“What did you bring me into, Hunter?” I whispered as tears sprang to my eyes, feeling a sense of resounding hopelessness. I had my own secrets. I’d been evasive from the start with a few stumbles of guilt along the way, but we all had baggage. Maybe this time, I was strong enough, maybe love was…
The thought trailed off in my mind with a ruthless smile. Hunter and I weren’t even together and here I was making excuses for him, just like I’d promised to never do with any other man again. “Are you…is this your world?” I finally questioned, louder this time.
“No, God, no. I swear. You know my world. My world is the photos, the travel. It’s you and I.” He grabbed my hand and held it tightly. “John isn’t even my step-dad, not technically. He’s the one that looked out for me after my mom died. I even changed my last name because he insisted it would be easier, and I was so determined to leave the past behind, I did it. He’s all I had, so I’m thankful for him, but this life,” he waved a hand to the house, “it isn’t much better.”
“This life? I’m not even sure what we’re talking about.” The agitation in my voice rose another notch.
“I told you I was bullied. It only got worse after my mom died, and I found myself homeless. John saved me.” His hand tightened around mine then, and squeezed as if asking for silent patience, his eyes begging for understanding. He knew I’d seen the news reports, followed the local headlines like any other informed Chicagoan. “John has a lot of powerful friends. A lot of them.” Hunter’s eyes burned through me. “He kept me clothed and fed, a warm bed, but John doesn’t believe in favors, there’s always expectation attached.” His eyes flashed darker. “It took me years to learn that.”
I nodded, eyes downcast and watery. “Does he have power over you?” I said it softly, already knowing the answer.
“He does.” Hunter’s eyes averted, and I knew that’s where his secrets lay.
“Why did you bring me here?” I was suddenly anxious to leave this place that seemed to have a veil of deception disguised behind carefully manicured hedges.
“He’s been wanting to meet you.”
“Me? Why?” I asked, nothing short of shocked.
“He’s always been protective. John has a lot of power, but he would never lay a hand on anything I loved. He made that mistake once.” My breath felt chained in my lungs leaving me unable to swallow enough oxygen for my brain to function.
“Do you believe me?” he asked, his melodic baritone running through my ears and melting my limbs.
“Of course.” I nodded, unable to say a thing more, the lump still choking my throat. I didn’t have a choice. Here I sat in the backyard of John Ellis fucking Walker, and Hunter was asking if I trusted him? I’d tell him whatever he needed to hear as long as I thought it kept me safe.
Hunter squeezed my hand in the soft moonlight. I nodded, reassuring him.
“I swear to you, Erin, I’d move the fucking Earth if it meant keeping you out of danger. You know that, right?” His thumb and finger tightened on my chin and he ducked his head to catch my gaze.
I swallowed the softball in my esophagus when I realized his probing eyes were waiting on my answer. “Yes,” I said, not at all sure what I believed anymore.
“You’ve got my word.” His tongue darted across my lips and urged them apart, before he pressed my nape as he kissed me, slow and perfect, passionate and possessive. I kissed him back, as passionately as I always did, with extra knots of fear tying my stomach.
sixteen
I twisted my hands together in the back seat of the Lexus that rolled through the hurried Chicago streets. Golden lights splashed by the window as happy couples filtered in and out of restaurants and bars.
“I’ve just got to drop something off with a guy at a bar. He usually has a lady friend with him. We’ll have a drink, and you’ll be your normal charming self.” He tapped my chin. “Then we’ll be off to dinner.” His hand pressed at my knee. I squirmed in my seat, worrying my lip between my teeth, my mind flying with possibilities. I should be jumping out of this car. I should insist he bring me home and throw away my number. At the very least I should tell him the job wasn’t what I expected and I couldn’t accompany him tonight, or any night, ever again.
What was Hunter thinking introducing me to John Ellis Walker?
My mother’s warnings burned in my ears. No good. He’s no good.
Why had I foolishly ignored every red flag and allowed myself to fall for his devilish smile and the captivating click-click of his camera?
“Smile,” Hunter’s deep voice ordered and my eyes fluttered open just as Hunter stepped from the Lexus onto a crowded street, pulling me behind him.
“Sir.” The doorman nodded to Hunter when we approached. “Follow me.” He whisked ahead of us, up a flight of stairs and down a dark red carpeted hallway before showing us into a private room that overlooked the bar below.
“Hunter!” A voice boomed from a dark corner and I saw a well-dressed man in a tux, a glittering blonde at his side, easily twenty years his junior with plumped lips and a faux tan greet us.
“Have a seat.” The man patted Hunter on the shoulder.
“Great seeing you again, we can’t stay long.” Hunter’s hand pressed firmly at my waist. Confusion coiled my stomach. He was being possessive. I shouldn’t have liked it. I still didn’t know why I was teetering in these too-tall heels at his side, but I more than liked it. I loved it.
“Lovely to meet you.” I shook the imposing man’s hand when I was introduced. He was tall and had the look of a starved tiger in his eye, his gaze hungry for prey. It made the hairs on the back of my neck raise just as they had earlier tonight when I’d met John Ellis Walker.
“If you ladies talk for a minute, this guy and I have some business to take care of.” The man wrapped an arm around Hunter’s shoulders and hauled him out of the room.
“Been with Hunter long?” the bimbo purred as she sipped her fruity drink and looked out over the balcony.
“We’re not really together. I’m his PA actually.” I nodded to the waiter that stepped into the room. “Martini dry,” I requested and then turned back to the bustling crowd below. A line had wrapped around the block, and yet Hunter had skipped it and we’d been lead to the VIP lounge on the top floor. This was shady. All of it. Hunter had connections, almost as powerful as John Ellis Walker’s, I was sure of it.
“What would Hunter need a PA for?” the woman pressed.
“Excuse me, how do you know Hunter?” I asked, my nerves already on edge.
“Who doesn’t know Hunter?” the chick huffed and then downed her drink. “Where’s that waiter? VIP is open bar, and I know they try to drag their feet so I get fewer drinks.” She rambled on and I tuned out, my thoughts turning to Hunter and the man he’d left with. What could he have to drop off with this guy? And where had they gone—the bathroom for a drug deal? Or maybe I was over-reacting and it was something simpler, like a contract or check.
“Martini dry.” The waiter nodded to me before blondie cut in and rattled off her order. I sighed and took my drink just as Hunter returned, his eyes seeking me out almost immediately. Like a homing missile, he took confident strides directly to me before wrapping me around his torso. “Ready to go?” he whispered into my hair sending shivers burning through my body.
I only nodded, unable to form any words.
“You’re leaving; I’ll take that.” She swiped the drink from my hand and was taking a sip before I could even protest.