Page 28 of Always You

“Nah, that’s okay.” I know it’s petty, but a smug feeling settles inside of me when there’s a clear disinterest in his tone.

“Oh, come on, I really want to come,” she whines.

“Sorry, sweetheart, maybe some other time, okay? I gotta go now. See you at school.” Before Liza can answer, he ends the call and takes another bite of his burger.

“What’s tonight?” We both hand each other the last half of our burgers to switch. My teeth sink into the meat, welcoming the salty bacon, while my eyes land back on him.

“You’ll see.” He winks, starting the truck again. He holds the rest of his burger in one hand while the other is holding the wheel, a smirk across his face.

I know that look. He’s up to something.

“Hunt.”

“Just wait and see, Charls. Do you have a curfew?” He turns his focus and drives onto the main road through town.

“Not really. But I’m never home later than midnight. I don’t want Mama to be home alone for too long, you know? The bonfire was an exception.”

“You made an exception for me?” A pleased expression is shot my way.

“Can your head grow any bigger?”

“I can grow anything for you.”

I push out a laugh, almost choking on my burger, unable to keep a straight face. “Stop flirting with me.”

“Fine. I’ll make sure you’re home by midnight.”

I nod in agreement while I finish my burger and watch the road in front of me as we drive through the edge of town to the industrial park. We both silently keep popping fries into our mouths when he stops in front of a big warehouse that looks a bit daunting as twilight is now setting in. A few men are smokingin front of the building while the door is being guarded by a man who reminds me of The Rock. Huge, bald, and intimidating.

“What are we doing here?” I ask, a little wary.

“I’ll show you. Come on.” He swings his arm back to grab his backpack off the backseat before he exits the truck and waits in front of the hood for me to catch up with him. A little hesitant, I slide out with a deep frown. The temperature is cooling down, and I wrap my arms in front of my body to keep warm.

He places his backpack over his left arm, then the other over my shoulder, softly tugging me with him as we make our way toward the entrance.

I settle into his torso, enjoying the comfort of his heat close to mine and his arm protectively around me.

“Please tell me this isn’t some party or something?”

“You should know better than to think I’d drag you to a party,” he huffs. “I’d rather have you to myself.”

“Hunter! Good to see you.” The Rock look-alike offers his hand, and Hunter lets go of me to grab it in greeting.

“You too, Jim.”

“This your girl?” Jim nudges his chin at me.

“Yeah. This is Charlotte. Brought her for good luck.” He shoots me another wink that makes my knees weak while I offer Jim a smile.

“Nice to meet you. Good luck tonight.” He opens the door for us, and we’re met with a big crowd that I wasn’t expecting. The audience is mostly men with an occasional woman strutting around the concrete floor, and in the middle of the big warehouse is an empty fighting cage, with bright lights shining on top of it.

Oh, damn.

“You’re fighting tonight?” I ask, following him as he walks around the room. People curiously rear their heads at us, a few of them wishing Hunter good luck as he walks by. It smellsstuffy—a combination of cigars, booze, and sweat, and I wrinkle my nose in annoyance. This is where he took me?

“Yeah.”

“Well, why did you bring me, when the flavor of the month was dying to go with you?”

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