Pushing aside his thoughts for a moment, Hunter realized what a coward he had been when he ran out of the house. That was highly unlike him, who did not hesitate to face danger in any situation. Ryan was the only exception to this, for Hunter neither had the power nor the skills to take him down.
'Why did I run out? Shouldn't I be confronting them the way I usually did? What happened to me back there?' He wondered, still in disbelief at his actions.
'Did I do it out of instinct?' Hunter could not decipher the reason behind his stupid actions and clenched his jaw, reprimanding himself for his shameful actions.
However, the thoughts vanished as quickly as they had come. 'I am not a coward. I will not back off like this.'
With these thoughts, he covered his face with a mask. Nothing else was visible besides his eyes and a part of his nose. He held his gun, ready to kill the men if necessary, even though he was against it on Mia's turf.
Glancing at the rearview mirror to make sure everything was fine with him, he retraced his footsteps back to Mia's house and this time, he was oddly at peace.
The men were still there. He noticed the moving van just outside the house and one of them was making his way out of the house, cursing loudly as he carried the heavy stuff.
But he could not cross the patio, for Hunter had approached him stealthily and pointed his gun at him, scaring the shit out of him. The man's eyes widened in fright and he was ready to scream for his life when Hunter unlocked his gun.
"You shout, I shoot. Pick your choice."
The man shut up immediately.
"Get inside."
The man's legs moved automatically and he stepped back while Hunter moved forward.
"Why aren't you..." The other man stopped suddenly when he realized what the situation was. Dropping the things in his hands, he was ready to fight him when Hunter pulled out a revolver and pointed at the man.
"Try me." Hunter threatened and the man froze in his place.
The lights from the streets fell on the two men and Hunter realized what a fool he had been. The men seemed like thugs with no experience and he had been scared of them. The people in his association would laugh at his face for weeks if anyone were to find out.
Hunter closed the door after him. Other than the light from the torch on the two men's phones, there was nothing else to brighten the place. But these lights were enough for him and he stepped back, observing them with his eyes narrowed.
The men did not dare move. They were scared out of their wits and all they had in mind was to flee from the place.
"Who are you?" Hunter's voice was serene. But to the men, it sounded like the voice of Hades. Words failed them at such a critical moment and they kept gaping blankly.
"I will not repeat my question. Who are you?" Hunter did not hide his frustration and rubbed his forehead with the tip of the gun in his right hand.
"We are just moving stuff in this house. We don't know anything. We were just gamblers and someone hired us to do the job. The pay was more than we could ask for. Please let us go." The man with the gruff voice spoke and he even dropped the items in his hands immediately.
"Who hired you?" Hunter moved to his next question. He did not believe a word the man had said.
"One of the regular men at the gambling den approached us to do this job and the money tempted us." The gruff-voiced man replied and Hunter glanced at the other man for confirmation.
"It's true. An acquaintance approached us with the task."
"I see. Where do you have to move the items to?"
The men looked at each other before they returned their gaze to Hunter while they remained silent.
"I will not repeat my..."
"We were supposed to move the items out of the house and burn them in a secluded place."
Though stunned, Hunter did not react much and pondered over it. "Why should I believe you? What if you are lying to me?"
"I don't think lying will do us any good. Both of us are held at gunpoint. You can kill us if you want." The sane man, whom Hunter had once considered befriending if they had met in different circumstances, spoke up.
"Why do you think I won't do that now?"
"I am just being hopeful." The man's demeanor surprised Hunter greatly and oddly impressed him.
"Do you have anything that could prove your words true?"
The men thought about it and this time, Hunter did not press them for answers immediately.
"Will a bank transfer message suffice?"
"Maybe." Hunter shrugged and the man moved forward. "Show it from where you are."
The man did as he was told and Hunter saw the bank transactions. Among all the deductions, the deposit of 500 dollars stood out.
"Was it all?"
"We will be paid another 1000 bucks after we finish the task."
'That's some easy money.' Hunter thought.
"Listen to me. You will do as I say."
The men stood still, not arguing with him on this. He held their lives in his hands.
"You will finish your task and all that happened here will not leave this house. Otherwise..."
Hunter tilted his head, the threat in his voice evident and the men shook their heads immediately.
"We don't dare. We won't reveal anything that happened here."
"Good. Now get back to work."
Hunter let them go and watched them move all the items into the van. He did not lower his guard with them and stood like a demon in the middle of the hall, making the men tremble as they worked.
Hunter did not care about the boxes he had not searched. He had an inkling that he would find nothing among them. Otherwise, the person who sent these men to burn them would not have waited till this day. They would have emptied Mia's house long ago.
"Is there anything else we must do?" The men remained subservient before him and Hunter's lips arched up on one side.
"No. You may leave now. Just remember..."
"We won't say a word."
"Good. You won't be able to either. I have my eyes on you. If you do, say goodbye to your dear lives." Hunter threatened and the man shivered visibly.
They dashed out of the house and Hunter locked the door after him, returning to his car immediately.
"Naomi," He chimed when the call connected as he started the car. "It's now time for you to shine."
"What is it, Hunter?" Naomi sighed.
"I have sent you a tracker number and a vehicle number. Track the vehicle and find out who it belongs to."
"You put a tracker on a vehicle?" Naomi was taken aback for a moment.
"I had to. The vehicle seemed to be stolen and I was unsure if the vehicle number was valid."
"Why did you not follow the car? You shouldn't have wasted a tracker."
"What if it's a trap, which I have an inkling is one? What if they want me to follow closely and catch me off guard? I don't want to die this early. Thank you so much." Hunter loved his life more than anything after all that happened to him in his previous life.
"I am going to follow them, though. Don't worry. It will be from far away and you will direct me."
"Fine. I am on it. Anything else?"
"Yeah, I will send you an account number. Find out who deposited 500 dollars to it if possible."
"Fine."
"Thanks a lot, Naomi. I owe you this time."
"Whatever."
Hunter did not miss the fatigue in her voice and felt bad for disturbing her. But his work was important. So, he pushed away his guilt, vowing to make it up to her somehow before he followed the direction the men had driven in while Naomi showed her magic.