Raid (Unfinished Hero #3)(44)

“Men who want men hunted and are willin’ to pay tens of thousands of dollars to have them delivered, and the men who are runnin’ from them tend not to be people you wanna ask to dinner,” Raiden remarked.

This was very, very true.

God.

“This scares me,” I admitted.

“Yeah, but you’ll get used to it.”

He seemed very sure.

I was not.

“I don’t think I like this,” I told him, my voice small. “Any of it.”

Raiden didn’t move.

But he did speak.

“Then you need to understand why I do it.”

This meant there was more, and I really did not want more.

He gave it to me.

“Everything, every living thing on this earth, from plants to animals to humans, has a natural order. It’s absolutely crucial to keep that order, Hanna. I’ve been in the thick of chaos and it is not a fun place to be.”

Raiden went quiet and I nodded for him to go on, my heart clenching and the pizza in my belly sitting there in a nauseating lump.

He went on.

“The men who hire me keep order in their worlds. Each one of them rules their own empire. If something breaks free of their rule, chaos can result. In the worlds those men rule, if they keep control, it is very rare there’s collateral damage. But someone steals from them, someone conspires to overthrow them, hell can break loose. And when those fires burn, baby, they take out anyone in their path.”

Weirdly, this made sense so I said, “Okay.”

“When chaos can result, they call me in. I rein it in but I don’t extinguish the threat. I’m not a moron. I know when I deliver a man who f**ked one of these guys over they don’t sit him down in group counseling and work out their issues. But I don’t give a f**k. I control chaos. No wife or mother or kid or girlfriend or just a person on the street who was in the wrong place at the wrong time gets pulled in to make a point, carry out a threat or used as shield, then I did my job and got paid huge to do it.”

This made sense, too, and was kind of honorable in a twisted, criminal underworld kind of way.

I did not tell Raiden this. I just stared at him.

So he continued.

“That’s my work, and the way you’re lookin’ at me I see it hasn’t penetrated yet that in the natural order of things it’s good work. I got a code. I don’t hunt women no matter what shit they pull—and they can pull some serious shit—but that is not my gig and never will be. And if the man I’m huntin’ is twenty or younger, I don’t take the job. At that age, they can pull their shit outta that life, turn themselves around. I don’t ask questions. I don’t counsel my prey. I tag and deliver. The kid might be pullin’ shit, but I won’t know that and I won’t live with it on my conscious that he’s off tryin’ to find a better life and I was responsible for dragging him back in.”

Raiden went quiet.

“Is that it?” I asked, thinking that was at least something but not much of a code.

“Nope,” he answered. “I don’t do side jobs, deliverin’ shit if they know I’m headin’ somewhere, which would usually be dope or firearms, but it could be anything. I do not touch any of their business because no matter what it is it’s tainted, and that is not part of my life. I am not muscle. I gotta get physical on the capture, I do that. But I don’t inflict injury unless it’s unavoidable. I am contract only and not on any payroll. It is known wide I’m not looking for employment. Now they don’t even offer no matter how good I do what I do and they want me on their crew. As for what my crew and I do, we do one thing. The job and only the job. There is not a menu of services available. We don’t accept add-ons no matter the amount they’re willing to pay. And unless I trust a man—and there are few I trust outside my crew, Deacon and Knight—I don’t grant favors and I don’t ask for them.”

Raiden again stopped speaking.

I said nothing.

So he asked, “You got any questions?”

I shook my head but told him, “I think I need to process this.”

He studied me a moment before his eyes warmed, his voice dropped and he ordered, “Then come here and process it closer.”

My throat clogged. I shook my head, but swallowed and forced out, “I think this is the kind of processing you need to process alone.”

A look that was hard to witness moved over his face.

He understood me.

That killed too.

“Hanna, come here,” he whispered.

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

Why not?

“Raiden, you just told me you’re a criminal and I’m not sure I’m down with that or if I’ll ever be.”

And I wasn’t.

And that’s why this was killing me.

“I’m not a criminal.”

“You participate in criminal activities,” I pointed out. “With understanding and intent.”

“I do shit that’s considered illegal,” he amended.

“It isn’t considered illegal, Raiden. It just is,” I told him.

“And who do I hurt?” he shot back, and my mouth clamped shut because that was actually a good question. “Who do I hurt, Hanna?” he pushed.