The Hopeless (The Huntress #2)

by Dawn Robertson

  “Theo and I will be fine. Don’t worry.” Her dainty hand lands on my cheek as she tries to console me. I guess my poker face isn’t what I thought it was.

  “I have no doubt in your abilities, Ellie—or Theo’s, for that matter. I just wish I was going.” It is rare for me to be that open with her. Usually, I sit idly by and just do as I am told, but I just have a bad feeling about all this deep down in my gut. She starts to yawn.

  “I think it’s time for me to call it a night,” I state, knowing it is far past time for Ellie to get some much-needed rest.

  As I start to push myself out of bed, her hand grabs mine. “Stay,” she whispers while rubbing her sleepy, puffy eyes. “I don’t want to be alone tonight.”

  “As you wish,” I say with a quick wink.

  Curling up in bed together isn’t something new for us. On bad nights, I often stay with her to make sure she is all right. Tonight will be no different. With Ellie’s slender body pressed up against mine and my arms tightly wrapped around her, we quickly doze off to sleep.

  Walking into the office, I throw my keys onto my desk. The light sound of Journey giggling creeps out from under Theo’s office door, and I am shocked that either of them made it into work. Their vacation ended only hours ago, and it is way too early in the morning for them to be here already for any normal work day. What for fuck’s sake could have made Theo see the ass crack of dawn for the first time in years? Being a businessman of his caliber has landed him some pretty amazing perks, one of which is the luxury of sleeping in far past what most men in his world could ever even dream of.

  His office door is cracked just enough that while I am pouring myself a much-needed cup of coffee, I can see them. I am not proud of the fact that I stand in silence watching them together. Theo’s hand rests on Journey’s sun-kissed thigh as she sits on his desk in front of him, playfully twirling a lock of hair between in her fingers as they laugh together. As their lips connect, I can’t hide any longer; it is just too damn uncomfortable. I fake a cough and Theo shoves out from between Journey’s legs right away.

  “Linc, good morning,” Theo calls out to me.

  Raising my mug in the air, I respond, “Morning.”

  Walking back over to my desk, I sink into the soft leather rolling chair that is finally broken in with the perfect butt groove. Opening my laptop, I see twenty emails that need my immediate attention. It is going to be a light morning for me; usually, I have to sift through over a hundred messages.

  Journey practically skips out of Theo’s office, taking a seat in one of the chairs across from my desk. “Are you getting enough sleep?” she asks abruptly.

  “I look that dashing, do I?” I sneer at the child. Yes, she is twenty years old, but Theo and Ellie really seem to like her; I am just opposed to change. What the three of us had was working, and I didn’t see why we needed fresh blood added into our mix. Bringing someone else into our business is tricky, and I am nervous that this immature girl is going to really fuck everything up. She is nice and very willing to learn, so at least she has that shit going for her. She isn’t terrible on the eyes either, but from day one Theo claimed her for his own. Cradle robbing is more his style anyway; I enjoy women with more experience.

  Theo pours himself a cup of coffee before joining Journey and me at my desk. “Is everything set up for the next case?” he asks while stirring in her creamer.

  I grab a file from my top drawer and hand it to him. “All the information is in here. Your flights and hotels are all booked and ready to go.”

  Taking the file, he nods. “Nice work, Linc.”

  “I do my best.” I continue to read the email that is up on my screen. Looking at Theo and Journey together is making my skin crawl. I’m not usually one to pass judgment, but I don’t shit where I sleep, and I don’t date employees. Those two being together can only lead to trouble, and Theo is dancing with the devil in my opinion. I know that if it comes down to it, I won’t be able to bite my tongue, and drama between the only two stable men in her life is the last thing Ellie needs right now.

  Chapter 4

  Washington, D.C.

  Ellie

  The instances of Theo accompanying me on a job have become few and far between, but this isn’t going to just be any job. Our hit is personal, and it just so happens to be the son of the vice president of the United States. People will notice, and the nation will mourn. I, on the other hand, am just happy to have Theo by my side for any bit of time, considering the main focus of his attention has become Journey. Tomorrow we will jump on a plane and head out for work.

  “How’s the twenty-year-old?” I backhandedly ask Theo as we sit in the living room of the home I grew up in. A smile spreads across his lips and I know I am in for a scolding from a mere look.

  “Green with envy, I see.” He is right, like he always seems to be—it’s an annoying talent of his to read people, especially me. Of course, I will forever be jealous of anyone who has ties with Theo, mostly in a romantic way. I’m just a possessive type of person, even if I don’t want to let anyone else in.

  “Oh whatever,” I say dismissively, dramatically rolling my eyes.

  “It’s not what you think, Ellie. For once I’ve found someone I just connect with. It’s not about age, or looks…it’s her overall personality. I can’t explain it but we just…click.” Over the years, I’ve become pretty good at spotting a liar, and I know deep down Theo believes everything he is saying. I should feel heartbroken because I’ve always wanted that spot in his life, but I don’t. Something inside me has shifted, and I don’t know if it is just me growing up or if he isn’t what I want in life anymore.

  “I’m going to keep the baby,” I blurt out. Time to change the fucking subject and show him how wrong he is about my being envious of a twenty-year-old nobody.

  He freezes, staring at me. “You what?”

  A devilish smirk consumes my face as excitement starts to well up in me. “I am going to give her the life she deserves, the childhood I should have had as a young girl.”

  “Do you really think that is a good idea, Ellie? Can you raise a child? Do you even know the first thing about being a mother?”

  His lack of confidence in me is shocking and boils my blood. “I learned firsthand everything to not do as a mother, and you showed me how to take someone in as your own and love them when you don’t have to.” That shuts him up real quick.

  “What is her name?” His blank stare doesn’t waver as he mutters the question.

  Why the fuck is everyone so damn concerned about what I am going to name this kid? Is it really all that big of a deal? I think for a second and it pops into my head like a light bulb exploding overhead. “Finley. Her name is Finley Stella McGuire.” At least I think that is what I am going to name her.

  Our small talk goes to the wayside as awkward silence fills the space around us. After deciding this is all just too much to deal with at such a late hour, I excuse myself and head to bed. Tomorrow is going to be hard enough as it is; there is no reason to add more stress to the situation. Theo is with Journey, and I have to accept it. I am going to be Finley’s mother, and Theo will have to get used to it.

  The minute we are no longer safely on the ground, I think about that little girl and how I have no business leaving her behind and going anywhere. This will become my biggest problem from here on out; I knew this, I just didn’t want to believe it was actually going to impact me this way.

  Theo’s words pull me out of my thoughts. “We have three days here.” The quicker it is over, the better. I left the house thinking we would be back in a day like we always are. I don’t want to be here doing this anyway, but I haven’t been given much of a choice. These calls aren’t made by me, even though this one has become personal. Between Theo and his black label society of goons, it was their call. Someone couldn’t pull the rug out from under one of our operatives with no repercussions. It just goes to show that money can’t buy everything.

  “Don’t
let this one get personal,” Theo says with a stern face and a look that could kill. It is amazing how quickly he can turn his emotions on and off. I feel like I have nearly perfected that over the years, but I will never be as good as him. Theo has turned it into an art. Most of my adult life, I’ve wondered what exactly happened to bring him to the place he is in, how someone could be so generous and giving but absolutely cold and dead on the inside. It isn’t a combination you usually see; a Jekyll-and-Hyde situation colliding within a man of such power is a dangerous thing. I never press him about it. With a ninety-minute flight ahead of us, I think about it and decide to just dive in.

  “Why’d you get started with all of this? What happened to you?” The words abruptly fly into the air without care—it is high time I learned the nature of the beast. Instead of making it less painful, I just go in for the kill. We’ve gone out of our way for years to tiptoe around these conversations, and my heart thumps against my chest as my palms become increasingly sweaty.

  “I lost everything at a young age, so I had nothing to lose.” He shrugs his shoulders and tries to end the conversation right there. I know I’m not going to win this battle so I stay quiet before I begin thumbing through my iPhone. Then, catching me off guard, he breaks his silence and continues. “When I was twenty and halfway through my third year at Harvard, my parents were murdered in a robbery attempt gone wrong. It was a home invasion, except they didn’t bank on anyone being home, and they shot both my parents. That’s when I met Jennings.” A major question answered—I’d always wondered exactly when Theo had met Officer Kyle Jennings, and now it all begins to make sense.

  I never understood why Theo felt as though he owed Kyle something, why he took me in, but seeing the entrance he’d had, it clicks. “He was the first responding officer on the scene. I broke through the police barricades and he was the man I collided with. He desperately tried to stop me, but there was no hope. I was plowing through anyone who got in my way that day. He tried to calm me down, but it was I was a lost cause. The image of their bloody bodies lying in the foyer of the home I grew up in was instantly singed into my brain, turning my heart into a black pit from that moment on.”

  I can’t imagine having to deal with that, see something that gut-wrenching. My own mother was less than stellar, and I know there is no way I could have handled witnessing something like that. It’s more than just the blood and gore; it’s the personal connection. That is why killing has never been hard for me: the vast majority of people I end have no connection to me. They are just strangers I wouldn’t know if they walked past me on the street.

  This job is personal though. This isn’t what I signed up for. I never thought there would come a time when my hit was someone I’d slept with. We aren’t strangers; there is a history. I let out a deep breath I hadn’t realized I was holding as Theo finishes his story.

  I miss most of what Theo is saying as I drift off into my own thoughts. My phone buzzes and Linc’s name flashes, notifying me of a new picture message. Opening the text, I see bright blue eyes and the chubbiest cheeks known to mankind. Finley is wide awake with a hint of a smile on her face. I know she is too young to actually be smiling, but I’m totally going to pretend she is.

  “What has you grinning all goofy?” Theo asks me with a hint of a smile starting to spread across his face.

  “Your granddaughter,” I say with a laugh; it cracks me up that he is going to be a grandpa. He is far less amused than I am by the whole thing though.

  “Let me see,” he asks, and I turn my phone to his line of vision. A smile tugs at the corners of his mouth before he starts to speak again. “She is beautiful, Ellie.” I beam with pride at his words. I know I had no part in making her, but my God I am going to be the best mother I can be…even if it kills me.

  “I can’t wait to get back and bring her home. She’s been staying at Linc’s house with a nanny,” I add. All this time I’ve been thinking about giving up my apartment living and buying a home in the burbs. Our conversation shifts to the idea of the pending purchase when Theo stuns me with something I could have never imagined.

  “Why don’t you take over my house? I’m barely ever there anyway.” The home I spent most of my years in, the house I became a woman in, the place I was able to live in comfortably without having to worry about being kicked out of, unlike the various motels I’d lived in week to week because my mother couldn’t pay. The fondest memories I have of my life took place under that roof. How could I say no to something like that?

  “Where are you going to go?” I ask, puzzled at where this is all going.

  “Not sure yet, but I could just take over your penthouse for when I am in town. I’ve been traveling a lot more lately, and if you aren’t going to be working the way you have been for the past couple years, someone is going to have to pick up your slack. Call Linc and get him to hire a decorator to furnish the house to your taste. We can have movers move everything in the meantime.” I jump from my seat on the plane thousands of miles in the sky and throw my arms around Theo’s neck.

  “Thank you,” I whisper into his ear as his warm arms wrap around my body.

  “You know I would do anything for you, Ellie,” he adds, and I know it is true. “You are going to make an amazing mother.”

  As usual, our hotel accommodations are perfect. We have one day to lay low before the plan goes into effect. Shane will be in a motorcade through a busy part of D.C. tomorrow around dinner time, and Theo has already picked out the perfect vantage point to take him out. It’s not the typical kill for me, but when you are working with someone so high profile, you have to cut corners and adapt to change just to get the job done.

  It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to take matters into my own hands from afar. Unwinding in a nice bubble bath while Theo catches up on pending business, I think about all the trips we’ve taken together over the years, the parts of the world we’ve seen together. We’ve done so much, but at the end of the day, we always go home and head in our separate directions. It hurts because I want a life I can actually share with another person. I laugh to myself, thinking about that admission. Do I really want to share my life with someone else?

  Finley is good enough to share it with; she won’t complicate it the way a man would. I’ll just find a way to keep myself satisfied and be a good mom. At the end of the day, that is all I really want to do. My lack of sleep and constant exhaustion catches up with me as I doze off in the tub, only awakening when Theo checks on me.

  “Sleeping in the bathtub isn’t a good habit to get into.” His words snap me out of the twilight I was in. I usually need some Ambien or pot to actually lull me to sleep, so I am surprised when I realize I had in fact fallen asleep in the tub. “I’ve been so tired lately,” I say with a yawn.

  “Why don’t you get out? We can go grab some dinner,” Theo says, still standing over me, holding a towel in one hand.

  I jump at the mention of food. “Can we go to The Dabney?” I beg like a little girl, and it’s quite comical actually, considering that is just how Theo still treats me even though I’ve been an adult for more than a decade.

  “Already have reservations. Get dressed. The car will be here in about a half hour.” I get ready in a flash, wearing a simple black-and-white pantsuit. It’s slightly sexy with just a hint of cleavage showing and a small silver skeleton key necklace I had made about eight years ago. The key Theo gave me was far too clunky to wear all the time, and I wanted something I could take with me when I went out of town. It became hands down my favorite piece of jewelry. With a tall pair of Louboutins and a white clutch, I am ready to hit the town with my father. The large black SUV pulls up to The W and whisks us away with minimal security in tow. Paparazzi follow along, but it is nothing new, especially when we find ourselves outside of Boston. We can’t travel without it ending up on the front page of a newspaper or on page six.

  We pull up to the new hipster establishment that prides itself on sustainability and locally gro
wn food from the Maryland and Virginia area, and the chef has knocked the concept out of the park. They may have only been open a little over a year, but I’ve dined here each time I’ve come to Washington, D.C. recently. Light bulbs flash in the cool fall evening as Theo and I walk through the front door and immediately back to a quiet corner, far away from windows and an audience.

  A young waiter stops at our table and introduces himself as Kevin, his flamboyant bravado pinging my gay-dar off the scale. Theo orders Jameson on the rocks with a water while I skip my desire for a glass of wine and channel my inner child by ordering a Shirley Temple.

  “So how did you meet Journey?” My curiosity has been piqued for quite some time, but with how busy we have all been recently, I haven’t had time to just sit down and talk to Theo about everyday crap, especially with the new leading lady in his life.

  “Do you remember a while back when I went to New York to help Seven on that merger?” he asks rhetorically. I nod along and take a small sip of his liquor. “She was my assistant for the week. I guess she had just gone through a pretty bad breakup and wanted to let her hair down a little. I just so happened to be the lucky guy.” He lets out a hearty chuckle.

  “Breakup hookups are the best.” I let out my own laugh and try to come to terms with the fact that Journey is going to be around for a while—that is what it is looking like around the office.