Chapter 13 Zoey
ZOEY
“What’s wrong?” Hunter asks me.
My heart’s pounding so fast, I can hear it in my ears. The tiny hairs on the back of my neck and along my arms are standing at attention, wanting to run away as badly as the rest of me does.
Breathe, Zoey.
I glance around, wondering if he’s hiding somewhere nearby, watching me.
“Zoey,” Hunter says, and his warm hand touches my arm.
I’m not expecting the touch, and I jolt backward.
“Babe, you okay? You look like you saw a ghost.”
“Inside,” I whisper. “We need to go inside.” I say the words, but I don’t move. It’s like the fear has my feet stuck to the floor and my body on lockdown.
Hunter reaches for the doorknob, opening my apartment door. When I still don’t move, he takes the flowers from me and places them back where I found them before he takes the card from my hands and tucks it into his pocket. “Inside,” he says, his voice laced with command.
My body drifts through the doorway, through the foyer, and straight to my couch. It’s as if I’m on autopilot. Memory overtakes my entire being.
“Sit,” Hunter tells me, and I do without a second thought.
Hunter’s beside me a moment later, his body turned toward mine, Harlow still over his arm, but I can’t bring myself to look at his face. “Who are they from?”
“Mark,” I whisper as I twist my fingers together in my lap, trying to calm my mind and give it something else to focus on besides the panic.
Hunter sets his hand on my arm near my wrist, and I don’t pull away. There’s something about him that makes me feel at peace by his closeness. “Who is Mark?” he asks.
I close my eyes, wishing I could erase that whole part of my life. I was so dumb and careless. I’m not blaming myself for what happened, but for being so reckless in my decisions. I thought it couldn’t happen to me. I was too smart for that, but boy was I wrong.
“A guy I was seeing.”
“He’s your ex?”
“We didn’t date. He was more of a…”
“You slept with him.” There’s no judgment in his tone. “A hookup.”
I’m my harshest critic in this moment. “Yeah. Something bad happened, and I didn’t think I’d ever hear from him again.”
He tightens his fingers around my wrist. “What does bad mean exactly?”
“I don’t want to talk about it, but it was supposed to be handled. He was supposed to be in prison for a long time.”
“Prison? Fuck,” Hunter hisses.
I nod. I steel my back and force out the story in a short and concise way, needing to tell him what happened without all the gory details.
“He attacked Lulu because she and I confronted him about what he did to me. Oliver beat the living crap out of him afterward, but Mark went on trial. He was sentenced to five years, and it hasn’t been that long. He’s not supposed to be out already.”
“We should call the cops,” he says.
“No,” I beg, finally dragging my gaze away from my lap and to his eyes. “Don’t.”
“Why?” He strokes his thumb over the skin near my wrist, giving me something else to focus on besides my pounding heart. “You’re petrified.”
“I need to talk to Lulu and Oliver first. They’ll be here soon.” I blink a few times, shaking myself out of the haze of fear and rage. “Shit. Harlow.”
“I have her,” he says with a soft smile. “She’s asleep. Well, at least I think she’s asleep. I can’t see her eyes.”
My eyes move from his face to my little niece’s. “Yep. She’s out like a light.”
Hunter shifts and leans back against the cushions. “Come here,” he says, motioning for me to get closer to his side.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I move into his side, letting him pull me against him. His body is warm and hard as I sink into him.
“Relax a minute. Mark isn’t going to get you. You’re safe.”
I’m safe. He’s not here. I’m safe.
I keep repeating those words to myself, trying to control my breathing and my heart.
It’s going to be okay.
I’m going to be okay.
“Close your eyes for a minute,” Hunter says, his voice as soothing as his arm that’s wrapped around me. “Think of a happy day or place.”
“Being with my family in Florida,” I say softly.
“Florida sounds good right now.”
“Lying on the beach in the sun would be amazing.”
“Think of how you felt lying on the beach. Focus on that for a minute. Picture it in your mind.”
“Are you secretly a therapist?” My body shakes as Hunter laughs.
“No, but I’ve done enough of it that I know what to do.”
It’s not even a little concerning that he’s been to therapy. Hell, I did too after what happened because my head wasn’t right for a long time.
“Think about the warmth of the sun on your skin…”
He keeps talking, and somewhere along the way, I let myself get too comfortable. I don’t know how long passes, but when I open my eyes and turn my head, Hunter’s eyes are closed, and he and Harlow are both fast asleep.
My phone buzzes in my lap, and I snatch it up, not wanting them to wake.
Lulu: On our way. Be there in five.
I untangle myself from Hunter’s arms, careful not to make the couch dip as I try to stand.
But my butt doesn’t make it six inches off the couch before Hunter says, “Hey.”
“Sorry,” I tell him and let my ass drop back onto the couch.
“For what?”
“I was trying not to wake you.”
“I was barely asleep.”
The way he was breathing, he was on that beach with me, but I’m not going to argue.
“You have to be tired after working all day. I’m sorry.”
“Zoey, babe. Stop apologizing. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
I blink a few times as I stare at him. “Sorry.” I groan, realizing I say that word way too much, especially lately. “Shit.”
Hunter’s smile makes my heart skip, but in a good way, which is a nice change after the way this night has gone.
“Lulu’s almost here.”
“We need to talk to her and Oliver.”
We?
“I can do it. You can go home and go to bed.”
Hunter shakes his head. “I’m not going anywhere.”
My gaze dips to Harlow, who’s still asleep in his arms. “You’re a baby whisperer.”
Hunter smiles at me as he lifts his arms, Harlow’s legs and arms dangling like she doesn’t have a care in the world and she knows she’s in a safe spot. “She’s a tired little thing.”
“Well, she wore herself out with Aunt Zoey, who doesn’t know what to do with something so little.”
“Babysitting is hard.”
“That’s no lie,” I say, but it hasn’t been an issue for him. “I don’t think I could do this every day.”
“If I did it, anyone can,” he says, like somehow when you become a parent, you just know what to do, which I know isn’t true.
My phone buzzes again.
Lulu: We’re here.
“They’re here,” I tell him and go to stand, but Hunter grabs my wrist to keep me where I am. “I’ll get the door.”
“But I…” My words get twisted in my mouth, and I don’t know what the right thing to say is. “I can get the door. It’s my door.”
It’s my door? Ugh. What’s wrong with me? Between Mark being Mark and Hunter’s chivalry, I’m a hot mess and not as smooth as I usually am.
“Not tonight,” he says and moves Harlow toward me, wanting me to take her.
He places her in my arms, and thankfully, the kid doesn’t wake up. She barely moves. She’s oblivious to everything happening around her. She has no idea that she has an aunt who’s a train wreck.
I stay on the couch with Harlow in my arms as Hunter goes to the door and opens it, placing himself in the doorway. He glances left and then right, surveying the area.
“Anyone?” I ask, trying to keep the tremble out of my tone.
“Your sister,” he says as he waves to her down the hallway. “And Oliver.”
“What’s wrong?” Lulu asks, her voice carrying down the hallway.
“Nothing. Harlow’s asleep,” he answers, and if I didn’t know better, which I do, I’d believe him.
“Oh. Flowers,” Lulu says, and I can see her shadow moving as she starts to bend down.
“Leave them,” Hunter tells her, and she freezes.
“What’s up?” Oliver asks, his shadow joining Lulu’s as she straightens.
“Come in,” Hunter tells them and moves his large body out of the doorway.
Lulu rushes into the apartment, her eyes finding me as soon as she’s inside. “What happened? Who sent the flowers?”
“Mark,” I say, and her entire body goes rigid as she nearly skids to a stop.
Oliver wraps his hands around her shoulders. “Was there a card?”
“Got it,” Hunter tells him before I have a chance to open my mouth. Hunter fishes the tiny card out of his pocket and hands it to Oliver.
“What’s it say?” Lulu asks, trying to see, but Oliver’s too tall for her even in her stiletto boots that are not winter-appropriate.
“Thinking of you,” Oliver says in a tone that isn’t soft and probably exactly the way Mark meant it.
“Fuck. I’m going to kill him,” Lulu says as she snatches the card out of Oliver’s hand. She starts to pace, tapping the scrap of paper against her palm. “What the hell happened?”
“He must be out,” Oliver replies, swiping his hand down his cheek before scratching his beard.
“I thought they were supposed to notify me when he was released,” I tell him, my stomach twisting to the point that I nearly double over.
“I’ll call my buddy on the force. We’ll get this figured out. You still have a restraining order in place?” Oliver asks me.
Somewhere in the madness, Hunter grabbed my hand, and I missed it. He gives me a light squeeze when I don’t answer right away, and my mind shifts back to the present.
“It’s still valid.”
“I’ll stay here with her tonight,” Lulu tells Oliver.
“I’ll be fine,” I say, but no one seems to be paying any attention to me.
“No, sweetheart. I’ll do it,” Oliver argues as he pulls my sister into his arms and places a kiss on her head.
They’re disgustingly cute. Oliver is a catch and one of the best guys I know. He is so much like the men in our family that it was easy for him to slip right in like he’d always been a member.
“I’m staying here with her,” Hunter tells them, his eyes meeting mine like he expects me to argue. “You two need to go home and take care of this munchkin.”
I’m not going to argue with Hunter. The last thing I want to do tonight is be by myself. What if Mark is lurking in the building, waiting for his chance when I’m finally alone?
Maybe in a few hours when I’m more comfortable and nothing happens, Hunter can go home, and I’ll feel safe here by myself.
If I tell him no, my sister or Oliver won’t leave, and they need to go back to their place with my sweet little niece.
“Oh Jesus,” Lulu mutters, peeling out of Oliver’s arms to where Harlow is sleeping in my arms. “I got so wrapped up, and she’s so quiet…”
“She’s been sleeping for a while,” Hunter tells my sister as I give Harlow back to her.
“My girl is a snuggler like her mom.”
I tilt my head back and stare at my sister. “Since when have you been a snuggler?”
She lifts her chin and doesn’t meet my eyes. “Since Oliver. We do a cuddle pile. The three of us.”
I scrunch my nose. “There are things I don’t need to know.”
“I’ll make some calls on the way back to our place and let you know what I find out. If anything happens, call the cops first and me next,” Oliver explains to Hunter. “If someone gets in, shoot first and ask questions later.”
Hunter looks at Oliver and then at me. “I don’t have a gun.”
“She does,” Oliver says plainly, like we’re talking about something less deadly.
“I have a taser too.” I give him a timid smile, pretending to be more innocent than I am.
After the attack, I learned to shoot and protect myself because I never wanted to be a victim again. If I have to, which I hope I don’t, I will do what I need to do to survive.
“Well, huh,” Hunter mutters, looking at me like I’m not the same woman I was a few minutes ago.
“They’re locked up,” I explain.
“Unlock them. Put them out,” Oliver tells me, sounding very much like my father rather than my brother-in-law. “You don’t want to be fumbling around for them.”
“I’ve got her. She’ll be safe,” Hunter says, and for the first time in a long time, I feel like I am.