by Nicole Fox
“No.”
He hung his head. “Then I’ll talk fast and hope you hear me out. I’m a hit man. I was hired by your ex-husband to kill you and take Opal to him.”
Her breathing sped as his words hit her. Each one was a fresh slap in the face, a new wave of pain.
“He claimed you were abusing Opal, that you yelled at her all the time and hit her. He made you sound like a monster, but the very first time I met you, I doubted that what he said was true. I had to get to know you. There was no way I was going to kill you or take Opal to him if I couldn’t be sure his claim was correct. And the more I got to know you both and spent time with you, the more certain I became that there was absolutely no way you’d ever hurt Opal.”
She didn’t want to keep listening. She wanted to take out all her rage and agony on him right now. On this man who had lied to her. But he was talking fast, as he had said he would. And she couldn’t help but listen to him.
“It took no time at all for me to start having feelings for you. When I knew that you weren’t the one hurting Opal, it meant that Jeremy was. So then, I went from finding a way to kill you and take Opal to finding a way to keep you safe, and keep you both from him. He called me tonight. He thought he had me, because he hired someone to follow me. There’s been a black van lurking around. He—”
“I’ve seen it,” she said. “It followed me tonight when I got Opal out of here. I managed to lose it.”
“Good girl,” he said.
“Don’t call me that.” She hit him again with the gun.
He groaned. “Easy. I didn’t mean it as an insult. It’s hard to lose a tail. I’m genuinely impressed. After Jeremy called me to tell me he knew that we had been out, he threatened to kill me, too. So, I lied. I told him it was all a ruse to get close to you to get more information in case you ran. I convinced him that I was still working for him, on his side. Then I came right here to find you and make sure you were safe. I didn’t see your car, but I thought maybe you left a clue as to where you had gone. I had nothing else to go by. I didn’t know where you might go, so I came in to look around. And that’s when you put a gun to my head.”
“So, that black van isn’t with you? Jeremy’s other men aren’t working with you?”
“No. They’re trying to kill me, just like they’re trying to kill you. Is Opal safe?”
“Yes. That van is back. It’s sitting out front.”
Hunter cursed under his breath. “So they’re here. I don’t know who Jeremy hired to come after us, but I can tell you this. No one is as ruthless as me. I will protect you with my life, and I will make sure Jeremy never touches Opal again.”
“Why would you do that? You don’t even know us. You owe us nothing. And I’m sure Jeremy paid you plenty to do your job.”
“He did. But I only kill people who deserve it. And I don’t kill women. It took a lot of convincing for me to take this job, and I was suspicious of him from the start. Rightly so, apparently. He was full of nothing but lies. He didn’t know it, but he’s paid me to protect you instead of kill you. And I’ll take him out.”
“You’d… kill him?”
“Of course.”
“Why?”
Hunter laughed. “Are you kidding me? Baby, come on. Because he’s a horrible man and a liar. He’s hurt you and Opal and hired someone to kill you. He’s not going to stop. Nothing will stop him until you’re dead. Or until he is. So it’s that simple. I want to protect you, so I have to kill him.”
Her hand shook as she kept the gun pressed to him. It was starting to feel less necessary, but she couldn’t bring herself to move it away. Not yet. “How do I know I can trust you? How do I know you weren’t the one to tell Jeremy where I was?”
“You were alone with me for hours, and I didn’t kill you.”
“But maybe what you told Jeremy was true. You just wanted to get more information.”
“It’s not,” he said. “What other information would I possibly need? I know where you are, I know how to contact you. I could have killed you at any time. I could have waited outside the pub and attacked you. I could have poisoned you in the pub. I could have run you off the road as we drove here. I could have strangled you or stabbed you or shot you, or done any number of things when we were alone in your apartment. Like we are now. But I held you and kissed you instead.”
“Maybe you were getting me to trust you.”
“Do you?”
“No.” Though some of her trust was beginning to return, she didn’t want to admit it yet. He needed to earn it back.
“Well, there’s nothing else I can say except trust is just that. Trust. You have to believe I’m not going to harm you. Believe I only want to protect you and Opal. And then you’ll see that you’re right. What do you have to lose?”
“Umm, hello? My life, my daughter. Only my everything.”
He sighed. “I mean, I’m here now. Jeremy knows where you are. He has other men after you and after me. The odds are severely against you. You’ve got to trust someone if you’re going to get any help from anyone.”
She dropped the gun to her side. He had said almost the exact thing Mari had said. She had trusted Mari and that had turned out okay. Or had it? Her gut wrenched suddenly. What if Mari was in on it somehow? What if she was taking Opal to Jeremy this very moment?
She raised the gun again, but put it at his shoulder instead of his head. “I can’t trust anyone,” she whispered in a shaky voice.
“Okay then. I guess you’re on your own. Good luck to you.” He lifted his hands in the air and stood still.
Tears flowed down her cheeks. He spun suddenly, so he was facing her. She didn’t even react. Her mind was reeling with the possibility that she had given Opal over to the enemy. She finally set the gun down and put her hands to her face to let the sobs out.
Hunter’s strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her close. He was right. She didn’t have much choice but to trust him. To hope he wasn’t fooling her and still working for Jeremy. He kissed the top of her head.
“It’s going to be okay,” he said.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Once, twice. She didn’t want to see who was calling. It had to be Jeremy. But she could only ignore it for so long. She pulled it out and gasped when she saw Mari’s name.
“Hello?”
“Hi Mommy,” Opal said.
“Hi baby. What are you doing?”
“Miss Snyder took me on an adventure. We’re at her special house. It’s so neat here, Mommy! It used to be a farm and there are still horses outside!”
“That sounds great, baby. Is Miss Snyder there?”
“Yup.”
There was a muffling sound and then Mari was there. “I hope it was okay to call. She seemed a little unsure when I brought her here and I thought it might do you both good to hear each other’s voices.”
“Yes.” Vanessa let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
“No problem. You okay?”
“Yes. Hunter is with me. He’ll protect me.”
He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed in confirmation.
“You still have the address memorized?” Mari asked.
“Yes.”
“Okay then. Have a good night.”
Mari ended the call and, with a shaky hand and a renewed sense of trust in her friend, Vanessa put the phone back in her pocket.
Hunter hugged her again. “Let’s get you to bed. There’s nothing more we can do tonight, and we know that Opal is safe.”
“How can I possibly sleep?”
“I’ll stay up to keep watch. Once you lie down, you’ll realize how exhausted you are.”
# # #
Hunter took her hand and led her to the bedroom.
“I need a moment to change,” she said.
He waited outside the room, checking his gun and making sure he had plenty of ammo. Who knew how many guys Jeremy had. She called him in, and he found her already in bed, covers pulled to her chest.
“I’ll be right here.” He bent down to kiss her goodnight, then switched the lamp on the bedside table out.
She closed her eyes and after a while, she drifted off, as he thought she would. He knew enough about dealing with an adrenaline rush and high-stress situations to know that once you started to come out of it, you crashed hard.
But now that she was asleep, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. The covers had shifted some and more of her body was exposed. Her thin nightgown didn’t cover much. He could make out the lines of her round breasts and pointed nipples. He felt himself stiffen looking at her. He could sit and watch her for hours. And for half of the night, he did.
Hours later, she stirred. She twitched suddenly, then sat up. “Opal?” she mumbled.
He moved to her side. “She’s safe.”
She rubbed at her eyes. “Hunter?”
“It’s me. You’re safe. Opal’s safe. Go back to sleep.”
“But, I had a terrible dream.” She sunk back into the bed, but her eyes were wide open. “I dreamed that he had her, and then he was coming for me.” She squeezed her eyes shut and shivered. “Hunter?”
“Yes?”
“Will you come lie beside me?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I don’t want to feel alone. I feel safe when you’re near me.”
He kicked off his shoes and stepped out of his jeans before sliding under the covers beside her. Facing her, he pulled her in close.
She nuzzled into his chest and sighed. “This is much better. I don’t feel so afraid with you this close.”
He stroked her hair and hoped she would relax enough to forget her nightmare and fall back asleep. If she was tired, it would make everything harder for her tomorrow. Who knew what the next 24 hours would bring.
She raised her face to him and kissed him. He didn’t want to stop kissing her. Having her so close and having so little clothing between them was almost more than he could handle. As he kissed her more deeply, he let his fingers trail down to her breasts.
When he reached her nipples, he tentatively ran his thumb over the hard point. She sucked in a breath, but didn’t pull away. She pressed herself closer to him, an invitation to do more. He moved his hand farther down her body, feeling just how slim and toned she was.
His fingers reached the edge of her panties and dipped over the edge, teasing the bottom of her stomach. She let out a soft moan. He reached down farther and parted her lower lips with his fingers, sliding his finger along her clit where she was already wet.
She let out another shaky moan and pressed her hips into his hand. He pressed a finger inside her slowly and slid it back out. She breathed into his ear, and the sensation gave him chills.
He pushed her panties down to her ankles and used his foot to push them off of her. Then he gently rolled her onto her back, so he could reach her better. One hand found her nipples while the other made slow circles over her clit.
She moved with him and moaned in pleasure. He sped up, pressing harder and slipping a finger inside her. She moved her hips faster and gripped his shoulder. He fingered her harder and faster until she cried out in pleasure, then lay still, panting.
He kissed along her neck. “That should help you get back to sleep.”
She murmured appreciatively and snuggled in closer to him. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” he said, grinning.
She drifted back to sleep after a time. As he lay there with her warm body pressed against him, he felt a warmth in his chest that he rarely felt. This could be bad. If he got too tangled up in emotions for her now, it would make his job harder. He had to be able to focus to keep them safe.
He could fall for her later. Right now, he had to keep her and Opal safe and far away from Jeremy.
Chapter Eleven
Hunter
A knock on the door had Hunter sitting up straight. He cursed at himself for falling asleep and being startled like that. He slid out of the bed, which woke Vanessa. When she realized what was happening, she sat up and jumped out of bed, a frightened look on her face.
He picked up his pants and took out his gun, then loaded a bullet into the chamber. He nodded toward the door, indicating Vanessa should go and see who it was.
She pulled on a robe and walked toward the door, Hunter only steps behind her, his gun drawn and ready. The knock came again.
“Vanessa Powers?” a man’s voice called through the door.
Hunter whispered, “Do you recognize the voice?”
She shook her head. “Who is it?”
“Nicholas Johnson. I’m from Child Protective Services. I’ve received a call.”
She put her hand to her mouth and looked back at Hunter. He lowered his weapon.
“Ask for his ID,” he said.
She unlocked the door, but didn’t slid open the chain. With the door open a crack, she looked out at the man. “Do you have ID?”
He held up a plastic name badge with his photo, name, and an employee number. It said Child Protective Services across the bottom.
She looked to Hunter again, asking what to do with her expression. He nodded and placed his gun in the back of his pants in easy reach. Who knew if this guy was for real, but if he was, greeting him with the muzzle of his gun wasn’t the best impression.
Vanessa slid off the chain to open the door all the way. Nicholas stepped inside and she closed and relocked the door.
“What’s this about?” she asked.
“Sorry to disturb you this morning. We’ve had a call about your daughter, Opal Powers. I’ve been sent to investigate the whereabouts of the child.”
Vanessa stared at him in shocked silence.
“And who placed this call?” Hunter asked.
“I’m sorry, and you are?” Nicholas asked.
“A concerned party,” Hunter said. “Let me see that ID again.”
Nicholas handed it over, and Hunter took a moment to inspect it. It looked legit as far as he could tell. There was a number on the card, but he didn’t trust that.
“Just wait here a moment,” Hunter said. He went to the bedroom and got his phone, then returned. He looked up the number for CPS, saw that it matched the one listed on his ID, and called. There was a menu option to verify a social worker. He entered the number on the ID, and it read back Nicholas’s name. So that lowlife Jeremy really had called CPS on Vanessa.
Hunter handed back his ID. “Sorry about that. You have to understand we’ve been in quite a stressful and dangerous situation recently. We have to take every precaution necessary.”
Better to come right out and talk about the details of the abuse and how Jeremy was after them than to let Nicholas question it out of them. He needed to understand very quickly that Vanessa was not responsible for any harm to Opal. And he needed to know just how bad of a father and husband Jeremy had been.
“And it was the father, Jeremy Powers, who called you?” Hunter asked.
“I’m not allowed to disclose that information,” Nicholas said.
“It had to be him, because he’s the one responsible for harming Opal, and he’s the one who’s after Vanessa to get his daughter back, when she had to flee from him to keep Opal safe.”
“I see,” Nicholas said. He turned to Vanessa. “Are you Vanessa Powers?”
“Yes,” she said in a soft whisper. Her face had gone pale.
Hunter moved closer and took her hand. She squeezed back and he could feel her shaking. “Come, sit down,” he said to her.
She took a few steps to the sofa and sat.
Nicholas stood in front of her. “I have some questions to ask you.”
“Okay,” she said.
“I’ll be recording this conversation.” Nicholas showed her a small recorder that was in his pocket.
She nodded again and he took out a clipboard to get started.
# # #
Vanessa stared at the back of Nicholas’s clipboard, trying not to let her eyes fill with tears. She should have expe
cted this. Really, she was surprised Jeremy hadn’t resorted to this move years ago. But now that it was happening, she felt numb with fear. If these people didn’t believe her, they would take Opal. And there was nothing she could do to stop a government agency. She might lose Opal forever if they believed Jeremy over her.
“First of all, Vanessa, where is Opal?” Nicholas asked.
“She’s away right now. A little vacation with her teacher.”
