by A. E. Fisher
“Ha, ha, ha,” Jax scoffed, sarcasm rolling off his tongue. “You’re funny. Anyone ever tell you that?”
“All the time.” Hunter pressed his hand against the small of my back and pushed me through the door.
Faint cigarette smoke and liquor hit me before a wave of something delicious wafted through the air. Someone was cooking, and whatever it was, it smelled delicious.
I looked around the large hall filled with battered tables and a few booths against the walls, placed under the various cuts from other clubs on display. Wait, did that one have bloodstains? I couldn’t investigate as Hunter dragged me aside without warning and a swarm of children all shapes and sizes came racing past and out another door that led out to what I could see as the backyard.
Adair looked on from Hunter’s arms, his face apprehensive.
“You wanna go play with them, buddy?” Hunter asked.
Adair shook his head and clung tighter to his uncle.
Looked like I wasn’t the only one intimidated by the new company.
“This way.” Hunter held my hand as he tugged me up the stairway as Jax walked back down, suitcase gone. The two men gave a passing nod to each other.
I recognized the winding hallways as we headed up to Hunter’s room and paid close attention as Hunter said which rooms belonged to the brothers, which ones I wasn’t allowed in, and so forth until we came to his.
It hadn’t changed, not that I had expected it to when Hunter came back to the house every night. He could have been using it during the day, but I didn’t want to entertain that idea. I simply figured Hunter hadn’t been sleeping around the last few weeks since he had been trying to win me over. Not to mention, he had been home a lot during the day to play with Adair.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” Hunter asked, lifting my chin to look up at him. His gazes wandered across my face as he brushed a finger along my jawline while brushing my hair behind my ear with his other hand.
“Nothing. It’s just a little … intimidating, I guess,” I answered honestly.
A small part of me was reminded of Noble’s face and all the emotions associated with him as I looked at this place. I could imagine him being here, flirting with all the girls, fixing bikes, drinking beer.
Hunter looked around his room then down at Adair who sat on the floor, quietly pulling Papa out of his cartoon backpack and squeezing it tightly. “I’m not gonna lie; I want you to be happy here, to be able to trust my brothers. But I also know it’s not gonna happen overnight, so I don’t expect anything from you.”
“Gee, thanks,” I grumbled.
“One, don’t roll your eyes at me.” Hunter scowled. “And two, you know I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Sorry.”
Hunter pressed a small kiss to my lips. Then, with a small grin, he said, “You’re forgiven.”
I scoffed, and Hunter shook his head.
“You’re a little wildcat, you know that?”
I smiled, but said no more as a knock sounded on the door.
Hunter opened it, and the prettiest girl I had ever seen stood there. She had long, black hair in waves down her back and sterling silver eyes. She had to have been no older than sixteen, maybe seventeen.
“Heard I’m on delivery duty.” She spotted me behind Hunter, assessing me in my boxer shorts and shirt ten sizes too big before shrugging and turning back to Hunter. Whatever that meant. “Your clothes.” She dropped them into Hunter’s arms. “Honestly, I didn’t know you worked mini-skirts these days.”
“What the hell is it with all the females in this place and your incessant need to make a comment about everything? Shut your damn mouths for once,” Hunter ranted.
The girl shrugged then stuck her hands on her hips, continuing to look up at the huge man towering over her.
“What?” Hunter growled.
“My thank you?”
Hunter looked up at the ceiling, closing his eyes. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he complained before taking a deep breath then looking down at the girl again. “Thank you,” he said, as if took effort to get the words out. “Now scram, Princess, before I get your ma to drag your ass out of my doorway.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“You really wanna try me today?”
Seeming to finally get the hint, she turned and began to walk down the hallway, but not without adding, “And by the way, red heels with that skirt would make your legs look great.”
“Jesus Christ!” Hunter slammed the door shut before knocking his head against it. When he finally turned and saw the smile on my face, his face dropped. “Don’t even say it.”
I didn’t think I could resist if I tried. “I think I’m going to like this place.”
“Thank heavens for Bell.” I sighed in happiness as I began pulling clothes out of the bag.
Bell, as I found out, was Kay’s youngest daughter and the daughter of the late president, Roscoe; thus, her title of Princess. The girl was fortunate to have inherited her mother’s good looks, including those striking eyes. Not to mention, her sass. According to Hunter, that had a lot to do with Anna’s influence. I felt his feathers were still a little ruffled from the mini-skirt comment a few hours before.
Either way, the girl was an angel, one who came bearing gifts. The bag was filled with everything from pajamas to shirts, and most importantly, underwear. Anna and Kay had also dropped some things off that I might need, as well as tampons. They had also mentioned condoms before I told them about the huge stash under Hunter’s sink that Adair had found by accident earlier.
Adair had refused to leave my side and even insisted on bathing with me, which I didn’t mind. When it was time for his nap, though, I began to worry when he refused to go to sleep. I wasn’t sure what to do since it wasn’t every day your house was gunned down and invaded. Furthermore, for the first thirty seconds, Adair had been upstairs alone. I was afraid it had traumatized him. Most kids wouldn’t understand, but Adair was perceptive. I was worried he was a little too old for me to brush it off. God, I hoped it wouldn’t result in years of future therapy.
My thoughts were interrupted when the door opened and in walked Hunter and Jax, with Adair’s bed between them.
“You brought the bed back with you?” I asked, surprise evident in my voice.
“Yeah,” Hunter said with that annoying duh tone. “What else did you think I was doing when I went back to the house?”
“Well, I figured you guys were gonna do that dusty, investigate-y CSI stuff to find out who did it.”
Jax laughed as they set down the bed against the wall. “‘Dusty, investigate-y CSI stuff?’ You’ve been watching too much TV, darlin’.”
“Hey, I’ll have you know that TV was a luxury with my lifestyle, and I take it where I can get it.”
Jax smirked. “If you really want entertainment, I know something a lot more … accessible you can have whenever you want it.”
I should have known any conversation with Jax would end that way.
Hunter smacked him upside the head. “Just this once, I’ll let you off, but never again, Jax. You got me?”
Jax raised his hands. “I got you, brother. Just wanted to let the girl know she’s got options.”
Hunter shook his head. “Get out, you prick, before I kick you out.”
Jax closed the door with his laugh following him, and a small part of me wondered what kind of options Jax would offer. He seemed like the type to play dirty.
“Save a horse. Ride a cowboy,” I muttered.
“You say something?” Hunter turned from where he was pushing the bed to the other side of the room so it was parallel to the king-sized bed.
I quickly shook my head. The guy had hearing like a hawk.
“Come on, baby; it’s time for night-night,” I cooed, trying to tuck the sheets around my little rug rat.
“No!” Adair cried, throwing the sheets back and beginning to wiggle off his bed again.
“Adair Michael
Ward, it is time for bed, and you will go to sleep.”
“No.”
“All right, all right,” Hunter said from behind me. “What’s going on here?”
“Little Mr. Grumpy Pants doesn’t want to …” My mouth dropped open as I turned to face the glory that was Hunter.
Holy shit. If bodies were shrines, I would pray to Hunter’s all day long.
An iron six pack crested his beautifully tanned waist, the muscles on his arms and chest screaming discipline and hard work. He wasn’t a man to neglect his body, and I thanked the heavens for it. I followed those edible thighs higher, picking where I would like to sink my teeth into them and almost wept at the sight of his boxers.
I wasn’t sure if one could sexually assault someone with their eyes, but it would be the most accurate description of what I was doing. My fantasies were already wild at the idea of licking the inked tattoo of a red, flaming bird holding a cross over his left peck.
As I looked closer, I saw words inked into the cross.
It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. ~ Psalm 18:32
“I didn’t take you for the religious type.”
“I’m not feeling very religious with the way you’re looking at me.”
Right. I forgot I was still drooling. Did I mention I could see the splattering of pubic hair leading down under those boxers? Yum.
“As for the quote, I’m not that religious.” He scooped Adair up from where he had managed to slip from his bed while I wasn’t looking.
Once again, my mouth dropped open. No man had buns that fine. Talk about sacrilege.
“Then why’d you get it?” I asked after I gathered my thoughts.
“I got it done after Noble died,” was all he needed to say.
I nodded then watched as Hunter sat down on Adair’s bed, wincing as it creaked. He pulled Adair up onto his lap and looked him in the eyes.
His voice was calm and gentle when he asked, “You scared, buddy?”
Adair shook his head.
“You sure about that?”
Adair very slowly shook his head again. Then his wise little eyes fell to the floor. “Big boys don’t get scared.”
Hunter’s eyes softened. He reached up and very gently bumped the boy’s chin just enough to tilt his head back up. I recognized the movement. Only once had I seen it, but I would never forget it. Noble had done the very same thing to me the day I had arrived with the news. The sweetness of the gesture transferred perfectly into his little brother.
“Do you wanna know something, bud?” Hunter’s voice was softer than I had ever heard it as Adair gave a small nod. “I get scared sometimes.”
Adair’s eyes rounded as if it was a possibility that had never occurred to him.
Adair idolized Hunter, always following him around. Hunter had mentioned how he liked bikes, and now Adair couldn’t stop watching TV shows about Harleys. Or Hunter would mention a sport he liked, and Adair would run around the backyard, pretending to be an elite player, despite having never heard of the sport before. Even when Hunter would sit down on the couch with a beer, Adair would be right by his side with his juice.
Hunter was Adair’s hero, which was probably why he looked so surprised and full of disbelief and shock when he asked, “Really?”
Hunter nodded. “It’s not a bad thing to be scared.”
“It isn’t?”
“Nope.” Hunter shook his head. “You see, when you really love something, you get scared you might lose it. But when you’re scared, it means that the thing you love is precious and you have to protect it no matter what.” Hunter ran his hands through Adair’s short blond curls, the ones so much like his lost brother’s. I didn’t think he even realized he was doing it. “I’m guessing, when you heard the guns, you were scared for your momma, right?”
Adair looked down at his stuffed Papa before his gaze flickered over to me as if he didn’t want me to see it. Then he nodded. “I couldn’t find Momma.”
My eyes filled with tears, and I clasped my hand over my mouth, fighting not to cry.
Hunter’s eyes flickered up to me over Adair’s small head with a small frown.
“But you hid ’cause you are smart. And your momma came and found you like you knew she would. Your momma was scared, too, but she knew she had to protect you.” Hunter’s eyes found mine and held them. “That’s what family means. It means loving people so much that it sometimes makes you scared. Even then, it’s okay to be scared, because it keeps reminding you what’s precious, and that you have to protect what’s precious.”
Hunter’s face seemed to wobble as my tears finally spilled over my cheeks and fingers, his words hitting so deeply I was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion.
“Were you scared?” Adair’s voice caught his attention.
“Huh?”
“When you heard that the big men came into the house … were you scared?”
“Yeah, I was. I was so scared I thought I’d die.”
“Don’t die, Uncle Hummer!” Adair cried out with concern, like Hunter was about to drop dead then and there.
It was such a bittersweet surprise that all my flooding emotions came out in a burst of laughter. Even Hunter’s shock turned into laughter. He had the most beautiful, rough laugh I had ever heard.
He ruffled Adair’s short curls. “Don’t worry, Adair; I’m not going anywhere yet.”
Adair, although confused by our laughter, smiled with relief.
“Now,” Hunter said, picking Adair up by the armpits and spinning him in the air until he dropped him on the bed, the boy giggling, “it’s time for bed.”
“But Momma—”
“Will be right here, baby,” I said, getting up to press a kiss to his forehead before moving over to the other bed.
I pulled down the sheets and slipped into the side closest to Adair, making an obvious effort to curl myself up in the surprisingly silky sheets. My exaggerated comfort turned out to be too real as I sank into the memory foam mattress. Gosh, this bed felt like heaven.
When I rolled back to look at Hunter and Adair, Hunter had an amused smirk on his face.
“What?” I asked.
“I’ve never been jealous of a bed before,” he mused, making me blush before turning back to Adair whose green eyes were already drooping
“G’night, Uncle Hummer.” His voice slurred a little as he pulled Hunter close for a kiss.
“Night, little man,” Hunter whispered back, pressing a kiss to his forehead. Then Hunter flicked off the light from the switch by the bed.
Aside from the dim nightlight in the wall between mine and Adair’s bed, the room was awash in darkness. I listened for the sound of Hunter’s footsteps, but before I heard them, Adair’s drowsy voice whispered in the dark.
“Uncle Hummer?”
I heard Hunter’s footsteps backtrack to Adair’s bed.
“What’s up?” he whispered back like I had fallen asleep the second the light had gone off and they didn’t want to wake me.
“You know how you said you were scared?”
“Yeah.”
“Does that mean I’m precious?”
“More than anything.” There wasn’t even a second of hesitation in his answer.
I smiled in the dark, a welcomed warmth turning my heart into a sloppy mush.
“What about Momma? Is Momma precious, too?”
“Yeah,” Hunter whispered. “So precious it hurts.”
“Okay,” Adair whispered. Then the soft sound of his sleeping breaths filled the room.
Hunter’s footsteps sounded again as they moved across the room. Then the bed dipped on the other side.
Warmth pressed against my back as he circled his arms around my waist and dragged me back against him until we were spooning. Then he pressed kisses against my neck, nuzzling my jaw as he whispered, “You crying again?” There was a soft chuckle in his voice.
“Don’t you dare make light of my feelings right now,” I hissed quietly,
pinching his hand, because yes, tears were filling my eyes again, and my heart felt like it was going to drop out of my chest.
“It’s true, Mallory,” Hunter whispered, turning me to face him in the dark.
My eyes adjusted, but I could only see a faint outline from where the nightlight caught the square edges of his face.
“I don’t want to lose you.” He gripped my hand and pulled it over his chest and the firebird tattoo, the one he had gotten in memory of Noble, and where I could feel the faint thrum of his heartbeat.
It took me a second to realize, but when I did, I knew his words ran deeper.
I tightly squeezed his hand, wiggling closer until I was pressed right against his chest, and said, “Then you better hold on tight.”
I swear I could feel him smile. Hunter said nothing, though. Instead, he wrapped his arms back around me and buried his face in my hair.
After a few moments, I relaxed in his arms with surprising ease and sleep came to me in seconds.
Chapter Nineteen
Hunter
Church was called at the break of dawn, and all the brothers assembled in the back room. Now each seat was filled by a full-fledged Black Angel, while the prospects were left to tend the clubhouse and women.
We made it through the routine Club business—deals, setting up runs, and possible investments—and my patience was wearing thin. Not just me, but a few others were anticipating the real reason this meeting had been called.
Wolf slammed the gavel down on the last vote and set it aside. He laced his hands together and leaned forward in his seat at the head of the table. “As you all know, some stupid fucks decided to gun down Hunter’s house yesterday. Inside it were his girl and son, as well as Anna and Kay.”
Hisses and curses were spat throughout the room.
“We also happened to catch one of the fuckers,” Wolf added.
“Who’d they belong to?” Jasper, one of the older members from Roscoe’s time, asked.
“They were hired help.”
“Hired by whom?”
Wolf paused, tightening his hands and his lips. “Hell’s Runners.”