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A thunderous crack cuts the air. One solitary shot that erupts from Hunter’s gone and pierces Jay’s left temple, then explodes out of his right eye socket, spilling blood, brain matter, and shredded gelatin from his ruptured eyeball. He crumples immediately.
As does Officer Abrams, who hits his knees and raises his hands, a placating mewling shriek babbling from his mouth.
"Don't shoot, don't shoot!" Abrams stammers, his eyes wide with terror. He's a far cry from the menacing figure who had just been towering over me moments ago.
Hunter keeps his gun trained on Abrams, while two other bikers rush to my side. Maggie is there in an instant, her hands gently touching my bruised face. "You're safe now, Emily. We’ve got you."
Sophie steps forward, her eyes blazing with righteous fury. "Get him up," she orders two of the bikers, who roughly haul Abrams to his feet.
Abrams trembles, looking more like a cornered animal than a powerful officer of the law.
"I was just following Jay's lead," he blubbers.
"Shut up," Harper snaps. "We don't want your excuses."
Hunter steps closer to Abrams, his gun never wavering. His voice is deadly cold. "You think you can mess with our family and get away with it?"
Abrams whimpers, falling to his knees again as if begging for mercy. "Please don't kill me."
Hunter lowers his gun slightly but keeps his eyes locked on Abrams.
“We don’t need to kill you,” he says ominously. “But we will make sure you regret ever laying a hand on Emily.” His eyes turn to me, and for a moment, beneath the vengeance, I see a flash of something close to love and compassion that makes my heart leap in my chest. “Are you OK?”
I nod. “I am.”
“They kept you prisoner here somewhere, didn’t they?”
“There’s a secret room in the basement. The door is hidden behind a shelf.”
Hunter grunts and nods. “This is your decision, Emily. If you want to let him go, or have me shoot him here on the spot, whatever you want, we’ll do it. But I’m inclined to think that the punishment should fit the crime.”
I nod. “We lock him up, leave him there. And who knows, maybe someone will miss this sicko enough that they’ll find him before thirst and starvation take him.”
“Please, no. Please. I’m a cop. You can’t kill a cop,” Officer Abrams begs.
Hunter strikes him across the face. “You signed your fucking death warrant the second you touched her.” With a gesture, Hunter signals to two of the bikers, who drag Abrams away. Then Hunter approaches me. His face is unreadable — a mix of fury, vengeance, and love — and he extends his hand. “You and I need to take a ride.”
Chapter Fifty-Five
Emily
I slip behind him on the motorcycle. It’s shocking how natural it feels despite all that’s happened between us, as if my heart and mind both recognize the truth — I’m safest holding on to the man in front of me; safest with my legs locked on him, safest with my hands on his hips, safest with my heart pressed to him.
We ride in silence for a while, until we’re far from that nightmare house.
And we stop at Sweetcakes. There’s a line, as usual, but one look at Hunter and people part ways for the two of us. It makes me smile a little, that with his presence, minor difficulties just disappear. I wish that figuring out my heart and how I felt about him were as easy. The moment we’re seated, Hunter signals a passing server and places our order by simply saying, “Bring us a lot of food. Solid stuff — eggs, bacon, waffles — and two of every cupcake. Hurry.”
“Oh, and a latte, too, please,” I call after the server as she scampers away.
“Make that two,” Hunter adds.
For a moment, we sit in silence, just looking at each other, each wanting to speak, yet not knowing how. I’m afraid of saying nothing, yet just as afraid of saying the wrong thing.
Finally, I open my mouth. “How did you know to come looking for me?”
“Your friends all came to the club. They grabbed me. Talked some sense into me. They noticed you were gone, and they missed you.”
My throat tightens, and I wipe an unwanted tear from my eye. After being taken by Jay, after everything he put me through, I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of hearing how people care for me. “And you?”
