Page 22 of Hunted Obsession

We are all staring at Merrick, waiting for him to finish writing on the paper. Then he sets his pen down and turns to face us, slowly slipping the headphones off and leaving them around his neck.

“Ravet’s name was mentioned more than once. He wasn’t there, but they know him. He associates with them.”

“How?” I demand. “Who is they?”

“It took me a little digging, but does the name Asher Grant mean anything to you?” he asks, his gaze flicking to mine and holding it.

Shaking my head slowly, I stare at him with confusion clearly etched on my face. “Should I know that name?” I finally ask when he doesn’t continue.

His lips twitch into a smirk. “Asher Grant is the father of the woman you’re fucking, Theron.”

My heart stops beating for a moment, then begins again. I don’t know what to say, what to do. I’m not quite sure what any of this means. But I am hoping that Merrick is going to inform me because right now, I’m thinking that Emmie isn’t just a pain in my ass. She’s doing something that cannot be ignored, forgiven, or let go. And I make it a point not to physically hurt women as a general rule, so this will be difficult.

Chapter Ten

THERON

“What are you telling me?I would like a touch more information,” I demand.

My body is hot, and my skin breaks out in a sweat. I press my lips together and wait for him to explain to me exactly what the fuck happened. Because I can’t imagine Emmie is doing something so deceiving. Sure, she’s manipulative, but I didn’t think it went past her personal need for attention.

Now I’m wondering who the fuck I’ve been… well… fucking…

There is a moment of silence. He watches me before he clears his throat. “I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but Asher asked another guy if he knew when Ravet would be arriving. They said he would be in town in five days, and he was expecting the shipment to be ready.”

“Shipment?” Hale asks.

“Shipment,” Merrick confirms. “I don’t know if this shipment is drugs or teenage boys.”

His words cause my spine to straighten. “Is that club a front?” Vaughn asks. “What do we know about it?”

“I think it is,” Merrick whispers. “I think that it is exactly what it is. This is a front. I’m just not sure what exactly for. Boys or drugs. But what I do know is that your girl is involved.”

I smirk. “My girl?” I ask. “Let’s not get it fucked up,” I say. “I fuck her, but she is not mine.”

“No,” Boden growls. “She is yours, and you’re going to make sure that she stays that way until we figure out just how involved she and her father are in this shit.”

Ignoring Boden, I focus my attention on Merrick. “How is Emmie involved?” I demand.

Merrick chuckles. “I went back through the footage when I heard his name and figured out who the fuck Asher Grant was to her. And lo and behold, Emmie was in that club the other day.”

“What did she say?” I grind out.

He shakes his head. “Nothing much, but she talked to her father. They were in a discussion, and she smiled and kissed him on the cheek. It was in the bar area, so I couldn’t make out the conversation.”

“The other owners?” I ask.

I can’t focus on Emmie and her father right now. I need the bigger picture. All the bigger pictures, the size of the goddamn world big.

“So far, I can’t find anything much on them other than one owns the art gallery where Emmie works.”

Everything that is coming to light is so very interesting, but right now, I’m not getting much other than coincidences. Big ones, but only those. How would Emmie know who I am? My past has been scrubbed. All of ours has.

And if it’s Ravet or perhaps her father who told her, then there are other issues we have, not just this woman. This meeting was important, but we still don’t know a hell of a lot, and that worries me.

“So, you’re telling me that I have to pretend nothing is wrong for the next five days?” I ask.

Merrick shrugs a shoulder, his gaze lifting to meet mine. “Until something else is said, I got nothing to add. You know everything I know.”

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