Hunter, page 7
“Of course, they will. They didn’t stop looking for you. Your parents never gave up on the possibility of you returning to them someday.”
“I’m so happy. Thank you for all you’ve done for me. I’ll never forget you.”
Then why does it feel like she already has with her statement? “You can always count on me, I give you my word.”
“And your word is everything,” she repeats what I’d previously told her about my brothers. How our word and loyalty is all we have when it comes to each other, but it means everything to us. Thinking about it reminds me I need to check in with guys and also give Beast a call to see how he’s been doing lately. He was going to keep his ear to the ground as well as Malevolent on any new information coming through about the island. “When can we see them?”
Her saying ‘we’ warms me a touch, it’s not like I’d planned on allowing her to go alone in the first place. There’s still far too much that doesn’t add up about her disappearance, and I’ll be keeping close to her while I figure it out. Her father shouldn’t mind, after all, he’s the one who regularly calls me asking if I’ve heard anything about his missing daughter. She’d been gone for so long, I thought she was dead. I was harsh in the past and told him as much. He promised never to give up on her, and I certainly hope he meant it because she’s alive and well and deserves everything she never had the chance to have.
“I’ll call them and set everything up, okay?”
She nods vehemently, her face still tucked into my neck. She begins to give me pepper kisses over my flesh, and I jump away. I’m too invested in her, and I need to distance myself until I figure out what’s going to happen with us, if anything. I need to put my guard up if she gets her life back and decides she wants nothing to do with me. It’ll hurt, any amount of time away from her will, but I’ll accept it if it’s what she wants. I’ll have no other choice. I won’t be kidnapping Aura to keep her, she’s already had most of her life taken away, and I refuse to add to it.
“Are you all right?” she asks, a frown marring her beautiful face as concern overtakes her features.
I nod, turning away so she won’t read the apprehension on my face. “I need to shower. I have shit to do,” I respond coldly and head for the master bathroom. I turn the shower faucet all the way to the left, and the moment the steam fills the stall, I step inside. The blistering water cascades over my frame as I bend my head and attempt to process everything and how my life will be changing again. I’m not ready to lose her, but in the world our parents are from, you can easily get swallowed up and become another rich, elite snob. I didn’t fit in with any of them, so I turned to the MC. In their place, I gained a group of brothers I’ve always been able to count on.
I wash myself, lathering for far longer than necessary as I’m lost in my thoughts. I step out of the water when Aura decides to join me. Any other day, and I’d have her pushed up against the tile wall, fucking her silly. Not today. I’ve got other shit on my mind, like how she may meet her family and disappear from my life entirely.
Grabbing whatever I find first in my drawers, I dress and hit her father, Steven’s number. I use his personal line, knowing he’ll be at home, and he’ll want to share this with Lucia, Aura’s mother. “I found her,” I say, rather than waste any more of my time with greetings and pointless pleasantries.
There’s a gasp and coughing on the other end of the line. I wait while he nearly keels over before he clears his throat and apologizes. “I’m sorry. I swear I heard you say you found her. Did I hear you correctly, or is my mind playing sick tricks on me?”
“I did. She’s alive, safe, and here with me.”
“Is she, uh... excuse me. I’m just taken off guard. I had begun to think it wasn’t possible. Us finding her, I mean. How is she?” He sounds like he’s crying, and I can’t blame him. I’d be doing the same thing if it were my daughter home after disappearing without a trace for so long. The entire country mourned her disappearance from their television sets, and here she is, alive, after all.
“She’s fine. You can ask her yourself if you’d like?”
“No-no. I uh... wouldn’t know what to say at the moment. I’m freaking out inside right now.”
I can tell.
I ask, “Is there a problem?”
“Problem? No, of course not. The opposite, this is a miracle from God.”
“It’s something, all right. And yes, to be blunt, she’s fine. She wasn’t when I found her, but she is now.”
“Thank you, Philip. I’ll never be able to repay you for this. You name your price at any time, and it’s yours.”
“No, it’s not necessary. I’m just happy she’s home after all this time. She doesn’t remember what happened to her before I found her, and at this point, we think she may never recall it.”
“None of it matters now. She’s home where she belongs.”
Meeting her gaze across the room, I attempt to hide my emotions from her. She’s dressed in one of my shirts with her hair wet and resting over her shoulder. I’ll agree with him on one thing—she’s definitely where she belongs. With me. “When would you like me to bring her to you?”
“I’ll let Lucia know, and she’ll plan a welcome home.”
“Great,” I embellish, not feeling it at all. Let’s bombard her with a party. Surely, she’ll love being ambushed and overwhelmed right from the beginning, I think sarcastically. I don’t say it, but it’s fucking true and unfair in every sense.
“Bring her in an evening gown, and we’ll take care of everything else.”
“No reporters,” I state adamantly before he hangs up. “I see one of them, and I’ll keep on driving.”
He sighs but agrees. “Fine, no reporters. We’ll make a formal statement after the welcome for any media sources and police reports. Tomorrow, shall we say six o’clock?”
“Will it be enough time for Lucia to pull together a party?”
“You just be here with my daughter, and we’ll handle the rest.”
“Yes, sir,” I respond mockingly.
Anything for them to have a reason to throw a party, I suppose. Over the years, they’ve thrown lavish events several times a year. They’re usually crawling with the press, so I keep as far away from them as possible. I’m damn sure I don’t need my mug out there any more than it already is. Being from influential families is bad for the bounty-hunting business. It makes me, as well as anyone associated with me, a prime target for retaliation if my face is all over the front page of society pages and blogs. I hang up without another word, knowing he’ll send a private security car to park outside my place. We don’t need it, but I won’t turn down extra protection where Aura’s concerned.
I meet her penetrating stare from across the room. Hers is filled with curiosity and worry, but she needn’t feel any type of way but excitement.
“You know him?”
I shrug her question off for another time. The less she realizes about me at this point, the better. “You’re going back to your family tomorrow. We have to be there no later than six, and you’ll need a gown.”
“A gown?”
I nod. “Your family can be very formal, and at a gathering like this, they’ll expect you to be in an evening dress. Think long and expensive,” I clarify.
Her shoulders fall, and her hands begin to twist in the bottom fabric of my shirt she’s currently claimed. “What if they aren’t pleased to see me?”
“Your family loves you. Like I said before, they’ve been searching for you from the moment they knew you were gone. They’re very wealthy, so you’ll have to get used to the lifestyle they lead, but you’ll never want for anything. You’ll be perfect, and they’ll expect very little from you, so relax.”
“This makes me even more grateful I have you. You’re so calm and kind. I won’t know how to act or what to think around anyone else.”
“You’ve met Briar, and you were fine. It’ll be the same, you’ll see,” I falsely claim, not knowing if it’ll end up a train wreck where I lose my shit and shoot someone. I keep that bit to myself, though, and gesture her over.
I grab my laptop and power up the screen, bringing up the search engine. “First things first, we need to find you a suitable dress to have overnighted. Blue?” I ask, remembering the dress I found her in. It was faded badly, but the shade was still blue.
“Pink, please, if it’s an option.”
“All colors are available. We’ll order you a few, and you can choose which you like out of all of them.”
Her eyes light up as a wide smile spreads across her face. She beams, and fuck my life if she isn’t the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. “I’ve never had a few dresses before,” she exclaims excitedly, and now I want to buy her a freaking closet full just to spoil her as she deserves.
I offer a grin. “Beauty, you’re about to have so much more than a few dresses, you won’t know what to do with them all.” At this rate, she can order what she wants, and I’ll foot the bill. I don’t care as long as she keeps the happy expression on her face while she’s here with me.
She laughs, reflecting my grin. She probably thinks I’m pulling her leg, but she has no clue she’s one of the richest women on the West Coast. Let’s hope she can handle all the problems that’ll surely follow with it.
Chapter Nine
HUNTER
“MR. AND MRS...” I GREET, about to introduce Steven and his wife to Aura.
He cuts me off, taking a step in our direction. He pauses directly in front of us, his eyes pinned on his now grown-up daughter. She left a toddler and came home a gorgeous, strong woman. It has to be confusing for him and his wife—I know it was for me when I first discovered her true identity. “No need for that, Philip, you know us. We’re practically family,” her father boasts with a wide smile.
Just great. It’s exactly what I didn’t want—Aura finding out I’ve known her father all this time, and I’ve been betraying her by keeping it from her. I’m an asshole, but I can’t help it, nor do I want to.
They’re happy, thrilled even, and I can’t blame them for being overjoyed their daughter is finally home again. In their eyes, me returning with Aura has only further cemented their ideas around the two of us. My parents will be the first to back up the sentiment, I don’t doubt it for a minute. I’m sure they’re around here somewhere, and I’ll see them before I leave.
I meet Aura’s gaze, hers is stinging with betrayal, and it’s pointed in my direction.
“Excuse us for just a moment,” I interrupt and step a few paces away.
“You knew this entire time?” Aura accuses, hurt lacing her tone. I hate knowing I’m the one who’s caused her some pain, but I had to be sure she was okay before I could bring her to her parents. I’ve known them my entire life, and at one point, they were sort of like an extended aunt and uncle, but Aura’s disappearance changed everything for both our families.
My hands raise in defense. I’m guilty, but I have my reasons, and I don’t expect her to understand them. “I had to be sure. You’d been gone for so long. I’ve spent my entire life looking for someone who’d become a ghost, searching for you.”
Her lower lip trembles as a tear slides free. I move to wipe it away, but she turns away from my touch, not wanting to feel my fingers on her flesh. My hand falls back to my side, rejected. My fingers curl into a fist. “I had to be sure,” I repeat. “I don’t expect you to understand. I’ll explain if you’ll give me the chance, and if not, then you can continue hating me if it pleases you.”
She’s been blindsided, and I’m guilty of that deception as I am of far more. She doesn’t need to know I was being selfish, keeping her for me alone. She’ll have forever with these people, and I wanted her without all their influence. Once I realized who she was, I had to see if we could be anything without her knowing our past and if it truly was fate bringing us together again.
A figure in black steps into my peripheral vision, and instinctively, I move to Aura. I place my arm around her, clutching her to me, and murmur, “Careful with this one. I’ve never trusted her.”
I know she catches my words as her body stiffens with each approaching step from the woman clad in all black. She’s a dark stain on the party, evil surrounding every inch of her. She stands out amongst the guests in her spiked ebony shoes, dress, makeup, and hair. Even the diamonds dripping over her are the darkest shade of black available. As she pauses to stand in front of us, I rumble, “Aura, this is your aunt.”
Black lips twist into a cruel grin as she stares down her sharp nose at Aura. Her words are slick and slimy as she falsely greets, “Darling! We’ve all missed you so. We were worried you were left for dead somewhere in a ditch.”
She was hoping as much, that I don’t doubt. As the next heir in line beside Aura, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s the one who organized Aura’s disappearance in the first place. In fact, that makes the most sense out of everything. It’s an idea I’ve toyed with a time or two in the back of my mind, one that hasn’t gone away.
“Hello, forgive me for being rude, but I don’t know what your name is.” Aura is the last person who should be apologizing to this vile woman. I don’t interrupt as the last thing I want is to offer her aunt any pleasantries when she least deserves them. Rather, I bide my time standing behind Aura, steady as a stone for as long as she needs me to be.
“Never mind that, darling. One can’t expect much when your mind is so fragile.”
Bitch is an understatement when it comes to this woman. She has the nerve to be speaking down to Aura. There are plenty of us in this room tonight who can see her for what she really is. She may wear black as a silent suit of armor, but her favorite color is old-money green. She latched onto Steven and Lucia and hasn’t let go of the gold chain since.
Aura offers a kind smile while standing her ground. Needless to say, I’m proud of her to see she has a backbone even when faced with a powerful adversary. “Right, what shall I call you?”
“Aunty will suffice nicely.”
Luckily, we’re interrupted by her father. The eager old fool doesn’t want to relinquish his time with his daughter after being apart from her for so long. Living with her for the short time I have, I can understand his fondness. I don’t want to give her up either.
“Why the long faces? This is a party. Everyone should be celebrating and wearing smiles. The world is right once again, and I have my daughter home with me.” His face lights up as he gazes fondly at Aura, love and pride shining from him.
“Of course, Steven,” I agree. “It wasn’t the same without her around. We all missed her presence.”
Her aunt ruins the moment by saying, “It was certainly much quieter without a clumsy toddler getting into everything.”
“Aura, come with me. I need to speak with you for a moment.” I tug her far enough away we won’t be easily overheard by her aunt. My eagerness to get her alone is met with an icy glare. It’s what I deserve, my betrayal has run deep, and I’d bet she’s barely scratching the surface of her anger.
“What is it,” she asks with impatience lacing her tone.
I inwardly cringe but keep any apologies to myself. I refuse to grovel for merely keeping her safe. Were my ambitions strictly selfish? One could argue they are, but I always had her safety in the forefront of my mind. “Trust me when I tell you there’s something off with that woman. Don’t let her get too close or ever be alone with Diana. My gut tells me she’s guilty, of what, who knows. My gut never lies, so I won’t begin to doubt it now. You can’t trust her.”
“Did your gut also tell you to lie to me about knowing who I am? All this time, Philip, you knew who my mother and father were, and you chose not to tell me. What does that say about the type of person you are, or if I can trust you at this point as well? You owe me an explanation. It’s the least you can do after lying to me, after making me fall for you like a fool.”
Fuck. This is worse than I thought.
I can’t worry about that now, not when we’re in a ballroom full of serpents. “After years of experience chasing convicts, one thing I’ve learned is how to peg a criminal. No matter if they’re clad in silk-lined suits, five-day-old jeans, or in this case, a black evening gown. I know that I hurt you, but it wasn’t my intention. Be angry all you want but listen to me on this one last thing.”
“Fine.” She glances toward her father, and in my heart, I know she won’t be coming home with me. Another time maybe if I’m ever so lucky to figure a way to pay penance for my betrayal, and she allows me to touch her again. I reach for her elbow testing my theory, and she proves me right when she jerks away as if she’s been stung. If she only had a clue, I’m the one person here she can truly trust, betrayal or not.
Tilting my chin, I let her know she’s welcome to return to her family. I don’t want to keep her away from them any longer, not until she’s forgiven me and we can work through this.
Making my way back with her, I shake Philip’s hand. I offer a jerky nod toward the evil bitch in black and make for the exit. I hear them asking Aura about her singing and if she’ll grace the guests with a song. I regret sharing the detail about her with them and should’ve selfishly saved it for myself. This is her first night back in her home, and yet they threw a party full of people she doesn’t know and now want her on stage, playing the dutiful puppet. It’s something I’ve never been able to stand.
My family is nearly as wealthy as Aura’s, and it’s one of the reasons they had so many plans for us when we became adults. Fate just so happened to intervene and cruelly steal away all options offered to us. It had to wait until we were adults, both fucked-up in our own ways before finally realigning our stars. Even with a second chance at hand, we seem to be veering in separate directions.
Needless to say, I never quite lived up to my parents’ expectations, not that I give a fuck. Sure, I love them both, they were good to me growing up, but it doesn’t mean I’ll give up all that I am to be something I’m not. The stuffy business suit, married to Aura with four of our own little heirs running around, isn’t in my cards.
