by Hannah Ford
No matter which thing he chose, Kallie wanted to see him again. Hunter was confusing and perplexing and even worrying, but he was never dull. And she wanted to find out more, even if she wasn’t supposed to be trying to find out anything.
Finally, at some unknown time, Kallie was able to drift off into a restless sleep. When she awoke the next day, she was jittery with excitement for her coming rendezvous that afternoon.
Meanwhile, there were errands to do. Word had come in that Riley was going to be released from the hospital. So Nicole was making sure that she had any little details around the house taken care of, and she wanted Kallie to go to the store and pick up some odds and ends.
“Also, could you grab our mail on your way back?” Nicole asked her.
Kallie nodded as she made notes about her errands in her phone. “Absolutely,” she said.
“Wow, someone’s chipper today,” Nicole smiled. “Woke up on the right side of the bed?”
“Something like that,” Kallie grinned back at her. And then she headed out to the store.
When she arrived at her first stop, CVS (for some of Nicole’s prescriptions), Kallie noticed that her cell phone battery was dead. “Shit.” She tossed it back in her purse, telling herself that she’d charge it later.
It took her about an hour and a half to run errands. On her way back, she stopped at the front gate and asked for Nicole and Red’s mail.
“Certainly, ma’am,” the overly polite guard replied. Kallie noticed they’d gotten more formal and polite since getting reamed out by Red for letting his mother through unannounced. As it turned out, his mother had given them some half-baked story about a surprise visit that absolutely needed to be kept secret, and whoever had been on duty was too intimidated to ignore her and call ahead just the same.
Kallie had to give the old woman credit—she was a smart cookie.
And apparently she’d found yet another way through security, because Kallie couldn’t help but notice there was a small, thin package addressed to Nicole—and the name on the return address was Erica Jameson.
“Oh, no,” she said to herself. This can’t be anything good.
Carrying the bags inside the house, she found Nicole working on her laptop in the kitchen. “Find everything okay?” Nicole said, still pecking away at her computer, not really even looking up.
“Yeah,” Kallie said, putting the bags down. “Umm…but I have some bad news, too.”
Now Nicole looked up at her. “Tell me.” Her face was already strained and anxious.
“I mean, I’m not sure it’s bad news—“
“Just tell me, already, Kallie.”
“Sorry.” Kallie took a breath and handed her the thin package. It was more like the kind of envelope where you put documents, photos, that sort of stuff. “Look at the return address.”
Nicole took it and examined it. When she saw whom it was from, her eyes narrowed. “Great.” She shook her head and made a face. “Should I open it?”
Kallie shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, I guess maybe…”
“Would you open it?”
She thought for a second. “Yeah. I would definitely open it.”
Nicole laughed. “I’m sure you would. You’re bolder than I am.” And then she tore the package open and looked inside. “It’s some kind of CD or DVD.”
“Really? Like from a store?”
“No.” Nicole took out a small plastic case, which held just one unlabeled DVD. Attached to it was a small note. Nicole read it aloud. “Dear Nicole, After our last pleasant encounter, I thought it only fitting that you finally see what your husband’s been up to. Maybe someday you’ll thank me for telling you the truth. Cordially, Erica.”
Nicole’s face was ashen as she stared at the DVD.
“Are you all right?” Kallie asked her.
Nicole didn’t answer at first. “Not really,” she said, after a bit. “Whatever this is, I’ve a feeling it’s not good.”
“Maybe you should just throw it out, Nicole. Don’t let her play mind games with you. She wants to upset you—she wants to make you doubt the great things in your life.”
Nicole nodded, still fixated on the DVD in its case. “Would you throw it out, Kallie?”
“We’re not talking about me,” Kallie said.
“You’d watch it. Of course you would.” Nicole slipped the DVD back into the envelope and looked up at Kallie with a strange smile. “You should take the rest of the day off.”
“Really? Are you sure?”
“You have the afternoon off, anyway,” Nicole said. “And you’ve gotten everything done this morning, so go ahead. Have fun. Take the car if you want.”
“I don’t know if I should leave you like this.”
“I have Red. He’ll be home soon, and I’m honestly fine. Go ahead, please.”
Kallie thanked her, wondering how much Nicole knew or suspected about her after work activities with Hunter. Probably a lot, considering she was friends with Danielle and Danielle wasn’t the best at keeping secrets.
This was perfect, though. Kallie had been nervous about getting to Hunter’s house at the appointed time and now she had plenty of time to spare. Kallie went to her room and got out of her clothes, then took a long shower. When she was done, she changed into a short skirt and sexy halter-top.
Then she got a small bag of clothes and toiletries together, just in case he wanted her to spend the night…
She suddenly remembered her phone. The battery was dead. Kallie grabbed a charger and threw it in her bag—she could charge the phone at Hunter’s house later on.
***
The drive to Hunter’s felt longer than usual for some reason, but Kallie didn’t mind.
She hadn’t felt this good in days, not since that night when he’d held her in bed and everything had been perfect.
Kallie wanted to feel that way again, to see him looking into her eyes and knowing that he wanted her, needed her, as much as she needed him.
As she got closer to his house, she wondered if perhaps tonight would even be the night where Hunter was able to open up to her about his past. Now that she knew about the situation with his father, maybe she’d be able to gently lead him in that direction without being obvious.
I won’t push it, though, she promised herself. I’m not forcing anything, because then he’ll sense that I’ve gone behind his back for details and that would be worse than finding the picture in his nightstand.
She couldn’t stop her mind from spinning all kinds of stories, playing out all types of scenarios, many of them X-rated.
The bottom line was that she was completely head over heels for this man. Was it love? Could they have something approaching what Red and Nicole had?
Heck, she’d almost be willing to settle for Kane and Danielle territory. Despite how crazy the two of them acted most of the time, she had to admit they were also very close. And they were together, committed and trying to make it work.
Finally, Kallie was weaving the car up the hillside, toward the plateau where Hunter’s house stood—as if it were guarding against intruders. She finally realized that his house wasn’t merely a castle, it was truly a fortress. Standing on the terrace, you could see anybody who approached, from almost any direction.
Perhaps tonight I’ll find out why that is, why he chose this of all places to live. Doubtful, but a girl could dream, couldn’t she?
Kallie smiled as she pulled into his driveway, her heart pounding a quick two step in her chest. “Relax,” she said to herself. “Have fun. Let it come, don’t push so hard.”
And then she was getting out of the car and starting toward the front door. Before she even got there, it was opening and Hunter as coming out, his expression hard and angry. “What are you doing here?” he snapped, shutting the door behind him so she couldn’t go inside.
She stopped dead in her tracks. Her heart was thumping. Was this some new test, another psychological mind fuck? More punishment? “I’m here because yo
u told me to come. Three o’clock just like you said,” she continued, opening her purse to find her phone so she could prove it to him.
And then she remembered that her cell phone was dead.
Hunter just stared at her. “I sent you a text and left you a voicemail that I had to cancel. I left those hours ago.”
She stood there, deflated. “My phone died. I didn’t see your messages.”
Hunter folded his arms. “You have to go, Kallie. I’ll be in touch when I can.”
“But, I don’t understand—”
“Please go. You shouldn’t be here right now, it’s not a good time.” He turned and walked quickly back to the front door, opened it and went inside.
A moment later she heard it slam shut, but by then she was already halfway back to the car. She got into the driver’s seat, fumbled to put the key in the ignition and turn it, and then she wiped her eyes.
I’m crying again because of him. Why do I keep putting up with this? Why?
She had no answers. She rested her forehead against the steering wheel for a moment, taking slow, deep breaths.
Maybe it’s just a test. If I look up, he’ll be coming outside again to find me, a smile on his face. He’ll take me upstairs…
Just then, she looked up and caught a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. Was it Hunter, looking out the window at her?
Kallie’s insides froze. She caught only a glimpse of the person in the window, but that one glimpse was more than enough.
The blinds in the upstairs window suddenly came down, but it was too late. She’d already seen that there was another woman in his house.
And Kallie knew exactly who it was.
End of Book Eight
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