Hunter

by Blaire Drake

  A special kind of shine that could cut you down without another thought.

  “You should wear your hair down more often,” I said quietly, my fingers running through it.

  She smacked my hand away and quirked a sleek eyebrow. “Really? There're probably ten guys trying to kill me and you want to stand on a sidewalk and tell me how to wear my hair?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “No, Carlo.” She shoved the helmet at my gut and pointed at the building. “Get your ass into that goddamn building, rent a car, and get me the fuck out of California before I tear you so many new assholes you'll be shitting out of your armpits.”

  There was my cut down.

  One day, she'd pay for shooting me so much attitude.

  She'd sure as hell enjoy it, but she'd pay.

  I did as she said, still. I still refused to believe I was taking an order. I would have done it... eventually. When I was done complimenting her, which she totally didn't appreciate. Bad timing, I knew, but a compliment was a fucking compliment.

  “Santo!” Adriana demanded, making the guy behind the counter sit up with a jerk. “Is Angelo here?”

  “No. Gaige is.”

  “Get him. Now.” She slapped her hands onto the counter and stared him down until he moved.

  He looked like he was even younger than she was, not old enough to be leasing rental cars, but what the fuck did I know? The Pontarellis ran this city. They probably had the LAPD in their ass pockets for all I knew.

  “Addy? What's wrong?” Gaige Pontarelli emerged from the back, dressed in a white shirt and long, thin black tie. “You haven't returned my call.”

  “Gaige, I need the car. Me and Hunter need to get out of here.”

  His eyes flicked over to me, hardening as soon as they found mine. “You do, huh?” His tone was dry, sarcasm dripping from every word.

  “Damn it, Gaige!” Adriana snapped, running her hand through her hair. “I don't give a fuck if you two hate each other for the rest of your lives, but right now, there are probably at least three people who have my name etched into their bullets, so get me the fucking keys before they find me!”

  “What?” His eyes jerked back to her. “What the hell do you mean?”

  I clenched my jaw. “The house was stormed,” I ground out. “We have no idea how many people followed us here. We need to get out of the state, and we need to do it now.”

  I had no idea how I held my temper as he stared between us in disbelief. Every second he stood there like a fucking human totem pole was a second Enzio's minions could get closer to us. I wanted to grab hold of his stupid fucking creaseless white shirt and shake the fuck outta the guy.

  “Gaige.” Adriana snapped her fingers. “The keys.”

  “Right.” He shook his head as though he'd just rejoined this world. He pulled a large ring of keys from his pocket and fumbled through them until he found a much smaller one, then disappeared behind the counter. Moments later, after some clanging, he stood back up and handed Adriana two keys, one electronic and one normal.

  She took them from him and separated them. I found the normal metal one shoved into my hand while she gripped the black, electronic one in her palm.

  “I'll call you when we're safe, okay? I promise.” She leaned over the counter and kissed his cheek.

  “Where are you going?” His shoulders tensed as she pulled back and headed for the door.

  “You know I can't tell you that.” Addy glanced over her shoulder. “But you'll know when I get there.” She grabbed my shirt. “Hunter. Let's go.”

  I let myself be dragged from the building by her. She released me once she was apparently content that I was following her, and she lead me to a large parking lot at the side of the building. Tucked in the back corner was a sleek black Mercedes. It looked like a brand new S-class, and her words came back to me.

  The car.

  Not a car.

  This car had been sitting here for her, ready, in case she needed to get away. Fucking hell—and when she asked for it, Gaige needed to question it?

  What a fucking idiot.

  Adriana marched straight for it and hit the button on the keys. “Get in,” she demanded, heading for the driver side.

  “You driving, Principessa?”

  She spun and almost knocked me backward with the intensity of her gaze. “You offering, Cacciatore?”

  “Si.” I grinned and held my hand out.

  A tiny smile curved her lips as she put the key in the palm of my outstretched hand. “Don't kill us, okay?”

  I wrapped my fingers around hers, the key secure between our palms, and tugged her against me. A tiny squeak left her as I wrapped my hand around her neck and pulled her so close to me that her breath warmed my lips. “Trust me when I say that on the list of things to do to you, killing you isn't even on it.”

  She inhaled sharply, and I took the risk of pulling her face into mine. Her lips molded perfectly to mine as I lingered there for a touch long enough that she couldn't doubt what I meant.

  “Get in the car, Adriana,” I whispered, releasing her.

  I turned my attention to the parking lot. My eyes scanned it, keeping a tiny sliver of attention on her as she walked around the car and opened the door. When she was safely inside, I got in, but not before I caught Gaige's eye through a side window in the building.

  I saluted him before dropping into the car. I shoved the key in at the same time I slammed the door shut and activated the child lock.

  Adriana rolled her eyes. “You kissed me deliberately. You knew he was there.”

  “Negative.” I jammed the key in the ignition and turned it. The car purred to life, and I reversed out of the slot. “I didn't know he was there until after.” I just had a feeling.

  “Whatever.” She ran her fingers through her hair and clicked her seat belt into place.

  “Do you have any ideas where we can go?” I glanced at her as I pulled into the traffic. “Because I have no idea where I'm going.”

  “Vegas. We have a safe house there.”

  I frowned. “You have a safe house... In Vegas? Isn't that contradictory? There's so much mob action in that city, it's the last place a member of the mafia should have a safe house.”

  She flashed me a tiny smile before turning to look out of the window. “Exactly.”

  ***

  There was nothing safe about the house Adriana had me pulling into the driveway of. Unless you counted the guards at the gates of the community, and after what we'd just left in Calabasas, I didn't. At fucking all.

  The safest thing about this fucking charming little two-story house was the fact I was in its driveway.

  eI killed the engine and we both got out of the car. My legs and back screamed as I stretched up to standing. I refused to stop driving on the way here, much to her quiet annoyance. I didn't want to risk being caught if Enzio had people elsewhere, and I was pretty sure he had.l

  As much as Isaiah called him a dumb fuck, when Enzio Romano wanted something did, he damn well got it done.

  “Wait,” I said to Adriana as she approached the house.

  She sighed dramatically and spun with the flair of a pissed off teenager. “What now?”

  “How do you know it's safe? And 'because it's a safe house' isn't an acceptable answer.” I pulled my gun from my jacket, then held out my hand for the key. “Humor me?”

  Her stare turned cold. “Fine.” She slapped the key into my hand, and the sharp edge scratched my palm.

  Jesus Christ. She did not like giving up her control for anything, even her own safety. It was going to be a long night if she was going to stay in this mood, and I had the feeling she was. She sure as hell didn't look like she was going to attempt to crack a smile anytime soon.

  “Come close,” I ordered her. It didn't matter how many times I told myself it was for her safety or how darkly she glared at me—I wanted to feel her soft body against mine. I wanted to feel her tucked into my side where the light that lived i
nside her soul could brighten my own pitch black one for just a few seconds.

  She stepped into me and allowed me to put my arm around her body and curl her into me. I clutched the key tightly as I pulled her toward the house and scanned the area. There was literally no one else around. Even the houses that neighbored this one were eerily silent.

  “What is this? A neighborhood of safe houses?” I muttered sarcastically.

  “You'd be surprised,” she replied cryptically. “Are you done checking it out now, Mr. Protector?”

  “Nope.” I tugged her into me a little more, and she tensed. I just about resisted the urge to tickle her side as I peered through the window. Inside looked open plan, and when I was happy there was no movement, we went to the front door. I finally had to let go of her to unlock it, and she put her back to me to check out the area too.

  Yeah. I wasn't the only one worried we'd been followed, then.

  She practically ran into the house after me. I stifled a laugh, locked the door behind me, and pocketed the key. Chances were, she had another, and if she didn't... Well, that was fucking tough.

  “Were you a cat in a past life?” I questioned, following her into the kitchen.

  “Why?” She checked the power. It was completely off judging by her annoyed groan. “Oh my God!” She straightened, clapping her hand over her mouth. “Rossi!”

  “I'm starting to think you made Rossi up. I've never seen him.” I put the gun on the table and shrugged off my jacket.

  “That's because he always disappeared before you showed up at the house. Cat's smarter than me,” she added under her breath.

  I snorted.

  “I need to text Gaige and ask him to look out for Rossi. He'll be worried if I don't go home.” She fumbled in the backpack for her phone.

  “Addy, it's a cat.”

  “And?” She paused her rummaging and looked up at me. “Your point is what?”

  “Well, he's a cat, for one,” I repeated, walking around to her. I took the bag from her hands. “And two, you can't use your phone here.”

  One of her dark eyebrows lifted. “Really? That's the next thing? I can't even use my fucking—” She stopped mid-sentence as the reason hit her.

  I hoped it did.

  If they'd gotten to the house, there was every chance they were watching her phone. Mine, too.

  “Okay.” She took a deep breath in, then let it out slowly, turning around. “The basement key is in here.” She pulled open a drawer and produced a gold key. “Go and switch on the power. I'll look for the safe. I'm pretty sure Mamma put a few disposable phones in it.”

  “Of course she did. She thought of everything.” I smiled as I took hold of the key.

  Adriana's lips twitched. “She really did. The basement is just down the hall. I can't really remember where the power box is, so you're just gonna have to kinda guess.”

  “Now it makes sense. I bet there isn't a flashlight either, is there?”

  Her lip twitch turned into a full on smile as she backed down the hall and knocked on one door. Before I could respond, her footsteps echoed as she ran upstairs. I laughed quietly and retraced her steps until I found the basement door. The key fitted perfectly in the hole, and the click of the lock was oddly ominous.

  I knew what horrors lurked in the daylight... Never mind the darkness.

  I'd never admit it, but I hated the dark. I didn't fear it; I simply hated it. Somehow when the only things you could see were the things you conjured from the depths of your own mind, the dark was brutal.

  All I saw whenever I was surrounded by it was flashes of the horrible things I'd done and the lives I'd taken.

  Each one necessary, I knew that, but it didn't mean I liked what I'd done.

  I ran my hand along the rough, cold wall of the basement as I took the stairs down. It got darker with every step I took, and I clenched my jaw shut as the one creaked beneath my foot. It seemed to scream through the dark space, and although my eyes were adjusting slowly to the change, it wasn't quick enough.

  I slowly skated my foot forward as it felt like I'd touched the floor. When it went several inches without dropping off the edge of a step, I figured I was there, and put both hands on the wall.

  A torch and batteries should be in a safe house at all fucking times for this very reason. No one should be forced to feel up a basement's walls in the pitch black.

  “Hey, I found a—”

  “Fuck me!” I yelled when an orangey spot flashed at me. I jumped backward and almost tripped over my own feet, which forced me to lean against the cold wall.

  “...Flashlight,” Adriana finished. She centered the beam of light on me from the top of the staircase. Her eyes fell on me, and she promptly burst into a loud fit of giggles. “You... look... so scared...” she forced out through each laugh.

  “You scared the shit outta me, Addy. Bring me the damn flashlight so I can turn the power on before it gets dark.”

  She gripped the banister tightly, using the light to come down, still laughing. “It's right next to your head.”

  I turned to where she was shining the stream of light. “Fucking hell.” I lifted the casing and flipped the switches. The lights all came on, indicating the start up of the power, and I took the flashlight from Adriana. “Where did you find this?”

  “In the safe.” She smiled sweetly. “Turns out when Mamma thought of everything, she thought of everything. I just had to put the batteries in it. The problem is, the only food that's here is Ramen noodles, and they're all out of date by at least a year.”

  “Great. Looks like the guy on the gate is taking a pizza delivery.” I guided us both upstairs with the light, then locked the basement door behind her. “Here.” I handed her back the flashlight and turned into the kitchen. “Did you find any phones?”

  “Yes.”

  I waited for her to continue talking, but when she didn't, I turned and met her eyes. “Just, 'yes?'“

  “Well, yeah.” She handed me a small box. “I don't know how to set these things up.”

  I picked up the box and looked at it. Slowly, I looked back at her. “So let me get this straight. You want to travel across the country, kill your father, and take over a multi-million dollar family business that deals in very dark, very illegal practices, but you can't set up a disposable cell phone?”

  Adriana pursed her pink lips. She'd been nibbling at the lower one for hours now, and I could see how it was chapped and the skin was flaking. It looked like a fair cry from the soft lick of flesh I'd kissed just yesterday. “Yes,” she finally said, slumping onto a chair and resting her chin on her hand. “That is exactly it, Hunter. I wasn't aware my ability to do all those things hinged on whether or not I can operate something I have never, ever used.”

  “It doesn't. Technically.” I opened the box. “But then again, that's like saying a virgin can never have an orgasm because they've never kissed anyone else.”

  “What virgins do you know that have ever had an orgasm?”

  “I had one when I was virgin.” I inserted the card into the back of the phone and clicked the battery into place.

  She blinked at me. “Can we not discuss this?”

  “Didn't you have an orgasm when you were a virgin?”

  “No. I felt like there was a red hot poker trying to remove my brain through my vagina.”

  I quirked an eyebrow as the phone switched on. “Really? Is that what it feels like for women?”

  “Yeah...” She frowned. “And that's being nice.”

  “Huh.” So maybe the time I fucked that virgin she wasn't screaming in pleasure after all. No wonder she refused to speak to me again—or maybe I refused to speak to her. That was usually how it went.

  “You're thinking about how many times you've been a heartless piece of shit to a virgin, aren't you?”

  I'd been looking at the phone screen, but with that, I jerked my head up and my attention snapped to her. “What?”

  She shrugged a shoulder then looke
d down. “Nothing.”

  “Obviously it's something,” I fired back, looking at her flushing cheeks. “Or you wouldn't be blushing like a virgin in a strip club, would you?”

  “Can you just not be a total fucking ass for ten minutes?” Her blue eyes were blazing when she peered up at me. “Is it that hard for you? Because I'm getting real tired of it, Carlo.”

  “Is there a number for the guard and a nearby pizza place?”

  “What?”

  “Is there a number for the guard and a nearby pizza place?” I held up the phone. “This is you being hungry and me not being an ass, babe, so co-operate with me.”

  She stood up and yanked open the drawer that housed the key to the basement earlier. A half-torn piece of paper came flying out of it. Adriana attempted to throw it at me, but instead it fluttered to the ground between us. She bent down, picked it up, then shoved it at my chest. “There's the guard. He'll know pizza.”

  I just caught it before it fell back to the floor, right as she stormed past me. “Where are you going?”

  “To the toilet!” she snapped, her hair flying as she spun around. “Is that okay with you?”

  I was guessing 'no' wasn't the correct answer, so instead of answering, I took a deep breath and picked up the phone. I decided to step outside the front door to make the calls—she clearly didn't do hunger too well, and if I stayed there much longer, I'd probably be fearing for my life by the time the pizza showed up.

  I called the guard and he gave me a number for a pizza place a few blocks away. I placed the order then headed back inside, making sure to lock the door behind me again, then turned off the phone. There were several of them in boxes stacked on the island next to my—

  Where the fuck was my gun?

  “Adriana?” I called out. “Addy!”

  “What?” She emerged from the hallway, running her fingers through the ends of her hair over and over again. “Why are you yelling at me?”

  “Where's my gun?”

  She looked at the island, then back at me. “How do I know? I have my own gun. I don't need yours.”

  “Then someone else is here, because I didn't move it.”

  She shrugged. “I have my own.”