by Nicole Fox
She didn’t give up. She dug her fingers into his, using her nails and all she had to try to get him to release her phone.
He stepped back several feet, moving out of her reach. When she jumped up to lunge at him, he caught her with his free arm and pulled her to him.
“Stop this. Calling him will only hurt you.”
“I have—to do—something.”
Her voice broke into sobs, and she went slack in his arms. Before he could get his other arm around her, she sunk to her knees on the floor and her body shook with crying.
“It’s all over,” she wailed. “He’s going to take her from me and there’s nothing I can do. He’s already found us. I didn’t manage to hide from him for more than a few months. Wherever I go, he’ll find me. He’ll kill me or hurt me, and he’ll hurt Opal.”
“It’ll be okay.” He dropped to his knees and rubbed her back, trying his best to soothe her. He wasn’t sure exactly what to do for her.
“No, it won’t. You don’t know. He has too much money. And he knows people. He’ll never let me rest. He’ll never let me go. He’ll do anything he has to, to get Opal. He’ll kill you, too, if you’re in the way. And then he’ll keep hurting her. And maybe he’ll even end up killing her. He doesn’t want her. He just wants to hurt me and hurting her is what hurts me the worst and he knows it. He’ll use her against me.”
Hunter felt like his heart was ripping in two. On one hand, he knew he had to take this guy out and fast, but there was a way to go about it. If he rushed, he might get sloppy and someone could get hurt. His first rule in killing someone was always to take his time and think it through. It was how he’d stayed out of jail since the first time, and how he’d always done his job.
But he couldn’t stand seeing Vanessa like this, so tortured and upset. He felt the hopelessness of his childhood come back to him. All the nights he’d cried himself to sleep, wishing he could run away or that his parents would die. It was a horrible way to live.
“There’s only one thing I can do,” she said, sitting up and wiping at her red, puffy eyes.
“Stay strong and wait until we can take him out.”
“No. We have to leave. We have to run again. Hide better, make sure he doesn’t find us.”
“That’s a terrible idea,” he said. “It’ll only piss him off more, and make him come after you harder. Look at how this is affecting you. You think running again will make it better? You’ve already got CPS after you. You’re living under complete stress all the time, and it’s got to be affecting Opal. You have a job here, and she’s settled here. You have friends to help you. If you leave, you start all over and go through this all again. And you’ll be farther from me.”
That last part was maybe the worst. If she left, he’d have to go with her or he wouldn’t be able to protect her. He didn’t want to go on the run, but he couldn’t watch her walk away, either.
“So, you think I should sit here and wait for him to come kill me?” Her voice cracked in its incredulity.
“You have to take your life back. You have to stop running and face this until it’s done. It’s the only way you’ll have any peace. He wants you to run again so that CPS will flag it as unusual activity. If they’re on you, it won’t matter if Jeremy is dead. They might still come after you and take Opal. Running makes you look guilty. You’re not guilty. You’ve done nothing wrong except marry an asshole of a man. Stand for what’s right, take control back from him. That’s how you move on and heal.”
# # #
Vanessa glared at him, the anger welling in her chest with the desperation. How dare he talk to her like that.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she hissed at him.
It felt good to get mad again. Mad was better than hopeless. Mad at least made her feel like she could do something. He said nice things. Take back control, take back her life. Sounded wonderful. But staying here was no way to make that happen.
“I can do all of that if I run.”
“No, you can’t.”
“Hunter!” The anger wavered for a moment and a fresh wave of tears broke free. “I can’t!”
He stood up and grabbed her by the arms, yanking her to her feet. “Stop this right now. You can and you will. You’re not a victim, Vanessa. Stop acting like one!”
She blinked at him, the shock of his actions and words silencing her tongue. Then she yanked her arms free. “Go to hell. You’re out of your freaking mind.”
She stepped forward to get out of his reach, but he grabbed her arm again.
“Let go of me!”
He dropped his grip on her immediately. At least he knew better than put a heavy hand on her. She might be tempted to reach for her gun and shoot him herself if he was going to grab her like that and hold her.
“I know what I’m talking about,” he said. “I’ve been there. Trust me. Running only makes new problems in a new area.”
“Maybe someone like you can just stick around and force your way through hard situations. But I’m a single mother with a little girl who is counting on me. I can’t afford to sit around with a target on my head. Jeremy won’t find me and CPS won’t, either.”
“Like he didn’t find you this time.”
She glared at him and turned way. “I’ll find a better place. I’ll change our appearance more. I’ll be more careful.”
“And you weren’t careful this time? Vanessa, listen to yourself. I can protect you if you’re here. If you run and go somewhere I’ve never been, I might come with you, but I won’t know the area, I won’t have connections. I can protect you best here. And I wouldn’t mess around with those CPS dicks. They don’t take it lightly when a parent flees after being questioned. Are you trying to make yourself look guilty?”
“Don’t worry about it. I don’t need you to protect me.” This was why she’d learn how to shoot a gun and why she’d gotten some training. She didn’t want to have to depend on anyone but herself. “I don’t need anyone’s help.”
She stormed over to the closet and pushed the door open. It banged loudly. She grabbed her large suitcase from its place on the floor. She’d put it there beside her other bag—the one she’d sent along with Opal to Mari’s. This one was the one she’d use if it came to this, if it came to running again. And now it had. There was no other choice for her. She had no better way to protect Opal.
Vanessa flung the suitcase onto the bed and unzipped it, then pushed the top open. From her dresser, she started pulling out random clothing and dumping it in, barely paying attention to which things she included. When her underwear drawer was empty, she moved on to her pants drawer.
Hunter stood there, watching her for a moment with his arms crossed. Then, he stepped forward, shut the suitcase, and yanked it from the bed. Vanessa got a grip on the side handle and tugged it back, trying to free his grip on the top handle. Half the contents spilled out in her struggle, but his grip held tight.
He pulled back and tossed the suitcase across the room. She clenched her jaw and lunged to the side to grab it. Hunter stepped forward and grabbed her instead.
He picked her up with a tight wrap of his arms and took two steps toward the bed. Then he threw her down on the bed. She bounced a little, the air knocked from her lungs. She gasped hard to get her breath back.
Hunter climbed on top of her, holding her hands by her side. “You’re not going anywhere.”
Chapter Thirteen
Vanessa
“Get off me,” she said.
Fear caught in her throat and made her go still. This felt a lot like what Jeremy used to do to her. He’d tell her he wanted sex, and she’d say no. When she was feeling bold, that was. Most times, she gave in and let him do what he wanted, but sometimes, she didn’t feel like letting him. On those occasions, he would chase her down. More than once, he pushed her down, held her, and tore her clothes from her. More than once, he forced her legs apart and shoved inside her while she cried and screamed in pain. And he loved to smack
her while he did it. She usually ended up bleeding from several places by the time he was done with her.
She looked at Hunter, eyes wild with panic. He saw her expression and softened his own.
“I promise I won’t hurt you. I need you to listen to me. Please.”
She said nothing but looked at him. She relaxed a tiny bit, but not fully. She couldn’t relax so long as he was holding her down.
“Are you going to listen?” he asked.
She nodded.
“Okay. Now. You absolutely cannot go on the run again. I know you think it’s the best thing. I’ve seen CPS in action, though, and you’re underestimating them. If keeping Opal with you is your main goal, you have to stay put until that’s resolved. Do you understand?”
She clenched her jaw and glared at him.
“I can protect you both if you’re here. You also have Mari’s help. If you’re here, I have people who can help me, I have places to go. I have cars and money and weapons. I don’t have any of that if we’re on the run. Do you understand?”
She again refused to answer him. She didn’t want to admit he was making sense. His arguments were starting to sink in.
“I will take care of Jeremy. Do you believe me? Do you trust me?”
She didn’t want to answer. She wanted to kick him hard in the groin and get away from him and figure this out for herself. Staying here was easy. Letting him help her was easy. Nothing in her life had been easy. If things weren’t hard, it felt like it was only a matter of time until something came crashing down.
But what if it could be easy with him? What if he was right and running made everything worse? What if he really could protect them and take care of Jeremy?
Finally, she gave in. “Yes.”
“Yes what?”
“Yes, I trust you.”
“Are you going to run?”
“No.”
He raised an eyebrow at her, challenging her. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she said, letting her body fall into the bed, limp. She couldn’t struggle anymore. She didn’t want to.
“One more question.” He leaned closer to her and whispered, “How bad do you want me right now?”
She wanted to slap him rather than admit she was turned on. Because she did trust him, having him be the one to hold her down gave her a small thrill that she’d never felt before. Once the fear left her, it was replaced with curiosity. What would it be like to let him have her? Nothing like with Jeremy, surely. But if it was anything like last night, when he touched her…
Her body warmed and she contracted with the remembered pleasure of it.
He kissed along her neck, biting gently at her jaw. Chills ran through her. Her legs were free and she wrapped one around his waist. He pressed down on her, letting his hard dick press against her crotch.
She pulled one hand from out of his reach and ran it through his blonde waves. She wound her fingers in and tugged gently. He moaned in response and pressed his lips to hers, hard. His mouth moved in tense motions, sucking her lip, her tongue, pressing his tongue into her mouth. Like he was trying to devour her and she was devouring him right back.
His hand found its way to her breast. She still wore only her night gown under her robe. Nothing to get in his way. He pinched her nipple hard, sending a tingling wave through her. She let out a moan and bit down on his earlobe. Her nails ran along his back. But his shirt was in her way. She reached the bottom hem of it and yanked up until it was over his head.
His bare chest was hard and muscled in the morning light of the room. She dug her fingers into his abs, enjoying the feel of solid muscle. She ran her hands over his thick biceps and down his back. Her nails dug into his flesh, pulling him down closer to her.
“I have to have you,” he growled in her ear.
He pushed open her robe and pulled the hem of her nightgown up. Her legs were thrust aside, and his mouth found her clit. He sucked hard, using his free hand to pinch her nipples while he flicked his tongue over her. She cried out in pleasure, writhing her hips against his mouth.
He pushed a finger inside her, and moved it back and forth in her wetness. She wanted nothing more than to feel him deep inside her. She tugged on his hair until he moved back to her. He pressed his mouth to hers again, and then she felt the pressure of his cock at her opening.
With one thrust, he was inside her, filling her. She moaned loudly when he entered her, the rush of it making her dizzy. Sex hadn’t felt this good in a long time.
He moved in and out, his thick dick sending waves of pleasure through every inch of her body. He lifted one of her legs to his shoulder, positioning himself in a way that he could move farther inside her and thrust harder.
Every time he slammed into her, she grew closer. Then he abruptly pulled out. He flipped Vanessa over onto her stomach and grabbed her waist, pulling it high in the air. He slammed into her from behind, reaching up to grab a fistful of her hair as he did.
Vanessa moaned, pushing her ass back into him as Hunter moved in her. He reached around to her front, using his fingers to circle her clit. He flicked her and rubbed her, and with his thrusting, she was ready to cum in seconds. She cried out, and felt the orgasm break over her as he slammed in deeper still. Hunter pulled her close and sped up until he cried out himself, finishing with a final few hard thrusts into her.
They stopped, his cock still throbbing inside her, and panted together for a few minutes. Vanessa couldn’t hold herself up anymore and finally slid to the bed, letting him slip out of her. He lay beside her, smoothing back her hair from her sweaty forehead.
She lay for several minutes in the afterglow, enjoying the feeling of actually enjoying sex. She’d forgotten what it was like. Forgotten that an orgasm could be so delicious. Forgotten that it felt good to be wanted by a man she also wanted. And now that she’d had him, she wanted more.
# # #
Hunter lay beside Vanessa, staring at her glimmering body in the low light. She had felt so good. He was surprised she liked it so rough after all she’d been through. He was prepared to be gentle and move slow, but she hadn’t wanted it like that. The way she grabbed him and bit him, he had no choice but to take her hard. And she’d loved it. His dick twitched thinking about it. She was so hot.
As he lay there, he thought, this was a mistake. He was getting far too close to her. This wasn’t something he did. Hunter did not have relationships, and he certainly didn’t fall for women he had been hired to kill. Plenty of times, he’d feigned romantic interest to get information. He’d even gotten to bang a few women here and there because of it. But the feelings hadn’t been there. It was always just a job.
Yet, somewhere along the line, despite his best efforts, Vanessa was far more than just a job. He cared about her. He wanted her, but not only for a screw. He wanted to take care of her and protect her and her daughter for a long time. He didn’t care about the money. He wouldn’t get anything more now, anyhow, but it didn’t matter. He wanted to kill Jeremy because of what he’d done to her. And for that reason alone. He was the monster, and he’d done awful things to her, and he deserved to pay.
There was a scarier thought under all this. An image he hadn’t been able to shake. It kept coming to his mind. A picture of a house. Inside, Vanessa stood in the kitchen, making dinner, while Opal sat at the table doing homework. He came home from work, and they greeted him like they actually had missed him. They had a family dinner and a nice evening together.
This picture had never been part of what he wanted. Hunter was not a guy who worked nine to five. He didn’t have a wife or family. He didn’t have things that could be used against him to hurt him. He didn’t have anyone tying him down. He’d never wanted the domestic life. Until now. He wanted it with Vanessa. He wanted all of it. And that was maybe the scariest thing he’d ever experienced.
Chapter Fourteen
Vanessa
Vanessa had dozed off after making love to Hunter, but once she was awake, she sat straight
up in bed.
“Something wrong?” he muttered.
“I need to get Opal and bring her home. Who knows when that CPS guy will come back.”
“I’m sure you have a few days.”
“Maybe.” She chewed her lip and details started to run through her mind. Was it safe here? If they needed to wait for CPS to return, how could they make sure nothing happened to Opal in the meantime? “Hunter?”
“Yeah?” He rubbed his face and looked up at her.
“Will you stay here? With us, I mean? For a little while? Until I know that Opal is safe? If we can’t run and we have to be here for CPS, but Jeremy knows we’re here, I don’t know if Opal is safe and I—”