Chapter 31 Hunter
Hunter
The morning air was brisk, damp from the rain, the gravel drive gleaming wet in the sun. Paige was inside, warm in my bed, finally letting herself rest. I’d stepped out for a breath, trying to cool the storm that had been riding me since we found out about Eli in the tavern.
Then Eli pulled up to the curb in his truck. My whole body went tight as he slammed the door and came stomping up my drive. He looked like hell—rumpled shirt, bloodshot eyes, jaw working like he’d been chewing on bitterness all night.
“You think you’re real slick, don’t you?” he snapped. “Going after my wife? Sliding in on Paige, waiting for your chance.”
“Ex-wife,” I said, my voice low, steady. “You threw her away, remember? You need to turn around and leave. Get the fuck out of here before I make you.”
He laughed, sharp and ugly. “Don’t give me that. You’ve been circling her since high school, haven’t you? Always hanging around, jealous as hell because she picked me instead of you. You wanted her back then, and now you’re finally getting your shot.”
I clenched my jaw, fighting the urge to break his nose right there. “What I wanted back then isn’t the point. What matters is she’s not yours. Not anymore.”
His lip curled. “The bar was supposed to be mine. You think I don’t know how much money it makes? My businesses are sinking, and she’s over there building herself an empire that should have been mine.”
The door creaked open behind me. Paige stepped out onto the porch, hair spilling over her shoulders, one of my sweatshirts hanging loose on her frame.
Eli’s face twisted, and he aimed the venom at her. “Figures. You always thought you were better than me, Paige. Turns out you’re just a slut. Spreading your legs for him while your kids are god knows where—”
That was it.
I stepped forward, fists clenched at my sides, the blood roaring in my ears. “Watch your mouth.”
Eli swung first, and I let him. I wanted him to, so I could hit him back. He was wild and sloppy, but his fist cracked against my jaw hard enough to snap my head to the side. Pain flashed, sharp, but I barely staggered. He came at me again, but this time I caught his arm, shoving him back.
“You’ve wanted this for a long time, haven’t you?” I growled. “Since you first saw me with Paige at the bar, right?”
He swung again, and I didn’t hold back. I dodged it and took my own shot. My fist connected solidly with his jaw, sending him stumbling back a few steps, his boots skidding in the grass.
“I let you have one swing, Eli. Just one,” I said, voice low, dangerous. “Come at me again, I’ll put you down and you won’t get back up.”
He spat blood onto the lawn, glaring past me at Paige. “You’ll regret this—both of you. Don’t think this is over. The kids, the bar—it’s all mine.”
Paige’s voice shook, but it carried. “The kids don’t want to see you, Eli.
And the bar? You never lifted a finger to build it.
It’s mine and it always was. You don’t get to take credit for something I bled for.
You got two of our businesses out of the divorce.
It’s your own fault you’re running them into the ground. Not mine.”
For once, he had no comeback. Just a furious sneer as he yanked his truck door open, slammed it shut, and tore away, tires screaming against the street. The silence afterward was heavy, broken only by the pounding of my pulse.
I turned to Paige. She was trembling and pale, her eyes wide but steady. I climbed the steps and pulled her into me, cupping the back of her head. My jaw throbbed where his fist had landed, but the only thing I cared about was the way she trembled against me.
“He’s done,” I told her, voice rough. “He doesn’t get to hurt you, doesn’t get to touch what’s yours. Not while I’m breathing.”
She pressed her face into my chest, tears hot against my skin, and I held her tighter, swearing to myself I’d never let Eli lay another claim to her life.
My jaw ached where he’d landed that first wild swing, but I hardly noticed it. All I could think about was Paige—shaking in my arms, her breath uneven against my chest.
“Come on,” I murmured, brushing a hand over her hair. “Let’s go inside.”
She nodded, and we slipped back into the house, shutting the door on the silence outside. The living room felt warmer, safer, the sunlight pooling across the worn rug. She pulled her phone from her pocket with trembling fingers and typed fast.
“I need to tell Ren,” she whispered. “He has to know before Eli tries something else.”
I nodded. She hit "send," then set the phone face down on the table as if it had burned her.
For a moment, she stood there, arms wrapped tight around herself, staring at nothing. I stepped closer, resting my hands gently on her arms, grounding her.
“You okay?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
Her chin wobbled. “No. I mean, yes. I don’t know.”
She hesitated, then slipped away from my side, heading for the kitchen. I listened to the clink of ice cubes as she rummaged in the freezer, her movements determined but shaky. In a minute, she came back, pressing a folded dish towel with ice gently to my aching jaw.
"You shouldn't have had to do that," she said, her voice thick. "Thank you." She fussed over the swelling, worry etched across her face as she searched my eyes for pain. "Are you sure you're okay?"
I nodded, catching her hand and squeezing it. She hovered, unwilling to leave my side, her gratitude and concern radiating between us like warmth.
I guided her to the couch, pulling her down beside me. She folded in, curling toward me until her forehead pressed against my shoulder. My arm wrapped around her automatically, holding her close.
“I hate that he still has this power to shake me,” she said, her voice muffled. “After everything he’s done. After the lies and the cheating, after all this time. I should be stronger.”
“You are strong,” I said firmly. “But he was part of your life for a long time. That doesn’t just disappear overnight. He knows how to hit you where it hurts. Time will make that go away.”
Her breath caught, and she tipped her face up, eyes glassy. “When he said you’d wanted me since high school—I couldn’t stop thinking. Maybe if we’d tried back then, things would be different now. But I was a mess as a kid. I’d lost my dad. And you…”
“I had lost my mom,” I finished quietly.
She nodded. “And we were best friends. How could we risk losing each other?”
“Yeah.” I swallowed hard, running a hand down her arm. “After she died, I didn’t let myself want anything too much. I never let myself get too close to anyone after that. Because if I did, it could be taken away, and the thought of losing you was unbearable.”
Her fingers brushed over my jaw where Eli’s fist had landed. Gentle. Shaking. “That’s how I felt after my dad. Like if I wanted something—someone—it would just get ripped away. It was safer to choose someone who wasn’t…”
“Me,” I said, not bitter, just honest.
Her lips pressed together, and her eyes shimmered. “I was wrong.”
I cupped her face in my hands, holding her steady, making sure she saw me. “Paige, I’ve been afraid, too. But I’d rather face every fear I’ve ever had than spend another year pretending I don’t want you.”
Tears spilled over, and she leaned into my hands, her breath warm against my palms. “I don’t want to be afraid anymore,” she whispered.
I kissed her softly then—the kind of kiss that felt like a promise.
When I pulled back, her phone buzzed against the table.
She reached for it, glanced at the screen, then read aloud in a shaky voice, “Ren says it’s going to be okay.
He’ll call the police. He’s taking care of everything.
He says it’ll all be over soon.” Her hand shook as she set the phone back down.
I tugged her against my chest again, pressing my lips to her hair.
“Then it’s over,” I said. “It’s over, and you’re safe. That’s all that matters.”
She melted into me, and for the first time all morning, I felt her body loosen—like she was finally letting go of the weight she’d been carrying.
Paige didn’t move for a long while. She stayed tucked against me, her head beneath my chin, my hand stroking up and down her arm in slow, steady lines. I could feel the tightness in her slowly easing, like she was letting herself borrow my strength until her own came back.
The house was quiet except for the faint hum of the heater keeping us warm.
A soft thump broke the stillness, followed by the sound of claws clicking on the hardwood.
Ozzy padded in from the kitchen, tail flicking as he hopped up onto the couch like he owned it.
He gave a single, judgmental meow before curling himself into Paige’s lap, settling there with all the weight and authority of a creature who knew he was welcome anywhere and had found a new friend.
He’d been asleep in his cat tree when we got here last night, and I’d closed the bedroom door behind us.
The smallest laugh broke out of her, muffled against my chest. She ran a shaky hand over Ozzy’s back, her fingers smoothing his fur. “Hello there, cutie,” she whispered.
“He knows quality company when he sees it,” I said, brushing a strand of her hair back from her face.
Ozzy purred, and it was loud, like he was determined to drown out every rough edge left in the morning. Paige’s shoulders eased more, and her hand lingered on his back as she tilted her face toward me.
“You always take care of everyone, don’t you?” she said softly. “Your brothers. Me. Even him.”
I met her gaze, the way her eyes shone, tender and raw. “I don’t know any other way to be.”
Her lips parted like she might say something, but instead she reached up, her palm warm against my jaw, her thumb brushing the spot Eli had hit. The touch was gentle, reverent even. “Does it hurt?”
“Not compared to the thought of losing you,” I admitted, my voice low.
Her breath caught. Then she leaned in, kissing me with a softness that was nothing like the heated urgency we’d shared before. This was slower. Deeper. The kind of kiss that held weight, that carried everything we hadn’t yet said out loud.
Ozzy stretched in her lap, his purr vibrating against us both, as if even he knew we’d crossed into something that would last forever.
When we finally broke apart, her forehead rested against mine, our breaths mingling. “I don’t know how to do this,” she whispered. “But I want to try. With you. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” My hand slid down her back, holding her close, sealing the moment. “That’s all we need.”
We stayed there, tangled together on the couch, the sunlight warming the room, Ozzy’s purr thrumming steady between us, as if the world had finally slowed enough to let us just be.