Page 154 of Oathbreaker

I reach for the tabs of eucalyptus designed to add aromatherapy to the shower and drop them on the floor near the drain. Then I sit on the ledge, letting the warm water cascade over my chest and thighs.

My thoughts turn to Hunter, even though I’m desperate to clear my brain of everything.

Something is going on. I mean, that’s obvious. But this doesn’t feel like the same issue we’ve been dealing with.

This feels even more dangerous.

And here he goes, not fucking talking again.

No.He did this before. He shut me out and didn’t tell me the whole truth of what was going on. I will not let him do this to me again.

There’s too much at stake. We’re beyond this.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past year we’ve been together, it’s that Hunter’s reluctance to be forthcoming about the things that impact me—impact our family—doesn’t lead to safety.

I add conditioner to my hair and clean my body in quick movements. After I rinse everything off, I step out of the shower and detangle my wet hair, braiding it into two thick French plaits. I wrap a black rubber band around the ends.

Determined to get dressed again and confront my wayward boyfriend–fiancé—seriously, because what the fuck even are we at this point?—I adjust my towel and swing the bathroom door open. I run face-first into a shirtless Hunter.

I gasp when his arms band around my body.

“Hunter, what?—”

“Just give me a moment, Sunbeam.” His voice is sharp and desperate, and his arms around me tighten, pinning our bodies together.

He trembles, pressing his face into my neck.

I want to relax into him—to tell him it’s okay. That all of this is okay, and I’m here.

But I can’t. Not this time.

“I’m sorry,” he mutters, his face still pressed into my neck.

“Sorry for what, exactly?” I raise my eyebrow, pulling back.

He lets out a humorless laugh.

“I’m sorry for snapping at you. I’m sorry that I’ve put you in danger again. I’m sorry that what should have been a beautiful day turned to shit.”

I put my hand on his cheek, and the rasp of his five o’clock shadow tickles my palms.

“Apology accepted. But also, you know that wasn’t your fault, right? I mean, unless you took out an ad to have us shot at as part of some fucked up game.”

His face twists into a rueful smile. “I did not.”

“Well, there ya go. It is what it is, babe. Sometimes them be the breaks.” I shrug.

He kisses my forehead.

“That said,” I say over my shoulder as I move to our dresser to grab underwear. If I have my way, we’ll have a heavy talk, and I don’t want him to try to distract me with sex. “What exactly, specifically, is happening that has resulted in us being chased and shot at today?”

I shimmy into my panties, and when the towel starts to fall, I let it tumble to the ground. “Is it your father?”

I look over my shoulder as I try to snap my bra together behind my back. The look in his eye causes my pussy to clench.

Down, girl.

“Hunter, focus.” The look on his face doesn’t change, but he does release a slight sigh. “The answer is, I don’t know, and that pisses me off. But now….”

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