Hunter
Hunter spoke calmly, but firmly. “Vanessa, stop. You’re going to hurt yourself.”
She didn’t give up. She dug her fingers into his, using her nails and all she had to try to get him to release her phone.
He stepped back several feet, moving out of her reach. When she jumped up to lunge at him, he caught her with his free arm and pulled her to him.
“Stop this. Calling him will only hurt you.”
“I have—to do—something.”
Her voice broke into sobs, and she went slack in his arms. Before he could get his other arm around her, she sunk to her knees on the floor and her body shook with crying.
“It’s all over,” she wailed. “He’s going to take her from me and there’s nothing I can do. He’s already found us. I didn’t manage to hide from him for more than a few months. Wherever I go, he’ll find me. He’ll kill me or hurt me, and he’ll hurt Opal.”
“It’ll be okay.” He dropped to his knees and rubbed her back, trying his best to soothe her. He wasn’t sure exactly what to do for her.
“No, it won’t. You don’t know. He has too much money. And he knows people. He’ll never let me rest. He’ll never let me go. He’ll do anything he has to, to get Opal. He’ll kill you, too, if you’re in the way. And then he’ll keep hurting her. And maybe he’ll even end up killing her. He doesn’t want her. He just wants to hurt me and hurting her is what hurts me the worst and he knows it. He’ll use her against me.”
Hunter felt like his heart was ripping in two. On one hand, he knew he had to take this guy out and fast, but there was a way to go about it. If he rushed, he might get sloppy and someone could get hurt. His first rule in killing someone was always to take his time and think it through. It was how he’d stayed out of jail since the first time, and how he’d always done his job.
But he couldn’t stand seeing Vanessa like this, so tortured and upset. He felt the hopelessness of his childhood come back to him. All the nights he’d cried himself to sleep, wishing he could run away or that his parents would die. It was a horrible way to live.
“There’s only one thing I can do,” she said, sitting up and wiping at her red, puffy eyes.
“Stay strong and wait until we can take him out.”
“No. We have to leave. We have to run again. Hide better, make sure he doesn’t find us.”
“That’s a terrible idea,” he said. “It’ll only piss him off more, and make him come after you harder. Look at how this is affecting you. You think running again will make it better? You’ve already got CPS after you. You’re living under complete stress all the time, and it’s got to be affecting Opal. You have a job here, and she’s settled here. You have friends to help you. If you leave, you start all over and go through this all again. And you’ll be farther from me.”
That last part was maybe the worst. If she left, he’d have to go with her or he wouldn’t be able to protect her. He didn’t want to go on the run, but he couldn’t watch her walk away, either.
“So, you think I should sit here and wait for him to come kill me?” Her voice cracked in its incredulity.
“You have to take your life back. You have to stop running and face this until it’s done. It’s the only way you’ll have any peace. He wants you to run again so that CPS will flag it as unusual activity. If they’re on you, it won’t matter if Jeremy is dead. They might still come after you and take Opal. Running makes you look guilty. You’re not guilty. You’ve done nothing wrong except marry an asshole of a man. Stand for what’s right, take control back from him. That’s how you move on and heal.”
# # #
Vanessa glared at him, the anger welling in her chest with the desperation. How dare he talk to her like that.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she hissed at him.
It felt good to get mad again. Mad was better than hopeless. Mad at least made her feel like she could do something. He said nice things. Take back control, take back her life. Sounded wonderful. But staying here was no way to make that happen.
“I can do all of that if I run.”
“No, you can’t.”
“Hunter!” The anger wavered for a moment and a fresh wave of tears broke free. “I can’t!”
He stood up and grabbed her by the arms, yanking her to her feet. “Stop this right now. You can and you will. You’re not a victim, Vanessa. Stop acting like one!”
She blinked at him, the shock of his actions and words silencing her tongue. Then she yanked her arms free. “Go to hell. You’re out of your freaking mind.”
She stepped forward to get out of his reach, but he grabbed her arm again.
“Let go of me!”
He dropped his grip on her immediately. At least he knew better than put a heavy hand on her. She might be tempted to reach for her gun and shoot him herself if he was going to grab her like that and hold her.
“I know what I’m talking about,” he said. “I’ve been there. Trust me. Running only makes new problems in a new area.”
“Maybe someone like you can just stick around and force your way through hard situations. But I’m a single mother with a little girl who is counting on me. I can’t afford to sit around with a target on my head. Jeremy won’t find me and CPS won’t, either.”
“Like he didn’t find you this time.”
She glared at him and turned way. “I’ll find a better place. I’ll change our appearance more. I’ll be more careful.”
“And you weren’t careful this time? Vanessa, listen to yourself. I can protect you if you’re here. If you run and go somewhere I’ve never been, I might come with you, but I won’t know the area, I won’t have connections. I can protect you best here. And I wouldn’t mess around with those CPS dicks. They don’t take it lightly when a parent flees after being questioned. Are you trying to make yourself look guilty?”
“Don’t worry about it. I don’t need you to protect me.” This was why she’d learn how to shoot a gun and why she’d gotten some training. She didn’t want to have to depend on anyone but herself. “I don’t need anyone’s help.”
She stormed over to the closet and pushed the door open. It banged loudly. She grabbed her large suitcase from its place on the floor. She’d put it there beside her other bag—the one she’d sent along with Opal to Mari’s. This one was the one she’d use if it came to this, if it came to running again. And now it had. There was no other choice for her. She had no better way to protect Opal.
Vanessa flung the suitcase onto the bed and unzipped it, then pushed the top open. From her dresser, she started pulling out random clothing and dumping it in, barely paying attention to which things she included. When her underwear drawer was empty, she moved on to her pants drawer.
Hunter stood there, watching her for a moment with his arms crossed. Then, he stepped forward, shut the suitcase, and yanked it from the bed. Vanessa got a grip on the side handle and tugged it back, trying to free his grip on the top handle. Half the contents spilled out in her struggle, but his grip held tight.
He pulled back and tossed the suitcase across the room. She clenched her jaw and lunged to the side to grab it. Hunter stepped forward and grabbed her instead.
He picked her up with a tight wrap of his arms and took two steps toward the bed. Then he threw her down on the bed. She bounced a little, the air knocked from her lungs. She gasped hard to get her breath back.
Hunter climbed on top of her, holding her hands by her side. “You’re not going anywhere.”