Chapter 17
Hunter
Sure, the lap dance was probably unnecessary, but if we were going to be playing detective we deserved to have a little fun with it. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself. The truth? It had been near impossible to focus on anything else when Addison was straddling me, moving like she had the whole damn world wrapped around her finger.
I couldn’t stop thinking about how close she’d been – how easy it would’ve been to just pull her in and kiss her senseless, the kind of kiss that would have even the most degenerate of Micere patrons appalled. The thought alone was enough to make me grip the steering wheel a little tighter.
Now, as I drove, I found my eyes back drifting to her. She sat in the passenger seat, chewing on her lip, her hands fidgeting in her lap. High-strung, as usual. It was almost endearing how she tried to stay focused, her mind racing a mile a minute. Meanwhile, my thoughts were still stuck on that lap dance and the heat between my legs burning a damn hole in the car seat.
A low mutter from the backseat dragged me out of my reverie. I caught Ethan’s sulking scowl in the rearview mirror, his arms crossed and a perpetual storm cloud hanging over his head. I arched a brow at him in the mirror, offering a smirk that was more challenge than comfort. He glared back, clearly not amused.
“What?” I drawled, keeping my eyes on the road but sneaking another glance at him. “Jealous you didn’t get a dance too?”
Ethan’s scowl deepened, and he huffed. “Jealous? Please. I’m just wondering how you convinced Addison that was a good idea.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle, throwing him a wink in the mirror. “I’m very persuasive.”
Addison, still chewing her lip, finally snapped out of her thoughts to glare at both of us. “Can we focus, please? This isn’t exactly a joyride.”
Ethan muttered something under his breath, but he didn’t argue. I bit back another snide comment, focusing on the road as the mansion loomed into view.
The place was just as ostentatious as I’d expected – looming columns, pristine gardens, and the kind of security detail that screamed I have something to hide! Cathy’s mansion wasn’t just a home; it was a fortress.
I spotted the woman’s not-so-subtle black Bugatti creeping up the spiraling driveway and disappearing behind a row of clipped hedges. We pulled up a safe distance away, parking in the shadows of the towering trees lining the property. The mansion loomed in the distance, all sharp edges and grandiosity. We stared at it for a beat, the cold reality of the situation setting in.
“All right. I’m going in alone,” I said, breaking the tense silence.
Addison’s head snapped toward me, her eyes narrowing. “That wasn’t the plan. I’m coming with you.”
“No, you’re not.” I turned in my seat to face her. “Look, this isn’t a rescue mission. It’s recon. I need to scope the place out, figure out what we’re dealing with. If we both go in and something goes wrong, we’re screwed. It’s not like Ethan’s gonna run in, guns blazing, to rescue us.”
Ethan scoffed from somewhere in the back seat and Addison’s jaw tightened. “Hunter, we don’t have time for safe. Penelope’s out there, and every second we waste is another second she’s–”
“I know,” I cut her off gently. “I know. But if we rush in blind, there’s no telling what will happen.”
When Addison only folded her arms I sighed, pressing a palm to my temple. The determination in her eyes told me she was ready to do whatever it took. I respected that – admired it, even – but it also made me uneasy. The stakes were getting higher with every thread we followed.
“Breaking and entering is my cup of tea.” I reached over to unfold her arms, gripping her hands in mine, and offered a lopsided smile. “You partnered with me in the first place because you were impressed with my sneaking. So let me be sneaky .”
Addison’s eyes searched mine, conflicted. She didn’t want to agree, I could see that. But after a tense moment she let out a frustrated sigh and nodded.
“Fine,” she muttered. “But if you’re not back in thirty minutes, I’m coming in after you.”
“Deal.”
Without another word I slipped out of the car, moving quickly along the fence line. The night air was cool, the distant hum of the city a faint backdrop to the stillness of the mansion grounds. I trailed the perimeter, keeping to the shadows as a small outer gate loomed into view.
Two guards idled nearby, postures slack, the soft glow of a lantern casting flickering shadows across the stone path. I pressed myself against one of the massive trees lining the property, peeking around the trunk to observe them. They didn’t seem particularly alert, their conversation low and lazy as the night crept on.
I scanned them for a beat, searching for any signs of talismans or charms that could repel my persuasion. It didn’t take long to spot them – small, silver medallions pinned to their jackets, now carelessly discarded on a nearby bench. The heat must have gotten to them, making them shed their layers and, with it, their protection. Amateurs.
Satisfied, I stepped out from the shadows, approaching with deliberate confidence. The guards stiffened as they noticed me, hands moving toward the batons at their belts.
I smiled, letting a touch of seductive power slip into my voice. “Evening, gentlemen. I’m here on Cathy’s orders – just a quick errand inside. Won’t take more than a minute.”
One of them narrowed his eyes, his hand still resting on his weapon. “We weren’t informed of any visitors.”
I took a small step closer, plastering an easy smile across my face as I leaked charm and persuasion in their direction. “It’s a last-minute thing. You know how she is.”
Their suspicion wavered, the subtle tug of coercion weaving into their minds. The one who had spoken first shifted uncomfortably, his eyes darting toward his discarded jacket, but he didn’t reach for it.
The other guard frowned, but his stance relaxed and his eyes took on that familiar hazy hue. “Right. Make it quick.”
“Of course,” I murmured, flashing them a grateful smile and forcing the full brunt of my power into their heads. “ You won’t even know I was here .”
They opened the gate and I slipped inside, heart steady as I made my way toward the mansion. Once out of sight I quickened my pace, sticking to the shadows as I navigated through the neatly trimmed hedges. The mansion loomed ahead, dark and quiet except for the faint hum of security systems buried in its bones.
All things considered, my mission was going relatively well. I allowed myself a moment of smug satisfaction, especially considering how Dylan, ever-so-serious spymaster, had drummed into us how stealth missions were precise and difficult tasks, requiring intense training and discipline and blah, blah, blah.
I was nailing this one with a bit of charm and a pretty girl waiting for me in the car. My mind drifted as it so often did and I fantasized about Addison’s wide, admiring eyes when I pulled everything off without a hitch.
The fantasy was cut short, however, when a sharp click echoed in the still night.
“Shit.” I hissed it through my teeth, backpedaling as the concealed motion sensors flared to life, flooding the grounds with harsh, white light. “ Fantastic .”
I ducked behind a hedge as footsteps thundered toward the side entrance. Voices barked orders in a language I recognized – Elvish. That all but confirmed Cathy’s true nature, but there wasn’t much time to pat myself on the back about it.
Two guards rounded the corner, dark, oval eyes scanning the now brightly lit area like they were auditioning for a low-budget action movie. I watched from behind the hedge as one of them barked an order at the other. The second guy nodded and peeled off, heading – of course – in my direction.
I stayed crouched, watching him approach. He was methodical, eyes sweeping every inch of the ground, his hand resting on a baton at his hip. I waited until he was almost on top of me before slipping out from the hedge.
“Evening,” I whispered, flashing him an – I’ll admit – unnecessarily smug smile before delivering a swift jab to his throat.
He went down with a strangled gasp and I followed up with a quick wallop to the back of his head. The poor guy crumpled like a deck of cards, sprawling face forward into the dirt. Grabbing the unconscious man by the collar I dragged him back into the hedge, tucking him away for a good long nap and a headache in the morning.
The other guard was further down the path, his back to me. The front door was out of the question now, not with the whole place on high alert and the sweeping lights framing me like a stage performer. My eyes flicked upward instead, catching sight of an open window a few feet above.
With a running start, I vaulted up, grabbing onto the ledge as my feet scrambled for purchase on the bare brick wall. Hauling myself through, I landed softly on the polished floor of what looked like some kind of grandiose study.
The room was dimly lit, heavy drapes blocking out most of the spotlight patrolling outside. It was just as fancy and over the top as the exterior, shelves lined with books no one would ever read, a decanter of some overpriced whiskey, and a desk that probably cost more than my car. And it was a really, really nice car.
I moved quickly, boots scuffing on the polished floor. The desk was my first target. I rifled through the papers on top – boring invoices, a pretentious letter addressed to “Ms Catherine Raine,” and a pamphlet for an exclusive wine-tasting event. Because of course.
A locked drawer caught my attention, and without hesitation I yanked at it – to no avail. There was no time to finesse this, no lock-picking kit in my back pocket. Instead, I grabbed a fancy-looking letter opener from the desk and jammed it into the edge of the drawer.
With a grunt, I leveraged every drop of my strength, forcing the mechanism to give way. The drawer splintered and whatever contraption was keeping it closed let out a god-awful screech, like nails on a chalkboard but a hundred times worse. Well, that’s subtle.
Voices rose outside the study, and thundering footsteps told me it was about time I got going. I yanked the drawer open, grabbing a fat stack of papers inside. There wasn’t much time to stop and scan them – whatever was in there, it was coming with me.
Vaulting back out the window, I landed in a crouch on the stone walk below. The chaos behind me was growing louder, but I couldn’t afford to look back. I bolted for the gate, adrenaline pumping through my veins. I reached the outer gate and vaulted clean over it, rolling to my feet on the other side.
One of the guards I’d charmed earlier glanced up, still static and hazy under my influence. He gave me a small, absent-minded wave like it was perfectly normal for someone to exit the property like an Olympic gymnast.
“Thanks for the hospitality,” I muttered as I sprinted toward the car. I threw myself into the driver’s seat, slamming the door shut as Addison and Ethan stared at me, wide-eyed.
“What the hell happened in there?” Addison demanded, clutching the dashboard as I revved the engine and jerked the car forward.
“Little mishap in the study.” The wheels screeched as I spun the wheel, angling the car back onto the road. “No big deal.”
“No big deal? You tripped an alarm, didn’t you?” Ethan groaned, slumping back in his seat.
“Hey, we’ve got what we came for,” I shot back, flooring the accelerator. “Try to appreciate my multitasking.”
As we sped away from the mansion, Addison shook her head, half in disbelief, half in exasperation. “Well, so much for sneaking! Did you at least find anything useful?”
With my eyes on the road, I handed her the stack of papers I’d swiped and Addison snatched them from my fingers in a heartbeat. Over the roar of the engine I heard the frantic rustle of paper as she flipped through the documents, scanning each page with laser focus.
“Oh my god. These are profiles! Names, parentage, medical history – everything.”
At her shrill words, I cast a glance her way, and Addison met my gaze, wide-eyed and shell-shocked as she lifted a single sheet of paper.
There was a blurry image paper clipped to the corner. A thin, smiling woman with chestnut hair and a small button nose. I didn’t need to read the text to know who I was looking at, her resemblance to Addison was uncanny.
“Penelope.”
Back at Addison’s apartment, the atmosphere was rife with tension.
Once I was sure we hadn’t been followed, the drive back had been quiet, simmering with unspoken agitation. Addison had clutched the stack of stolen papers like she was afraid they’d fly away, staring at the picture of her sister with a hollow, aching expression.
Now, with the stolen files spread out on Addison’s living room floor, the significance of what we’d found was horrifying.
I flipped through the pages, eyes narrowing at the sheer amount of information before me. Names, dates, medical histories… random humans meticulously cataloged. Notes had been added to each page in neat, sloping handwriting, specific information circled and recircled in red ink. It was unsettling, to say the least.
Ethan hovered beside me, brow furrowed as he poured over the scattered pages. “These people… who are they?”
“Looks like a creepy hobby,” I muttered, flipping another page. “Medical records, diet, parentage… like she’s been keeping tabs on them for years.”
Addison sat in silence, clutching Penelope’s page, absentmindedly stroking her fingers over the picture of her sister. Her eyes were glued to the paper, her face pale, lips pressed into a thin line. She hadn’t said a word since we arrived.
I turned my attention back to the piles of papers in front of me, balancing on my elbows as I stretched out on the ragged carpet.
As I skimmed through a particularly dense record, something clicked.
I leaned closer, finger tracing a name and a face. The hollow eyes of a missing person from Addison’s evidence wall stared back at me. I lifted another page. Another missing person. And another.
“Addison,” I rifled through the rest of the papers, snatching another from Ethan who shot me a scowl in response. “You were right. These are the people from your wall. The disappearances – they’re connected.”
No response.
I glanced up, frowning. Addison was still motionless, her eyes locked on the page she held. I pushed myself off the floor, moving to sit beside her where she sunk into the sofa. “Addison?”
Slowly, she looked up, brown eyes shimmering with unspilled tears. She wordlessly handed me the paper, her hand trembling slightly. At first glance, it looked like all the others – medical data, personal details – but my eyes caught on something circled in red: A-gene.
“What’s this?” Addison’s voice was barely a whisper, her finger trembling as she pointed to the ominous term. “What the hell is the A-gene?”
“I don’t know.” I shook my head, scanning the page. “But whatever it is, Cathy seems real interested in it.”
Addison’s jaw tightened, her fingers clenching the edge of the sofa “She’s been investigating people with this… this gene. And Penelope’s one of them.”
Ethan, still going through the stack of papers, glanced up, muttering wryly. “This just keeps getting better and better.”
Addison’s expression darkened, something fierce and frustrated flaring in her eyes. “We have to go back. Now.”
I blew out a breath, careful not to provoke her as I replied, “There are way too many guards around. And we don’t even know if Penelope is in there – they could be holding her somewhere else.”
“We have to try!” Addison stood abruptly, turning to face me as pearled tears began to catch on her lashes. Her voice cracked on her next words, and something in my chest fractured along with it. “They have my sister! We have to go back.”
As much as I wanted to reassure her, to rush back to the mansion and kick the front door down if it meant she’d stop looking at me like that, there was no way I’d be able to pull off a rescue mission on my own. And if that wasn’t enough, there was no way I could take on an entire estate full of Elven creatures without triggering what could very well be a full blown war between the elves of the city and my own vampire coven.
I’d made sure the guards I’d run into wouldn’t remember my face, but that quick fix was flimsy at best. I couldn’t exactly take on all of them without fully transforming, and there was no way I could hide my identity once I did. We were looking at impossible odds, and I was looking at Addison, who deserved so much better than a half-wit vampire with a broken moral compass and nothing of value left to give.
Addison must have read it plainly on my face, because she dropped to the sofa again, burying her head in her hands. “What else are we supposed to do? Penelope is in danger.”
“And you could be too, if you’re not careful,” I countered, kneeling beside her and reaching for her hand. “Look, I get it. You want to find her, but barging in there isn’t going to help. We need to be smart about this. We’ll go back, but only when Cathy and her guards aren’t around.”
At my words, Addison’s shoulders sagged, and she let out a long, shaky breath. I could almost see the adrenaline draining from her body, leaving behind a weariness she’d been holding at bay for far too long.
I ran through the measly options we had left. The police were a no-go, they’d stand no chance against the elves, and I couldn’t exactly call on my coven for help either. Leyore vampires were barred from interfering with Elven business; even if I came clean to Jordan, her hands were tied.
If we could come up with a plan – something a little less foolhardy than charming a few guards and tripping the security system – maybe we could pull it off. But I needed time to think, and by the looks of it, Addison needed a moment to bawl her eyes out and maybe take a nap.
All at once, she looked utterly deflated. The fire that usually burned so fiercely in her eyes was replaced with a weariness that cut straight through me. It wasn’t just the events of that night – it was weeks and months of put off fatigue finally catching up to her.
“You know, for once, I agree with Hunter.” Ethan cleared his throat, climbing to his feet and cracking his back.
I raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Miracles do happen.”
“Yeah, well, don’t get used to it. I’ll let you two sort this out. Wake me when you’re done with your lover’s spat.” Before either of us could retort, he wandered off, plopping down on the opposite sofa with a yawn.
“Sweet dreams,” I muttered, rolling my eyes.
Addison gave a tired chuckle but didn’t say much else. Her silence was unnerving. I knelt in front of her, gently taking her hands in mine. “Addison, you need to slow down. Just for a second. Let it all sink in.”
She blinked down at me, her exhaustion written all over her face. “I don’t know how.”
“Then let me help.” I spoke softly. “What do you need right now?”
For a moment she just stared at me, like she was trying to figure out the answer herself. Finally, she sighed and sunk deeper into the sofa cushions. “A bath.”
I blinked. “A bath?”
“Yeah.” She shrugged, her tone matter of fact despite the layers of exhaustion. “I just want a bath.”
I tilted my head, utterly confused. A bath? Out of everything?
But before I could voice my bewilderment, Ethan snorted from under his pillow. “She said it, dude. Run her a bath.”
With a sigh, I got to my feet. “All right, a bath it is.”
I made my way toward the bathroom, muttering under my breath. Ethan mumbled something from the other room and I heard Addison chuckle faintly behind me. No doubt the little shit had something snarky to say about me, but at least it cheered Addison up slightly.
Filling the tub, I added some bubbles for good measure, because why not? This was already absurd.
I watched the water rise, transfixed by the rushing stream, the sound echoing around the bathroom. The disconcerting chime of running water tugged at the edges of some dusty, distant memory and I folded my arms over my chest, mind drifting back to that dark, quiet place I hadn’t visited in a while.
I was so lost in thought that I didn’t hear Addison approach until her head peeked around the door and she cleared her throat, wrenching me from a vague nightmare I hadn't planned on reliving.
“Hunter?” Her voice was soft, pulling me back to the present.
I blinked, shaking off the memory, and turned to see her standing there looking bedraggled and uncertain. “Yeah?”
She stepped inside, her arms wrapped around herself. “Thanks... for this.”
“Don’t mention it.” I straightened up, gesturing to the tub that was suddenly very close to overflowing. “You should get in before it gets cold.”
Addison hesitated, standing awkwardly for a moment and wringing her hands while she stared at the floor. I took the hint with a faint flush in my cheeks and started to move toward the door. “I’ll give you some privacy–”
“Wait,” she blurted out, her cheeks flushing slightly to match my own rosy hue. “Could you... could you stay?”
I froze, caught off guard by the request. The room suddenly felt a little smaller, the air a little warmer. But she looked so vulnerable, so utterly worn out, that I couldn’t possibly say no.
“Uh – sure.” my voice blended with the sound of rushing water, barely a whisper. “If that’s what you want.”
I leaned against the sink, turning my gaze firmly away as Addison began to undress. I heard the soft rustle of fabric, followed by the gentle splash of water as she climbed into the tub.
For a moment the room was silent except for the faint lapping of water against the porcelain. I risked a glance in her direction out of the corner of my eye – partially out of curiosity and partially to make sure she hadn’t drowned – only to find her watching me.
“Comfortable?” I cleared my throat, turning my head so far in the other direction I heard my neck crunch.
I could hear the smile in her voice. “More than I expected.”
I nodded, unsure of what else to say. The quiet stretched on, and I could feel her eyes on me.
“Hunter,” she said suddenly, and I heard the faint echo of my name ricocheting off the walls. “Why are you really here? With me?”
I sighed, leaning back against the sink. “I told you, I like the company.”
When I glanced at her again, Addison’s lips twitched in a tired smile. “You’re a terrible liar.”
“I don’t know!” I relented, hunching my shoulders and folding my arms a little tighter. “I’m just… here because I want to be.”
“Well,” I heard the swish of water as Addison shifted in the tub, and that familiar sunny tone colored her voice again, “while you’re here, would you mind pouring me a glass of wine?”
I turned toward her without really meaning to, incredulous laugher bubbling from my lips. “Wine and bubble baths, is that all it takes to make you happy?”
Addison shrugged, glistening bare shoulders peeking out from behind the rim of the tub. “What can I say? I’m a simple girl.”
In the kitchen I rummaged through her cabinets until I found a wine bottle and a single glass. The place was surprisingly tidy for someone who seemed like she lived in constant chaos. I popped the cork and carried the bottle and glass back to the bathroom.
At Addison's request, I poured a little into the glass, and then a little more when she cocked her head to the side, and then eventually handed her the bottle when the liquid reached the brim and it apparently still wasn’t enough for her.
We sat in comfortable silence for a while, the small room misting up as Addison lolled amongst the bubbles. She seemed more relaxed now, the wine working its magic. I could see the tension easing from her shoulders, the lines around her eyes softening.
“Hunter?” she said after a while, breaking the quiet.
“Yeah?”
“That woman in the street – the one you were staring at back when we went to the spa.” Her voice was hesitant, almost shy. “Who was she?”
My stomach tightened and I scratched the back of my neck. I knew exactly who she was referring to, but I wasn’t exactly keen to lay bare all of my worst attributes just yet. Or ever, really.
And yet, I found myself offering up the truth, uttering the name I hadn’t spoken aloud in years.
“Selene.”
When I glanced her way, Addison’s eyes had narrowed, curiosity piqued. “And?”
“And… she’s my ex.” I sighed, dropping my chin to my chest. “That’s all there is to it.”
“Your ex?”
“Yeah.”
She tilted her head, studying me. “What happened?”
I hesitated, then shook my head. “It’s complicated. Let’s just say... it didn’t end well.”
Addison frowned but didn’t push. Instead, she took another swig of wine, her expression thoughtful. “You’ve got a lot of walls, you know that?”
“So do you,” I shot back, and quickly looked away again when my eyes gleamed over her bare body.
She laughed softly. “Touché.”
The wine loosened her up more, her questions becoming bolder as the minutes ticked by. She asked about my job, my friends, and even my favorite color – “Green, obviously.”
I answered most of them, dodging the more personal ones with a quip or a change of subject. But she’d gotten me talking, and I enjoyed it more than I expected to. It was oddly comfortable, intimate in a way that wasn’t sexual in nature. It went deeper than that, unmasked as we were.
As the wine worked its way through her system, Addison leaned her head back, her eyes half-lidded. “You know, this is nice. Having someone take care of me for once.”
Staring at the ceiling, I felt that same strange warmth unfurling in my chest. But I also knew I couldn’t let this go on. I’d already let myself get too comfortable, too close. I wasn’t supposed to be her caretaker, her confidant. I was here to help her find her sister, nothing more.
I cleared my throat, trying to shake off the lingering intimacy. “Addison, I think I should–”
“No,” she interrupted, pouty and demanding now that the wine had loosened her tongue. Her hand reached out, wet fingers wrapping around my wrist. “Stay.”
I looked down at her hand, then back at her face. She was staring at me with inebriated insistence, her grip surprisingly strong for someone so small. I sighed, the last of my resolve crumbling at the slightest breath of wind.
“All right,” I said quietly, sliding down to sit on the floor next to the tub. “I’ll stay.”
As I settled beside her, the quiet voice of reason whispered in my head, all but drowned out by the steady sound of her breathing. Why was it so easy to say yes to her? Why couldn’t I just walk away?
Addison leaned back, her eyes drifting shut, her hand still lightly resting on my wrist. The room was quiet except for the soft splash of water and the rumbling thrum of the city outside. And despite everything – the danger, the complications – I stayed, just like she asked, anchored by the simple fact that I didn’t want to be anywhere else.
What the hell are you doing Hunter?