Chapter Thirty-Five
HUNTER
For the first time since I was a snot-nosed kid, it truly felt like Christmas morning.
“Hunter?” Roshaun peered through the dark, the mist spilling from the trees onto the road. The eye that wasn’t swollen shut widened briefly when I stopped before him. “Shit, it is you. Aye…” He shifted anxiously on his knees. “Listen, you got to help me. My sister—”
“You hit her.”
Roshaun paused and then blinked like he didn’t know what I was talking about. It made me wonder if this wasn’t the first time he hurt her, and Coby had kept it from me. “What?”
“You. Hit. Her.”
Seeing that playing dumb wouldn’t work on me (I knew too much about him), he sucked his teeth and looked away dismissively. “Bitch, I ain’t hit nobody. If she told you that shit, she’s lying.”
It was all I needed to hear as I reached for my knife.
“Whoa, whoa, what the fuck are you doing?” Roshaun screamed as he scrambled to get away from me. He only made it as far as his ass since his hands were bound behind his back.
Several goons looked at each other, not knowing whether to kill us both when I walked around him and cut through the cable tie, freeing him. Roshaun—wary, injured, and close to pissing his pants—was slow to stand, and I remembered he was still healing from his broken ribs.
It was the first place I struck when I sent him back to his knees.
I watched coldly as he leaned over and spat up blood before wheezing for air.
“I knew you were a piece of shit, but I didn’t know you were pathetic too,” I grumbled.
This was so disappointing. I wanted to beat him up, show him I wasn’t afraid anymore, and that if he came for me, I could protect myself.
But Ocean had already worked him over pretty well, so there wasn’t much fun in it for me. “Get up.”
“I can’t.”
“Get up!” I roared.
“The fuck…the fuck…the fuck are you doing,” Roshaun struggled to get out as he rose off his hands and sat back on his heels.
“I trusted you. Coby trusted you!” I drove my knee up, hitting him under his chin and knocking him back.
“Push off the ground with your opposite foot for more power and keep that leg straight,” Abel instructed. And then he sighed tiredly, like I was a disappointing pupil. “We’ve gone over this.”
Ignoring him, I placed my foot on Roshaun’s dick and pressed until he released a blood-curdling scream. Several of Ocean’s men flinched. “Don’t be so fucking dramatic,” I teased. And then I shifted more of my weight onto him, making him scream again. “How many girls have you forced this thing on?”
“Hunter, p-please.”
“I said please, too. Did you listen?” When I was sixteen and begged him not to kick me out, he said if I wanted to stay with Coby, I knew what I had to do.
Roshaun didn’t answer, so I shifted my foot to his throat.
He made a gargling sound when I cut off his ability to breathe or swallow.
“Did you?” The fear in his eyes, knowing his life was at my mercy, was more satisfying than tiring myself out by besting him in a fight.
Only it wasn’t Roshaun’s face staring back at me.
It was my father’s.
And then it was Roshaun’s again.
Back and forth, the face of the man who hurt me switched.
One moment, I felt Roshaun’s hands on me after watching me strip. Next, I heard my father’s voice ordering me to fuck his boss. Eventually, the two men melted into one.
I pressed harder, taking away my abusers’ ability to breathe just as they’d taken away my ability to feel safe, to feel loved, and to trust. No matter whose visage appeared before me, the anger and betrayal felt the same.
The loss felt the same.
I didn’t realize I’d blacked out, and so had Roshaun. He’d stopped struggling long before I felt Ocean’s hands pulling me away. I knew it was him because of his cologne.
No one on Earth smelled as sinful as Ocean Kilpatrick.
He locked his arm around my chest, kissing the side of my face and bringing me back from the rage that had taken over me. Roshaun and my father didn’t get to decide who I was anymore.
As for the latter, I had no idea if that bastard was even still alive.
“He won’t be for long,” Ocean promised, and I realized I’d spoken out loud.
“I don’t care,” I lied. “Thank you for this, but I can’t.” I inhaled deeply because the effort it took—the weight of it—not to give in and end Roshaun Perry once and for all nearly crushed me.
But there was something else I needed more.
Something else I couldn’t live without.
“If I kill him, Coby will hate me forever. If I lose her, he wins.” It didn’t matter that I’d pictured this moment a thousand times, and in none of them did I fantasize about walking away, but I needed Coby more than I needed revenge.
“I’m making a choice not to think about him or my sperm donor ever again. ”
“And you won’t have to.”
With one last kiss to my temple, Ocean led me away, back to the Denali.
I didn’t even look back as I let him. It was just the two of us when we drove back to the city.
Abel had stayed behind to take care of Roshaun.
I didn’t want to ask what Ocean would do with him because I didn’t want to lie to Coby.
The second reason is thatI just didn’t care anymore. Roshaun had no power over me.
Staring out the window, I was lost in my thoughts until I felt Ocean’s hand curving around my thigh. I looked down at it, and then I did something crazy.
I laced my fingers through his, and when he squeezed, I squeezed back.
Ocean didn’t drive us back to Glainne.
It was the wee hours of the morning, and even on Christmas, the city was still asleep.
The drive-in theater Ocean took us to was miraculously open, though no one else was around.
I tried to hide my excitement and curiosity since I’d always wanted to go to one of these.
I eyed Ocean suspiciously as he backed the Denali into the perfect spot so that the tailgate faced the screen.
Once parked, Ocean told me to stay put before climbing out.
I checked my phone to ensure I didn’t have any messages from Coby in case she’d woken up while Ocean messed with something in the trunk.
I was starting to wonder if he had a dead body back there or something.
He was swearing viciously as he shifted things around.
Whatever he was doing, it took him twice since he only had one working hand.
I offered to help, but he ordered me to stay my ass right where I was, so I did. The last movie of the night/morning was about to start, and I didn’t care what it was. I was just excited to be here.
Wish I had some snacks.
Ocean finished with whatever he was doing back there and came to my door to help me out before leading me to the back of the Denali.
As soon as I saw what had kept him, my heart skipped a beat.
A thick blanket had been laid out where the third row of seats had been stored inside the floor to make room.
There were pillows propped against the back of the second row of seats to make it extra cozy and electric candles to add ambiance.
The picnic basket, centered on the blanket, caught my eye, along with the large tin can of popcorn.
It was filled to the brim with three different flavors—cheddar, caramel, and butter.
There was also a wooden board filled with an assortment of sugary sweets.
I felt the heat of Ocean’s body at my back, watching me take it all in. I’d love to say I was a wall, giving nothing away, but it would be a lie. My skin prickled with all the emotions pushing to be free.
“You did all this?”
I felt Ocean nod against my shoulder. “Climb in,” he whispered. “I won’t bite.”
I didn’t believe that at all.
My cheeks were warm despite the biting cold as I crawled into the back of the Denali.
The engine was still running, so there was heat blowing through the vents, but it wasn’t enough to combat the northern winter coming in through the open hatch.
Once Ocean climbed in with me, I found myself inching closer to him while he pulled two large thermoses out of the basket and handed me one.
Steam poured out once I opened the top.
I sniffed at the contents, and my stomach growled when I smelled the hot soup. I poured some into the lid that doubled as a bowl and greedily slurped at it. Heat immediately flooded my veins and thawed my blood while I moaned in pleasure.
Ocean lounged against the pillows before pulling me between his legs, and I didn’t fight him. I leaned against his chest while he covered my legs with another blanket, and I sighed contentedly.
I’m not sure what came over me, but I grabbed my phone and opened the camera app.
“Say cheese,” I teased, not expecting him to comply.
Ocean surprised me when he leaned over my shoulder and flashed an adorable smile at the camera.
I snapped the picture and then took more of our little nook.
I studied them for a while, agonizing over whether to send them to Coby when I usually would if Ocean were anyone else. Fuck it. I sent the photos with a text.
You told him. I’m going to kill you.
My idea of a perfect date and my favorite snacks?
This had Coby written all over it. It was obvious by now that Ocean and Coby had teamed up to wear me down.
I knew my text wouldn’t wake her up since Coby kept her phone on silent at night, so I tucked it away as the movie started to play on the mega screen.
It was Die Hard.
“I was hoping they played this,” he said.
My brows immediately lowered as I turned my head to glower up at him. “Please tell me you’re not one of those nut cases who think Die Hard is a Christmas movie.”
“You don’t?”
I groaned dramatically as I turned my attention back to the opening scene of Bruce on a plane. There was no way I could enjoy this movie as much as I did if it filled me with holiday cheer.
“Why don’t you like Christmas?” Ocean asked after we watched nearly half the movie and ate our soup silently.