Hunter's Mark (Copper Creek Book 4)

by Wendy Smith

  “I believe her. I have to.”

  Letting go of my arm, he nods. “I understand. The intel we got said her parents were being threatened. Maybe that’s her motivation. Whatever it is, I’m sorry.”

  I nod, but I’m hollow. There’s nothing left of me without Constance. She’s at the very core of my being. The one person who’s all mine.

  Was.

  There’s no way I can rest until I get to the bottom of this.

  25

  Corey

  Adam.

  I need to talk to Adam.

  He’s always been the brother who understood me best. Our falling out all those years ago pained me more than I ever let on, and then I was so angry that he walked away and didn’t come back when Lily was found that I never bothered to go looking for him.

  Now, I need him.

  I pull up to the gate. Lucky runs up and watches as I unlatch. He wags his tail as if he’s hugely excited to see me. This dog is the canine equivalent of Max.

  Lily’s standing in the kitchen when I get there.

  “Is Adam here?”

  Lily shakes her head. “He’s over at Owen’s. Ginny had some more problems with her car.”

  “Again? She needs a new one.”

  “I think that’s what Adam’s telling Owen.” She smiles. “Can I help?”

  “I don’t know. I wanted to talk to Adam.”

  It’s as if she senses my agitation. Her eyebrows knit, and her eyes fill with concern. “How about I make a coffee? Go and sit in the living room. I’ll be there in a minute.”

  I nod. “Sure.”

  Fidgeting as I look around the room, I realise what, or rather who, is missing. “Where’s Rose?”

  Lily grabs two mugs out of the cupboard. “She’s fast asleep. We had a big morning at the park, and she’s got molars coming through so she’s not sleeping too well at night. I wore her out just so she could have a nap.” She gives me a smile, but I can still see how worried she is about me.

  I leave her in the kitchen and sit on the couch. My mind is going at a million miles a minute thinking about what Graham said. All I want is the truth.

  Why did she leave?

  I’m lost in my thoughts when Lily waves a cup of coffee under my nose. I smile, and she places it on the coffee table.

  Sitting beside me, she takes a sip of her coffee. “Now, what’s wrong?”

  “She left me, Lily. She’s gone back to her old life. Including the getting married part.”

  Lily’s mouth falls open. She shifts her coffee to the table, and wraps her arms around my neck.

  My whole life I’ve been the tough one. I’ve given people shit, without caring, especially when it comes to protecting my family.

  But right now, my heart is broken, and the tears in my eyes are something new. I embrace them because this is the only way I can express myself. Even when Adam returned and Lily went back to him it didn’t hurt this much.

  “I’m so sorry, Corey. I don’t get it. She’s so in love with you.”

  I lick my dry lips. “Yeah, well, maybe she’s not. I feel like shit, Lil. She told me she loved me before I left for work, and I never said it back.”

  “None of this makes sense.”

  “For days I was in the bush, thinking that was the most important thing to do when I got back. Tell her how I really felt. And now …”

  I choke back the tears, and she grips me tighter. “I don’t have any of the answers, but you know we’re here for you. I wish I could talk to her and find out what’s going on.”

  “You’re not going anywhere near that place.”

  She shivers. “I wouldn’t want to.”

  “Damn it. I just want to know why.” Tears roll down my cheeks. Constance leaving has cut me to the core, and I have no idea how to recover from this. The thought of her marrying and sharing a bed with a man she barely knows makes my stomach roll. It makes no sense. She was scared because he was abusive. I want to kill him if he so much touches a hair on her head.

  Lily lets go, raising her head to look at me. Tears are in her eyes, too. I know her well enough to know how much she feels. Seeing me like this is probably confusing.

  “Do you want to stay for the night? Adam will be home soon, and you two can talk. We can have a family dinner.”

  I shake my head. “Maybe I should be at home. Just in case she comes back.”

  Lily sighs. “I can’t even tell you how sad this makes me. She seemed really lovely.”

  “She is. I’ve never met anyone who pissed me off and made me want them all at the same time.”

  She laughs. “You two were really happy together. I just don’t understand.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  “If you’re going to go home, I’ll talk to Adam. I’m sure he’ll want to come and see you.”

  “I’d really appreciate it. I’m not sure how we all coped without him here.”

  Her face lights up. “It seems so long ago. But he’s where he belongs now. I was sure Constance was, too.”

  “What am I going to do?”

  “Oh, Corey, I don’t know. It takes a long time to mend a broken heart. If it ever mends at all.”

  “Yours never did, did it?”

  She shakes her head. “Not until Adam came back. And then, I was so scared. I thought if I took my eyes off him for even a second, he’d disappear.”

  “I hope you know now that there’s no chance of that.”

  She gets this faraway look in her eyes. “We’re really getting married this time. It feels like an eternity since we tried all those years ago.” Her eyes turn sad. “I’m so heartbroken for you over Constance. You were in deep.”

  “It hurts so much.”

  She nods. “I know it does. I’ll miss her. I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with her, but I really liked her.” She lets out a sigh. “I thought we were friends. Maybe she just needed to be back there, surrounded by people she knows well.”

  I nod. That’s the hard part about living somewhere remote. It never even occurred to me that Constance would need more than just me.

  I just don’t know what to do.

  It’s dark when I find my way to the gap in the fence.

  I’ve got no idea where I’m going, or where she is, but I’ll turn this whole place upside down if I have to.

  I need to know why.

  Constance talked about walking through the maize field, and that’s what I hit. I’m hidden here, and no one can see me. In the distance I can see lights, and at least I know which direction to go in.

  The ground is soft beneath my feet, and I can’t imagine what it was like for her that night, struggling in the weather all the way to the fence. I already know she’s brave, but this sheds a whole new light on her fight to get out.

  So why has she gone back?

  All I can think is that she’s returned to make sure her parents are safe. It’s the only thing that makes sense.

  Except for Graham’s theory.

  I don’t even want to think about that.

  “Graham thought you might be stupid enough to try this.”

  I hear the voice when I reach the edge of the maize. Someone’s approaching in the dark. Someone who knows about me, and about Graham.

  “Kane,” I say.

  As he reaches me, he pulls me back into the field, and flicks on his torch.

  I recognise him from the day he turned up on my doorstep with Hayley. He’s shorter than me, but the look he gives me is enough to make me raise my eyebrows. The guy’s got balls.

  “You need to turn around and go home,” he says.

  “No.” I glower at him. He’s not going to stand in my way.

  “I’m trying to get close enough to talk to Constance. She’s in the main house, and Ash has locked down access there since we got Hayley out.”

  I swallow. “She’s with him?”

  “I’ve seen them together. She’s very hard to read, but she doesn’t seem to be there under duress.”


  My heart aches. I teased her once about not being able to play poker. Every expression shows on her face. So if he can’t see she’s unhappy, maybe that means …

  “Promise me that you’ll make sure she’s okay,” I say.

  He nods. “I will. The information she gave us was invaluable, and I’m sure Jared’s disappearance has something to do with it. I’m so close. I’ll protect Constance and her parents as much as I can.”

  I hesitate. I raise my right hand, and stab his chest with my index finger. “Do not screw this up. If anything happens to her, I’ll hold you personally responsible.”

  He nods. “All I want is to solve this thing and get out of here.”

  Fisting my hands, I bite down the urge to ask why he hasn’t already done it. I knew their investigation would take a long time, but the longer this drags out, the longer I may have to wait for answers.

  “Go home, Corey. You’re no good to her here. Ash has the house tightly guarded. I’ll get a message back through Graham when I know more. Okay?”

  I look toward the lights in the distance. That house is there, and Constance is in it.

  I need to know what happened.

  I need her.

  But I nod, and turn back.

  As I reach the fence again, I pause. She’s in there somewhere with answers for me.

  But do I want to hear them?

  26

  Owen

  “Owen, stop pacing. Come over here.” Ginny pats the side of the bed, and reluctantly, I do as she tells me. Pacing helped with my tension.

  “I just wish they’d hurry up.”

  She looks at me with all that love, and I realise I don’t need to pace. “They’ll be here soon, and I’ll be fine. You heard the doctor. It’s straightforward.”

  I nod. “I know. I’ll just be glad when it’s all over.” Reaching for her face, I cup her chin. “Then I get to take my girl home and pamper her.”

  “Right now, your girl needs to go to the toilet, so get out of the way.”

  I take her hand and help her off the hospital bed. Why they always seem so damn high, I’ll never know.

  She shuffles from the bed toward the bathroom.

  “Hey, Gin.”

  “Yes?” She turns as she reaches the door.

  “Do you think you could bring home the hospital gown?”

  She frowns. “What for?”

  “Because I could watch your naked arse for hours.”

  Her mouth drops open, and she turns her head to check. When I meet her gaze, amusement is written all over her face.

  “My bum is not on display.” She laughs.

  “Made you look.”

  As the door closes, I sigh. Making her laugh is important to me. I love seeing her eyes sparkle, and her cheeks flush pink.

  I love her so much.

  Today is important in so many ways. It’ll give us both hope, and whether that turns into something beautiful or not, we’ll always have that.

  All I want is for Ginny to get pregnant and carry our child to term. It’s not too much to ask. Surely.

  And I want it for her sake. While I want to hold our baby in my arms, it’ll be so good for her to have this happen. We grow closer all the time, but every now and then she stops and stares into the distance, this wistful expression on her face. I can’t wipe it away, no matter how much I joke or tease.

  I want in.

  The door opens, and she does a little wiggle, holding her hands behind her back like she’s covering her bum.

  All I can do is laugh. “You are the most beautiful woman I think I’ve ever seen.”

  “Would I be even with my arse hanging out?”

  I waggle my eyebrows. “Especially then.” Grasping her hands in mine, I squeeze them. “I hope they get this over with soon.”

  “So do I. I’m starving,” she says.

  “If you’re a good girl, I’ll bring you a cheeseburger for dinner.”

  The door opens, and a smiling Dion Philips enters the room with Drew.

  “Hey, Gin.” Drew grins.

  Ginny drops my hand and turns toward Drew. He kisses her on the cheek. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she says.

  “Me too. I can’t be in the surgery, but I can take care of this one for you. Hayley’s looking forward to seeing you both.”

  Dion nudges Drew’s arm. “I’ve told Drew that if it goes well, I’ll release you into his care for the night.”

  Ginny smiles. “We were just talking about that.”

  “You’ll get the very best of care,” Drew says.

  “I’ll just be glad when it’s all over,” she says. She’s putting up a brave front, but I can see a little fear in her eyes.

  He nods. “I bet. You’ll be fine, Ginny. It’s my pleasure to have you guys with us tonight.”

  “Thank you.” She beams me a smile.

  She’s so damn happy to be having this surgery.

  I hope this works.

  Drew gets paged almost as soon as Ginny goes into theatre, and he doesn’t come back for almost an hour.

  “Hey.” Drew grips my shoulder as he sits beside me.

  “Hi.”

  “Sorry I had to go. Babies never stick to a damn timetable.”

  I laugh, despite my anxiety. “I’m just glad you’re here now.”

  “Are you doing okay?”

  I swallow hard, and close my eyes for a moment. “I had a bit of a realisation.”

  “What’s that?”

  “So, this whole thing. I want to make Ginny happy, and Ginny wants a baby.”

  “Okay.”

  “I hadn’t actually thought about how much I want that, too.” I turn my head to see my brother with a reassuring smile on his face.

  “It’s about time you realised that,” he says.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You need this as much as she does. It’s not like you had the chance to be there for Ava when she was a newborn. If you and Ginny work through this and it happens for you, you two get to do it together.” He leans back. “And I can tell you now, there’s nothing better on this planet.”

  “That good, huh?”

  “Hayley and I grew closer when we had the twins. We bonded with them, and as a family. You guys already have a head start on that with Ava. Sharing this with her and Ginny will just bring you all closer.”

  I sigh. “I miss having Ava here.”

  “She would have hated sitting around the hospital, dude.”

  “I know.”

  Drew grabs my arm. “Want a coffee? I’ll go get us one while we wait.”

  “That’d be great.”

  I look up to see Ginny’s doctor walking toward us.

  “Owen. Drew.” He nods.

  “How did it go?” I ask.

  “It went well. She’s just in recovery now, but she’ll be brought in shortly.”

  “What happened?” Drew asks. I nod toward him as if asking the question too.

  “Confirmed as endometriosis, and the removal of it was clean. It certainly isn’t the worst case I’ve seen, but I can see why she’d have had pain and discomfort.”

  Drew nods.

  “You know I can’t make any promises, Owen, but if you and Ginny have any chance of having a baby, now’s the time to try. After she recovers of course.” The doctor grips my shoulder. The way he speaks to me makes me grateful he’s a friend of Drew. At least I know he’ll talk to us in plain English.

  “Thank you for giving us hope,” I say.

  Drew throws his arm around my shoulders. “Our girl will be here in a minute, and once this guy clears her, we can take her back to my place. Just pamper her for the next couple of weeks.”

  “I pamper her all the time.”

  He leans his head against mine. “I know you do, bud. Just watch Ava doesn’t jump all over her.”

  I nod. “She’ll be so excited to see us when we get home.”

  “She sure will.”

  I extend a hand to Doctor Phillips. “
Thanks, doc.”

  “You’re welcome. I’ll come back and see Ginny in a little while. In the meantime, hold tight.”

  “I’ll grab that coffee,” Drew says.

  I nod, and sit down, letting out a loud breath. It sounds good. Please let this work.

  Burying my face in my hands, I don’t notice Drew’s returned until he nudges my arm. I look up, and he hands me a takeaway cup.

  “Here you go. You okay?”

  I take the cup. “Nervous, but holding it together.”

  “When Hayley had that emergency caesarean, I was terrified. I mean, I was right there while she was having the surgery, and I could see how well it was going, but …” He takes a sip of his coffee. “It’s still scary.”

  “She’s my whole life, you know?”

  Drew nods. “I know. Believe me, I know.” He grips my shoulder, and I meet his gaze. I’m so glad I have him with me.

  Drew knocks my knee with his. “Now, drink up before it gets cold. I’m sure it won’t be much longer.”

  I get down half of my coffee when they wheel Ginny back into her room.

  Her eyes are closed, but I place the cup on the bedside cabinet and sit on the bed beside her anyway. I smile as those green eyes open, and I’m lost in all the love I have for Ginny.

  I lean over and plant a lingering kiss on her forehead.

  “Hey,” she whispers.

  “Hey. How are you feeling?”

  “Pretty rough.” Her eyes are still so hazy. “But not as sore as I thought I would be.”

  “We’ll make sure you have plenty of pain relief,” Drew says.

  She shifts her gaze to him. “Thank you so much for everything. We owe you and Hayley big time.”

  He sits on the other side of the bed. “I hope it’s successful. That’s all the reward I want.”

  Ginny tears up, and he leans over to give her a hug.

  “I’ll do whatever I can to help you two get what you want. We won’t give up, Ginny.”

  Ginny’s cleared to leave by early evening, and Drew goes ahead of us to his place.

  As I’m driving, she closes her eyes. “I’m so glad that’s over.”