty fucking people working for them.”

  “Not all agents are bad,” Gauge said, shoulders back. But Hunter couldn’t agree with him. Truth was, they were still weeding out the bad apples. No one was sure just how far the Collins crime family reach had been, and they had nearly two decades worth of digging still to do. Some of the agents in their pocket would have retired by now and not be a direct threat, but there were still some who worked for the feds that were deeply entrenched in the criminal life. It was one of the many reasons the Bang Shift was allowed to remain operable. Like it or not, the feds needed them.

  At least while they cleaned house. Who knew beyond that?

  “Maybe not the prized newbie,” Roc added, crossing his arms.

  “Fuck you, man. I’ve been with the FBI for years, and I’ve been at this garage for years. I’m not a fucking newbie.”

  “Cut it out, you two,” Bear said, shaking his head. “We don’t have time to go down that road right now. Let’s figure out what we need to do about Hunter’s sister and her friend. All that other crap can wait. It sure as hell isn’t going anywhere.” He looked at Hunter then. “What’s your take on this?”

  He’d been thinking about that on the way here, and he still didn’t have a clear answer. “Don’t know. It could be some little prick who was pissed, got drunk, and acted out. Don’t make it right. Don’t make it serious either.” He shrugged.

  “Or whoever took a slugger to that car could’ve drowned kittens growing up and is on a one-way path to becoming a serial killer,” Blade said and pursed his lips. “Tough call.”

  “We don’t have enough to go on,” Brody said, sitting up straighter.

  “Agreed.” Bear nodded.

  “We need that car,” Roc said, adding something useful for the first time.

  Gauge was already typing on his laptop. “Sheriff’s office wouldn’t have the means to deal with it. It’d be at the state’s crime lab.” After several more keystrokes, he said, “Yep. Checked in this morning, along with the evidence gathered at the scene.”

  Of course it was Gauge’s FBI clearance and the latest government technology that allowed him to find that out, but the guy was too good of a person to make a petty comment about that.

  “We need the results of that.”

  “And we need the car, so we can fix it,” Hunter said without hesitation.

  “Why?” Blade asked slowly.

  “Because.” He didn’t have an excuse.

  “Gauge,” Bear said when Hunter didn’t add anything else. “Keep watch on the chain of evidence and snag a copy. I’ll call our contact with the feds and get an official copy of those results. Maybe we can get the big dogs on it and get a rush on the findings.”

  “Done,” Gauge said with a short nod.

  “And if they won’t give them to us?” Hunter asked.

  “I’ll snag them anyway,” Gauge said matter-of-factly without looking up.

  “Brody, you stick with Xan. I don’t think this is connected to her ex’s family, but we can’t be too careful. Besides, I don’t want her getting wind and worrying about anything.”

  “Don’t even have to ask,” Brody said. “I’ll reach out to Jack Parsons. See if he can help.”

  “Good idea,” Bear said.

  “Well, those were the easy decisions. What are we gonna do about the girls?” Roc asked, eyebrow raised.

  “They’re here now. What does it hurt if they stay a few days? We might be able to get some preliminary news before they’d have to go back anyway. If anyone asks, your sister is here visiting with a friend. No big deal,” Bear said.

  It was a very big deal. His sister he could handle, but Maya? “The friend can’t stay with me.”

  “Why not?” Blade asked, frowning. Then he slowly smiled. “Is she cute?”

  “That doesn’t have anything to do with it.”

  “That’s a ‘no’ on the cuteness and an ‘oh, baby’ on the hotness.” Blade wagged his eyebrows.

  “Knock it off,” Hunter said. “Her parents don’t know she’s here. If she misses classes, the school will probably notify them. She should either go home and face the music of her bad taste in boys, or go back to school and let the cops there deal with her.”

  “That why you want to fix her car? Because her parents don’t know about it?” Bear asked.

  “No,” he said too quickly. Shit, that would have been a great excuse. “My sister rides around with her a lot, and I want to make sure she’s taken care of.”

  “Who? Maya or your sister?” Roc asked.

  “My sister, you asshole.”

  “Seems like a flimsy excuse to sink thousands of dollars into some broad’s ride.”

  “Back the hell off, Roc,” Hunter seethed.

  “Jake Oberman—the boyfriend, ex, whatever—has already been picked up for questioning,” Gauge said, breaking the tension. Hunter’s head whipped around to find Gauge staring at his computer.

  “That’s good, right?” he asked.

  “Yeah, er, no,” Gauge said, frowning. “He was released. Not enough evidence. Oh shit.”

  “What?” Bear asked.

  “He lawyered up. Bruce Cohen.” The look Gauge gave him left a knot in his stomach. Before he could ask why that mattered, Gauge continued. “Cohen represents a lot of powerful people. A lot of dirty people. He’s got connections all over the world. If he’s in Jake’s pocket, that kid could be really bad news.”

  “How bad?” Brody asked.

  Gauge shrugged. “Don’t know. Cohen’s in it for the money, and there are a lot of rich criminals out there that use his services. We’d have to investigate them all to find a link. If there even is one.”

  “Does he represent anybody in the mafia?” Brody asked, his body becoming more rigid by each passing second.

  “Oh, yeah,” Gauge said. “Not sure if he reps anybody in Collins syndicate, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find some connections, even if they’re just minor.

  Bear grunted. “That changes things.” He looked at Hunter. “Maya’s not going anywhere until we can ensure her safety. We’ll have one of our people with the feds make contact with her parents. Tell them she’s been selected for some D.C. trip. They’ll contact the school, too, so she doesn’t lose credit. She’ll have to do her work, but she can do it remotely until we get to the bottom of this.”


  “What about my sister? They’ll have to talk to the school about her, too.”

  “Actually, I was thinking something else for her.”

  “What?”

  “You’re not going to like it.”

  Hunter’s jaw ticked. “What?”

  Instead of answering him, Bear looked to Gauge. “Can we get an agent that resembles Maya?”

  “Why?” Gauge asked after several seconds. Hunter knew the other man’s brain was churning, but he was too focused on his own thoughts to be concentrating on what other people could be thinking.

  “Because we can send an agent back with Heather to make some public appearances, making it look like she’s living life normally, not worried about what happened to her car while we look into this.”

  “No.” Hunter jumped up. “Did you just suggest sending my sister out there unprotected—”

  “She’d be with an agent—”

  “And make her fend for herself? No fucking way, man.”

  “It’s not a bad idea,” Blade said softly.

  “No.”

  “I’m with Hunter. If the mafia is anyway involved, she needs to stay far away,” Brody added.

  “Right,” Hunter said, knowing that Brody only agreed because of what happened with Xan, but not caring about the reasoning.

  “Anna Sue could do it. She’s worked with us before, so she’d take a personal interest in the case,” Gauge said.

  “No.”

  “She doesn’t really look like Maya,” Blade said.

  “Doesn’t matter. She’s a chameleon. You’d be surprised how much she can change her appearance. Besides, she wouldn’t have to go to class or anything. Just show up at a coffee shop, restaurant, bar—”

  “No. Why aren’t y’all listening to me?”

  “Because you’re looking at this emotionally,” Bear said.

  “You’re goddamn right I am.” Hunter shoved his finger toward Bear then looked at the rest of the room. “Y’all are talking about putting my sister on a case. She is inexperienced at best and a drama queen at worst. No way, no how, no. No. No. It’s ridiculous to even consider.”

  “Bro, we’re not talking about putting her in harm’s way. Think about it. If neither of the girls are in town, Jake will know they’re hiding. If he thinks the police questioned him and the girls are going around town as if nothing is wrong, it’ll be easier for us to flush him out,” Blade said.

  “We can ask for additional support.”

  “I’ll go,” Hunter said. “I can protect my sister better than anyone.”

  “That won’t work. If you’re brooding around, Jake will know something’s up. It has to look like the girls are doing their regular thing.”

  Hunter’s teeth hurt from grinding them so much. “Yeah, but won’t he think it’s weird that I’m not there if she’s in danger?”

  “Not if the girls hid what happened,” Roc said, glancing up at him.

  “It’s a solid idea,” Blade added.

  The door chimed, alerting the men to a customer.

  “We need to get back to work,” Bear said. “We’ll go over the specifics after we close.”

  He could go over whatever he wanted, but Hunter would be damned if he agreed to what Bear had suggested. It was fucking madness.

  “Hello? Guys? Anyone back there?” a female called out.

  “Well fuck me,” Hunter breathed. “I told her to stay put,” he yelled before storming out of the meeting room and into the lobby. “What are you doing here?”

  And no, Heather wasn’t alone. Maya stood cowering behind her. Great. What the ever lovin’ fuck? When she didn’t respond right away, he opened his mouth to ask again, but he stopped when he heard footsteps behind him. The guys had followed and were now within earshot.

  “My car’s acting up,” she finally said. “Figured I’d bring it over to have it worked on while we’re in town.”

  A sound suspiciously like a groan came from one of the guys. He looked over his shoulder and quickly scanned their faces. Yes, he knew his sister was a looker. It had been a problem for him ever since their parents had died, but no way was he going to tolerate one of his bros getting any ideas. It was bad enough he had to deal with the idea of boys her own age.

  With his deadly stare, he dared each and every one of them to fucking try something with his baby sister. Each guy looked as impassive as Brody, who he knew wouldn’t be thinking anything impure about his little Heather.

  When he faced her again, he pinned her with that same killer gaze. “I could’ve taken a look at the house. I know a thing or two about cars.” He realized his tone was sarcastic, but he didn’t care.

  “Well, look at you, Heather. All grown up,” Bear said. He nudged Hunter to the side and gave her a hug. Hunter had to fight the instinct to rip his boss’s arm off her. Deep down, he knew the man wouldn’t try anything. Of course, Hunter had a problem right at this moment with rational thought. “We’d be happy to take a look at your car.”

  “You can’t leave it here. I didn’t drive my truck,” Hunter said, shutting his eyes. Without a way home, the girls would have to hang around the shop.

  “Why don’t you pull it into the third bay over there? Roc can take a look at it.”

  “It’d be my pleasure,” he said with a wink.

  Hunter wanted to knock his ass out. Partly because of his co-worker’s obvious flirting and partly because of his irritation that no one would listen to him.

  “Will do,” she said brightly, and tugged on Maya. “Let’s go.”

  Hunter sighed, knowing it wasn’t possible to change his sister’s mind. Once the girls were back in the parking lot and Roc had a-little-too-eagerly gone into the bay, Bear turned to the remaining men.

  “I don’t want to pull rank, but I will if you don’t get your head clear. Hell, you can’t even stand one of your friends being around your sister without going all protective brother on us. No way can you guard her and effectively investigate.”

  “She. Is. My. Sister. Would you send Roxie out like that?”

  The room was suddenly very quiet.

  Hunter knew it was a low blow, bringing up Roxie, but he would do whatever was necessary to make sure his sister was safe.

  Bear blinked. “What does that mean?”

  “Cut the shit. You know what it means. You have a thing for her, and everybody knows it. So I’m asking you, would you put someone you cared about in the middle of danger like that?”

  “I don’t have a thing for Roxie. But even if I did, which I fucking don’t, I’d do whatever was necessary to get the job done. Just like you’re going to.”

  Hunter knew, in that moment, that Bear was one-hundred percent serious. Hunter needed to get on board or get overruled. Either way, it was fucking bullshit.

  “What if I go?” Blade asked suddenly. “Just to keep an eye on things. Anna Sue can do her thing, and I’ll be in the background. I’d watch your sister like a hawk, man.” He looked at Bear. “I know we’re swamped here, but we can push some projects back. If it’d make this easier on one of our own, then I think it’s a no-brainer.”

  Hunter was in hell. Blade wasn’t just a lady’s man, he was the goddamn centerfold. How could Hunter agree to letting him guard his sister? He stared at the guy, wondering what he was supposed to do about this. He could either continue to fight his boss on this or he could give in and let the biggest flirt on their team watch his barely-legal sister’s back. Yeah, that was an easy decision.

  “Dude, I don’t like the way you’re looking at me,” Blade said, hands up. “I might be a lady’s man, but I know where the line is. And I know how to do my job.”

  As seconds ticked painfully by, he knew what the answer was going to have to be, and he didn’t like it. Not one bit. Finally, he groaned with a slow nod. “Yeah, okay. Fine.” He looked at Bear. “But I want updates from Anna. Jake so much as farts in the wrong direction, they’re smoke. You feel me?”

  “They’d be gone befo
re they even get a chance to smell it.”

  “And if I think she’s about to get a scratch on her, I’m out.”

  “That’s fine,” Bear said.

  “I wasn’t asking,” Hunter reiterated.

  Bear’s gaze narrowed slightly, but he didn’t fight Hunter on the comment.

  “All right.” He sighed.

  Bear’s shoulders dropped as if he’d been as tense as Hunter during this entire conversation. “Good. Now that that’s settled, I’m going to make some calls, get Anna Sue here ASAP. We need to brief her, then get them back on the road.” He craned his neck. “See anything on the car?” Bear called out.

  “Battery cable’s loose,” Roc answered. “Tightening it now. She needs a tune-up.” Hunter looked up in time to see Roc wink in their direction.

  “Motherfucker,” he breathed.

  “He’s just riling you up,” Brody said. “Don’t pay him any attention.”

  Easy for him to say.

  “You know he’s just a dick,” Gauge added.

  Rather than answering, Hunter said, “I need to talk to Heather.”

  “Yep. And Maya,” Bear said.

  Maya. He’d forgotten about her, the actual link to the trouble surrounding his sister, because he’d been so focused on who would keep his flesh and blood safe. “What’s the plan with her?”

  Bear’s eyes grew infinitesimally. “She’s your responsibility.”

  “What?” Hunter whispered heatedly.

  Brody frowned at him. “Don’t you think your sister will be more willing to play along if she knows her friend is in good hands? She brought her to you. She’s only going to trust her care with you, dude. I’d take her to my place, but Scott goes through enough lotion as it is.” He clapped Hunter on the back.

  “You’re the only one she knows,” Bear added. “She’s going to have to keep a low profile while she’s here. I’d rather no one knew about her.”

  “Couldn’t we put her in protective custody or something?” he asked, folding his arms. And he didn’t know Maya. He’d only met her today, too.