“I doubt it. Someone else will have to teach him that lesson when it’s closer to that time.”
Hunter carefully put the razor down on the opposite side of the sink, grabbed Leo by the armpits and put him onto his feet. “Give your momma a hug. Apparently, she had a long day.” He shot Frankie a frown.
“You done?” Leo asked him, her son blinking up at the man with eyes full of worship.
Damn it.
Hunter ruffled his dark brown hair, which was already standing on end, most likely from the bits of blue Playdoh she spotted in it. “Yeah, bud, I’m done for now. Say hello to your momma. I’m sure she missed you.”
Hunter reached for a hand towel and began to wipe away the remaining shaving cream as he stared into the mirror and while he did it, Frankie couldn’t miss his jaw working.
She had said something he didn’t like. But they weren’t going to pretend he was sticking around to teach Leo things when he was ready to learn them.
He wasn’t.
So, there was no point in pretending.
“Danny put shavin’ cream on my face!” Leo spouted loudly.
Frankie’s eyebrows rose but she kept her attention on her son. “He did?”
Leo’s head bounced back and forth in a sloppy nod. “Yeah! An’ then he shaved my face!”
Frankie lifted her gaze to see Hunter watching her in the mirror. He shook his head slightly. She dropped her attention back to Leo. “How cool! You’re getting to be such a big boy. Peeing in the potty and shaving,” she muttered. “Next, he’ll take you driving.”
Hunter’s hands gripped the edge of the counter and he dropped his head, shaking it again.
Leo darted past her and screamed down the hallway, driving an invisible car. “Yeah, drivin’! Vroom vroom.”
“No,” was all Frankie said, then turned to follow her son.
“You two do not go downstairs without me,” came the low warning.
She stopped in her tracks, backed up a couple of steps, leaned into the bathroom and announced, “We need to talk.” Then she followed Leo into his room, snagged him by the waist and carried him downstairs giggling so they could watch a half hour of cartoons together before putting him to bed.
“I told you not to go downstairs without me, loquilla,” came the growl near her ear. Her hands were submerged in soapy water as she washed the dishes. His heat seared her back as he caged her in by planting his palms on the counter on either side of her. “You disobeyed me, and disobeying comes with consequences.”
“Can’t wait,” she said, trying her best to sound bored. She was anything but. Though, she was disappointed he was back to using “loquilla” instead of “baby.”
“This isn’t a game, Frankie. You gotta keep on your toes and you need to listen.”
She went back to scrubbing the dish with the sponge. “I can’t take much more of this.”
“What?”
“All of it. My nerves are shot.”
“As soon as he surfaces, we’ll be out of your hair. Your life can go back to how it was, and you won’t have to worry about him showing up and messing with you.”
That was the problem. She didn’t want her life to go back to how it was. Things had changed in the last couple of weeks.
But, she reminded herself for the millionth time, this was fantasy, not reality. Temporary, not permanent. Leo was Taz’s son, not Hunter’s.
She dropped her head and closed her eyes. She only wanted the best for Leo, and she couldn’t give him that.
She could barely get by with what she made at the restaurant, her home was small, old and in need of repairs, her car on its last legs. Their future was bleak. She couldn’t start a college fund for Leo, she couldn’t buy him new clothes, and she certainly couldn’t provide him with a good male influence.
“Frankie, you wanted to talk. So, talk.”
She dropped the sponge into the water and turned in his arms, leaning back against the edge of the sink.
She couldn’t let being so close to him change her mind. “I think you need to switch with one of the other guys.” It came out in a rush, but she knew he heard her because his chin jerked back, and his eyes narrowed.
Also, because he asked, “What?”
Not “What?” like “I didn’t hear you,” but “What?” like “What the fuck?”
And she knew he heard her clearly because that “What?” was very growly.
She pushed onward by nodding and saying, “I think Steel or one of the other guys needs to guard the house, while you—”
“I’m watching over the kid and I’m watching over you. The fuck if I’m letting Steel or Brick... or any of them... in here to take over that job.”
“Why? Are they not as capable as you?”
His mouth opened, closed, then opened once more. “Our team is the best in the business.”
“So then, it shouldn’t be an issue.”
His nostrils flared, and a muscle pulsed in his cheek. “It’s an issue.”
“I’m worried Leo’s getting attached to you. You’ll up and leave when this is all over, Hunter. Then what? This was why I wasn’t eager to go out and start dating again. I didn’t want to disappoint him by having a man come into his life and then split.”
“It’s no more than if an uncle came to visit.”
Her eyes bugged out. “Oh no. I’m not playing that game where I have my kid call the men I’m dating ‘Uncle.’” She shuddered. “It’s creepy and wrong.”
Chapter Fifteen
First of all, Frankie needed to not use the word “men” when it came to dating. That meant multiples. She needed to find one man. A good one.
Second of all...
He pushed away from both the counter and her, and turned his back to her, scrubbing a hand over his hair and down his cheek, trying not to bellow his frustration.
Second of all, she shouldn’t be looking for any man.
Fuck him.
Fuck him.
Fuck him with a fucking goddamn red-hot poker.
Jam it up his ass and in his eye. Fuck.
“Frankie,” he murmured, still facing away from her.
“What, Hunter?” She sounded annoyed, but he didn’t give a fuck.
“You’re stuck with me.” When she didn’t say anything, he continued, trying not to lose his shit about her wanting him out of her house. “We have our mission set, we have our positions, we’re not switching it up. If you don’t like it, too fucking bad.”
He turned in time to watch her chest rise and fall and her eyes change when she whispered, “It’s not just Leo I’m worried about.”
He did a slow blink and ignored her deeper implication, hoping he misunderstood. “We’re here to keep you safe. We know what we’re doing, Frankie.”
“But what are we doing, Hunter?”
Fuck, he hadn’t misunderstood. A prickle of unease slithered down his spine. “Frankie, you yourself said ‘it is what it is.’ You expected nothing more than what I was giving you. Are you telling me now, that’s not true?”
Fuck, that wasn’t true.
“You’re not only burrowing into my son’s life, but mine, too. Problem is, I like it... too much. I don’t want to get used to this, because when you walk out the door,” she flung her hand out toward the front of the house, “it’s going to hurt. And you will walk out that door.”
“I had no idea you were feeling differently.” He had no fucking clue. If he had, he would have parked his ass on the couch, not in her bed.
She planted her hands on her hips, tilted her head to the side and huffed, “Really?”
He took a step closer to her. “Yeah, really. I can’t be tied down, Frankie.”
She closed her eyes and whispered, “I know.”
“Then I’m not getting where you’re going.”
Her eyes opened and she gave him a hard look. “Then you’re not listening. I said you need to switch out with one of your crew.”
He stared at the reason his blood pressure was spi
king. “And you didn’t listen when I said that ain’t happening.”
“I need some separation from you. And you from Leo.”
He took another step closer until they were only a couple feet apart. “Again, not happening.”
She spun away from him. “I can’t do this.”
“It’ll be over soon, Frankie.” His patience was at its limit.
“I know!” she hissed. “That’s the problem. I’m falling in love with you and so is Leo.”
The words on Hunter’s tongue dissolved and he stepped back, giving them some space.
“It is what it is,” he said, unable to form any other response. He swallowed, trying to open his narrowing throat.
Frankie huffed out a bitter laugh. “It is what it is. You’re right.” She spun on him, her expression holding a whole lot of hurt. “It is what it is. You’re here for a job, you’re here to help me. And I’m grateful for that second part, believe me. I expected nothing more from you because I wasn’t looking for that myself. But shit happens. Things I can’t control. Having you in my bed night after night... Seeing how you are with Leo... Watching you fix things around my house... I didn’t mean for it to happen, it just did. It caught me unprepared.”
He opened his mouth to proclaim, “It’s just sex,” but he snapped it shut, because that was a fucking lie. It wasn’t just sex. It was way more than fucking sex.
So much more.
His heart began to thunder in his chest and his breath became shallow.
He had stepped in it.
He stuck his fucking foot right in it.
He wasn’t even aware of it until just now. Seeing Frankie’s face, hearing her words, feeling her ache.
He got it.
He did. He just didn’t like it.
He wasn’t sure if he could live with it.
But if him being in her home was going to cause her and Leo pain, then he had to do something about that. He needed to switch out. Put Mercy or Ryder in the house. They were safe since each of them had no interest in any other woman than the one they already had.
They wouldn’t put the moves on Frankie, so that possibility wouldn’t be eating at him.
But he didn’t want to fucking leave.
He wanted to be in this house, be in her bed.
But he also didn’t want to cause her pain.
Because he couldn’t stay. He couldn’t settle.
His roots were still shallow in Shadow Valley, and she needed more than that. She and her son needed deep and solid.
She didn’t need a man who took off at a moment’s notice to head across country when required. She needed a man who was stable.
He wasn’t it.
He wasn’t looking for a relationship.
He wasn’t looking for a family.
It wasn’t them. It was him.
Because if it could be him, it would be them.
He needed his freedom. He needed his space.
He had looked death directly in the face the last time that had been taken away from him. He never wanted to be in a situation where he felt trapped again. He might not survive it a second time.
He realized she was still talking but he couldn’t hear anything except a roar in his ears.
His vision unclouded and he didn’t see anger or sadness but instead fear on her face. Was she worried about him?
He mentally shook himself and she was whispering his name, her hand squeezing his arm.
“What’s wrong?”
“Didn’t you hear that noise?”
His spine snapped straight, and his mind cleared as the last of the fog shook free. He listened carefully. “What noise?”
“Outside.”
He heard nothing, but he was taking no chances. “Get upstairs. Get in Leo’s room and lock the door.”
“Hun—”
“Now, Frankie, no back-talk.”
Her mouth opened, but she closed it quickly, nodded and headed out of the kitchen.
“Do not leave his room until I come get you.”
She didn’t respond but he heard her running up the steps.
He had removed his gun from the small of his back when he was shaving since he didn’t want Leo asking him about it. But he’d secured it again once he tossed a T-shirt over his head before searching out Frankie in the kitchen.
He was glad he did.
He pulled his weapon from the holster and his cell phone from the side pocket of his cargo pants.
He texted the team. Noise. House. Rear. Eyes?
Walker quickly texted back. Nothing.
Various times of ETA were texted back to him. Steel was only two minutes out, but Walker was closer.
He texted back quickly. Don’t come in hot.
Copy came back from all of them, except Walker, who Hunter expected to come in on foot and under cover since he was so close.
Hunter turned off the overhead kitchen light and put his back to the wall next to the door that led to the backyard. He held his breath and listened carefully but still heard nothing.
He double checked the lock and as he was doing so, heard a scratching noise and a clunk on the small overhang above the door and stoop. How that raggedy roof would hold anyone’s weight, he had no fucking clue, but he wasn’t waiting for it to come crashing down and deposit Taz at his feet.
Fuck no. He was taking that fucker out.
He moved through the house—for once glad it was small—and out the front door, grabbing a key as he went and locking it behind him. Then he slipped around to the side of the house nearest the garage and spotted Walker in the shadows.
When Walker gave him a hand signal, Hunter shook his head and pointed to his ear.
Walker nodded and disappeared around the back of the garage and before he could move, Steel was next to him.
Jesus. Good thing it was Steel and not Taz. Hunter’s game was off. He needed to focus and stop thinking about everything Frankie had said.
“You shit yourself?” Steel asked under his breath.
Hunter shot him a “fuck you” look and began to move, gun out, ears open, eyes focused.
Steel moved with him, his back practically touching Hunter’s, his weapon out and his eyes peeled.
As they reached the back corner of the house, they spotted Walker at the rear corner of the garage closest to the house. He was visually sweeping the yard. When his eyes landed on Hunter, he shook his head.
Fuck.
Hunter pointed up at the roof over the back door and Walker again shook his head.
Then they heard it.
A loud yowl and a thump. A fucking cat streaked past them, the tail curled high and puffed out.
Walker dropped his head and shook it. Hunter could see his body shaking from where he stood.
Hunter lifted one finger and they listened for a few more minutes. Nothing.
Just a fucking neighborhood cat.
All three holstered their handguns. Then met halfway.
Steel snorted. “There’s that fucking wild pussy you said scratched your back, Danny-boy.”
“And that’s the only type of pussy that’ll let you touch it, asshole,” Hunter growled back.
Walker pulled his phone out and said quietly, “Gonna text the other three, tell them to stand-down and not blow their cover in case Taz is in the area.”
“Well, if the fucker’s watching, he now knows we’re waiting for him,” Hunter said, his gaze sliding through the dark backyard one more time.
Steel whacked him on the back. “Three days already, dude. Time’s ticking. D’s gonna give us two more, then we’re being recalled. So... whataya gonna do when that happens?”
Hunter stared at the house. “She wants me to switch out.”
He sensed rather than saw Steel jerk next to him. “What?”
“She wants me out, someone else in.” Hunter turned toward Steel to see his grin. “Not you. You’re not getting in there.” He meant that in more ways than one.
“Must be you ain’t
giving her the dick good enough.”
“She isn’t in charge of this mission, brother,” Walker said as he stepped shoulder to shoulder with Hunter. “You are. She doesn’t make the rules, you do. You wanna remain in there, you remain in there. She likes it, she doesn’t like it. Doesn’t fucking matter. Not her call. She’s benefitting from someone else’s job. She should be happy that she’s not only getting one of her problems taken care of but getting some dick while that’s happening.”
Hunter’s lips flattened out and did something smart, he waited to respond.
Gotta think before you act, loquilla.
She wasn’t the only one.
“So, who are you gonna swap out with? Mercy or Ryder?” Steel asked. “Apparently, you’ll only choose someone who already has their dick in a cock cage.”
Mercy or Ryder.
Neither.
Walker was right. “Not her say how this is run,” Hunter told him. “I’m staying in that house and I’m staying longer than two days if that shit stain doesn’t show up. I’m staying until D loses his fucking mind and then, and only then, if Taz hasn’t come up for air, I’ll head back.”
Steel’s lips twitched. “Must be one sweet cunt.”
“Brother,” Walker murmured the warning low.
Hunter leaned dangerously close to Steel and growled, “You stayed three days with her, what do you think?”
Steel’s jaw worked a couple times before he spit out, “Thinking she’s worth staying until the boss man loses his fucking mind.”
Hunter straightened and nodded once. “Just a clarification. She isn’t sweet, she’s fucking hot and spicy and will scorch you with that first bite.”
“Just your type.” Walker chuckled next to him and Steel grinned.
That would be true if he had a type.
He glanced back at the house. Apparently, he had one.
“Keep to the shadows and get back where you need to be,” Hunter said. “I’m gonna go get where I need to be, too. Whether she likes it or not.”
“Fuck. To be a fly on the wall,” Walker said as he disappeared behind the garage.
“Guess you’re going to be kicking that spice up a notch. Careful you’re not permanently scarred, Danny.”
When Steel turned to go, Hunter stopped him with a soft, “Brother.”
Guts & Glory: Hunter (In the Shadows Security Book 3) Page 18