Page 19 of Tempt Me

“Oh, Hunter,” Siobhan says and hugs me when I begin to cry. “It’s going to be okay.”

I’m in the house I grew up in, and the place is dripping with security. Yet, I’m suddenly cold with fear. Tack feels so far away. Is he safe on the road? What if someone targets him for stopping last night’s abduction? I reach for my phone and consider texting him. Will my fear prove distracting and put him in danger?

Siobhan’s right about how I overanalyze situations. I want to be safe and smart. As a teenager, I suffered by being unprepared. As an adult, I’ve prided myself on making sound decisions.

Except there are moments when my brain takes all my what-if scenarios and builds a wall to keep me from making a choice.

I need to simplify my thinking, step away from all these questions, and focus on what matters. From now on, I’ll let the professionals take charge of my safety. Instead of fearing Suzanne’s controlling nature, I’ll trust I can break free once life is back to normal. Most of all, I’ll let myself love the only man I’ve ever wanted to make mine.

TACK

I drop by the farm to pack up clean clothes. Not many people are around. Before riding out, I soak in the farm’s serenity. This place was able to heal me before I could turn rotten inside. If I hadn’t come here, I never would have been in the position to claim Hunter.

Before leaving the farm, I text Zoot, Noble, Aunt Fred, and Elvis to let them know I’m on my way to Harken and Sons Trucking Company where Zoot O’Malley keeps an office. My president stopped sending me threatening messages around eight a.m., so I’m unsure what I’ll find when we come face to face. A subdued Zoot doesn’t mean he’s worn himself out as much as he’s changing tactics.

Forty minutes later, I arrive at the boxy building, where several motorcycles and Aunt Fred’s truck are parked. Inside, Zoot sits on the desk next to a sweaty Carys and an overly subdued Noble.

“Mom and Dad are speaking privately about private business,” Carys announces and offers me an exaggerated wink. “I think I might be in labor. Keep the screaming down, okay?”

The last part of her comment is directed toward her uncles.

“No,” Zoot replies and stomps back to his office.

Looking casual in jeans and a plain white T-shirt, Noble smiles at his oldest niece and says softly, “You can’t keep using the fake labor bullshit to get what you want. Haven’t you heard about the boy who cried wolf?”

“Yes, the boy ended up telling the truth at one point, but no one believed him. If you don’t believe me when I’m telling the truth, I’m perfectly capable of contacting Aunt Dot to meet me at my home so she can catch Ripley flying out.”

Smirking at her bullshit, Noble loses his amusement when his dark gaze finds me still waiting. His current expression reminds me how he’s only the good cop because he’s compared to Zoot.

“You saved Hunter,” Carys whispers after Noble heads to the back office. “She’s lucky to have such a sexy, devoted stalker.”

“She agreed to a date,” I reply in a hushed voice. “And she gave me a kiss this morning.”

“I’m so happy for you, but you’ve got to survive my uncles before you can reach that date, babe. Good luck.”

Leaving a smiling Carys, I walk toward the back office. Zoot can’t even wait until the door is shut before he starts raging.

“What the fuck?” he demands and throws a stapler against the wall. “What the absolute fuck, Tack?”

Noble rests his ass on the desk and lets his older brother work out his frustrations.

“You went silent like a bitch!” Zoot hollers and his voice echoes in the closed room. “You are fucking with bigger shit than your crush!”

I let him call me a dozen variations of moron. There’s no reason to speak up until he works his rage out of his system. Once he loses track of his insults, his dark eyes focus hard on my face as if ready to kill me with his mind.

“Hunter Knutsen is more than a rich bitch,” I explain calmly while Zoot prepares to call me names again. “She’s the woman I want to keep.”

“Fair enough,” Noble says before Zoot interrupts him.

“Don’t baby him. He knows better.”

“We all get lost in our emotions from time to time,” Noble says and hands Zoot the banged-up stapler.

Sneering at his brother, Zoot warns, “I’m going to ram this thing up your ass.”

“Doubtful,” Noble says and focuses on me. “You had to make split-second decisions last night. We get that. But then, once things settled down, you were reluctant to share info. Your behavior felt like a kid scared of getting in trouble. You can’t act like a child and then expect us to respect you like a man.”

“But I am a man,” I reply. “Like, even if I shit my pants and play with toys, I’m never going to be a kid. So, don’t talk down to me.”

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