Chapter 14 Hunter
FOURTEEN
HUNTER
Me
Happy Friday, angel. Headed to school?
Max the Angel
Nope. I’m on fall break, so I’m off until Monday.
Me
That’s exciting. Doing anything fun?
Max the Angel
Skyler and I are driving over to the beach this morning before she heads to Fright Nights tonight.
What are YOU doing?
Me
In bed, missing you.
Max the Angel
Can I see what your room looks like?
I grin and turn onto my side, FaceTiming her. The call rings twice before Max answers, her pretty face filling up the screen.
“Hi.” She props her phone against a wall and brushes her hair, her attention flicking down to me. “I’m multitasking right now.”
“I can see that. What beach are you going to?”
“Daytona. It’s close enough for us to eat a Publix sub for lunch then head home.”
“Damn. I love a Publix sub. I’m jealous.” I stretch my arms above my head and she smiles at me. “Stop eye fucking me, angel.”
“You’re calling me without a shirt on. I can’t help but look at you.”
“You’re right. I shouldn’t complain.” I sit up, letting the sheets pool at my waist. Her gaze travels down my body, and I smirk. “Want to take your shirt off so we can match?”
“No, because I’m already running behind. Doing that will distract me.” Max sets down her brush and starts to braid her hair into pigtails. “What do your tattoos mean?”
“A lot of them are random. Stuff I got during my rebellious phase.”
“And the dragon?”
“That one looked bad ass.” I grin and hold up my palm, showing off the design. “Might need to get some pearls or a diamond on the back of the other hand so I can dress you up when I’m gripping your throat. A pretty necklace for my needy slut.”
She drops the hair tie she’s holding and blushes. She grabs the phone off the counter and slams the bathroom door shut, making me laugh when she levels me with a serious look.
“My roommate is down the hall. Keep your voice down,” Max says, but she’s fighting off a smile.
“Yes ma’am. Sorry for missing your pussy.”
“You’re unhinged. No filter, huh?”
“Baby, you have no idea.” I flop back on my pillows and rest my arm behind my head. “Will you send me a picture of your bathing suit?”
“Only if you tell me your last name.”
“We need to work on your negotiating skills. It’s Wilder. What’s yours, angel?”
“Walters.”
“Look at both of our last names starting with the same letter. That’ll be an easy transition when I get down on one knee with a big ring and propose. Max Wilder sounds nice.”
“I’m going to need to know more than that before I’d even consider saying yes. What’s your favorite food?”
“Besides your cum on my tongue?” I laugh when she flips me off. “Okay. I’ll play. I love pasta. My family didn’t have a lot of money growing up, and pasta was our go to meal. It’s still my comfort food, I guess. Whenever I have a bad day, it’s what I crave.”
“Favorite sauce?” she asks.
“Not picky. Alfredo, maybe? But I love marinara. What about you? What’s your favorite food?”
“Pancakes. I love to have breakfast for dinner with a cup of tea, and I can’t say no to—”
“Max? Are you still in there?” There’s a knock on the bathroom door and a voice on the other side. Max’s eyes meet mine. She points at me then mimes zipping her lips, and I get the hint. “Are you talking to someone? Please don’t tell me it’s Brian.”
“It’s just a video I’m watching,” she answers. “I’ll be right out!”
“’Kay. I grabbed some PopTarts for us to have on the drive over.”
The other voice disappears, and Max’s shoulders sag. “Sorry. That’s my roommate, Skyler.”
“Am I your dirty secret, angel?”
“Not intentionally and not because I’m embarrassed of you or anything.” Her blush deepens. “I’m going to tell her. It’s just nice to enjoy the moment, you know?”
“My roommate knows about you,” I say, and her mouth pops open. “What? I’ve been talking about you nonstop since the first night you stopped by my haunted house.”
“You have?”
“I told you I’m obsessed with you.” I flash her a grin. “Who’s Brian?”
“My ex-boyfriend. The one who cheated. A girl I work with told me his car was in the parking lot at school recently, and I swear I saw him drive by our house last night. It was dark, though, and I can’t be certain.”
“Huh.” I frown, not liking the sound of that at all. “That’s odd.”
“Very odd, but I’m probably imagining things.”
“Do you have a security system at your place? Cameras? An alarm?” I ask, even though I know the answers.
“No.” Max shakes her head. “Sky and I keep saying we need to install something, but I haven’t had any time. It’s on my list to get to during the holiday break.” She smiles and looks at the camera. “I should go.”
“Make sure you wear sunscreen.”
“Okay, daddy.” She rolls her eyes, and my cock twitches under the sheet. “If you say so.”
“Sorry for caring about your wellbeing. It would be a shame if I had to put you over my knee and teach you a lesson.”
“And what lesson is that?”
“Talking back to your elders.”
Max laughs. “Have a good day, Hunter.”
With one last smile my way, she waves and ends the FaceTime call, and I stare at the ceiling, positively smitten.
“It’s about time you got up.” Leo slides a bowl of cereal my way when I make it into the kitchen and taps the milk sitting on the counter. “I’m too tired to make something special.”
“What are you talking about? Cheerios are the way to my heart.” I cover the cereal in milk and join him at the island on one of the barstools. “How are you able to get through the day without drinking any coffee? I feel like I need to submerge myself in a gallon of caffeine just to eat my food.”
“Pure adrenaline, baby.” He shovels down half a blueberry muffin, crumbs spewing from his mouth. “You’re on the late shift tonight, right?”
“Yeah.” I yawn and drop my chin in my hand. “I don’t clock in until six, but I’m going to be busy all day.”
“With?”
“Max.”
“Oh, shit. Is she coming over? Are you spending the afternoon together? Do I get to meet her? Please tell me you’re taking her on a date and not fucking her on another table. Wooing, Hunter. Remember?”
“I remember.” I take my time eating a bite of cereal. “I’m doing none of the above. This requires things more along the lines of breaking and entering.”
“Of course it does. What grand gesture do you have up your sleeve?”
“It’s not so much a grand gesture as curiosity. She just told me her ex-boyfriend showed up to her school. He also drove past her house last night. I’m going back over to her place to install a camera on the exterior of the house and maybe one in her bedroom so I can keep an eye on her.”
“Right. Totally normal behavior for a woman you just met.” Leo blinks. “Wait. What do you mean by back over to her place? Hunter fucking Wilder. Have you been to her house before?”
“Maybe,” I say innocently, and Leo groans. “What? You gave me her address! I simply drove by, accidentally picked the lock and…” I trail off with a grin. “Stumbled inside. I have no clue how it happened.”
“Absolute maniac,” he mumbles. “So, what? You’re literally going to watch her sleep? And not tell her you’re doing it?”
“In my defense, it’s to keep her safe.”
“Oh, this will be fun. Keep her safe from who? The monster who lives under her bed.”
“The ex. Anyone else who might want to harm her.” I stir my spoon around the cereal and shrug.
“She seemed creeped out by him, and when I stopped by their place the first time, they didn’t have any security systems in their house.
They didn’t even have the deadbolt in place.
And don’t get me started about the lack of weapons to defend themselves. ”
“Shit. Do we think this guy is bad news like you’re used to handling? Is he a rapist? An abuser? Have you looked him up?”
“Not yet, but I’m going to. If there’s even a blip on his record, I’m buying Max a knife she can sleep with to protect herself. Fuck. I might buy one for her anyway.”
“Okay, well, it’s hard to call you a creep when you’re being all noble and shit, but don’t watch her sleep. That crosses a line.”
“No promises.” I finish off my breakfast and stand, dropping the empty bowl in the sink. I move to the coffee maker and hit brew, waiting for the pot to fill up. “But I’ll do my best to behave.”
“When she gets mad at you, I want you to tell her I had no part in this,” he says.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll make sure your good name stays clean.”
I give him a salute and turn for my bedroom to get changed, knowing I’m going to be taking my coffee to go. There’s a long day ahead of me, and all I can think about is doing everything I can to protect Max from the shitty people who might want to hurt her.
Max’s fridge is still empty, but there’s a loaf of bread on the counter. Her laundry hamper is still full, and I wish I had more time to hang around and help her with some of her chores, but I’m already running behind.
Picking the right cameras were a longer process than I thought it would be.
I added upgraded features and premium services.
I paid more for the app so I can watch both camera feeds on two separate devices at the same time.
I went all the fucking way in, and I stare at her bookshelf, wondering what book I’m going to sacrifice so I can hide the camera out of sight.
One at the top catches my eye, and I pull it off the shelf. It looks used, like it’s seen better days, and I promise myself I’ll buy her a new one if this ends up being a favorite.
I make a hole in the spine of the book and attach the camera between the pages, careful when I set it back in place. I pull up the app connected to the livestream and wave my hand in front of the camera, glad when the mirror image shows on my phone.
I turn the book slightly to the left to give the camera a better angle of the whole room, and I grin.
I will be able to watch her sleep, and Leo is going to be so fucking mad at me.
The camera is tiny, unnoticeable when I take a few steps back and look at the shelf up and down, and there’s no way Max is going to realize it’s there.
Satisfied with the placement of the first camera, I head outside, surveying the house for where I’m going to put the second. I do a full lap, laughing when I get to the backyard and see the umbrella I fixed standing upright.
“You’re welcome, angel,” I say, making my way back to the front.
The porch has less places to hide something, and I settle on attaching the camera to the back of a sconce attached to the brick.
It’s not as discreet as I would’ve liked, but beggars can’t be choosers.
Not when this is her safety we’re talking about.
Something is better than nothing, and I curse when I burn myself on the warm glass.
“Mother fucker,” I mumble, blowing on the tips of my fingers.
I hop off the chair I’m standing on and put it back in place, not wanting my presence to be noticed. I check the feed on this camera and give myself a pat on the back, happy when everything seems to be in place.
Our FaceTime call wasn’t the first time Max mentioned her ex.
She told me he cheated on her when we ran into each other at the party on Tuesday, and now my guard is up.
I don’t know who the fuck this Brian guy is, but I do know I’m going to keep my eye out for anything suspicious.
The second I see anyone lingering around, doing things they shouldn’t be doing, I’m going to take care of them.
If I was a nice guy, I would let Max know I installed the cameras.
I’d make sure she knew she was being watched, but I’m going to keep this secret to myself.
The less people who know, the less have to be involved if and when I need to take matters into my own hands.
I’m careful to not leave a paper trail in my other job, and I’m going to treat this the same way.
One wrong move from this ex-boyfriend of hers, and I’ll end him with a quick snap of his neck.
I haven’t used that move in a while. I bet it could be fun.
I blow another kiss to the camera even though Max can’t see it and make sure I pack away all my tools.
“Until we meet again, angel,” I say, making sure the camera app is hidden in a folder on my phone labeled as TAX STUFF. Technically, the purchases are a write-off, so I’m not totally lying. “But I’ll see you well before you see me.”