Page 44 of Savage

Hunter

Stef’s rebellion the other night—and the subsequent correction—seem to have stabilized her mood somewhat. She’s been eating well, and she’s been more enthusiastically obedient. We finished her detective game and are working on some other game now.

It’s in the middle of one of these gaming sessions, with Stef sitting with her back against my feet, that my phone buzzes. I pick it up to check the caller out of habit, and huff through my nose when I see the caller ID.

“Stay quiet,” I order Stef before I answer the call.

“Hunter! Do you need my stylist to pick out your suit?” my mother asks without preamble.

I swallow my instinctive irritation. “Why would I need that? I have plenty of suits. Good suits. I’m not Jacob.”

“Well, I’ve already had a new suit sent to him. I simply meant, if you’re going to go with Marylin—the model, remember?—you should have something to match her dress.” My mother shouts something to somebody, which lets me know she’s still at her office despite the late hour. Since it’s unlikely Congress is going to be in session at nine in the evening, she’s either having secret meetings or avoiding my father.

“I told you, I’m not going to go with her. I’ll go to the event, but I don’t need to make nice with a vapid model just so you can show me off to your friends.” It’s a lost cause, I know. I rub the bridge of my brow, hoping to stave off the inevitable headache.

I realize then that the TV screen is darkened, and the center displays the word paused. When I glance down, I see Stef fully tensed up, although I can’t make out her expression from here.

I reach down and stroke her scalp gently. She lets out a soft breath and leans into the touch, turning to kiss my palm before resting against my hand again.

“And I told you, it looks better if you’re at least courting marriage.” My mother huffs loudly. “I have a flight tomorrow morning. You can meet me for breakfast—no, I already have a breakfast meeting. And I’m seeing Congressman Prentiss for lunch. Can you believe the nerve of that man? Did you see what he said?”

I have not, in fact, been paying much attention to everything all the politicians are saying, but I hmm noncommittally and wait for my mother to finish her tirade.

“I’ll meet you at the venue,” I say when she pauses. “There is no need to introduce me to any women. Focus on finding a husband for Bethany.”

That gets the desired annoyed reaction from my mother. “Why did I send her to that expensive university if she didn’t come back with a husband? But at least your sister is dating. When was the last time you… oh, never mind. I got the email I was waiting for. Don’t be late!”

She hangs up on me, which at least saves me the trouble of figuring out how to end the call. I set my phone aside and sigh once more.

Stef tilts her head to look up to me, resting her head against my knee. “Is… everything all right?” she asks gingerly, looking at me with a guarded expression on her still too-thin face.

“Yes. Just my mother.” I stroke her hair and let the movement calm me down a little. “I’ll be going to an event tomorrow evening, but hopefully I can leave after an hour.”

She nods, and she hesitates before asking softly, “Are you going to bring someone with you?”

I can’t read her tone or her expression, and I pause, sliding my hand down to cup her cheek.

“My mother would love that,” I say with a dark chuckle. “Presumably, despite my objections, she will introduce me to one or three ladies she thinks are of good breeding and would make suitable wives for me. My brother went along with that, and I’ve seen how miserable he and his wife are.”

Stef pauses again, then she says, “I… I could go with you.”

My hand stills, and I look down to meet her eyes. “What? Why would you come with me?”

She shifts uncomfortably. “If your mother thinks you’re… with someone, wouldn’t she leave you alone a little? I mean, she’d disapprove of me, obviously, but I could play pretend for an hour or so.”

I consider her proposition. I should say no. She’s right that my mother wouldn’t approve. I also have that strange email to consider, the one threatening… something. There hasn’t been a follow up email, so I’ve mostly put it out of my mind, but it feels like taking her out of the condo would be a bit risky.

On the other hand… I could dress Stef up. She’d probably need to use a lot of make-up, because despite her improved health, she still has a slightly wan complexion, but she’s doing better than before.

It could be a test run.

“You expect me to trust you?” I ask, keeping my voice as toneless as I can. “I have no guarantee you won’t cause trouble once we’re outside.”

Stef lets out a humorless laugh. “Vanessa tried to escape, you know. Ran straight to the police. Know what happened?” She meets my eyes. “They brought her back. She… I…” She takes a deep breath. “There’s nothing else for me. What am I going to do? Tell everyone you bought me? They’d think it was a bad joke anyway.”

“You’d be laughed out of the building,” I agree with her. “I have powerful friends. Lawyers, judges, politicians, law enforcement, and of course Giulio.”

She shudders, nodding.

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