Page 14 of Hunter

Daddy and I walk out to the car and when he gets in next to me, he’s crying again. Crying, but smiling too.

Chapter 7

Louisa

“He was there again,” I call out to Phoenix when I return home from work, kicking off my ugly shoes and losing the hideous sweater that came from the local charity shop. I’ll never forget the confused look Phoenix and I were given by the cashier. She must have been about eighteen and clearly hadn’t yet learned her poker face.

Crashing and banging from out in the yard tells me he’s changing the barrels out back, readying everything for when the bar opens. I’m not usually home this early, but I’m ashamed to say I feigned a migraine and was allowed to bunk off at three. Tony tends to have that effect on me and, alas, he’s taken to following me around more frequently in the past few months. I’m not ready to consider what has happened to cause him to suddenly up his game with his stalking. Perhaps he’s got some psychic connection to me and knows I’ve finally begun to move on. My heart no longer aches when I think about him, it no longer thuds harder when it hears a Spanish accent in the near vicinity, and it no longer feels the urge to question Javier about his little brother every time he comes in to see Phoenix. Now, I only feel sad for the loss of the little boy who was once my very best friend; that boy left a long time ago, way before I ended things with him.

As I pour myself a drink, Phoenix comes stomping inside and reveals his angry glare, even though it’s not me who he’s angry with.

“You fucking what?” Phoenix’s purple complexion greets me, already revved up and ready for action. I wish I knew how to help him with his temper. He’s either calm or raging, there’s no in-between, not since the weight of everything fell on his shoulders…again.

“Antonio,” I reply matter of factly, his name still stinging on my tongue. “He’s beginning to show up daily; I don’t know what to do, Phoenix. Mr Hunter noticed him today. Phoenix…he’s becoming more and more obvious…reckless almost. I really don’t want to lose my job over this.”

Phoenix marches across the room and picks up my father’s old baseball bat, which he always used to call Betty, after an old girlfriend. Once the bat is in hand, he immediately begins pacing angrily toward the bar, getting ready to go out the front entrance and cause mayhem somewhere.

“Where the hell are you going, Phoenix?” I shout as I run to catch up with him. He’s bigger but I’m faster so it doesn’t take me long to overtake the idiot and ram myself between the door and the angry beast before me. “Will you just stop and talk to me before acting like a lunatic?”

“Out the way, Louisa,” he snaps, “enough is e-fucking-nough. Dude needs to be told once and for all that he is nothing to you, period!”

“So you think marching over to the Ortegas is a good idea? Phoenix, I get that you’re a badass but that’s pure suicide,” I shout back at him, giving him a disbelieving look. “Tony isn’t the same little kid as he once was, Phoenix, and whether you like it or not, he’s having a little trouble letting go.” I finally give up my position between my brother and the door when I see his arms drop their tension and the bat slumps down to the floor. “Besides, it’s not worth you destroying your friendship with Javier; blood is thicker than water, Phoenix, you know that.”

“Trust me, Javier thinks his little brother is as stupid as I do,” he pouts but thankfully begins walking back toward the bar.

I follow behind him, now seeing Jake leaning over the beer taps, watching us both as we take up a stool in front of him. Phoenix is still gripping onto ‘Betty’, so I continue watching him with a smirk on my face; observing my brother’s thought processes when he’s angry is quite amusing. Dad and I used to watch him in this state all the time, and we’d end up in fits of laughter, which only riled him up even more. That being said, I have also seen Phoenix lose it with people, the sight of which is more than enough to understand why most don’t like to mess with him. Around here, and probably beyond, everyone knows not to mess with Phoenix Flynn.

My phone starts buzzing, which is unusual for me, seeing as I don’t have a lot of friends, and those that I do have, are already here with me.

“Who the fuck is that?” Phoenix grumbles.

“My pimp,” I reply with a smile, not chancing it to look at his face afterward. Besides, Jake’s laughter is enough to tell me what effect it had on my brother. “Hey!”

The bastard has whipped my phone out of my hands and is creasing his brow over whoever it is on the caller ID.

“Why the fuck is some asshole called Daniel calling you?” he asks accusingly.

Jake quietly sucks in a breath in the background before chuckling to himself and walking off to the other end of the bar.

“He’s my boss, asshat!”

I whip it out of his hand before hitting the green button, hoping Phoenix keeps his mouth shut.

“Hello, Mr Hunter,” I greet him with my professional tone of voice, even though Phoenix and I are now exchanging hand signals; he’s threatening everything he can think of, while I’m telling him to shut the hell up.

“Daniel, Louisa; remember, it’s Daniel,” he says and I find myself smiling over his fake grumpiness. “I’m sorry to call you after today; how are you feeling?”

“I’m ok, Daniel, I just needed to rest a little. I appreciate you asking though,” I reply, relenting in my usual uptight persona. I guess I can concede that Daniel’s a nice guy, even if he is a tad anal.

“Louisa, are you sure you’re ok? You haven’t been yourself since you saw that guy. He’s not a danger to you, is he?”

“No, no, he’s nothing,” I rush out, not wanting to hash out a past I’ve been trying so hard to forget; a past that is heartbreaking…still. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“Er, yes, we need to go shopping tomorrow; I’ve arranged for a personal stylist to take you out for the day.”

“Oh,” I reply, not even pretending to hide how unappealing that sounds.

“And I can tell you’re really excited about this,” he laughs, “but I promise, the stylist is very good, and she will try to be as efficient as she can. I can personally vouch for her. We’ve used her many times before; she’s even styled yours truly.”

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