Chapter Twenty-One
HUNTER
One short day later…
The van door rolled shut with a slam, then peeled off with a squeal of tires as it sped away from the curb. There were grunts and curses all around as what felt like a gang of dudes held me down and tied my hands around my back.
No defensive measure I attempted could ward them off in such a tight space, so before long, I was subdued and blindfolded.
One of them lifted me up to sit against the wall of the van, and I didn’t like the way his hands lingered before he finally released me.
Everyone’s face had been covered even before I was blindfolded, so I had no idea who was behind this latest attempt of many to deliver me to Ocean.
Apparently, the underboss had made it clear that he wanted me captured alive and without a scratch, which had put everyone dumb enough to come after me at a disadvantage as I escaped time and again.
But there was one trap I couldn’t escape.
I knew Coby was bait, but I hadn’t cared because for one short day she was mine again, and it was just as it had been before. But now she was alone, probably feeling the same crushing terror that I had when she was taken, and there was nothing I could do about it.
“So what’s the plan?” I heard someone ask.
“I made contact,” a muffled voice responded. “He said to sit tight. It will be a while.”
“What the fuck?”
“Bro, I don’t fucking know. He said something came up.”
The men who snatched me talked amongst themselves. Before long, they forgot I was even here, thank God. I wasn’t sure how much time passed sitting in the cold van. It felt like hours before the leader got the call and we started moving again.
The ropes tying my hands and ankles together dug painfully into my skin as I wriggled around, searching for the tiniest bit of slack.
There was none. Suddenly, the blindfold was ripped off, and the man directly across from me yanked off his black ski mask.
The familiar face staring back at me made my blood boil.
“Really, Gary?”
My neighbor had the nerve to look offended. “Aye, don’t judge me. Half a million is a lot of money, girl.” And then he smiled lewdly. “I guess your pretty ass should have fucked me when you had the chance.”
“Gary, I wouldn’t fuck your sorry ass if you were the last man on Earth and God promised me a spot in heaven for sleeping with the unfortunate.”
“You got a lot of mouth for someone who’s going to be dead by the end of the day.”
“Funny. I was just about to say the same thing to you.”
Ignoring my very real threat, he looked me up and down. “So what did you do anyway?”
With a straight face, I answered with a smile.
“I stole a rocket launcher from his warehouse, blew up his men, killed the rest, and stole his girl.” That last part hurt to admit, but after what Coby told me, I’d be a fool to deny it.
Coby was Ocean’s, and it was all my fault.
I should never have lied to her two years ago, telling her we had no chance.
Finding comfort in my rage, I smiled sharply at Gary.
“But that’s nothing compared to what I’ll do to you. ”
Gary’s eyes widened while his boys shifted nervously.
“Whoa, wait a minute, wait a minute,” Gary said after a short silence. He leaned forward and stared at me like I had grown two heads and he’d never seen me before. “You’re gay?”
It’s like he hadn’t heard a single thing else I said.
Rolling my eyes, I turned my head and refused to answer. No, I wasn’t gay. It wasn’t nearly that simple. Sure, I liked dick, but I loved Coby even more. My heart didn’t care that she was without my favorite appendage. It craved her anyway. End of story.
Unperturbed by my silence, Gary suddenly grinned and relaxed against the side of the van. “I guess that explains why you wouldn’t fuck me, huh?”
“No, Gary. Evolution explains why I wouldn’t fuck you.”
His smile fell while snickering erupted around the back of the van. A moment later, he slapped fire out of my ass, and the van suddenly became quiet.
“Gary, you better hope that shit doesn’t leave a mark, man!” one of his partners scolded once the initial shock wore off. Cryptically, he added, “You know what happened to Terrance and ‘nem.”
The masked goon was referring to the last crew that tried to snatch me. Terrance had lost his composure like Gary and kicked me in the ribs. I guess word had gotten back to Ocean somehow.
Huh…
Another one of Gary’s masked friends spoke next. “Man, I heard they’re still finding Terrance’s body parts all over the city.” And then he stared at me with something like pity in his eyes. “No one touches her again. The crazy motherfucker who wants her ain’t fucking around.”
We rode in silence for over an hour before the driver called out from the front. “Look alive! We’re almost there.”
There was shuffling as everyone got ready, their eyes eager to collect their reward.
“Aye,” Gary whispered after sliding across the van to sit next to me.
“This is your last chance. Say you’ll fuck with me, and I’ll turn this van around right now.
I’ll just tell Kilpatrick that you got away.
” Inhaling deeply, I pretended to think about it for a while before nodding faintly.
Gary’s eyes flared with surprise, as if he didn’t believe me, so I smiled coquettishly.
All doubt was erased when he slowly smiled back. “Yeah?”
“What do I have to do?” I whispered with a touch of fear to garnish the ruse.
“Let me kiss you.”
Batting my lashes, I smiled harder and said, “Come closer.”
Gary glanced around to make sure no one was looking at us before he inched closer to me until our thighs were touching. I waited until his face was hovering above mine and I was breathing in his foul breath before I made my move.
Rearing my head back, I sent it crashing into Gary’s nose when I brought it forward again.
“Aargh!” he yelled in pain as he fell back and clutched his ugly mug.
Without missing a beat, I scooted forward and then threw myself on top of him to deliver another blow that made his friends freak the fuck out.
“Hey, Stop! Stop!” they screamed at me as I used Gary to bash my own face in repeatedly.
Unfortunately, Gary’s weak ass couldn’t even slap a bitch properly. It barely stung, so I knew there was no mark for Ocean to see. Guess I’d have to make my own.
Never send a man to do a woman’s job.
Hands closed around my arms and yanked me back just as the van slammed to a stop. I felt warm blood leaking from my nose when I peered through the windshield and saw nothing.
It was pitch black outside and utterly silent.
A terrified chill snaked down my spine as goosebumps prickled my skin.
For a few haunting moments, no one moved or spoke. Suddenly, there was this blinding bright light. It flooded the cab and cargo of the van, and I tried to look away, but it didn’t matter which way I turned, so I lowered my gaze to the floor when I felt the strain in my corneas.
Everyone in the van jumped when a phone started ringing.
Gary, who was still regrettably conscious, fished his phone out of his pocket and answered with the phone on speaker. “This is—this is Gary.”
A familiar voice so deep and commanding that it made my pussy clench answered with a command. “Bring her to me.” The call immediately ended.
Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.
“Come on,” Gary said forlornly as he cut the ties on my ankles but left the ones on my wrists before he took my arm.
None of the men who kidnapped me looked excited anymore. They were all scared shitless of facing Ocean now and for good reason. The man was unpredictable as shit.
The door slid open, and I couldn’t see shit as I climbed out of the van. The moment I was out in the open and completely exposed, all the headlights surrounding us shut off simultaneously.
I blinked to clear my vision until I could make out the outline of fifteen vehicles surrounding the van. There were even larger off-road pickups parked in the trees, too.
I had never seen anything like it except in movies. Ocean had obviously been prepared to give chase in case I had somehow escaped him again.
Now I was the one pissing my panties.
I was too consumed by vengeance before to believe it, but it was clear to me now that I was dealing with a man used to thinking two steps ahead of his opponents.
Suddenly, a freakishly tall figure broke rank from the others waiting by their vehicles and swaggered forward.
The closer he got, the bigger he seemed.
He wasn’t overly bulky, but he clearly spent a lot of time in the gym.
If the situation weren’t dire, I’d roll my eyes at the idea of suffering the company of another gym rat.
Coby’s obsession with fitness was enough, thank you.
With no choice but to wait, I forced myself not to fidget as my heart sped up with every step that brought him closer.
It wasn’t fear. It was anticipation.
I was once again coming face to face with Coby’s kidnapper, but this time our roles had reversed.
I held my breath until it felt like it would burst, and I exhaled. Only then did the shadows clinging to the underboss’s features finally part, revealing his handsome face.
I probably wouldn’t be alive to remember this moment later, so there was no shame awaiting me later for the tiny step I took backward. It had been a while since I last felt it, but I still remembered what fear tasted like.
Finally, he stopped walking just a few feet away.
“Hello, Hunter.” Ocean’s gaze roved my face before he rolled his shoulders to shake off the promise of violence that flashed across his features.
“Who did this to you?” I said nothing. I just held his dark gaze and let him come to a conclusion on his own.
“Well, that’s unfortunate because I made a promise.
” A moment later, Ocean once again lived up to his reputation when he coldly ordered, “Kill them.”
“Whoa, whoa, wait!” Gary pleaded as Ocean’s men raised their guns. “I swear this wasn’t us! She did that to herself! Hunter!” He then shifted to stare down at me pleadingly. “Tell him.”
“Bye, Gary.”
“No, wait! It was her!” One of my kidnappers threw an accusing finger at me while another tried to run.
Ocean’s men started firing.
Also in the line of fire, which I suspected was by design, I closed my eyes and waited for my turn.
For the bullet with my name on it to come.
On either side of me, I listened to Gary and his boys scream as the bullets tore through them—some even hitting the van behind us.
They never even had a chance to pull their guns.
Numbness eventually washed over me as I waited and waited and waited. I waited so long I didn’t even notice when the firing ended, and it was dead silent again. My eyes flew open, and there was Ocean, staring at me like he found me amusing.
I narrowed my gaze, and he stepped forward.
I didn’t notice the black duffel bag he was carrying in one hand until he dropped it in the pool of blood quickly gathering near the bodies. My brows dipped in question when I spotted multiple bands of cash inside and realized belatedly what it was—the promised reward.
Five hundred thousand dollars in cash.
To deliver me unharmed.
Gary’s unseeing eyes stared at me from the ground.
“I believe his mother lives in Renwood,” Ocean announced as he turned to me with his stern gaze locked on my face. “Someone make sure the money gets to her.”
I swallowed.
Yeah, I lied, so what? Fuck Gary.
Ocean had obviously known it and decided to kill them anyway. Neither of us had the moral high ground as far as I was concerned. Not even dead-as-hell Gary.
Ocean shifted and moved over to stand in front of me, the tips of his boots meeting mine.
All too soon, I was drowning in him. I could smell the mint on his breath, the spice in his cologne, and a familiar hint of sugar and tartness clinging to his clothes.
It didn’t take me long to identify the familiar and yet out-of-place scent.
Green apples.
I was smelling Coby’s perfume.
The scent was strong as if he’d been exposed…recently.
Before I could remind myself why attacking the underboss of the Fola wasn’t wise, my rage swiftly returned, rising high and crashing into me like a tsunami wave until all I knew was the name he’d called me earlier. What was it again?
Oh, yeah…
Vengeance.
Snatching my knife from the hidden sheath by my hip, I lunged.