Regret (Shattered Secrets Book 1)

by Bella J.

  “Fuck. Goddammit.”

  Pulling her hand out of his pants, grabbing her by the shoulder, and hauling her ass away from the window all happened within three seconds flat.

  Scarlet jerked her hand free from his grip. “What the hell?”

  “They’re here.”

  Scarlet looked from the window back to Hunter. “Who?”

  “The SUV fuckers.” Hunter grabbed her pants and boots from the floor and tossed them to her. “Get dressed, we need to go.”

  “I thought you said there was no way he could trace us here?”

  “Guess I was wrong.”

  When Hunter turned to look at her he saw the way she stared at him with suspicion burning through her glare.

  “Scarlet, get dressed. We need to get the fuck out of here.”

  She narrowed her eyes and cocked her head to the side. “You led them here, didn’t you?”

  “What?” He continued to rush around the room looking for his keys, his mind in overdrive as he tried to figure out how he was going to get their asses out of this mess. Scarlet just stood there, staring at him.

  “Scarlet?”

  “It was you, wasn’t it? You led them to the club, to my apartment. And now here.”

  “No.” He placed his hands on his waist. “Well, yes. But just the club. Not here.” Then it occurred to him.

  He scanned his apartment and found Scarlet’s duffel bag next to the couch.

  “You son of a bitch,” Scarlet called after him as he reached for the bag. “I thought you said I could trust you, that you wanted to help?”

  Hunter opened the bag while Scarlet was busy spewing every cuss word imaginable. He rummaged through her bag when he felt something hard and cold. Something that felt a hell of a lot like…

  “A gun?” He held up the weapon and stared at her with what he knew was his what-the-fuck look.

  She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “A girl has to protect herself.”

  “From what, Scarlet? What the fuck do you need protection from?”

  “I told you!”

  “And I don’t fucking buy it,” he yelled back at her. Silence dropped over them, heavy and thick, sucking all the air out of the room. It was not the time to continue this conversation, but God help him, he would get answers…soon.

  He placed the gun at his back and continued to search through her bag.

  “What the hell are you looking for anyway?” Scarlet peeked over his shoulder.

  “This.” He held up a small tracking device that he pulled out of her bag. “This is how they found us.”

  “Well, shit.”

  “The fuckers tracked you.” Hunter tossed the tracker device to the ground and stomped on it, crushing it in to tiny pieces.

  Scarlet paled before looking up at him. “For all I know, you fucking put that thing there.”

  “Oh my God. Would you listen to yourself? Why the fuck would I plant a damn tracker in your bag if I have you right here with me? That makes no sense.”

  “But how—”

  “I don’t know. But my guess is the guy who tried to grab you off the bike back at your apartment, he must have slipped it in your bag.”

  “Goddammit,” she cursed, and placed her fist in front of her mouth. “But if they had the tracker, why wait almost an entire day to get here? They could have followed us straight here last night.”

  “I have signal blockers set up.”

  “Then how did he find us now?”

  “It’s signal blockers, Scarlet. Not the damn Pentagon security system. Even though it’s a bitch to crack, you can still get a signal through the blockers if you know what you’re doing. It’ll just take a while.”

  Hunter rushed to the window, looked down, and saw four more men cross the street, heading toward the entrance of the building.

  “Come on, we need to leave. Now.” He grabbed her wrist, but she remained unmoved. “Scarlet, we need to leave. Those SUV fuckers are on their way up right now.”

  While she stood there biting her lower lip, he could almost hear the wheels turning inside her head. She was trying to figure out what her options were, but just like him she knew all too well that he was her only option. He was it. She could either trust him or get her ass hauled back to wherever the fuck this Wolfe guy wanted her.

  Finally, she started to pull on her pants and her boots. He let out a sigh of relief and then on instinct—or whatever—he tried to grab her hand to lead her out, but she jerked away from him. For some stupid fucking reason, he didn’t like that she pulled away from him. But there was no time for shit like that.

  Hunter grabbed his keys, and just as Scarlet reached for the doorknob he rushed toward her, slamming his hand against the door. With his arm over her shoulder he leaned down closer to her ear. “Let me go first.”

  Scarlet stepped to the side, and Hunter pulled out the gun, keeping it at the ready as he slowly opened the door. Glancing down the hallway, he made sure the coast was clear before nodding toward Scarlet, and both of them rushed out the door.

  Scarlet made a beeline for the stairs but he grabbed her wrist. “No. They are probably already on their way up the stairs.”

  “So what are we supposed to do now?” Fear spread over her face, her big eyes clouded with panic.

  “We take the elevator.”

  He didn’t think it was possible, but she paled even more. “Um, we can’t.”

  “Yes, we can.”

  “What if they are already in the elevator on their way up?” She was shaking.

  For just a fleeting moment he had the urge to wrap her in his arms and to tell her everything would be fine, but he couldn’t. Firstly, because he didn’t want to lie to her. And secondly, because he didn’t care…or that was what he told himself.

  He glanced at the steel doors. “There are two elevators. We just need to pray the one that opens for us first is empty. Now let’s go.” He pulled her in the direction of the elevators and pressed the down button.

  Scarlet yanked her wrist from his hand and stepped back. “I really can’t.”

  “You can’t what?”

  For a second it actually looked like she was about to throw up. “I can’t go on the elevator.”

  “Unless you would like to free-fall down this seven-story building, you don’t have a fucking choice.”

  Scarlet cursed and pulled her hands down her face as she started pacing.

  When Hunter noticed the light flicker on the number of the floor below them, he held out the gun and cocked it before aiming at the elevator door—just in case the elevator wasn’t empty.

  The ding of the elevator caused both of them to stiffen. With the adrenaline pumping through his veins, that sound might as well have been a damn bomb going off right next to his head.

  “Get behind me.”

  Scarlet didn’t move.

  “Get behind me, now!”

  She moved in behind him and Hunter kept the gun aimed at the elevator door.

  And then it opened.

  Chapter 14

  Scarlet’s heart was no longer beating inside her chest. Instead, it beat in her goddamn throat. While those damn steel elevator doors opened—which seemed like it took an eternity—she stopped breathing. Everything around them faded to nothing, except for the steel doors in front of them. The only sounds she could hear were the beating of her heart and her inner self freaking the fuck out.

  Sure, Hunter had a gun aimed at the damn door, but seeing blood and brain matter against the walls of the elevator was not on her bucket list, thank you very much. Unless it belonged to one specific douchebag.

  Plus, if there was no one on the elevator—which would be a good thing—that would mean she would have to get into the elevator—which would be a bad thing…for her.

  “Hunter,” she whispered while he stood between her and whoever was about to come out of that elevator.

  “Shhh.”

  She glared at the back of his head. “Did you just shush me?�
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  “Shut up.”

  “Asshole,” she whispered.

  When those two steel doors finally opened, Scarlet let out the breath she was holding.

  It was empty. Thank God.

  Oh fuck.

  “Come on, we have to move.” Hunter grabbed her hand and pulled her into the elevator so fast she hardly had any time to object.

  Scarlet scampered to the back of the seven feet wide and six feet deep tiny little space of panic. Hunter pushed the button to the ground floor, and then hammered the close button at about ten times per second. Kind of like her heart was beating at that moment.

  The doors closed, and Hunter sagged against the wall before pinching the bridge of his nose while Scarlet was silently—yet quickly—starting to hyperventilate.

  “What kind of shit are we in here, Scarlet?”

  She had no intention of answering that question. The only thought that was like a giant wrecking ball inside her brain was that the damn elevator seemed like it was getting smaller by the second.

  “Scarlet?”

  She abruptly held up her hand, silencing him, and closed her eyes to concentrate on her breathing—and trying not to vomit.

  Tiny space. No air to breathe. No one can hear her. No one can see her…except him, the man of her nightmares. The root of her fear. The fucker who stole everything from her.

  She could hear his evil voice echoing through her mind like he was right there with her. She could even smell his god-awful breath tainted with the stench of cigars and malevolence.

  “Is my Little Red scared?”

  “Don’t worry, Little Red, I’ll take care of you real good.”

  Oh God, she couldn’t breathe.

  “Scarlet, are you okay?”

  “I can’t…I can’t breathe.” Her heart felt like it was on the verge of exploding, her brain about to short circuit from all the thoughts, the fear, and the panic.

  “Don’t tell me you’re claustrophobic?”

  She opened her eyes and pushed her back flat against the wall behind her. “Not so much claustrophobic as scared shitless of tiny, enclosed spaces where all you can see are four walls that have the potential to smother the life out of you.”

  “That’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think?”

  She didn’t even try to answer him. Her entire body had already gone into full blown panic mode, her chest constricting to the point where she literally could not breathe.

  “Scarlet?”

  When she looked up, he was standing right in front of her, holding her face in his hands, green eyes focused on hers. “You need to breathe, okay?”

  She shook her head, unable to tell him just how fucking impossible his request was for her. There was no way she would be able to get fresh air through her mouth and into her lungs. The panic was just too much, taking up every last little space inside her chest.

  He tightened his grip on her face and stepped forward, putting his body flush against hers. “You can do this. Just look at me and focus on your breathing.”

  She tried to jerk her face away from him, but he jerked her face back toward him. “Look at me.”

  She couldn’t.

  “Look at me!”

  The sound of his deep voice filled her mind, and she opened her eyes, looking straight at him.

  “Good. Now you need to breathe, baby, okay? Just take a deep breath.”

  “I can’t. I can’t breathe, Hunter.” She was in full freak-out mode and she no longer had any control over her body as she started to thrash against him, needing air—needing space.

  “Scarlet!”

  “Let me go! I need to get out of here.” Hunter’s rock hard chest became her punching bag as her flight or fight instinct kicked in with the panic that wreaked havoc inside her mind and body. That was what small spaces did to her, made her want to fight anything and everything that came in her way. She would literally claw her way out of that tiny little elevator if that was what it took.

  “Scarlet, stop!”

  “Let me out of here!” Tears burned the corners of her eyes, and then it happened. Hunter crashed his lips against hers—hard—and instantly it wasn’t her fear of the four walls around her that had her heart racing, but rather the fact that Hunter was kissing her.

  She stilled while he kept his mouth on hers, not moving—just kissing her so fucking hard that she was sure their teeth were touching. His tongue didn’t beckon her to open for him. No. His tongue forced its way past her lips like there wasn’t any other option, invading her mouth with decadent demand. With his tongue moving relentlessly from one corner of her mouth to the other, he kissed her more fiercely than she had ever been kissed before in her entire life.

  And the best part was, she kissed him back. The feel of his lips against hers sent heat straight down to the center of her belly, a wave of electricity shooting up her spine.

  He tasted like mint, tequila, and something uniquely…Hunter. The warmth of his mouth washed over her, slowly causing the panic in her chest to dissipate.

  Their tongues lapped and danced, sucked and swirled, and Scarlet slowly felt the need for more, wanting it all from him. Anticipation started to slowly turn from a slow burn to a hot, wild inferno that raged deep inside her core. The longer his lips remained on hers, the more primed her body became for him.

  More hard, fierce kissing, more heady moans, and all control started to slip from both of them. It was like there was this ticking time bomb shoved right in the middle of them, just waiting to go off. Like they were rushing toward something, needing to get wherever the fuck it was they were going fast. It was insane. It was raw. It was powerful, and it felt so damn necessary.

  With her fists she grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer, putting their bodies flush against each other. She felt the heat of his body slowly start to flow through her, numbing the fear, allowing her lungs to expand as she finally managed to breathe. When he pushed his denim clad thigh between her legs, she sucked in a breath when the ache for a release that her body demanded shot straight up her spine.

  They were all lips and hands and panting breaths. They were no longer in the elevator that had her freaking out in the first place. They were now in a different place where all that mattered was ravishing each other…shattering each other. And the way he kept on kissing her, devouring her mouth like he was starved for her taste, said he had the same amount of desire pulsing through his veins as she did.

  How many floors were there exactly? It felt like time just stood still, everything happening in slow motion around them.

  Every passing second his mouth remained locked on hers, it felt like he was busy sucking all the panic and the fear right out of her, replacing it with something she had never felt before. Something intense, powerful, something that could break them both.

  Too soon he broke the kiss, placing his forehead against hers, his chest rising and falling rapidly. A part of her didn’t want him to stop, yet at the back of her mind she knew if they didn’t stop, it would just be a downward spiral from lust to regrets.

  A few seconds passed before he managed to ask, out of breath, “You good?”

  All she could do was nod while she stared into eyes filled with every shade of green swirled together to make the most perfect pair of irises Scarlet had ever seen.

  He took a step back. “Good. Now get ready to run.”

  Goddammit.

  The second the doors opened, Hunter grabbed her arm and literally dragged her through the parking lot.

  “Your bike is that way.” Scarlet pointed in the other direction.

  “We’re not taking the bike.”

  Hunter stopped in front of a big black Hummer, and Scarlet paused. “Your wheels?”

  “Yup. Get in.”

  Scarlet rushed around the Hummer and jumped in the passenger seat. Although she had never been in one, she loved those damn big-ass wheels. And when she turned to look at Hunter in the driver seat starting the ignition and pulling away with screeching
tires, Scarlet felt the most intense attraction toward him stir inside her while she pictured herself straddling him, taking him, and riding him like her fucking Kawasaki.

  Hunter reached for his phone and started dialing.

  “Who are you phoning?”

  “Shhh.”

  “Did you just shush me again?”

  “Adam? Dude, where are you? I need a favor, man. We’ll be there in twenty.”

  Scarlet stared at him, wondering what the hell he was planning. “Why are we meeting Mr. Underwear Model?”

  Hunter glanced at her. “Mr. Underwear Model?”

  “Yeah.”

  Another glance from Hunter. “You think Adam is hot?”

  She shrugged. “If you’re into that whole pretty, blue-eyed boy with chiseled features type, then yes.”

  “Well, are you?”

  “What?”

  Hunter glanced at her again before turning his attention back in front of him. “Into the whole pretty, blue-eyed boy with chiseled features type?”

  This time it was her turn to shoot him a sideward glance. “Why do you want to know?”

  “No particular reason.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “No, I’m not.”

  The tiniest hint of a smile crept up on his face. If Scarlet wasn’t watching him so intently, she would have missed it. She suddenly had the urge to smile as well, especially when she could still feel the warmth of his lips on hers.

  Just as they drove out of the undercover parking, Scarlet glanced in the side mirror and saw three guys trying to run after them.

  She sagged into the seat and placed her hand on her forehead.

  “Hey, you okay over there?”

  Scarlet shook her head. “It’s never going to end. He will never stop until…”

  “Until what?”

  She opened her eyes and saw him staring at her, waiting for an answer. If there ever was a time she wished she would get a bad episode of verbal diarrhea, it was now. Everything inside her was screaming for her to tell him. But she just couldn’t get herself to do it, to let the words come out. Talking about it was just as good as reliving it. To not talk about her past made it feel like it never happened, as if it was just a horrible nightmare. Unfortunately for her, she wasn’t so fucking lucky.