Hired Hunter (The Rover series Book 2)

by Amelia Shaw

  The medicine had taken full effect and my brain felt like a foggy car window, but I refused to listen to him berate me while I lay flat on my back. Especially about something I couldn’t control.

  I ripped the IV out of my arm. He shouted, darting forward, and seized the line and my arm to keep me still.

  “I won’t lay here and let you yell at me while I’m doped up. I am incapable of doing anything about it and it’s not fair, or kind,” I said, shoving him away from me.

  He stumbled into the instrument cart and the captain’s voice lashed out in the room.

  “Knock it off, you two. You’re adults, for fuck’s sake.”

  Fin reset the tools and I drew my bleeding arm into my chest. When he finished, he came over and tried to push me back down, but I refused to let him. I shifted to the side of the gurney and tugged the hospital gown closed. I still wore underwear under it, but I didn’t want to give the captain a flash of that either. Not that he would appreciate it, anyway.

  “You need to rest,” Fin said.

  “You need to go the hell away and stop badgering me while I’m half naked and wounded. You can yell at me afterward. I’ll still be here, in your service, under your supervision,” I grumbled.

  I climbed off the table and my legs gave out from underneath me. Fin, of course, was there to gather me into his arms. I wanted to shove him away, but I didn’t have the strength to stand, let alone push his arms from around my hips.

  When I finally got my feet under me, I turned to the doctor. “Can you find me some clothes please.”

  Fin glared at me the entire time, but eventually a soldier brought me some clothing.

  I made Fin turn around while I dressed and then sat back on the gurney. The doctor came over and I allowed him to put the IV back in.

  “Fin,” I called.

  He turned, guilt set into his jaw and shoulders.

  I felt braver now that I was dressed and I lifted my chin. “If you want to yell at me, now is the time. But you only get this one chance. Then I’m leaving.”

  He stepped forward until his hip bumped the table. “Leaving?”

  I straightened the line of the IV, eyeing how long it would take to finish so I could walk out the door. “Yes, leaving. I’m not a child and I’m not here for you to scold when you feel like it. You can register your disapproval at my actions, and help me correct them, but you will not treat me like a baby in need of reprimand.”

  He dragged in a long, slow breath. “When you collapsed tonight, and me as well, I thought you’d died. It scared me more than I can even admit aloud. I apologize for lashing out at you.”

  His face actually appeared contrite. As much as I wanted to believe him, my pride had taken a hit, especially since he chose to yell at me in front of the doctor, and the captain. My face heated, thinking of how they were listening even now as he explained his actions.

  “Next time, maybe give me the damn instruction manual.”

  He nudged the table, and I reached out to keep my balance.

  “Next time?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “It was a figure of speech. I’m going home tonight. I need some time to think about things and consider some stuff.”

  Like how much I want to climb onto your lap and learn what your lips taste like.

  I eyed the IV. What did he put in this thing?

  “I’ll accompany you,” Fin said.

  “No, obviously, with you there, I won’t get any thinking done. Besides, you need rest too and you’ll do it better in your own bed.”

  He leaned in to whisper only to me. “But I don’t want you to leave.”

  I let him take my hand again. “I know you don’t. Which is part of why I should go.”

  We stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment. I traced the pattern of crystals in his irises and then glanced down at my lap. “Can you hand me my phone please? I left it on your desk.”

  He retrieved it and pressed it between my palms, covering them with his own. Carefully, I extricated my hands and opened my phone. After a few presses of buttons, I’d sent him back the latest check he sent.

  His eyebrows were nudged together, and he stared down at me in open-mouthed shock. “Why did you do that?”

  “You’re disappointed in my performance, that’s clear enough—”

  “Zoey, please. I told you I overreacted because I was scared,” he said, then crouched down to look up at me instead of towering over me.

  Damn it. I wanted to take it back. The words, the actions, the payment. I wished we could start the day over again. I’d dug in too deep to back out now, though.

  I glanced over my shoulder. “Captain, can you take me home?”

  He glanced between Fin and me. “Nope, sorry. Gotta stay prone. Doctor’s orders. You should do it too. Rest, sleep on it, rethink things in the morning.”

  Of course, he was on Fin’s side. I’d completely imagined the connection we created as we had sewed each other up.

  “I see, well, thank you. I’ll find my own way home then,” I said, and dropped to the floor next to Fin.

  He steadied me and I pulled away.

  The captain spoke up. “You’re being unreasonable. Let the man apologize and then lay down and take your medicine. I’m sure Holly would love to cook something for you.”

  I shook my head. “I’m good. It’s time I got back to my own life. I’m not having visions anymore, and you know where the Black Mage is going to be to take care of him. I want to get back to my life.”

  Fin sputtered and stood again. “You don’t mean that. You still want revenge on him as much as I do.”

  Not at this moment. Right now, I just felt exhausted. “No, I want to sleep. That’s it. Just sleep, undisturbed.”

  I could tell Fin wanted to keep asking me to stay with him. It made it easier that he didn’t, though. There were only so many times a woman could turn down something she actually wanted.

  He moved so I could squeeze between him and the gurney, then I hobbled out the door. When I made it outside, an SUV sat on the driveway, a soldier in the driver’s seat. He rolled the window down and I poked my head in.

  “Are you taking me home?”

  “Yes. Hop in.”

  I climbed in the back, careful of my wounds, and lay across the backseat. At this point, if we got into an accident, maybe it would just put me out of my misery.

  Before the car even made it to the end of the driveway, I missed Fin. The small smiles he gave me when he thought I wasn’t looking. The way he watched my every move, as if memorizing them to think about later. I knew he didn’t hate me, and I knew I didn’t hate him, but damn, I didn’t like him right now.

  The soldier helped me into my apartment and then insisted on staying outside to guard me. I told him to go about ten times and then even wrote it on a piece of paper and held it up to the window. Of course, he didn’t leave. I stared at my phone and waited for Fin to text me, but he didn’t.

  I climbed into bed and thought maybe I should have had him do some healing on me before I stormed out of his house. The magic I’d felt earlier was still there, and I tugged it gently, like sliding a thread through the eye of the needle. It was enough to ease some of the ache in my body to allow me to sleep.

  It comforted me knowing Fin was on the other end of it.

  Chapter Sixteen

  At least in my dreams, the pain couldn’t get to me.

  But when I opened my eyes, I was flat on my back in the forest again. Fuck. If I never saw this place again, it would still be too soon. I hated every tree, every murky shoot of light between the branches. The scent of blood hung in the air, metallic and thick. That was new. Maybe Sol decided to add a little flavor to our meetings? They were getting a little one note, after all.

  I sat up and marveled at the use of my ab muscles without the residual pain and grunting.

  I didn’t see her anywhere, or anyone else for that matter. At least she hadn’t brought the goons along with the pools of blood
in the pine needles.

  As usual, the forest lay silent, the gray light barely shining between the thick branches. I got to my feet and brushed the pine needles off my jeans. Some clung to my T-shirt, but I left them since hopefully, I wouldn’t be here long.

  Instead of my usual wandering pace, I marched along the path, hunting for the flashes of color that would herald Sol’s arrival. I enjoyed the exercise burn in my legs I wasn’t going to get at home for a while.

  Even here, the bond forged by Fin’s vow gripped my gut. Would he sever the connection now? Could he? I wasn’t sure of anything regarding the vow and his bond. And I felt even less comfortable with its presence after what happened with Fin last night.

  Why did he keep throwing me in the deep end, expecting me to swim like an Olympic athlete? As a bounty hunter, I had more knowledge than the regular mortal, but all this magic stuff might as well be geometry. Give me a quiz on werewolf shifting patterns, and I would nail it.

  But not one on magic. Especially not Fae magic.

  A thick fog rolled across the ground, obscuring my feet, the pine needles, the roots of the trees.

  I finally reached the clearing, the usual one Sol met me in. The log sat in the middle of the ring of trees and today I took the seat, waiting for her. Let her stand this time.

  I drummed my fingers against my legs and began to grow impatient. How long did she expect me to wait? It wasn’t as if I could pull myself out of this dream, anyway; I hadn’t been able to yet.

  I plucked the bond between Fin and me, and felt it register with him on the other end. Could I bring him here? Let him see his sister? Would it fix what we’d shredded in a few brief hours with harried nerves and lies?

  I closed my eyes and focused on Fin and the bond between us. It flashed bright in my mind’s eye and then I felt him. I opened my eyes and spotted him between the trees across the clearing. He appeared murky, like the dappled light in this place, a ghost between the tree trunks.

  A flash of red passed between us. I looked up to find Sol standing over me. Her hair hung past her knees, the red dress she wore fitted to her body, a train pooling around her feet.

  I stared past her at Fin, who’d crouched down in the brush. He made eye contact with me and placed his finger over his lips.

  Instead of acknowledging him, I jerked my eyes back to Sol. “You rang?”

  Her grin flitted and then disappeared.

  “Something is different with you.” She circled me and then stopped again, right in front of me. “Yes, something is different.”

  As was she. Her tone had taken an edge, and her dress had gone from demure fairy princess to siren between visits.

  Fin’s sister or not, she tested my patience.

  I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at her. “Can I help you with something? You keep calling and yet nothing is ever achieved with these visits except my lack of sleep.”

  Sol folded herself onto the log gracefully in front of me, a feat in that dress of hers. I studied her carefully. To be fair, we hadn’t known each other long, so the change in her might be a mood swing for all I knew. And yet, my gut, my intuition, told me this wasn’t. But what it didn’t tell me was if Sol sat in front of me, or something else entirely.

  I caught Fin’s eyes over her shoulder. He’d closed off his emotions from me and wore a mask of indifference. It almost hurt to look at him.

  I focused back on Sol. “I’m done with these games. Can you tell me what you want so I can get some rest? I don’t know if you noticed the bloodbath on the way into the grove, but some of that is definitely mine.”

  Her features twisted into a mock look of concern and then cleared almost as quickly. “I want to know what you’ve done with my brother.”

  I didn’t look at him.

  “I’ve done nothing to him,” I said. “He’s actually the only one that didn’t need to be stitched back up.”

  She leaned in, her crystal eyes gleaming, “No, I mean, have you fucked him yet?”

  Realization dawned. “Ah, Esteban, it’s good to see you again.”

  He, as Sol, sat back on the pine needles and giggled a demented laugh. “I wondered how long it would take you to realize your mistake.”

  “My mistake? Do you have Sol or not? Is this her body or are you using some poor woman to try and lure Fin into your disgusting game?”

  She braced her hands behind her, jutting her small breasts forward, and stared me down. “Why are you so concerned with a woman you’ve never met? A woman who means nothing to you. A woman even your Fin would sacrifice you to save between heartbeats.”

  It was my turn to get into the game, to draw him out. I leaned forward and braced my forearms on my knees.

  “Why are you so concerned with my sex life?” I cast my gaze down her body and then met Sol’s eyes again. “Are you offering? I’m not super into women, but the skin you wore last time, Esteban, I could definitely get into.”

  “Is that your type then?” her soft voice asked. “Masculine, rugged, dark?”

  I shrugged. “When it comes to plain ol’ sex, I don’t really have a type. It’s more about how the person makes me feel.”

  Admitting that truth didn’t cost me anything. What I wanted to know was why he cared so much about who I did or didn’t sleep with. He’d pressed me at the party too, that night, which felt like ages ago.

  “And what does your fairy prince make you feel?” The question wasn’t asked with guile, but sincerity. He definitely had an interest.

  I refused to look at Fin, who I could still sense standing behind Sol. Like my skin might catch on fire with one look. Like he knew exactly how to touch me to make me ignite even more.

  I pasted on a grin. “He makes me feel...wanted. For who I am, not for who he wants me to be, or for whatever power my blood holds.”

  She blinked a few times and cocked her head to the side. “Wanted. How novel. Is that what human women desire in a mate? To be coddled?”

  “I’m as human as you are, or so everyone keeps telling me.”

  Sol studied me closer. “You’re not human, no, but you’re also not fully mage. You’ve learned that too, correct?”

  Fin and I hadn’t discussed my supposed fae side, but what I wanted to know was how Esteban knew that fact about me.

  “It may be true, but I’m not in a place to analyze that right now. You won’t leave me alone long enough to let me consider my own path.”

  She smiled and popped back over so she hunched across her folded legs. “You may not have considered your future, but I have. Join me and I’ll give your boyfriend back his sister. I’ll leave them in peace.”

  “And me? What fate do you have planned in that dark brain for me?”

  “Join me, come to my home, rule by my side, and you can do anything you want. Anything at all will be yours.”

  I batted my lashes and clutched my chest. “Are you proposing? Seems a bit crass in someone else’s skin, while in a dream. Why don’t you show up yourself, in your own body, and ask me then?”

  “So you can try to kill me? I’m not an idiot, Zoey.”

  I dropped the act and met Sol’s eyes head on. A nasty grin I’d learned from Hawk spread across my lips.

  “And neither am I. You want me for some dark end, that I believe. But I know damn well a person in absolute power would never share it with someone else. Why would you, especially if my own power is some kind of threat to you?”

  My mind rolled as my enemy studied me. He pretended as if he wanted me for a relationship. Sex? Not that I would consider such a thing, but what did he get out of it? My submission? Fin’s embarrassment if he stole the woman Fin wanted?

  Was this fight more about them than about me?

  More to consider once I got out of this weird sending. First, I needed to learn if he really had Sol, if he’d ever had her.

  “Do you want to make a deal?” I asked him.

  The bond between Fin and me twisted, as if he warned me not to do this.
<
br />   Sol’s eyes sparked, and he smiled, a genuine smile, not the sickly sexy thing he’d been trying to feign.

  “What did you have in mind, half-breed?”

  “A truth for a truth. I’ll ask you a question and you answer it, honestly, and I’ll do the same for you,” I said.

  Could I trust him to actually tell the truth? Absolutely not. But maybe I’d get lucky. Maybe he had some honor left in him.

  “Your question,” Sol prompted.

  “Are you holding Sol, Fin’s sister, prisoner?”

  She blinked slowly and watched me carefully.

  “I do not hold her prisoner, no,” she said.

  Which absolutely told me that either she had escaped, died, or stayed with him in some capacity.

  “Your turn,” I said, dreading what awful question he would think up.

  “Are you really a virgin?”

  Fucking hell. Why was he so obsessed with who I was, or wasn’t, sleeping with?

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but if you mean, sexual contact of any kind, then no, I’m not a virgin.”

  “You lie,” Sol spat at me. “I can feel the innocence in you.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Why do you ask if you already know the answer? And like me, you weren’t specific enough. Have I had intercourse with anyone, like his penis in my vagina? Then no. Have I fooled around? Yes.”

  “With Fin?” he demanded.

  “Sorry, our deal was for one question. Thanks for playing.” I smiled and leaned back on the log, stretching a little. “I see. This isn’t about me at all. Do you have a thing for Fin and you’re jealous?”

  Sol surged to her feet, and I could see Esteban beneath the surface now. “I would tear that fairy limb from limb. Especially if he touched you.”

  I kept my lips together and watched the outrage play across his features. Then as quickly as he exploded, he settled again, still standing.

  “I think we should leave it there for now,” he said.

  “I’m not the one in charge of this rodeo. You’re the one who keeps waking me up in the middle of the night. Maybe next time you want to throw a hissy fit about who gets between my thighs, you keep it on the inside like everyone else and let me have my sleep.”