1. Hunter #2
To Hugo, I add, “You might want to take a look at your messages.” It’s actually Maddison who needs to see the video we’ve sent, but I’m guessing there are no pockets in amongst those layers upon layers of frills.
Barrett wins the race to check his phone, and as he stares at the screen, he pinches the bridge of his nose and mutters under his breath.
Hugo’s the next to look at his cell. His eyes widen, but only briefly. “This could be from months or even years ago,” he says, ready to dismiss the explicit video of Barrett and a woman who is the polar opposite of Maddison.
The escort on screen is a regular of Barrett’s, and while she might be a beauty in her own right, she doesn’t have the bride’s blond complexion or elfin features. Or Maddison’s dazzling blue eyes that widen when she’s shuffled close enough to look over her brother’s shoulder.
“Play it with the sound on,” she says, taking the words right out of my mouth.
“Maddison, we’re not going to be played by this…” Hugo looks me up and down. “Whoever you are. You’ve had your fun, now kindly leave.”
When Barrett chuckles, the skin on my knuckles itches with an urgent need to make contact with his face. I reassess Maddison. No one could be foolish enough to think her betrothal is a love match, but are her family’s standards that low? Seriously?
Her eyes snap up to catch me staring at her. It isn’t difficult to read her expression. I might be doing her a favor in the long run, but right now, she hates me.
“Unlike your fiancé,” I say, taking the opportunity to remind her that she isn’t Mrs. Emerson yet, “I’m the kind of man who listens. You want sound on the video? Let me oblige.”
I’m almost tempted to snap my fingers as if it’s some magic trick, but as much as I trust Mace and his wizardry, clicking my fingers at him would ensure I’m met with silence. I lift my head to the ceiling of the old chapel as the first groans echo through the rafters.
“I could fuck you all day,” Barrett’s voice rasps. Mace has the audio turned up so loud that I can hear the slap of skin on skin as Barrett takes his companion from behind.
“Oh, Barrett. I’m going to miss you when you’re married.”
“You think marrying some frigid bitch would stop me fucking you? I don’t think so,” he says, punctuating his words with a series of grunts.
It’s not his noises that make me cringe, but the effect his words have had on the bride. Maddison’s soft pink lips are pursed tightly in a bid to stop them trembling.
“Shit,” I mutter under my breath. It was clearly a mistake to let Mace edit the recording. He’s given no thought to saving the bride from this extra level of humiliation.
Maddison’s blue eyes slice through me like lasers. I want to convey some sort of apology, but as her eyes shimmer, I doubt my subtle shift in demeanor registers.
“But why marry her if she doesn’t do anything for you?” the escort is asking Barrett.
He laughs. “Oh, she’ll give me pleasure in other ways,” he promises. “Once I take control of the mill, that’s when the real fun begins.”
There are more grunts and a hard slap as his hand makes contact with her ass. She cries out with exaggerated pleasure. “But Barrett, why do you need some little company in the middle of nowhere?”
“It’s all part of the game, sweetheart,” Barrett hisses as he starts to lose control. “Buy it.” Grunt. “Destroy it.” Grunt. “Piss people off. Then file - the divorce - papers - that I’ve already - had drawn up.”
“I don’t think we need to hear any more,” I say in a low voice so only Mace can hear above the cacophony of Barrett’s orgasm and the lady’s theatrics.
“Aw, but I was going to make it your ringtone,” my brother replies with a laugh down my ear.
The chapel falls silent, and I sigh with relief.
“I hope you’re pleased with yourself,” Barrett snarls.
I allow myself to smile again. “I’d say the pleasure was all yours. It certainly wasn’t the woman you were fucking, although she’s a good actress.”
“‘Oh, baby, tell me how much you’ll miss your daddy while I’m on my honeymoon,’” Reid mimics.
He’s not supposed to be talking, but it’s making Barrett all the more furious, so I let it slide. “I think you need to raise your voice a couple of octaves.”
“Seriously?” Maddison asks, snapping her head towards Reid, then back to me. Her chest heaves, but I keep my gaze on her face. “You think this is funny?”
She steps around her brother and makes a move towards me. Hugo grabs her arm, digging his fingers into her flesh to hold her back.
“Ignore him,” Hugo insists. “This changes nothing. It could be one of those deep fake videos for all we know. You’re getting married, Maddison. End of.” He turns to the pastor. “Ignore the interruption. Just carry on.”
Maddison stares in disbelief at her brother. “Did you not hear what Barrett said? He’s been lying to us. Look at him.” Her head snaps to her fiancé. “If it were fake, he’s pretty slow with the outrage.”
Barrett shrugs, then looks over to his mother. “As much fun as this was, I’m bored now. ”
“No!” Hugo yells so loud that Maddison flinches. He lets go of her arm and makes a move towards Barrett, his eyes bulging in panic. “We have a deal.”
Maddison is disoriented for a moment, and glances towards her maid of honor.
Jennifer Corbyn is Hugo’s wife, but she’s clearly reluctant to enter the fray, taking only a half-step towards her sister-in-law.
Maddison blinks, then seems to remember what she was doing before her brother caught hold of her.
Scooping up the folds of her dress, she comes straight for me. I tense my jaw ready for the sting of the slap I know is coming. I even bend forward a little to reduce my unfair height advantage.
“Are you happy now?” she cries out as her palm makes contact with my cheek.
Rather than flinch, I savor the sensation of her touch and the scent of wild mint and lemons. I’m starting to like her. “I’m sorry you got caught in the crossfire, but I’m hoping you’ll give me the chance to make it up to you.”
Maddison shakes the sting from her hand as she looks at me, completely dumbfounded.
“Did you just hit on her, Hunter?” Mace asks in my earpiece.
Did I? And why the fuck am I smiling. “Funny,” I mutter.
Maddison looks at me as if I’ve completely lost all reason. “Funny?” she repeats.
As she shakes her head, the first tear falls, and suddenly I feel every inch the bastard she sees. “I didn’t mean…”
“I’ve heard enough. I’m leaving,” Maddison says, sweeping up more of her dress so she can circle around me.
“Maddison, stay where you are!” Hugo screams as his sister bolts .
He manages to grab Maddison’s veil, but with one tug and a cry from the bride, it rips from her hair. She keeps going, and Hugo is about to take up the chase when I shoot out an arm and grab him by his silk cravat.
“You and I have business to discuss,” I tell him absentmindedly as I glance over my shoulder to Maddison’s retreating form. It’s time to close things down. “Jake, let her go, then lock the doors.”
“You’re trapping us in here?” asks Alice Emerson.
“Believe me, not out of choice,” I say. “But I think the least the bride deserves is a head start.”