Read Online Banished (A Retribution Novel) by Cindy Stark - Free Book Online

guess
we regroup and start from scratch.”
    “Yeah. I hated to give up my surveillance, but I
couldn’t allow him to continue abusing those women.”
    “Understandable. Have you found out anything else
on the photo? Where it originated?”
    Ryan frowned, knowing Hunter meant the picture of
a woman who was eerily familiar to his deceased girlfriend. “No. My contact has
been off the grid. I’m hoping he’ll be back in town in a week or so. He never
goes too long without checking in with his mama.”
    “I uncovered an interesting piece of information.
Angel Hardy, the man connected to Janie’s ex, has ties to Donati.”
    Ryan blew out a breath, letting the information
sink in, allowing more puzzle pieces to fit into place. “Have you told Sam?”
Their buddy was super protective of Janie and would be very interested in that
tidbit of information.
    “He’s the one who found the link between them.”
    “ What ?” That surprised the hell out of him,
though it shouldn’t.
    “Yep. We both know Hardy claims Portland as his
territory. Apparently, Donati provides support and takes a cut.”
    “Hell, Hunter. How did we miss that?”
    “Fuck if I know. But if we’re ever going to get
Donati, we have to work smarter.”
    “Then that means Guy and Angel both work for him,
both covering different sections of Oregon. Do they ever bump up against each
other? Maybe we could use that angle to our advantage. Even if they don’t, we
could make it seem as though they do. You know what they say about a house
divided.”
    Hunter chuckled. “I like how you think, Atwood.”
    “At least I kept one benefit from all the years of
Army training. They might be able to strip everything else from me, but they
can’t take what they put into my brain.”
    “Damn straight. One of these days, we’ll get Guy
to confess, too, and they’ll have to give everything back, or we’ll die trying.”
    The knife they’d buried in his heart when they’d
prosecuted him twisted deeper still. The love for his country burned strong
inside him, and he’d still give his life for it today. “Yeah. We’ll see. But I’ll
make damn sure Guy’s brought down for what he did. The traitor has to pay.”
Vengeance burned just as strongly, maybe more so.
    Former family and friends had accused Ryan of
living life in black and white. Maybe that was true. Right was right, and wrong
was wrong. Unfortunately wrong sometimes escaped justice.
    But not if he and his brothers could help it.

Chapter Eight
     
    Violet woke with a start. She blinked several
times, trying to make out shapes in the darkness, trying to get her bearings.
She glanced at the bedside clock. Three-thirty.
    Despite her attempts to stay awake, she’d fallen
asleep. Maybe that had been for the best. No one had breached the bedroom door
in Ryan’s house, and she was safe. Events from the past two days had taken a
toll, and she’d seriously needed rest. As soon as she made it to her car, she’d
find a motel and check in. Maybe she’d sleep the whole rest of the day.
    She stood and groped in the dark to find her flip-flops
and purse. Then she quietly made her way to the door and turned the knob. It
opened soundlessly. Her heart banged against her chest in wild thumps, and she
had to convince herself that they made no sound outside the pounding in her
head.
    She didn’t dare go farther down the hall to gather
her clothes from the bathroom. It was too close to his room, and she wanted to
make a clean escape.
    She took small, quiet steps to the front door, and
then slipped out into the night. Cool ocean air surrounded her, giving her a chill,
but she loved the way she could hear the surf pounding against the shore.
Luckily, the bright moon still hovered in the sky, lighting her way up the
driveway, away from his house.
    Once she was a fair distance away, she began to
jog. The flip-flops made it difficult, but she needed to put space between her
and the possibly dangerous man who could ignite