Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
H unter
“Go. Go. Go!” I told the girls before turning slightly to see how close the motherfuckers had gotten. Close. Too goddamn close. The van was right there, soldiers jumping out to drag and push the other women inside to safety,
“Come on, soldier!” one of the men yelled. “Five seconds.”
Five. I’d killed ten people before in the space of five seconds but with the extra weight on my shoulder, and the dense terrain, I was losing traction.
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
The spray of gunfire was right behind me, whizzing by. Two bullets slammed into the van. The women screamed. Men pulled five of them inside. I was just steps away. “Get rolling!” I yelled at the driver.
“Soldier. Now!”
I took a lunge forward, shocked from the blast of pain tearing through my body. Hands grabbed my arms, pulling us inside. I’d sensed the shot, could feel it tearing through bone and muscle, but I was used to pain.
The sounds of the engine revving, the driver taking off and the savage slam of the van door was comforting. I was on the floor, gasping for air.
“Let her go, soldier. Let her go. You’ve been shot.” The command was dark, devoid of emotion.
What the fuck did I care about being shot? How many bullets had I suffered? How man scars covered my body? I released my hold, rolling over as the soldier peered down, shifting his gaze from the woman to me.
“You did good.”
Fuck.
I jerked up, gasping for air.
Where the fuck was I? I thrashed at something covering me, blinking profusely to try to figure out what the fuck was going on. Covered in sweat, I could barely breathe, the feeling of suffocation pushing me to clawing at my throat.
As my eyes adjusted to the dim light of morning, I was finally able to focus. Yeah, fuck. I’d had a goddamn nightmare. What the hell was wrong with me? They’d become more frequent as of late, keeping me from catching a decent night’s sleep.
A slight sound to my right and my reactions took over. I reached for a weapon. My Glock wasn’t on my nightstand where I kept it at night. Thank God it wasn’t. As I looked toward the sound, a rush of memories from the evening before kicked in.
I had a guest.
Well, fuck me.
Seeing her long dark hair splayed over the pillow, half her body exposed would be a damn good thing for any man to wake up to, but I wasn’t just any man.
I was a damaged fucking asshole.
Huffing, I reached out, longing to touch her soft skin, but curled my fingers instead. Her scent was everywhere, staining my skin. The suffocating feeling remained and it had nothing to do with the company I was keeping.
Although I couldn’t believe I’d let my guard down. That wasn’t like me. I preferred being alone. I didn’t do people well and if they got to know me, they’d realize it was in their best interest. As Esme had told me more than once, I wasn’t a nice guy.
Nope. I wasn’t.
I pulled back the sheets, quickly glancing at the clock on the nightstand. It was early. Waking her wasn’t the gentlemanly thing to do. Not that I’d call myself that either.
When my mind was foggy from a nightmare, I moved slowly. This morning was no exception. At least I could blame some muscle aches to the night before. A slow grin crossed my face as I grabbed jeans and a sweatshirt from my dresser, moving to the bathroom to brush my teeth.
As I performed the menial task, I thought about how to handle the fact Esme was in my bed. There was no easy way, no method of going back to the way the two of us had been before. Yet, I wasn’t ready to embark on anything new. The girl was better off without me in her life.
Besides, we couldn’t stand each other.
I had to chuckle softly as I headed out of the room and down the stairs. However much animosity we shared, our bodies were certainly in tune to each other.
After shoving boots onto my feet and grabbing my jacket, I headed out the front door. Sadie needed to be fed and I needed an excuse to have time alone. The barn was the only building that needed some work which I planned on doing myself. Still, the somewhat dilapidated state hadn’t kept me from purchasing the beautiful horse.
She was already standing by the fence in anticipation of the morning routine. The only difference was today I wouldn’t take a ride. Esme would need to get back to her life.
So would I.
Routine was the only thing that kept me in check, my demons unable to break through the tenuous barrier. Sadie helped in calming my nerves and soothing my anger.
“Hey, baby girl. How are you this morning?”
She whinnied as she always did when I approached, this morning stomping the ground with one hoof. It was as if she knew another female had invaded her space. I could only laugh as I headed into the corral. Animals could sense changes, emotions and knew exactly how to handle them. Why couldn’t people be the same?
She trailed behind me as I moved to get her food, enjoying my constant hand strokes along the way. The poor girl had been abused earlier in her life, a rancher determined to put her down. I’d saved her from the horrible fate, falling in love with her the first time I’d met her. For an animal to endure harsh beatings only to continue to provide love and trust was remarkable.
Maybe that’s why I’d been drawn to her in the first place.
I took some time rubbing her face, staring into her beautiful brown eyes before moving toward the food.
“Here you go, baby girl. Enjoy your breakfast.” I rubbed her mane as she began to chomp down on the special grain I bought for her. “Tell you what. Tonight, I’ll add bananas.”
She lifted her head, still chomping. There was such tremendous trust in her eyes. And love. Unconditional love.
Sadie was my saving grace in a time I needed it the most. The truth was I’d have likely put a bullet in my brain if I hadn’t accidentally found her.
I leaned against the exterior wall near her stall, closing my eyes briefly. My life was one big fucking mess. Coming to Danger Falls hadn’t been by choice. Although the people were friendly, the atmosphere incredible, and the work decent enough, I still hated being here. I wasn’t cut out to be around people any longer.
Yeah, I was the comedian of the family, maybe like the class clown, but inside the ache remained. The anger for myself eating me up inside.
A noise caught Sadie’s attention first, the snorting sound she issued indicating we were no longer alone.
When I opened my eyes, an instant smile curled across my lips. My guest had riffled through my things, selecting a Baltimore Ravens sweatshirt and a pair of my sweatpants. On her feet was another pair of my work boots. She was swimming in my clothes and some people might think the look ridiculous.
I thought it was sexy as hell.
With no coat, I could tell she was shivering, but her eyes were bright. Wide open.
“I hope you don’t mind. The dress seemed… out of place this morning.” Her tone was softer than normal, her actions tentative.
Where had the ballsy woman I’d grown to hate and…? Nah. The truth was I didn’t hate her. I just didn’t like her tactics. She pushed me in everything. Every step of the way. Her questions had become endless, her suggestions brilliant but driving me crazy. I didn’t need anyone else telling me what to do. I’d had my fucking fill.
“Not at all. You’re freezing,” I told her.
“I’m fine. I didn’t know you had a horse.” The way she immediately turned her attention to Sadie, taking cautious steps closer allowed me another look into the woman’s soul. She was an animal lover and my horse immediately responded, her tail flipping back and forth.
“Her name is Sadie. I bought her a month ago. She’s my constant companion.” I expected Esme to bark off some quip or nasty comment, but she smiled instead.
“Is it okay if I pet her?”
“She’d like that.”
Esme still seemed pensive but approached, concentrating on stroking Sadie who adored the new attention. I watched the two of them together and shook my head.
“She likes you,” I told her.
“She’s beautiful.”
“A special girl. She was once abused.” I don’t know why I told her that other than no one knew about Sadie’s past. Only Jagger had seen her, Shephard far too busy with wedding plans and running the resort. Besides, the three of us weren’t as close as we should be.
The way Esme’s brow furrowed was exactly the look she gave me the second before she was ready to light into me about something I’d done or not done for her kitchen.
“If I ever managed to get my hands on the asshole who tortured her, he would die by my hands.”
“You’re sure it’s a man?” I asked, curious as to her answer.
“You bet. Men can be the worst creatures ever created. Conniving. Mean spirited. Nasty. Rude. No, a man hurt you. Didn’t he, baby?”
Sadie whinnied again and when Esme pressed her face against my horse’s muzzle, I could tell the two of them had bonded. Well, shit. That made needing to take her back to her vehicle that much more awkward.
“About last night,” I started.
Esme threw up her hand. “You don’t need to say it, Hunter. What we shared was amazing, but it’s never going to happen again. We work together. You’re my boss. We don’t get along. That will remain as it was with no changes. Can you handle that?”
She’d made it easier. However, both a twitch in my groin and a pang in my heart told me I wasn’t satisfied with her request. “Yeah, I can handle that. Best for both of us.”
“Exactly what I thought.”
We stared at each other for what seemed like five minutes when I knew it was less.
She patted Sadie again. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to wear your things when you take me back. I really don’t want to be seen in a red bridesmaid dress the morning after.” She laughed, but the sound was full of nervousness.
The woman didn’t want anyone seeing the two of us together.
Okay, I couldn’t blame her.
“Sure.”
“I’ll have them washed. Okay?”
I nodded and watched as she turned around to walk out. Why did I feel like asking her to stay?