My Twin Flame

by C C Simeon

  “I am not a whore and you have nothing on me that could actually hurt me. We’ve been over this.”

  Hilton laughed. “Is that so? Perhaps I should refresh your memory in both cases. You slept with a man you hardly knew, and you’re only sleeping with him to get out of your own mess. Seems like the very definition of a whore. As for the other statement, well. There are cameras everywhere, and sometimes I have one of my guys follow you. I can’t have you run around, do what you want, and then decide to leave me, now can I? Think about it, Amelia. Everything you have ever done. Every single law you have broken, every person you ever hurt… I have records of it all. Don’t think you’re going to get away from me or this project of ours.”

  “You’re a monster.”

  Hilton took out a packet of Lucky Strikes, shook it, and pulled out another cigarette. He lit it and breathed a puff of smoke onto Amelia. She coughed. “We’ve established this already, my dear. Now, get to bed. Hunter won’t want you if you have bags under your eyes.”

  “Where does this end, Hilton?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Where does this quest of yours end?”

  Hilton seemed to think it over for a moment, then smiled a sort of smile that made the fire in Amelia’s veins chill. “Until I have taken everything from him.”

  “Isn’t that a little petty?”

  “Maybe,” he said with a shrug. “But so was your little act of revenge, all of those years ago.”

  “That’s not—”

  “We are more alike than you like to think, Amelia.”

  Chapter 31: Packages and Photos

  Hunter woke up to a knock on his front door. He watched Hayden stir in her sleep, creamy legs wrapped around the covers. He winced as he looked at the faded purple and green bruises that dotted them. It had been a few weeks since the attack, but she was still bruised all over.

  He shook his head, not wanting to think about that so early in the morning. The thought of anyone laying a hand on Hayden made his blood boil. She didn’t deserve to be hurt in any way. She didn’t deserve his cheating ass, either. He knew that, but still… Still, he woke up thinking about Amelia, and not Hayden. He woke up thinking about the life he could build with her, and not the one he’d already built with Hayden. Hayden didn’t deserve it, but he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t help the pull toward Amelia. He couldn’t help the force that tugged him harder and harder the more he tried to stay away.

  There was another knock at the door, and he groaned, looking at the clock on his nightstand. Who the hell came knocking at 8 am on a Sunday? Sunday… That meant there was only one day left until he got to see Amelia again.

  Jesus, Hunter, he thought, shaking his head. Get yourself together.

  He was at home with his family. This was not the time for his stupid infatuation with Amelia. This was not the time for that at all.

  Hunter got to his feet and marched down the stairs, not bothering with a shirt or proper pants. His boxer shorts were more than enough for whoever was bothering them this early in the morning.

  “What?” he said as he opened the door, his temper simmering hot as the unwanted visitor knocked a third time.

  There was no one on the other side. Hunter frowned and peeked his head out the door, looking up the street, then down. There was no one there. Damn neighborhood kids. Didn’t their parents have something to keep them busy with? Why were they left alone to roam the streets, bothering the people who honestly didn’t have time for childish nonsense?

  It was only when he was about to close the door that he noticed an envelope on the welcome mat. His name was inked on the front in neat, blocky letters. His heart sank to his stomach. He knew what it was. Someone found out about Amelia. Someone was trying to blackmail him. Hayden couldn’t find out. What about Levi? Hayden was an amazing mother and wife, there was no way she was going to let him keep Levi if he was cheating on her. The very woman he had assured Hayden he wasn’t sleeping with. He’d freaked out when she had even suggested it, and now what? Now, he was actually guilty of sleeping with Amelia. Back then, there hadn’t been anything going on between them. How the times had changed.

  Hunter hurriedly closed the door behind him, checked that Hayden was still in bed, and locked himself in his office, where he tore the envelope open. He didn’t bother with a letter opener—he wanted to see exactly what was in the envelope. He had to see exactly how deep he was in.

  He frowned when a letter fell out with the number “1” on it. There was another envelope, the size of a photo, with the number “2” on it. Hunter opened the letter.

  If you want to know who attacked your wife, open the envelope. But I must warn you, the answer might shock you to the core. What are you going to do, Casanova? One woman you’re screwing is pregnant with your child, and the other is not at all who you think she is. Isn’t it exciting?

  Hunter frowned, then reached for the envelope. There was something else in it, too. Something that didn’t feel like a photo at all.

  He tore the envelope and tossed the contents on the table. There were three photos and something else… Something that he hadn’t expected to see.

  A pregnancy test. A positive pregnancy test.

  That didn’t mean anything, he told himself, his heart hammering in his ears. That didn’t mean anything at all. It could have been a fake. It could have been anyone playing a trick on him.

  But the photos… What were the photos of?

  He flipped them over. Hunter was glad that he was seated, or he would have fallen over. It was a photo of surveillance footage—footage of a black, hooded figure with a clown mask.

  The other photo was one that tore his heart from his chest. It was the photo that made his whole world fall from under him. The second photo revealed the face of the attacker. The assailant didn’t seem aware of a camera being pointed at them, so they didn’t even bother hiding their face. She didn’t even bother getting into her car before she took off the mask.

  Amelia’s beautiful face was revealed, her eyes looking bloodshot and her nostrils flared. She was exhausted. Exhausted from mutilating Hayden.

  Hunter shook his head. There was no way that Amelia had the sort of strength to beat up Hayden like that. It was impossible. Hayden was trained in physical combat. She was a police officer. Amelia was much smaller than her. But the photo… The photo was of Amelia. There was no denying it.

  Did Amelia know about Hayden? Was it an attempt to scare Hayden away? How did she know?

  The third photo… He didn’t know what to make of it… Two naked bodies, pressed against the wall of Amelia’s living room. Their naked bodies.

  Hunter shook his head again. This was all his fault. He was such a giant idiot. He did this. He couldn’t keep it in his pants, and now the mother of his child was beaten half to death and the woman he couldn’t get off his mind was a complete psychopath. If she was willing to beat up an innocent woman because she wanted to be the only one in his life, what else was she capable of? Was he that bad a judge of character?

  Hunter dropped his head in his hands, pulling on his hair until his scalp ached. What was he going to do?

  What in the hell was he going to do?