AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It isn’t. But I am. Charlie’s still asleep and you’re here. That’s two pieces of good news on the same day, while good news has been in short supply lately.”
“Still, pardon me for being shocked. I can’t recall a time where I’ve actually made you smile, Hunter.”
“Don’t go getting full of yourself, Diesel. And smiling or not, I will kick your ass if you wake Charlie up, so keep the noise down.”
“Sir, yes, sir,” he whispers, giving me a mock salute.
I grab two beers from the fridge and hand one to Diesel. We move to the living room, careful to keep our footsteps light. I gesture for him to take a seat on the couch while I lower myself into the armchair across from him.
"So, fill me in," Diesel says, his voice barely above a whisper. "What's the situation?"
I take a long pull from my beer, organizing my thoughts. "It's bad. After I found Tyler and Kate dead, after I took Charlie, I just ran. It seemed the safest course of action — to get the little guy out of there. It was four, five, six days, I don’t know, of just running, sleeping rough as one can with a baby, changing diapers at truck stops, trying to keep him comfortable, until we got here. This is the first place where I felt like I could settle for a moment. Charlie needs this. He’s exhausted, confused, and I know he knows something’s wrong.” I pause as several revelations hit me. One, that I know it’s true, that Charlie is hurt, even if he isn’t showing it much outright. And two, that I love him, that I’m learning how to read him enough that I can even recognize those signs means that, whether or not I thought I could, I’m growing as a parental figure for him. That makes me smile. Maybe, when things are safe, I can handle this being a dad thing. “So I need to make this place work for a while. It’s important. There’s another thing, too… And that is that I'm..." I trail off, not wanting to admit how close I am to losing it.
Diesel leans forward, his eyes intense. "You're what, Hunter?"
I sigh, running a hand through my hair. "I'm worried, alright? For the first time in my life, I've got something to lose. Something that matters more than anything else."
Diesel nods, understanding in his eyes. "That's why you called me. You need backup."
"Yeah," I admit. "I can't do this alone anymore. Not with them to protect.”
“Them?”
“There’s a girl, too.”
Diesel beams. “Tell me about her.”
I take a moment to sum up Emily, a fact that seems impossible to do in just a few words, even though I’ve only known her a short time. How do you just ‘sum up’ someone who, with their presence, just makes so much of life’s difficulties seem so much easier?
“Her name’s Emily. She was Charlie’s babysitter…”
“Oh, bro,” Diesel says. “The babysitter? Are you going after high schoolers, now? She’s at least over the age of consent, I hope.”
“Fuck you, it’s not like that,” I say, laughing. “She’s studying to be a pharmacist and nearly has her degree. She’s still younger than me, yeah, but it’s not like I’m robbing the cradle.”
“Good, because I want to be here to support you, Hunter, not keep you off some sex offender watchlist.” He takes a long drink of beer and keeps his eyes on me the entire time, probing. “But you still haven’t filled me in on the whole situation.”
“Moretti has men hunting for me, I’m sure of it. There’ve been signs. Yesterday, I found death threats carved into Emily’s car, so I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before his men locate where I’m holed up, even though I’ve been doing my best to keep a low profile and cover our tracks. It’s still too soon to move, and I’d rather not, if I can avoid it. I like it here, and Charlie does, too.”
“You still haven’t told me everything.”
Sometimes, I think about calling Diesel something other than Diesel, like Canine or Pitbull, because he’s like a dog with a bone once he gets an idea in his head.
“What are you talking about?”
Another deep look, like he’s trying to drink me in as much as the beer in his hand. “How are you doing, Hunter?”
“Me?” I shrug. “What do you mean?”
“You saw your brother and your sister-in-law get murdered and you’re now a dad. That’s a whole fucking lot to go through. How are you holding up? What’s going on in your head?”
I’m wondering if it was a mistake to invite Diesel here. Is his help worth the cost of his invasive probing?
I take a long swig of my beer, avoiding Diesel's gaze. He's right, of course. I've been so focused on keeping Charlie safe, on staying one step ahead of Moretti's men, that I haven't allowed myself to process what happened. The grief, the anger, the fear—it's all there, bubbling just beneath the surface.
"I'm fine," I lie, my voice gruff.
Diesel snorts. "Bullshit. I've known you too long, Hunter. You're not fine."
