by Lena Black
“Anyway, around eleven, the cocksucker came out for a smoke. The moon was hidden behind a dense blanket of clouds, so he didn’t see me at first. When I called out his name from the shadows I’d been taking cover in, he turned around, and I stepped out with the gun pointed at him. My face was concealed under a black hood so he couldn’t see who I was. But I wanted him to know. I wanted him to see the demon he created. I wanted him to look into the eyes of the man who would end his miserable life. I removed my hood, but it wasn’t until I showed him my eyes that he realized who I was.
“He dropped to his knees and begged me to forgive him, crying like a fucking coward. But I couldn’t show him mercy. Instead, I walked up to him, firmly placed the barrel against his forehead, and squeezed the trigger without a second thought. I fucking killed him, Gabrielle, in cold blood.”
He said this wasn’t long ago.
“Damian, when was this?”
“Do you remember the night that drunk sonofabitch assaulted you outside the bar?”
“Yes,” I reply with a trembling voice. “The night you rescued me. You took me home and slept with me for the first time.”
“Yeah,” he says distantly.
“Are you trying to tell me you killed him before coming to me?”
He nods his head slowly.
“You slept with a monster.”
“Oh, Jesus,” I mutter, my hand over my chest. I don’t know what to think or say. A million feelings and questions disperse across my brain like scattered building blocks on the floor of a child’s room. After taking a moment to gather my thoughts about everything, I finally settle on one. “So, when we met, you were already planning this out.”
“Yes.”
“Is that why you told me you were no good for me? Is that why you pushed me away in the beginning?”
“Yes.” He begins to sob and collapses to his knees, placing his head in his hands. “Now you know, I’m a monster, too.”
“No,” I cry, leaping from the bed onto the floor, kneeling in front of him. I snatch his hands from his face and cradle them in mine, as much as I can for their smaller size. “Damian, you are not a monster.”
He glimpses up at me from red eyes, dumbfounded. “You don’t hate me?”
“I could never hate you.” I set my palm on the side of his face, rubbing his cheek with my thumb, just as he’s done to me infinite times before, comforting him just as he’s comforted me when I needed him most. He takes me by surprise, pulling me into him and embracing me so tight I might turn into a diamond.
“May I ask something?”
“Mm-hm.”
“When you said you didn’t want the cops involved with Dante, that you’d take care of it yourself, you meant you were going to kill him, didn’t you?”
“Yes. He’s dangerous and needs to be stopped—permanently.”
I quiver at the thought. I also know he’s right. Dante will never stop until he gets what he wants…Me. He wrote it himself. He wants me—alive or dead.
“Do you think he’s close? To getting what he wants?”
“I will never let anything happen to you, Elle. I promise I’ll keep you safe no matter what I have to do. We will catch him. And when we do, I’ll take care of him.”
If only I believed him. But if he is so easy to catch, why is he still free? Why is he still terrorizing us? Even when things are quiet, he’s there, invading our lives. He’s always there.
Damian must sense my dread. “Hey, enough about all this. This is our honeymoon. I refuse to give our pasts one more second of our time together.”
I wish he were right, but it’s not the past that shackles us anymore. It’s our present and possible future. But I smile in an attempt to appease him, hoping if I pretend not to be bothered, eventually I won’t be.
When dawn breaks, I awaken on the floor lying next to Hunt, covered by the comforter from the bed. We must’ve fallen asleep here, and he decided not to move me. He’s still passed out, breathing loudly, looking at peace. I sit up and scrunch my legs to my chest, observing the serenity of my surroundings as a moderate breeze blows over me. Something feels different, lighter, new, as if there are possibilities. I hope last night’s purge changes things between us. Not for the worst, but the better.
“Morning, angel,” he says with a groggy voice.
I glimpse over my shoulder, smiling sweetly at him. He wraps his arms around me, pulling me back down. I coil up into his side, my little nook, and rest my head on his wide chest. I love listening to his strong heartbeat. It gives me comfort.
“Morning, slick.”
He takes a big, cleansing breath. “How are you feeling after last night?”
“Relieved,” I answer, nuzzling my head against his peck. “You?”
“The same.” He hugs me tighter. “You’re my rock, Elle, my light…my salvation. You saved me from the darkness inside myself.”
“And you’re mine. We saved each other.”
Suddenly, Hunt’s cell goes off. It’s Liam. I can tell by the ringtone, the same one I waited for the night Dante attacked me, the one that told me I had to break Hunt’s heart.
Knowing that ring seldom means good news, Damian springs to his feet, alert and alarmed, and answers quickly. “Hunt.” He listens to Banks, his face shifting from sleepy to shock? Rage? “When did it happen, Banks? Where?” He waits while Liam updates him on the details of whatever news has put Hunt into such an irritable mood. “Is she alright?”
What?
She?
Who she?
“Damian, what’s going on?” I probe with clear panic in my voice, a billion thoughts sprinting through my head.
He looks at me but doesn’t answer.
“Did he get away, Banks? Please, tell me you fucking got him.” His jaw clenches, and his nostrils flare. “Goddamn it! How the fuck could you let this happen, Banks?”
I place my hand on his arm, shaking my head at him. “Don’t do that. Whatever happened isn’t his fault, Damian.”
He seems to feel remorseful. “I’m sorry, Liam. It’s not your doing. It’s mine. I shouldn’t have left. We’re on our way. We’ll be home as soon as possible.”
He ends the call, tossing the phone onto the bed, and places his head in his hands.
“What is it, Hunt? What happened?”
He inhales slowly. Without looking up from his hands, he says, “Sloan was attacked outside the Artemis.”
“Damian, no! Sloan, the babies, are they…?” I can’t get out more than a few sputtered words.
“Everyone is fine…But the doctors want to observe her overnight. She’ll be released in the morning.”
“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get going. I want to be home by the time she gets back.”
I jump up and rush over to the dresser, throwing on the first piece of clothing my hand touches, while Hunt calls whomever to inform them of our emergency departure. I don’t bother to pack anything. I dress and gather anything we can’t afford to leave.
Ten minutes later, we’re racing through the Greek countryside, desperate to get back to our family.
“You know,” I mumble, staring out the passenger window, “you really need to change that ringtone.”
Chapter Eighteen
Homeward Bound
I arrived at the Hyde’s estate in Kentfield early, having driven there in my peace offering to Elle. When I called Elizabeth to inform her I’d be attending, she mentioned her daughter would be here as well. I’d known she would be. It’s exactly why I’d called myself, instead of leaving it to my assistant. I walked up the steps to the French Chateau-esque manor, every window glowing golden and warm. You’d never know my entire future lied behind the large oak doors.
I knocked and then clasped my hands in front of me, steeling myself. When the door opened, I was greeted by the welcoming smile of a servant, one of many running about the house in preparation for the other guests.
“Welcome, Mr. Hunt,” he said, stepping aside to le
t me through.
No more than a few strides in, Marshall’s voice comes at me.
“Damian.”
From the grave look of his expression, I knew he’d known about Elle and I. I rolled my shoulders back and locked my spine, standing tall and confident. I didn’t want him to think I’d be one of those boys she brought home, cowering under his paternal stare. That wasn’t the type of man to win his trust and respect.
I walked over to him and shook his hand firmly, staring him square in the eyes. He attempted to beat me, his gaze hardening. Mine remained concrete and unfazed.
“Marshall.”
“Follow me to my office.”
He’d actually played the office card, where he could sit behind his big desk in his big leather chair, his elbows on the armrest, his hands steepled in front of his mouth. I knew that was his plan because I’ve used it before as well. I walked into the office behind him. But instead of sitting in the bitch chair on the other side of his wrath, I sauntered confidently to the bar by the window, pouring myself a Scotch. When I turned around, he was watching me, standing behind the barrier his desk provided. I didn’t make a move for the chair as he wanted. I stood there, taking a long draw of the perfectly aged liquor.
He sat.
“I won’t waste your time by dancing around anything,” he stated in his business voice.
“I respect that.”
“Good.” He adjusted himself in his seat, sitting taller. “I want you to stop pursuing Ellie. You’ve gone against my previous wishes, but if you leave her alone, it won’t affect our business relationship.”
“And personally?” I may as well have been talking to the wall behind him. I would’ve gotten the same response. Nothing. I continued, “Well, Marshall, I’ve come here to tell you I care about Elle, and I want your blessing.”
“Just because you want my approval, doesn’t mean I’ll give it. Especially with something as important as my daughter. You have to earn it. Not demand it. I’m not one of your hired help.”
“Marshall, you misunderstand. I’m not demanding anything. I want your blessing because we both know no one could take care of your daughter the way I can, protect her, nurture her, provide for her,” I picked the silver framed picture of Elle off his desk and glimpsed at it, “help her become the best version of herself.”
What I hadn’t counted on was her making me the best version of myself.
“How can I trust she won’t end up like the other women left in your wake? The only way to judge a man is by the accounts of his past.”
“You’re wrong.”
“How?”
“I wasn’t in love with those women. And even still, I’ve taken care of each and every one. I ended my relationships respectfully. I never threw them out like trash or cheated on them. Never.”
“And you love my daughter?”
“Is that hard to believe?” I set the photo back in its place. “When you meet someone like Elle, it hits you like a freight train. It’s not a slow thing, it happens suddenly and all at once.”
“I’m sorry, Damian. I can’t give you my blessing. You’re a fine businessman and a hell of a friend, but I’d never forgive myself if I passed my daughter into the arms of a serial heartbreaker.”
I realized then, he wasn’t afraid I would hurt his daughter. He was afraid because I was the one man who could take Elle away from him.
I set my glass of Scotch on the table near the leather couch.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t see eye to eye on this, Marshall. I truly am.” I squared my shoulders and puffed out my chest. “But I’m going to pursue Elle with or without your permission. If she tells me to back away, I will. No questions asked. But she’s an adult and deserves the right to make that decision for herself.”
I nodded my head and then took my leave. I was sorry our relationship had to end, but I would’ve given anything and anyone up for Elle. When I reentered the entryway, guests had begun to arrive and spread out throughout the manor, spilling out onto the back veranda. I took a flute of champagne and made a round, continually keeping an eye out for her. After I’d come full circle, ending back in the entryway, I started to wonder if she’d actually show.
Perhaps the note on her door had frightened her off, I’d thought. I’d left it to give her fair warning that I’d be attending. I knew, if she showed, it was because she wanted me as much as I wanted her.
It had been an hour and a half since the party had started, and she was still nowhere to be found.
And then there she was, through the crowd of people, standing on the veranda with her bare back facing me. That was the moment I knew she was mine.
…
Every second of the plane ride home is torment. Time never stands as still as when the possibility of your children’s well-being hangs in the balance. My mind wanders through an endless hall of memories and decisions that led Elle and I here, wondering how it might have been if any one of those events went differently.
“Damian?” Elle’s voice beckons me out of my head. “Damian?”
I glance at her, my thoughts still blurring the line between past and present.
“Hmm?”
“What wasn’t supposed to happen?” Elle asks, her hand on my arm.
“What do you mean?”
“You just mumbled this wasn’t supposed to happen,” she clarifies. “I was only trying to protect you.”
I look away from her, propping up my chin with my palm.
“You didn’t just decide to take me on our honeymoon on a whim, did you?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“I received word Dante may try something, and I took your advice. It felt like the perfect time to whisk you away for a few weeks while Liam kept an eye on things at home. Are you disappointed?”
“How could I be? You swept me away on a dream honeymoon. And as you said, if we only traveled when conditions were perfect, we’d never leave San Francisco.”
“I wanted to keep you safe, and I could’ve never imagined he would involve Sloan. He’s left our friends and family alone before, so I had no evidence to believe he would do otherwise.”
“Do you think he knows about the babies?” she asks, clutching my forearm with her trembling hand, her nails digging into the skin and muscles. “We’ve only discussed the adoption with her in the privacy of our home. So how the hell…” Her eyes grow as the same realization dawns on her.
It’s so simple; I’m furious with myself for not thinking of it before. Why he’s been able to stay one step ahead of us. How he knows where we’re going to be and when.
I take out my cell and punch out a quick text to Banks.
Sweep penthouse.
Bugged.
When we arrive home, Sloan is resting soundly in bed, everyone safe and unharmed. Once we’ve checked on her, we head upstairs to shower and change. After a fourteen-hour flight, I need a moment before talking with Liam and hearing all the gory details. As we’re heading back downstairs, Liam emerges from the elevators with impeccable timing.
I turn to Gabrielle with the words I dread to say right now.
“No, Damian. I won’t give you a moment. I won’t wait while you keep information from me. I’m in this and that’s the end of it.”
I smile at her, amused by her ability to read me so well.
“Alright, angel.” I look at Banks. “What happened? I thought she was staying at her mother’s home until we got back.”
“She was supposed to, but she came home early.”
“Why was she alone?” I ask, anger looming in my voice.
“Damian, you can’t blame Liam,” Elle interrupts. “She’s a grown woman who is going to do what she wants. Plus, we haven’t told her what’s really going on.”
“And we can’t. If she finds out, she could take the babies away.”
“Fine. We’ll talk with her about being escorted from here on out, alright?”
I nod. “Go on, Banks,” I urge.
/>
“She was outside the building when an unidentified man attacked. He was able to knock her down and was about to kick her in the stomach when our security team arrived. But he fled before they could apprehend him.”
He got away again!
“Unacceptable,” I growl through my teeth, clamped together in an angry sneer. But it’s not directed toward Liam. I feel helpless, as if we’ll never catch Dante. He’ll always be one step ahead.
“Unidentified man?” Elle asks.
“Yes, Mrs. Hunt.”
“Do you have footage of him?”
“We do. We managed to pull an image of his face from the video.”
“May I see it?”
He takes an enlarged image from a folder and hands it to her. She looks over the photograph, her expression becoming grim.
“That’s the man who tailed Brooke and me,” she mutters. “She pointed him out to me when we were having drinks.”
“You’re sure?”
“Positive.”
“What do you think his intentions were,” she asks, “to scare or to harm?”
I stare at her with hesitation and regret. We both know Dante wanted them harmed. He wanted them dead. He wanted to hurt Elle and I by taking away the only thing in the world we love more than each other.
“We should send them away, to live with your parents.”
“That wouldn’t be a wise decision, Mrs. Hunt.”
“Why not, Banks?”
“The doctor informed her it wouldn’t be much longer. He ordered her on bedrest until it’s time. Travelling isn’t possible.”
“Then we need to take every precaution to ensure her safety. I want Artemis to be a virtual fortress, Banks.”
“Yes, sir.” He nods his head obediently.
I pace back and forth, running my hands through my hair, trying to think, to come up with a new plan. Suddenly, the elevator doors open and Julie comes barging out.
“What the hell are these, Gabrielle?” She tosses a stack of images on the floor, tears reddening her eyes.
I glimpse at Gabrielle, frozen with fear, her eyes glued to the gruesome photos splashed across our living room floor. “Gentlemen, may I have a moment alone with Jules?”