Chapter 17 Hunter
SEVENTEEN
HUNTER
I haven’t mentioned anything to Max about who her ex really is.
I know I should. I know it’s shitty to keep such big fucking news from her, but I need more information.
Substantiated evidence that would hold up in court if he tries anything with her, and I want to keep enjoying her without the worry of someone from her past looming over our heads.
Max is a dream, and for as good as the sex is, just spending time with her is the highlight of my day. She slept over last night and met Leo, the two becoming fast friends while they laughed at the mess I made in an attempt to do homemade spaghetti sauce for dinner.
The three of us shared a bottle of wine with our food and watched a scary movie with the lights on. Max hid her face in my shoulder whenever something popped up on the screen, and I was glad for an excuse to have her in my arms.
I gave her a tour of my room after we said goodnight to Leo, and we stayed up for hours talking about our childhoods and favorite things.
She fell asleep wrapped around me, and I’ve had this dopey, stupid smile on my face since she left early this morning.
Maybe that’s the reason why I’m back at her house while she’s away, busy setting up a third camera at the back door: because I can’t fucking stay away.
“I dare you to try something now, mother fucker,” I grumble, checking to make sure the camera feed is synced with the app. “I will fucking end you.”
With everything working correctly, I grab my toolbox and stroll into their house, stopping to wash my hands.
It’s empty and quiet inside with Max at school and Skyler at a yoga class and a doctor’s appointment, and I savor their absences.
It means I have a couple of uninterrupted hours here to do whatever I want, and I call Leo after I dry my hands with a hand towel decorated with dancing skeletons.
“What’s up, Hunt?” he pants from the other end of the line. “Are you in jail?”
“Would I be calling you from jail on my cell phone?”
“With you, I’m not sure. You’d probably find a way to charm the cops.”
“I didn’t get arrested.” I laugh at the noise Leo makes. “Why are you grunting and groaning? Are you fucking someone while you’re talking to me?”
“I wish. I’m at the gym and feel like I’m dying. Might stick with my dad bod forever, because lifting weights sucks.”
“You might have a future in erotica audiobook narrating, dude. And for what it’s worth, I like your dad bod.”
“I can always count on you to boost my self-esteem. Hang on.” There’s the click of a couple buttons and a labored breath. “Okay. I’m free from exercise hell. What’s up?”
“When you finish, can you place a big grocery store order for pickup? Anything and everything you can think of: vegetables. Fruit. Snacks. Meat. Bread. Eggs, no matter how fucking expensive they are these days. My card is still saved under your Apple Pay. Charge it all to my AmEx.”
“Am I bringing them to the house? I just bought a ton of shit two days ago.”
“It’s for Max. I’ll text you the address.”
“We should change your name to Hunter Loverboy Wilder, because you’re fucking smitten, dude,” Leo sings. “Give me an hour, and I’m there.”
“Add paper towels and napkins to that list.” I open the pantry and shake my head at the bottle of soap that stares back at me. “And toilet paper.”
“Can I throw in a candle? Oh! How about Oreos? Girls love Oreos.”
“Only if they are Double Stuf. They’re superior.”
“What about the Halloween Double Stuf? Talk about festive.”
“Get whatever you want. Thanks, man.”
We hang up, and I head for Max’s room. I grab the laundry basket tucked away in her closet and search for the laundry room, finding it in the back of the house next to a small half bathroom that smells like flowers.
I separate her items and dump the first load of clothes in the washer, starting the cycle and flipping off the light before making my way back to the living room. Knowing I have some time to kill, I go into deep cleaning mode.
I scrub down all the surfaces throughout the house. I empty the trash from the bathrooms and bedrooms, taking two garbage bags outside and tossing them in the barrel on the side of the house. I only stop working to open the door when I see Leo struggling on the porch.
“My arm is going to fall off,” he whines, showing off the dozen bags he’s carrying. He sighs in relief when he sets them on the kitchen counter and touches his skin that’s turned pink from the weight of the groceries. “I’m pretty sure I spent your entire paycheck on this stuff.”
“Worth it.” I pull out a carton of eggs and slide them in the fridge. “This place is barren. You saw how much Max ate at dinner last night. I’m stocking up so she and Skyler can have plenty of food.”
“I wanted to talk to you about that.” Leo hands me a gallon of milk, and I lift an eyebrow in warning. “Calm down. I was going to say I fucking love her, Hunt. She’s perfect, and she’s so into you.”
I grin. “You think so?”
“It’s so obvious. She couldn’t stop giggling at your stupid jokes that weren’t even funny, and I swear she looked at you all night.”
“Shucks.” I run a hand through my hair, glad to know these feelings aren’t one-sided. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”
“Hot. Goddamn gorgeous. You two are going to have very adorable fucking kids, and I can’t wait to be the lonely godfather that sneaks them candy when your strict ass isn’t around.”
“That might be moving a little too fast.” I laugh and unload a bag of carrots and some green peppers. “I’m all in, but all we do is fuck. I haven’t taken her on a date.”
“Maybe you should’ve started with a date instead of trespassing.”
“Too late for that now.” My phone chimes, and I tap the screen. “Lovely. The mattress delivery just arrived.”
“Mattress delivery?” Leo almost drops a jar of salsa. “Christ on a fucking cracker. How many times have you been here? Please don’t tell me you sleep in her closet.”
“This is only the second time.” When he glares at me, I give him an innocent shrug. “Okay, maybe it’s my fifth, but it was only to make sure the cameras I set up were still working after some technical difficulties. But thanks for the closet idea. That sounds hot.”
“A mattress. Unbelievable.” He unloads the rest of the groceries and shakes his head. “As if she’s not going to notice that.”
“I’m sure I’ll think up something to tell her.” I jog to the front door, welcoming in the delivery guys and directing them to Max’s bedroom. “I’m going to switch the laundry. I’ll be back in a second.”
By the time I make it back to her room, the old mattress is out in the hall. I help the guys position the new bed on the frame then hand over a hundred bucks to each of them to thank them for their quick delivery.
I don’t want to push my luck by sticking around for too long, and Leo and I make the bed with her same sheets so the switch isn’t obvious right away.
I’m banking on her assuming Skyler took care of the food and her clothes, but a mattress is trickier.
I don’t think I’m going to be able to fool her with that one, but I’m going to try.
An hour and a fully stocked fridge later, I fold the last of Max’s clothes.
I set the shirt on top of the neat pile I’ve made in the middle of her bed and smooth my hand over the wrinkles, hoping everything looks okay.
I track down a sticky note and draw a heart on it, placing it on the toe of a white sock and smiling at my handiwork.
“You should put the candle on her desk to really bring the insanity all together.” Leo hands me the last of the purchases and taps the top. “Crisp leaves is the scent, and it smells like cozy fucking sweaters and apple cider.”
“I like that.” I give it a sniff and hum. “Perfect, Leo. Your future as an interior designer is bright.”
“I’m good, aren’t I?” He puts his hands on his hips and surveys her room. “What are you going to tell her when she asks if you did all of this?”
“I’m very good at playing dumb. Besides. I was with you all day at the house. It couldn’t have been me.”
“Now I’m being roped into this? Fine. But I get another day on Ralphie.”
“Once was enough.”
“Was it? It’s a good thing Max gave me her phone number so I could text her and tell her about the weird guy who just stole a pair of her underwear. Hunter. Put it back.”
“I’m not a dog.” I pout and pull the lacy thong out of my pocket, mad he caught me. I was going to jerk off to that later. I drop the underwear and groan. “And you’re no fun. Fine. You can have my motorcycle one more day.”
“Good boy.” He snorts and stands on his toes to pat my head. “Let’s go. We have that staff meeting before we clock in to talk about the last fourteen days of Fright Nights and the capacity numbers we want to hit—blah, blah, blah. I don’t need Janey ripping us a new one for being late.”
“You need to live a little.” I snag another book off her shelf and tuck it under my arm.
“What are they going to do? Fire the best scare actors two weeks before Halloween? Please.” My phone chimes, and I sneak a peek at the screen, hoping it’s Max.
When I don’t see her name, I pout again, missing her.
“Anything important?”
“A job for next week. Serial rapist who walked free after the jury said there wasn’t enough evidence to find him guilty of raping his girlfriend’s four-year-old daughter.” I gag and put my hand over my mouth. “He doesn’t deserve a kind death.”
“People are sick.” Leo looks over at me as we walk down the hall and I straighten one of the pictures on the wall.
“I know not everyone would agree, but what you’re doing, Hunt?
Getting these pieces of shit off the street?
It’s heroic. Your mom would throw a fit if she knew this is the path you went down, but she’d come around eventually. ”
“Sometimes I feel like it’s not enough. There are thousands of predators just like this guy walking around, and no one will ever know. They won’t ever be punished for their crimes.”
“But one less person is better than one more person, and that’s what’s important.” He does a sweep of the kitchen, making sure all the food is put away. “Does Max know what you do?”
“No.” I smile at the flowers Leo bought and put on the kitchen table. “I’d like to hope she won’t care when she finds out.”
“Probably shouldn’t keep it a secret for too long, dude. That’s kind of first date level information. Might be too late to share that you’re a murderer.”
“Or maybe it’s the perfect time.” I grab my toolbag and smile. “Ready to roll?”
“Let’s go before you do something even crazier like hide an engagement ring in her tea cup.”
“That is brilliant. When the time comes, I’ll make sure to give you credit.”
“Jesus.” He sighs. “You’re something else.”
“And you’re still sticking around.” I shut the front door behind us and lock it with the copy of the key I made. “I can’t be too terrible.”
“You’re not, which is really fucking obnoxious.”
We say a quick goodbye and I look up and down Max’s street, looking for something of the ordinary. When I don’t spot anything unusual, I smile, knowing she’s in good hands.
I’ve got you, angel.