Hunter

I sat at the kitchen table, watching the sunrise filtering through the pine trees.

I’d been in this spot all night, drinking coffee and trying to stop myself from going back into that room and having her again.

“Fuck.” I lifted my mug to my lips then put it back down. The coffee had grown cold, bitter. A lot like me. Well, the bitter part at least. I’d been anything but cold since I’d laid eyes on Lulu.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

The thought fired through my head for the hundredth time. Fucking her had never been part of the plan. But my body hadn’t forgotten how it felt, having her sleep beside me like that, pressed against mine, warm and soft, and I’d been pulled from my sleep. I rubbed my hands over my face, growling when I smelled her on my fingers. Her scent had me in a constant state of arousal, confusing the shit out of me. Rage and hatred fired my blood, even as my cock throbbed behind my zipper. This relentless, unwanted longing behind my ribs made it hard to damn well think straight.

Worse? I hadn’t been able to make myself wash her off me, tormenting myself since I walked out of that bedroom, wanting her scent on me. I hated myself for that weakness.

I’d let the bitch get to me. As soon as I woke, cock hard to the point of pain, and she’d pushed back, making it clear she’d let me have her—I fucking snapped. I couldn’t fight it, not anymore. I hated myself for that, too.

My phone started vibrating against the table, dragging me out of my own head, back to my current goal. I stared down at the screen.

Unknown caller.

I knew exactly who it was.

The day before, after I’d lost it and locked Lulu back up, leaving her to plot her escape in the bathroom, I’d used my contacts to get word out that I had her.

That information had obviously found its way to the right ears.

I picked up the phone. “That was quick.”

Silence, then, “I understand you have something of mine.”

The fucked-up monster inside me snarled. Not yours. Mine. Yeah, the sooner this was over and she was out of my life for good, the better.

My fingers curled around the cold coffee mug, hard enough I was surprised it didn’t shatter. “And I’ll be happy to give her back . . . for a price.”

“What do you want?” he said, not missing a beat.

Just the sound of Pierce’s voice, that superior fucking tone, like he still had a right to talk to me like the hired help, sent my rage through the damn roof. I refused to show him how much he got to me. I’d never give him that satisfaction again.

“Money,” I lied. “Compensation for the time I sent inside.” I rattled off a figure.

“Fine.”

As I suspected, he agreed easily. He didn’t give a fuck about much, but when it came to Lulu, I doubted any price was too high. It was hard to describe, the way he was with her. The job I did for Pierce meant I was only around them occasionally, but when I was, it was impossible to miss. I wouldn’t call it love exactly, more like she was his most precious possession, or favorite fucking toy.

“When?” I asked.

“I’ll need a couple of days,” he said smoothly.

I’ll bet he did. He needed time to crawl out of whatever hole he’d been hiding in and rally his henchmen. “Where?”

“I’ll text you the location closer to the time.”

I knew he needed money, which meant I had to be extra careful. Pierce had no intention of paying me. He’d be prepared to get Lulu back by any means.

“Don’t make me wait too long,” I said.

He was silent a beat. “Oh I won’t. I’m eager to get her back.”

The way he said that lifted the hair on the back of my neck. I shut it down, ignored the way his words put me on high alert. It wasn’t real. My head was all over the damn place right now. I couldn’t trust anything, not when Lulu was involved, not even my own instincts.

“If only you’d left her alone,” Pierce said before I could disconnect. “Things could have turned out so differently.”

Lulu

I woke to the sound of Hunter’s tense voice, muffled through the bedroom door.

Somehow I’d fallen back to sleep after what happened, after he walked out. I was still in the position he’d left me, flat on my back, in only a bra, shorts hooked around one ankle. I reached down and dragged them and my undies up, covering myself. My body ached in a way I used to love. Now it only made me feel like shit. He’d treated me like the whore he thought I was. Had used something that was once beautiful between us to punish me. And I’d let him.

The realization that I hadn’t panicked when we fucked last night hit me next. I’d wondered for a long time if that would ever be possible, if I could be with someone again and not flip out. But then Hunter wasn’t just anyone. I’d always been okay with him. A lot of things had changed now, though. Thankfully, he hadn’t pinned me on my back last night.

My emotions had been so raw that all I’d been able to think about was how much I wanted him, how much I’d missed him. There’d been no room for anything else. God, I’d been in denial when we first got together, in a messed-up kind of fantasy world, where Hunter was my hero, and the bastard who controlled me, hurt me, would never get the chance again. I’d pushed it all down deep, buried it, the memories, the pain, the fear. I’d convinced myself it couldn’t touch me, not anymore.

I’d been wrong. So damn wrong. There was no fantasy world, and there was no burying what happened to me. I’d learned that the hard way.

I shoved my hands in my hair and slumped back.

The conversation going on in the living room was one-sided, so I knew he was talking on the phone. I strained to hear, but couldn’t make out anything he was saying.

Lying in here all day, hiding, wasn’t an option. He’d come back through that door sooner or later. I pulled myself into a sitting position, and winced at the deep throb between my legs. My body wasn’t used to Hunter’s size anymore and I was feeling it.

I’d only been with three men in my life. With two of those men it had been consensual, and only one of them had meant something to me. Hunter, the only man I’d ever loved. Then, after I ran, I screwed some guy in a bathroom stall at a club. The guy vaguely reminded me of Hunter. In the darkness, I could almost convince myself it was him. I felt so alone, so goddamn alone. I let him fuck me, desperately grasping for something, some kind of connection. I’d lost it before he’d finished, freaked out completely and he’d taken off . . .

The third man, I refused to think about.

My hair fell forward and I brushed it back, wincing when I felt the bump on my head.

Jesus, I’d screwed everything up.

And now, the only man who’d ever meant anything to me had just taken away all I had left of him. The memory of us. The tenderness we’d once shared. I didn’t know how much more I could take.

The door flung open, and I jumped. Hunter stared at me from the open doorway, and I felt my face heat, humiliation burning its way up my neck. I’d let him have sex with me after he told me just how much he hated me. I was pathetic, and we both knew it.

He moved in, tagged my tank off the floor, and flung it at me. “Get dressed.”

I kept my eyes down and yanked it over my head, covering myself. He moved closer, kneeling in front of me so he could unlock the chain around my ankle. His fingers grazed my skin and gooseflesh lifted on my arms, down the back of my neck. I seriously needed help.

He looked up at me, eyes glittering, taking in my flushed face. “Don’t tell me you regret what happened last night, Lulu?”

His voice was mocking, dripping with sarcasm. I looked away, stared over his shoulder. “Momentary insanity.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think so. I think you’ve wanted what I gave you for a long time. You couldn’t get enough.” He chuckled, a sound that I was growing to loathe. “Fuck, you were so wet I had you all over me, the way you were grinding against me. Fucking desperate. I was embarrassed for you.”

Before I could stop myself, my hand shot out and I slapped him hard across the face, so hard a red mark appeared almost instantly. His eyes turned cold and hot at the same time and he hissed a breath through his teeth, visibly trying to control his temper. Grabbing my wrists roughly, he shoved me to my back, covering me, pressing me into the mattress, and got in my face.

He didn’t speak, just shoved my thighs wide and ground his hard cock between my legs. I gasped, sucking in a startled breath. Those eyes did not leave mine as he held me immobile beneath him, as one of his hands drifted down over my stomach. I froze as he cupped me over my shorts, horrified when my hips lifted, seeking more. I had no control over myself when he was near. My pride up and took a hike.

“You think I’m happy that you still do this to me?” He ground into me again. “After what you did, you think I’m celebrating the fact my dick still wants what’s under these shorts?”

Without a word, he undid them.

I started to struggle, a weak attempt that was halfhearted at best. He slid his hand inside.

My heart started hammering in my chest. I tried to pull my hands free, but he wasn’t having it. That’s when panic surged inside me, hard and fast.

His eyes flared as he dragged a thick finger through my drenched folds. Then he pushed it inside me, before dragging it back out, starting a slow, torturous pace that had my back arching off the bed. My body was no longer under my control. I was a mix of panic and uncontrollable lust. I had no choice but to keep my eyes on him. It was the only way to stay grounded, in the here and now, to stop my mind from taking me to a place I never allowed myself to go.

He had me close to the edge in a matter of seconds. My breathing got heavier, my skin hot and flushed the closer I got to release. My lips parted on a low moan, and just when I was hitting the peak, half a second from coming all over his finger, he took it away, leaving me cold. I sagged back with a whimper. His big body hovered above me, and I blinked up at him. He smirked and lifted the finger he’d just had inside me and held it in front of my face.

It was glistening, covered in me. Evidence of my complete and utter lack of self-control, not to mention self-respect, driving his point home.

I couldn’t move, held in place by his intense stare. His gaze dropped to my mouth, and then he slid that finger across my bottom lip. Mine parted with a gasp.

His nostrils flared and I felt his body freeze, every muscle going rock solid. Something flickered in his eyes, something I never thought I’d see again. He brought his face in closer to mine. I held still, too afraid to move, to breathe. He snarled suddenly, like he had no control over the action and it pissed him off. Then his tongue darted out, gliding over my lip, licking it clean.

Oh dear God.

My knees lifted higher, squeezing his hips involuntarily. He jerked, like I’d slapped him again, and it disappeared, the softness I’d briefly witnessed, vanishing without a trace. Then his weight was gone.

He stood between my still parted thighs, staring down at me. “Do your fucking shorts up. We need to get going.”

Shit. I scrambled off the bed and did what he said. I couldn’t look at him, mortification scalding my cheeks all over again. He was messing with me, taking great pleasure in making me feel worthless, and succeeding exceptionally well. I knew Hunter wouldn’t hit me—he’d never hit a woman. His father had had a different idea about that, and Hunter and his brother had hated their father because of it.

Since he obviously wasn’t going to kill me, and roughing me up was out of the question, messing with my head, my body, was apparently his chosen form of retribution.

I crossed my arms. “Where are you taking me?”

Hunter didn’t answer, just took my wrist and led me from the bedroom, his rough, warm skin giving me more of those tingles that started at the back of my neck. He carried on through the living room and out the front door. My heart did a nervous little flip. Was he taking me home? He locked up and took me to his car. He didn’t cuff me in this time, but locked the doors so I couldn’t get out.

“Where are we going?” I tried again.

He started the engine and turned on the radio. I guess that meant he wanted me to shut up, that I’d find out when we got there. It took a while before we left the forest-lined road and hit the freeway. I didn’t recognize where we were, had no idea if he was taking me back to the city or somewhere else. Finally, after driving for about an hour, I started to recognize some familiar landmarks.

We were going back.

I wanted to ask if he was taking me to Sara. If he was letting me go. But I kept my mouth shut. The vibe coming off him did not invite conversation. Those fingers had been gripping the steering wheel in the same white-knuckled grip he’d had on the drive to the cabin.

I found out fifteen minutes later that he didn’t intend to take me to my aunt’s or to my car. Instead, we drove into an underground parking lot and pulled into a reserved spot. His name was painted on the wall.

I knew where we were.

And I sure as hell did not want to be here.

Shit.

My hand automatically went to the door handle and I yanked, forgetting it was locked in my panic. Hunter ignored my obvious distress and climbed out, leaving me trapped inside. He walked around to open my door. His fingers curled around my biceps when I climbed out, and he led me to the elevator.

I wanted to shrink into nothing, dissolve. The last person I wanted to see was Hunter’s brother Van. We’d always gotten along. He’d liked me, but most of all liked me with his baby brother. I’m sure he felt I’d betrayed him, too.

We climbed in and the door slid shut. Hunter hit the fifth floor and we rocketed up, toward my doom. “Why did you bring me here? Just take me home, goddammit.”

“You’re here because I want you to be here. And you’ll go home when I say you can.” His voice was flat, back to emotionless and cold. He’d regained complete control, that intense vibe coming off him in the car gone, along with every other emotion.

“Will you let me use the phone?” I didn’t need to mention Josh to my aunt during the call. If Hunter had his people listening in, I’d have to be careful, but I had to warn her. “I just want to call my aunt.” I thrust my hand into my hair, frustrated and scared shitless for my son. God, if my mom had told Pierce about my visit to the hospital, if Pierce found out about Josh . . .

I didn’t want that bastard anywhere near my little boy.

Hunter didn’t answer.

The anxiety sitting low in my belly, burned away with my rising anger. I wasn’t just scared, I was pissed the hell off.

Then the doors slid open.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Of course Van was standing at the reception desk, talking to the woman sitting behind it, when we walked in. She spotted me first. Shoving her black-framed glasses higher on her nose, she took me in from head to toe. I knew I looked like shit. Like I’d just rolled out of bed and, the way her eyes flared at the sight of me, as if I’d been recently fucked by the cold bastard beside me. Fantastic.

She dropped the pen in her hand. “Holy fuck, what the hell did you do to her?”

Van spun around, gaze locking on me instantly, slicing me from head to toe with a lethal glare. He looked at his brother for a few beats then back to me. Yeah, he did not look happy to see me, not one bit. The feeling was mutual.

Van glanced at his receptionist, still eyeballing me from behind her desk. “Ruby, take her downstairs, clean her head, and give her some food.”

The door opened across the room and Neco Malik walked in. Perfect. This day was just getting better and better. Tall and gorgeous with unusual green eyes and beautiful dark skin, Neco was a head-turner. He was also Hunter’s best friend. Which meant he knew me, knew what I’d done, and was another member of the I Hate Lulu Fan Club.

The door clicked shut behind him. He pulled up short when he saw me. “Fuck,” he said under his breath.

He managed to convey a whole hell of a lot in that one word. None of it was good, and all of it made me want to crawl under the reception desk and disappear. That just made me angrier. They thought they had my number, thought they had the whole story. What they didn’t know was their story was missing a few vital pieces of information. Information I wasn’t willing to give. Not if I wanted to keep Josh a secret, keep him safe. Anyway, they wouldn’t believe me at this point. The wound cut too deep, too much time had passed. And honestly, I was getting sick to death of this shit. After the last couple of days I’d had—packing up and driving eleven hours to get to Sara’s, saying goodbye to my mom, being kidnapped and held against my will, worrying about my son—I was ready to explode, completely goddamn lose it.

If it weren’t for me, Hunter would be dead. No one felt worse than me about what happened to him or what he went through. But I’d lived my own hell for the last three fucking years.

I forced a tight smile. “Nice to see you, too, Neco.”

He crossed his arms over his wide chest. “Are you fucking serious?”

Jesus. “What do you think?” I quipped, too angry now to hold my tongue.

He growled, an honest to God growl and shook his head slowly. His lip curled and he gave me a head to toe like Van just had, and his expression told me he found me lacking in every way he possibly could. These guys truly were masters at making me feel like the dog-shit they’d just stepped in. And yeah, I got it.

Still didn’t feel great.

I held his hostile gaze, which was not easy. “I’d rather be anywhere but here. But I think that’s obvious. Now, have we finished with the macho bullshit?” He just stared at me. My knees started to tremble. “Excellent. How about you take me down-goddamn-stairs?” Then I yanked my arm free of Hunter’s hold. “Ruby?” I called. “Take me away from these assholes.”

Hunter would never forgive me. I was tired, exhausted, and right then, I didn’t care that they thought I was a heartless bitch. I wasn’t going to change their opinions of me anytime soon. I may as well play the part of the villain they believed me to be. It took a lot less energy than trying to convince them I wasn’t some monster.

I felt three sets of eyes on me, daggers and lasers firing at me from all sides.

“Ruby,” Van barked into the silence.

The girl shot to her feet, like he’d startled her. “Jesus. Chill the hell out,” she fired back.

Van scowled at her.

She rolled her eyes, which I didn’t think was a great idea, but she didn’t seem fazed in the slightest. Tucking her purple-highlighted hair behind her ear, she strode toward me.

“Right, let’s go.” She flicked a finger toward the door Neco had walked through and headed in that direction.

I followed, eyes trained forward, ignoring those hard stares burning holes into my back. Ruby led me down a flight of stairs to a room at the end of a short hall. She punched a number into the keypad by the door and pushed it open. There was a bed in the middle of the room, and nothing else. She shut me in and I stood there, not sure what the hell to do.

I was sitting on the edge of the bed when she came back with a drink, a sandwich, and a first-aid kit tucked under her arm.

She dumped everything on the bed. “There was only ham and cheese left. The guys nabbed all the good ones.” She opened the first-aid kit, and moved to stand in front of me. Ripping open a packet, she pulled out a sterile wipe and started cleaning my forehead. “What happened to you?”

I took a bite of my sandwich. “My head got friendly with the roof of a car.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah.”

“So you’re the wicked witch, huh? The evil cow who got Hunt put away?”

“Yep. That’s me.”

“Cold.”

“The coldest.” At this point, I didn’t give a shit what these people thought of me, especially not this oddly direct woman. Though she’d called me cold, she seemed more annoyed with having to get me a sandwich than what I’d done to Hunter. I just wanted to get out of here, get to Josh, and put New York in my rear-view mirror. There was nothing here for me. Not anymore.

“What are they gonna do with you?”

“No idea.”

“Huh.” She ran the wipe carefully across my skin. “Glad I’m not you.”

She cleaned me up, then packed everything away, shoved it back in the bag, and pulled something from her pocket.

“Here.” She handed me a phone. “Hunter said you can call your aunt. You’ve got two minutes. Don’t tell her where you are or who you’re with. They’ll be listening.” Then she flopped back on the bed, obviously instructed to stay with me.

Hands shaking, I dialed Sara’s number and waited. The phone rang twice and then her soft voice echoed down the line.

“Sara?”

“Oh thank God! I thought something terrible had happened.”

Something terrible had happened, but no way was I sharing the ugly details. “Please tell me you haven’t talked to the police?”

“I promised you I wouldn’t.”

I sagged in relief. I could tell she wasn’t happy about that. I could also tell she was worried out of her mind. “I need you to listen to me. I don’t have much time. I’m going to be away for a . . .” I looked at Ruby for some indication of how long they’d keep me locked up. She shrugged. “ . . . A few days. I need you to go to a hotel until I get back. There’s a jar of money in Jo . . .” Shit. I glanced at Ruby. She was staring at the ceiling like she was studying Michelangelo’s handiwork in the Sistine Chapel, but I knew she was listening to every word I said. “ . . . In the green, uh . . . froggy backpack.” I inwardly winced.

“Why? What’s going on?”

“I know I’m asking a lot. But please, just . . . would you do that for me?”

Her silence said it all. She had a good idea who the players in my current nightmare might be, and what that could mean.

“It’s going to be okay. Just, please do as I ask. Please.” I wanted to ask after my son so badly it hurt. I missed him. I’d never even been away from him a whole night before. “I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

Sara wasn’t stupid, and she would never take any risks with Josh. “I’ll pack now and move to a hotel. Everything’s fine here, baby. Just fine. I’ll take care of everything. Don’t you worry. I’ll find somewhere to stay and wait for your call.”

“Thanks, Sara.”

“Time’s up,” Ruby said.

“I have to go,” I said to my aunt.

“Okay . . .”

Ruby snatched the phone out of my hand and ended the call.

“Hey!”

She shrugged. “You had two minutes, no more, no less. I take orders, I don’t dish them out.”

Then she stood, walked out the door, and locked it behind her.

Fuck.