Chapter Thirteen #2
“Come on, pretty girl. Let’s get you home.” I threw down some cash to cover the bill and tip, and then picked Coby up with my arms under her back and legs. I ignored the curious gazes that followed us as I carried her out of the restaurant with her head on my shoulder.
She was asleep by the time we reached the car.
Unknown: Hey thief… u there?
It was just a little after two in the morning, and I was standing in an apartment building just seconds away from knocking on the front door of one Destiny Arehart when I received the text message.
A message that came from Kellan’s stolen phone.
I held up my hand to signal my men to wait as I typed a response.
Yes. What can I do for you, Hunter?
Her reply came instantly and didn’t disappoint.
Unknown: You’re lurking outside my friend’s apartment like the boogeyman.
Unknown: It’s making her very nervous
I didn’t give a damn, but I typed anyway…
That’s unfortunate. Where r u?
I didn’t believe in mincing words. To my surprise, neither did Hunter because a minute later she texted an address where to meet her.
Unknown: But you should know that I’m not interested in talking
Good. Neither was I.
I didn’t bother to text back as I pocketed my phone and gave the order for my men to retreat. It was likely a trap that Hunter was leading me into, but I didn’t give a single fuck.
I had to see her.
I had to know because I was starting to understand why Coby was so attached to her roommate. That shit spelled nothing but trouble and would probably get me killed.
Coby was soft and sweet but savage when she wanted to be.
Hunter was…something else. I didn’t know yet, and it bothered me how much I wanted to find out.
“What’s up?” Abel asked me as we left the complex.
“That was Hunter,” I said while waving my phone. “She gave us her location.”
“And you believe her?”
It only took me a second or two to think about it before I nodded. “I do so look alive. She’s got something up her sleeve.”
“Yeah, no shit,” Abel grumbled as he fell back to start disseminating orders. I was going to have to give him a raise soon. He’s more than earned it.
On the way to the location, I texted Kellan on his actual phone. Any news?
Kellan: I tracked her to the north side. She disappeared inside a building on Senna Ave and hasn’t come out yet. I’ll let you know if anything changes.
Kellan’s confirmation of Hunter’s location aligned with the address she’d given me, so I backed out of the thread and reopened the one with Hunter.
Whatever you’re planning, I’d advise against it.
Unknown: What am I planning?
Don’t fucking play with me, Hunter.
Unknown: And don’t you fucking think you can order me
“What the fuck?” The incredulous tone in Abel’s voice drew my attention from my phone as Paul cursed and slammed on the brakes.
We were still a few blocks away from Hunter’s location, and the streets were empty due to the late hour, so it didn’t explain the lone figure standing in the middle of the one-way street just a couple of hundred feet ahead.
I couldn’t see their face this far away, but there was something familiar about the shape of the shadow that felt like a warm vise around my dick.
It must have been windy outside because the person’s hair suddenly shifted, showing the tail end of a long braid.
Goosebumps spread over my skin when I began to suspect who it was.
“Boss, how do you want us to handle this?” Abel questioned when the person started walking toward the truck.
Only then did I notice they were carrying something. It was long and slender with a cone-shaped end that made me squint.
“Abel,” I said calmly once the dark figure slowly taking form stopped a hundred feet away. A moment later, they hoisted the mysterious cargo on their shoulder. “What were the weapons that were missing from the cache?”
“Not much. A couple of pistols, an automatic rifle, some smoke grenades, and a—”
“Shit!” Craig, the guard sitting next to me, shouted, cutting Abel off as he pointed straight ahead. “RPG!”
While everyone else in the SUV watched helplessly as a rocket-shaped grenade was launched at us, time slowed as “Suddenly” by Billy Ocean played in my head. There was no time to react as we watched the missile cut through the air.
A moment later, there was an explosion, flames, glass shattering, the feeling of being lifted in the air, and then my world turning upside down as screams and shouts surrounded me.
The last thing I remembered was the screech of metal against the pavement.
My brain felt like a ping-pong ball inside my skull once the Denali came back down.
I think I even blacked out for a second.
When I came to, there was gunfire all around me. I was upside down, still strapped in my seat, as I looked to my left and then my right.
Craig was definitely dead.
The door he had been sitting next to was gone, and so was he.
Gritting my teeth that tasted like blood, I unlatched my belt buckle and fell the short distance onto the crushed roof of the Denali as the gunfire around me went on. I shuffled over broken glass to squeeze between the crushed seats in front of me to check Paul and then Abel’s pulse.
“Shit,” I said with a grateful exhale at discovering they were both unconscious but alive. “You’re all right, man. You’re all right.” I patted Abel’s slashed cheek that would need stitches, and then grunted as I pulled my gun free before checking and reloading the clip.
I didn’t want to have to kill Hunter, but her stubbornness might not leave me much choice. Outside the truck, there was a sudden flash of light, followed by a long bang. More screams followed, and then almost all at once, the gunfire stopped.
Panic began to slice at my chest and temple, but before I could come up with a game plan, my door was ripped open.
I raised my gun automatically, only to be arrested by the sudden appearance of a gorgeous face wearing a scowl.
Hunter’s upturned eyes that were sharp at the corners were narrowed with displeasure at finding me still alive.
Her deep, dark skin was so supple and soft-looking, even while the rest of her was covered in dust, cuts, and blood.
Some of her naturally curly hair had come loose around the perimeter of her hairline, softening her blood-splattered features despite being dressed and strapped for battle.
“Ah, Hunter,” I cooed through my pain. “You really are a bloodthirsty beauty, aren’t you?”
Hunter’s lips parted, but no words came as we continued to stare at one another, guns drawn and aimed, but neither of us seemingly able to pull the trigger.
Reluctantly, she dragged her gaze away from me and frantically searched the destroyed SUV with her eyes before exhaling her relief at discovering that her friend wasn’t here.
I was still staring when Hunter’s angry gaze snapped back to mine.
Temptress.
I’d heard her call from the moment I first saw her in the surveillance photos of Coby. I knew she was attractive, but lots of women were. Needing more—a beautiful mind and heart—I’d grown bored with surface beauty years ago. Still, none of those photos had done Hunter Parrish justice.
She was exquisite.
“Oh, fuck!” Abel shouted. I was so captivated by Hunter, I hadn’t realized he’d woken up. His shout was Hunter’s only warning before my head of security pulled his gun and started busting.
“No!” I roared.
Gunshots rang out, making my ears ring. I shook off the sensation just in time to hear rapid footsteps retreating as Hunter safely got away.
“Crazy ass bitch,” Abel grumbled once she was gone. He looked at me weirdly when he noticed my gun was already drawn. “Why the fuck didn’t you shoot her ass?”
Ignoring him, I pushed past the aches and pains in my muscles and limbs as I climbed out of the SUV with Abel right behind me.
The lead SUV that had taken the direct hit from the RPG was a ball of flame next to us.
There was also smoke everywhere from the explosion and the grenades Hunter must have set off to maintain the advantage of her ambush.
Abel and I helped drag Paul out and then left him lying on the ground since he was still unconscious.
“What the fuck!” Abel screamed as he looked around at the carnage left behind.
It definitely told a story. Doors from the trailing SUVs were thrown open.
Bodies were slumped over the open windows, some bleeding out from a slashed throat or a knife stuck in their backs.
“She fucking…she fucking killed everybody!”
Laughing maniacally while holding my bruised side, I fell back against the upturned Denali.
“Goddamn,” I said as I fought to catch my breath.
I think I’m IN LOVE!” I shouted my confession to the storm-darkened sky.
Overhearing, Abel shot me the dirtiest look, but I didn’t care.
It was the truth. Fires burned all around us, but none compared to the one Hunter and Coby had lit inside me.
Lightning flashed, and thunder rolled as if it had heard my thoughts.
A moment later, rain poured in sheets, washing away the evidence of what Hunter had done and turning all the blood into pools of dark pink.
My wife’s favorite color. “Shit,” I croaked at the reminder that I was spoken for.
This cat-and-mouse game with Hunter was making my dick hard and blocking access to my brain.
“I think I hit my head too hard,” I mumbled.
“You think?” Abel shouted over the rain. Once again, I ignored him.
Hunter had stolen my weapons and then used them all against me to reclaim my wife. My wife. Mine.
I think it’s finally time I had a real-ass discussion with my wife.
Abel called in reinforcements, and we made it back to Glainne without anymore run-ins with Hunter. Shame. Niamh was already there waiting for us, but I waved her off when my cousin tried to make a fuss over me, and then I made Abel sit so she could attend to him instead.