Sadie gave her a smirk and then fluffed her raven-black hair. If any two women could be opposites, it was her and Sadie. “I just felt I should warn you woman to woman, that you’re being played by Hunter.”
“Oh, is that right?” Emily crossed her arms over her chest. “And you just felt that, since we were such great friends, you’d do this favor. Bullshit, Sadie. Now, unless you’re buying or ordering anything, you need to leave because I’m closing for the night.”
“Yeah, I know.” Sadie’s smirk hadn’t left her cruel lips. “For your big date with Hunter.”
“Well, since you are dead set on letting me know whatever it is you know, then spit it out.” Emily was so done with this game and felt a sense of joy when Sadie seemed taken aback by her attitude.
“I think you should know that Hunter plans on taking you to his place tonight. He asked Roxy to make him a nice dinner for you.” Sadie’s eyes ran down Emily’s body, her nose wrinkling. “He takes all of his women there. I’ve been there more than most.”
Even though it felt like someone punched her in the gut, she was going to give Hunter the benefit of the doubt. She had never trusted Sadie and didn’t plan on starting now. “Well, since we’ve established that you’re the bigger whore, how about you turn your ass around and head on out of my store.”
“What did you say to me?” Sadie’s eyes blazed with rage.
“Oh, you heard me.” Emily took a step toward her. “Now, shoo. Go on.”
“Did you just shoo me?” Sadie sneered and for a pretty woman, she sure looked ugly as hell when she was pissed off.
“Yes, I called you a whore, and I shooed you.” Emily took another step toward her. “Anything else we need to clear up or does that pretty much do it?”
“Bitch, you better watch yourself.” Sadie stood straight, her shoulders back, but Emily wasn’t intimidated. Those days were over.
“No, bitch,” Emily shot back. “You best watch yourself. These aren’t high school games we’re playing now. You do not intimidate me, so I’m going to ask you one more time to get the hell out of my store before I break your skinny ass in half.”
“Is that a threat?” Sadie tried to look tough, but she actually looked frightened. It was about damn time. All Sadie did was try to intimidate people. Well, not today.
“No, it’s not.” Emily smiled a fake sweet smile. “It’s a fucking promise.”
Emily watched as Sadie huffed, puffed, and walked her skinny ass out of her store. With force, she clicked the lock then headed to get ready for her date. Despite her excitement dimming and a little doubt nagging, she wasn’t going to fall for Sadie’s ploy. Not this time. She just hoped she didn’t regret it.
Chapter 17
Emily looked in the mirror. She had taken a little extra care with her looks this time. With a smile, she grabbed her stuff and headed down the ladder. By the time her feet hit the floor, she heard the front door of the store shaking. Grinning, she hurried that way ready to have a wonderful night with Hunter, at least she hoped to.
Clicking the lock, she opened the door, her smile fading. First Sadie, now this. Her wonderful night just turned to shit. “What are you doing here?”
Dan Rushmore, her ex, stood staring down at her, and he was pissed. “Who in the fuck do you think you are?”
Not really knowing what to say because she couldn’t believe he was there, she allowed herself to be nudged aside as he stormed past her. Leaving the door open, she turned, finally finding her voice.
“Who in the fuck do I think I am?” Yeah, she’d found her voice, and she was damn well going to use it. “You have some nerve showing up here.”
“You need to tell the police that what Karen is saying is a lie, and I want my fucking dog back,” Dan snapped, his face flushed with anger.
“Ah, no on both.” Emily crossed her arms over her breasts. “You never took care of Max. I did. As for the police, not happening. If I can stop you from drugging another woman so you can have sex with her, then I will do everything in my power to do so.”
“Emily, come on. I love you. You know I would never do that to you.” He tried another route since the mean and angry one wasn’t working. This one wasn’t working either.
“You tried to rape me, Dan. You talked me into drinking, which you know I don’t do, ever. To shut you the hell up, I had one drink that you brought me. Actually, I didn’t even drink all of it.” Emily pointed at him, taking a step forward. “I may be a lightweight when it comes to alcohol, but I know one drink would not affect me that way. They found Rohypnol in my system at the hospital.”
“This is bullshit,” Dan shouted, spittle flying from his mouth. “You’ve ruined my fucking life. I’ve lost my scholarship over this. I had to drop out, and the fucking police are looking for me. Because of you, I have a warrant for my arrest.”
Emily stared at him, wondering what she ever saw in Dan Rushmore and honestly, she could only come up with one thing. He was her means to forget about Hunter, and it hadn’t worked, not even close. He was okay-looking in a clean-cut kind of way, not like Hunter who possessed a rugged handsomeness that made women stop in their tracks. They were total opposites in every way.
“Get out.” Grabbing the handle, Emily opened the door wider. When she turned, Dan still stood where he had been, not moving to leave. His nostrils flared in anger as his eyes narrowed in hate. “I said get out!”
“I’m not going anywhere until I get my dog back and you call the cops now and tell them Karen was lying about all of it.” Dan took a step forward.
“Neither will ever happen, asshole.” Emily’s eyes narrowed. “Now get out before I scream and believe me, you don’t want to know what happens when a woman screams around here.”
“Scream and I’ll make you regret it.” Dan closed the rest of the distance just as Emily’s mouth opened wide.
******
Hunter headed toward the feed mill, more than ready to spend the evening with Emily. He was alert as he walked through town, knowing the calm wasn’t going to last long. They had stationed the younger shifters throughout town to keep an eye on businesses and residential homes so they could raise the alarm if anything happened. So far so good. With their pack being small, they had to count on less experienced pack members to take shifts on watching the town. He hoped that didn’t backfire, but himself, Dell, Marcus and Garrett could only do so much. He just hoped Jonah pulled through and brought more shifters into their pack.
“Hey, Hunter!” Steve called out, heading his way.
Moaning, Hunter stopped and put on a smile. “What’s up, Steve?”
“I just wanted to let you know I’ve been called back to Cincinnati.” Steve shrugged, not looking happy about going home at all. “I just wanted to tell you bye in case I didn’t see you later.”
“Why did you get called back?” Hunter was curious.
“Not sure. Something big is happening I guess, but Sloan wouldn’t tell Slade over the phone.” Steve glanced back at Garrett’s. “All three of us are heading out, but I’m going to try to come back soon to see Leda. You think Garrett would be okay with that?”
“Well, I don’t see why not. I mean, he’s allowing you to stay there tonight, isn’t he?” Hunter frowned, wishing Steve would get on with it. He liked the kid, but damn.
“Yeah, but I heard him asking Marcus how you killed a vampire.” Steve grimaced before rolling his eyes.
“Ah, man,” Hunter choked out. “I’m sure he was just messing with you. Come back anytime you want.”
“Thanks.” Steve nodded as he turned and ran back toward Garrett’s.
Hunter watched him disappear into Garrett’s house and smiled. “Poor bastard.” Hunter chuckled, shaking his head. He then crossed the street to the feed store. His smile faded as he noticed the front door of the store opened slightly. He knew Emily had closed over an hour ago. He became alert as he picked up his pace. It wasn’t until a scream split the air that he was running full blast.
Hunter rushed through the door ready for anything. There was a man leaning over Emily, whose scream abruptly cut off as the man snatched her by the arm and shook her.
“Shut the fuck up, Emily.” The man hissed in her face.
Just seeing the bastard’s hands on her was enough to send Hunter into a killing rage. With no thought to anything other than getting the fucker’s hands off Emily, he took off and clotheslined the bastard by the throat sending him crashing to the ground.
Hunter knelt on one knee while his other leg straddled the man as he pummeled the man’s face. Too soon hands were pulling him off the bastard. “Get the fuck off me,” Hunter said with a growl, fighting to get back to the man who lay on the floor bleeding.
Dell and Steve held Hunter back as Garrett dragged the man up from the floor.
“Jesus, I couldn’t ever get homesick around here.” Steve huffed, holding Hunter back with Dell. “Just like home sweet home with the Warriors.”
Dell grunted when Hunter elbowed him in the side of the head. “Who the fuck is that?”
“I just want my fucking dog.” The man spat blood, his eyes glaring at Emily.
Something clicked with Hunter and he felt Dell stiffen. They both looked at Emily, who was sneering at the man.
“You’ll never get her back,” Emily shouted, her anger unmistakable.
“Is that your fucking ex?” Hunter’s growl echoed in the room as he and his wolf raged. He had never felt this much anger in his life. It was like he was about to explode.
“Hunter, chill out,” Garrett ordered, his eyes shifting between him and Emily, who was nodding.
“Chill out?” Hunter yelled. “The motherfucker tried to rape her.”
As one, Steve and Dell let go of Hunter. Garrett didn’t even try to protect the man as both Hunter and Dell charged toward him. Dell punched out, only clipping the man on his chin. Hunter caught the man, taking him to the ground, his fury unleashing on the man who dared to touch what was his.
******
Emily stood back watching Hunter pound on Dan. At first, she felt an odd sense of justice, but that was swiftly replaced with fear, and not fear of Dan. She wasn’t afraid of him; he was pathetic. What scared her was Hunter killing a man over her. She didn’t want that.
“Stop!” She stepped closer to them, but Dell stopped her. She looked up at Dell whose face was a mask of rage. “Please, stop him.”
“No,” Dell responded without even looking at her.
“Dell, he’s going to kill him. He’s not even fighting back,” Emily pleaded, but Dell didn’t respond, ignoring her. “I’m not worth him killing someone over.”
Turning his head, he looked down at her. “Yes, you are.” He stared at her for a second longer before cursing, then headed toward Hunter pulling him off.
His words shocked her, but then she remembered what Hunter had said and still she didn’t believe Dell loved her. Before she could think more on Dell’s words, she heard Hunter’s angry voice.
“If I ever see you anywhere near her again, there won’t be a soul who can save you,” Hunter yelled with Dell holding him back, while Garrett and Steve dragged the man out of harm’s way. “You hear me, fucker?”
Steve looked down at the bloody beat-up man, a smirk on his face. “I think the only thing this asshole is hearing is karma laughing her ass off.”
“I’ll take him to the police,” Dell said to Hunter but looked at Emily. “You may need to make a statement.”
“I have no problem with that,” Emily replied, and she didn’t. She wanted him punished for what he’d tried to do so he wouldn’t do it to anyone else.
“Do I need to send someone with you, or can you maintain without killing the bastard?” Garrett asked, his eyes narrowed at Dell.
“I’ll go with him,” Steve said, helping Dell practically carry the man out the door. “We aren’t leaving until sometime tomorrow.”
Emily moved out of the way as Dell and Steve passed, pulling Dan between them. Dan’s eyes rose to meet hers. He spat blood at her feet. “You’ll regret this.”
“I doubt that,” Emily shot back.
“You son of a bitch.” Hunter went after him, but Garrett stopped him with a shove. “Cool the fuck down, Hunter. It’s over.”
“The fuck it is.” Hunter’s eyes narrowed at the door Dan had disappeared out of. “I’ll tear that fucker in half.”
Emily watched as Garrett shoved Hunter toward the back of the store, leaving her standing alone. Her emotions were all over the place, but what really upset her was that her date with Hunter was ruined. Dan got what was coming to him and she was not dropping the charges, so in her mind, that was done for now, until she had to do whatever she had to do legally. Glancing to the back where Hunter had disappeared with Garrett, she prayed he would reappear because she needed him now more than ever. Dealing with her sister, Sadie and Dan in such a short amount of time was almost more than she could take.
Chapter 18
“Calm the fuck down.” Garrett shoved Hunter, who started pacing.
“Yeah, okay.” Hunter ran his hand through his hair. He wanted to kill the bastard, and his wolf was totally enraged that he hadn’t. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes trying to regain composure.
“You good?” Garrett eyed him closely. “Because honestly, I can’t lose you now because you kill the stupid son of a bitch. I need you. If the police are looking for him because of this, then the best thing to do is let them take care of it.”
Hunter nodded, knowing this, but it still didn’t keep him from wanting to rip the man’s throat out. “I know, and I’m good.”
“Then get out there with Emily,” Garrett ordered, heading toward the back door before stopping. “Hunter.”
Hunter turned to look at Garrett standing in the doorway. “If the court system doesn’t do right by her, then we will our way.” With a nod, Garrett turned and left him alone.
Staring at the door, Hunter knew that to be true before Garrett ever said anything, but to hear his alpha confirm he’d be behind him calmed him somewhat. Taking another deep calming breath, he headed back out front. Emily still stood where he had left her.
“Hi,” Emily said when she spotted him.
Hunter gave her a nod. “Hi.” He kissed her, pulling her tight against him. He pulled his lips from hers. “Did he hurt you?” His voice was rough with anger.
“No.” She shook her head, her eyes meeting his. “Thank you.”
“You still up for a little walk, dinner, and then my place?” Hunter took her hand and started walking, but she wasn’t moving with him. Turning, he saw the frown on her face. “What’s wrong?”
Emily hesitated, her eyes searching his. “I really don’t think this is going to work unless we get our pasts out in the open. You just beat the hell out of my past, but yours still haunts me.” Emily’s eyes remained on his. “I’m not going to play games so I’m going to ask you straight-out, and I want the truth.”
“Ah, okay.” Hunter’s brows dipped low as he turned completely to face her. “What is it?”
“Sadie stopped by the store before I closed.” Emily squared her shoulders, looking straight at him.
“And?” Hunter asked, trying to mask the anger in his voice. He should have known something like this was going to happen.
“Listen, I’m done caring about who you dated or whatever in the past, but honestly, I don’t want to be another girl you take to your place and—”
“Let me stop you right there.” Hunter touched the side of her face. “I have never taken a woman to my home, ever. My home, as is any male shifter’s home, is chosen with a mate in mind, not a place to take random women.”
Emily swallowed visibly. “I don’t want to sound like a jealous—”
“And once again, let me stop you.” Hunter rubbed his thumb against her full bottom lip. “Never hesitate to ask me anything. I know how I acted in the past and I understand you doubting me. I accept that and will do everything in
my power to prove to you I’m no longer that boy but am the man who will lay down his life for you, my mate.”
When he started to speak again, Emily prevented him by wrapping her arms around him tightly and laying her head against his chest. “You have nothing to prove to me, Hunter.”
Pulling her close, he kissed the top of her head. “Oh, I do. My wolf demands it.” Hunter tilted her chin to look into her eyes. “I’ve been at war with my wolf over you since the first time I saw you. Another regret I have. It’s time to make it right.”
Emily smiled, looking up at him. “Then how about we start with something to eat? I’m starving.”
His anger with the bastard he’d just beaten the hell out of hadn’t subsided, but he was good at hiding his feelings. He would make damn sure the bastard never came near her again.
******
If Emily had ever in her life been this happy, she didn’t remember. Just walking with Hunter calmed her. She could almost forget about everything and everyone, but still there was that feeling of waiting for the other shoe to drop. As hard as she tried to push that feeling away, it was there and she had to acknowledge the fact. No one could be this happy and content; it wasn’t what happened in the real world. Everyone had happy moments, but the next moment could be hell on earth. She always tried to keep a level head with things like that, but Hunter Foster made it damn hard to stay rational.
The way he surrounded her made her feel safe, as if nothing could touch her. She soaked in the sensation like a starving woman.
“Well, here we are.” Hunter grinned at his house and then down at her.
Emily stared and then laughed. “That is so not the house I thought you’d live in.”
Hunter’s grin started to slip into a frown.
“No, I love it.” Emily playfully used her fingers to push his lips back into a smile. “It’s just… I figured you for a bachelor-pad type of guy. Not a simple little cabin adorned with a woodened fence.”
Forbidden Seduction (Lee County Wolves Series) Book #2 Page 12