Chapter Twenty-Five
OCEAN
After dropping Coby off on the terrace with my mom and making sure they were hitting it off, I left the two of them to get to know each other better, since my mom started crying when she saw the ring I had custom-made for Coby.
Abel was waiting for me at the edge of the path that led to James’s cabin.
We took the ATVs since the cabin was on the other side of the lake, and I was eager to arrive.
When we reached the house, I was relieved to see two guards posted outside the door and knew more were hidden within the tree line.
I dismissed the guards at the door and pulled the skeleton key from my pocket before entering the cottage. There was a fire crackling in the fireplace because the house didn’t have central heating, but otherwise it was eerily quiet.
I discovered why when I entered one of the bedrooms and found Hunter blindfolded, bound, and gagged. Her hands and feet were tied to the bedposts with tape over her mouth. Abel’s doing no doubt since Hunter had barely made it the night before attempting to escape and costing me two more men.
She stiffened the moment I entered the room, her head whipping toward the door and her breathing becoming fast and unsteady.
I swallowed the urge to comfort her as I approached the bed.
Hunter started pulling at her bindings once she felt me standing over her, but I still didn’t speak because scaring her made my dick hard.
She still wore her clothes from the night before, but they were ruined now, telling me she put up a good fight when she was recaptured. My gaze swept over her, looking for injuries or signs that she’d been abused. I’d fucking kill every last person responsible if I saw so much as a broken nail.
I didn’t speak until I was satisfied she hadn’t been harmed.
“I’m disappointed in you, Vengeance. I thought we’d come to an understanding.”
The knot in my chest eased a little when she relaxed at the sound of my voice. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I removed the blindfold and saw that her mascara was smudged and her eyes were red and exhausted.
“I’d like to talk to you about something important, and because you need to listen, I won’t remove the tape until I’m done. Do you understand? Nod or blink once for yes. Shake or blink twice for no.”
Hunter blinked once.
“Did they hurt you?”
Blink blink.
“You tried to escape last night—” Two more blinks were my answer before I could even pose the question, so I paused, wondering why she’d lie. And then it clicked. “You were looking for Coby?” I asked gently.
Blink.
“Have you reconsidered my offer of letting you live then?”
Blink blink.
“So you wish to stay?”
A pointed pause and then…
Blink.
“Then why did you run from me, Vengeance?” My voice was tight with restraint.
It was only when Hunter just stared at me that I realized she couldn’t answer with her mouth taped, so I forced myself to let it go.
I hadn’t planned to ask her that anyway.
It just came out. “I know that Coby told you why I took her.”
I sat and watched them on the security cameras the night they spent together and heard it all, but I left out the part about how I knew. Let Hunter think Coby confided in me on her own.
“We’re getting married,” I confirmed. Hunter’s nostrils flared. Her only reaction. “And no matter how hard you fight to prevent that, Coby will be my wife.” I left out the reasons why since they no longer mattered. I’m not sure they ever did.
I’ve wanted Coby since the moment I first saw her.
The craving was fucking relentless. It grew stronger until I was past willing to do anything—cross any line—to have her.
It started with having her surveilled. At first, I’d hoped to find something to cure my obsession once her guard was down, but there was only one thing hidden in Coby’s life that had given me pause.
Hunter.
She never came around whenever Coby visited her brother’s club, so I hadn’t been prepared for the beauty when I started stalking her best friend.
Instead of my interest in Coby shifting, it continued to embed itself into my psyche the more I learned about these women and how they had formed some kind of symbiosis.
Hunter and Coby had much in common.
They were strong, independent, and unafraid to fight for themselves and each other. They both loved hard and liked to be dominated—although one resisted that kink a little more than the other.
But there were differences impossible to ignore and easy to arouse.
Coby liked bows, and pretty ribbons, art, reading, nature, and saving cute little animals from the human race.
Hunter liked guns, knives, fighting, modeling on the side, and surviving. Clearly, something happened in her early life to make her so determined to never be helpless again. She was staring at me now, her upturned eyes already wide with alarm when I hadn’t even delivered the most damaging blow.
“She told me today that she loved me.”
Hunter shook her head in denial, blinking twice over and over and screaming behind the tape as she fought against the bindings again.
The shredded skin around her wrists was starting to bruise, and I knew she would gladly hurt herself if I didn’t take control, so I reached for her face and gripped the tape at the corner before ripping it off.
Hunter let out a wail that broke me in fucking two.
I let the inflection in my voice harden until there was no room for disobedience. “Stop.”
Hunter’s next cry died in her throat, and then she turned her face into the pillow to hide her tears. I used gentle fingers to turn her face back toward me and wiped them away.
“Vengeance, look at me. Please.”
Hunter’s eyes opened, and I almost wished she hadn’t listened because I wouldn’t have to face her sorrow. “How could she do this to me?”
“Coby doesn’t know you’re here, Hunter.”
“That’s not what I mean. I—” Feeling the urge to scream again, she squeezed her eyes closed and attempted to compose herself. When they opened again, her brown eyes were pools of pain. “How could she marry you?”
Not knowing what to say, I stalled for time by reaching out to untie her hands before moving down to her feet. Hunter sat up gingerly, rubbing her wrists and eyeing me warily when I climbed onto the bed to sit beside her with my back against the headboard.
“I made Coby an offer she couldn’t refuse,” I finally answered.
“What was that?”
“A fuck ton of money for five years of marriage.” My decision to downplay Coby’s reasons for marrying stemmed from my need to erase that look from Hunter’s eyes.
A look that said her heart had just been ripped out of her chest. I didn’t know why I cared about Hunter’s pain when I was getting what I wanted.
I just did. Maybe Coby was making me soft.
Maybe I was the greedy asshole Abel said I was.
Hunter glared at the bedspread, angry at her own curiosity when she asked, “How much is a fuck ton of money?”
I smirked at her question since it once again showed how protective she was of Coby. I may have begrudged Hunter the very obvious fact that she wanted to fuck my wife, but I couldn’t resent the idea of Coby having someone besides myself so dedicated to her.
“You know,” I said slowly as I chuckled. “We never actually set an amount. I promised her whatever she wanted, but she still hasn’t named a figure.”
Hunter blew out a breath and shook her head. “That’s Coby. Always so trusting. She doesn’t really care about money anyway, so it may not have crossed her mind to care that much.”
“So what do you think?” I asked when Hunter fell quiet. “What is Coby’s hand in marriage worth?”
She narrowed her gaze at me. “There are some things you can’t put a price on, Ocean.”
“But if you could…” I urged.
“Three million,” Hunter blurted. “Per year.” When I raised a brow at the amount, Hunter shrugged, ready to go to bat for her friend. “I assume Coby will become accustomed to a different quality of life while you’re married, so think of it as alimony.”
Teasing her, I whistled. “Still, six million dollars a year for five years. That’s a lot of cheddar.”
Hunter frowned at me. “But I said three million.”
“Coby may have convinced me to sweeten the deal this morning.”
“How?”
“She wants me to pay you the same for every year you’re apart, and I also promised to forgive her brother’s debt and sign over my ownership of the club.”
“Why would Coby do that for Roshaun after he—” Hunter’s eyes widened, and she hopped up from the bed. “You haven’t told her yet?” she shouted.
“Would she believe me after last night?”
“Probably not, but that’s your problem, not mine,” Hunter said as she paced.
“I disagree. I think it’s our problem.”
Hunter paused and then faced me, planting her hands on those wide hips that got me hard every time. “Excuse me?”
“I recall you asking to help me kill him and deal with the Coby aftermath.”
“And I recall you saying you didn’t need my help.”
I folded my arms behind my head and grinned. “What if I promised you the honor of killing Roshaun yourself?”
“It sounds like a setup to make me take all the blame and have Coby hate me forever. I’m sure that would make your life much sweeter.”
“It’s definitely something I would do,” I admitted, more than a little impressed that she’d read me so easily.
“But that’s not my intention, Hunter. And you have no idea of what I’m thinking will make my life sweeter.
” I stared at her hard and meaningfully, and then quickly pushed past the subject when I saw her getting ready to dig.
“We both have the same goal—to keep Coby safe and happy.” I paused, wondering if it was wise to admit this next part, but I decided I didn’t care. “But I also want the same for you.”
Hunter scoffed and began pacing again. “Roshaun doesn’t scare me.”
“He should,” I warned, though I chose not to elaborate. Roshaun had committed much bigger atrocities than just stealing from me. Things that would break Coby’s heart if she knew.