Chapter Twenty-Eight
HUNTER
“I want you to protect my wife.”
My wife.
My wife.
Protect my wife.
“She’s still sleeping.”
The unexpected sound of Coby’s voice in the cabin startled me awake, but the responding one with a deep Chicago accent had my eyes flying open.
Protect my wife.
I reached under my pillow where my Sig was hidden.
After I had accepted his offer to act as Coby’s bodyguard, Ocean had given me some new and pretty toys to play with, which Coco kept mistaking for chew toys.
The floor was ice cold under my bare feet when I quietly climbed from the bed and pulled on my robe.
Scooping Coco from the foot of the bed, I tiptoed to the door and peeked through the crack to see a man standing just a few feet away.
His back was turned to me, but he still seemed annoyingly familiar.
The blond hair, leather jacket, and cocky demeanor poked at my memory.
“Then wake her up, or I will. Her beauty sleep isn’t my concern.
She knows what she signed up for.” I pushed open the door and slipped out with my gun aimed at the asshole’s occipital.
As soon as I did, he cocked his head like a predator who knows there’s prey nearby.
“Don’t you, Hunter?” The man turned to face me before I could react.
“You really thought I’d let you get the drop on me a second time? ”
I lowered the gun with a roll of my eyes when I saw his face. “You should have drowned.”
Kellan’s green eyes twinkled with amusement. “I’m an exceptional swimmer.”
I looked him over. “You look like shit,” I remarked.
“So do you.”
“You two know each other?” Coby asked.
“We’ve met,” I replied without looking at her. She was right. I was a coward. I stepped around Kellan with Coco in my arms and walked to the door to shove my feet in my slippers.
Coby made a terrified squeak in the back of her voice when she saw him. I rolled my eyes because here we go. “Hunter, what the hell is that? Is it…is it a rat?”
“It’s a Yorkshire Terrier. And from the looks of the pup, it’s a runt,” Kellan answered for me. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid.”
Coby, the vegan who was afraid of animals, shuddered out a breath.
“Wow. Yeah, I totally get the fear,” Kellan taunted. “A beast like that can totally gnaw your ankles to death.”
“Don’t tease her,” I warned, taking up for my bestie.
Kellan rolled his eyes. Coby fled to the bathroom. I took the puppy outside.
After Coco relieved himself, I put him in the room and yelled out for Coby, who was still hiding in the bathroom.
“What are you doing here?” I directed at Kellan.
I had the same question for Coby, who was staring at me now and anxiously chewing her bottom lip.
It wasn’t unusual for Coby and me to fight, but it was the first time it ever felt like it was the last one we’d ever have.
Even while standing in the same room, it felt like there was a mountain between us.
“Your training starts today. Ocean’s orders.”
“Training?” Coby echoed before I could tell Kellan where to shove it. I guess Ocean never bothered to tell her about his job offer.
“The Strap offered me a job, and I took it,” I answered.
“Please stop calling him that, Hunter. Doing what?”
“Protecting you.”
Coby’s eyes flared with horror. “No.” She shook her head. “Absolutely not.”
“Coby—”
“I said no! You’re not doing it. It’s dangerous!”
I squinted. “I remember telling you the same thing. You asked me to trust that you could take care of yourself, so now I’m asking the same of you. You wanted me to stay, remember? I’m staying.”
“No, Hunter. I want you to want to stay.”
“Maybe I should come back,” Kellan said uncertainly. Despite being uncomfortable, he stayed where he was, his curious gaze swinging back and forth as Coby and I geared up for round two.
Instead of fighting with me again, Coby turned her fury on Kellan. “Where is he?”
Knowing exactly who she meant, Kellan answered, “In a meeting with the Boss.”
“I thought his father was in Ireland until the wedding?” I asked.
“They have cell phone reception in Ireland.”
“Take me to him,” Coby demanded.
Kellan looked like he wanted to say no, but then he nodded and started for the door. “I’ll be outside,” he called over his shoulder. “You both have ten minutes.”
“Hunter,” Coby said as soon as the door closed behind Kellan. “Please don’t do this.” She started to follow me into my room, but then she remembered Coco and stayed in the living room. “What if someone hurts you?” she called out.
“Then try to imagine why I accepted Ocean’s offer.
” I didn’t know what constituted training, and I didn’t have much to choose from, so I started dressing in the same outfit I wore to the shooting range.
“I’m terrified someone will hurt you. You’ve seen how busy Ocean is, how often he’s gone.
You’re in a treacherous world surrounded by strangers.
You need someone who can be there when he can’t.
I was already willing to take a bullet for you, and I know you’d do the same for me, so what’s really changing? ”
Dressed now, I walked back into the main room with Coco warmly nestled inside my jacket to see Coby wringing her hands. “Does this mean you’ll stay even after the wedding?”
I didn’t trust that look in her eyes like she was hoping I might stay for other reasons, too, so I grabbed her hand and started for the door without answering. “We should probably hurry. I don’t want to be late on my first day.”
The main house was a vast, opulent maze that made me feel like a fish out of water.
Coby and I followed Kellan through the long hallways while I tried my hardest to focus on creating a mental map and not gawking at the marble statues and busts, the high ceilings, and the glittering chandeliers.
While we walked, Coby told me all about Glainne—Ocean’s penthouse in the city, which was nestled at the top of that onyx tower she’d always wondered at.
Coby already seemed to be at home since she’d been basically living here. My brief encounters with Ocean’s mom had been pleasant. Coby already loved her, so I told myself it was all that mattered. It’s not like Effie was going to be my mother-in-law.
Our first stop was a room with tall, solid doors; behind them was a study. Kellan left Coby there to wait for Ocean before motioning me to follow him.
I thought the house had only two levels until we descended a spiral staircase into a sub-level too intricate to be a basement. The floor opened into a circular room with stone walls and low lighting. The air was dank and drafty with an earthy scent that said we were deep underground.
Perfect for a dungeon or torture chamber.
I followed Kellan through the doorless threshold and kept close when I noticed the floor was a maze of dark corridors, impossible to navigate without getting lost.
Eventually, we reached a gym of sorts, but it looked more like an underground dojo with black mats covering the floor and various equipment scattered throughout—striking shields, freestanding bags, ground bags, slip bags, teardrop bags, long bags, free weights, and other shit I couldn’t name.
Abel was already waiting for us.
I couldn’t deny how handsome he was. His deep, dark skin glowed beneath the fluorescent light, but his hazel eyes were watchful, without his usual distrust.
“You’re late,” he scolded.
“I don’t own a watch.”
Abel clenched his jaw and gestured for me to step on the mat.
I reached for Coco, who was still cradled in my jacket, and set him on the ground, but Kellan quickly scooped him up. “I’ll take that. Have fun.” With a grin and a wink, he was gone with Coco.
Exhaling, I slowly approached Abel, who cocked a brow at me. “You ready?”
“Sure.”
Hours later, I was kneeling on the mat, breathing heavily, clutching my side, and dripping sweat.
And I’d never felt more alive.
The muscles in my arms trembled as I held up my hand for mercy I didn’t want. It was just my natural self-preservation kicking in while the much darker, esoteric part of me that needed to be examined by a psychologist demanded more.
“Had enough?” Abel questioned.
“Not even close.” I coughed and spat out blood. Oh, Lord. I hoped I still had all my teeth. “Just give me a minute.”
“You can take a punch, and you’re fast, but you have no endurance,” he informed me coldly.
Abel hadn’t warmed a single degree, not even when he was kicking my ass from one end of the room to the next. I could tell he was enjoying himself, too. At his request, our session started with me showing him what I knew.
Nothing.
I knew nothing.
And he wasted no time making that blatantly apparent.
For hours, Abel had me attack him repeatedly and hold nothing back, but each time, I’d quickly go from the offensive to the defensive until I was eager to learn everything he knew.
“You’re done for today, Parrish.”
“No—”
“You’re no good to me tomorrow if I break you today. Clean yourself up, and I’ll see you at five.”
“A.m.?” I squawked, but he was already gone.
I collapsed with a tired groan and was still lying there, cheek to the mat, when I heard someone enter.
How long had I been lying here?
My eyes were the only thing I could move as they followed the direction the footsteps came from.
Ocean.
He was dressed in a suit today. This one was dark gray and tailored to accentuate his broad shoulders. Each of his strides that brought him closer to me spoke of confidence and power, and I was too transfixed to be on guard.
“Abel told me you might still be down here.” Ocean crouched next to me but didn’t touch me. I refused to read too much into why that felt disappointing.
I groaned again, feeling my stomach muscles spasm when I flopped onto my back. “That’s all I got. Just leave me here and save yourself.”
Ocean chuckled. “I told Abel not to take it easy on you.” This time, he did touch me. I felt the sweep of his thumb under the tender part of my cheek. “Was I wrong?”