Page 64 of Hunted Obsession

The last time.

Shaking my head,I clear the thoughts away. I can’t believe that memory popped into my head. I haven’t thought about that last time in years. I shouldn’t have left her then. I was doing what I thought was the best thing for her.

The selfish bastard that I am.

I thought that I was protecting her from me. I couldn’t lose that. I needed to keep a tight hold of it, especially back then, andLucille has always been the only woman that could make me lose it. I could feel it slipping through my fingers just like I do now. Except I’m not willing to walk away again. Not from her. Not from us.

Unfolding from the car, I stand and head toward the club. As I reach for the door handle to the back entrance, my phone rings. Releasing my grasp on the door, I take a step backward and reach for my phone. Glancing at the screen, I frown at the sight of the name flashing across it.

It’s Merrick.

He’s supposed to be in Florida dealing with getting his new wife moved up to Nights. Sliding my thumb across the screen, I clear my throat as I hold my device up to my ear. I don’t have to say anything. He knows I’m listening.

“They are, without a doubt, going to still go after Lucille,” Merrick announces.

I don’t act surprised, even though I am. I don’t know how he knows this because, standing right outside of the back door, there are two cameras pointed at me, both recording not only visual but also audio. I know this because I installed them.

“Okay,” I state.

He growls. “You’re there, aren’t you?”

“Yup,” I confirm.

“Okay, listen to me, then, and don’t say shit. You and I both know they can hear everything you say, and I’m telling you right now that they’re watching you.”

Fuck.

Of course, they are.

I don’t say anything as I wait for him to continue. I’ve been watched enough in my lifetime to know how to act completely fucking nonchalantly while being absolutely on alert. Chewing on the inside of my cheek, I turn my back to the cameras and rock from foot to foot as if I’m having a casual conversation.

“Vaughn told me about the hit, told me that she’s in the safe house.”

Irritated, I wonder offhand what else fucking Vaughn told him. But then I let that shit go because, in the end, it doesn’t matter. It’s not a secret. What is a secret is the fact that Vaughn is taking those types of jobs and doing them on the side.

Sucking in a breath, I shift my gaze to one side and then the other. “Okay,” I say.

He chuckles, and I can imagine him shaking his head, totally fucking annoyed with me. I don’t care. I have shit I need to do, and he’s annoying the fucking shit out of me with this conversation.

He needs to get to the fucking point already.

Closing my eyes, I let out the breath I was holding and start to ask him to get to the fucking point. “Charlie is going to kidnap her. That’s the plan. They’ve been sitting in that fucking office discussing it all afternoon. They want her out of the way.”

“Yeah? Why?” I ask.

“That bitch is jealous as hell. She knows something is up, and Charlie is pissed he got rejected. Also, Asher looked back in the footage and saw her make her way into his little hidey-hole. They’ve decided she’s nothing but a fucking problem.”

I mean, none of them are wrong, but she’smygoddamn problem, and I’m keeping her. They cannot have her. They cannot take her from me.

“Yeah?” I ask

“We get rid of them, we lose the opportunity to find out about Ravet.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m already fucking sick of them,” Merrick murmurs.

I’m sick of them, too, and honestly, we’re not getting any fucking where. I’ve already wasted precious time and resources on all of this. “And if we just move forward?” I ask.

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