by Jewel, Bella
He still doesn’t get it. This isn’t about our attraction. If it was, I’d never leave his bed.
“I’m not going to change my mind.” I can’t. Not if I have any hope for a mentally stable future.
I suck in a breath, fill my lungs, and retreat from his embrace. I don’t look at him. I turn to the glass and watch Decker approach with food bags and a tray of takeout coffee.
Hunter opens the door, lets him inside, then leads the way to the dining table.
“There are croissants, English muffins, and donuts, depending on your mood.” Decker dumps the feast on the thick polished wood and pulls out a chair.
I take a seat across from him, while Hunter sits at the head of the table. Both of them focus on spreading the food and handing out coffee. Neither of them looks at me, as if fearing even a glance will bring up the topic we need to discuss.
Well, it’s too late for avoidance.
“Tell me what you know about Jacob.” I unwrap my croissant and take a large bite, the taste inspiring a hearty groan.
Hunter flicks me a casual glance, devoid of the feelings from our private moment. “He goes by the name Vaughn.”
“Zack,” Decker adds. “He’s been working with Torian for years.”
“Almost as long as I have.” Hunter takes a sip of coffee, watching me over the rim of the cup.
“You know him?”
He nods. “We’re not buddies, but yeah, I know him.”
My appetite threatens to flee. “And you’re still willing to help me take him down?”
“Yep.” He takes another lazy sip of caffeine.
There’s no concern. No building apprehension. Does he even understand my plans?
“You do realize I want him dead, right?” I glance at them both, expecting to see a glimmer of shock or foreboding. I find neither.
“I know.” He places the coffee cup down and unwraps an English muffin. “It shouldn’t be hard.”
“Why is that?” I place my croissant on the paper wrapping, giving him my full attention.
“We’re going to get someone else to do it.”
“No.” I scowl. “I don’t want anyone else. I’ve waited ten yea—”
“Sending someone to meet their maker isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. You’re not a murderer, princess.”
I straighten my shoulders and want to snarl at how his gaze dips to my now thrusted breasts. “Let me worry about that.”
“I can’t. I won’t.” His attention returns to mine without remorse. “Do you really think you can look him in the eye and follow through with killing him?”
“Yes,” I grate.
“And do you think you can spend the rest of your life seeing that face every time you close your eyes? Do you think you can live with his ghost haunting you? Always looking over your shoulder to see if the cops are following?”
“I handled you following me, didn’t I?”
“That’s nothing in comparison.” His lip curls, but it isn’t nice. It’s cruel and derisive. “Have you forgotten what it felt like when you thought you killed Dan? Do you remember the nausea? Do you remember how you hid in your apartment for days?”
I remember.
But Dan was different. He didn’t murder four people in cold blood. He didn’t murder anyone. In comparison, Jacob turned my family to ash without remorse.
He didn’t deserve this new life as Zack Vaughn. He didn’t deserve a life at all.
“I. Can. Handle. It.” I enunciate the words with vehemence.
I want the other Hunter back. The caring, pleasing one, not the harsh criminal who now sits in his place.
“And what if I don’t want you to? What if I can’t handle you handling it?”
The thick silence that follows his response is louder than our argument. Static rushes in my ears. My pulse pounds in my throat. I don’t want this to be hard on him, but neither can I let him distract me from what I’ve strived for.
“Sarah…” Decker places his croissant down. “Let Torian do it for you. That way you’re still responsible, but not held accountable, and he will fuck Vaughn up better than you ever could.”
I drag my attention to him and frown. “Torian? Why would he kill Jacob for me?”
“Because that’s exactly what he does to anyone who crosses him.”
“I don’t understand.” I glance between them, back and forth, trying to work out the puzzle.
“You’re going to tell him that Dan gave you the name of the informant.”
I gasp at the simplicity of their scheme. “I’m going to tell him it was Jacob?”
“Vaughn,” Decker corrects. “You need to make sure you get the name right.”
I nod, my lips curling in an excited leer. “That sounds…” I want to say easy, but this is a murderous plot. Surely it can’t be that simple. “Are you certain it will work?”
“No, not at all.” Hunter pins me with a stern scowl. “Convincing Torian will be a bitch now that I’ve already promised him you know nothing. He won’t appreciate me going back on my word. He’ll be skeptical from the get go.”
“Which means it’s best if the news comes from you,” Decker adds. “We’ll take you to see him or—”
“We’ll fucking call him first,” Hunter growls. “And pray to God that’s enough. I don’t want you there with him.”
My throat dries at the unwavering concern in his eyes.
“But all this will put you in a dangerous position, too, right?” I ask. “It makes your original promise a lie.”
“Don’t worry about me. You’re the one we’re concerned about.”
“Concentrate on getting your story straight.” Decker balls his trash and throws it at the open paper bag in the middle of the table. “We need to go over the details again and again and again until it’s memorized. It will take days to get this right.”
“That doesn’t work for me.” The sooner this is all over, the sooner I can remove the shackles of Jacob’s strangling hold. I won’t wait a minute longer than necessary to be free from him. “I don’t need to practice. Not when the truth is so close to what happened with Dan in the first place. The story will be simple and without complication. He can either take it or leave it.”
“And if he leaves it?” Hunter asks.
“Then I deal with Jacob the old-fashioned way.”
“You mean the way that gets you killed?” He scoffs, smug and superior. “I should just do this on my own.”
“Don’t you dare take this from me,” I snap. “He’s not yours to kill.”
I can’t believe we’re bickering about murder. We’re fighting over who gets to end someone’s life. If my high school self could see me now, she would literally pee her pants.
“She’s right.” Decker raises his voice. “We already discussed this. If Torian found out you smoked one of his dealers, your life wouldn’t be worth living.”
“And besides,” I add, “you act as though I’m new to this, but I’m not. Dan wasn't the first guy I fucked with. I've done this before. Many times.” I grab the edge of the table in both hands to hold back my frustration. “Do you remember the priest whose child-molesting case was dropped? Do you also remember that same priest was admitted to hospital with self-inflicted cuts to his genitals?”
“Oh, boy,” Decker mumbles.
“They weren’t self-inflicted,” I clarify. “And the investment banker who signed all of his assets over to the ex-wife he physically abused? Do you think he did that out of the goodness of his heart? Or the school teacher who secretly filmed high school girls in the shower? Did you ever wonder why he made the sudden decision to join a monastery?” I stab a finger at my chest. “I did all that. And much more.”
Decker grins. “Is it weird that I’m a little turned on right now?”
Hunter glares at me, obviously not appreciating his friend’s enthusiasm. “Congratulations.” He leans back in his chair and gives a slow clap. “And how much time did you spend planning those jobs?”
>
Asshole.
Trust him to cut right to the only flaw in this plan. “I know what I’m doing, Hunter. And I already have a story straight in my head. A real one. The truth. I’ll tell him exactly what happened. The only thing I have to add is the few seconds where Dan told me the name.”
He continues to eye me, his focus bordering on a glower.
“Look,” I plead. “This isn’t new to me, and it sure as hell doesn’t daunt me. I’ve wanted this for too damn long not to be enthusiastic to get it done.”
“Then tell us your story.” He spreads his arms wide. “Why were you with Dan that night?”
“To make him stop assaulting women. He’d been beating prostitutes on a regular basis and leaving them for dead.”
“And why was that your concern?” Decker asks.
“It should be everyone’s concern. Vulnerable women were hurt, and he had no intention of stopping. The police wouldn’t do a damn thing and nobody held his father accountable—”
“So you beat him?” Decker interrupts.
“Yes.”
They continue to bombard me with questions, one after another, but my responses are confident and given with conviction. I know my story. The timeline is infallible. The account is legitimate. All I have to do is leave out the parts about Jacob.
“And why would Dan just give you Vaughn’s name without you having to ask?” Hunter raises a brow. “Especially when he demanded a large sum of money from Torian for the information.”
“Because Rohypnol can be a bitch.” I keep my expression blank. “In the minutes before he passed out, he was so confused he blurted a whole diatribe of what I thought was useless information. He said his father would kill him if another scandal got out. Then he pleaded once more for me to let him go, and told me Vaughn was the name I wanted. That Vaughn was Torian’s informant.”
Hunter’s nostrils flare as he glares at me in an intimidation tactic. Or is it legitimate anger? I’m not sure. He pushes from his seat and silently begins snatching used food wrappers from the table.
“Is that it?” I follow him with my gaze. “Are you done grilling me?”
“Not even close.” He shoves garbage into the empty takeout bags. “We need to keep going over this.”
I sigh and glance to Decker for support. “I told you I won’t do this a million times. I know my story. It won’t change.”
Hunter slams his palms against the wood. “And I told you that convincing Torian won’t be a fucking walk in the park. You’re not ready until I say you are.”
I close my eyes briefly and find calm. He’s upset that I nailed my account of what happened, because once this is all over, he knows I’ll leave him. I get it. Really, I do. But I’m not going to wait around until he feels all warm and fuzzy about this. That shit could take weeks.
“You’re angry.” I look up at him, trying to reiterate how important the culmination of this moment with Torian will be for me. “I need this, Hunter. I’m ready.”
His nostrils flare.
“She’s right,” Decker murmurs. “She’s got this.”
“How the fuck do you know that?” Hunter snarls. “I promised Torian she knew nothing. Going back on my word will make him suspicious. He’ll come at her from every angle—”
“You don’t know that, either.” Decker stands. “He might not even want to talk to her in person. Having the conversation over the phone might be enough, seeing as he already knows there’s an informant. But no matter what he does, we can’t prepare for the unknown. We can only bank on her story being straight. And it is.”
I give Hunter a sad smile. I can see the concern in his glare. He’s worried. On edge. “I can do this. I promise.”
“Go on.” Decker jerks his chin toward the kitchen. “Get your phone. Call him. This could be as simple as a ten-minute conversation.”
Hunter doesn’t move. Not apart from clenching his fists in a white-knuckle grip against the wood.
“Please, Hunter.” I clasp my hands in prayer and bat my lashes softly for dramatic effect.
He rolls his eyes and snatches the trash-filled bag from the table to stalk to the kitchen. My belly tumbles as he grabs his phone off the counter, then strides back in my direction, then past to the porch door, and outside.
I don’t know if I should give him space or follow. Chase after him, like he’s always chased after me. Or remain in place, where it’s safe and sterile from his affection.
“He’s fucked up over you,” Decker mutters. “Well and truly fucked.”
I don’t respond. I can’t, not when I know what it feels like to be in Hunter’s shoes. I feel exactly the same way. I experience it with every breath.
Hunter slumps onto the top step leading to the grass and stares off in the distance. He’s picture perfect from this angle—the back view. The one where I can’t see his massive scowl and harsh eyes. Looking at him front-on won’t be as pretty—I know that. But I still want to be beside him.
I always want to be beside him.
“He won’t call until you make him do it.” Decker grabs the second bag of trash from the table and walks around me. “While you’re here with him, he’s going to try to protect you for as long as he can.”
The beat of my heart quickens, in both sorrow and determination. There is always too much conflict when it comes to Hunter. We’re opposing forces that continuously try to unite but consistently fail.
“I’ll convince him.” I drag my feet to the door and step onto the porch, the cool morning breeze sinking straight into me.
Hunter sits there cradling the phone in his hand with Torian’s name displayed across the screen, the call waiting to be connected.
“Please call him,” I beg.
His jaw ticks as he stares down at the device in his palm. “I need you to promise me you won’t do anything stupid.” His gaze flicks up at me, those gorgeous hazel eyes peering through dark lashes.
“Stupid is a really broad term. You might need to be more specific.” I smile, but he doesn’t reciprocate the expression.
Instead, he sighs. “I’m just as likely to stop you from doing something stupid as I am of convincing you to stay with me, aren’t I?”
I sit down beside him, our arms brushing. “I’ve wanted this for ten years. It’s the only thing I’ve wanted. Well… I spent months wishing for the impossible—that I would wake up from my nightmare and my family would all be surrounding me. Eventually, I got sick of kidding myself and I focused on something tangible. Something I could actually achieve. And this is it. My family deserves to be at rest knowing the person who murdered them isn’t capable of hurting anyone else. I deserve to know that, too.”
He glances down at his phone, and the seconds tick by with the peaceful chirp of birds in the trees above.
“Don’t say a word while I talk to him.” He gives me one last glance, then presses the call button.
I hold my breath as he puts the loud speaker on, and the ring, ring, rings sail through me like arrows. The call connects, and the briefest pause of silence makes my stomach turn.
“You’re up early,” Torian greets.
All the air leaves my lungs in a sudden rush of anxiety. It’s time to start the game. Out-master. Out-strategize. Out-play.
Hunter places his hand on my thigh and gives a comforting squeeze. “I’ve got news.”
“What sort of news?”
Hunter closes his eyes, his face etched in pain. “It turns out Steph obtained information from Dan after all.”
Neither of them speaks for seconds that tick by like tortured years. Torian is skeptical. Already. This doesn’t bode well.
“Is that so?” Torian asks.
“Yeah, that’s so. But I’ll let you talk to her about it. She’s here with me now.”
“I don’t want to talk to her, Hunt.” The tone is lethal. “I want to talk to you.”
My heart seizes. I’m frozen. Hunter stiffens, too, his apprehension clear.
“You alr
eady told me she knew nothing,” Torian continues. “If memory serves, you vowed it to me.”
Hunter releases his hold on my leg and wipes a hand down his face. “I was wrong. Apparently, she was too scared to talk.”
“Hmm.” There’s a wealth of judgmental disappointment in that one sound. “You’ve been wrong a lot lately.”
“Once isn’t a lot.” Hunter shoves to his feet and walks onto the grass, stalking back and forth like a caged predator.
“Give me the name. Who is it?”
Hunter pauses and meets my gaze, his eyes filled with bitter sorrow. “It’s your dealer in Newport. Dan told her it was Vaughn.”
I bite my lower lip, my fingers tangling in the warm wool of my sweater. Torian doesn’t believe him. I can feel it in the sinking sensation taking over my stomach.
Please. Please. Please.
“Okay. Now, I’m willing to talk to her.”
Hunter nods. “Good. I’ll put her on the line.”
“No. We do this face to face.”
The strong man before me snaps taut. His eyes widen, his lips part, before he finally bows his head. Defeated.
I’m not going to panic. Nope. We’re still on track.
“Tell me when and where, and I’ll make it happen.”
“I’ve got plans this morning. I’ll call you when I have time.”
Sweet relief rushes through me as Hunter disconnects the call and places the device in his pants pocket. He remains on the grass, his brow furrowed in concern, his lips set in a tight line.
“This is good.” I push to my feet. “We’re moving forward.”
I’d hoped Torian wouldn’t want to see me. That all this could be fixed with a simple phone call. But after years of searching and scheming, that result wouldn’t have given me closure.
I need to do this properly. To articulate my words with utter perfection to ensure my dance of victory is the sweetest imaginable. To see the hatred for Jacob in Torian’s eyes and know he will punish my tormenter far greater than I could.
He approaches, climbing the step in front of me to wrap his arms around my waist. He tilts his chin, meeting my gaze. “Are you still confident?” His fingers rub up and down my back. Calming. Comforting.