Hunters Hit List (Fox Brothers Book 1)
Read Hunters Hit List (Fox Brothers Book 1) Online
Authors: Lolah Lace
Tags: #Interracial Paranormal Romance
HUNTERS HIT LIST
By
Lolah Lace
Kindle Edition
Published by Lolah Lace
Copyright © 2015 by Lolah Lace
Cover design by
[email protected]
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
*EXPLICIT ADULT CONTENT*
WARNING
This novel is considered romantic fiction. This is for mature audiences only. This book contains adult profane language, mild violence and strong sexual content with paranormal and supernatural elements.
Dedications
To vampire lovers near and far.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to all the members of Lolah’s Loveland for participating in the group and supporting all my author ventures. I would like to thank beta readers Patrice Harrison and Shelia B.
***
Some heroes are born. Some are made. People never notice the heroes that are forced into the title reluctantly. They fly under the radar. These heroes don’t want the praise, the fame, the glory, or the limelight that comes with the title. They just want to keep people safe. They just want to make the world a better place. You have met them before but you didn’t know it. They were fighting an enemy that you never knew existed, an enemy that was more than human. They battle with monsters new and old. They fight to the death. They fight so humankind can live on. They are the hunters.
It was past midnight. Only bad things happened out on the streets at night. There was calmness in the air that wasn’t as peaceful as it might seem. The glow of two flashlights bounced off the cement walls of an old abandoned windowless warehouse. The lights and careful patter of two pairs of combat boots crept across the grubby floor.
The leader of the twosome was Dustin Dixon an African American man in his middle thirties. His face seemed to be that of a man just a little older. His life hadn’t been easy and even in the dark of night you could see the wear around his deep-set eyes.
Dustin slowly stepped with caution batting a hanging spider web from his path. Dustin was a bearded, tall man dressed like a deer hunter sans the fluorescent vest. His every step was cautious. His every move premeditated, as he walked through the darkness with his short katana in hand.
A sound crackled from behind his fearless steps. He instantly paused and glared back at his partner Scar Buckley.
Scar was in her late twenties. Her flawless face was tan and smooth. She had dark brown hair that she wore in a natural curly face-framing Afro. She had above average looks that had been downplayed. She wanted to fit in with the boys without being hit on but she was a beauty regardless. No matter how hard she tried to hide it. Men were drawn to her although she blocked out their constant ogles.
With only two steps between her and Dustin she held one hand firmly planted on her double barrel shotgun. She heard the same crackle and she stopped moving just as he did. Being extremely cautious in this situation was the only option for the two brave souls.
“That wasn’t me.” Scar whispered as Dustin looked in her eyes blaming her for stopping their stealth mission while in progress. This pissed her off. He probably stepped on something and now he was trying to blame it on her.
“Shhhh.” Dustin tried to hush her words.
They both took small careful steps forward, determined to complete their mission. Whatever it was, it didn’t matter they had a job to do.
Another crackling sound came from behind the both of them. Scar whipped her face around and in unison Scar and Dustin stopped dead in their tracks. Scar’s heart beat just a little faster. She wondered if Dustin was feeling a little out of sorts. He seemed so hardcore on the outside. Scar knew that was a façade that most of the macho men in her field put up to shield their emotions and sometimes their fear.
They both looked around the abandon warehouse in search of the cause of the sound. Their flashlight beams collided and bounced of the bare dusty walls.
A huge rat scurried across the floor, stopped and stared at them, before jetting off and squeezing into a tiny hole in the cement wall.
The hunting duo exchanged a smirking sigh of relief. They were noticeably relieved it was a large rodent and not the big deadly rodent they were eagerly hunting and tracking. They resumed their mission.
Scar wasn’t the type of woman to be afraid of a rat. She was the furthest thing from a girly girl and proud of it. Scar liked men but she never corrected anyone that thought she was a lesbian. It was easier to fend off unwanted advances if men thought they were ill equipped.
“It’s too quiet in here.” Scar whispered to her hunting partner.
“It’s supposed to be quiet. They sleep during the day.” Dustin hissed. He always thought Scar talked too much and thought too hard. He just couldn’t deny the facts. She was a skilled hunter, better than a lot of the men.
“I know that but come on. Where’s the lookout, the runner, the anybody?” She asked.
It was clear when Scar first met Dustin she would have to be the brains behind the operation. She only worked with Dustin a few times. He was a good hunter but not the brightest bulb.
Most of the men she worked with were more brawn than brains but she hated hunting alone. The odds of survival were better in groups and couples.
“Stop being a paranoid woman.” Dustin spit letting his male chauvinism flag flap in the wind.
Scar rolled her eyes. She hated how the men always blamed her instinct on her femininity. No matter how hard she tried to hang with the boys they still wanted to blame everything she did or said on her gender or her menstrual cycle.
Hunters could be so prehistoric in their thoughts. She wished she could hunt with another woman but they were few and far between. Female hunters were hard to come by in this life and Scar wasn’t a bottom tier hunter. She was an A lister. She had been in the life for over a decade and she was at the top of her game. More importantly she was still alive, the ultimate badge of honor for a hunter.
Scar ignored Dustin’s sexist dig and followed closely behind him. They made their way to the back of the warehouse. They slowly crept up a metal staircase.
Once they made it to the second floor, Scar and Dustin lowered their flashlights. Dustin glanced back at Scar. She thought that he could be attractive if he wasn’t such an asshole, although he wasn’t really her type. He was too old, too grumpy and too sloppy.
Their bodies tensed as they both gazed over toward the back wall. Scar’s heart picked up a frantic beat. They could see a man and woman asleep on a shabby torn sofa.
Scar made her way next to Dustin. Side by side, Dustin and Scar inched closer. Dustin raised his katana although they didn’t seem to be in immediate danger. It was better to be ready then a deady, hunter humor.
Scar raised her flashlight. She shined it on the woman on the sofa. The sleeping woman was covered in blood, drenched in crimson. It appeared her throat had been ripped out. No matter how many times she saw a person’s throat ripped away Scar never seemed to get use to it. The woman was dead. There was no doubt about it. Scar wondered how she got herself into this kind of gruesome trouble.
Scar’s flashlight aimed to find the sleeping man. The man was drenched in his own blood. He was dead also. Several pieces of his flesh had been clawed from his body. Huge chunks were missing. This would be gross to many regular people but Scar had seen worse.
Dustin looked over at Scar. “Where the hell are the vamps?” He mumbled. Scar shrugged. How the hell should she know?
From the darkness behind them a voice vibrated. “You looking for me?”
Scar and Dustin turned to the sound of the raspy voice. There were little whisks of fear, adrenaline and panic floating through the dank air.
From the shadows, a vampire appeared cool and calm. He was definitely a vampire. They had seen enough vamps to recognize the undead on sight.
The vampire was dressed in all black. Vampires were all unique in some way but a lot of them blended into society by dressing gothic. Scar always believed they would blend better if they looked like a middle class minivan driving soccer parent but vamps weren’t as smart as they thought themselves to be.
The vampire’s eyes were red and his upper and lower fangs were exposed. By the looks of him, he appeared to have been turned when he was about twenty-two human years. Scar assessed this much with just a quick glance.
“I am Dorian.” The vampire spoke without any recognizable accent just the raspy voice of a long-time smoker. “You are Dustin Dixon, number four. You’re just the man I’m looking for.” Dorian rhymed. He grinned exposing more of his fangs than Scar wanted to see. Fangs still were creepy to Scar after all this time.
Dustin dropped his flashlight to distract Dorian. The plastic tube made a loud thud as it hit the cement floor. Dustin raised his katana high enough for Dorian to notice.
Scar had the good sense to pocket her flashlight. She now had both hands on her shotgun. She needed to get ready because these damn vamps were fast, unpredictable and wild animals.
There was silence and more silence as the enemies assessed each other. The hunters knew better than to callously attack a vampire because vamps usually hung out in gangs.
Scar was worried that this vamp wasn’t alone. She had lost the element of surprise when Dorian snuck up on them.
“Make a move vampire hunters. I don’t have all day.” The young vamp taunted.
“Where’s the rest of the gang?” Scar boldly asked.
“Somewhere getting their beauty sleep. I can handle number four all by myself.”
Scar and Dustin shared a confused glance. What was this number four business the young vamp was running off at the mouth about?
“You’re one step from permanent slumber vamp.” Dustin ranted.
“Oh number four, violence never solves anything. Leave the guns and the knives alone, M.C. Lyte’s on the microphone.” Dorian was rhyming again, rapping why? Because they were black hunters perhaps.
Dustin took two brave steps forward. The young vamp didn’t budge. He wasn’t afraid and this truly made Scar apprehensive. Vamps were fearless sure but they also knew they weren’t truly immortal. They could be killed just like a human.