Chapter 21
TWENTY-ONE
KYLIE
I thought Carter was sleeping as I paced back and forth in Hunter’s bedroom. Hunter had been gone for hours now, and I had no idea what was happening. Already I was regretting every single decision I had made today.
I shouldn’t have gone to Tony’s place by myself, I shouldn’t have returned here and I most definitely shouldn’t have encouraged Hunter to go back out there and beat up the father of my child.
I had been so angry, so afraid that Tony would take Carter away that in the heat of the moment, I wanted nothing more than for Hunter to take care of it.
Now, I was worried that he would kill Tony, that I would be responsible for the death of the man who had given me Carter. How would I ever explain it to my son? What was I going to say if Carter asked me where his father was?
“Mommy?” I heard Carter’s soft muffled voice from the bed, and I rushed to him.
“I’m here, baby. Everything is okay,” I said to him, kneeling down on the floor beside the bed.
Was I completely out of my mind? I had just carried Carter into Hunter’s bedroom without permission. What was happening to me?
“Are we in Hunter’s house?” he asked, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles as he tried to wake up.
“Yes, honey…just for a while longer. You go back to sleep, baby. I’ll take you home soon,” I said and stroked his hair, trying to smile.
“Mommy, you’re sad,” he said and pouted his little lips. I had been crying, and now he could see the bruise on my face. I had managed to wipe most of the blood off my lips, along with the smudged makeup, in the hopes that it wouldn’t scare Carter, but the bruise was something that I couldn’t hide.
“You’re hurt, Mommy!” he squealed when he saw it and jumped up in bed.
“No, honey. I’m fine…I’m not hurt. Go back to sleep, baby,” I cooed and tried to gently push him back into bed, but he was struggling in my arms.
“Where is Hunter?” he squealed, and in his voice, I heard the attachment he had already formed with Hunter.
I felt a pull in my heart. I had left the two of them alone for a couple of hours, and they had already bonded.
I couldn’t help but smile at my son as I pulled him into my arms and hugged him tightly.
“He’ll be back soon, baby. Hunter’s just gone to work,” I said. My words were choking in my throat, but Carter believed me and lay back down on the bed. I pulled the covers over him, tucked him back in and kissed his forehead.
“Go back to sleep, baby. Hunter will be back soon then we can go home,” I said. I watched him for a while as his eyes drooped, and he started to drift off to sleep again.
I was wringing my hands, and in a panic, I stood up again.
I walked over to the window and looked out into the night.
There was no sign of Hunter. He had said he would ask one of his friends to come over and stand guard at the front door, but I was too afraid to look through the peephole and check.
I was too afraid of what I might find there.
If I had just gone to my parents…or anywhere else…to one of my old friends…then all this could have been avoided. Then Hunter wouldn’t have known what Tony did to me, and he wouldn’t have gone out in search of him. Was he going to kill him? I couldn’t get that thought out of my head.
If Tony died, it would mean that Carter and I could finally move on and live our life in peace, but on the other hand, I couldn’t help but think how guilty I would feel for the rest of my life if I caused his death.
Was Hunter capable of that? I knew he had the strength for it; I knew how powerful he was.
He was easily stronger than Tony had ever been.
If Hunter killed him, he seemed like he wouldn’t even regret it.
Had he killed before? What had I gotten myself into? !
I jumped when I heard the sound of a bike outside, and I rushed to the window again to look out.
Downstairs, I saw Hunter get off his bike and start taking his helmet off.
Just one look at him made my heart leap.
I wanted to be in his arms; I wanted him to stroke my hair again… to just forget all this.
Another muscular man with tattoos walked out of the building then and went straight for Hunter.
I couldn’t hear what the two of them were saying, but I guessed that this was the friend who Hunter had assigned to the front door.
The two men shook hands, patted each other’s shoulders and then the friend got on his bike and sped off.
I watched Hunter walk into the building, and I went over to check on Carter. He was fast asleep. Taking in a deep breath to prepare myself for what I was about to hear, I went out of the bedroom and stood in the living room, waiting for Hunter.
I could hear his footsteps outside on the stairs then I saw the turn of the doorknob, and Hunter stepped in. He saw me standing in the living room with my hands nervously clasped together.
“I thought you’d be asleep by now,” he said.
“What happened?” I cried and rushed straight at him. Hunter dropped his helmet to the floor and held his arms open, and I sank into him immediately.
I buried my face in his chest, muffling my voice in his clothes, and I felt like I could finally breathe again.
He was holding me tightly, running his hands up and down my back, and I could feel his breath falling hotly on top of my head.
When I looked up at his face, I could see his blue eyes were still stormy, his face firmly set.
“Hunter?” I said his name in the hopes that he would give me some clue.
“I said I’d take care of it,” he said, and then pressing his lips to my forehead for a quick kiss, he started to gently extract my arms away from him. I watched in horror as he walked over to the kitchen counter and started pouring himself a glass of water.
“What did you do?” I couldn’t control the shriek in my voice. How could he be so calm? Why wasn’t he telling me? I knew for sure now that Tony was dead.
Hunter took his time drinking his glass of water. When he was done, he placed the glass down on the counter and turned his eyes to me again.
“Calm down, Kylie,” he said in a gruff adult voice, like he was trying to handle a naughty child.
I walked up to him, my chest heaving with every harsh breath I took in.
“You killed him, didn’t you? You killed Tony!” I shrieked, forgetting that Carter was asleep in the room next door. Hunter’s eyes widened with surprise, and then he turned his face away from me lazily.
“Would that be so bad? After what he’s done to you?” he asked and crossed his arms over his chest. I couldn’t deal with how calm he was behaving. When he left the apartment earlier, he was raging mad, and now he was the picture of peace and harmony.
I chewed on my bottom lip, my nostrils flaring with panic. “I don’t want him dead, Hunter…I don’t want anyone dead. That is not how I deal with situations,” I snapped at him, and he gazed at me lazily again.
“Can I just say that your method of dealing with situations hasn’t really worked, and it will never work with a man like him,” Hunter said, and I recognized a hint of anger in his voice. He was right. Nothing I’d tried to date had worked with that monster, but killing him wasn’t the answer, either.
“I’m sorry!” I cried and lifted my hands to my face as the tears started rolling down my cheeks. “I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, Hunter. I was angry and afraid, but I didn’t want you to kill him. Whatever Tony is, he is also Carter’s father,” I sobbed, and Hunter stepped towards me.
“And he will never come near Carter or you again,” I heard him say then I felt his hands on mine, gently prying them away from my face.
“I don’t want to see you crying ever again, Kylie.
I hate it. It makes me mad,” he said, and I tried to blink the tears away from my eyes.
When I looked at him, I could see that he was telling the truth.
He looked sad, not angry…so I took in a deep breath.
I didn’t want him to be upset, because I was crying.
“Is he dead?” I asked him, and Hunter stared back at me blankly.
“No,” he said, and I let out a raspy breath of relief. “But he will be if he ever tries anything with you again,” he was quick to add, and I lunged at him. I had thrown my arms around his neck, and he was kissing me again. It was a deep slow kiss, and I was glad that I was in his arms.
“Kylie…” he said my name in a hoarse whisper and pulled himself from me.
“I think I love you. I don’t know what that means, because I’ve never felt it before, but I think I fucking love you,” he said, and I wanted to burst out laughing.
I had never imagined those words to ever come out of Hunter’s mouth.
I couldn’t believe that he was actually saying it.
He had seen the amusement in my eyes, and for a moment, he looked like he was hurt.
“I’m in love with you, too, Hunter…and so is Carter,” I said, and I kissed him again.
This time, too, the kiss was less hungry but more affectionate.
I couldn’t remember the last time someone had kissed me like this, like they meant it, like they wanted more than just my body.
He had no idea what he was capable of making me feel.
“Is Carter asleep?” he asked hoarsely when we parted after several minutes. I could feel my lips throbbing from the force of our kiss. They felt plump and swollen when I ran my tongue over them.
“Yes, I think so,” I replied, and Hunter stepped away from me.