Chapter 10 Hunter
TEN
HUNTER
Charlie and I were in a taxi headed for his apartment. I supposed we could have walked, but it was February and freezing cold. So sue me. My phone vibrated with a call. I swiped to answer. “Go for Hunter.”
A deep chuckle came across the line. “You’re in mission mode I see,” Marco D’Angelo said.
“Yeah,” I replied with a sidelong glance at my new boyfriend. “I want to make sure Charlie is protected.”
“No worries there. Brent won’t get anywhere near him. Dante’s watching the hotel entrance. Luckily there’s a coffee shop there so he doesn’t look like a stalker. Gabe and I are browsing in the store below Charlie’s apartment just in case Brent somehow gets past Dante.”
“Roger that.” I looked at an upcoming street sign. “We’re two blocks away.”
“All right. See you soon.”
I ended the call and took hold of Charlie’s hand. His fingers were cold and his posture was rigid. “It’s almost over. I promise we’ll protect you.”
He squeezed my hand. “I know you will. It’s just hard, you know?”
I nodded. When Charlie had turned on his phone this morning, he’d been greeted with increasingly angry and threatening texts from Brent.
It had taken all my self-control not to go to his hotel and break every one of his fingers, especially after reading the ones calling Charlie a whore.
“I’ll be right beside you. He won’t ever get near you. ”
Charlie sighed and leaned his head against my shoulder.
He stayed that way until the taxi stopped right outside his apartment building.
Foot traffic was light on this late morning in February, which suited our purposes perfectly.
Fewer people to cause issues or try to get involved should there be raised voices.
I paid the driver and we got out. Marco and Gabe were waiting outside the shop that made up the ground floor of the building.
Charlie snorted. “Are any of you people not giants with muscles for days?”
Both men chuckled and we made introductions. “We’re not all like this,” Gabe said. “Pete is small and wiry. He’s good for climbing through windows.”
“Poor guy,” I murmured.
“Thank you for helping me,” Charlie said to both of them. “It’s very kind of you.”
Before they could reply, Marco’s phone vibrated with a call. “Go for Marco.” He listened for a moment. “Okay. Keep on him. We’re all here waiting.”
He ended the call and said, “Brent’s on his way here.” He and Gabe then faded back closer to the store.
Charlie stiffened. I put my hand on his shoulder. “Remember, you’re safe with us.”
“Will you stay with me?” he whispered.
“Of course, sweetheart.” We both moved closer to the entry door to the apartment, which was to the right of the storefront.
I finally caught sight of Brent marching toward us.
Zenia had been spot on. He was average height and average build.
Just…average. His short blond hair was a disheveled mess.
His heavy winter coat was only halfway zipped and he’d clearly forgotten his gloves.
Charlie must have seen him as well, judging by how he pressed back against my body.
Dante, a tall Black man, sauntered behind him carrying what I knew was a tablet loaded with all the information we had about Brent’s affair with Carl Wainwright.
It was clear when Brent saw Charlie because his face became a mask of rage as he approached. Charlie began to tremble, so I slipped my arm around his waist and held him tight. That brought Brent up short and he slowed his steps.
His lip curled up in disgust. “So you got another poor sap to believe your lies.” He looked at me and added. “You know he’s probably got at least one other dick on the side, right?”
Dante came up to stand beside Brent while Marco and Gabe took positions on either side of me and Charlie. Dante held the tablet in front of Brent’s face. “You mean like Carl Wainwright does with you?”
Brent’s face went sheet-white. “W-what are you talking about?”
“Don’t play dumb,” Marco said. “We have three years worth of messages between you and Mr. Wainwright.”
His eyes scanned the tablet in front of him. “I don’t…It’s not…” He the shoved tablet away and glared at Charlie. “You did this!”
The man in my arms stiffened and drew himself up to his full, albeit diminutive, height. “Me? You’re the supposed computer expert. You just did a shit job covering your tracks.”
Brent’s face flushed red with rage. He lunged toward Charlie. “You little…”
I put Charlie behind me and put my hand on Brent’s chest to stop his forward motion. “Why don’t you try that with me, you worthless piece of shit?” His eyes widened and he stepped back, stumbling into Dante’s larger body. “Not so brave when it’s someone your own size, are you?”
Marco put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed.
“Let’s not make a scene.” He held out his hand to Dante, who handed him the tablet.
He stepped in front of Brent and turned the device so the screen was once again facing him, he continued.
“You have two choices, Mr. Oberman. You can leave now, go back to Chicago, and forget you ever knew Charlie.” The piece of shit opened his mouth to object, but Marco shook his head.
“I’m not finished,” he said sharply. “If you decide to continue to harass Charlie, the information on this tablet will be delivered in its entirety to the president of the board of trustees of the Field Museum. Along with pictures.”
Brent’s face paled again. His mouth opened and closed a few times before he said, “Y-you can’t do that.”
“You’ll find that we can indeed do that,” Gabe chimed in. “Our IT guy is way better than you.”
Silence fell as we waited him out. Charlie came around and leaned against my front. I smiled, wrapped my arms around him, and kissed the top of his head. “Why are you even here, Brent?” Charlie asked. “You don’t want me. You don’t even like me. You just don’t like losing. Go home.”
A sneer twisted Brent’s lips. “Fine.” He met my gaze. “You can have my sloppy seconds.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. We all get it. You’re a big tough guy.” I waved my hand dismissively. “Get out of here. Go back to Carl. I’m sure he misses his side piece.”
I heard Gabe snort. Dante stepped back to give Brent room to move. The asshole looked like he wanted to say something else, but the cold stares he got from all the men around him caused him to abandon that plan. Instead, he turned on his heel and went back the way he came.
“Jesus Christ, that guy is an idiot,” Gabe said.
“No kidding,” I agreed. “He really thought he could get away with assaulting Charlie in front of all four of us.”
Charlie sighed. “He likes to think he’s the master of his surroundings. He’s a legend in his own mind.”
“Well, this has been fun and all,” Dante began. “But I’m freezing my ass off.” He held out his hand. “Charlie, it was nice to meet you. I’m sure we’ll see more of you now that Hunter’s on the team.” Charlie took his hand and shook it. Then Dante headed off in the same direction as Brent.
“We should get going too,” Marco said. “Gabe and I are driving back to Jersey. I’m taking Liam out to dinner for Valentine’s Day.”
Gabe smiled. “Nico and I are doing a home date. We told Zach and Miguel we’d take Cody so they could have a night out together. So it’s chicken nuggets and Moana for us.”
I had no idea who any of those people were, so I just smiled. Charlie shook hands with both men and thanked them for their help. “See you tomorrow, boss,” I said to Marco.
“Just call him Chief,” Gabe said as they turned to leave. “Everyone does.”
Finally it was just Charlie and me. He let out a big sigh and turned to bury his face in my chest. “You okay?” I asked.
He nodded, his face still pressed against me.
When he started to tremble, I put my finger under his chin and raised his head so I could see his face. “Tell me what you need, sweetheart.”
“Can we go back to your place? I don’t want to be alone.”
I kissed his nose. “I wasn’t about to leave you alone. Not if I can help it.”
He sighed again and snuggled into me. “Thank you.”
“Anytime, sweetheart.” I tipped his chin up and stole a kiss. “Besides, we have a Valentine’s Day dinner to plan.”
His smile lit up his whole face. “I guess we do. One of many to come.”
Find out more about my books by going to my website:
There you’ll find Marco’s and Gabe’s stories as well as my debut novel Moonlight, the book that started it all.