Chapter 6 Miles
Miles
For a man who leads a black-ops team, Hunter is surprisingly boring.
He goes to his HQ in Mosman, meetings with various politicians—one with a judge I’m keeping my eye on.
Then home. Supermarket. To the park with his daughter, though rarely the same park.
She has Xavier’s eyes. Most of the school pickups are on a rotation; all of the team does it on various days, but the order is random.
No patterns for anyone to follow. Misdirection if someone doesn’t know them.
Doing it this way means no one can be sure who the daughter belongs to.
Clever. And paranoid. I’d wager he has more enemies than he lets on. No one who has nothing to fear uses tactics like this.
Late evening on the sixth day, Hunter leaves the house, outside of his usual routine. He’s barefooted, with a half-open, black, button-down shirt—no undershirt—and jeans that are too loose on him.
What is he doing? Who leaves their house with no shoes on in winter? I hope he’s at least armed himself. I didn’t think he would actively try to make my job harder, regardless of the fact he doesn’t know that I’m here. Safety is part of his job too.
He moves to the kerb and pulls out his phone. Is he whistling? If he leaves on foot, I’m going to have to get out to follow him. He’ll notice a car in that situation, no matter how stealthy I attempt to be.
Hunter casually pockets his phone and then jogs across the road, his short dark hair rustling from the wind that’s picked up in the last hour. The darkening sky doesn’t bode well even if the chance of rain is only twelve percent. He should be wearing a jacket. Where the fuck is he going?
The second he turns and strides this way with dangerous purpose, I already have my answer.
He knows I’m here. For how long? I’m good at keeping myself hidden, these windows are tinted—no one can tell someone’s sitting here—and he doesn’t know the car.
I’ve been rotating it with three others that are under the company fleet so that Hunter’s senses don’t pick up that he’s seeing the same one in multiple places.
I park in different spots, never within four cars of wherever he is, even further from his home.
I don’t need to be close, so long as I have a good view.
The cameras set up on fences around his home help too.
Something set him off. It irritates me that I don’t know where I screwed up. Impossible to rectify the errors if I can’t identify them.
Hunter moves around the car to the driver’s side and raps his knuckles on the window. This close he’ll have more of a visual. The windows are tinted more than the legal limit—with permission, of course—but not so much that standing right beside it means I’m completely invisible.
“Get out of the car.” To emphasise his point, Hunter lifts the bottom of his shirt to reveal a smooth stomach with a dusting of hair and a hint of abs. And a concealed gun, tucked into his waistband. He doesn’t seem like a bluffing kind of guy, so chances are it’s loaded.
He steps back enough for me to slide out of the car and straighten to my full height.
I’m closer to Xavier’s height than Hunter’s, forcing the man to look up when I get in his personal space.
The wind is blowing in the right direction, and the smell of him hits me, that mix of vanilla and sandalwood.
Xavier gets off on it, and I can see why.
Hunter’s eyes flicker as he stares up at me, like he wants to look away and has to force himself not to. He couldn’t look me in the eye when he left Xavier’s office. Is he still embarrassed? He shouldn’t be; he put on quite a show.
His lips flatten, and he clenches a hand on the roof of the car. “Run back to your master, you’re not welcome here.”
I don’t react to the insult. In order for my feelings to get hurt, I would need to first have them. I left my humanity behind a long time ago. Now I live for one man alone.
“Give me your phone,” Hunter says abruptly, sliding his hand from the car to hold it out, expecting me to obey without thought.
“Why?”
“Do you always question orders?”
“I don’t take orders from you.” A half-truth he doesn’t need to have knowledge of. Xavier’s loyalty to Hunter is admirable—misplaced, but admirable. If he wants something, Xavier will do everything to make it happen for him. Therefore, so would I.
He wriggles his fingers in silent demand, eyebrows raising.
Seeing no harm in it, I hand it over. The sleek black device is the latest model, for the sake of having the latest than for needing any of the advanced features on it. Hunter can’t get into it, of course. Does he really think I would have such lax security?
With an angry sigh, he flips it in his hand. “Open it.”
“No.” He doesn’t get access just because he wants it.
There’s no purpose to it, and he won’t be in any danger if I refuse.
I can’t fathom why he would want whatever’s inside.
None of the contacts would be of any use to him.
My emails have nothing incriminating in them—as if I would ever leave a paper trail for someone to find.
I have no pictures, no text messages to anyone but Xavier. No apps. Nothing of interest.
Hunter lets out a sigh and then slips the phone into his back pocket. Is this payback for taking his knife? I’m not giving it back if that’s what he’s trying to accomplish. Or his ammo. He’s lucky that I gave him back his gun.
“You’re not going to leave, are you?”
He already knows the answer to that; pointless to even ask. Xavier gave me an order, and nothing short of death will stop me from doing my job.
“Get inside,” he says, jerking his head towards the house.
“No.” I don’t work for him, and it’s much easier to watch his environment if I’m on the periphery. Getting too close won’t give me the full breadth of freedom I need.
“Do you know any other word besides ‘no’?” he snaps, his already dark-green eyes darkening further. Do they do that when he’s angry as well as aroused? They were a deep-sea green in Xavier’s office as well. Interesting parallel.
I don’t respond to him. Since I’ve said more than that in his presence, I recognise it for the smartass remark that it is.
His lips twist into a snarl, dragging my attention to them.
Full lips, made for certain extracurricular activities.
I’ve never questioned the obsessive attraction that Xavier has for this man, not when based on his looks.
His personality is just as intriguing, a mix of loving parent and a hunter in the shadows.
He was softer when Xavier first met him, younger and less jaded, and he didn’t look at Xavier like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to kiss him or strangle him.
No, that came later.
“Either get in your car and fuck off,” Hunter hisses, stepping close enough that our clothing brushes. “Or get inside. I won’t have you loitering out here. You’re not half as innocuous as you think you are in your pretentious two-hundred-thousand-dollar Mercedes.”
“It wasn’t quite two-hundred thousand.” Close, but if he’s going to throw facts at me, he can at least get them right.
Not to mention that it doesn’t stand out in this neighbourhood.
He’s not exactly slumming it himself in his large two-storey house, with maximum security and a car that’s in the six digits itself.
He lives well for a man that doesn’t officially exist.
“Make your choice, Miles.”
The sound of my name on his lips is decadent, too much like a promise of sin than simply a word. Is he doing that on purpose? I’m not so easily manipulated.
“And if I say—”
“No?” he finishes for me with a smug smirk. “I’ll shoot you and make sure that Xavier never finds your body.”
I can’t decide if he’s bluffing or not. He certainly has the resources to make good on the threat.
But would he do it? This close, I could incapacitate him before he could get his gun out.
Neutralise him long before he’s any real threat to me.
Whatever nightmares he’s lived through, I’ve seen worse.
Xavier wants me to watch him, however, which makes my choice an easy one. Turning and opening the driver’s-side door, I lean in to grab the keys, turn the car off, and then lock it all up. “Lead the way.”
He doesn’t try to stop me from watching him punch in the code that lets us through the gate. I’m sure he’s well aware we don’t need him to tell us what it is for us to find out. If I’d wanted to get in, I would have. That wasn’t the point of my task.
Instead of swerving to go up the path that leads to the front door, he guides me around to a side door that leads directly into the kitchen.
It takes me a moment to realise that I’m inside, disoriented by the sheer volume of plants in view.
Lining the large island bench as well as hanging above it and across the wide windowsill that no doubt lets in impressive light during the full height of the sun during the day.
The large eight-seating dining table has a colourful centre display.
There are larger ferns either side of three doors, two leading somewhere inside and double-glass doors leading outside.
One of the inside doors is closed, and the other is open, a pot plant being used as a door stopper.
I suddenly understand why Xavier has been sending Hunter flowers for so many years. It’s clear that he’s quite a fan.
There are sounds coming from further in the house, drifting from the open door.
A loud melody that’s bouncy, strange, and one I’ve never heard before.
His daughter, I presume. While Hunter gets frequent visits from his brother and the rest of the team that he commands, I haven’t seen anyone else enter tonight.
“I need to make a phone call.”
“You can do it on the terrace. Don’t forget to tell X to call off his dog.”
“I’ll relay the message,” I say lightly. “My phone.”
Hunter tosses it over to me without looking away from where he’s peering into the fridge.
The double-glass doors that lead to an enclosed sitting area are unlocked, and the noise from inside disappears when I close them behind me.
Light-wood decking, a six-seater glass table with white-cushioned chairs.
A barbecue area lining the side, hanging pots everywhere—high enough at least I don’t have to worry about my head hitting any of them—and more greenery twining up the lattice.
Everywhere I look, there’s a plant of some kind in my view.
I’ve never seen so much green outside of a nursery.
Xavier picks up on the second ring with a warm, “Miles.”
“There’s been a change in plans,” I say immediately. “Hunter discovered me watching him.”
I can hear the smile in his voice when he answers with, “I expected no less from him. What did he do? Are you on your way back?”
“Not exactly.”
“I’m all ears.”
Glancing around at the forest I’m standing in, I take the three steps down to the rest of the backyard.
I really should have expected more plants.
There are even four garden beds close to the centre, where the high fences won’t disrupt their access to the sun.
They all have mesh covering them, and a complex watering system is hooked up to them. Flower gardens bracket a swinging seat.
There’s a pond in the corner with a complex three-tiered fountain. Are there fish in there?
“He invited me inside, and I accepted. He didn’t give me much choice. What are your orders?”
Xavier’s silent for a long moment, though I can hear him breathing and the constant tap of a pen against a notepad.
He’s still in the office. I hand selected the two men watching him, but being this far from him still makes me feel itchy, like bugs are crawling under my skin.
I don’t trust anyone to keep him safe the way I would.
“Stay there. I’m on my way.”