Chapter 2
The Bullet That Changed Everything
Hunter
The moment I laid my eyes on her, I just couldn’t look away. How she was hiding away under that table. Her dark brown, wavy hair covered her gorgeous face with a tension-filled expression.
Lina. I didn’t know her name until James whispered it in the car, but somehow, it fits her—a soft name, too gentle for the shit storm she just walked into.
Well, I brought her to this shit storm myself.
I should’ve left her. She’s not our problem. She’s a complication we don’t need. But her scream—it cut through the noise, sharp and raw.
It did something to me. I can’t explain it, but it was like a hook buried in my chest, yanking me toward her.
This was supposed to be a routine operation—an easy hit to remind the Armadas to stay the hell out of our territory.
Instead, it turned into a goddamn spectacle. A public restaurant, innocent people everywhere, bullets flying like fireworks. Idiots.
It’s a few hours after the mission, and I’m sitting on the balcony of our mansion, dressed in my robe, sipping on coffee. Lina’s presence here isn’t letting me sleep at all.
I dropped her into an empty guest room in the mansion and left some pills next to her on the nightstand.
Suddenly, the door creaks open and I quickly turn around, pointing my revolver. But it’s just James popping up behind me.
He holds his hands up jokingly. “Bro, you seriously have to chill.”
“James.” I put the gun down. “What are you doing here?”
I rub the bridge of my nose, the tension sitting heavy between my brows.
“Hunter,” James says, his voice low but with that edge of disapproval. “I was wondering about the little pet you brought home.”
I know what he’s asking. Bringing her along? It’s reckless, even for me.
“Her name is Lina,” I correct him.
“Well, Lina stole something valuable from the Armadas. That flash drive she took? I put it into my computer to see what’s on it, and it’s got some heavy shit on it.
Details about their warehouses, a money trail, a lot of things that can help us.
But, my guess is these incriminating details weren’t supposed to be ours.
And now, they’ll be after her like dogs—trying to track down the person that has this information on them. ”
“I don’t see the problem. We have information on the Armadas.
And, if anything, this gives us more of a reason to keep her here.
” I pause as James rolls his eyes at me.
“I hurt her, James. Until she’s healed I’m not letting her go.
And now, knowing the Armadas could be after her, we have to protect her. I have to protect her.”
“I understand what you’re saying, Hunter. But, do you really think she is our responsibility?” he asks me, leaning against the railing and lighting up a smoke between his fingers.
I place my elbows on my knees, my hands wrapped around the cup of coffee. I keep my voice even. “You saw what happened back there. It was our bullet that grazed her arm. Our fight is with the Armadas, not an innocent civilian. So, yeah, I do think it’s our responsibility to make sure she’s okay.”
James turns slightly, his golden-brown eyes meeting mine.
“And you think dragging her into our world is the better option? Right now she’s just grazed her arm, but things get bad around us, Hunter.
And if you think you’re capable of keeping her safe, or even making up for what we did, you’re a bigger fool than I thought. ..”
“She’s safer with us than on her own,” I snap, sharper than I mean to.
“Besides, if I’d left her there, some Armadas asshole would’ve killed her for sport.
You want that? You want her dead? Because that’s what would’ve happened.
And if I remember correctly, it was you who said we’re not like the Armadas filth. We don’t target innocent people.”
James doesn’t respond immediately. He’s calm and calculated. I admire that about him, even when it drives me crazy.
“Wow, it’s like you’ve turned me into a mother. I deal with you about bringing a pet home and deal with Callum whining about why it is a bad idea,” he laughs.
The door opens again and Callum walks out this time, almost as if on cue. “I am not whining, I am speaking facts that you guys are turning a blind eye to.”
I turn around to look at him, almost feeling that rage coming up again. We fall silent for a moment.
Callum’s voice cuts through the tense silence. “This is a mistake. It’s not our responsibility to help or protect her.”
I glance at him. He’s staring daggers at me.
“Noted,” I mutter, my irritation bubbling again. Callum loves to point out problems, but offering solutions? That’s never been his thing.
“I’m the leader,” James chimes in. “Let me make the call here.”
“The call should be to get rid of the problem, which that Moretti girl is,” Callum answers.
“I mean… she’s definitely not in the right place but,” James thinks for a moment, “we can wait for her injury to heal and send her away. I can even have someone keep an eye on her, no matter how unnecessary that may be, just to make sure there’s no threat to her life—if that makes Hunter feel better. ..”
The thought of her leaving the mansion hits me like a punch to my gut. I chug down the last bit of my coffee and slam the cup on the table.
“I’m gonna go to bed,” I excuse myself and leave.
As I walk away from the balcony, I feel my comrades staring at me, knowing that what I am doing is reckless.
However, I can’t help it. When my eyes met her eyes at that moment, I knew that there was more to how I felt towards her.
I walk to my room downstairs, passing by the door of her room, a light switched on inside. The door is left ajar.
I look inside and notice that she is awake. Holding her arm steady, she grabs the painkillers I left for her. She chugs them down with some water.
I smile, seeing that so far, she is doing just fine. She moves a little, careful of her arm, and tries to fall back asleep again.
I return to my quarters, weary from all the battles of the day.
The next morning’s sun barely filters through the heavy curtains in the mansion’s main hall. Despite the brightness, the tension hanging in the air feels thick and suffocating, like a storm that hasn’t quite broken yet.
The other members of the gang can sense it. They steer clear of me, knowing that the vein in my head will pop at any time.
I stand in the kitchen, stirring a cup of black coffee and trying to focus on anything but the gnawing irritation that’s been clawing at me.
Callum’s voice keeps playing in my head, his accusations ringing louder with each passing minute.
Bringing Lina here was the right call. I’m sure of it.
But Callum... that dumbass knows how to push my buttons.
As if summoned by my thoughts, I hear the heavy stomp of boots approaching. Callum storms into the kitchen, his dark eyes locked on me.
I know instantly there isn’t going to be a civil conversation.
“You’re up early,” I mutter, taking a sip of my coffee.
“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep,” he bites back. “Not with her in the house.”
“Well, sounds like your problem,” I roll my eyes.
“Of course, you don’t care. You’re turning into a little Romeo right now, aren’t you?” he mocks me, pouring himself some coffee too.
Some of the members pop their heads in. I don’t blame them; it is free entertainment.
I set my mug down, my patience wearing thin. “What’s your problem, Callum?”
“My problem?” He steps closer, his voice rising. “My problem is that you dragged some random chick into our lives, into our business, without thinking about the consequences! We operate underground, taking tons of risks every day. We aren’t a group of idiotic tea party girls.”
“She’s not just some random chick,” I snap. “She’s… someone we hurt. And if we left her out there, she could have actually been killed by one of the Armadas men. Did you want that?”
All I care about is if she was out there in that cafe, her life would’ve been under threat. And for some reason, I can’t bear the thought of that.
“Okay well, if she stays here and creates issues, I’ll finish the job myself. I’d rather we survive than her anyway,” Callum fires back. “That’s the job, Hunter. Survive. Not play the hero.”
His words hit a nerve, and I can feel my temper slipping. “She’s not a threat to us, Callum.”
“She’s a liability,” he growls, stepping even closer.
“You think the Armadas won’t come sniffing around here?
Especially with that stupid flash drive.
You think we won’t be in some kind of life or death situation soon enough?
You’re putting her life at a greater risk, and all of us too with her being here.
And for what? Because you felt sorry for her, or you’re into her?
You can have any other girl. Take your goddamn pick! ”
I’ve had enough. It’s one thing to not want her here, but to threaten her life? It brings something out in me, something I haven’t felt in a long time.
“Watch your mouth,” I warn, my fists clenching at my sides.
“Or what?” Callum smirks, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “You gonna hit me? Prove how big and brutish you are?”
The last thread of my self-control snaps. Without thinking, I shove my fist at him hard, sending him stumbling back into the counter.
“That’s enough!” James' voice booms from the doorway, but neither of us listens.
I lunge at him, grabbing him by the collar and slamming him into the wall.
“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!” I shout, my face inches from his.
“I know you’re thinking with your goddamn emotions,” Callum spits back, venomously.
Before I can throw another punch, a firm hand grabs my shoulder and yanks me back. James steps between us, glaring at us with fury.
“Enough!” he roars, shoving Callum back as well.
We both stagger, panting and glaring at each other.
James' hand shoots out, and before I can react, he slaps me and then Callum across the face with enough force to snap our heads to the side.