The Athlete

by Elin Peer

  “That’s what I was thinking.” Don nodded.

  Emanuela frowned at me. “No, Hunter. None of us should do it. Going after a cougar is dangerous. It could attack and then what?”

  It was cute that she worried about me, but I wasn’t scared of going hunting. “Well, obviously I’m not gonna go out there unarmed. I’ll immobilize the cat and carry it back here, but I have to be honest with you: if the cougar attacks me, I’ll kill it without the least bit of remorse.”

  “Hunter, that’s out of the question. You’re not going after some wild animal. It’ll be dark in a few hours and you don’t know these woods…”

  I placed my hands on Emanuela’s shoulders to stop her from spiraling into one of her rants. “Would you rather we went home and left this to Cole?”

  Cole’s eyes were pleading. “I’m disturbed about the situation too, but think about the dilemma, sis. We can’t in good conscience open the park with a wild cougar lurking around.”

  “I have a numb gun. I’ll be fine.”

  Don gave me a nod of approval. “That’s why I told Cole to call in an Nman. Now all you need is some rope to tie the cougar up while it’s temporarily immobilized, and don’t forget that you still need to bury the dead cougar.”

  “I can do that.” Cole walked to a corner and picked through different tools. “I know there’s a shovel here somewhere.”

  “This has to remain a secret.” Don gave us all a stern look. “No one will know about the cougars but us four. I’ll go home to my wife and tell her I had a nasty fall on the bike. She won’t be suspicious of me going back North to see my doctor. She knows I use every excuse I can to visit my buddies at home.”

  Emanuela still didn’t look to be on board with the hunting they were asking me to do. “I don’t understand why the cougars came here in the first place. We’ve never had anything like this happen before.”

  “Over the last year, we’ve had sightings of cougars. Our park is noisy and they usually keep their distance as they pass through our area, but now with the slow season and our only being open on the weekends I suppose they grew braver.”

  Emanuela looked down. “Have you reported those sightings to the authorities?”

  “No. I didn’t want people to worry. You know people freak out when they hear about cougars and bears.”

  “Bears?” Emanuela’s eyes widened. “That’s not even funny, Cole.”

  “I’m not trying to make a joke here. And bears were only spotted four or five times over the last year.”

  Emanuela was staring at him. “And you want to go hunting for the last cougar. That’s like a horrible joke about the village idiot going out to chase a cougar only to be eaten by a bear.”

  “Oh, nice, so I’m a village idiot now, am I?” Beneath my serious exterior I was amused. Emanuela wasn’t as polished and polite as other women and with her family’s dark secrets spilling out, I was beginning to see why. The Cerviccis were fucking rebels. No wonder I liked them so much. As an Nman I believed in free choice and the right to drink, gamble, and cut loose, and racing was part of that. I just wondered if she would have told me had it not been for the attack on Cole and Don.

  “No, I’m not calling you an idiot. But it would be idiotic to go out there. Promise me that you won’t put your life in danger like that.” Emanuela was serious and looking straight at me. “Promise me, Hunter.”

  But Cole and Don were looking for a different promise. I could see it in their eyes and it put me in a tough spot. I didn’t want Emanuela to worry, but this had to be done.

  “Look, we can stand around and talk all day or we can actually deal with the mess. Cole and I will bury the dead cougar while you help Don get home. After that we can decide what we’ll do about the last cougar.”

  With a groan, Don limped to the door. “Make sure you bury the body deep.”

  “Let me help you.” Emanuela supported the large man.

  “I don’t need your help to walk.”

  “Don’t be silly. You’ve lost a lot of blood.”

  “He has his own drone.” Cole was picking up Don’s socks and shoes. “Still, it’s better if you take him home, sis. I could never forgive myself if he passes out and dies on his way home.”

  “Of course. Hunter, will you please program your drone to follow us if I fly with Don? That way I can drop him off and come back here when I know he’s safe with his wife.”

  Don frowned. “So bossy.”

  “Yup. That’s Ema for you.” I gave her a smile but she didn’t see it as she was busy guiding Don out of the door.

  As soon as the drones lifted, Cole spoke pleadingly. “I didn’t know how to get you here without my sister. Don is right. We need to find the cat and get rid of it. He said stuff like this is nothing for an Nman.”

  I was already going back in the shack to find rope. “Let’s hope Don lives far away and he’s able to keep Emanuela with him for a while. I don’t want her to come back before I do.”

  Cole got me what I needed. “I’m afraid he only lives about twenty minutes from here.”

  “Shit. If she gets back before I do, tell her I’ll be right back.”

  Cole nodded and called after me as I left. “I’ll bury the other cougar. Hurry!”

  CHAPTER 26

  One Mad Motlander

  Emanuela

  Don’s wife was in shock over seeing her husband so injured. He told her to stop fussing over him, but secretly, I think he enjoyed it.

  The strangest thing was how Don insisted that I tell her what had happened and how he encouraged me to stay for a while. I declined as the whole situation with the cougars had me on edge and I wanted to get back to Hunter and Cole.

  They weren’t at the shed when I returned so I followed the bike trail until I heard noises from further in between the trees.

  “Hunter, Cole?” I called out and took high steps through the ferns, scrub, and small trees that made the underbrush of the forest.

  “Over here.”

  I found Cole sweaty and panting as he was closing up a hole in the ground. “It’s so typical for something like this to happen on a cold day when the ground is hard. Why couldn’t it happen on a mild day when the soil would be soft from lots of rain? I swear it’s taken me forever to dig the grave, and every time I hear a sound I’m convinced it’s a bear or the other cougar coming for me. I’ve jumped more times in fright tonight than in my whole life combined.” He brushed his forehead while he looked over his shoulders.

  I too looked around but I didn’t see anything. “Where is Hunter?”

  “Ehh, he just had to use a bathroom.”

  “Oh, is he here?”

  “No, he had to make number two so I gave him the code to the one by the lingerie store.”

  “How long has he been gone?”

  “Only about five minutes, but he said that he’d keep his eyes open on the way there, in case the other cougar was lurking around.”

  That made me nervous.

  “Ema, come help me cover the grave with some leaves and branches.”

  I kept looking around, searching for any sign of Hunter, while I picked up handfuls of leaves and carried them to the grave. “We should say a few words.”

  Cole placed some twigs on the grave before he rose up to his full height. “Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

  We moved shoulder to shoulder and letting our heads fall forward, I muttered, “We are deeply sorry for your passing. May you rest in peace and find eternal happiness wherever you are.”

  Cole chimed in, “And may you understand that it was never our intention to kill you. Don was just acting in self-defense.”

  I added, “Also, we promise not to hurt your mate. Cole will call in an expert who will take her to a better place where there are no people to bother her.”

  Cole coughed and shifted his balance. “Okay, I think that’s it.”

  My head turned in all directions as I kept searching for Hunter. “I’ll go check up on him. Did you say he
went to the restroom by the lingerie shop?”

  “Yes, but I’m sure he’ll be right along. Let’s go and wait in his drone.” Cole picked up the shovel and began walking back toward the trail.

  I used my wristband to call Hunter, but he wasn’t picking up. “Shoot, he probably still has it on silent.”

  “Don’t worry, he’ll know to find us at the drone.”

  Twenty minutes later, there was still no sign of Hunter. My foot kept tapping on the floor of his luxurious hybrid and my eyes kept going from side to side looking for him. “He should be back by now.”

  Cole sat bent forward with his eyes scanning for Hunter too. “I’m sure he’ll be back in a second.”

  “You keep saying that, but what if something happened to him?” I turned to the door. “I’m going to the restroom to search for him.”

  “No, Ema, don’t.” Cole reached for my arm and after an intense look into my eyes, his gaze fell to my elbow. “He didn’t go to the restroom.”

  The way he wouldn’t look me in the eye made a sense of dread spread in my body. “Cole, please tell me Hunter didn’t go hunting for the cougar.”

  The way Cole looked away confirmed my fear.

  “No! He wouldn’t. I told him not to. I made him promise that he wouldn’t.” I jerked my arm out of Cole’s touch. “Why would you let him do it?”

  “Ema, it was the only solution and you heard him yourself; he offered to do it.”

  I was shaking my head from side to side, my eyes wide with shock and disappointment.

  “Don’t look at me like that. Hunter doesn’t take orders from any of us. He only does what he wants to.”

  “But why?” I swung my hand in the direction of the forest. “Who in their right mind would go out hunting a cougar alone?”

  “Hunter has been trained for this. He knows what he’s doing.”

  With a small scream of frustration, I opened the door, and got out.

  “Hunter will be fine. He seemed very confident when he left.”

  “You should have stopped him!” Tears were welling up in my eyes. “Why did you let him go when you know there might be bears?”

  Cole tore at his hair. “Because I’m hoping he can find the last cougar and we can put this behind us.”

  “And what if he gets hurt? Did you consider that a leg injury like the one Don got would put Hunter out for the rest of the season? He might never fully recover and it could cost him his whole career.”

  Cole’s face fell. “No, I didn’t think that far.”

  I clasped my arms around my waist, feeling betrayed by both my brother and Hunter. “I can’t believe you would be this selfish.”

  “Hunter is a grown man. He makes his own decisions.”

  “And was it his decision to lie to me?”

  Cole was avoiding answering me.

  “Was it? That whole story about him going to the bathroom while you were digging. It was a fat lie!”

  “I just didn’t want you to worry.”

  “But was it Hunter who told you to come up with some story?”

  “No.”

  I stepped back. “He just went off and didn’t even bother giving me a message.”

  “He said that he’d be back as soon as possible.”

  “But he gave you no message for me.”

  “I think that was the message.”

  “That he’d be right back?”

  “Yes.” Cole’s eyes darted toward the forest again. I didn’t blame him for hoping Hunter would appear at that moment, I hoped that too, but of course he didn’t.

  The fear that consumed me had me in a deadlock of disappointment and anger. I was torn between running into the forest to find Hunter and going home just to show him how it hurt to be left behind without a word.

  “Don’t be mad at him.” Cole used a placating tone of voice that only ticked me off even more.

  “Oh, I have every right to be mad at the both of you. My heart is beating so fast and I’m so frustrated that I want to scream.”

  “Maybe you should take a moment to collect yourself.”

  I ignored his reminder to communicate in a productive way. “What happened to trust? What happened to respect? Huh? I thought that I could trust the two of you.”

  “But…”

  I cut Cole off. “There’s no but. Hunter promised me that he wouldn’t hunt for the cougar and he did it anyway. You went behind my back like I didn’t matter. It’s not like it was a small thing, Cole. We’re talking about the cover-up of murder and now hunting on top of that. What if Hunter kills the second cougar and he gets caught? He would go from adored to being hated in the Motherlands and it could be a crisis between our nations.”

  Cole kept his head down and scraped the ground with his right foot. “Let’s not think of worst-case scenarios. Why don’t we go back into the hybrid and wait for him? It’s chilly out here.”

  I took a step back. “I really don’t care if you’re cold. There’s no way I can just do nothing when Hunter could be in grave danger.”

  “Ema, there’s nothing you can do. If you run around screaming for him you’ll only sabotage what he’s trying to do.”

  “Then we’ll take the drone and search for him from above.”

  “Same thing. Hunter might be onto the cougar right now and with us flying around and shining a light down to find him, we could make the cougar flee. It’s better if we wait for him here. He could turn up at any moment.”

  I turned my back to Cole, the heavy feelings of worry, fear, and betrayal making me tighten my hold around myself.

  “Maybe it’s better if I’m not here when he shows up. He clearly doesn’t care about me anyway.” It tore at my heartstrings to say it because I cared so deeply about him.

  “Ema.” There was an objection in the way Cole said my name but I walked back to Hunter’s hybrid.

  “Wait, you can’t leave with his drone. He’ll be furious at you if you do.”

  I tried to make my shrug look nonchalant but my wet eyes gave away how hurt and frustrated I was. “He betrayed me and left me behind. I’m just showing him how it feels.”

  “And what about me?”

  “There’s gloves, jackets, and scarves in the shed. You’ll be fine, and Cole…” My jaw was tense and I held up a finger.

  “What?”

  “As soon as you see Hunter you’ll text me so I know he’s safe, but do it in a way so he doesn’t know you told me.”

  “Why can’t I just ask him to call you?”

  My voice broke and I turned my face away. “Because I don’t want to talk to him right now.”

  Cole watched me get into the drone and made a last attempt to make me stay. “He could literally be here in two minutes. Why not wait a little longer?”

  I shook my head and reminded him, “You’ll let me know when he returns.”

  The safety system of the hybrid would prevent a stranger from flying it, but Hunter had added me to the list of trusted pilots when I took Don home an hour ago. Because of that, I had no problem telling the drone to fly me back to my apartment.

  As the drone rose up, I searched for any sign of Hunter below. I wanted the tall, handsome Nman whom I had come to care so deeply for to be safe, but through the constant stream of tears, I didn’t see anything but blurry trees.

  All the way home I’d switched between anger that Hunter had betrayed my trust and regret that I hadn’t stayed to make sure he was okay. Twice, I texted to ask Cole if Hunter had returned. Each time the answer was a short “no.”

  The pregnancy prevention products that lay spread out on the table in the apartment felt like a mockery. How had our plan of making love all night been derailed so fast by something we had no control over?

  I walked past the mess in the living room and into the bedroom, where I threw myself on the bed that we should have been naked, sweaty, and blissfully happy in. Instead I was crying and fisting the bed sheets.

  To think that since his sister’s wedding, I h
ad played with the idea of one day marrying him. How could I have been so foolish as to think our bond was that strong? He didn’t care about me. If he did, he wouldn’t have gone hunting when I specifically made him promise not to.

  I rolled on my side and checked my wristband again. It had been more than two hours since I left and there was still no news.

  “Please, please, please let him be safe,” I muttered low, and curled up.

  Later there was a small beep and a message from Cole. “Hunter is back and the cougar is secured.”

  I answered fast. “Is Hunter all right?”

  “Yes. But very mad about the drone. I offered that he could sleep here and he accepted. Hunter wants you to send the drone back for tomorrow morning.”

  “Okay.”

  “Don’t freak out, but we’re at Experi now. I thought a few drinks might calm us both down.”

  That message had me sitting up to reread it.

  “Tell me you’re joking!”

  I got no reply.

  “Cole???”

  Picking up the pillow I pressed it against my face and screamed my lungs out.

  What happened to all Hunter’s talk about one woman only? Had my taking his drone made him so angry that he was going to seek out someone else to take my place?

  I threw the pillow across the room and got up from the bed full of anger with him.

  When he ignored my call, I left him a recorded message that reflected how hurt I was.

  “This thing between us is over. I mean it, Hunter. Whatever it was, it’s over. I know you went back to the sex club tonight and I don’t care. I’ll make sure to pack your stuff and place it outside my door. And don’t worry. I’ll leave the bag from Shelly outside so you can try the stuff out with your next girlfriend.” My voice was breaking and my nose was itching from the tears pressing. “I’ll see you at practice and I’d appreciate if you just leave me alone from now on.”

  When I hung up there were all these things I wanted to add, like: How could you betray me like that? How could you go to the club when you know how I reacted the last time? And why would you break my heart like that?

  I was sobbing my eyes out when I collected his things and placed them in a pile on the bed.