Vanessa
Vanessa sat at the table with Opal. “Okay, let’s try this one.”
They worked together on her math homework. Vanessa glanced continually at the door. Any moment, Hunter would return. He was only at the store, but she hated having him out of sight. Running to the store wasn’t as bad as going to work, though. Trying to work all day was almost torture, except she could see him sitting in his car from her office window, watching over her and Opal. But this was bad enough. And she couldn’t look out the window and see him there, watching over them.
It was their normal routine now that if anything needed to be purchased that couldn’t be done online, Hunter would go out and do it. Far too risky to have Vanessa or Opal out of the house more than they needed to be. Going to school and work was risk enough.
Weeks had passed since their last encounter. She started to wonder if Jeremy had given up, but there was no way he had. She knew better, but the long chunk of peace felt nice, and she didn’t want it to end. Someone might be coming after them at any time. Someone might be attacking Hunter right now. She chewed her lip and looked at the door again.
“You nervous because Hunter is out?”
Vanessa looked at Opal and realized she was watching her. “A little, yeah.” She tried to play it off and turned back to the homework. “Did you get the last one figured out?”
“Yeah.” Opal pointed. “I really like Hunter.”
“Do you? I’m glad. Okay, so we have this page still to finish.”
Opal put her pencil down and looked at her mother. “Is Hunter going to be my new daddy?”
Vanessa’s mouth popped open. Clearly, she should have had some sort of discussion with Opal about all this before now, but it was too late. She’d asked. Vanessa had to say something. But what? Sure, if he decides he can stop killing for a living?
Opal leaned her head down and whispered, “If he is, I think I’d like that.” She giggled and covered her mouth with her hand. “But you would never tell Daddy, would you? I mean my old daddy?”
“No, I would never tell him. I hope we don’t ever see him again.”
Opal pressed her lips together.
“Are you okay with that? Do you miss him?”
Opal shook her head fervently. “I know he was bad. He hurt you a lot, and I didn’t like that. He scared me. And now I don’t feel scared all the time anymore. Hunter doesn’t hurt you, and he makes you smile. So, I like that. And I like being safe.” She picked up her pencil again and started on the next page of homework.
Vanessa watched her with a smile on her face and a glow in her heart. More than ever, she hoped things could work out with Hunter. They could have a wonderful life, the three of them. Opal liked Hunter, and he would make a great father. She was already falling for him, and he had feelings for her. They both felt safer when he was around, and they needed that so badly. They didn’t have to hide who they were with him. She never had to worry that a dangerous ex would scare him away. Instead, she was busy trying to convince him not to kill for her. What more could she ask for?
They just needed to get this thing with Jeremy settled. Once he was out of the way in jail and there was no threat to her and Opal, no possibility that she would be taken away, then they could move on and all be happy together. She would finally have the family she’d always dreamed of. The one she wished for with Jeremy, but always knew was never possible. This was the life she should have had from the start. A man who loved her and protected her, a man who loved her daughter and risked his own life to save her. Not someone who would hurt them both.
Hunter was the one she wanted. It felt like the perfect life was so close. Just around the corner, just barely out of reach. Get Jeremy out of the way, and it was all hers.
She pulled Opal into a hug and kissed the top of her head, then looked back to the door, thinking Hunter should be home any minute now.
# # #
“Jeremy, I’m working on it,” Hunter said. “I’m close. I’ve finally gotten Opal to trust me. The problem is, Vanessa never leaves her alone. And I can’t kill her while Opal is there.”
“This is taking too long!” Jeremy growled into the phone. “You said days or a week or two at the most. It’s been seven weeks now. I’m done waiting.”
“These things can’t be rushed. It’s not something to be taken lightly. It has to be done just right if you don’t want any heat on you. And right now, there’s too many people around.”
“Listen to me. I. Don’t. Care. Do whatever it takes to get the job done. Now!”
Jeremy ended the call. Hunter shook his head as he tucked his phone in his pocket. He didn’t think Jeremy would buy it much longer. He’d already proven that he had other people on the job. Sure, Hunter had taken them out too, but that didn’t mean more weren’t coming. Something had to be done before Jeremy could move again.
He closed the car door and unlocked the trunk to get the groceries. He picked up one bag in each arm and walked toward the steps to the apartment. Before he could get there, he heard the distinctive sound of a silenced gunshot, followed by a whizzing sound as a bullet cut through the air in front of him. Hunter dropped to the ground.
So, he was right. Jeremy was already done waiting. He scanned the area, looking for the source of the shots.
Then, someone screamed. His heart lurched as he thought of Vanessa. But it didn’t sound like her scream. He flipped his head back and forth to see who it was.
He saw the blood first. It hit the grass in large drops. If he were any closer, it would have splattered on him. The smell of gunpowder filled the air and the shouts broke into the new stillness, breaking it into a choppy mix of too loud and too quiet.
He saw the feet. Men’s shoes, slacks. The gun shots had stopped. He lifted his head enough to glance around, but heard no more shots. He looked up to see the man’s face.
Then the recognition set in. Hunter knew this man. And the fact that he was here now and had witnessed this had to be a good thing. He crawled as fast as he could toward where Nicholas was now on his knees.
Blood poured from his shoulder. He’d been hit and was already pale. He can’t die, Hunter thought, but then he heard another noise.
Car tires squealed. Hunter looked up just in time to see the car flying at them. He yanked Nicholas’s shirt, pulling him off the road in just enough time to miss having his legs run over. The car took off with another squeal as it turned and sped off down the road.
“Now do you believe us?” Hunter shouted. “That guy was hired by Jeremy, Vanessa’s ex-husband. Probably to kill me. He’s after her, and he’ll kill her, then take that little girl and keep hurting her like he did to her mother for years. Is that what you want?” Hunter had a handful of Nicholas’s shirt, and it took all he had not to shake him. “If you don’t start listening to us, you’ll be the reason Jeremy succeeds in killing Vanessa. Do you want her death on your hands?”
Nicholas stared back, white-faced, mouth slack, blinking at him. He was in too much shock to answer or even register what Hunter was saying.
“Come on,” Hunter said. “We need to get you inside. They might come back when they realize they didn’t actually kill anyone.”
Hunter got to his feet, still looking around cautiously. The speeding car might have been a diversion. But no shots flew at him. He hauled Nicholas to his feet and slung his uninjured arm over him so he could pull him along.
Nicholas’s feet dragged, and he thought he might pass out at any moment. At least the guy was light. Hunter could carry his almost-dead weight with no trouble. Which was good, because there were a lot of stairs.