Page 9 of Bratva Hunter

Thane rolls his eyes. “Do you want to hear about the job?”

I don’t, really. The job means it’s time to kill someone. I’m the assassin in our family. I killed my first man at fourteen, the night I wrecked Thane’s first car. “Sure.”

“There’s a witness to Cynric killing Jose Aguilar.”

My head snaps to Thane. “What? How?”

“His daughter was at the warehouse and watched. Her great uncle thinks she’s going to go to the police.”

Why would a cartel family member report a crime? “Why?”

“I spoke with Arturo, Jose’s uncle, and his oldest son, Marco. They aren’t upset about Jose. He planned to take control of the cartel from his uncle and his oldest brother. I got the impression they were about to kill him themselves.”

“And you spent eighteen months with this loyal family. No wonder you came home pissed off.”

Thane smirks. “It’s not the family like we have; that’s for sure.”

My mind processes Thane’s words, and I grit my teeth. “So, I’m supposed to hunt down the girl and kill her?”

“I’m not sure we’re getting the complete story from the Aguilars about Rosa.”

My brow lifts. “Rosa?”

“Yeah.” He slides the file across the table. “Rosa White. Well, that’s her name when she models. She was born Rosa Aguilar.”

I pour my last shot of vodka as I flip through the file. It’s her. Keeping emotion off my face, my heart rate skyrockets. The one-night stand from Prague stares at me from the photo. “She’s gorgeous.” I can’t believe she looks even more like Snow White than she did that night: the dark hair and blue eyes. She didn’t act like the spoiled diva I’m reading in the file. “You want me to kill her?”

He shakes his head. “Just track her down and figure out if she’s a threat to us. If she’s a threat to the Aguilars, find out why.”

I stand and tip my head at my brother. “She’s been on the run for weeks. Any idea where she is or where she’d go?”

“Her mother lives in Mexico, but she’s got friends all around the world. You’re going to get to put those hunting skills to work.”

“Fine.” I roll my eyes at my brother. “The mean old hunter is going to kill Snow White. That’s the new fairy tale.” I head out to my SUV to get in the driver’s side, setting the file folder on the passenger seat. She left after the night of fucking with no note or contact information. I hoped to see her again, but not like this. I’ll call my father’s hacker and see what he’s got on Snow White.

Fingers calls me back the next morning. “I can’t find Rosa Aguilar.”

Strumming my fingers on the file folder, I’ve memorized the information, but there’s so much missing. “Her phone?”

“It’s offline. Her social media pages lack anything current, and I’m not finding anything about her with her mother in Mexico.”

I grit my teeth. “Did the Aguilars find her?”

“No.” Fingers stops typing. “I’ve hacked them. They found a photo of her in Pittsburgh. She got off a bus. She bought a ticket for Sioux Falls but never got there. I can’t find her on any video feed from the bus stations. It’s like she’s disappeared.”

I pull out the pages from the folder and slide them into my shredder. “She’s got to know that they have her mother’s place covered. Who else would she run to?”

Fingers pauses. “She’s a model. She knows people all around the world. I can’t find a record of her passport, so she didn’t take the usual routes out of the country.”

“Okay. Keep checking. I’m heading to Pittsburgh.” I end the call and grab my go bag. My drive from Manhattan to Pittsburgh will put me there in six hours. Hopefully, I can track a lead.

I park my SUV outside the bus station in Pittsburgh and walk around the area. The convenience store a few places down from the bus station catches my eye. Stepping in, I see cameras in the corner of the store. I step out and call Fingers. “There are cameras at the Seven-Eleven a block or so away from the station.”

“Give me a sec.” The pause gives me a chance to continue looking around. “She bought two phones and some prepaid Visa cards. It’s going to take me a few minutes to glean through all the data and figure out which cards were hers.”

“Great. Let me know where she used those cards. I’m going to stop and eat.”

I finish my lunch as Fingers texts me the locations. She’s been extremely careful about the burner phones, and they aren’t in use now, but she’s Ubered with the cards. I throw money on the counter for my lunch and step out of the restaurant. I’m drawn to the art déco building across the street, its sleek lines and bold design a stark contrast to the surrounding buildings. A debate rages in my brain between driving to Denver and grabbing a flight. I hate the idea of renting an SUV, but stealing one to use has its disadvantages as well. Walking back to my vehicle, I call Fingers. “Hey. I need a flight from here to Denver and find me an SUV I can borrow. One where the owners are away for a couple of weeks.”

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