A Hunter Within

by Anna Applegate

  “Well maybe I can do both. Or you could go with her?” I raised my voice suggestively. Vanessa had developed a crush on Henry that wasn’t a secret to anyone. We all knew it, even Henry.

  “Come on. Not going to happen.” I heard the annoyance in his voice and could picture his eye roll as clearly as if he was standing next to me.

  “Not with that attitude. What time is the concert?”

  “Eight,” he answered before adding, “How do I know more details than you when I’m just hearing about this?”

  Ignoring his jibe, I quickly answered. “Okay, come over at seven. I’ll make it work.” I hung up the phone before I could hear his reply.

  Maybe Seeley wouldn’t mind some extra company. Then again, if he didn’t call, at least I’d still have something to do like a normal twenty-four-year-old would on a Saturday night.

  ***

  “Jules, your phone is ringing!” Abbey shouted from the living room.

  I felt the butterflies in my stomach and quickly reminded myself that the chances of that phone call being someone other than Henry or my Aunt Amanda were slim to none. I gladly set my curling iron down. I was frustrated with it anyway. Lord knew I didn’t know how to use the thing without burning at least ten different areas of my body.

  As if reading my mind, I heard Abbey’s voice demanding from my doorway. “Put that down before you burn our apartment to the ground.” She giggled. I noticed her twirling my still ringing phone in her hand.

  I snatched it out of her grasp and saw a number I didn’t recognize on the screen. Hello, butterflies.

  “Hello, this is Jules,” I answered.

  “Hi, Parker,” Seeley’s voice sounded from the other side. “You sound so official answering your phone.”

  I nervously chuckled, trying to adjust the excitement in my voice. “Sorry.” I sat down on my bed and noticed Abbey’s head pop back in curiously. She must have caught my strangely eager tone.

  “How was the rest of your day?” he asked. His voice was playful. Oh gosh, maybe he could tell I was looking forward to his call.

  “Good, it was good.” Come on, Jules. Say something clever, I urged myself, but nothing was coming to me.

  “Would you still be interested in dinner this evening?” I could practically hear Seeley’s grin on the other end of the line as he spoke.

  “Actually, I had completely forgotten about a concert I was going to with some friends. Would you”—I paused, awkwardly clearing my throat—“maybe want to come?” I asked, looking away from the doorway, purely to avoid Abbey’s interested and prying glances.

  He paused and I twirled the edge of my shirt, wondering if I should give him an out instead. How long had it been since I scheduled a date with someone? Clearly, a long time since I couldn’t seem to pull myself together.

  I took a deep breath and smiled to try to sound more convincing and at ease. “No pressure. We can always reschedule if you’d prefer.”

  “A concert sounds great.”

  “Oh, good!” I said, shaking my head at how idiotic I’d become. Seriously, how many times could I use good in one conversation? “I’ll text you the address and you can meet us there, if that’s okay?”

  “Perfect. See you soon,” he said smoothly.

  I hung up and glanced over at Abbey who stood in the doorway with her arms folded over her chest.

  “Nessa!” she yelled down the hallway as she stalked into my room with a grin so wide she looked like a psychotic clown.

  Vanessa appeared with her hair in a towel moments later. “What? What’s wrong?” she said, looking around my room.

  “Jules, would you like to share with the group who that was?” She smiled, her fake anger used to signal Vanessa had turned to giddy excitement.

  I shrugged and answered as nonchalantly as I could. “Just, this guy I met.” It’s not like I could tell them he rescued me from a mental, escaped patient. That would sound insane, and this house clearly already had enough of that.

  Both of the girls squealed, and I winced at their overly excited reaction. Their girly cries snapped me back to my usual self, finally.

  “It’s really not that big of a deal,” I said, trying to calm them down.

  Vanessa clapped her hands together. “I don’t think I can remember the last time you had a date!”

  “Now I understand the curling iron,” Abbey said, looking thoughtfully toward my vanity. “Let me help you.”

  “No, really,” I protested but realized I was too late.

  “Shush. Let me have this,” she pleaded. “Remember, girl who just got dumped.” She pointed to herself. “Let me live through you tonight.”

  I waved my hand at my hair giving her permission as I rolled my eyes. “Well when you put it that way.”

  Abbey jumped up to grab her supplies and started working her magic.

  Henry showed up a little while later, and we all made our way toward the bar where the concert was being held.

  “Who are we seeing again?” Henry asked as we made our way from the street up to the bar. One thing I loved about this place was that we could easily walk everywhere.

  “The Weres,” Vanessa replied, smiling at Henry as she spoke.

  “What a dumb name.” He laughed.

  “I agree, but you can’t beat free.” She giggled and playfully nudged into his arm. I saw Henry and Abbey exchange a look as I tried to hide my own smile. We all loved Vanessa, but she tried so hard with Henry that sometimes, it hurt.

  As we approached the entrance, I saw Seeley standing with his hands in his jean pockets wearing a black leather jacket. His brown hair was casually styled, each strand perfectly messy like he’d ran his hand through his hair effortlessly once, and it just stayed there. He turned around, and I felt my breath catch in my throat—something that for the longest time I thought was just a ridiculous saying, but now, for the first time, I understood it was actually a thing.

  The sound of Abbey clearing her throat made me realize I had been staring tactlessly at him, and I glanced around to see that all eyes were on me, waiting for me to snap out of it. I had to force myself to swallow to remind myself to stay calm. There was no way someone who looked like that was really here to spend time with little, nerdy me.

  “Hello.” He smiled, letting his one glimmer of a dimple show.

  “Hi.” I smiled back, feeling my cheeks redden. “Seeley this is Vanessa, Henry, and Abbey. Guys, this is Seeley.”

  He shook each of their hands. Vanessa held it together well, but Abbey grinned and kept looking back and forth between us. Henry’s reception, however, was far from gracious. He flat out glared at Seeley, and I noticed that Seeley had a funny look about him when he shook Henry’s hand as well.

  Before I could overanalyze that, or even get a word in with my date, Abbey looped her arm through Seeley’s and walked up toward the entrance.

  “So, Seeley, how did you meet Jules?” she asked as I hurried to follow them. I opened my mouth to reply but figured I’d let him handle that one.

  Henry suddenly blocked my path, bringing me up short, and I frowned. He looking at me irritably. “Where did you meet him?” he asked. His whole demeanor had changed.

  “What’s wrong with you?” I whispered, trying to keep my voice quiet and not draw attention, surprised at the coolness from Henry. He was never one to act anything but friendly.

  “I’m going to catch up with the others.” Vanessa excused herself, sensing that we needed a moment.

  I turned back, annoyed at Henry’s attitude, and responded curtly. “He helped me with this drunk guy who was outside the library the other night.” This would have to do, since I hadn’t had a chance to fill Henry in on everything that had happened at Falcone, and really hadn’t been planning on it anymore.

  “Yeah, that sounds normal. Hanging around late at night, alone outside the library?” He huffed indignantly. “You need to be more careful.”

  “Okay, Dad.” I grimaced through my teeth. When the anger didn
’t leave his face, I crossed my arms and stared at him as sternly as I could. “Knock it off, Henry. I don’t know what your problem is, but you’re being ridiculous.”

  My words hung in the air as I brushed past him, furious at his response and warning. Who did he think he was?

  Two seconds later, he was back at my side, matching my quick pace.

  “Jules,” he said softly. I glanced over at him and saw his distress but kept walking. “Jules, I’m sorry. I just got a bad vibe from him. Something seems off.”

  I stopped walking and stared at Henry.

  “You’ve just met him. There’s no way you have a vibe. Are you going to be nice to my guest, or will I just have to go somewhere else for the evening? It’s up to you and your attitude,” I said, a bit more defensively than was probably needed.

  Henry sighed and ran his hands over his face. “You’re right. I apologize.”

  “Fine. Let’s go.” I turned and walked toward the entrance to meet the others.

  They were right inside the door, and the sight of Seeley laughing with Abbey and Vanessa when I walked in made me smile and push aside Henry’s outburst.

  “The girls said you were a beer drinker,” Seeley said, handing me a Blue Moon as I approached their table.

  “Thank you.” I smiled, accepting the drink.

  Henry joined us again, much more himself than he had been outside. The band wasn’t as bad as I thought they would be, and their songs were peppy enough to dance to after a few beers.

  The only time I ever danced was if Abbey made me, and sure enough, she dragged me out for a song or two so she wouldn’t be alone. I saw Seeley talking with Vanessa politely, and he held a warm smile for me every time we made eye contact. I watched him dip his head toward Vanessa at one point, and then he made his way toward us.

  My mouth felt dry as I watched him. His body moved past the sweaty mass of people that stood between us. I swear I saw a few girls stop dancing and watch him, with open mouths, once they saw him glide by. Who could blame them?

  “Be right back.” Abbey grasped my arm for a minute before holding up her phone and prancing away.

  “So, do you come here a lot?” Seeley shouted over the band’s loud music.

  “Not really. Only when the roommates drag me out.”

  As I answered him, I was bumped from behind by a rowdy dancer, and I stumbled, landing with my hands on Seeley’s chest as I steadied myself. I was hot from being in the crowd and dancing with Abbey, but I could feel goosebumps rising on my arms. An amazing kind of goosebumps that put me into the pages of the romance novels I had lived vicariously through. I shuddered in an anticipation I didn’t quite recognize.

  “Sorry.” I tried to laugh, but it came out way too nervously, and I was sure he noticed.

  I glanced up at him and could hear my breaths becoming more shallow. His eyes were on my lips but only briefly before he looked back to me. His hands came up to my arms, but neither of us made a move to put space between ourselves again.

  “I’m leaving.” Abbey’s voice rang out all of a sudden, and I jumped away, annoyed at the interruption. “Ryan wants to talk,” she whispered as she pulled me in to hug me goodbye.

  We followed her back to the table where Vanessa and Henry had stayed.

  “I put money on Ryan eating breakfast with us tomorrow,” Vanessa said to us as we watched Abbey run toward the door. She raised her arm up in a dramatic wave before she exited for good.

  “Would you like to get some air with me?” Seeley’s voice sounded in my ear as his hand pressed against my lower back. I nodded, and he pulled my chair back for me to stand.

  Ignoring the catcalls and nonsense coming out of a very drunk Vanessa, we made our way outside.

  “Thanks for inviting me. This was fun,” he said as we found ourselves in the much quieter evening outside of the bar.

  I eyed him curiously. “You sound surprised.”

  “This normally isn’t really my scene,” he admitted with a shrug.

  “Well, now you know it’s normally not mine either.” I laughed and realized I was way too overjoyed at the concept of sharing something in common with him.

  Seeley started to smile, but it was replaced by a frown as quickly as it had appeared. I followed his gaze to somewhere behind my back and saw Henry leaning up against the doorframe we had just come from with his arms folded across his chest.

  “Do you need something?” I asked, visibly annoyed at the uninvited audience.

  He shook his head ever so slightly. “Just checking on you,” he replied coolly.

  “Maybe I should head home,” Seeley said, uncomfortably.

  I shot Henry a look that I hoped relayed how disappointed I was in how he was acting. “I’m actually getting pretty tired. I’m going to head out, too.” I glared harder at Henry. “Tell Nessa I’ll see her at home.”

  Henry looked pissed off, but I didn’t care. I turned toward Seeley and then walked away with him beside me.

  “I’m sorry about him. He’s usually really laid back.” I felt embarrassed by Henry’s demeanor. Perhaps a group outing wasn’t the best idea.

  “It’s okay.” Seeley shrugged it off. “May I walk you home?” he asked. “Gives me an excuse to get to know you better, Jules Parker.” He smirked and glanced at me sideways.

  I couldn’t stop the grin that spread over my face, and despite the fact that I knew he could see, I didn’t care. I felt a shiver of excitement and folded my arms close to my body, realizing I’d left my coat back at the venue. Seeley noticed and shrugged his jacket off.

  “Oh, you don’t have to…” I trailed off.

  “It’s okay. I don’t mind the cold.” He placed his jacket around my shoulders.

  “I usually don’t either,” I grinned back as I slowly put my arms in. A comforting cinnamon scent enveloped me as much as the jacket was, and I pulled my shoulders closer together trying to relish it. I quickly glanced at him to see if he noticed, but he seemed to be walking in a comfortable silence at the moment. I took one more small inhale.

  “Any word from your brother?”

  His face darkened, and I knew what the answer was before he gave it. Still, he shook his head.

  “Are you worried?” I watched his face closely. He was good at guarding his emotions and seemed to notice my stare.

  He quickly brushed off the dark look and replaced it with something more casual but one that didn’t appear as real. “I’ll be worried if a few more days pass. For now I’m sure everything is fine,” he said in reassurance, as if I was the one who needed it. “How long have you been an intern for Falcone?”

  “Just a few weeks,” I replied, as my mind wandered back to everything that had been going on with work the past few weeks.

  Not noticing how far away I had just gone, Seeley went on. “Any particular reason you wanted to work for them?”

  I shook my head to return to the here and now and replied, “They are the number one pharmaceutical company in the country. I wanted to intern with the best to, hopefully, work for the best when I graduate. It’s all I’ve been focused on for years.” I frowned, thinking about the uneasy feeling I’d had there and the man from yesterday.

  “What kinds of things do you do for them?” he asked, not seeming to notice my struggle.

  I cleared my throat, trying to do something that would keep me grounded in this moment with Seeley instead of wandering around in the unusual happenings at Falcone. “Pretty boring stuff right now, actually. Just entering data into spreadsheets, filing paperwork, processing documentation for their clinical trials. I’m basically a glorified administrative assistant at the moment.” I smiled up at him.

  He chuckled, but it was a dry chuckle, one that alerted me that he was cautious even though he seemed to be enjoying his time with me. “Do you know anything about the man from yesterday?”

  “Honestly?” I asked, and he nodded. “No.”

  “How did he know who you were then?” he pressed, alarming me. />
  I stopped walking and looked at him suspiciously. “Why the twenty questions and sudden interest in my work?” I asked, hearing my voice hitch as I started to get twitchy with the inquisition. My heartbeat increased.

  Seeley paused with me and held his hands up, his gaze softening immediately when he saw my defenses going up. “I just haven’t seen anything like that before, which caused me concern. I apologize if I’m overstepping. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

  I frowned at him, or maybe I was partly frowning at myself. To be honest, I didn’t recognize this questioning side of myself, and I wasn’t sure I liked it. Still, at that moment, I couldn’t stop the process my brain had begun. It was only then I remembered something I’d pushed out of my mind, or perhaps I had been too scared to recognize it at the time. But Seeley had told me something the night he found the man with me, and now his comments were at the forefront of my mind.

  “Did you know him?” I asked in a low, firm tone as I stared deeply into those gorgeous blue eyes that never left my own.

  He was silent, but he didn’t look away from me. There was a proud set to his shoulders and a twinkle that had sparked in his eye as if he was surprised, but intrigued at the fact that I was now questioning him. Confused by the silence, I continued.

  “Why did you tell him you were tired of cleaning up his messes the night you saved me? What messes were you talking about?”

  I knew I was pestering him, but things were starting to seem even stranger to me, and I needed answers. He brought a hand up to massage his neck and replied in a very confident voice. “I just meant running into him threatening you twice.”

  His reply calmed me, but only slightly. “That’s pretty lucky you were there both times I was in trouble.”

  Seeley shrugged and then looked at me and offered his arm. “It really was, and I’m sorry for turning this into an interrogation. I didn’t mean it to come out that way. I was just genuinely curious, and it was bothering me.”

  I hesitated, but as he gazed at me, I felt a sense of calm and looped my arm through his. “In all honesty, there is a lot bothering me, too,” I said nervously. “I’m just not sure I’m able to talk about it yet.” I glanced over at him, and he nodded.