“That’s really sweet,” Sarah stated.
“I don’t want to see Charlotte. I don’t want to settle. She’s running her bar, and she handled the seedier things too. That’s dangerous. My life is one con after another, someone shooting at me, or someone trying to kill me. We do this now. I wanted peace. Charlotte, she’s not peace. She’s a battle I can’t wage. I don’t want to fall back into that because I feel sorry for me or for her.”
“I’ll go,” Sarah offered.
“I’ll go too,” Dakota offered.
“If she touches you, I’m going to shoot her,” Sarah stated. “There’s your warning.”
Dakota laughed. After what he saw, he wouldn’t be shocked.
“Let’s get an invite to that boat. Anything else tied to him?” Dakota asked, trying not to rile his girl up.
She searched.
“Not really, babe.”
“Okay, well, Rogue is going to keep working that video while we go get a drink at a bar at noon.”
“Have fun. She has a snake tattoo for a reason, Dakota. Watch your back!” he called.
They headed out, and Rogue was grateful to have that part of his life done and finished.
He picked up the phone to call his mother, and in his mind, he shut the door on that part of his life.
Charlotte was his past, and nothing she did could make him go back.
Nothing.
That bridge had burned to the damn ground.
* * * H U N T E R * * *
It was a pretty drive, but she felt like she was driving in circles. They drove over the bridge, and back again. Then they hit the bridge two more times.
“Um, Zayn, are we lost and you’re afraid to ask for directions?” she asked.
He laughed.
God!
He loved her.
“No, I’m ensuring that no one finds my secret lair. I plan on taking you there to keep you my captive.”
“You were just shot and you’re thinking sex?”
“Well, before I had sex, I was better able to put it out of my mind, but now that I’ve had sex with you…it’s right there and in the forefront.”
She got quiet.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, sensing her mood change.
“Is what we have real?”
He glanced over as he pulled into a coffee shop parking lot to have this conversation.
“I don’t like this one at all,” he said. “Are you about to dump my ass, Stella? What’s going on?”
“I know that we just met.”
“Oh, Christ. I’m going to have a breakdown,” he muttered. “You are giving me the talk,” he said, resting his head on the steering wheel.
She stared at him.
“I need to know something.”
He stared at her from the driver’s side of his ride. He was pretty sure he was going to be sick.
“Please be gentle. My body hurts, I have a hangover, I’ve been shot, and now you’re dumping my ass.”
“I’m not dumping you, but you may dump me.”
He didn’t get it.
“What’s going on, sweetness?”
“Is this real? Where is it going?” she asked. “Are we a thing?”
He knew this was coming.
Zayn turned off the radio, and she had his full attention. “I wasn’t aware you could have a pretend relationship, Stella. I didn’t go into this thinking it would fail, did you?”
“No.”
“If you’re asking my intent, I don’t know. This is new to me. I know I’m not letting you go, but I’m not ready to get married yet. I’m a guy. We’re slower than the rest of the human species.”
“I’m not fishing for a proposal. I’m curious about us. I’m a doctor. You’re a mercenary.”
“I like that you didn’t choke on that word. I can’t change who I am, and you can’t change who you are.”
“I did something, and it just hit me.”
“What?”
“We had sex the day after I came back, right?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“I was on the pill.”
He waited.
“I was abducted for a full month.”
He blinked. “And?”
“I took a pill the day after you saved me. We had unprotected sex. That pill…”
He got it. She’d been unprotected and he may have impregnated her.
“You’re worried I’ll leave you?”
She didn’t want to be, but it was there. “When this is over if you leave…” Tears filled her eyes.
He got it.
“If I get you pregnant, Stella, I’m going to be a man and do the right thing. I would NEVER hurt you, and bailing on you…that would suck.”
She ran her fingers over his hand.
“When are you done with your rotation for medical school?”
“It’s a year.”
“Where?”
“I’ve been accepted to a hospital in New York. I’m supposed to leave after Christmas.”
And there it was.
Here was the reality.
In a week, they’d be celebrating their first Christmas together, and then their last.
He let out the breath he was holding.
“Well, then you go to your rotation, and I’ll finish up here and I’ll find you.”
She hated that.
“Okay.”
He heard it, and he saw the look in her eyes. She was shutting down.
“Stella.”
“Can we get a coffee? It’s been a bad day. I didn’t sleep last night, and while I’m good at no sleep, I’m only human.”
“Sweetness.”
“I can’t,” she said, trying not to cry.
Why was she upset?
He’d given her the perfectly rational response. She should be happy he’d follow her. Only, that wasn’t what her heart wanted. What if he didn’t follow? What if he changed his mind?
What she loved most about him was how fast they fell in love, and it was this whirlwind romance.
It just died a little.
“Yes, I can get you anything you want. Do you want coffee? Iced? Latte? Hot? Flavored? I’ll get you anything?”
That was sweet.
Only, her mood was shot.
“On second thought, I could use a nap. How much longer until we’re to your ‘lair’?” Stella asked.
“It’s not far now. So, no coffee?” he asked, really worried about her.
“No, I’m good. Thank you.”
She leaned back in the seat, closed her eyes, and tried to figure out why a rational, smart doctor like her was upset by the reality of her life.
What was her problem?
Why the hell was she sad?
* * * H U N T E R * * *
Purgatory
When they arrived, the place was pretty dead. It looked like Charlotte was just getting set up for the day. She and her bar buddy were cutting lemon wedges and getting all the prep done for the day’s festivities.
From the cases of beer being hauled in, it looked like a lot of people drank on Mondays.
Then again, Mondays sucked, so who could blame them?
Sarah grew up in a place like this. She was accustomed to this kind of thing. Bars…they were like her home.
When they walked in, Charlotte smiled at him.
“Sexy Dakota Rakin. Are you here for another coffee date?” she asked.
“Yeah, no,” he said, as Sarah lifted a brow.
Charlotte stared at her. “Is this the woman you threw me over for?”
“Yeah, this is Sarah. She’s my…”
Sarah stared at him. “Well?”
“I don’t know what you are. Are you my sexy love bunny? My frisky kitten, or are you down with girlfriend?”
While he thought she was going to get mad, she started laughing. “I’m going to make you call me love bunny in front of everyone for being a smart ass.”
Charlotte laughed. “I like her. She’s got
balls. Too many women are pushovers and men walk on them like a welcome mat.”
Yeah, no hostility there.
Someone didn’t like men.
Clearly.
“What do you need?” she asked when she grabbed a bottle of beer for each of them.
Sarah stopped her.
“What’s wrong, love bunny? You too good to drink with the rest of us?”
She stared at her.
“Bitch. Real women drink tequila, so put up or shut up,” she said, straddling the barstool. “I’m not a beer girl.”
Charlotte laughed her ass off as she pulled down a skull shaped bottle.
“That’s the one I have at home. Double up.”
Dakota stared at her.
“When we get home, you are NOT allowed anywhere near lighters, Elizabeth Blackhawk, or tequila. You scare me.”
She kissed him on the lips. “Love bunny is sorry and it’s duly noted, sweet cheeks.”
He pointed at her.
“Don’t make me spank you.”
“Yee haw!”
He laughed.
Charlotte poured her a double, one for herself, and Dakota took the beer. He was on duty, of sorts, and besides, if his girlfriend wanted to get tipsy, he’d handle that later.
Tequila was making someone’s clothes come off—this evening.
“Again, what’s the deal?”
“Our partner was in here—Zayn Thundercloud.”
She laughed. “I love that boy. He’s this big wall of a man with a mushy spot inside for the ladies. He helps geriatrics cross the damn street,” she said, pointing outside.
They each threw back their tequila.
“What about the big guy?”
“You gave him intel.”
She looked around and pointed at the back door. “Take five, Julius. I have a business meeting to conduct.”
The man must have been accustomed to hearing that. He locked the front door, turned the sign, and dropped his gun on the bar top beside her.
“Shoot the man. I get the blondie. She’s smokin’,” he said, winking at her. “You like chocolate, momma?”
She laughed, but before she could open her mouth, Dakota gave her the look.
“Really?”
She closed her mouth.
“Anyway, I recall what he was looking for. What about it?”
“We need to take a little boat ride. You know, me and the missus.”
She got it.
“You realize that to get on that boat, you have to have an invite and a fist full of greenbacks. I can get you one but not the other. Those invites are a bitch to wrangle and that’s the easier of the two.”
“We can handle the money. We need the entry onto that boat.”
“All right. When?”
“Tonight.”
She laughed.
“I’m not a miracle worker. Even Jesus had to work for it. I might be able to score it up for tomorrow. MAYBE. A guy who works it owes me a lot of money from a backroom poker game. He might accommodate.”
“Do what you can.”
“What’s in it for me? This isn’t Charlotte’s gift service. I have to blow a guy to get those.”
Dakota stopped Sarah when she opened her mouth.
“What? I wasn’t offering. I have something even better that I think she might like.”
“What?”
It was clear that Charlotte was intrigued.
“I’ll work a shift for you and you can get some rest. You look like hell.”
She stared at her.
Then she leaned over the bar.
Dakota really thought it was going to go south.
Then she kissed Sarah right on the mouth. “If you toss in a mani-pedi, I’m good with that. It’s going to be a Saturday night, love bunny, they are brutal.”
“I can handle it.”
“Uh, Sarah, honey, this is New Orleans. It gets crazy here. Are you sure?”
She held her hand up. “We got some time. You have Julius open the door, and get that beer stocked. I’ll tag you out. Have a seat, Charlotte, and let me show you what I can do.”
The woman laughed. “I would marry her if she was into women,” she said. “Are you into women?” she asked.
“Seriously? Now you’re trying to poach her too?”
Charlotte laughed.
Then she settled down to watch the show.
It should prove to be interesting.
Chapter Sixteen
Monday Afternoon
W hen they got there, she still wasn’t talking, and that had him worried. Had he done something? Was she thinking about getting pregnant? Was she upset at him saying he wasn’t ready to get married?
Confused didn’t cover it.
He wasn’t positive, but something had changed between them. Zayn wasn’t sure if she was going to ever talk to him again. What he wanted to tell her when she said she was leaving for her rotation to be a doctor was HELL NO!
He wanted to tell her she was staying with him.
He craved caging his pretty Stella, so she’d only sing for him and him alone.
Zayn wanted to tell her they were going to live there, have babies, and start a life.
That single thought caught him off guard.
WOW.
That changed everything.
He must be ready.
If he was upset about her leaving, maybe she was too. Had he been too blasé about it?
He was going to have to find out.
“Well, here’s my home away from crime,” he said, holding the door for her. He walked her over to the security system. “It’s an easy one,” he said, giving her the numbers.
She memorized them.
“It’s a nice place,” she said, looking around.
It was all warm colors and dark wood. It looked like him.
She walked over to the large fireplace made from exposed brick and touched it. “I like it. We don’t have a fireplace. When my mom and dad had the house built, she wasn’t a fan.”
“What was she like?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I was young when she died. I was about four. I remember what she looked like, but I don’t know much about her.”
“How long were they married?”
“Five years when she died. They had this whirlwind courtship. They met on a cruise, they got married fast, and they’d probably still be together had she not gone boating.”
“How long after did your father get remarried?”
“I don’t know a timeframe, but I remember going to my mom’s memorial. There was no grave. She was ‘lost at sea’. It felt like right after he met Maia—but as a kid, time is completely different.”
“Did you have a good relationship with Maia?” he asked, trying to learn everything about her.
“You know how people say stepmothers are mean?”
He nodded.
“Not mine. She was tough. I went to medical school because of her. She told me ‘no daughter of hers was going to shake her ass for a man on stage’. I’m going to take a wild guess and say that’s where she met my dad.”
He heard it in her voice.
“So he just knew both times?”
“I don’t think he did with Maia. I think he got married because of me. He could have screwed around with any woman. He’s loaded. That brings the girls to the yard. With my mom…when he talks about their courtship, it is magical. She fell onto him and the lounge chair by the pool of the cruise ship, it broke, and they both fell into the water wearing formal attire.”
He laughed. “Awkward.”
“Yeah, and they were together every second after that. He still talks about her. Not in front of Maia because that would be rude, but just to me. I think he feels bad he lost her. They had a fight, she went, she died, and…”
He moved toward her.
“I never thought I’d find that. As a little girl, I always wanted that rush. Let’s face it. Reality blows. It’s nice to be swept up into the whole romance o
f it.”
She was smiling again.
He was beginning to get it. They were good, and then reality crept in. He wanted to see her smile again.
“Well, we met in one hell of a way.”
She nodded. “And then we’ll part ways when I become a doctor and you get bored with me gone all day.”
He stared at her. “Stella.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“Reality…it’s not as much fun. Can I go rest? I’ve had a cold, hard dose of reality the last month. I don’t think I want to focus on that now.”
His heart skipped.
She’d been battered, bruised, and scared, and she was worried about the future. He could see it.
“If you tell me what you need,” he said, blocking her exit. “I’ll do anything for you.”
“Stop time, go back to me going to medical school, make me change my mind, and then find me again so we could start over.”
Her words hurt him.
She really believed they’d never survive being apart.
She didn’t have faith.
Well, he did.
“Stella.”
The tears came. “Please. I can’t. I lost another mother today. I want to live in a dream world where there’s only happiness and peace. Reality hurts. You always get hurt.”
She moved around him, and he let her go.
When she headed up the stairs, he followed. “My bedroom is to the left.”
She went in, kicked off her shoes, and climbed onto the bed. He pulled the blanket over her.
“Do you want me to leave you a gun?” he asked. “Will you feel safer and not shoot me?”
“I’m a doctor. I don’t know how to shoot a gun. It’s against the oath I took to preserve life.”
Yeah, one more thing they didn’t have in common.
“Okay, sweetness. I’m going to go grab some provisions. Do you want anything specific?”
“To run away with you and never come back to reality,” she said, closing her eyes.
Atonement: The Hunter Mercenary Series (Book One) Page 24
