33. Hunter
Hunter
“ W e have to turn the plane around,” says Mace.
I drag my gaze from the shredded divorce papers to my brother, annoyed that he gets to be the one to demand we turn back. Maddie deserves more from me. At the very least, she deserves a say in our future. She’s my wife, and it’s time I stopped letting my older brother dictate our next chapter.
“We’re not turning the fucking plane around for anyone,” Ash says, his voice as soft as granite. “We have a job to do.”
Mace lifts his cell phone. “The Emerson’s jet took off from Chicago as soon as Alice’s feet hit the ground, and it’s heading for the airfield we just left. Whoever’s onboard has business in Brimstage, and you can bet they’re not interested in the fucking paper mill.”
My stomach hollows. Barrett’s going after Maddie. “Tell the pilot to turn back. Now!” I yell at Mace as I scramble for my phone. My brother races to the front of the plane, but my focus is on Maddie. I dial her number, and then I wait. And wait. “Fuck! She’s not picking up.”
“Jake, get over to Maddie’s place,” I hear Ash order, his cell pressed to his ear. Jake must sound too casual because Ash loses it with his next instruction. “Right. Fucking. Now! We need to secure her by any means. Find her and keep her safe until we get there.”
I have to grab hold of a seat as the plane tilts. Mace reappears. “We’re about twenty minutes behind Barrett.”
“It’s a trap, isn’t it?” Reid says, looking at me. “This whole thing with Alice was to get us away from Brimstage.” He’s gathering up his papers, including the pages Maddie had shredded. None of us want to look at the evidence that proves she was braver than any of us.
“Barrett needed us out of the way so he could make his move,” I’m forced to agree. “And it’s going to be his last damn move if I have anything to do with it.”
“We will get back in time. Right?” Reid asks. “Twenty minutes is nothing. And Jake’s going to be at the house before anyone else can get to her.”
I want to believe he’s right, but before I can dare to hope, the sound of Maddie’s scream cuts through the silence. Fear like I’ve never known before consumes me, and I grab Mace’s cell. It’s a live feed to the Corbyn house, but it’s only audio.
I can’t see what’s happening. I don’t know who’s with Maddie, or what they’re doing to her.
I have to stop myself from crushing the phone in my fist. It’s my only connection to my wife.
I can’t do anything but listen on helplessly.
My heart pounds in my chest. I should be there, not thousands of feet in the air.
“Stop fighting, you stupid bitch!” a man shouts. “I’ll knock some sense into you if I have to!”
“That’s Ray,” Ash mutters above the sound of struggling.
“Get off me, asshole!” Maddie shouts, and I’m only marginally relieved that she sounds more pissed than afraid.
“Fuck you and fuck Barrett! You’re not taking me anywhere!
I do not belong to that limp-dicked douchebag!
I belong to Hunter. And I’m going to enjoy watching him cut off your balls for touching what’s his! ”
I notice Ash smirk. “Just give Maddie another ten minutes with him, and Ray will be regretting his life choices,” he says, attempting to reassure me. “He’s not going to hurt her, Hunter. It’s not Ray’s style.”
“He’s an ex soldier,” I remind him. “And a dead one for threatening my wife.”
We listen to Maddie being bundled out of the house, and then silence falls. It’s worse than listening to her struggling because now I have to fill in the gaps.
“Do you think he’s taking her to meet the plane?” Reid asks.
“Without a doubt,” says Ash. “Message Jake and tell him to divert to the airfield instead, and to take every spare man. We need to be ready for anything.” To Mace he asks, “How sure are you that Barrett’s on the jet?”
“I’m not. It’s only a presumption until he appears elsewhere. I’ll keep monitoring.” Mace says reaching out to take his phone back.
It’s a wrench to hand it over because, even though the listening device at Maddie’s house is streaming nothing but eerie silence, it’s the last link I have to her.
It was a relief to hear her give Ray an earful of abuse, but it’s the comment she made about me that replays in my mind.
She belongs to me, and no one else should be laying a hand on her. She’s mine. And damn it, I’m hers .
I roll up my shirt sleeves as I pace up and down the plane, clenching and unclenching my fists.
“Hunter, sit down,” Ash orders.
Cords line my forearms as I shoot him a glare.
“I’m done listening to you,” I hiss. Until I can get my hands on Ray, my brother is the next best target for my anger.
“And I’m done sacrificing my soul for the greater good.
What’s it all for?” I slice my hands through empty air.
“Who do we come home to when we’re sick of dealing with the scum who are our enemies, and the scum who we claim as friends? Who do we do it for, Ash?”
My brother’s jaw ticks where he’s grinding his teeth. “We do it for people like Dad – the decent, hard-working people who are exploited by the likes of the Emersons.”
“And do you think Dad would be proud of who we’ve become? And I’m not talking about our achievements. Would he admire us for who we are?” I ask. “Or would he think we’ve turned into the unfeeling, heartless monsters we claim to oppose?”
“Have you forgotten what love did to him?”
“Not at all,” I answer. “The love of the wrong woman ruined him. But the love of the right woman saved him.”
“Even the good ones come with a price that has to be paid eventually,” he says, flicking his gaze towards Reid, who has the same generous heart as our stepmom.
I shake my head. “At least Dad was brave enough to hold on to Lisa for as long as he could. He didn’t throw her away.”
It’s only when Ash flinches, that I realize the comment applies as much to him as it does to me. My brother thought he’d found the right woman once, and like me, he fooled himself into thinking the only way to protect her was to reject her love .
“If you two have stopped bickering, I have news,” Mace interrupts. “Barrett’s just arrived at some gala event in New York. It looks like he’s sent an empty jet to collect Maddie.”
“He’s creating the perfect alibi so he can deny all knowledge of the abduction if it doesn’t go to plan,” Ash mutters.
“It won’t fucking go to plan,” I insist. No one is taking Maddie from me. No one is putting my little bird back in a cage. Not ever again.
I sink into a seat, relieved that she isn’t within Barrett’s grasp just yet, but also a little disappointed that there isn’t going to be a confrontation where I can justify putting a bullet in his head.
Alice would not be pleased if that happened. And how would Maddie react to seeing me take a life? It’s one thing to know I’d engineered her brother’s accidental overdose, but would she still want me if she saw the blood lust running through my veins right now?
“What’s Ray’s ETA?” I ask Mace. “Will we land before he reaches the airfield?”
“It’s going to be close,” Mace warns.