Page 18 of Hunted Obsession

Moving around my desk, I make my way over to him and stop in front of him. I wrap my fingers around his shoulder, shaking him in one firm move.

“You didn’t do shit,” I say. “Not when it comes to the company.”

“He’s going to take and take from me. I have a feeling that this is the biggest mistake of my life. He is not going to just let this shit go. He’s going to want things from us, Theron. I won’t give them to him, and he’s going to kill me.”

I shake him again, then my hand drops from his shoulder.

“No,” I snap. “I fucking refuse to believe that we lived through all of this shit we did as teenagers just to die like that. I won’t let anyone touch you, Merrick. Not a single one of us would. We made a vow to each other when we left that hellhole that we would never,not ever, let any one of us be vulnerable again.”

Merrick snorts before he speaks. “Well, I already fucked that up. I put myself in a vulnerable position, and I fucking folded.”

“You didn’t fold,” I argue. “You protected yourself. And if you’re being honest with yourself, you protected her as well. You did nothing wrong.”

He grabs a fistful of my shirt before he tugs me forward. “I don’t know her,” he growls.

Wrapping my fingers around his wrist, I squeeze him until he releases my shirt and his hand falls to his side. His gaze slides to the side, then shifts to meet mine again. My lips curve up into a grin. There is no reason to be pissed off at him about this.

“What’s meant to be is always going to be. She’s your wife now. Bring her here. Whatever happens after that, we’ll battle together. I’m sure all of us will need a favor throughout our lives at one time or another. I’m good with this being yours. We’ll do the job for free. That will be all he gets from you.”

Merrick shakes his head a couple of times, but he knows there’s no arguing with me. He also knows that we all have his back.

Always.

Until the fucking day we die.

Chapter Eight

THERON

My work is finishedfor the day, meaning I’ve adjusted the contract for Merrick’s new family, a thought and concept that still bothers me much more than it probably should. I feel really fucking bad for him.

Being forced into anything isn’t the way that any of us want to live our lives, especially since we’ve already had years of that feeling. I don’t blame him for being upset about that part, but I know Merrick, and I have a feeling it is all going to work out for the best.

Gathering the contract in hand, I close down my office and head toward his. Nadine isn’t at her desk, but when I glance at my watch, I cringe at the time. It’s well past seven in the evening. I hadn’t realized it was so late. She’s, without a doubt, already at home for the night.

When I walk past Merrick’s office, I notice that his lights are off and it appears to be closed down for the night. That leaves only one place where he could be. I know he hasn’t left for theevening because he wanted this contract before the end of the day.

Merrick wants the new father-in-law to sign it so the work can be done and he can have the girl.

His wife.

A woman who the father-in-law has essentially been holding hostage until this whole thing is done. I already don’t like the asshole, and I can’t imagine it has been a pleasant experience to be his daughter. Maybe Merrick is saving her, and it will be a wonderful match.

That’s my hope, anyway.

We’ve been through enough shit in our lives. We should never have to go through it as adults. Easier said than done, I know. Especially since I’m here going through my own goddamn drama with Emmie.

I don’t love her. In fact, I don’t feel much for her, really. She’s fun in bed. She does what I want the way I want it. And up until now, she didn’t try to manipulate me too much. It was a good time had by all without any real commitment.

I’m wondering how much longer this is going to last between us because I can’t imagine having to constantly teach a woman lessons on how things work between us. Also, I don’t want to teach lessons to the woman I’m fucking like she’s some little kid.

Walking into the surveillance room, I slip inside and find Merrick sitting at the desk. He turns his head, his eyes meet mine, and he jerks his chin.

“I thought you weren’t on tonight,” I point out.

He shrugs a shoulder. “Not sleeping much these days. Figured I’d rather be here. Thanks for that contract, by the way. You talk to everyone about it yet?”

Shaking my head, I clear my throat. “No, not yet. You’re going to be there, and we’ll all talk about it together. But Ialready know they will be cool with the contract part, so I’ve done it ahead of time. That way, it won’t fuck you over.”

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