Hunter stormed through the front door of House Haven. When he stopped in front of the stairs, he thought about the last time he walked down those stairs with Scarlet’s hand in his. Things weren’t good between them. In fact, things were real shitty. But deep down, he knew he wanted her—he wanted her for more than just a few sex marathons between the sheets and against walls. At first, she was nothing but a huge fucking pain in his ass, making him wish he never got tangled up in her mess. And then, without him even realizing it, he started to feel more for her than he ever thought possible for a man like him.
For years he spent his life screwing women without any emotional entanglement. And he preferred it that way. Meaningless sex mixed with acts of control was all his life was about. That and the regret he always carried inside him.
But somewhere between saving Scarlet outside Twisted Fable and watching while Brent dragged her away from him, he finally understood what she meant to him…the world. She meant the world to him.
He was completely captivated by her, and got caught up in all the feels and emotions of having someone. He realized that even though he had thoroughly convinced himself through the years that he was meant to be alone, he didn’t want to be. He wanted someone to protect, to love…and that person was Scarlet. Which was why he didn’t give a fuck about Baxter’s idea to wait another twenty-four hours. There was no way in hell Hunter would wait another fucking second before going to her.
Just as Hunter started to rush up the stairs, Baxter came storming in behind him. “Hunter, wait.”
“I’ve waited long enough.” Hunter took two steps at a time, and heard James follow him.
“I know you’re worried, I am too. But can you just stop for two seconds so we can talk about this?”
Hunter stopped abruptly and turned around, James almost walking right into him. “Do you really think Scarlet has twenty-four hours? Do you really think that son of a bitch hasn’t already laid a hand on her?”
James didn’t answer.
“Your daughter is not only in the hands of that psychopath, but this Rex character—who I’m guessing is not the kind of guy a man wants his daughter to be around—is also there in the same house as her. So tell me, Baxter, do you really think she has twenty-four hours?”
James continued to stare at him with a doleful look in his eyes. “You’re right.”
“You can bet you’re fucking ass I’m right. So you either help me get her back, or I do this on my own. But either way, I’m going.”
Hunter spun around and rushed further up the stairs, down the hall to the bedroom he shared with Scarlet. He needed a gun, and then he needed one of those fast cars parked in the big as fuck garage.
As he walked to the closet where he’d stashed another gun, he passed the bathroom. When he glanced inside and saw the cabinet where he had fucked up so badly by calling Scarlet Blue while he was buried balls deep inside her, Hunter felt his stomach twist into a vice. It felt like such a long time ago, even though it had only been a few days. God, he wanted to feel her warm body against his again. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and never let her go.
If only he knew then what he knew now—that he cared for her too damn much—maybe it would have stopped him from making that epic fuck-up. After what happened, he wanted to bolt so badly. He tried to leave so many fucking times, but something just kept dragging him back—pulling him toward her. Hunter didn’t know what the fuck was happening, but whatever it was, it was much stronger than what he had with Blue. He didn’t think it would ever be possible, but it was. The feelings he had for Scarlet were unlike anything he had ever felt before—and it was scaring the living shit out of him. It was like their broken souls connected, as if being together had the power to heal whatever had been broken inside them.
James entered the room. “I think I have an idea.”
Hunter shot him a sideward glance. “If your idea contains the word wait, forget about it.”
“I’m serious, Hunter.”
“So am I.” Hunter opened the closet, took out his gun, and checked that it was loaded before placing it at his back.
“Like I said, you’re right. But we need to go in there with some sort of plan. A few men with a few guns are not going to help us get her out of there.”
Hunter straightened and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Let me hear it.”
James walked further into the room. “For this plan to work, you’re going to need to get your head together.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. You’ve never been inside the world these fuckers run. I have. It’s sick, it’s twisted, and it’s one hell of a mind-fuck. You think you know what this world is all about, think again. This is no fucking Taken movie. Forget everything you thought you knew, because I can promise you, it’s a hundred times worse than you ever could have imagined.”
The haunted look on James’s face while he spoke almost gave Hunter the chills.
“What is your plan, Baxter?”
James shoved the pillows and blanket Hunter had used off the couch and sat down. “The only way we even have half a chance of getting in there alive is if we pretend we’re there to get back what belongs to you.”
“I don’t have to pretend. Scarlet does belong to me.”
James’s eyes flitted up to his. “I don’t mean in a romantic, loving kind of way, Hunter.”
“In what way, then?”
James shot him a meaningful look, and Hunter picked up what James was putting down. “You want me to pretend that I bought her, that she’s my…slave?”
James nodded, his jaw tight with tension.
“Fuck me.” Hunter plopped down on the bed, placing his elbows on his knees and burying his face in his hands.
“It’s the only way, Hunter. You will need to convince everyone there that Scarlet is yours and that Brent had stolen her from you.”
Hunter sat back. “I don’t get it. These people aren’t exactly taking the moral high ground in life. Why the fuck would they care if Brent had stolen her from me or not?”
James leaned back on the couch. “You’re right, they don’t take the moral high ground. But they have rules. Rules that are meant to keep the peace between the top dealers, and one of those rules state that no master is allowed to steal a valued slave from another. They aren’t even allowed to touch another man’s property without consent.”
Hunter snorted. “Property?”
“That’s what these girls are to them, Hunter. Property to use, sell, and trade as they please. Once they have paid for the girl, they can do with her what they want.”
Hunter let out a string of F-bombs. This was not exactly the kind of rescue mission he had in mind. He was thinking more along the lines of taking a shit load of ammo and shooting every motherfucker in sight.
But this? Pretending to be as sick as they were, pretending that he owned Scarlet? Motherfucker.
“Let’s say I agree, how bad can it get? How deep will we have to go?”
James shrugged. “It depends if Rex is in the mood to play or not.”
“If he is?”
James rubbed his chin with his hand. “Then it’s going to get dark, I’m afraid—real fucking dark. Rex is notorious for his head games and sick tastes when it comes to playing those games.”
Hunter pushed his hair out of his face. There was nothing in this entire fucking world he wouldn’t do to get her back, to save her. If he had to pretend to be a twisted, demented control freak, then so be it. Besides, it wasn’t too far from the truth. Deep down, Hunter had always been driven by his need to control. He just had to convince this Rex fucker of that as well.
Hunter stood up from the bed, took his gun, and cocked it. “Well then, let’s start playing, shall we?”