Seemed he enjoyed games, just as his siblings did. Finally Hunter had found one thing not to like about the guy. “Is there an answer?”
“I like privacy.” Will’s focus slipped to Hunter’s mouth, then back up again. “I enjoy one-on-one.”
Hunter wasn’t even sure what they were talking about, but he knew that look. The subtle dip of a gaze as it slid over him. The way Will’s glance shifted to his shoulders, then smoothed over his stomach. Landed on his jeans. Hunter had never gotten hard from a heated look before, never been tempted to screw on one of his jobs. Looked like he’d blown that record.
“Will you be guarding me, Hunter?”
Of course Will knew his name. Still, the question slammed headlong into his control. Shook it, and until right then he’d thought it was unshakable. “Do you want me to?”
Will’s gaze took one last tour over Hunter’s body. “I think I do want you.”
The rest of the two months had been an extended form of foreplay. They’d never touched. They’d flirted, engaged in innuendo. Spent hours together away from the rest of the family.
Hunter never broke cover and never moved Will ahead of the job. But he’d been tested. They’d exercised in the downstairs gym and Hunter would have to concentrate not to stare.
When Will went out, which was rare but he did like music and to people-watch, Hunter spent half the time reaching for his gun. All coolness gone, he’d move in, only to force his body back when a man came up to flirt with Will. If he’d ever taken one of those groupies home, Hunter might have lost it.
Right before the fire that changed everything and separated them for weeks, the mood had shifted between them. The sexual tension pulsed and pounded. Never left. Something told Hunter all he had to do was make a move and Will would say yes. Only his training and his fears about lowering his resistance stopped him.
He had a job to do. A job he still had to do.
Will’s face hadn’t changed in three weeks. Neither had the attraction beating between them. The back-and-forth banter and the temptation to stand too close. Even now he hovered right behind Will, could feel him hesitate as the space between their bodies closed.
Three weeks away and one annoying fact had not changed—he wanted Will as much as he wanted to finish this mission.
He couldn’t have both.
—
They stepped into the hall to find Ed waiting. He stood against the outside wall, looking down the corridor and almost snapping to attention when he saw Will.
Will wasn’t a fan of this amount of attention.
“Everything okay, sir?” Ed’s gaze moved from Will to Hunter and back again.
Hunter snorted. “You make him call you ‘sir’?”
This wasn’t the time for that debate, so Will ignored the comment and focused on Ed. “We’re leaving.”
Ed nodded. “I can get—”
“I’m taking him with me. You can take the night off.” Will knew how that sounded and didn’t give a shit. His sexuality wasn’t exactly a secret. His father had ignored it, downplayed it. Blamed his mother. Neither sibling had seemed to care, even though Peter did seem a little too interested at times. It was as if his way of being supportive sometimes bordered on fetishizing.
Rather than stay and engage in more debate, Will started walking. His feet thudded against the floor as he moved. Having Hunter hovering behind him made Will pick up the pace.
They wound their way through the throngs of people. He didn’t talk or discuss what would come next because there’s no way Hunter would have been able to hear him over the hum of conversation and steady beat of the music.
After a few minutes Hunter put a hand on his shoulder and assumed the lead. “We’re taking a back entrance.”
Interesting phrasing. Will didn’t bother making a joke or pulling rank. “Fine.”
Turning down a side hall, they slipped away from tables and past the bathrooms. The clink of pans and sharp voices floated out of the kitchen area as the door opened and closed next to them. They’d taken a few more steps when a man emerged from what Will assumed was an office and stopped in front of them.
This was a guy who generally blended in. Brown hair, brown eyes. Average in many ways except for his eyes. Talk about dead. Not cool or detached. No, it seemed as if nothing much was going on inside him.
The man looked at Hunter, then to Will. “You can do better than him.”
Hunter swore under his breath. “Move out of the way.”
“Maybe I want to talk to your friend.”
Hunter continued to stare. “You have two seconds.”
Will was surprised Hunter gave him that long. He looked out of patience and ready to hit someone…again.
The guy’s eyebrow lifted. “Or?”
“I’m thinking you need a lesson in manners,” Hunter said.
The guy laughed. “Are you going to be the one to teach me?”
Hunter glanced at Will. “I’m starting to wonder if the people at this club have anger management issues.”
“Probably some.” Will had to admit it had been a stranger than average night so far. “You should fit in here fine, then.”
Hunter made a face. “You think I’m angry?”
“Hey!”
At the yell, they both looked at the man in the middle of the hall. His face had flushed with anger and the corners of his mouth were pulled taut as if he was under a significant strain.
Hunter looked the guy up and down. “Are you still here?”
The man made a show of peeking around Hunter’s large frame to Will. “Let me show you what you could have.”
“Come on.” Hunter made a face. “Really?”
Will had had enough. “I have to agree. Does that line actually work for you?”
Hunter’s arm shot out. In a flash he had the guy pinned to the wall. Hunter’s fingers wrapped around his neck and a knife appeared out of nowhere. “Say something now.”
The guy shoved at Hunter. He tried to punch and talk but ended up sputtering.
Will had had enough of this, too. He exhaled, letting Hunter know they needed to wrap this up, then looked at the unwanted stranger. “It’s best to concede.”
The guy made a choking sound and Hunter finally let go. He stepped around the man, who was bent over, coughing and swearing and generally making a scene. Then Hunter started walking again, as if the fight hadn’t happened.
Hunter glared at Will as they moved in silence toward the back door. “You weren’t much help.”
As if Hunter needed any of that. Will thought he’d proved his worth in the last few seconds alone. “You seemed to be handling yourself just fine.”
They ignored the shocked stares as they walked through the employee lounge area and past a set of lockers. Past the private restroom to the door next to it.
Hunter punched in a code on the small security pad and the lock clicked. Before it opened, he turned back. “Still like to sit things out and let other people do the work, I see.”
“Maybe I wanted to see you fight over me.” Will wasn’t into that sort of thing, or emotional battles in general. At least he didn’t think so. But he wanted Hunter off his game and wondering.
“You want to see me hot and sweaty? Fine.” Hunter’s voice dipped lower again. “But I’m not your lapdog.”
Will liked the first part of that sentence. Liked it too damn much. “I’m not sure what you are yet.”
“Figure it out soon or I’m gone.”
Chapter 4
Will taking the risk and walking the streets when he was supposed to be dead made more sense when they got to his hiding place. The building stood next door to the club. Not exactly a big, dangerous hike, but still stupid. Hunter expected better of Will even though he did understand how being locked inside could get old.
The place was not huge. For a guy accustomed to luxury and staff and round-the-clock security, this had to be a letdown. It qualified as really nice for anyone else. Paris’s housing
market wasn’t exactly easy on the wallet. But the one-bedroom, third-story walk-up could only be described as cozy.
Hunter had stepped inside and taken a quick look around under the guise of checking for trouble. Standing in the living room, he could see the bed through the doorway on one side and the small bathroom through the doorway on the other. Floor-to-ceiling windows provided ample view of the street. Sitting opposite was a small kitchenette.
The place looked clean. There were no personal items. Only a duffel bag sat by the door. Likely a go bag, which meant maybe Will was acting smarter than Hunter had originally thought.
He turned and watched Will get a glass of water and down it in a few gulps. Somehow he made even that look sexy.
To break whatever sick spell Will had on him, Hunter tried to concentrate on the danger stalking him. On how he needed to get Will to come in, accept protection, and spill all he knew about his family’s dealings.
He looked at the few paperbacks stacked on the shelves above the small couch. All mysteries, which amused Hunter for some reason. “Not your usual style.”
“Don’t confuse me with the rest of my family.”
“Because you’re so different.” More in control now, Hunter turned around and looked at Will again. “How did you find this place?”
Will shrugged as he put the glass in the sink. “I have some life skills.”
Hunter wanted that to be true because Will was going to need them. Going to need huge balls to get through the next few months and then take on a whole new identity, unless he ended up in jail. “I’m sure the money helps.”
“You’re talking to the wrong Rivers.”
Hunter didn’t bother to point out that the other two might be dead. “Neither of your siblings could get a glass of water without three people helping.”
Will exhaled as he walked back into the living room area. “My siblings, as in your bosses?”
“You keep mistaking a paycheck for owning me.”
“I don’t remember you being so mouthy.” Will’s gaze went there. Traveled over Hunter’s face to land on his lips.
“I could say something dirty, but I’ll refrain.” And if he did say it, they’d be screwed. The last thing he could do was get caught with his pants down if Peter or his minions or even the CIA broke through the door. To keep his mind off what he wanted to do to Will, Hunter fell back on gathering intel. “So, is it just you in this place?”
Will laughed. “Meaning?”
“Where are the other bodyguards?”
“I have the two you met, and I only got them because they escaped with me from the explosion back at the house. They’d just been added to Peter’s protective detail when the traitor rumors started and Stacia got extra paranoid.”
“And now they’re yours.” Hunter didn’t like where that logically led—to the idea of Will moving into a power position in Pentasus.
“Not really.” Will exhaled. “They know where I’m staying and hang around more as a favor to Peter than anything. They were only along tonight because I wanted to leave this apartment, which I haven’t done until recently. I took one step outside and there they were.”
That last part was the only reason Hunter had been able to track him. “About that. Why change your pattern?”
“Maybe I was trying to draw you out.”
Hunter’s temperature spiked again. He could feel the heat rise inside of him. “You need to be more careful. People could be looking for you.”
“Like you?”
Since he was supposed to be a bodyguard and not anything else, certainly not someone with intel about Pentasus or CIA actions, Hunter kept the answer simple. “I consider you my responsibility.”
“That’s all I am to you?”
A buzzing started in Hunter’s mind. Visions of Will in that bed spun through him. He’d spent so many nights wanting to hate the guy but dreaming about stripping his clothes off instead.
He shook his head, trying to drive the unwanted thoughts out. “What’s your big plan here? Your sister is dead. I’m assuming your brother is, too.”
Will closed his eyes for a second and looked away. “You’re thinking I need to contemplate a little vengeance?”
“Well, you don’t seem particularly upset by the potential loss of your entire family.” And Hunter couldn’t figure out whether that was good or not. He wanted so badly for Will to be on the right side of this thing. To be naive and sheltered from the family business. To not have evil in his blood like the rest of his family tree.
But he also wanted Will to feel something. The idea that the death of his sister didn’t touch him made Hunter’s stomach roll. He remembered all those years ago, standing in front of his father as he fell to the ground grabbing his chest. In that moment, the rage from years of being ignored fell away. Not forever, but for that instant until the ambulance came and the doctors pronounced him dead.
Even in death his father had stuck to his principles. Blocked Hunter from coming to the funeral or any service. Once Hunter had picked the Army, he’d been dead in the eyes of his father, a man who’d served with the Stasi, the East German secret police, back when it existed. A man who’d gone to prison for his lifetime career of using intimidation and torture to get answers. The same man who’d stabbed Hunter because the idea of him growing up and working for the new government—the only one Hunter had ever really known—so repulsed him.
“Don’t assume you know me or how I feel about Stacia,” Will said.
It took a second for the comment to sink in. Once it did, Hunter filed it away for later. “Are you trying to get killed?”
“The opposite, actually.” Will walked over to the window. He lifted the edge of a heavy curtain and looked out.
Without hesitation, Hunter reached for Will’s arm and pulled him away from the glass and what looked like the fire escape right outside. “Jesus, Will. Come on. Be smarter than that. The curtains stay closed and you stay away from shattering glass.”
“You’re calling me Will now?” He shrugged out of Hunter’s hold.
The flash of ego pissed Hunter off even more. “What, do you need me to call you Mr. Rivers? Maybe shine your fucking shoes?”
“Maybe drop the attitude.”
More orders. That’s all Will did now and Hunter didn’t like it. “Yes sir.”
Will’s mouth fell into a flat line. “And get to the point.”
The glass shattered behind them. Feet kicked in the window and legs flew through the air as tiny cubes rained down on them both. Will ducked as Hunter reached for him. He got a hand on Will’s shoulder and shoved him to the side, but it took another second to process what had happened. An intruder had found an alternative entrance.
A flash of black sailed across the room and body-slammed Hunter. He took flight with his attacker right on top of him. The two of them fell and Hunter’s shoulder slammed against the hardwood. The combined force of his weight and the man strangling him in a bear hug as they bounced against the floor had Hunter’s vision blinking out for a second.
The attacker gained the upper hand. Flipped Hunter and straddled his hips. His hands went to Hunter’s throat and he squeezed. Hunter refused to go out that way. Adrenaline pumped through him. With a roar of fury, he bucked his hips and punched at the guy’s throat. The shot had the grip on his neck loosening.
Renewed energy flooded Hunter. He threw the attacker to the side and reached for his gun. But the guy was fast. He knocked it away before Hunter could lock on it. The weapon skidded across the floor.
As his blood pumped and his heart raced, Hunter adjusted. He switched from weapons to an all-out attack. A mix of kicking and punching. He wrestled and grunted through the pain. Blocked out everything except getting this guy to go down.
He couldn’t maneuver into the right position for a choke hold. Every time he reached for his knife he got nailed with a fist to the stomach. The attacker used his body weight to pin Hunter. Slammed his head against the floor.
; Hunter had had enough of that shit. Twisting to the side, he reached for the gun strapped to his ankle. His finger had just touched the butt when the bang rang out. All the pressure holding him disappeared and the attacker fell lifeless on top of him. Deadweight right to his gut.
Instinctively Hunter rolled and slipped to his knees. His head shot up as he struggled to figure out where the shot had come from. Then he saw Will. Standing there still holding the gun and wearing a blank expression.
Hunter had no idea if this was his first kill or just one of many. Either way, he wasn’t taking the chance that Will would keep going. He jumped to his feet and stopped. Forcing his body to slow, he moved toward Will, careful not to rattle him.
“I’ve always been impressed with the way you shoot.” Hunter made the comment as he put his hand over Will’s and slipped the gun out of his hand.
“My father insisted.”
“And here I thought the old man was worthless.” God knew Hunter hated to owe that guy anything.
“Me too.”
Will’s speech sounded slower than usual. He wasn’t dazed, which Hunter took as a good sign. But he wasn’t bouncing right back to his normal self either. Hunter knew they had limited time. The sound of gunfire would bring the police. He could already hear voices in the hallway, likely from the neighbors trying to figure out what was happening.
Hunter dropped to the lifeless body and checked for ID, not expecting to find any. But he did have some idea who he was. “It’s the guy who came on to you as we left the club.”
The news seemed to wake Will from his stupor. He shook his head. “He followed us back here? That seems extreme. Also makes me question your bodyguard qualifications.”
“Not to knock your ego, but he didn’t come here looking for sex.”
Will looked around. Grabbed up his keys and duffel bag. “Apparently not.”
“Skills, weapons, and no ID. This guy was on a job. He’s been trained.” Hunter stood up again, ignoring the ache in his side from the rapid punches the guy had landed there. “Do you know if Peter is really dead?”
The Talented Mr. Rivers Page 3