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

by Nicole Fox

  “I wouldn’t know.”

  “Paul. That’s it. He forgave Paul. Even made him an apostle or something.”

  “I have no idea what that means,” he said.

  “It means that God not only forgave him, but used him to do stuff for Him. You never read the Bible or anything?”

  “The TV was the only altar my father worshipped. Well, that and the almighty keg.”

  “Not sure which is worse. Not having any church or being forced to go every week for your whole life.”

  “Anything is better than sitting around waiting for your dad to get drunk enough to hit you. Or do something worse.”

  “Worse?”

  He nodded. “He didn’t only use his hands. Sometimes it was beer bottles, sometimes the remote control, sometimes his cigarette. Whatever he had on hand. And when he had nothing, the stairs worked pretty well.”

  “Jeremy pushed me down the stairs a few times. That’s scary. Just falling like that out of nowhere. He did it when I was pregnant. When I refused to have an abortion.”

  “So, he started abusing Opal before she was even born.”

  “Yeah, I guess so. I never looked at it that way. But he tried to kill her before she was born. Funny that now he’s the one fighting to get her. I was the one who fought for her from the start. When everyone told me I should get rid of her.”

  “That’s because you already loved her,” he said. “Because you’re a good and decent person who had parents good enough to show you love. And who knows, maybe it was all that church stuff, too.”

  “Maybe.” She was quiet for a long time, thinking. She considered her own answer, then asked, “Do you believe in God?”

  “Never had a reason to, I guess. There was nothing good in my life. Nothing to be thankful for. And if there is a God, He never helped me. I guess there could be. I just don’t know what I did to make Him hate me when I was just a kid.”

  “I don’t think it works that way. I think you were just unlucky.”

  “You think if I went to church and prayed, God would have made my parents stop hitting me?”

  She thought of all the nights spent on her knees in tears. “No. He didn’t make Jeremy stop hitting me.”

  “Then what’s the point?”

  She lifted a shoulder. “Hope, I guess. We both did get through it, didn’t we? We’re alive and we’re here, and we found each other. Maybe this is our reward. Maybe He did get us out of there and brought us together.”

  “Well, whatever or whoever it was, I’m grateful.” He pulled her closer and kissed her forehead. “If it was God, then I’ll thank Him every day for you. And if not, then I’ll thank my lucky stars and hope that I never mess this up.”

  “You won’t.”

  “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “Being the first person to see me and still love me,” he said, tracing the outline of the contours of her face.

  “Thank you for letting me. And for loving me back.”

  “Easiest thing I’ve ever done.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Vanessa

  Vanessa checked Opal’s seatbelt to make sure it was tight. Mari was already in the passenger seat. She turned to face Hunter. “I wish you were coming with us.”

  “Me too. We have to get things ready, though.”

  “I know, I just hate the idea of being away from you all day.”

  “You think you hate it?” He shook his head. “You have your gun on you?”

  She nodded and patted her purse, where her handgun was currently stored. “Stay close to your phone?”

  “Obviously. We’ll check in often.”

  “Okay.” She let out a deep sigh. “Guess I’ll see you tonight then.”

  He gave her a long, hard kiss and let her go. She climbed into the car and started it, then put down the window. “Hey,” she said. “Don’t get yourself killed or anything.” She said it in a light tone, but she meant every word.

  “You either.” He leaned down to kiss her. “Love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  He stood up and they drove off.

  “When did that happen?” Mari asked, a smirk on her face.

  Vanessa playfully slapped her. “Shut up.”

  “What happened?” Opal asked from the backseat.

  “Nothing honey,” Vanessa said.

  “Oh, your mommy just fell in love is all.”

  Opal grinned. “With Hunter.”

  “Do you like him?” Mari asked.

  Opal nodded enthusiastically. “I want him to be my new daddy.”

  Vanessa beamed. So long as they both made it out of this alive, he just might be.

  They turned into Mari’s parents’ farm house some time later. The plan was to spend the day, have some nice quality time together before the big meeting the next day. “Who knows what might go wrong,” Mari had said. “Take the day and enjoy it.”

  So, now they were here. Vanessa and Opal would get to meet Mari’s parents, who Opal would stay with that night and the next day. Vanessa didn’t want Opal anywhere near the area when things could be happening. And so many things could happen in the next days. It was better to have her here, safe.

  “What should we do first, Mommy?” Opal said excitedly as they got out of the car. “I can show you the swing or we can go for a walk or play a game.”

  “Let’s go inside and meet the Snyder first, okay?” Vanessa said and reached out her hand for Opal to take it.

  “Okay.”

  They went inside and were introduced to Mari’s mom and step-dad. They hugged them both and seemed like the most welcoming and gentle people Vanessa had ever met. No wonder Mari was the way she was. She was just like them.

  After a small mid-morning snack of muffins and tea, Vanessa and Opal wandered outside. Opal ran over to the swing and Vanessa stood behind her, pushing her on the swing hung from the giant tree.

  “It’s so pretty here,” Vanessa said.

  “Yeah. I like it. Maybe we could all get a house like this someday.”

  “I hope so.” She could picture it. Opal playing out back, Hunter working on his car or fixing something, her baking pies for their dessert. It seemed like a perfect little family portrait.

  “You really do like Hunter?” Vanessa asked.

  She nodded.

  “You can tell me the truth if you don’t.”

  “But I do!”

  “Okay.” Vanessa laughed at her enthusiasm. “Do you ever miss our old house?”

  “Yeah. But I don’t want to go back there.”

  “Me either. Why don’t you want to ?”

  “I don’t want to live with Daddy again. It was too scary.”

  “I know and that’s why we left. So Daddy couldn’t hurt you anymore.”

  “I know. But Mommy?”

  After a pause, she asked, “Yeah?”

  “Why did we wait so long? Why didn’t we leave so you wouldn’t get hurt anymore?”

  “Well, because I wanted you to be with your daddy and have a family. I tried not to let you see that he hurt me.”

  “I did though. I saw him hold you down, and I saw him hit you.”

  Vanessa swallowed hard. How much exactly had her daughter seen and how would this affect her for the rest of her life?

  “Well, it’s all over now and we’ll never go back to him. Hunter will keep us safe and never hurt us.”

  “That’s why I want him to be my new daddy.”

  “I’m glad. I know he really likes you, too.”

  “Can we go for a walk now? I want to show you the birdhouse!”

  Opal hopped off the swing when it had slowed enough. Vanessa took her hand and let Opal lead her through a path in the field. They walked through high grass and flowers, under the shade of many old, tall trees. They stopped at a bird house, painted red, but weathered from the years. Inside, they could see a nest of tiny baby birds.

  “They’re so cute!” Opal reached toward it, like she was g
oing to pick one up.

  “No!” Vanessa said and took her hand. “If you touch them, the mommy will think something is wrong with them and stop taking care of them.”

  Opal gave her a confused look. “Why would she do that?”

  “It’s just the way birds are. They’re not like people. We take care of each other forever.”

  They watched through the hole for a time, then walked back toward the house. Vanessa tried to memorize the feel of Opal’s small hand in hers. She didn’t know when she would see her again or feel that little hand. Or if she ever would. She quickly swiped tears from her eyes and pulled out her phone to text Hunter.

  It was time for them to leave much too soon. Vanessa couldn’t break down as she said goodbye to Opal, because Opal didn’t know the danger ahead. She had been told they all had to do something really important together to make sure they would all be safe, and that her and Hunter would come get her after a fun day at the farm house.

  As soon as her and Mari got into the car, however, Vanessa couldn’t hold back her tears. Mari rubbed her leg and tried to comfort her.

  “No matter what happens, it’ll all be over after tomorrow. Just get through one day, and it’ll be better.”

  Vanessa nodded and turned out of the driveway. “How in the world did I ever convince you to be my friend?” She chuckled.

  “Because we were both messed up once. We’ve been through a lot.”

  “And we’ve been through a lot together, too. When we first set up our system to keep Opal safe, I never thought we’d have to use it,” Vanessa admitted.

  “I thought we might, but not nearly so fast. I’m just glad I could help. I wanted to be the person who finally helped you break free, like the woman who helped my mom after years of abuse.”

  “And now she has your step-dad and she’s happy.”

  “She is. Really happy,” Mari said.

  “I’m so glad you’re my friend. Thank you for all your help.” She gave her a warm smile.

  “I know it’s going to turn out okay. You’ve got a strong man who only wants to protect you. You should hear the way Opal talks about him. Like he’s her biggest hero.”

  “Really?”

  Mari nodded. “You’ve been through too much for this not to work out well for you. Everything is falling into place.”

  “Thank you for being so optimistic. But Mari, if something happens…”

  “I’ll take care of Opal.”

  “Even if Hunter and I are both dead or in jail? Would you take care of her forever if I were gone?”

  “Of course.” Mari reached over and squeezed her hand. “Like she was my own.”

  # # #

  “We have to make sure we document everything,” Nicholas said.

  Hunter rolled his eyes. “We are.”

  Nicholas took out the recorder from his pocket. “I need you to record your confession that Jeremy hired you to kill his wife.”

  Hunter stared at the recording device. Everything about complying with this felt wrong. Was he just setting himself up to be arrested and charged with attempted murder or conspiracy to murder?

  “We already have the recording of my interview with Opal,” Nicholas said. “We have Vanessa’s photos. If we get you admitting that you were hired to kill Vanessa, and then we get Jeremy to back it up with his own confession, then it’s easy. Open and shut, and Jeremy goes away forever and Opal and Vanessa live happily ever after ever.”

  Hunter’s fist clenched at the reminder of the photographs. It was all he could do to keep them out of his mind and not punch a wall. In his dreams the night before, he kept seeing Vanessa covered in bruises, bleeding and swollen, unable to walk properly, and in the dream, he was running, trying to find who had done it. But every time he failed, she had a new bruise. He’d woken up panicking with a renewed sense of determination to find Jeremy and kill him.

  “Fine.” Hunter wanted that happily ever after for Vanessa and Opal. And though he wanted desperately to be a part of it, he would do whatever it took to make it happen for them, even if he couldn’t be there for it.

  He answered all of Nicholas’s questions while the recorder ran. Most were the same they’d discussed right after Nicholas was shot. What Jeremy had said, what he’d been paid and when, that sort of thing.

  When they were done, Nicholas shut off the recorder, then checked to make sure it had captured everything.

  “Be careful tomorrow,” Nicholas said. “You might have a conscience, but men like Jeremy don’t.”

  “Oh believe me, I know,” Hunter said. He thought of how angry Jeremy was that Vanessa was still alive, and how he never bothered to ask about Opal. Like he didn’t care at all. He just wanted to hurt Vanessa. More than he already had.

  “Okay.” Nicholas stood up and walked to the door. “I’ll go bug the hotel room, and we’ll be all set.”

  “Thanks for your help,” Hunter said and held up a hand as Nicholas walked out.

  He sat back down long enough to text Vanessa and tell her they were all set. Then he headed out to complete one final task.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Vanessa

  Vanessa paced the living room. Hunter had texted twenty minutes ago and said he’d be back in ten minutes. Any delay like this could mean so many things. What if he’d been followed and attacked? What if he’d been shot or caught by the cops? It wasn’t even the day of the big sting yet, and she was already freaking out. If she made it through tomorrow, it would be a miracle.

  There was a click in the lock, but before the door opened, Hunter called out, “It’s me.”

  Her heart leapt at the sound and she dashed over to the door. She wanted to yank it open and jump into his arms, but they had to be more careful than that. She picked up her gun and pointed it at the door. The door opened slowly and when she saw Hunter’s face and that he was alone, she put the gun back down.

  He closed the door and they met in a strong embrace.

  “Where were you?” she asked.

  “Getting these.” He brought out the hand behind his back and presented her with a bouquet of bright flowers. “I know it’s not much, but I was hoping it would brighten the day a bit.”

  “Thank you.” She smelled the flowers and turned them in her hands to see all of them. “They’re beautiful.”

  “Not compared to you, but they’re nice.”

  She kissed him and took them into the kitchen to find a vase. “Everything go okay, then?”

  “All set.” Hunter stood in the doorway of the kitchen, watching her. “We got the room bugged and recorded my confession. Now I just need to get him to confess to hiring someone to kill you and we got it.”

  “Right. Piece of cake,” she said sarcastically.

  “It will be. Don’t worry about this. Getting Jeremy to talk will be easy. Like I said before, he thinks I have more to lose than he does, so he’ll never suspect a thing. He has no reason not to discuss the full details with me.”

  Vanessa wrapped her arms around his neck. “It better be easy, and you better be perfectly safe. I don’t know what I’ll do if anything happens to you.”

  “The only thing that will happen to me is getting Jeremy to confess so we can lock him up for life.”

  She pressed her lips to his in a hard kiss. She didn’t want to waste any more time tonight talking. This could be their last night together. Though it made her sick to think that way, she wanted to make the most of it.

  “Opal okay?” he asked, pausing their kissing to whisper in her ear.

  “Safe and sound. Didn’t want to be away from us, but she’s okay.”

  “Good.”

  She pressed her lips back to his and he seemed to understand that she was done talking. Maybe he was, too. Tonight, there was fire between them. None of the soft and slow love making like they’d had the other night. This was wild and passionate.

  Vanessa’s desire for him was so strong, and her love and need for him threatened to make her heart burst. She c
lung to him tight, not wanting to let him get even an inch away from her.

  Their kissing grew rougher, and she realized they might not even make it to the bedroom. Hunter’s hands moved all over her, possessing her. Like he was touching every inch of her in case he wouldn’t get to again for a long time.