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My body heats on its own accord.
Hunter clears his throat, pulling me back to the now. Angry Aelina. “May told me about what happened at the diner last night.”
I roll my eyes. “Yes, and?” I ask, unable to hide my sarcasm.
“And...you should be more concerned, Aelina. This isn’t some game. If you were there last night, you most likely would have been taken by your father and delivered to mine. My father has been waiting for the last twenty-six years for revenge on your father because he thinks they took you and your sisters away from them, and the promises made between the families were broken. How much more do I need to spell this out for you? If your father gets a hold of you before I get to present you as my future wife, he’ll take you to my father, who will hold nothing back because of your family’s betrayal. He will kill your father and you,” he shouts, his face going red and the veins in his neck popping out.
I step back, but Hunter tracks my movement. He walks around the other side of the bed and stands at the patio’s glass door, blocking my escape. “I don’t understand, why now? And why haven’t they just killed my father? Surely, he isn’t that good at hiding. None of this makes sense. I have no knowledge and grew up thinking I had no family. How is my death a form of payment? And if my father is going to be killed, why would he risk that?” I’m exasperated with the circles we keep talking in.
“I know this is a lot, and I’m sorry. If I thought there was another way, I would have pursued that, but things have escalated with your father’s reappearance. I need you to understand the severity of it all. Death is all that awaits you unless you’re at my side. And yes, I’m being selfish in this. I want what is mine.” His eyes flare with the last word, a slight growl rumbling in his chest, making my breath catch. “My father is unpredictable at best, but with you standing by my side, my family isn’t allowed to touch you,” he states, hanging his head low.
It’s obvious this is weighing on him. I want to touch him, reassure him that I’m okay, but I don’t move, even though a part of me is being pulled toward him. I have to fight the desire to go to him, to keep my feet planted on the spot. “I get it. But would this have happened if you hadn’t shown up at my place of work?”
Hunter shrugs, and my eyes land on his large shoulders, moving up and down. “My father told me that he’d heard talk that you are alive. He didn’t tell me how he knew.” He turns his body and leans against the glass. “He told me that a year ago and set me the job of finding you. It took me months to locate you, and it was a good thing I did.”
“So he sent you to find me. Why bring me here then?”
“Because I want things to be different, and so do our grandmothers. Those silly old bats concocted this whole thing. My granny made sure I was brought up right and not a stone-cold killer who followed every single one of my father’s orders.”
I move toward my bed and sit on the edge. “I get that you want things differently. I get that maybe us working together will do that. But I guess I’m not on the same page.”
Hunter moves to the opposite side of my bed. “When couples from separate families come together, they’re the most powerful. They have a hold over both parties. Your words could mean the difference between whether someone lives or dies. You get to decide what becomes of the underworld and the people who follow those families, who work with them, who run their business. Every aspect. Me and you together are something so powerful no one could stop us.”
13
My mouth opens, then closes again. His words have left me speechless. Something so powerful no one could stop us.
Is that how it is in his world?
Hunter comes around to my side of the bed, and I quickly stand. “I know this is a lot to take in. You have plenty to think about, but remember that us, married, could change the game and the number of deaths that happen unnecessarily.”
I step back, feeling cornered. “I’m not going to marry you. I don’t know you, and you’ve made those feelings about where I stand with you pretty clear, especially last night when you told me you were only here because I was promised to you.”
He releases a frustrated breath, his hand coming up and sliding down his tired face. “Why are you being so difficult?”
“I’m being difficult?” I grit through my teeth. “How dare you?” I stomp up to him, my finger stabbing him in the chest. “You brought me here when I wanted nothing to do with you or your family or even to do with my own. They abandoned me. Do you know what it’s like growing up with nothing? Searching for your next meal in the trash? Having foster parents treat you like garbage? No, you wouldn’t because you had your family,” I scream, angry, frustrated, and exhausted as my throat clogs with emotion.
I move around Hunter and head straight for my bathroom. I don’t want him to see the tears already falling down my cheeks.
“Aelina,” he calls after me.
I don’t stop. I can’t. My heart is racing at a crazy erratic speed. After opening the door, I quickly head inside, slamming and locking it. My sweaty palms grip at my tight chest. I attempt to inhale to calm myself, but my breath gets caught in my throat. My legs give way, and I slide down the door, collapsing in a heap on the floor. Silent sobs rip through my already tender body.
I’m worn down with all the new information given to me over the last couple of days. I’ve exposed more of myself than I wanted to with Hunter. I don’t want Hunter to see me emotional and weak. He could use that against me, which I don’t need.
The door handle wiggles. “Aelina, let me in,” Hunter demands, and hearing that tone only makes me more defiant.
“No. Go away. You don’t own me.”
Silence, then his words become more demanding and dominant. “Oh, believe me, Little Red. I own you. You belong to me, and one way or another, you will be mine, whether it is by choice or force.” His tone combined with the threat of his words, rattle me to the core.
My body trembles as rage ignites inside me like a wild inferno, and I break out in a sweat, sending a shudder through me. My hands ball into fists, and my nostrils flare in complete exasperation.
He’s infuriating, and I want to show him just how strong this tiny girl can be. Pulling myself off the floor, I unlock the door and yank it open.
Hunter stands there red-faced, his eyes hauntingly cold.
My hands come up and shove him hard in the chest. “I will never be yours. Get out!” I yell and continue to shove him in the chest.
