Chapter 45
SAVANNAH
Snow is on the ground, presents are wrapped and under the tree, and Jack Frost has nipped the hell out of my nose. Even in the back of the limo that Rory insisted I use with the heater on full blast, I’m freezing.
Christmas Eve is truly here.
I fire up my phone to make a call. “I finished packing up your studio,” I greet Blake.
Her sigh crackles through the speaker, “Thanks, babe.”
It’s only been a few days since she left, but I miss her like crazy. We’ve had longer periods of not seeing each other, but this is different. This time I know she’s not in New York anymore.
“Did you make it to Evergreen Falls?” I ask.
Her answer is vague. “Kind of.”
My forehead scrunches. “What do you mean?”
“I’m here, but I haven’t seen anyone yet,” Blake admits.
My confusion grows. “Why not?”
“I need to get some answers first,” Blake explains.
Can’t argue with that.
“Anything I can help with?” I offer.
I can hear the exhaustion in her voice. “Not right now. If that changes, I’ll let you know.”
“I’m holding you to that,” I promise her. “Be safe.”
“I will. Love you,” she responds.
“Love you too.” I end the call and slide the phone into my back pocket.
There’s a small bump in the ride, and William informs me that we’ve arrived. I exit the car in the parking garage and head up to the penthouse.
The guys are at RHL getting some work done before they take a break tonight and tomorrow. I was supposed to call them when I finished at Blake’s studio, but I wanted to get here first and surprise them with a little lacy outfit I secretly bought when we went shopping the other day.
Walking through the entryway and up the stairs, I hear the water running.
Did someone come home early?
“Hello?” I call out. I remove my coat, dropping it on the couch, and follow the sound.
My ears lead me into Hunter’s room. “Hunter, is that you?” The water turns off, and I stride into the bathroom.
A woman with porcelain skin and blonde hair wraps herself in a towel barely covering her voluptuous body as water drips from her frame.
Trying to make sense of her presence, I address her. “Who are you?”
My question startles her, and she whips around. “Oh!” I raise my brows at her, and she gives me a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “I apologize. I’m Giselle and…Well, I’m with Hunter.” She daintily waves at me with her hand. “You must be the maid.”
My brain feels like it just got a jolt of electricity.
“No…” I trail off, annoyed and more disoriented than ever. My eyes glance around, looking for anything out of place besides the strange woman in front of me. “How did you get in here?”
“Hunter let me in,” she claims with a delicate shrug. “Who are you?”
“I’m Savannah. I live here,” I overemphasize my second statement, then point my finger at her, “and I know for a fact you’re not seeing Hunter.”
Giselle crosses her arms, and her fake politeness disappears. “Oh. So, you’re the live-in slut.”
My head rears back, and my jaw drops.
The nerve of this woman. If she’s not careful, she might get a knife in the gut.
“You’re a passing ship, honey,” she claims with a wave of her hand, like she’s wiping away the last few weeks with my men. “Hunter and I are on again, off again. You’re just the entertainment during the off period.”
I narrow my eyes, studying her closely.
Something isn’t right here.
Shaking my head, I pull out my phone. “I don’t believe you. I’m going to call—” As I tap on Hunter’s name, Giselle slaps my phone out of my hand, and it crashes to the floor. “What the hell is wrong with you?” I shout.
Giselle gets in my face, and her voice goes ice cold. “I’m here to get Hunter back. He’s mine. Always has been.”
“You’re delusional,” I belittle, “He’s moved on.”
“With you?” Giselle spits as she takes a step back.
Is she dumb? It’s not like I haven’t made my point clear.
“Yes,” I shriek.
She looks me up and down condescendingly. “It’s cute you think that it’ll last. It won’t.”
The muscles in my jaw harden. “You’re wrong. He loves me. They all do.”
Giselle scoffs. “Hunter doesn’t share. I know that for a fact. Whatever is going on here isn’t going to last.” She gives me a sad, evil smile. “You think you’re the first woman to come through here, claiming the guys are in love with them?”
Her vile nags at the doubts lingering in the back of my mind, and I don’t like it.
Grabbing her wrist, I lead her out of the bathroom. “You need to leave.”
Giselle slips her hand from mine just inside Hunter’s bedroom. “Do you honestly think that they’ll be satisfied with you? You think you’re enough?”
The doubts are getting louder.
“I—”
Giselle cuts me off. “Let me give it to you straight. As soon as they lose interest, they’ll kick you to the curb. I’ve seen it happen many times before.”
“No.”
My response is more for myself than it is for her.
Giselle’s eyes turn predatory. “They don’t actually love you,” she sneers.
She can’t be right. I don’t want her to be. But what if she is? What if her claims have merit? I don’t know if I could handle it.
Heavy footsteps echo through the penthouse, closing in on us. Hunter charges into his bedroom. His face is full of fury.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Giselle?” Hunter booms.
I know he isn’t talking to me, but something in his voice ignites my fight or flight response.
This time, my body chooses flight.
“Savannah, wait!” Hunter hollers as I sprint for the exit.
I pass by Hollis Kane just outside Hunter’s bedroom. “Savannah, what’s—” But I don’t stop to talk.
I make it to the elevator, and thankfully, the car is there waiting for me. Pressing the button for the lobby rather than the parking garage, I bounce on the balls of my feet.
“Savannah! Stop!”
My head snaps up, and I find Hunter barreling right for me. He’s less than five feet away when the doors begin to close. When they come together, I hear a loud bang on the other side, and I assume it’s Hunter releasing his frustration.
Shifting my weight from side to side, I watch as the number gets smaller, letting me know I’m almost out of here.
With a ding, the metal barriers part, and I’m off. Pushing through the glass door, the cold hits me in the face, and I’m reminded that I left my coat on the couch upstairs.
Oh well. Can’t go back for it now.
Because it’s Christmas Eve, the street is practically empty. The night sky casts a dark shadow over the city, but lamp posts light my way.
As I run toward the street corner, I hear someone call my name.
“Savannah!”
I don’t slow my pace.
“Abaddon!” the voice shouts again, and someone grabs my upper arm, jerking me to a stop.
Whirling around, I come face to face with my pursuer. “Slicer?”
He looks genuinely relieved as his eyes close, and he sighs. “I’m so glad I caught you.”
“Get away from me,” I snap as I attempt to yank myself free.
His grip tightens. “I’m trying to tell you something.”
“I don’t want to know,” I yell in his face, and reach for the knife in my pocket.
Slicer’s focus moves past me and over my shoulder, and his eyes widen. My body freezes as I turn my head to find the source of Slicer’s fear.
I squint my eyes, trying to make the figure take shape. “Jeremy?”
Jeremy lifts his arm, and there’s no mistaking the item in his hand. I squeeze my eyes shut and flinch as the gun goes off. I wait for the pain, but it never comes.
Slowly, I open my eyes, searching my body for the bullet. When I don’t find it there, I turn my head.
Red liquid leaks out of a small dark hole in the center of Slicer’s chest.
Slicer’s face is pinched. He releases my arm, and his hands clutch at his chest. He stumbles backward and collapses to the ground.
My pulse roars in my ears as I stare down at Slicer’s body. His eyes are open and staring at me, but the life in them is long gone.
An arm wraps around my middle, pulling me backward, and a leather hand covers my mouth. I scream on instinct, but it’s muffled.
“You’re mine, My Daisy,” Jeremy whispers sinisterly.
My survival instinct kicks in. I open my mouth as wide as I can and bite down on Jeremy’s hand as hard as possible. I feel tendons and ligaments shift beneath my teeth.
Jeremy relinquishes his hold, and I don’t hesitate to take off running again. Unfortunately, Jeremy’s reflexes are fast. I only get a few strides away when he catches me again, but this time he doesn’t cover my mouth. Instead, I feel a prick on the side of my neck.
“You’re not getting away from me,” he seethes.
The energy in my entire body quickly drains away. No matter how much I try, I can’t hold onto it. It’s like trying to catch smoke with my hands.
As my world goes black, Jeremy purrs, “My Daisy.”