Page 45 of Hunted Vengeance

Colette’s eyes widen, and I expect her to ask me not to kill her father or nameless fiancé, but she doesn’t. Instead, she reaches for my hand, taking it with hers and squeezing gently. Her lips curve up into a small smile, but I’m not sure it reaches her eyes, or maybe it’s just all the extra makeup and crap on her face. I’m not sure.

“Then let’s go home,” she murmurs.

Without another word, I tug her behind me. I can hear her shoes clicking on the floor as we move toward the curtains that hide the wall behind the door.

“How long were you back here?” she asks as soon as the hiding spot is revealed. Chuckling, I look over my shoulder back at her.

“Long enough that I could drown out the chattering from the women doing your hair and makeup,” I grunt as I reach for the handle of the door that will let us out and toward the waiting van.

I push the door open but don’t step out immediately. Instead, I look from side to side, taking in the area around me. The van is still in place and running, and the parking lot has some new cars, but I know that guests have started arriving, so I decide this is as good of a time as any.

Moving forward, I reach for the back of the van, pulling the door open before picking Colette up and setting her inside. I follow behind and slam the door closed. Before I can say a word, Theron shifts the van intoDrive, and it lurches forward.

“I was about to go inside and make sure you weren’t fucking dead,” he barks.

Laughing, I clear my throat. “Still alive for now,” I mutter.

Colette squeezes my hand, and I do the same back to her. “Colette, welcome back,” Theron states.

She doesn’t respond immediately. I watch her, and her cheeks tint pink as she dips her chin to look down at her lap. I wrap my arm around her shoulders, tugging her against my side before I touch my mouth to the top of her head.

“Welcome back, baby,” I murmur against her hair. I feel her body release a heavy exhale before she slumps against my side. She’s not asleep, but judging by the weight she’s lost in the last few weeks, she’s likely exhausted and filled with nothing but stress and anxiety. I hope that this relieves that and she can finally relax, breathe, and thrive. I know what it feels like to be in a constant state of anxiety, and it’s hell on the body.

She needs rest, and I’m going to give her everything she needs—and more.

Chapter Twenty

COLETTE

It doesn’t matterwhere I’m headed, as long as I am with Merrick. Because when I’m by his side, that means I am not only safe, but free.

So free.

Closing my eyes, I let out a heavy sigh and allow the movement of the van to lull me to sleep. It doesn’t matter where we’re going or where we end up as long as I have this man beside me—holding me.

I feel my body floating, almost as if I’m flying what feels like seconds later. Lifting my arms, I wrap them around Merrick’s shoulders as my eyes slowly open. He must sense my gaze on him because he tells me to go back to sleep.

Then there is nothingness. Darkness takes over, and for the first time since my father took me from him, I sleep in peace. I don’t feel my body climbing in the elevator car or hear the voices of the other men as he walks me through the hotel suite seating area, and I don’t feel him lay me down on the bed or when the backs of his knuckles slide across my cheek.

I really don’t hear his whispered words before he leaves the bedroom, either. “Welcome back, baby.”

MERRICK

Closingthe bedroom door behind me, I walk back into the living area, where my brothers all sit and wait. They’re staring at me, watching and waiting for me to speak. I’m just not sure what exactly I’m supposed to be saying.

I open my mouth but snap my lips closed when nothing comes to mind. I could thank them, but I’ve already done that shit, and they don’t want to hear it anymore. I could apologize for fucking Colette in the church while they were all waiting for us to come outside—but that’s just not my style, and they would have all done the same thing.

Thankfully, Boden puts me out of my misery and asks me the question that is clearly on their minds.

“Are you good?” he asks.

I almost laugh because the seriousness in the way he asks is funny as shit. “I’m good,” I say. “I’ll be better than good when I have her at home, safe.”

Theron clears his throat. “We all noticed her neck.”

“I don’t know what happened,” I state, almost interrupting him.

I have nothing to answer about that because I have no clue how it happened, at least not yet. But I will. I will get every single detail of whatever the fuck her father did to her.

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