Shouldn't Have Dealt

by Mara Lynne

  I was this close to Damien, and yet I fail to recognize him.

  I feel pain in my heart like a dagger going straight through it. It’s throbbing, and it’s causing me to breathe heavily. As a natural response to the need of air, I reach for the wooden plank, and with all my force, push the plank outwards. It falls onto the floor with a smashing sound, but I am not afraid of being caught now because I know no one’s in the room. Will and Damien have departed.

  Crawling out of the wall chamber all flustered, I fail to see the overhang. Hence, when I put my arm forward, there’s nothing in there to support me. And so, I fall hard against the floor.

  Tears break out my eyes, but I know the pain from falling hard is just an added cause. The prime reason for the sudden gush of emotion is the unexpected turn of events—the surprise and regret.

  The remorse I am feeling for not recognizing Damien is too much to handle that I stayed helpless on the floor.

  Have I reached the stage of acceptance and forgiveness that even his voice has lost its place in my memory? Did I push myself too much to forget the man? Did I?

  If I did, shouldn’t I be happy for finally and totally wiping him out of my mind? I don’t feel any bliss… not even a shard of happiness.

  Guilt is consuming me so much that the tears stop on its own from gushing out of my eyes.

  Damien is Fawn.

  Hunter is Stag.

  It all makes sense.

  Damien’s awful history before he got into Princeton, his ties with strange men the media calls the ‘Great Influencers of the highly reputed Damien Etheridge’—I remember them all. He was all over the news for months. If only we haven’t met at college, I would have always thought of him as a troublemaker even if I knew of him as the mayor’s only son and the richest kid in town. Stories of his nightclub escapades, violent drinking games, substance abuse, and petty theft with friends, probably Will, reached my ears. He was the Damien Etheridge I had known before I met him at Princeton.

  There were no traces of Hunter Stone’s involvement in all his debauchery. I cannot remember anything about the man from the TV or the newspapers. Hence, I was extremely bowled over when I first knew that they are brothers.

  If I remember it right, Mary Etheridge speaks of Hunter as an unloving and uncaring older brother to Damien. It says a lot about their childhood together, so I quickly presumed that they were never friends, to begin with.

  So why did Will speak like they once had a great friendship?

  Just what kind of relationship do they have with each other and with Will? With the way he spoke of things a while ago, it seems that their bond goes a long way back than just five years ago. I feel that their camaraderie has a long history of fealty, togetherness, and shared hardship. Perhaps, Hunter and Will were the master players of this gang. Damien must be much too young then, but who knows?

  Will could have introduced Damien to this world. And how about Hunter? Who was he in Damien’s life five to six years ago? Who is he as a brother?

  A shooting pain in the back of my head begins to spread like wildfire across my skull. It feels as though thousands of hammers are pounding away on my head. It’s heavy, and so is my chest.

  Standing up, I touch both my knees and feel a sudden pain in my joints. They are swollen, an inevitable injury from the fall.

  Limping, I step out behind the pile of cardboard boxes. By now, the train of my white dress has tears all over, and the safety pin Hugo securely placed is long gone.

  A rectangular table stands in the middle. There’s a dangling light bulb above it, lighting up the entire room. The bottle of the 1940 scotch Will was talking about is left on it together with two wine glasses.

  “I don’t drink anymore…”

  The untouched one must be Damien’s.

  Also, there are two apache cases at the other end of the table, both bolted shut.

  This place is a den for smuggled drugs, that much is clear to me, and Hunter is a vital element of this criminal transaction.

  Is this what Will wanted Hunter to do? Hunter succumbed to his wishes because of his newfound weakness. I could only think of the time he promised me my family’s protection. This could be it. This could be his payment for Will’s mercy and consideration.

  The door creaks, abruptly swinging open, and it is too late for me to run because of my swollen knees.

  “Well, well, well…” Will crosses the threshold with a gun under his belt. “Who do we have here?” His smirk widens as he sees me petrified in fear

  “How did you get in?” he asks.

  “So this is what you asked Hunter to do?” I dare to ask. I don’t know where the courage came from. I know I am frozen with fear for my life, but I guess I am born reckless.

  Will’s eyes widen.

  “You’re very smart. Did Hunter tell you about this?”

  “No. He keeps a lot of secrets.”

  “Then you’re here to investigate your man?”

  I shake my head. “I’m here to investigate you.”

  Will let out an irritated laugh. “You, investigating me?”

  “I don’t trust you. I think you’ve used Hunter really well.”

  “Is that a warning, Mrs. Stone?”

  “You get your hands off him!” I raise my voice slightly. “He’s played his part, and yet you refuse to play your part of the bargain, and you call yourself a man for that?”

  The sides of his eyes twitch. Obviously, I have bruised his ego.

  He takes his gun out of his belt. “Hunter was not afraid of this,” he says, showing me the weapon. “Neither was he afraid of this.” He takes a small knife out of his pocket and tosses it on the table.

  What is this man trying to say?

  “He was not even afraid of his life. Such an odd man. What do you think does that entail, Mrs. Stone?”

  “You’re afraid of him.”

  “No!” He keeps his calm despite the seething anger evident in his place. “Even if Hunter says he’d kill me, I know I still have the upper hand.”

  “I don’t care who’s afraid of who. Just leave us alone!”

  He lets out a laugh.

  “The police will know about this. I’ll tell them you’re trafficking drugs to the country,” I say, trying hard to sound really menacing. My chin is held up high, so Will won’t find any hint of my nerves, despite the tension in my heart and mind.

  My heart seeks answers about Damien.

  My brain wishes to suppress the memory of him that has rekindled from embers.

  I have to ask about Hunter and about the white crystals, I right away presume as drugs. I just have to intimidate the man, so he lets us free.

  I am afraid I am consuming too much of my strength and energy to keep standing still in front of this scary man with only the thoughts of Damien running around my head and my chest pounding tumultuously, crying over this one mistake I am dying to correct. If I could only leave this place, with these swollen knees of mine, I would run after Damien. I want to find out if it’s really him and not my crazy senses playing me again.

  I need to see him with my own eyes.

  I need to see him for this guilt to stop devouring me.

  I just need to, or I’ll go crazy.

  “Do that, and you will put Hunter in danger. I guess you know what your man did for me. He’s basically the man behind the operations now,” Will says confidently as he approaches me in little steps. “Can you do that to Hunter, Mrs. Stone?”

  He is right. Reporting Will also means turning in Hunter.

  “Do you want to know how much effort he put into this with the hope that when all this is finished, I’d totally leave him with you?”

  Will stops just a foot away from me.

  I pull back as his height and size seem to double in my eyes. It’s only now that I realize how huge a man Will is. He can easily knock me out with one hand.

  “Stag was afraid as a mouse after I told him I’ll go after you. With a snap of my finger, I had hi
m by the neck. You see, after that, I began to think about how a tiny thing like you could make the giant tremble with fear. Stag is a heartless man, but when it comes to you, he softens like cotton. Now, I am all the more amazed at the power women have over men.”

  Of course, Hunter would do that because he promised to protect my family and me.

  “Don’t worry, Mrs. Stone. I wouldn’t hold Hunter for too long,” Will adds as he towers over me. “Your wedding and honeymoon won’t be disturbed if that worries you. I don’t think I’d be needing Stag’s services for the next two years so you can have him all you want. I have his brother.”

  Damien.

  My limbs freeze.

  No. He cannot use Damien, too.

  “Fawn works differently than his brother. Hunter’s smooth and silent, like nothing ever happened. Fawn likes it to be just a little grand, you know.”

  “What are you planning with Damien?”

  “Did you see him a while ago? I could see in his eyes the fervor to prove himself, and I can provide him that opportunity,” Will answers. “Hunter shouldn’t know about this. Okay, Mrs. Stone? Hunter shouldn’t know that Damien is back and that his brother has paid me a visit. It’s our little secret, okay?”

  “Why? Why shouldn’t Hunter know?”

  He turns his head to the side as though gauging if I am deserving to know a secret.

  “And why should I tell you?”

  “Why shouldn’t you, Will? You’re the one asking a favor.”

  His tongue licks his lower lip, then the brief flatness of his face is gone.

  “You know, Mrs. Stone, we could be really good friends.”

  “I am afraid I have to decline that offer, Will. I have too many friends already.”

  “Too bad! I really want to hang out with you.”

  “Hunter will kill you,” I sharply state.

  “Are you like this with Hunter, too? Cause I don’t think any man would have their legs intact after they have this little chat with you.”

  “I am worse than you can imagine, Will.”

  He raises his thumb and slightly brushes the side of his lips with it like he is astounded by my brazenness.

  This is exactly what I want Will to think of me.

  Fearless.

  A fighter.

  Independent.

  I can only wish I scare him a bit.

  “I see why Stag is enamored.”

  “And I see why Hunter should cut his ties with you.”

  “Fine!” He raises his hands in the air in defeat. “I am throwing the white towel. After tomorrow, after Stag has breached the security points in the Central, I will disappear like a bubble.”

  I have learned my lessons to never trust people like Will.

  “You will never see even my shadow, Mrs. Stone,” he continues,

  “And you will not touch Damien!” I say in one breath.

  I mean it.

  “Wow! Why do you care?” His eyes glow. “Don’t you think you’re asking way too much?”

  “If you don’t want me telling Hunter about his brother, don’t you dare lay a finger on Damien.” My foot steps forward as my eyes level with him.

  “You can’t have both, missy. You get Hunter. I get Damien. It’s a win-win for us.”

  “How can that even be a bargain, Will?”

  “Come on! I need one of them. They’re like my Kryptonite,” Will says. “Why do you have to care about your fiancé’s brother?”

  Because…

  “Why, Mrs. Stone?”

  My face suddenly feels warm, and my once firm gaze falters.

  I did not expect Will to be this inquisitive. Nevertheless, I have nothing to tell him.

  There’s something on his face that shows more than just curiosity. I wish I am wrong this time. I don’t want to think that Will already figures out the real picture between the three of us. I don’t think he’s that smart to complete all the puzzle with the little details I have given out. I don’t want to think he’s got something on his mind right now.

  “Because he is Hunter’s brother.” I try to cover the shakiness in my voice.

  “I know Damien is Hunter’s brother, and he loves him so much, he’ll give everything to him. Am I missing something out, Ms. Grant?”

  I shake my head.

  Why will he suddenly address me with my fake name?

  “I think that whatever Damien asks of Hunter, the latter will undoubtedly give it to him. I just don’t know about love. Do you know anything about it, Ms. Grant?”

  “No!” I quickly retort. “I don’t know anything about their relationship, Will. I doubt that you’re telling me the truth.” As far as I am concerned, Damien and Hunter never had a good relationship. “Why don’t you ask them that question? I think you’re pretty close to both of them.”

  “Nah! I think I got the answer to my question.” His grin suggests something more.

  “Well, I won’t stop your delusion, Will.”

  He shrugs his shoulders, still keeping that smirk. “I think I’ll really enjoy watching you three,” he says.

  It looks like I can’t do anything to change his mind.

  “Just stay away from us!”

  “From who? From you and Hunter? Or you and Damien?”

  I turn my back on him. The redness on my face shows fury, but I think with Will misinterpreting things right now, I am afraid he would think of it as something else.

  “Angel?”

  The door slams open.

  A breathless Hunter comes into view. It’s as if blood left his face for the longest time. His face has become as white as his shirt.

  As soon as he finds me, he runs to me and envelopes me in his arms. It’s the first time I see fright taking a toll on a man like Hunter Stone. His embrace feels warms and securing, though. The fear I had for Will immediately disappears when I smell his scent and feel the leanness of his body. Hunter embraces me tightly.

  “Hunter…” My voice breaks.

  “Ssshh… Let’s talk later,” he whispers to my ears, grabbing my hand.

  “Welcome back, Stag!”

  I hate that smile on Will’s face.

  “Everything’s ready for tomorrow, Will. You got my word,” Hunter tells Will sinisterly. “I hope I got yours.”

  Will shifts his gaze from Hunter to me.

  “Of course, Stag. I always keep my word,” he replies for me, but it is intended for me, I know.

  It is a threat… a reminder that I have no choice but to keep only one person safe, and that is Hunter.

  It was a statement that Damien is his.

  Chapter 32: Rage in Silence

  “Where are we?” My eyes coast from east to west as I salivate with awe at the grandiosity of the massive stone house. The gates open at the center, and my eyes can only freeze to take a minute watching the spectacle unfold in front of my very eyes.

  Hunter is not talking to me. Not even the sophistication of this unfamiliar building can take away my annoyance over his silence. He’s been like this since we left the abandoned street, and I could see a brewing storm through his face.

  What is he mad about, anyway?

  Is it my full knowledge of his secrets and association with Will?

  He can’t blame me for taking actions. I know my only fault is being too nosy, but I just have to follow him because I was scared for his life. Surely, he is not serious about giving me cold shoulders for the entire night.

  His hands are on the steering wheel. He is too focused on swerving the car to the empty space just in front of the house’s entrance. Upon pulling over, he quickly frees himself from the seatbelt and mounts off the car. He is deliberately avoiding me.

  When he reaches the side where I am seated, he opens the door. “Can you walk?” he says coldly.

  “Do I look like I need carrying?” I slightly raise my voice. Honestly, that sarcastic response just naturally came out. I’ve been trying to be patient with him, but I’ve had enough already.

 
“Good, because I have no plan of doing that!” he retorts scornfully and turns his back on me, walking toward the entrance.

  So we are heading nose-first to a cold war now?

  Paul meets Hunter before he could cross the wide threshold. Hunter said something to the man, and the latter makes brief nods. After that, Hunter heads off inside without even looking back at me.

  “Do you need assistance, Ms. Mohr?” Paul asks as soon as he reaches me.

  “Why? Did he tell you to carry me on your shoulders?” My legs still feel swollen, and I think other than my knees, my left ankle is starting to ache. I must have twisted it while I dismounted the car.

  “Not quite that instruction, I believe,” Paul answers as he offers his hand. “But he said I should use force on you when you show resistance.”

  On second thought, I don’t think I have the energy to pick a fight with Paul tonight over entering this entirely unfamiliar but heavenly place.

  “What is this place anyway, Paul? Your boss purposely neglected to tell me where we are.”

  “Didn’t boss tell you, miss?”

  “No.”

  “You’re in your new home, miss. Mr. Stone purchased it just this morning,” Paul replies.

  Why would he need a new house? the question pops out of my mind.

  “Is his apartment not enough?” I blurt out.

  Hunter has no sense of frugality. When he feels the urge to waste money, he would not think twice about it. I remember he stated more than one property in the U.S. as my workplace in the contract, so it just means he has plenty of houses already. Yet he bought another one today. For what? Does he suffer from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder? Because I can see that he has no control over purchasing unnecessary stuff whatsoever.

  “Mr. Stone bought it for you, miss,” Paul says. “He deems his apartment to be unsafe for you and him.” Paul stops walking just as we enter the living room.

  I heard him right this time despite half of my attention being drawn away by the sheer exquisiteness of the place.

  This place reminds me of the Etheridge’s mansion in Pine Valley. The architecture is somewhat similar although this one is a little smaller. I don’t think Hunter has a lake behind the house because we are situated in the middle of a town in Princeton.