Page 69 of Hunter

“I do know, Lou, because I had to see him with you every day,” he says sadly, and I instantly rip my hand away from his. “I knew it was the only thing that would make you leave him. I did it so you could find someone so far away from all that we do, mija. You were never meant to be a gangster’s wife, to see what we do, to live with what the father of your children do. You were meant for better than that, Lou. Tell me you don’t crave a normal life with Daniel; to live in peace out in the suburbs, with two children, a dog, and a family who won’t leave you to go and wipe out some other shady piece of shit. Tell me I’m wrong!”

I look away angrily, because he’s right, and he knows I can’t tell him I don’t want that, but I’m still so hurt and so angry for Tony, and for me. There are so many emotions swimming inside of me right now, and my head is hurting.

“Did my brother know about what you did?” I whisper.

“I came clean the day Tony came to show you his ring,” he tells me. “I knew what Tony was planning to do and I couldn’t bring myself to betray him again, so I told Phoenix, and begged him to let Tony have his chance. Reluctantly, he agreed, but only because he knew you wouldn’t take him back. He knew you were already giving away your heart to someone else.” I remember him staying quiet that day, not charging over to stop Tony like he normally would. I remember thinking how strange it was, and now I know why. “I’m sorry, Louisa.”

“You shouldn’t have interfered, Javier,” I snap before taking a moment to breathe, to think about things a little more rationally, and to soften. “But I understand you were trying to do the right thing, even if it was so wrong.”

“Lou?” I look up to see someone I’ve been waiting for ever since I woke up. “You ok?”

I nod my head, even though I have a steady stream of tears falling over my cheeks, which only makes him look all the more concerned for me. He then moves his eyes over to Javier with suspicion.

“I think it is my time to go,” Javier smiles, “leave the lovers together. Goodbye, Louisa.”

“Javier?” I call out and he turns with a look of hope in his eyes. “Will you tell the Ortega boys I forgive them? Both of them…please?”

We look at one another for a long moment before he simply smiles and bobs his head in answer.

“I wish the both of you much luck,” he says as he looks at me, and then Daniel. “May you both live a long and happy life together. You deserve it, Louisa; your parents would have been very proud. Vivir mucho tiempo y amar duro! (Live long and love hard!)”

As soon as Javier leaves, I hold my arms out for Daniel to come and join me on the bed, which he wastes no time in doing. It hurts where I was shot, but I don’t care enough to stop it. Sometimes it’s worth a little pain for the ones you love.

“I thought I’d lost you, you silly girl,” he says before he kisses me. “Don’t ever put yourself in that kind of danger again, you hear me?”

“I love you, Daniel, I really mean it, it’s all you!”

“I hope so, cos your brother and I have kind of done something without your permission,” he says with a guilty-looking grin on his face. “We’ve just moved all your stuff into my place. I want you to live with me.”

For a moment, I stare at him in shock, to which he nervously brushes his hand through his hair. He looks like he’s going to burst over my response to his grand gesture and when I open my mouth to speak, he holds his breath. However, before I can say a single thing, the doctor walks in to check me over. For the next twenty minutes or so, I’m poked, prodded, checked over, and asked a variety of questions, leaving me to feel completely exhausted. When one is recovering from a gunshot wound, I don’t suppose you’re meant to be dealt so many shocking revelations.

“So, we’ve got all your paperwork, but the address has been left blank,” the nurse from before says to me. Daniel is now pacing around in the background with perspiration coating his forehead while he waits for something, anything, that says how I really feel about moving in with him. I can’t help but think how cute it is to see him sweating over it…literally. “Can you tell me so I can fill it in?”

“You better ask the man next to you,” I finally reply, offering him a reassuring smile when he releases a pent-up breath of relief. “I’ll be living with him from now on.”

The nurse looks a little perplexed when Daniel bypasses the clipboard and comes right over to kiss me with so much passion, it finishes me off and I can barely keep my eyes open.

“Sleep, baby, I’ll be looking after you from now on,” he whispers. “I love you, Louisa.”

“Me too.”

Epilogue

Louisa

Three months later

I can’t help laughing over the look of sheer anxiety on Phoenix’s face as he walks up toward Daniel’s parents’ place. In fact, we’ve been exchanging little grins at one another behind his back ever since we parked up. One would have thought it was his girlfriend’s parents he was about to meet; he looks that anxious. I suppose Phoenix has never done parents much before now; he wasn’t even that close to Ava and Emilio. One look at their mansion when we finally got out to meet him next to his bike, and the first words he uttered were, “Holy fuck!”

Daniel gives the big guy a little time to breathe in two or three times before opening the door and showing him the way inside. He doesn’t move for a little bit, so in the end, I take hold of his hand and lead him in. I’ve been here a good few times now, which means I’m much more relaxed about Daniel’s family; they truly are lovely and so laid back. I’m glad they’re going to be my in-laws in the next few months.

Daniel waited six weeks of me living with him to pop the question one evening when we picnicked on the beach, sunset in the backdrop, down on bended knee. The whole fairy tale proposal with the overly enthusiastic ‘yes’ at the end of it. The post proposal sex was quite the experience too. Daniel may well be the gentleman with me in many ways, but he is most certainly the alpha when in the bedroom, or wherever we end up.

“Phoenix?” I whisper, just before we get to the lawn where his parents are bound to be with both Char and her husband. His hands are clammy, and I can definitely see a thin veil of perspiration all over his brow.

“What?!” he almost barks at me out of nerves. I giggle and squeeze his hand a little more tightly.

“Relax!”

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