by C C Simeon
“You are sick in the head.” Amelia’s nostrils were flaring and she clenched her fists tightly.
“Now, now, no need to be hurtful.”
“What are you doing here?” Amelia didn’t appreciate his invasion of her privacy. Not in her own home, and definitely not when she was out with her friend. “And don’t give me a lame-ass answer this time.”
“How is your boss doing, Amelia? Have you screwed him yet?”
“Excuse me? How dare you?”
“How dare I? Don’t act all innocent. I know you want him. Honestly, who wouldn’t? He’s a good-looking guy.” Hilton shrugged and rubbed his jaw with his thumb and index finger. “Not as handsome as me, but I mean, he’s the next best thing.”
“Don’t follow me,” Amelia hissed.
“Dear Amelia, I don’t think you’re in any position to tell me what to do. In fact, the roles are reversed. If I told you that you have to go in there and shoot the bartender, you would.” Hilton gave her a cold smile. “You know why? Because I know every single one of your secrets.”
Amelia wanted to cry. He was right. No matter how bad she wanted to fight him, he was always going to win, because he knew everything. “What do you want, Hilton.”
“I want progress,” was all he said.
“He hasn’t been at work for a few days. He called in sick and hasn’t been answering his cell phone.”
“Pity.” Hilton clicked his tongue in fake sympathy. “I’d get a hold of him if I were you. Who knows how much time you have to seduce him?”
“When does this end, Hilton? Where do you draw the line?”
Hilton stepped forward, a flash of madness in his eyes. Amelia took a step back, then another, then another until her back hit the wall. Hilton was in front of her, holding her jaw in his hand. His fingers dug into her flesh.
“It ends when I say it ends. It ends when I am satisfied with the ending. That is when you get your freedom, and only then will I leave you alone. I am watching every move, Amelia. I am making every move. Don’t you dare go soft on me. You agreed to do this and it’s taken you years to get this far. Don’t let it go to waste now; I won’t be patient enough to wait another couple of years.”
“You’re hurting me,” Amelia breathed, her eyes stinging.
“Just imagine what I will do to you if you fail,” Hilton said with a malicious grin. It made the hair on the back of Amelia’s neck stand on end. It was the usual sensation around Hilton, but this time it was much more intense. Amelia swallowed and Hilton let go of her jaw. She instinctively went to rub it.
“I’m not afraid of casualties to get what I want, Amelia. Don’t test me. Aunt Helena is first on that list, and then it’s that gorgeous friend of yours.” Hilton pressed his lips into a thin line. “On second thought, maybe I’ll start with your friend. You seem to care an awful lot about her. I’d hate it if she were to end up in a ditch somewhere.”
Chapter 16: Reflections
The kitchen floor in Amelia’s home was cold, especially since winter was around the corner.
Quinton and Kevin had made themselves comfortable on the tile next to her, one on each side, with a head on each of her thighs. She absentmindedly stroked their fur, receiving a scratch from a paw whenever she stopped petting. They were two demanding little dudes, and Amelia loved them for it. They were there to comfort her when she was down, there for her when no one else was. They knew more about her past than anyone else did. They had been rescued by her in that very past. When she had done awful things, they had been there to witness it. They still loved her, though. At least she had them to show for her past. There was nothing else but misfortune and misery.
Amelia rested her head against a kitchen cabinet and it made a hollow sound when she connected with the wood. She hardly had anything in those cupboards, only the bare essentials that she could leave behind if everything hit the fan.
She closed her eyes and wondered where things had gone wrong for her. She supposed it had started with her messed-up parents. She didn’t remember much, only flashes of cigarette burns here or a bruised arm there. She still had a few scars on her neck and forearm. To the unaware eye, they looked like chickenpox scars, but she knew that she’d never had chickenpox. Those were burn marks. Those were little reminders of her messed-up past.
Her parents were always with her. Those scars made sure of it.
Quiton flopped over, baring his stomach for belly rubs. Amelia opened one eye to find his sweet spot before closing it again, rubbing his tummy. If he were a cat, he would have been purring all the way.
Amelia’s mind rushed toward Hunter and Hilton, and the grudge Hilton had against her boss. What was so terrible that Hilton was willing to ruin multiple lives to get to him? What was Hilton’s plan, anyway? What was going to happen once she got closer to him? What was going to happen if they did end up in an office romance?
Amelia hated Hilton for taking her one shot at love away from her. She knew, deep in her heart, that Hunter was her twin flame, but there was no way they could be together. Perhaps a short fling, a little bit of sex, but that was it. She didn’t think Hilton would allow Amelia or Hunter any form of happiness. Not unless he had a greater, even more diabolical plan.
The thought made Amelia shudder. A plan even worse than what Hilton was already plotting?
Amelia didn’t know if she was willing to let Hilton have his way. She had to find out what he was up to and either put a stop to it herself or convince him to let the past go. Then again, Amelia wasn’t one to talk. Not after what she’d done. Not after her own act of revenge. Bygones were never bygones; she knew that better than anyone.
But what was it that had Hilton so angry? Maybe he was just crazy. Maybe he was jealous of Hunter? That was very, very possible. Hunter had grown up with the love of a family, with their love and support. And what did Hilton have? He had a foster family that didn’t really want him around. He was scarred and damaged, he was left twisted and no one wanted anything to do with him. Amelia didn’t even know if he had an actual job. Hunter was successful and Hilton wanted to spoil that amazing life somehow.
Though, she didn’t know how he was going to do that with her. Was he going to make her break his heart? Yes, that was what he was probably planning, but a lot was riding on Hunter actually falling in love with her. And she didn’t know if she could break his heart if they ever did fall in love. She knew there was no way that she couldn’t fall for him. He was everything she’d ever wanted in a man. He was her twin flame. Did he feel the same way?
It had been weeks since they started the project, and he’d been missing for another whole week. She didn’t know what was going on and it scared her.
But if Hilton wanted her to break his heart, no matter how much it was going to break hers, too, she had to do it. She knew it. Hilton had threatened Joy now, too, and there was no way that Amelia was going to allow him to do anything to her best friend. Sure, she was a pain in the ass and made Amelia’s blood boil, but she was still Joy.
She was still the first friend Amelia had made at the company, the first person that had taken her on a girl’s night, the first person Amelia had told about the foster home. Joy was still her best friend, and there was no way that she was going to put that precious soul in danger. Not if she could help it. So what if it broke her heart? So what if it broke Hunter’s? Was a heart more important than a life?
This was her punishment, she realized. For everything she’d done in the past. This was her punishment for her life and what she had done with her time. Instead of doing good, she had caused chaos and she had been stupid enough to confide in Hilton about it, thinking that he was just as damaged as she was. Thinking that he was going to understand what she was going through. She was wrong; she was so very wrong.
She spent the entire night going back and forth, contemplating what was going to happen and then deciding that there was no way of knowing. All she knew was that she had to do as Hilton said or she was going to regret it, a
nd other people were going to pay with their lives.
Amelia decided that she was going to let things run their course. Once Hunter was back at work, she was going to forget about all of this. She was going to forget about what she had to do and focus on what she wanted to do. She wanted to enjoy her time with Hunter. She wanted to soak it in. She wanted to feel what it was like to have a twin flame, if only this once. She wanted to know what it felt like to have someone who loved her before it was ripped away. Before she was forced to cut ties with him, leaving a raw wound that would probably never heal.
She wanted something good, at least. She wanted memories if she couldn’t have the real thing. That was the least the world could give her. She prayed to any deity that listened to allow her as much time as they could possibly spare to give her that. She hoped that they heard her and she hoped that they would have pity on her soul. That was all she could do. There was nothing else to do.
So, when Amelia got up from the floor and led the dogs to their beds next to hers, she felt positive. Because she knew that there was going to be at least a little bit of good until the bad took over her life.
Chapter 17: Marriage
Hunter and Hayden had been married for seven years and had dated even longer than that, but in all that time Hunter had never fussed about her and annoyed her quite as much as he did once she got out of the hospital.
She’d thought that things might have gone back to normal when he was back home, but she was mistaken. Hunter cooked, bathed Levi, brought her tea in bed, even took a week off work to look after her. He was doing what every caring husband would have done, and if it weren’t so silly, Hayden would have found it adorable. Her injuries looked worse than what they actually actually were, but the more she told Hunter that, the more he argued. They finally came to an agreement that worked for them both.
Hunter was allowed to stay off work to keep an eye on her, but he wasn’t allowed to fuss. The first sign of him getting up to run to the kitchen and get something when she made to get up to get it herself, he was back at the office.
This meant that they spent their days on the couch with Levi on top of one of them, watching old shows they used to do in college. It was nice and Hayden realized why she had fallen in love with him, to begin with. But she also noticed that there was something else. Something was bothering him, and she couldn’t put her finger on it. Now that the fussing was gone, she could see that his mind was somewhere else—or, god forbid, with someone else. No, she wasn’t going down that road again. Not after the last fight they’d had over the brunette at his work. No, she’d learned her lesson with that.
Hayden watched Levi on Hunter’s chest, his black mop of curls getting into Hunter’s mouth and nose. He constantly had to pick hair from his orifices. Hayden smiled slightly. She knew that Hunter loved Levi, but she’d never bothered to look at them spending time together. Whenever one of them had time to spend with Levi, the other had to work—or chose to work, for that matter. Hayden was particularly guilty of that. She had missed so many of their cute moments together, and for what? People who were behind bars now. People who had nothing to do with her and her life. Those people had taken up far too much of her time and she was angry at them for demanding it.
Not as angry as she was at herself for willingly giving it to them, though.
She imagined seeing the three of them from someone else’s point of view. The three of them on the couch, Hayden’s legs over Hunter’s lap, Levi sleeping in his dad’s arms as if he was still a small baby. They looked like a real family, like the family she’d always wanted for herself.
“Babe?” she said and Hunter looked at her from the corner of his eyes so he didn’t have to move his head and wake Levi.
He turned down the volume of whatever documentary he was watching. “What is it?” he asked.
Hayden sat up a bit. “I think I’m going to quit my job.”
“What?” Hunter turned to her fully now, but Levi only stirred slightly.
“I want this to be us. I don’t want to be at work and chasing crooks all the time.”
“Hayden, you love your job.”
“Yes, but I love my family more.”
“Those two shouldn’t be compared.” Hunter shook his head. “They’re different. We can’t have this all the time, Hayden.”
“Why not?”
“Because I have to go to work. And if you have to be alone all day, with nothing to do, you are going to drive both of us mad. You need to stay busy, we both know that.” Hunter spoke the truth, but Hayden didn’t want to admit it.
“I can find something new,” she suggested.
Hunter shook his head. “Nothing makes you happier than putting bad guys in jail. It’s one of the many reasons why I love you. You are going to be miserable in an office job.”
“I know, but—”
Hunter cut her off. “No, you are not quitting your job. We can discuss not bringing work home anymore so we can have this in the evenings and weekends, okay?”
Hayden nodded, knowing that what he said was true. Still, she wanted the rest of her life to be like the past week. She wanted her family in her life, not criminals.
“Find this butcher guy,” Hunter said. “If you still want to quit after that, then I will support you. But I can tell you now that it’s not going to happen—because you, my dear, are a workaholic.”
“So are you,” Hayden defended.
Hunter shrugged. “Maybe, but I don’t get to look cool doing my job. You do.”
Chapter 18: My Place
Hunter had been off work for a good couple of days, and Joy wasn’t speaking to Amelia because Amelia had ditched her at the club. To be fair, Amelia had ditched Joy.
After her encounter with Hilton, she hadn’t been feeling up to doing anything with her friend anymore. Joy had dragged her out to a place where she didn’t want to be in the first place and it had ended badly. Joy was in danger, and Amelia had to get close to Hunter before it was too late. She couldn’t stomach the thought of Joy being hurt and left to die.
Amelia had no doubt that Hilton had been telling the truth when he’d said he was not one to mind casualties. She felt bad about abandoning Joy at the club, only leaving her a voicemail to say that she wasn’t feeling well and that she was heading home. Joy obviously didn’t believe Amelia, and Amelia didn’t have the energy to convince her otherwise. Perhaps it was better if Joy was mad at Amelia. At least that way she stayed away from her. Perhaps that way Hilton would be more reluctant to do anything to her. Amelia doubted it, though.
It was worth a shot, she thought. Even the slightest bump in his path was worth it.
On Monday, after what had gone down at the club and Amelia had hidden the bruises on her chin with enough makeup to make an entirely new face, Hunter came back to the office. He seemed more like his old self, rested and alive. It was nothing like the last week she had seen him. His suit was pressed again and he had that swagger in the sway of his hips again.
He smiled when he saw her, and she smiled back. She didn’t notice that Joy was looking at them until she turned back to her computer and saw her friend’s raised eyebrow. Amelia shrugged. Joy wouldn’t talk to her, but now she wanted the tea? Well, she’d have to wait for the tea to get cold, because Amelia wasn’t going to tell her anything.
Amelia grabbed a few files from her desk and made her way to Hunter’s office. They’d had to delay the painting of the conference room, but were now fully back to work. While the paint fumes made Amelia feel slightly lightheaded, she didn’t mind it too much. She only had Hunter on her mind… and Hilton, and Joy. She was thinking about everything other than herself.
“Hi,” she said as she reached his office door, knocking halfheartedly. “How are you feeling?”
Hunter grinned at her. “Did you miss me, Amelia?”
Amelia rolled her eyes. “No, I missed working on the project,” she retorted, rummaging through her files. “I was thinking of—”
�
�Amelia, not before coffee, please. Jeff and his picky wife can wait a few hours.”
Amelia smiled and tucked the files back into their positions between the others, trying to hide her disappointment. “Call me if you need anything, then.” She turned to leave but paused in the door when he called her name.
“Amelia, do you mind if we work late tonight? I don’t know if you have plans or anything, but I have a whole lot of work to catch up on and it would really help me get back on track.”
Hunter didn’t sound as though he was asking. No, he was telling her to stay—and, to be honest, she didn’t mind. She didn't mind spending time with him again at all. And this meant that Hilton was going to stay off her case for a little while, too. It was perfect.
She turned around and smiled at Hunter. “Sure thing. We can’t do it here, though. The fumes will make us pass out before we can even get to the first task.”
Hunter nodded in agreement. “My place isn’t really the sort of place we’ll get any work done at,” he said with a shrug. “Typical man cave.”
“We can always go out,” Amelia suggested.
Hunter shook his head. “The company won’t pay for any more expenses where you and I are concerned. Head office is already asking questions. They’re really a pain in my ass.”
Amelia shrugged thoughtfully. They had to spend more time together. Joy’s life may have even depended on it. Besides, spending time with him could have been worse. She could have been with Hilton. That was something she wouldn’t have survived, she was sure of that. Definitely not something she would have survived. She’d had enough of his unannounced visits.
“My place is free,” Amelia blurted out. “I was going to get pizza tonight anyway, so dinner is sorted. I mean, I have two dogs, but if you don’t mind them, we can work at my house.”
“Are you sure you want to bring work home?”
