Page 80 of Hunter

Mallory

Iwasn’t even mad. A little shocked, maybe. A lot hurt, definitely. But not mad.

When Hunter had come to bed last night, having spent the night drinking with his brothers, I knew something was up. But as he pulled me close to him and relaxed, I didn’t mind. Something had been hurting him, and it was my job to comfort my man, even if I couldn’t ask about it.

Now, I was the one hurting, and Hunter wasn’t here. He had dumped this truckload of news on me, called me a hypocrite for doing what I thought was right for my son, and then snapped at me when I defended the club he loved so dearly.

What happened to ‘in it for the long haul’?

“Momma,” Adair whispered, pulling on my jeans.

I had been standing there, still watching the corner Hunter had disappeared behind, and noticed Mint walking toward us before I looked down at my baby.

At least he hadn’t left us alone.

“What’s up, baby?” I smiled. I had noticed Adair had kept his distance during Hunter and my talk. At three, he was a perceptive kid, which I would forever be grateful for.

“Push me on the swing?” he asked, his eyes searching my smile as if looking for a lie in it. My smiles were always true for my baby boy, and he lit up when he confirmed it himself.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the big swings before I steered him over to the smaller ones with the harness that would stop him from falling off.

I reached to pick him up and lift him into the seat, but he was heavy, and I struggled. Thankfully, Mint came to my rescue, lifting Adair from my arms and helping situate him in the seat and strap him in.

“Thank you,” I told him as he stepped back.

“No problem,” Mint said, quiet as ever as he went to stand by the kiddy slide. Although Mint was young—a hell of a lot younger than me—he was still a big guy, and the slide looked dwarfed next to his imposing, protective stance. I almost laughed.

I liked Mint. He kept to himself a lot, which made it awkward when I babbled to fill in conversations between us, yet he never told me to shut up like most did or get annoyed. He was mellow and nice to chill with. He was also a reassuring presence while outside the compound since Hunter had ditched us.

I pushed Adair on the swing, drowning in my thoughts that stirred with Hunter. I felt the need to overanalyze everything he had said and pick it apart, which I knew would annoy myself and make me madder at him as I interpreted too deeply and inaccurate meanings that weren’t even there. I tried to keep the thoughts out with my best efforts, not just about Hunter, but the rest of the story, too. It was like when I had found out I was pregnant, waiting for that penny to drop. Except this time, I didn’t have my mother. All I could do was remain strong for my child and make sure he never saw me cry.

I was so engrossed in my thoughts that, when I heard the bullet bounce off the swing’s frame, I was on the ground before I realized it.

Mint pressed down on top of me, and I tried to fight through the numbing shock as I lay there against the dirt. It wasn’t until I heard Adair’s scream that I kicked into overdrive.

“Get off me!” I screamed, shoving at his hard chest. “I need to get Adair!”

“Shit. Stay down,” Mint snapped, picking me up and shoving me behind the slide. I heard another ping of metal and Adair’s cry.

There was no way I was staying down.

I jumped to my feet, about to race after them, when Mint pushed a crying and screaming Adair into my lap.

“Oh, God, baby, are you okay?” Tears rolled down my face. I didn’t even remember when I had started crying.

Adair roared his heart out, gripping my long hair, as I quickly searched him for injuries, relieved to find none.

Then I screamed as another bullet pinged off the edge of the slide and hit the dirt two feet from me.

Mint already had a weapon in his hands. He ducked out from behind the slide, firing off three rounds before dropping back under as the attackers returned fire. One then two then three bullets ricocheted off the metal.

As far as I could tell, they were all coming from one direction, but this was a park. The only thing separating us from a bullet was a thin, rusted piece of metal.

We could die. We would likely die. Today could be my very last day on earth. Not Adair, though. I would make sure of that, even if it was the last thing I did.

I should have been forming escape routes, survival plans. Instead, my mind was like a broken record.

Where was Hunter?

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