Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
SERENITY
Iwasn’t thrilled with the idea of leaving Fletcher alone while he was still so rattled, but when I tried to object, the fire Hunter nearly breathed as he snapped, “Now,” sent a tremor through me that wasn’t half as enjoyable as the usual tremor he elicited.
Before I could get a word in edgewise, he gripped me by the wrist and started pulling me down the hall toward the back office. He was moving at such a quick clip I had to skip-walk to keep up with his long-legged strides.
He used his hold on me to propel me into the office, then slammed the door behind him, closing us in a room together that felt way too small, given the energy pouring off the guy, making the air thick and muddy.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” he boomed. “You’re new here, so you don’t know about these people, Sere. They’re bad, fucking news. You’re supposed to stay the hell off their radar, not put yourself in the goddamn crosshairs of a man like that.”
Something to know about me, I didn’t do too well with being backed into a corner. When the need to defend myself ever arose, I usually came out of the gate swinging. That was just part of the reason I’d gone at Fletcher’s father as strongly as I had.
Now that Hunter was in my face, voice raised, anger steaming from his ears, that fight instinct was strong as hell.
I closed the distance between us and drilled my finger into the solid wall of his chest. I had to take a moment to swallow down the punch of lust that came with touching him—I was pissed, not dead, for crying out loud—before I let him have it.
“I was thinking that boy out there hasn’t had a single person in his corner in his entire freaking life,” I lashed out, my voice bordering on shrill.
“I was thinking he deserved to have someone who was willing to fight for him at least once.
But mainly, I was thinking about how that stupid son of a bitch pissed me off by insinuating my place as a woman was somehow beneath him, therefore, I needed to back up and mind my own damn business.
“You don’t know this about me, Hunter, but I don’t handle it too well when men think they’re somehow superior, simply because they have a dick.
That asshole said I needed to be put in my place, so I put him in his, because no one, and I mean no one, has the right to treat another human being like he’s treated his own flesh and blood.
If you have a problem with that”—I lost a bit of my steam on that one, wondering exactly where I was going—“well, then, it’s just your damn problem.
And maybe we shouldn’t be friends anymore. ”
Oops.
That last sentence had escaped before I could pull it back. I was really bad about that.
He stood there, staring at me as those icy eyes of his glinted like sun on a frozen lake. Finally, when the silence between us was almost too much to bear, he spoke.
“You finished?”
I inhaled deeply, giving that some thought.
The red-hot anger I’d been feeling earlier had lowered to a gentle simmer.
It was still there, only nowhere near as strong.
“I got mad,” I admitted in a much calmer, quieter voice.
“I tend to react without thinking when I get mad. I just saw how Fletcher locked up at the sight of him, and kind of lost my mind.”
He reached up, surprising me by pinching a loose strand of my hair between his thumb and index finger, giving it a feel before tucking it behind my ear. “I understand that. Probably more than you know. I don’t call you Wildcat for nothing, sweetheart.”
I chewed lightly on the corner of my mouth as a whole swarm of butterflies took flight in my belly. “Valid point.”
“But those people, they’re dangerous, Sere. That kid in there—” he paused, waiting for me to provide his name.
“Fletcher.”
“Fletcher is right. You can’t just go off half-cocked. Not with them.”
I already knew that. My gut had told me when I’d gone head-to-head with the man in the middle of the bar. Alarm bells had been blaring in my head, telling me to cool it, but the instinct to protect Fletcher had drowned out all reason.
“I know,” I admitted reluctantly. “But, Hunter, I’m not worried about me.
Fletcher was taken from him when he was seventeen.
He’s eighteen now. Technically, he can do whatever he wants.
I’m just worried that if his father gets to him, he’ll be able to suck him back into that life, and that boy deserves so much better than that. ”
A sudden wave of desperation washed over me. “I know you guys charge crazy prices for what you do. I can’t afford to pay you up front, but I’m good for installments, I swear.”
The small space between his eyebrows creased in a frown. “What are you talking about.”
“I want to hire you to go talk to that guy, you know, like, persuade him that it’s in his best interest to leave Fletcher the hell alone or something.
I mean, if that’s even something you guys do.
I’m not saying I want you to rough him up or anything.
Just . . . scare him a little bit. Men like him are cowards. ”
Although, I had a feeling Hunter already knew that.
“Sere, it doesn’t work like that,” he started with a shake of his head.
“Please,” I pleaded. I closed the distance between us, not even noticing I’d reached out to fist the material of his shirt at his stomach until those haunting blue eyes traveled down to my hands.
When he looked back at me, something was swimming in those frigid depths that made my insides shockingly warm.
“He’s got no one, Hunt. His mom abandoned him, his dad abused him, and everyone around him turned a blind eye.
He deserves a shot at something good. If he can’t get out from under that horrible man, that will never happen. ”
Hunter’s hands came up, his long, thick fingers wrapping around my wrists, making them feel positively dainty. I thought for a moment that he was going to pull from my grip, but he didn’t. He simply stood there, holding my eyes as he held my wrists in a gentle grip.
Heat spread from where he was touching me, sparking to life and spreading through my entire body like vines that had grown out of control. “Is that what you need to feel at ease?” he asked, the question—as well as the tender voice he asked it in—making the breath stutter in my lungs.
“Yes,” I answered with complete honesty.
“And if I do this, you’ll make sure to stay the hell away from this guy? No more confrontations, and if you happen to see him around, you call the police or me, and let us handle it?”
I nodded, hope blooming in my chest. “Yes, I swear,” I spit out quickly before he could change his mind. “Yes. Just tell me how much it’ll cost—”
He clenched his fingers, tightening his grip, while shaking his head. “I’m not taking your money. I’m doing this on my own, away from the firm.”
“I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t ask. I chose to do it.”
Oh man, this guy was dangerous. To my wellbeing, my sanity, and my libido.
He was making it incredibly hard to remember we were only friends and that was all we’d ever be.
I dropped my arms, forcing him to release the hold he still had on me so I could move away.
I needed a clear head when dealing with this man or I’d be traveling the road straight into heartbreak.
“You’re a good friend, Hunt,” I said with a smile. “I can’t tell you how much it means to me you’d be willing to do that.”
He hit me with the smallest, barely-there grin. “Don’t mention it, Wildcat. If it keeps you from putting yourself in harm’s way, I’m happy to help.”
I did my best to ignore the way he made my insides feel all soft and melty, but damn if he wasn’t making it hard.
Who knew the broody guy with the haunted eyes and grunted answers had a whole other side to him?
I sure as hell didn’t.