CHAPTER 47
Unexpected Turn Of Events
Gabriela
The entire weekend with Hunter was nothing short of bliss.
If we weren’t cooking courtesy of the fully stocked kitchen, watching old movies from the Warrens’ impressive DVD and VHS collection, or hanging out with Luna, Hunter and I were wrapped in each other’s arms, making love until the early hours of the morning.
I would never forget the feeling of his stubble rasping against my skin, the feeling of his intoxicating kisses, and the feeling of the honeyed words he fanned over my flesh.
“I love you. I love you. I love you,” he whispered endlessly in my ear, day and night, like the sweetest of lullabies, and I held on to him like I was afraid he was a mirage that would disappear—like he was a dream that was far from everlasting and I would wake up any moment, wishing I’d stayed asleep instead.
Hunter had unravelled me. Peeled back all my layers, glanced at my center, plucked the essence of my soul and shaped it in a way where he could tuck it in the space next to his own.
All my walls were down, my defenses broken, and yet I’d never felt safer.
Or adored, cherished, and worshipped like the very goddess he claimed I was.
By the time Monday morning rolled around, a permanent smile was carved on my face.
Somewhere between sunset and sunrise, I had decided that I was going to marry Hunter Saint Warren in this decade. It was inevitable. He was my person. The other half of me. Might as well put a 24-karat gold band on his finger and make him my husband.
“How long did you say you’ll be gone?” Hunter asked, leaning against the hallway wall and watching me with softness as I put my shoes on.
I smiled. “I already told you.”
“Remind me again.”
We weren’t gone yet and he already stared at Luna and me like he missed us. “Three hours. Long enough for me to pacify the women in my family. Then I’ll come running back to you.”
Mamma and Nonna were in shambles when Papà delivered the news about the attack on Friday night.
They knew I was staying at Hunter’s home this weekend, protected by him and a brigade of guards.
Saturday and Sunday, we had two phone calls and they spent most of it crying.
Mamma said she didn’t spend eighteen hours in labour to give birth, only for me to be living elsewhere during one of the scariest times of my life.
And Nonna said that since I refused to come back to my childhood home in the West Side, she was coming over here to camp in the courtyard with her cane and rifle, in case the attacker returned.
She didn’t trust the guards to get the job done and stated that she was a better shot than all of them—which, to her credit, wasn’t a lie since Nonna was a badass.
Both women also spent a long time showering Hunter with love and thank-yous, grateful that he protected me but still upset that he got hurt in the process.
“Promise?” Hunter uncrossed his arms and pushed off the wall, advancing towards me.
He was bare-chested and in low-slung black pyjama pants. We’d woken up an hour ago and all I wanted was to get back in bed with my warm, sleepy, pretty boy.
I wrapped my arms around him and pressed a kiss over his bandaged wound. “I promise, Hunt.”
Oscar and another young guard named Craig were driving me back to my childhood home. Mamma and Nonna were desperate to see me in person, even if it was for a quick lunch.
I hated how Hunter’s and my entire lives had been flipped over in an instant.
And I hated that this occurred right as Hunter won his championship, the attack putting a damper on the high he was riding.
Not to mention, our academic lives. We were putting a stop to attending school for this week.
Both of us had already emailed the necessary personnel to let them know we had family emergencies.
I hoped seven days were enough time to catch the culprit.
There wasn’t a single part of me that wanted to drop this semester when we were so close to the finish line, but if that was what it came down to for security purposes…then so be it.
I was trying to remain optimistic for the sake of both our mental, physical, and emotional health, yet there were no leads. Papà and the Remingtons were doing their utmost best to solve this in a timely manner so our lives could resume back to normal.
Though I had enough self-awareness to know that our lives would never be fully normal after this chapter.
Hunter kissed my lips, his warmth radiating off of him and seeping into me. “Come back home to me soon.”
“I will. I promise.”
At least he wouldn’t be alone here. Hannah and Heidi were coming over to visit him in an hour. Plus, many of the Remington guards would remain on the property.
By our feet, Luna meowed. I picked her up. She blinked her big eyes at her daddy, sad at the thought of leaving him for even a short time, and pawed at him.
“You too, Luna,” Hunter said, kissing her head. “And take care of your mommy for me, please.”
She meowed in agreement before going into her carrier.
A knock on the front door let us know my two guards were ready and waiting for us.
“I love you.” Hunter cupped my face. “Be safe, Gabby.”
“I love you,” I returned. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back before you know it.”
He pecked my forehead. “I’m counting on it.”
After squeezing Hunter’s hand one final time, I stepped out of the home and headed over to the bulletproof SUV, where Oscar and Craig waited for us.
The backseat door was open and I climbed inside, Luna in tow.
I waved to Hunter before the door closed, the sound akin to the final nail being pounded into a coffin. My exhale was shaky. Through the tinted window, I saw Hunter watching the vehicle and the guards with hawk eyes.
As if trying to tell them silently: Take care of my girls.
I dragged my fingertips down the glass, tracing his silhouette. I was already counting down the minutes before I could see him again.
My bodyguards got in the front and minutes later, we pulled out of the driveway and headed down the deserted road that led to Hunter’s home.
The sky was grey and the air smelled like a hint of petrichor. A rainstorm loomed nearby. I was uneasy and attributed it to the fact that I was parted from Hunter, my safety net, and not at the odd sense of foreboding curling in the car.
I reminded myself that I was armed. A loaded gun sat in my purse, a pocket knife was tucked in the upper-thigh holster hidden underneath my skirt, and I was wearing a gold locket Papà gave me on Friday night, a small tracking chip inside…so if anything went awry, they could find me.
I was okay.
I was going to remain okay.
Luna glanced at me, meowing. My sweet, furry baby. She was uneasy too.
I removed her from the carrier and brought her into my lap. She instantly curled against me and I petted her back, enjoying her soothing purrs.
“I gotta take a leak,” announced Craig to Oscar.
Oscar, who was behind the wheel, shot Craig a scowl. “Hold it in.”
“Can’t,” he said in an awfully annoying and holier-than-thou tone. “I’ll piss my pants.”
“Then you’ll piss your pants.”
“It’ll stink up the car and then Princess in the backseat will complain to her daddy dearest that I ruined her little day trip.”
Craig had nothing but audacity. Especially because he threw me a wink over his shoulder like I was going to find him funny. Ew. I knew to a certain extent I’d lived a sheltered life, but insinuating that I was a brat and using that as ammo wasn’t a way to get in my—or the Remingtons’—good graces.
“Oscar, it’s okay.” I adopted a fake, sickly sweet smile. “Let the young boy relieve himself. It’s not his fault he’s not toilet trained yet.”
That sobered up Craig and dragged a chuckle from my usually stoic, middle-aged bodyguard.
Craig glared at me. I shot him an air-kiss with my middle finger.
Oscar grumbled, “I’ll pull over and you have less than a minute to do your business. Understood?”
Not waiting for a reply, Oscar drove the car to the side of the road and Craig flung open the door. To give him privacy, Oscar and I looked the other way while he did his thing.
Immediately, we heard a loud thump.
I jolted in my seat and Oscar cursed at the noise.
Craig’s tall frame could no longer be seen.
Did Craig faint in the midst of peeing?
“Shit.” My guard grabbed his gun. “Stay here, Gabriela.”
Oscar stepped out of the car and I moved down the backseat so I could peer out the window with Luna.
And instantly regretted it.
Goosebumps erupted over my body, that sense of unease amplifying.
Craig was dead, a bullet lodged in his head.
Oscar saw it at the same time as me.
Our worried eyes connected through the window, a silent warning passing through us.
Oscar threw a fleeting glance at our surroundings as he rounded the front of the car. He opened the driver’s door and barked, “We’ve been compromised. We need to head back. Now.”
Before Oscar could get inside, we heard the whistling sound of another bullet.
It struck him right in the throat.
My mouth fell open on a choked, mute scream, Luna following with her own hiss.
Oscar’s body hit the ground with a jarring thud.
Teary and panicked, I scrambled forward to glance in the space between the two front seats. “No, no, no.” Fear slammed in my gut. “Oscar!”
He was dead, lying in a pool of his own blood.
I began crying as I rummaged through my purse for my phone, needing to call Papà, freaking out because someone just killed the two guards who were meant to safely ferry me to my destination.
I never got to call Papà.
I never got to calm an anxious Luna.
Because my door was suddenly yanked open and I screamed, coming face-to-face with the same cloaked figure from Friday night.
He was in all black, with a gun in his hand.
His hood was up and a mask covered his expression.
All I saw were soulless dark eyes.
Before he yanked down the covering and unveiled himself.
Tom Prescott hedged me a crazy, secretive grin. “Said I would remind you of your place, didn’t I, you stupid fucking bitch?”