HIS VIRGIN VESSEL: A Dark Bad Boy Baby Romance (War Cry MC)

by Nicole Fox

  His desire for her was intense, too. He wanted her. As he drove, his mind filled with impure thoughts. He pictured her naked, and pictured all the things he wanted to do to her. He adjusted his pants to make room for his hard-on and followed Vanessa down another road.

  He had to get past this. If he allowed himself to want her like this, it could mess up everything. It could get in the way of him doing his job well. And that was unacceptable. He had a perfect track record. Never messed up a job, never came close to getting caught. He wasn’t going to jeopardize his reputation for some horrible woman who beat her child, even if she was drop dead gorgeous. Dead and gorgeous is exactly what she’d be by the time he was done with her.

  He needed to stay focused now. Gain the trust of the child. Get her away from Vanessa. Kill Vanessa. It was that simple.

  Vanessa turned into the large parking lot of the fair grounds. He pulled in shortly after. This would be a good place to find them and act like it was a coincidence. Maybe not the best place for a hit, but they wouldn’t stay forever. And it’d be packed enough that he could watch them without being noticed. Perfect.

  # # #

  Vanessa pulled into the parking lot, still feeling shaky. Who was that guy? He came out of nowhere, just in time to save her daughter. And he was gorgeous and daring, self sacrificing enough to give himself like that, to put himself in danger like that. He didn’t know them. Didn’t know anything about them. But he’d stepped in and saved the day, like he was a real hero.

  She wanted to believe this sexy man was a hero, that they still existed. But it was hard for her to believe in any good anymore. Especially the good of a man when it came to her and her child. They had been hurt too many times.

  “And he just ran across the street—whoosh”—Opal made a swooshing motion with her hand to show how the man had run over to her—“then just boom! Crash, smash!” She smacked her hands together for effect. “That car totally would have squished me.”

  “I know. You’ve said that several times now. I’d rather not think about it.”

  “Do you think that man was actually”—she dropped her voice to a whisper—“an angel? Like a guardian angel? Maybe that’s how he came out of nowhere.”

  “Well, I don’t know about that. I think he was just a very brave man who saved you.”

  “He was.”

  Opal had been talking about the man since they’d gotten into the car. At first, she’d been shocked. She hadn’t really known what happened, but once Vanessa got her comforted and stopped her tears, she’d been amazed. Then she couldn’t stop talking about it. Vanessa just wanted to forget it all. The man was gone, and they’d never see him again. Opal was safe. It was time to move on and forget it happened.

  “Ready to have some fun?” Vanessa asked as she removed her seatbelt.

  “Yes! I want cotton candy and to ride the Ferris wheel.”

  “We can do all of that.”

  They climbed out of the car, and Vanessa took her hand as they walked toward the fair. First, they hit up the rides. Always better to get those out of the way before eating so they didn’t have to worry about upset stomachs.

  They rode the Ferris wheel twice, then a ride that spun them in circles while in a little cart. Then it was the swings, then another spinning ride. As they climbed off, Vanessa slightly dizzy, she looked up toward the crowd and, for a moment, thought she saw the man who had saved Opal earlier. She took Opal’s hand and hurried her away from the ride and toward where she’d seen the man.

  She wasn’t sure why she wanted to see him again. Maybe to thank him? But when they got to where she thought he’d been, there was no one there that looked like him. Either she’d been seeing things, or he’d gone.

  As they walked away toward the next ride, her paranoia started to settle in. Was it the same man? And if so, why was here? Could be following her? What if the reason he seemed to disappear was that he hadn’t wanted to be seen? Maybe when she saw him, he took off so he could keep watching her.

  “I want cotton candy now,” Opal said.

  They made their way toward the part of the fair where the games and food were. She kept her eyes peeled for the bags of fluffy blue and pink, but instead of finding the sugary treat, she found something else. She paused to look at one food stand and, when she turned to move on, the man was there, smiling.

  “Hello again,” he said.

  Opal gasped. “Mommy! It’s the angel man.”

  Vanessa wished she wouldn’t have called him that. She didn’t want Opal to have some kind of worshipful feelings toward this man she didn’t know.

  “Right,” Vanessa said, pressing her lips into a tight smile. “What a coincidence.”

  “I’ve seen you before,” he said. “I work just around the corner from your apartment. I was leaving work when that whole thing happened with the car. Crazy, wasn’t it?”

  Vanessa nodded. “It was.”

  “It was scary!” Opal said. “But then you came and swoosh! Scooped me up to save me.”

  Vanessa patted her shoulder. “You need to thank the man.”

  “I’m Hunter Perrin,” he said and bent down closer to Opal. “What’s your name?”

  Vanessa tensed, but Opal answered correctly.

  “Katrin. Thank you, Mr. Hunter.”

  “Anytime.” He patted her head and stood, putting his hand out toward Vanessa. “Nice to meet you.”

  She shook his hand. “Yes, especially given the circumstances. I’m glad you were there. Thank you for what you did. I can’t imagine…”

  “Well, let’s not think of what could have happened.”

  “Right. I’ve been trying not to. I’m Joanna, by the way.”

  His explanation of working nearby explained why he was close to their house earlier, but not why he was here now. He was alone. No girlfriend or wife, no child tugging at his sleeve. What sort of grown man went to a fair alone? There was something not right about this. She didn’t trust this Hunter.

  “Mommy! Look at those bears! I want to win one!”

  Opal was hopping from foot to foot, pointing to the ceiling of a game that displayed several large teddy bears.

  “They’re very nice,” Vanessa said. “And probably impossible to win.”

  “It’s a shooting game,” Hunter said. “I happen to be excellent at those. I can give it a shot.” He bent down to Opal. “How about I try to win you one of those bears?”

  Opal looked to Vanessa, unsure. Maybe her own paranoia was rubbing off on her daughter, but the look on Opal’s face made it clear that she wasn’t sure she should let Hunter win her something. It would seem stranger to say no and walk away probably, than to just let him try. After he played, they could just thank him and move on.

  She nodded at Opal, who then ran to the game’s counter, waiting. Hunter walked up and handed the man a few dollars, then picked up the toy gun. The game started and Hunter shot out several ducklings in quick succession. Within seconds, he’d knocked them all down. The man behind the counter looked unpleasantly surprised.

  “Well, which bear will it be, little lady?” the man asked.

  Opal pointed to the pink one. The man pulled it down and handed it over.

  “Be sure to thank your daddy now for winning you that bear,” the man said.

  Opal clutched the bear tight. It was half her size. But she looked at Vanessa with that same unsure look. She didn’t know how to respond when the man at the game assumed they were a family.

  “Thank Hunter,” she said, leading her away from the game.

  “Thank you!”

  “Well, after saving her life and winning her a bear, I think you’ve done your share for the day,” Vanessa said with a smile. “Thank you. Have a good evening.”

  She turned away from him, making it clear that it was time for them to part. She wanted to be away from him, even if he looked really hot playing the game. A man with a gun shouldn’t excite her like that, but Hunter with a gun turned her on. She definitely had t
o get away from him as fast as possible.

  Chapter Four

  Hunter

  Hunter watched Opal and Vanessa walk away, and a layer of unease settled on him. He left the fair quickly. He’d already scooped out the nearest hotel and had a room booked. Of course, he’d done that thinking it might take a few days of surveillance before he found them and knew for sure it was them, but now his reason had changed. He drove to the hotel and checked in, then dialed Jeremy Beale.

  “Good news,” Hunter said. “I’ve found them.”

  “You have? Where are they?” The excitement in Jeremy’s voice was obvious.

  “Can’t tell you that yet. In my experience, once a man knows where his missing child is, not much will keep him where he is. But if you come here, you’ll only be in the way and might scare them off.”

  “Okay. So, how long will it be until you can bring my daughter home to me?”

  “Well, that’s another thing,” Hunter said. “Having the child around complicates matters some. I’m sure you wouldn’t want your daughter there when everything goes down.”

  “No, no.”

  “So, it’s going to take a little more time. I need to make sure I can get Vanessa alone, but also that I know where Opal is so I can bring her to you.”

  “I see. I want my daughter safe, so take as much time as you need. I want this done right.”

  “Of course,” Hunter said. “That’s the only way I do it.”

  Hunter hung up and stared at the wall for a long while. Then he picked up the photos and flipped through them again. He paused on a shot of Vanessa, Jeremy, and Opal. Why had he never noticed before how Vanessa held herself in this photo? She stood slightly between Jeremy and Opal, her body angled away from him as if she didn’t want to be near him. And as if she was trying to keep Opal from him.

  Something about this situation was not adding up. The description of Vanessa Powers that he’d been given by Jeremy did not fit the woman he met today. He’d seen enough abuse to know what to look for. Opal didn’t shy away from her mother. She didn’t hesitate to take her hand, she didn’t look afraid or nervous to be around her. The child had no visible bruises, which didn’t mean anything alone, but since the weather was no nice, she’d had on short sleeves and there were no marks on her arms.

  Hunter thought back to his own childhood. It wasn’t a place he liked to visit often in his mind or in conversation. But for this, he needed to. He pictured the family photos, not that there were many of them. He thought of how he always wanted to get away from his parents. How he never wanted them to touch him in any way. In photos, he stood a little apart from them. When they went somewhere, he walked a few steps away from them. Any touch at all, even the most innocent pat on the shoulder, would cause him to flinch and retreat. Because when you were a kid being abused by a parent, no touch seemed okay and being far away from them was always the best option.

  But when he was with Opal and Vanessa, or Katrin and Joanna as they claimed, the child was in no way hesitant or shying away from her mother. He’d looked for any little flinch or pulling back and had seen none. By all accounts, they seemed like a very loving mother and child combination. So, it came to two options. Either Vanessa was a fabulous actress and somehow won her daughter again and again between abuse cycles. It wasn’t unheard of, but was unlikely. Or, and in his opinion what made much more sense, was that she was not the one abusing Opal.

  But he needed to know for sure. He couldn’t kill Vanessa if she wasn’t the monster Jeremy made her out to be. And if she wasn’t the one hurting Opal, then Jeremy was the most likely candidate. And in that case, maybe he’d kill Jeremy instead. But before he made any move, he had to know more.

  He could watch them. He could spend days and weeks watching them and trying to see how things really were. Maybe even hide some cameras in their apartment. But cameras only showed what happened inside their house, at the present time. It wouldn’t show him the past. It wouldn’t show him what had happened while Vanessa and Jeremy were married.

  On the other hand, if he used a more involved method, he could not only get insight to their present, but also their past and future. That would mean doing something like dating Vanessa. Getting her full trust and the full trust of the child. Then, he could get them to open up and find out the truth. In the meantime, he’d have plenty of chances to observe them on a more intimate basis. From what he knew, abusers couldn’t hide forever. Eventually, Vanessa would get mad and lash out at Opal. Even if she controlled herself in front of new people, that façade only held so long. He’d see through it.

  That was the best plan. To date her, be her romantic interest, get to know her on a deeper level. It would be just for the job. Had nothing at all to do with his attraction to her. Though maybe it would help make it seem more authentic. And if he got some action out of it, then so be it. It was all in the name of the job in the end. So long as he kept that in mind, he could work well and get what he needed.

  # # #

  “Come on, Opal, get into bed.” Vanessa stood by her daughter’s bed, waiting for her to come in from the bathroom.

  She came bouncing in a few minutes later. “What a fun day!”

  “It sure was.” Though she could live without the part where Opal almost died and without the strange man showing up. Hunter, she reminded herself. He had a name.

  Opal slid under the covers and snuggled her bear close to her.

  “You’re sleeping with your new bear?” Vanessa asked.

  “Of course! I love her!”

  “Did you name her yet?”

  “No. Maybe Pinky?”

  “That sounds like a good name to me.” She sat on the edge of the bed to lean down and kiss her goodnight.

  “Or maybe Pinker, like Hunter. Since he won her for me.”

  “I like that idea.”

  “Was it weird?” Opal asked. “Since we didn’t know him and he saved me, then won me this bear?”

  “A little. Don’t you think?”

  Opal nodded. “A little. But he seems okay to me. Does he seem okay to you?”

  “I think so.” Vanessa hugged her and kissed her forehead. “You let me know if you see him again, okay? Like at school or anywhere else.”

  “Okay.”

  Vanessa turned out the light and stood in her doorway. “Night night, Livy. I love you.”

  “Love you,” she mumbled.

  Vanessa sat in the living room with a cup of tea and reflected on the day. So much had happened and so many different emotions ran through her. Here was this man who had saved her daughter’s life while taking the risk of being hurt himself. Then he shows up at the fair—a huge public event—and she’s suspicious of him. He wins Opal a huge bear that she loves and still, she’s going to distrust him? He was probably just a nice guy. And she was thinking the worst of him.

  Tears filled her eyes and spilled over to run down her cheeks. She hated to feel this way. To look at everyone with a skeptical eye, assuming they were out to harm her or Opal. She longed for the normalcy they used to have. Even though the rest of it was awful, she missed not looking at everyone like they were a threat, not having to watch over her shoulder, not making her daughter lie and use a fake name. This was necessary for now, but would they ever have a normal life again? Or would they forever be on the run, hiding out from her ex?

  She wished meeting Hunter was like meeting anyone else. Like he was just some nice man, helping them out. Like she didn’t have to watch him and question him and think he was out to hurt them. She’d been distrusting everyone she came across these days. It didn’t feel right.

  There was one thing more important than normalcy, though. She needed Opal to be safe. As many times as she told Opal to wait for her or that she’d protect her, she was losing confidence in her ability. Hadn’t Hunter come from out of nowhere and snatched Opal away? Sure, it was to save her life, but if someone came along and tried to take Opal, how would she stop them? Hunter had moved so fast, she hadn’t ha
d time to react. That, more than anything, had her shaken and worried. It was one thing to know Opal was almost hit by a car, but another to realize that she would have no chance if someone came to take her.

  But if she had someone like Hunter around, maybe Opal would be safer. Another person there to protect her. And he was someone who looked like he could do a lot of protecting if it came down to it. His body was so toned and strong. She finished the last sip of her tea and thought about Hunter’s wavy caramel blonde hair, his sparkling blue eyes, and those lips… She imagined what they would feel like pressed against hers.