Page 146 of Altered

I wantedHunter.

"Where did you leave him?" I screamed, delirious with grief. "Where did you leave hisbody?"

"Hope, please…don’t do this."

That was Teagan.

She was talking to me.

Trying to reason with me.

I didn’t want any of it.

"Stay away from me," I snarled, warning her off. "Don’t fucking come near me."

"There was nothing I could do," Noah continued to say over and over. "He was dead, and I had a fucking baby dropped in my arms. I couldn’t…There was nothing I could do for him. I’m sorry…I’m so fucking sorry–"

"You left him there," I accused. Staggering to my feet, I ran at him. "You left him there alone?" Slapping at his chest as hard as I could, I screamed, "How could you leave him there? How could you do that to him?"

"I'm sorry," Noah whispered, over and over. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart."

My head snapped up at his words. "Don’t," I warned shakily, "evercall me sweetheart." Tears streamed down my face as I cried, "Hecalls me sweetheart."

He tried to wrap his arms around me, but I shoved him away.

I didn’t want his touch.

I didn’t want any of them.

Frantic, I looked to the door and lunged for it.

"Hope!" Noah roared after me, but I didn’t stop.

Scrambling down the steps of his house, I ran to his car and threw open the door.

Diving into the driver's seat, I slammed the locks down and turned the key that Noah had left in the ignition.

The car roared to life.

"Get out of the car, Hope," Noah demanded, banging on the driver's side window. "Just come inside…please!"

Ignoring him, I threw the car into gear and tore off recklessly, my only coherent thought was to find him.

Bring him home.

****

"Messina. I told you to not come back here," a man with a thick Spanish accent said from the other side of Noah's tinted out car window. "Boy's dead. It's done."

Boy's dead.

It's done.

Boy's dead.

His name is Hunter.

Hunter is dead.

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