He snorted and shook his head. “Lillian wouldn’t touch a gun if her life depended on it. And there’s no fucking way she would have a gun if it wasn’t properly registered to her and she was fully trained on how to use it. She would probably start foaming at the mouth if I even suggested it.”
“Fuck, I don’t know what to do. She’s not gonna let me anywhere near her now. How the fuck am I supposed to protect her?”
“Calm down, Hunter. It hasn’t escalated to violence yet.”
“Yeah, and how many times have you seen something like this and it didn’t escalate?”
He just shook his head.
“That’s what I thought.”
“I’m just saying we have some time. Obviously, this guy is pissed, but we still have time to figure out who he is. I’ll have patrol cars drive past regularly to keep an eye on her place. You work for a security company. I’m sure you can figure out a way to keep an eye on her.”
“Are you suggesting I install security cameras in her home without her knowing?”
“What? Did I suggest that? Not a chance. I’m a cop and that would be a violation of her privacy. I would NEVER suggest something like that. As a cop.”
He turned and walked out of the apartment, nodding to Sebastian as he left.
“So, you want cameras installed?” Cap asked.
“Fuck yeah.”
“She’ll have your balls if she ever finds out you did it.”
“She already has my balls. She just doesn’t know it yet.”
We worked all through the night and by morning, the place was fucking sparkling and most of the walls were painted. Maggie was going shopping with Claire while Lucy was teaching. When she got home tonight, it would be to an entirely new place.
I knew that Lucy wouldn’t want me anywhere near her, so I had Derek call and let her know that her place would be ready tonight. I really wanted to see her face when she walked inside, but a man had to know when he was beaten.
✯✯✯✯✯
Lucy
“Tell me more,” Claire laughed. “This is too good.”
“It’s not funny.”
“Yes, it is. I can just picture all of them, sitting around and plotting ways to get you back with Hunter.”
“You can’t really think this was okay.”
“Of course not, but come on. The guy has it bad for you. I mean, he wanted to be with you and you went and slept with Derek’s brother.”
“Alright, that may not have been my finest moment, but I knew Hunter would be no good for me and I didn’t want to fall in his trap.”
Claire poured me a glass of wine and handed it over. “You know, Hunter is really a great guy. Sure, he has his issues. Obviously, he has no idea how to have a girlfriend, but he’s definitely one of the good ones once you get to know him.”
“I’m sure he is, but I don’t want to be the girl he practices on.”
“Why would you assume he’s practicing?” Claire asked.
“Oh, come on. Do you really think that Hunter thought I was the one?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. The way he was looking at you was the same way Derek looked at me.”
“And what way is that?”
“Like you’re everything he craves.”
“I don’t want to be someone’s craving.”
“Well, there’s obviously more to it than that or he wouldn’t have given up his bachelor lifestyle for you.”
“I really doubt he has. He couldn’t go five minutes without hitting on someone new.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. I don’t think there’s been anyone else since the fire.”
“Well, let’s give him a gold star for holding out a couple of months,” I said sarcastically.
“Lucy, don’t you think you’re being a little hard on him? That’s a long time for someone like him.”
“So, because he wants to give up his ways to do a trial run with me, I should just go along with it and damn the consequences?”
“Well, yeah. It’s not exactly like you could judge him. You don’t have the most stellar track record either. Who was the last guy that you dated?”
“Fine, I see your point, but I’m not avoiding relationships because I don’t want one. I just wanted to finish school before I tried for something like that.”
“But you still haven’t had one, which means that you don’t have any more experience than him. Maybe you two should try something really difficult like talking and getting to know one another. Oh, my gosh! What a concept!”
“Hey, just because you got it all with the first guy you dated doesn’t mean that everyone else gets the same thing.”
“Well, you’re never going to know if you don’t try,” she said as she finished off her wine. It was true, but after what I found out tonight, I didn’t know if I could ever give Hunter another chance again.
✯✯✯✯✯
Derek met me at my apartment the next night after I left the school. He said he had a surprise for me, but wouldn’t say what it was. When I got there, I expected it to still be a disaster, but when I walked up the stairs and saw the new door, I knew that it would be as good as before the break-in. I was wrong.
When Derek opened the door, I almost fell to my knees in relief. Not only was everything cleaned up, but the walls were freshly painted a bright white, it smelled really clean, and there was brand new furniture in my living room that made my tiny space look like a cozy nook. The kitchen had been fixed up too. The stove didn’t have any missing knobs and the cabinets all hung straight. He had also gotten me new dishes, silverware, and glasses.
“That’s not all,” he said. “Check out the bedroom.”
I walked over and opened the door to see my room painted in a light lavender color with a new bed and matching bedspread. There were also beautiful curtains that hung from the top of the window to the floor. I also had a brand new dresser. There would be no more living out of bags and leaving clothes in my laundry basket.
The more I looked around, the more I noticed little details that were added to make it more comfortable. Little throw pillows, pictures of my family, cute lamps, a small coffee table. There was so much that had been done that I almost cried. It was perfect and so much more than I could ever hope for. The only question was how I was going to pay him back.
“Derek, I can’t believe you did this.”
“Well, the guys helped with it. We installed a security system for you and everything is hooked up to Reed Security. If there are any issues, we’ll be notified right away. There’s also an app that you can put on your phone and it’ll show you what’s going on at the apartment any time you want.”
“Wow. I think I just gained the best brother-in-law a girl could ask for. How much do I owe you for all this?”
“Nothing. We just wanted you to feel at home. After everything that’s happened, I didn’t like the idea of you living in this dump the way it was. At least now you should feel safe.”
“Thank you, Derek. This is amazing.”
“There’s one more thing to show you.”
He walked back into my bedroom and opened the small closet. There was a new wardrobe of clothes that were perfect for teaching. I pulled them out and looked through all of them, knowing they were exactly what I would have chosen for myself.
“That was a present from Claire and me. A little graduation slash ‘congratulations on the job’ present.”
“Wow. I don’t know how I’ll even begin to pay you back for all this. It’s amazing.”
“You’re family,” he smiled at me.
After he left, I walked around my apartment and took in every small detail of the place. They had done an excellent job with everything. It was a little weird being here, knowing that someone had broken in, but knowing that I had security installed helped ease some of the uncomfortableness. One thing was for sure, I would be saving every penny I made to pay Derek back. If there was one thing I couldn’t stand, it was having someon
e spend so much money on me. It didn’t matter if it was family.
✯✯✯✯✯
My eyes burned as I left the school for the day. It was fall now and the sun was setting earlier than when I first started, but I hadn’t realized how much earlier because I had been leaving school as soon as I was able. As I started my trek to the parking lot, I glanced around the shadows, trying to see if anyone was hiding anywhere. I didn’t see anything even though my gut was telling me differently. Why had I been so stupid as to leave this late at night?
Footsteps thundered behind me and I spun around, a scream leaving my throat as I saw a dark figure run up. The figure stopped suddenly and his hands were in the air.
“Sorry, Lucy. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Graham stepped into the light and my breath left my lungs in a whoosh. I sagged, almost falling to the ground in relief. Graham chuckled as a sexy smile curved his features. “You left without coming to get me. When I went past your room, I saw that you had already left. I told you to have someone walk with you.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry. I was just so tired and I wasn’t thinking straight.”
“You should be more careful.” I rolled my eyes at him and he held up his hands and smiled. “Alright, alright. Anyway, I saw that you signed up for the teaching seminar next weekend. I thought we could carpool.”
“Oh, that’s sounds good. I don’t really know where it is, so it’ll be nice to go with someone else.”
“Perfect. I can drive. I booked a room at a hotel for two nights. Were you planning on staying for the whole weekend?”
“Um…I think I only signed up for Saturday.”
“They have a great one on Sunday. The speaker is John Moorland.”
“No way. You’re kidding.”
He smiled at me and shook his head. “I kid you not. I know the guy that set up the seminars. Do you want me to see if there’s another spot available?”
“Yes,” I said eagerly. “I would love to hear him speak.”
“Alright. I’ll make some calls and let you know by tomorrow morning, so you have time to book another night if you need to.”
“I’ll go ahead and book another night anyway. If we’re driving together, I can’t just take a taxi back from Philadelphia.”
“Right,” he smiled sheepishly. “That would make sense. How about I pick you up Friday around seven after classes?”
“Perfect. Thanks, Graham.”
“How about I walk you to your car?”
I smiled as he walked next to me, his hand brushing mine innocently as we walked. I knew that Graham wasn’t the guy for me, but I was still glad to have him as a friend. It was hard enough to start a new job, but he made it easier. He was also intelligent and I found our conversations about history to be absolutely fascinating. This was something I never had with Hunter. We didn’t talk about anything other than our favorite sexual positions. And while that was great, how were we supposed to build a relationship off that?
He walked toward my car, placing his hand on my lower back as he pulled open my door for me. My breath caught when his lips brushed against my cheek. Was that an innocent kiss? Maybe he didn’t mean to kiss me. Maybe it was an accident. But then he slid his hands around my waist and turned me so I faced him. His eyes gazed into mine, asking permission and when I gave a slight nod, he brushed his lips against mine. I knew it was wrong. I knew I didn’t want this with him, but I still allowed it. There were no fireworks and we both knew it.
When he pulled back, a faint smile touched his lips and he ducked his head, rubbing his hand along the back of his neck. “Sorry. That was probably really unprofessional of me.”
I cleared my throat not sure what to say. “Graham-”
“It’s okay. I get it. Friends?”
I nodded and he took a step back and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a good night.”
I got in my car and headed home, stopping at the gas station in town to fill up. As I was pumping gas, I let my mind drift to my kiss with Graham. I didn’t want to overanalyze the kiss, but I couldn’t help it. It’s what I did. It was firm, but gentle. There was no demand in his kiss, which was nothing like when Hunter kissed me. He didn’t take charge the way Hunter did and it always felt like he was asking permission, no matter what we were doing. I was irritated when I realized that I actually liked Hunter’s demanding ways. Apparently, that was what I wanted from a man. Not to run my life, but to tell me I was his and to know that he wanted only me.
I bit my lip, as I thought about the last time I had been with Hunter and all the things he had done to me. A truck pulled up on the other side of my station, breaking me from my daydream. Hunter stepped out and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw me. He stared at me for a minute and then cleared his throat.
“Hi, Lucy.”
“Hi.” I tried my best to hold it together. I didn’t want him to see how angry I still was at him. I didn’t want him to know that he still held this power over me.
“You look good.”
“Thank you.”
“How’s school?”
I rolled my eyes and looked away. “Really? Are we going to stand here and do this?”
He went over to his pump and started filling his tank. “No, I guess not,” he said quietly.
I finished pumping and grabbed my receipt, opening my car door and getting inside. I tried not to look over at him. I tried to ignore the feel of his eyes on me, but it was there and so intense. He still wanted me and if I was honest with myself, I still very much wanted him. I started my car and drove away, refusing to look in the rearview mirror to see if he was watching me.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Hunter
I WATCHED HER drive away as I stood there pumping gas. I had fucked up so badly and there was nothing I could do to fix it. I had let her slip through my fingers because I couldn’t figure out how to hold onto her without being a total asshole. Derek had told her that he paid for her apartment to be fixed up. I knew she wouldn’t accept it if it had come from me. She didn’t want anything from me and that included me helping get her apartment in order.
Sebastian had made sure that her apartment was monitored around the clock. No one watched the camera feed, but the sensors would go off whenever something moved in the apartment. She had a security system, so if the code wasn’t entered, we would figure that someone had entered without permission and we’d go check it out. It was the best I could do under the circumstances.
I kept an eye on her from a distance over the next week, but I didn’t let her know I was watching. Someone from Reed Security was always there around the time she left from work, watching her from the back of the parking lot. That had been Derek’s idea. Mine had been for him to escort her every day to and from work. He didn’t think she would approve of that, and insisted that this was the only way to keep an eye on her without totally pissing her off.
All I could think about most days was Lucy and the guys had been giving me a hard time about not being able to concentrate when we were training. Now I knew how Derek felt. I didn’t understand it before Lucy, how a woman could captivate my every thought to the point of distraction. Which was exactly what I was right now: distracted.
I walked out of the pharmacy and straight into a woman carrying a bunch of grocery bags. The groceries were sprawled all over the ground in a mess and she was bent over shoving them back in the bags. I squatted down and started helping the woman pick up all the groceries.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was-” I looked up into Lucy’s captivating eyes, stuck in a trance that I never wanted to escape. She dropped her gaze, breaking the spell she had over me and bringing me back to my reality. The one in which she wanted nothing to do with me.
“It’s fine. I shouldn’t have picked up so much stuff at the store.”
“Where’s your car?” I asked, looking around as if it would magically appear.
“In the shop. It was making a noise, so I brought it i
n to be fixed.”
“What kind of noise was it making?”
She laughed a little and shook her head. “You know, some clanking and then a grinding noise.”
“Where was it coming from?”
“The car,” she said with a smile.
How did we not know about this? Someone had dropped the ball on informing me of what was going on with Lucy. Had I known that her car was making noises, I would have made damn sure that it was checked out immediately and I would have had it checked for tampering. Now she was walking home alone and no one was with her. I looked around, seeing one of our SUV’s parked down the street. I breathed a sigh of relief that she wasn’t alone.
“Alright, I get it. You don’t know what the noise was.”
“So, anyway, I went to the store for a few things and ended up getting half the store.”
“Here, I’ll take some of those for you.” I held out my hand for some of the bags, but she seemed reluctant to let me take them from her. “Come on. It’s too far to walk with all those bags. Besides, it’s the least I can do after I knocked you over.”
I could see the wariness on her face and I knew she didn’t want anything to do with me, so I was surprised when she nodded and handed over a few of the bags. “Thank you.”
“No problem.”
We walked in silence for a few minutes before I couldn’t take it anymore. “Lucy, I really am very sorry for the way things went with us.”
“Please, let’s not do this, Hunter. I just want to move on.”
I stopped her, placing my hand on her arm, turning her to face me. “Please, let me say this and then I’ll never bring it up again.” She bit her lip and looked away from me, but then nodded. “I never thought that I would want someone the way I want you. I don’t know the first thing about being in a relationship and you’re probably right that I’m not ready to let someone in as much as you need. But I wanted to try with you, and I can see how I fucked that up. I know that I can be too domineering and that pissed you off. I know you’re not the kind of woman that wants to be ordered around. I just…I’ve lost a lot of people in my life and when you were in that fire, my instincts were to protect you no matter how I had to do it. I just couldn’t stand the thought of something happening to you. And then when I fucked it all up, you didn’t want anything to do with me and it fucking killed me. I’m not trying to make excuses here. I know that it was wrong to try to manipulate you. Maybe someday you can forgive me. I’d really like for you to not hate me.”
Hunter: A Reed Security Romance Page 10