Born to Fight (Can't Resist You Book 1)

by Brittany Anne

  “You planned that? She was pretending?”

  Alan laughed. “Oh, she wasn’t acting. I’d spent a few weeks telling her tales of the Resistance, about how dangerous you were, about how you’d slice her up if you ever found her. Then I threw her out there with some of my men and let everything else fall into place.” Hunter’s face was twisted with fury, but Alan only laughed. “You should’ve seen the look on her face when she got back here and I told her I lied.”

  Rain felt his knife move away from her throat, and knew that he would pick up the gun and kill Hunter if he stopped talking. “Why did you tell her the truth?”

  Alan stilled. “I shouldn’t have, really. But I wanted to see her face when she learned she’d almost escaped me. I wanted to see her get sick with the realization that she’d run away from her only chance at freedom.”

  He was sick. He was freaking sick.

  “I’m upset you with, Master Alan,” Rain said. Hunter’s brows rose with her words, and she tried to widen her own at him to let him know that she knew what she was doing.

  “And why is that, love?”

  “You replaced me so easily. I thought I meant more to you than that.”

  She felt his body shake against her with a laugh. “My jealous wife. Did you really expect me to wait for you? You were the one who ran.”

  Rain bit her lip and controlled her breathing.

  She could do this. She had to. For Hunter, for their baby, for the Resistance, for everyone.

  “I wanted you to find me.” She leaned into him and looked away from Hunter’s disgusted glare. She couldn’t look at him right now, not if she wanted this to work. “I’ve missed you,” she lied.

  Alan’s knife moved from her neck, his other hand sliding across her hip. Now was her chance, she just had to-

  “Did you really think I’d still want you with some other man’s child growing in your womb?” His voice was just a whisper, barely audible even to her, so Hunter definitely couldn’t have heard it.

  “Hunter’s baby,” she whispered back. “His.”

  Alan let go of her, surely to grab the gun and attack Hunter, but Rain knew him too well. She knocked her head back and hit him directly in the nose. It hurt her, too, yes, but his yelling made it worth it.

  She turned to face him and saw fresh blood pouring from his nose. Good. He swung his knife at her, but Rain ducked. She went to grab the knife from his hand, but his grip on it was too tight. He was too strong.

  He threw the knife and tossed Rain back against the wall, his hands lifting her from the ground and tightening around her throat. She tried gasping for air, but found none. She kicked, but it did nothing.

  Her vision grew blurry for just a moment before oxygen poured into her lungs. She gasped as she fell to the floor, greedily sucking in as much air as she could. She turned to see Hunter’s hands on Alan’s shoulders, a snarl on his lips as the men fought each other.

  On the ground below them was blood, Hunter’s blood, and far too much of it. She knew Hunter was growing weaker, and while Alan would normally be no match for him, he was getting paler by the minute and wouldn’t be able to take him out with just his hands. She also knew that he’d dropped his two guns, both of which were too far from either of them to play a role in the fight.

  Rain knew what she had to do.

  She grabbed Hunter’s shotgun that he had set down by her before, and she lifted it up to aim. Hunter saw her from the corner of his eye and gave the most subtle of nods. Then, he shoved Alan back and leapt to the side.

  Before Alan could say a word, Rain pulled the trigger.

  ***

  Hunter pressed his hand to his abdomen in an effort to stop the bleeding, but it just made the throbbing worse. He’d already lost so much blood.

  Rain dropped the shotgun and ran towards him.

  He smiled at her.

  “My warrior,” he said as she dropped to her knees and pressed her hands to his wound.

  “Don’t talk. You’re going to be okay. Save your energy.” How did she sound so much like an angel? He knew the answer. It was because she was one.

  “You scared me,” he said quietly. “For a moment, I thought I’d lost you.” The burning in his core was nothing compared to the thought of Rain hurt, or worse.

  “I’m okay,” she smiled, continuing to work on his wound. “We’re both okay.”

  He heard footsteps and turned to see Sawyer and Derek bound into the room.

  “Shit,” said Sawyer when he saw him.

  “Battle wounds, brother. I’ll live.” He had to, he promised Rain a nice long talk about their future after all of this was over.

  The scream of another woman echoed through the hallways. Rain’s eyes widened.

  “I think that’s Julia, somebody has to help her…”

  “Go,” Hunter said.

  “I can’t leave you.”

  “You can. Go. Take Derek.” He paused and thought for a moment. “And take my guns. You clearly know how to use them. Sawyer will get me out of here in one piece. Won’t you, brother?”

  Sawyer smirked, but there was worry in his eyes. “That’s what I’m here for.”

  “Derek, if anything happens to Rain, I will rip your heart out.”

  Derek chuckled. “Noted.”

  “But, Hunter-”

  “No buts. You got this.”

  Rain looked down at him, more tears welling in her eyes. She smiled and placed a hand on his cheek. She quickly pressed her lips to his, and then ran out of the room with Derek close behind her.

  Once she was gone, Sawyer was on him, pressing gauze pads into his abdomen. “It’s bad, brother,” he said.

  “I know,” Sawyer said solemnly. “Kayla’s on the way here.”

  “What?” Hunter asked. “Don’t bring her here, just bring me there. It’s safer.”

  Sawyer smiled. “It’s safe here, Hunter. This place is ours. Your plan worked. We did it.”

  He looked up at Sawyer and couldn’t help but smile. They did it. They won.

  “You’re an incredible friend, Sawyer. The best. I’m proud to call you my brother.” Sawyer rolled his eyes, but Hunter continued. “My dad would’ve been proud to call you his son.” Sawyer stopped and stared down at him, but Hunter just looked towards the empty concrete walls.

  “Tell Rain that I love her.” When Sawyer protested, Hunter simply muttered, “just in case.”

  He closed his eyes.

  Chapter Fifteen

  WHEN HUNTER OPENED HIS eyes, he was surprised to see light. And not blinding light, either. Natural light, like sunlight, was reflecting on a white ceiling. Hunter turned his head to see windows and pale blue walls, white furniture, lamps, even an end table by the bed he was in.

  And the bed he was in… it was soft and cushioned, like nothing he’d ever felt before. A comforter that was a slightly darker shade of blue than the walls was tucked around him. He looked down to see his shirt was off, and lifted the blanket to see clean bandages over the entry wound.

  An IV went into his left arm.

  When Rain walked into the room, she was wearing black leggings and a baggy gray sweater, similar to the one she’d worn when they’d been in the bunker. Her hair was clean and flowing, the bruises on her neck and cheek yellowing as they faded away.

  “Hi, sleepy,” she smiled. She sat down on the edge of the bed beside him and placed a hand on his cheek. Hunter put his right hand on her thigh, loving the way she felt beside him.

  “How long was I out?”

  “Three days, but most of it was done by Kayla and the doctor.” Rain shrugged and giggled. “Apparently you weren’t being a very good patient, so they had to knock you out.”

  Hunter laughed. “I don’t remember a thing.”

  Rain leaned down and pressed her lips to his forehead. They were soft and kind, but he would prefer them on his mouth.

  “I’m so sorry, Rain. I was such an ass that day in the woods and I don’t deserve your forgiveness, bu
t I-”

  She cut him off. “Stop it.” She lifted his hand from her leg and kissed it. When she released it, he wrapped it around her waist. “I’m the one who needs to ask for forgiveness. I should’ve been honest from the start.”

  “I know why you weren’t. I get it. I am so fucking sorry that I walked away from you that day.”

  “Hey, hey. You saved me. You came back.”

  “I just can’t believe I walked away from you when you needed me. I can’t believe I left you vulnerable and that those vultures got you.”

  “I don’t want to be in the past, Hunter. I just want to enjoy my present. Here. With you.”

  He felt warmth build in his chest. “How about a future?”

  Rain broke into a wide smile, and it melted his heart.

  He needed to taste those perfect lips.

  Disobeying his screaming abdomen, Hunter sat up and pulled Rain’s mouth to his, knotting his hand in her hair. He moved his lips gently at first, but slowly found himself growing more desperate. He thought about how he’d almost lost her, about how he’d seen her hurt, about how she’d saved his life. Again.

  His tongue explored her mouth, tasting her sweetness and drinking it in. When she moaned into his kiss, he just about took her right there, but she pulled back.

  “Hunter,” she breathed. He loved the way she said his name. “You need to heal.”

  Hunter grinned and leaned back into her lips. “So heal me,” he breathed against them, kissing her once more.

  She pulled away again and giggled. “Hunter! Open wound! Don’t make me call Christopher back in here to knock you out, again.”

  He just laughed.

  She looked at him and bit her lip, which, by the way, did nothing but turn him on even more, if that were even possible. Then she smiled.

  “I want to show you something.” She looked to the doorway she’d just walked through, and then back to him. “Can you walk?”

  “For you? I can do anything.”

  And he meant it. He really did.

  ***

  Rain was happy that Hunter had allowed her to support him a bit as they walked toward the sliding glass doors on the far wall of their bedroom. She wasn’t so thrilled when he ripped the IV from his arm, but he was Hunter, and she expected nothing less.

  She was a bit surprised that he hadn’t asked where they were, but he was probably just happy to be awake and well. She didn’t blame him. Rain was certainly happy to have him awake and well.

  Rain slid open the glass doors and returned to her spot under Hunter’s arm. They walked out together onto the balcony. Below them was a beautiful view of a pond. Lily pads littered the pond and three baby ducks followed their mama as they waded through the water.

  She turned towards Hunter and looked up at his hard jaw, which was shadowed with that stubble of his that she loved so much. His eyes caught the sun’s rays and Rain couldn’t help but admire the specks of gold and ivy that danced in them.

  Then he looked down at her and smiled. “What are you showing me, baby?”

  She bit her lip to try and hold in her own smile. It didn’t work, and the way he looked at her lips didn’t help either. “I’m showing you our backyard.”

  “Our backyard?” He raised one eyebrow at her.

  She nodded. “Assuming that future you hinted at included us being together.”

  Hunter chuckled. “Baby, that is the only future I’m interested in.”

  Rain smiled and nestled into Hunter’s side. As she wrapped her arms around his waist, she was careful around his wound, but he didn’t seem to care, pulling her tightly against him and pressing his lips to the top of her head.

  “So we did it, then. We took the compound. Sawyer was right.”

  Rain stared out at the world around them. Blue skies, pretty houses, a forty-foot wall around them to protect them from whatever wanted to take what was theirs. No UNR in sight. Though, surely, there would be more to come. But Rain couldn’t think of that right now. Right now, she only wanted to think of the good.

  “This was the foothold we needed. This is what we’ve been working towards.”

  “You did it, Hunter.”

  He looked down at her and smiled. “We did it. We all did it.”

  She nestled right back into his chest and enjoyed the feeling of being in his arms again. It was a feeling she never wanted to go without having. It was home.

  Now she just had to find a way to tell him that there’d be an extra addition to their new house in a few months.

  ***

  As Hunter walked down the street, no weapons on him, no need to be alert and ready to attack at any given moment, he couldn’t help but smile. A gentle breeze blew the smells of nature around, and man, did he love it. One of his favorite parts of being the soldier was being outside more than anyone else ever was, and now he could do it without fighting.

  Walking up to a large office-like building, Hunter took a breath and then pushed open the door. Inside, he saw desks, papers, and other materials that indicated he was correct in assuming this was once an office.

  And it would be one again. To the Resistance.

  He walked towards the back room and found Hayden and Sawyer inside. They both looked up when Hunter entered.

  “How are you feeling?” Hayden asked.

  “Better than ever,” Hunter grinned. “I can’t believe we did it.”

  “Michael would be proud,” Sawyer said, a subtle smile playing on his lips.

  “Thank you.” He thought to his dad, and he thought he would be proud. Not just about the battles and the work he’d done with the Resistance, but with the man he’d become, the man Rain helped him become. He started to feel that he was following in his father’s footsteps in more ways than one, and somewhere deep down, he thought his dad would even be proud of Hunter’s decision to take a step back. Which is what he was here to talk to his brothers about.

  “Where’s Derek?” he asked, noting the fact that he was missing.

  “He’s with the girl him and Rain found. She’s been having a rough time since everything happened.”

  “Did Rain tell you that’s the girl who nearly got me killed?”

  “She didn’t know,” Hayden responded.

  Hunter sighed. “Yeah. You’re right.”

  “So Rain came to talk to us about your early retirement.”

  Hunter couldn’t contain the laugh that rose in his throat. “Oh, did she?”

  “She most certainly did,” Sawyer chuckled. “She is a firecracker, isn’t she?”

  “You know she is,” Hunter said, shaking his head at the thought of Rain approaching the leaders of the Resistance, men that most civilians were terrified of, and demanding them let Hunter retire. “Did she make a persuasive argument?”

  “Quite,” Hayden piped in. “But she doesn’t quite think you’re ready to retire.”

  Now he was confused. “Oh?”

  “Rethinking that whole love thing, yet?” Sawyer smirked. Hunter jokingly punched his shoulder.

  “Enough of the suspense. Talk to me.”

  “Well,” Sawyer started, “your lady friend seems to think that your skills can be useful to us in other ways. She offered up the brilliant idea of expanding on Kayla’s daycare and turning it into a school.”

  “Go on.”

  “And she proposed you teach at that school. Prepare the next generation of fighters. If you won’t fight, then you can teach them. Pass it on, like your dad did for you. What do you think?”

  Hunter felt the corners of his mouth slowly pull up into a smile. Rain was a genius.

  “Gentlemen, you have yourself a deal.”

  In a second, Hunter found himself in a bear hug. In another second, even Hayden had joined in. As they all pulled back, it was Sawyer who spoke first.

  “Go home to your girl. I’m sure you’ve been missing her.” Sawyer winked.

  Hunter bit his cheek as the corners of his mouth lifted. “You have no idea. I’m stopping
by Christopher’s to see if my stitches can come out yet, and if they can’t? I’ll rip them out myself.”

  They all laughed one more time, and then Hunter was walking towards the doctor’s new spot. He heard that he had a real office now, with top equipment. Not that any of that was necessary for Hunter right now. All he needed was his stitches out. And if Christopher didn’t do it, he’d do it himself while ravaging Rain later that night.

  ***

  Rain couldn’t believe she had access to clothes.

  Only UNR officers and their families lived within the compound, and Rain had assumed that whoever wasn’t killed had fled during the attack. Whatever happened to them, it had left the Resistance with plenty of supplies, food, housing, equipment, and clothes.

  Derek handled the collecting of supplies and had given Rain early access to choose whatever she wanted.

  She’d never in her life had so many options. As she browsed through her new closet filled with garments she’d hand-selected for herself—with some help from Kayla—she considered what she should wear.

  God, she couldn’t believe she was worried about what to wear when only a week earlier she had been worried about dying. What a wonderful problem to have, not knowing what clothes to wear.

  She was going to tell Hunter tonight that she was pregnant with his child.

  She wanted to let him recover first, to give him time to get himself in order, but with his stitches coming out and him returning to his usual activities today, it was the perfect day for Rain to tell him. She had learned her lesson about keeping secrets, after all.

  She spotted the perfect garment hanging in the back corner of the closet and had to smile as she pulled it from the hanger and skipped to the bathroom to wash up and put it on.

  ***

  Hunter had big plans for the evening. His stitches were out, and he was given the all clear for ‘light activity.’ Which, to Hunter, meant he could do whatever the hell he wanted.

  He was going to cook Rain dinner, tell her just how much he cared about her, and then he was going to take her into their bedroom, where he’d show her exactly how he felt about her. It was the perfect plan.