by Bella J.
Fuck! Scarlet charged into the office. “Hunter, no!”
James, who was sitting behind his desk, jerked his head up while Hunter spun around, both of them staring at her, wide-eyed.
James narrowed his eyes. “What the hell are you talking about, Hunter?”
“Hunter, don’t.” She didn’t want James to know. She didn’t want anyone to know. It was her burden, her cross to bear. No one else’s.
“Scarlet, he needs to know.” Hunter’s green eyes bore into hers, and what she saw was pure resolve. He was going to tell James. If she didn’t tell him, Hunter would.
“What do I need to know? Scarlet, Hunter, what the hell is going on?” James got up, his chair screeching across the floor.
When Scarlet looked into James’s eyes, she knew she wouldn’t have to spell it out for him. He knew. Just by the way he stared at her, he knew.
“You already know, don’t you, James?” Scarlet sneered. “Deep down you know what that psychopath did to me.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I knew…I knew you had to have a very good reason for leaving home, but I always assumed it was because he killed your sister.”
Scarlet froze. “What?”
“I assumed you left because Brent killed Willow.”
“What the hell did you just say?” Hunter’s voice roared through the room, and James turned to him.
“Brent ran Willow’s car off the road, that’s why she crashed.”
Hunter remained frozen on the spot, and Scarlet saw the vein in his neck start to pulse, his fists clenched tight. “He ran her car off the road?”
“Yes. The guy I had keeping an eye on Scarlet said something went down in the barn, something happened and Willow ran out with Brent chasing after her. Although his orders were clear to watch over Scarlet, he followed Willow and Brent. He saw Willow jump into her car, and Brent in his. When Brent managed to catch up to Willow, he rammed her car off the road just outside the estate, killing her.”
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Scarlet stepped closer. “So it wasn’t an accident?”
James looked in her direction. “No, Scarlet, it wasn’t. But I thought you knew.”
And then Hunter screamed. No, he fucking roared like a beast, grabbing a book on the table next to him and throwing it across the room. “Fuck!” He grabbed an ashtray, throwing it against the wall, before trashing almost the entire office.
“Hunter!” Scarlet screamed over the noise. “Stop!”
But he didn’t, instead he glared at James, his face red from anger. “Your spy said something happened in the barn?” Hunter was seething. “Something was happening in the barn all right. Brent was busy raping your daughter, over and over and fucking over again.”
Scarlet’s chest started to tighten. “Hunter, please.”
He ignored her.
“Brent was raping her while she was bound and gagged, unable to scream for help.”
James slammed his fists into his desk. “Stop!”
“And then her sister walked in. She saw it happen. She witnessed her sister get raped, and then she tried to run for help. That’s what fucking happened in the goddamn barn!” Hunter screamed out those last words at the top of his lungs.
And it was at that moment Riggs came running in with his hand on his gun.
Hunter didn’t even acknowledge the fact that Riggs was there, ready to shoot him in the head. He grabbed James’s collar and pulled him over the desk.
When Riggs aimed the gun, Scarlet grabbed his elbow. “Don’t!”
Hunter brought James right up to his face. “If you were the goddamn father you were supposed to be, Scarlet wouldn’t have been raped by that son of a bitch, and my Blue would still be alive.”
And then Hunter punched his fist right into James’s gut before dropping him to the ground. “If you were half as concerned about your own daughter as you were about all those girls you rescued, we would all be living happy fucking lives right now. But instead, your daughter has been running for her life for the last seven years, screwed up by the fucker who put his slimy hands on her. And I’m forced to live a life without the only woman I ever fucking loved.”
Scarlet felt a stab inside her chest, like her heart was starting to bleed hearing Hunter say that Willow was the love of his life. It wasn’t supposed to hurt. But it did.
James just lay there on the ground, not even attempting to defend himself.
Scarlet saw Hunter move like he was about to kick James, when both she and Riggs ran up to him. Riggs grabbed his shoulders while Scarlet put herself between James and Hunter.
“Stop, Hunter. Please.”
When his eyes met hers, they were black with the fury of hell burning behind them. His entire body was shaking, trembling with pure rage—rage that seemed like it was directed at…her. He stopped thrashing against Riggs’s hold around his shoulders, and jerked himself free before glaring down at Scarlet.
“You let him kill her,” he whispered. “You ran, and you let him kill Blue.”
Scarlet reared back like she had been punched in the gut. Hunter kept glaring at her, like a starved Rottweiler ready to slaughter her.
“You were right,” he started. “She’s dead because you ran. Because you were too much of a damn coward to go help her.”
After spitting out those damning words, Hunter stormed out of the office like a fucking hurricane, leaving Scarlet behind with nothing but a knife inside her heart.
His words kept on going over and over inside her mind.
Finally, someone agreed with her. It was her fault. She had known this all these years, and now finally someone else thought the same. It was just real shitty that person was Hunter.
Scarlet looked up at Riggs, who seemed real fucking confused. “Welcome to my life.”
Chapter 7
The second Hunter stormed out of the office he regretted every word he’d just said. Those words never should have come out of his mouth, but they had. And the worst part? It felt fucking good blaming someone. All these years he had no one to pin the blame on but himself. He kept convincing himself that if he didn’t agree to run away with Blue, she never would have been in the car on her way to him, and then she never would have died in that crash. But now he knew that wasn’t what happened. That wasn’t what happened at all.
Hunter flung open the front door and stepped outside. It felt like he was rotting from the inside, like the blood flowing through his veins was toxic, infected with lies and pain. Too much was happening all at once. First there was Scarlet and finding out she was Blue’s sister. Then it was her dad storming into Adam’s house…
Adam’s house. Fuck.
He pulled out his phone and dialed Adam’s number.
“Hello, Goldilocks.”
“Adam, where you at?”
“I’m at my house in Winnetka, actually.”
Fuck.
“Shit. Adam, about your house—”
“It’s awesome. I know. But next time, please make sure you replace all the damn tequila you took. You know I love that shit, and I was quite pissed when I got here and my stash was depleted.”
What the fuck?
Hunter turned to face the house. “So, everything is fine, then? Apart from your tequila stash?”
“Yeah. Well, that and the fact that I replaced my bed sheets. I don’t know what kind of kinky shit you did with that woman who clearly needs a fucking leash.”
Hunter let out a breath as he pulled his hands through his hair. “Well…that’s great, then.”
“Dude, you sure everything’s okay?”
“Yeah. Like I said, nothing I can’t handle.”
After a few seconds of silence, Adam said, “Hunter, just let me know if you need my help, okay?”
And that right there was proof that the world class douche Hunter called his best friend indeed had a heart beneath all those layers of douche baggery.
“I will. Thanks, Adam.”
“Oh, and Hunter?”
&
nbsp; “Yeah?”
“I hope you enjoyed my Bugatti, man, ’cause you ain’t never driving that car again.”
Hunter snorted. “Got it.”
When he hung up, the front door opened and Riggs came walking out.
“Should have guessed you guys have clean-up crews.” Hunter placed his phone back in his pocket.
But Riggs didn’t reply. He just kept on walking toward Hunter with what looked like fucking murder in his eyes. Hunter realized this just a little too late and the next thing he knew, Riggs punched him in the face.
When Hunter tasted blood, he flipped. Launching himself at Riggs, he slammed right into his gut, sending him back first into a SUV. Riggs grabbed ahold of Hunter’s waist and started pounding into his side before Hunter kicked him in the gut with his knee.
Fists were flying, rage was boiling…and they were about to kill each other.
Hunter had wanted to put a fist through Riggs’s face ever since he saw the guy. Especially after he saw the way Riggs looked at Scarlet. He could recognize that kind of look anywhere.
“You picked the wrong guy to fuck with, soldier boy.”
“Fuck you.”
Hunter swept his arm back and slammed his fist against Riggs’s jaw, sending him flying to the ground. Hunter didn’t wait for him to get up. He pinned Riggs down and started to pound away at his face. The anger was pulsing through Hunter’s veins, and he let the animal in him come out.
Riggs got in a few punches, but whenever Hunter was like this, he never felt pain. It was like the demons inside him fed on it, it was the reason he fought in all those illegal cage fighting matches.
Just as Hunter went to land another punch, Riggs kneed him in the back and pushed him off to the side. Riggs pinned him down, and then the deafening crack of a gunshot made them stop and had both of them reaching for their guns.
“What the hell is going on here?” James glared at them with Scarlet standing by his side.
Hunter pushed Riggs off him and got up. “Your fucking soldier boy here decided to do some punching practice against my damn face.”
Riggs spat out some blood. “You fucking deserved it.”
“Fuck you.”
Riggs wanted to launch at Hunter again, but James pulled the trigger again.
“Stop! If you two want to kill each other, it’s not going to be on my ground. You got it?”
Hunter turned to Riggs and held out his arms. “What the fuck is your problem anyway?”
“You. You are my fucking problem.” Riggs walked closer, his eyes reflecting the murder he had on his mind. He stopped within two feet from Hunter and leaned in. “If you ever speak to her like that again, I will kill you.” And then the son of a bitch walked off, straight into the house.
What the fuck was that about?
Hunter turned and saw Scarlet staring at him. For a moment the anger inside him subsided when he looked into her eyes. But he saw the pain, the heartache she felt—all because of him, of what he said.
“I’m sorry, Scar.”
“Yeah, me too.” And then she walked into the house, leaving just Hunter and James.
Hunter wiped some blood from his lip before spitting, trying to get rid of the metallic taste in his mouth. “Do you mind telling me what the hell is up with your soldier boy?”
James slowly walked down the stairs. “There’s one thing I still have to teach him, and that’s to not let his emotions guide his actions.”
Hunter knew it. He goddamn knew it. “Does soldier boy have the hots for your daughter?”
“I’m not sure if that’s the problem.”
“Then what?”
James tucked his gun back at his side. “Soldier boy, as you call him, was the man I had following and keeping an eye on Scarlet years ago before she ran away.”
Hunter paused. “What?”
“He was a new recruit. I thought keeping an eye on Scarlet was an easy enough op for him to start out with.” James placed his hands at his sides. “Now it’s just a damn mess.”
“Because now Riggs has a personal interest, doesn’t he?”
James kicked at the dirt on the ground. “I think now that we know what really happened, we all blame ourselves. Riggs included.”
Suddenly it all made sense. The looks, the stolen glances Riggs gave in Scarlet’s direction. Hunter was right. Riggs did have a personal interest when it came to her.
James gave a step closer and lowered his voice. “I can see you have feelings for my daughter. I also know you have a lot of shit to work through. But keeping her safe is our number one priority right now. That is what you want, right?”
Hunter glared at him. “You know I do.”
“Then you need to keep focused on what’s important here. Your feelings, and whatever the fuck you’re carrying inside you, don’t matter. Keeping her safe does. And no matter what she says, or what happened between you two, she needs you. I can see that.” James grabbed Hunter’s collar and pulled him closer, his eyes shooting blades of warning. “So you pull your shit together. And if you ever hurt my daughter again like you did in my office, I will kill you before Riggs even gets the chance. Am I clear?”
Hunter stared right back at him. “Crystal.”
He let go of Hunter’s jacket and patted him on the chest. “Good.” He turned around, but paused halfway. “And take it easy on Riggs. He has his own demons he needs to deal with on a daily basis. Plus, you’re not the only one around here who cares for my daughter.”
Hunter stayed outside after James stepped back into the house. His head was fucking spinning with way too many revelations. How the fuck was he supposed to think clearly, to try to process everything that happened during the last twenty-four hours. It felt like his mind was about to explode.
He crouched down, folding his arms around his gut. Soldier boy packed a mean punch.
Although, maybe it wasn’t his gut. Could it be his heart causing the ache inside him? He closed his eyes, and this time he didn’t see Blue’s face. No. He saw Scarlet’s. Pain and heartache plastered all over her beautiful face. And the way she looked at him—he recognized that look. It was the same look he saw every time he stared at himself in the goddamn mirror.
Regret.
And it killed him. It killed him knowing that she probably regretted ever meeting him, trusting him with her body, and possibly even her heart. He betrayed that trust. He hurt her after he had promised he would protect her.
Hunter sat down on the ground, leaned back against the wheel of the car behind him, and hung his head down.
Now, losing Blue wasn’t the only regret he carried around. The realization that he had made the motherfucker of all mistakes was now another cesspool of fuck ups he could add to his shit bucket filled with regrets. But maybe, just maybe he could make this right again.
The promise he made Scarlet a few days ago, to keep her safe, was the one last thing he would do for her. Maybe it was his chance to finally be able to atone for at least one of his mistakes. He would go to the ends of the earth to keep that promise, even put up with Colton Riggs’s ass for an undetermined time. But once it was done, once Brent was dead and buried, securing Scarlet’s freedom from the nightmare she had been living, then he’d do the right thing—something he should have done the first night he met her.
He’d walk away.
Chapter 8
Scarlet stared at the plate in front of her. It was a choice between chicken and mashed potatoes, or chicken salad. She glanced at the plates of the men around her. Or both.
Just thinking about opening her mouth and trying to swallow the tiniest bit of food had her stomach churning.
Whiskey. That was what she needed—and a lot of it too.
“You need to eat.”
Scarlet glanced up at James. He was looking at her like she was glass, and the tiniest little nudge would cause her to crack. She hated it. She wasn’t a little porcelain doll that would break when handled a little roughly.
She pushed
the plate away. “I’m really not hungry.”
“You need to keep your strength up.”
“I think it’s a little too late for you to start acting like a caring dad, don’t you?”
He stared at her for a breath longer, and then concentrated on the plate of food in front of him.
Riggs wasn’t eating either, and she caught him staring at her a few times too. Why would he attack Hunter? Why would he feel the need to beat the shit out of Hunter? And what did he whisper to Hunter before he stormed off?
So many questions, so little answers.
Hunter hadn’t returned yet. She figured he’d probably left by now. Made sense if he did. Ever since he got involved in her shit, his life had just gone from bad to worse. Scarlet was willing to bet that if someone had told him a few weeks ago his life was about to make a turn for the worse, he would have straight out laughed.
Fuck. She couldn’t sit there anymore. She needed to get up and do something before her mind took her to places she really didn’t want it to go.
“I don’t suppose this place has something like a gym?”
James wiped his mouth with a napkin. “As a matter of fact, we do. I’ll show you.”
He got up from his seat, and Scarlet rolled her eyes, not in the mood to spend even two minutes alone with him. He would probably want to use the chance to bond with her. Fuck that. Bonding with your daughter time passed twenty-four years ago.
The chair screeched across the floor as she stood up. Riggs glanced at her from under his lashes, and again she wondered what his deal was.
While they headed down yet another hall, making it seem like the damn house was just one giant maze decorated with nothing but a few carpets and paintings, seriously lacking some personal touches, Scarlet tried her best not to even breathe too loudly. She worried James would take the opportunity to talk, which she didn’t want to do—especially with him.
To her surprise, they reached the gym without him attempting to stir up some conversation with her.