Hunter's Mark

by Wendy Smith

I ignore Graham and turn to the officer. “My girlfriend’s in there.”

  He holds up his palms. “I understand this is an emotional situation, but you need to step back.”

  From the right, another uniformed policeman approaches. “Sir, we can’t get back through on the phone. He’s not taking any more calls.”

  “Your plan’s not working. Ash has those women in there, and he’s not coming out without a fight. He’s far too arrogant for that.”

  The first officer turns to Graham. “Your call. What do you think?”

  He fixes his gaze on me. “You think calling him out will work?”

  “The guy’s a dick. I had dealings with him when he erected that damn fence, and he’s not one to give up.” I lick my lips. “Look. I don’t know much when it comes to all this psychological mumbo-jumbo you lot use, but I do know that Ash has a temper. He needs a target to take that out on, and not any of those women. Let me be your target.”

  Graham says nothing. I swear I can see the smoke being generated by his thought processes. He knows not everyone is going to survive this. We just need to make sure that if anyone dies, it’s Ash.

  “Try his phone again,” Graham eventually says.

  “You’re wasting time,” I say.

  “Corey, I can’t just hand this over to you. You would make a great police officer, but not today.”

  “And if he doesn’t answer his phone? If he starts killing those women? When are you going to take action, Graham?”

  John clears his throat, and I shoot him an irritable look. “For what it’s worth, I think he’s right.” He points at me.

  “Has he answered the phone?” Graham fixes his gaze on the cop who’s trying to get through.

  “No.”

  “Sir, he’s moving.” The sniper positioned behind the cop car speaks. Graham frowns, and I shrug.

  “Is he in position?”

  “Negative. He’s by the window, but to one side. I can’t get a clear shot.”

  Graham looks at me. “One more time. If it draws him out, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle, but what you did might just be working.”

  I grin, holding the megaphone up and facing the building once more. “Stop being a pussy, Harris. You had to try and drug Hayley to get her to want you, and even that didn’t work.”

  Hayley, almost lifeless in Kane’s arms. I’ll never forgive Ash for that.

  “Pussyyyyy.” I take a breath. “Do you know what, Harris? I bet you had to drug all the women in your life to sleep with you. Who would want to have sex with a man who hides behind them at the first sign of trouble?”

  There’s so much more I want to say, but the last thing I want is for Ash to target Constance.

  Please don’t hurt her.

  “Come on, Harris. You and me. Forget these guys.” I drop the megaphone down and look at the building. Please let her be okay.

  Graham glares at me. “That’s enough. I told you to come here because I thought Constance might need all the emotional support she could get when she came out. Not to stir shit.”

  I shrug. “Stirring shit is what I’m good at.”

  Silence replaces our bitching. The seconds seem like hours with Constance trapped inside.

  “I’m going in,” I say.

  “The hell you are. There are women and at least one child in there. Do you want to make things worse?”

  John Parsons grabs me by the arm. “My fiancé is in there.”

  “Would you just shut the fuck up?” I yell, pulling away from his grip. This is really the man Constance chose over me?

  Ignoring John and Graham, I storm past the police cars. There’s yelling behind me, but I don’t care. Constance is in danger.

  “Ash Harris. Get your arse out here. I’m finishing this if no one else will.”

  Silence falls as I grow closer to the house. I’m sure any second I’ll be tackled to the ground, but I’m not turning back to look.

  She needs me.

  33

  Constance

  Ash becomes more agitated as the moments go by. With each taunt from Corey, his pacing quickens.

  “Who the hell does he think he is?” he asks.

  He’s a real man.

  I swallow. “Ash. Do you think you should let us go? Maybe the police would go easy if you—”

  Ash marches toward me, grabbing me by the hair and pulling me to my feet. “It’s too late for that, Constance. You should have thought of that before bringing them here.”

  I lick my lips. “They were already here, Ash. You let them in a long time ago.”

  “What the fuck do you mean?”

  “They knew you were up to something—they just didn’t know what it was. The rest of them are here because they worked it all out.”

  A sob escapes his throat.

  There’s something so terribly wrong with him. It’s more than just him being caught out for whatever it was he was doing. He’s turned into this lost little boy whose only way of dealing with this is to lash out at me.

  “I’m sorry, Constance. You broke my heart.”

  “I was just a child, Ash. And I left because while I would have stayed here happily, you wanted to hurt me.”

  He lets out another sob. We’re so much closer to the window, and I look out while I can. There are six police cars, and some other vehicles I don’t recognise. But I do recognise Corey’s black ute. My heart sings at the sight of it.

  “He’s what you want. Not me. Never me.”

  I take a deep breath and nod. “I love him.”

  In an instant, all my air is cut off. I scramble to catch a breath. Quiet, sad, reflective Ash is gone, replaced by the monster that’s become so familiar.

  “I only ever wanted two women: you and Hayley. And that Campbell family got in the way both times.”

  “Ash!” I gasp. His hands tighten around my throat.

  “I waited. I thought I’d give you the opportunity to come to me. But you were always so busy with your mother. And then I realised you would have lived your life alone rather than be with me. That’s why I wanted to hurt you. Why I still want to hurt you.”

  I fight to catch a breath, but his grip is tight, and I’m not strong enough to pull his hand away. None of the others help. They cower in the corner.

  Julia stands. “Ash, let her go.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Think of Andrew, Ash. He needs his father. He needs—”

  Ash isn’t even listening to her. He drags me to the front door. His grip loosens and I catch a breath, but his other hand digs into my hair as he grabs a handful to pull me along.

  I get a brief reprieve from the scalp pain as he pulls open the door.

  “If he wants you that badly, he can have you,” he says. He only has one hand on my throat, but his grip is so tight, and I’m losing the fight.

  Corey’s standing not far from the house. His eyes widen as he meets mine.

  “They’re here to take me away, Constance. And if I’m going away, I’d better make the most of it now,” Ash mutters.

  He stops. Corey’s metres away, and it’s like time is frozen for just a moment. Ash’s grip tightens again and I flail, fighting for breath.

  “Let her go, Harris.”

  Ash shakes his head. “Screw you. You took Hayley away from me, so I’m taking Constance away from you.”

  Corey takes a step toward us.

  “Don’t come any closer,” Ash says.

  My vision blurs as I struggle to get any air. I scratch at Ash’s hand, anything to try loosen his grip.

  “He’s got a gun,” someone yells in the distance, and I hear the click beside me.

  Corey’s right there, and I can’t tell him again that I love him. My chest aches at the effort to breathe.

  “Hold on, sweetness.”

  I’m Corey’s. Till the end. For such a short time he was mine.

  The story goes that before you die, your life flashes before your eyes. Mine doesn’t. But I wrap myself in Corey’s l
ove, and say one last prayer in my head for my baby.

  I’m so sorry.

  Blackness closes in, and I make one last effort to get air—anything—into my lungs.

  It hurts.

  And then it doesn’t.

  34

  Corey

  My head swims.

  I was so ready to get in there and fight him until he pulled out a handgun. Then I knew all bets were off.

  She falls to the ground as he lets go of her, and I run. I run to the woman I’m in love with.

  I shoot a glance at Ash as I get to her. He lies on the ground, his eyes forever staring into nothing. The circular hole in his forehead is the only sign the sniper did his job.

  I’ll be forever grateful to whoever they are.

  “Constance,” I yell. Her eyes are closed, but she’s taking deep breaths. If Ash Harris wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him.

  I bend beside her, cupping her cheek as her eyes flicker open. “Corey?”

  “I’m here, sweetness.”

  Footsteps behind us tell me we’re not alone. An older man drops to the ground beside her. “Thank God.”

  “Dad?”

  She pushes herself up, and he pulls her into his arms. Cradling her, he meets my gaze. “Thank you.”

  For a moment, I watch as she sobs in her father’s arms.

  “Constance.”

  I bristle at the sound of the guy who approached me. Her fiancé.

  Her face is buried in her father’s chest, and I can’t see her reaction to John Parsons. But I’m feeling like the odd one out.

  I back away. That reunion is for family—for Con and her dad and the man she’s going to marry.

  It’s not for me.

  “What the hell were you doing?” Graham yells when I reach him.

  “Isn’t this what you wanted?”

  “Well, it’s not exactly orthodox, but no one could accuse you of being that.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  I turn back to look. My view of her is obscured by the crowd gathering around her. The weight that had been crushing my heart lifts at the knowledge Constance is okay. But I can’t watch this. I can’t watch her with him.

  I turn again.

  “Aren’t you sticking around? Isn’t she who you wanted to save?” Graham asks.

  “She left. And I’m leaving now.”

  I try and sound like I don’t care, but inside I’m miserable. She made her choice, and it wasn’t me.

  Striding toward my ute, I slap it in reverse once I’m in, and turn around to leave. For a moment, I close my eyes. The past few years, I’ve watched my brothers fall in love. First Adam reuniting with Lily, then Drew finding Hayley. And Owen, the least likely of us all to settle down—I was sure he’d be the last one to get a happy-every-after.

  The only single brothers left are myself and James, and for a brief time, I thought I’d found the one. Even James seems to have found someone.

  “Corey. Wait. You need to—”

  I change gear, ignoring Graham, and head toward the big gate, turning left and driving the short distance home. I slam the door once I get out of the ute, then stalk toward the house.

  Constance.

  Everything makes me think of her.

  Maybe I should have kicked her out at the start and left her to stand on her own two feet. She would have found her way, I wouldn’t be in this painful position.

  The crushing heartache becomes unbearable, and I throw myself on the couch to mourn what was, if it was ever anything.

  About ten minutes later, there’s a hammering on the door. No doubt Graham wants to give me a piece of his mind over the way I acted back there. I guess I owe him the courtesy.

  Instead, I find myself looking into those grey eyes I know so well. The ones that haunt me at night when I’m alone.

  I can’t help it. Reaching for her face, I run my thumb across her lower lip. She closes her eyes.

  Constance flings her arms around my waist, and for a moment, I flail before resting my hands on her shoulders. She buries her face in my chest and I close my eyes. At least for a short time I can pretend everything is okay.

  “You left,” she whispers.

  “You were all safe. I waited to see you reunited with your fiancé.”

  She smacks her palm against my chest. “It’s you I want.”

  “You left.” I echo her words back at her. Reaching down, I grasp her chin and pull her gaze up to meet mine. My heart aches to see the bruising on that perfect neck. At least it’ll fade.

  “Has a doctor looked at that?”

  “There was a paramedic with the police. I’m fine.”

  “Why are you here, Con?”

  “I didn’t leave you. Ash took me.”

  “When I came back, you were gone. That’s all I know. You ripped my heart out, and all I’ve been able to think about was you being with that piece of shit. Choosing him over me.”

  She shakes her head. “I never chose him over you. You. I choose you.”

  I’m not arguing semantics with her. I bend to claim her mouth.

  I chose her that night she stood in the rain.

  My heart knows that, even if my head didn’t at first.

  She’s home.

  “Are your parents expecting you back?” I ask as I pour hot water into the cups.

  She shakes her head as she picks up the mug of coffee. “I told them where I was going. They know I’m safe with you. Besides …” She runs an index finger up my chest. “Nothing was going to keep me from you once I got out.”

  I smile, and follow her back out to the living room.

  She sits on the couch, placing her coffee on the table, and I sit beside her and do the same.

  “I didn’t choose to go back.” She lets out an exasperated sigh. “When Jared went missing, they didn’t get much out of him, but they got enough to find out I was here.”

  “Ash was in my house?”

  She nods. “With two of his men. I didn’t want to go. Graham told me Ash threatened my parents trying to find out where I was, but I still didn’t want to go back. I never would have left if …”

  I cover her mouth with mine, and the rest of her sentence disappears down my throat. I’d trusted Graham and his lot to protect her, and even they didn’t know she’d been taken. The guilt over believing she’d voluntarily left me gnaws at my stomach.

  “I’m sorry.” I press my forehead to hers. “When I came back to find you gone, it broke me. I should have known—”

  “I understand,” she whispers. “It’s okay. It’s all over now, and we’re together. Isn’t that all that matters?”

  “I’ve missed you so much.”

  “I’ve missed you.”

  I sit up, scanning her expression. It’s full of uncertainty, and that’s the last thing I want her to feel. “I love you.”

  Her lips part as she gazes at me.

  “I should have told you that day when I left for work, and I don’t know why I didn’t. The whole week, I wished I could get phone reception to call and tell you.”

  Her chest shakes as her eyes fill with tears. “I love you, too.”

  Reaching up, I cup her cheek. “That’s settled, then.”

  She smiles, even with tears running down her face. “I guess it is.”

  “I’ll tell you something else.”

  She sniffs. “What’s that?”

  “Fuck the coffee. I’m about to strip that dress off you. And this time it’s going in the fire.”

  Constance laughs loudly, and I reach behind her, peeling the buttons open one by one.

  “You think I’m joking, right?”

  She shakes her head. “There’s one thing I do know about you, Corey Campbell, and that is that you don’t joke about things like that.”

  “Never when it comes to you.”

  The fabric of the dress tears a little as I tug the sleeves down her arms, but I don’t care. This dress needs burning, and I need to be inside
the woman who wears it.

  I grasp her forearms and pull her to her feet. The fire’s back in her eyes. Ash might have taken my girl, but he didn’t break her.

  She laughs when I grip the fabric and tear it down the middle to her stomach. The rest of it falls to the floor, and she steps out and into my arms.

  “Let’s get rid of this before we do anything else.” I pick the dress up and grab her hand, leading her toward the fireplace.

  She shivers. “Corey, I’m standing here in my underwear.”

  “Let me get this fire lit and that’ll be gone too.”

  The fire’s set, and I light the kindling. It doesn’t take long to pick up, and I throw a log on, and the dress with it.

  I pull Constance into my arms as the flames flicker around the fabric. Shifting my gaze to her, I have a surge of emotion. I thought I’d lost her, but now here she is, and I’m never letting her go again.

  “Corey.” She sighs as she rests her head on my chest.

  I plant a kiss in her hair. “Let’s get you out of that underwear.”

  She laughs, and I scoop her into my arms and gently lower her to the rug. Her eyes are full of love, and I kneel beside her.

  “I love you.” I cup her cheek, and she closes her eyes.

  “Come and show me.”

  She lets out a contented sigh as I pull my T-shirt over my head. My heart’s on fire looking at her. Without a doubt, she’s it for me. She was from the moment I laid eyes on her.

  I’ve found my one.

  Positioning myself between her legs, I kiss her thighs.

  “There’s something I need to tell you,” she whispers.

  “I’m about to eat your pussy, and lord knows I’ve missed doing that. Can it wait?”

  She laughs softly. “Corey, I’m pregnant.”

  My heart stops. I pull myself up until I’m level with her. She’s got the smallest of smiles on her face, but how can this be good news? “Are you telling me that piece of shit touched you?”

  She shakes her head. “No, it’s—”

  I growl. “Whose is it? I’ll rip their fucking heads off.”

  “It’s you. I’ve only been with you.”

  My heart starts again as our gazes are locked. All I see is love in her eyes. “But—”