Hunter
Hunter stood there, watching them go. Even from behind, Vanessa looked like an angel. He was completely entranced.
Vanessa stopped in front of a black sedan. When she walked around and opened the door to put Opal inside, he snapped out of it. They couldn’t get away now that he’d found them.
Hunter shook his head, waking himself out of his momentary lapse in professionalism. He needed to think about this clearly.
If he got back in his car and chased after her, it would be obvious that he was after her. Instead, he turned and walked slowly to his car. He got in as Vanessa sped away in her car. He waited until it was almost out of sight, then pulled out as cop cars flew down the street, heading toward the scene of the accident. If he didn’t get out now, he’d be stuck in traffic and possibly have to give a statement. With her car barely still in sight, he pressed on the gas to stay close to her without being noticed.
They made one turn, then another. Each time, Hunter was careful to keep several cars between them. Vanessa couldn’t think he was any sort of threat. He had to win Opal’s trust if he wanted to have any chance of getting her away from Vanessa so he could kill his mark and return the child to her father. If all went well, this would be one of his fastest jobs ever.
There was just one problem. This attraction to Vanessa could get in his way. He’d never seen someone so gorgeous in his life. In the photos from Jeremy, he knew she was beautiful. But in person, she was something else. When their eyes met, he felt like he never wanted to look at anything else in his life.
His desire for her was intense, too. He wanted her. As he drove, his mind filled with impure thoughts. He pictured her naked, and pictured all the things he wanted to do to her. He adjusted his pants to make room for his hard-on and followed Vanessa down another road.
He had to get past this. If he allowed himself to want her like this, it could mess up everything. It could get in the way of him doing his job well. And that was unacceptable. He had a perfect track record. Never messed up a job, never came close to getting caught. He wasn’t going to jeopardize his reputation for some horrible woman who beat her child, even if she was drop dead gorgeous. Dead and gorgeous is exactly what she’d be by the time he was done with her.
He needed to stay focused now. Gain the trust of the child. Get her away from Vanessa. Kill Vanessa. It was that simple.
Vanessa turned into the large parking lot of the fair grounds. He pulled in shortly after. This would be a good place to find them and act like it was a coincidence. Maybe not the best place for a hit, but they wouldn’t stay forever. And it’d be packed enough that he could watch them without being noticed. Perfect.
# # #
Vanessa pulled into the parking lot, still feeling shaky. Who was that guy? He came out of nowhere, just in time to save her daughter. And he was gorgeous and daring, self sacrificing enough to give himself like that, to put himself in danger like that. He didn’t know them. Didn’t know anything about them. But he’d stepped in and saved the day, like he was a real hero.
She wanted to believe this sexy man was a hero, that they still existed. But it was hard for her to believe in any good anymore. Especially the good of a man when it came to her and her child. They had been hurt too many times.
“And he just ran across the street—whoosh”—Opal made a swooshing motion with her hand to show how the man had run over to her—“then just boom! Crash, smash!” She smacked her hands together for effect. “That car totally would have squished me.”
“I know. You’ve said that several times now. I’d rather not think about it.”
“Do you think that man was actually”—she dropped her voice to a whisper—“an angel? Like a guardian angel? Maybe that’s how he came out of nowhere.”
“Well, I don’t know about that. I think he was just a very brave man who saved you.”
“He was.”
Opal had been talking about the man since they’d gotten into the car. At first, she’d been shocked. She hadn’t really known what happened, but once Vanessa got her comforted and stopped her tears, she’d been amazed. Then she couldn’t stop talking about it. Vanessa just wanted to forget it all. The man was gone, and they’d never see him again. Opal was safe. It was time to move on and forget it happened.
“Ready to have some fun?” Vanessa asked as she removed her seatbelt.
“Yes! I want cotton candy and to ride the Ferris wheel.”
“We can do all of that.”
They climbed out of the car, and Vanessa took her hand as they walked toward the fair. First, they hit up the rides. Always better to get those out of the way before eating so they didn’t have to worry about upset stomachs.
They rode the Ferris wheel twice, then a ride that spun them in circles while in a little cart. Then it was the swings, then another spinning ride. As they climbed off, Vanessa slightly dizzy, she looked up toward the crowd and, for a moment, thought she saw the man who had saved Opal earlier. She took Opal’s hand and hurried her away from the ride and toward where she’d seen the man.
She wasn’t sure why she wanted to see him again. Maybe to thank him? But when they got to where she thought he’d been, there was no one there that looked like him. Either she’d been seeing things, or he’d gone.
As they walked away toward the next ride, her paranoia started to settle in. Was it the same man? And if so, why was here? Could be following her? What if the reason he seemed to disappear was that he hadn’t wanted to be seen? Maybe when she saw him, he took off so he could keep watching her.
“I want cotton candy now,” Opal said.
They made their way toward the part of the fair where the games and food were. She kept her eyes peeled for the bags of fluffy blue and pink, but instead of finding the sugary treat, she found something else. She paused to look at one food stand and, when she turned to move on, the man was there, smiling.
“Hello again,” he said.
Opal gasped. “Mommy! It’s the angel man.”
Vanessa wished she wouldn’t have called him that. She didn’t want Opal to have some kind of worshipful feelings toward this man she didn’t know.
“Right,” Vanessa said, pressing her lips into a tight smile. “What a coincidence.”
“I’ve seen you before,” he said. “I work just around the corner from your apartment. I was leaving work when that whole thing happened with the car. Crazy, wasn’t it?”
Vanessa nodded. “It was.”
“It was scary!” Opal said. “But then you came and swoosh! Scooped me up to save me.”
Vanessa patted her shoulder. “You need to thank the man.”
“I’m Hunter Perrin,” he said and bent down closer to Opal. “What’s your name?”
Vanessa tensed, but Opal answered correctly.
“Katrin. Thank you, Mr. Hunter.”
“Anytime.” He patted her head and stood, putting his hand out toward Vanessa. “Nice to meet you.”
She shook his hand. “Yes, especially given the circumstances. I’m glad you were there. Thank you for what you did. I can’t imagine…”
“Well, let’s not think of what could have happened.”
“Right. I’ve been trying not to. I’m Joanna, by the way.”
His explanation of working nearby explained why he was close to their house earlier, but not why he was here now. He was alone. No girlfriend or wife, no child tugging at his sleeve. What sort of grown man went to a fair alone? There was something not right about this. She didn’t trust this Hunter.
“Mommy! Look at those bears! I want to win one!”
Opal was hopping from foot to foot, pointing to the ceiling of a game that displayed several large teddy bears.
“They’re very nice,” Vanessa said. “And probably impossible to win.”
“It’s a shooting game,” Hunter said. “I happen to be excellent at those. I can give it a shot.” He bent down to Opal. “How about I try to win you one of those bears?”
Opal looked to Vanessa, unsure. Maybe her own paranoia was rubbing off on her daughter, but the look on Opal’s face made it clear that she wasn’t sure she should let Hunter win her something. It would seem stranger to say no and walk away probably, than to just let him try. After he played, they could just thank him and move on.
She nodded at Opal, who then ran to the game’s counter, waiting. Hunter walked up and handed the man a few dollars, then picked up the toy gun. The game started and Hunter shot out several ducklings in quick succession. Within seconds, he’d knocked them all down. The man behind the counter looked unpleasantly surprised.
“Well, which bear will it be, little lady?” the man asked.
Opal pointed to the pink one. The man pulled it down and handed it over.
“Be sure to thank your daddy now for winning you that bear,” the man said.
Opal clutched the bear tight. It was half her size. But she looked at Vanessa with that same unsure look. She didn’t know how to respond when the man at the game assumed they were a family.
“Thank Hunter,” she said, leading her away from the game.
“Thank you!”
“Well, after saving her life and winning her a bear, I think you’ve done your share for the day,” Vanessa said with a smile. “Thank you. Have a good evening.”
She turned away from him, making it clear that it was time for them to part. She wanted to be away from him, even if he looked really hot playing the game. A man with a gun shouldn’t excite her like that, but Hunter with a gun turned her on. She definitely had to get away from him as fast as possible.