Page 44 of Hunter

“Rodion,” I begin, “and the Anastasov Family in general, have suggested that Tilly should be married to one of them. I rejected the suggestion.” Everyone stares at me wordless, comprehending what I’m saying in real time. “I don’t trust them, and even though we work together, marrying my niece off to them seemed wrong.”

“But marrying her off to a seventy-year-old man is okay?” Damon snarls, clearly furious with my deception. Choosing one family over the other was always going to have consequences—how we navigate them should be the focus, not how it happened.

“It’s business.” I shrug my shoulders again, unsure how to explain my thought process anymore. They wouldn’t understand. “And Rodion is also Tilly’s cousin, so when he was specifically suggested as a potential suitor, I shot that down.”

“Well, no fucking wonder he’s getting pissy about the containers then,” Russell bellows, laughing as he does. His face is lit up with excitement; he always loves when things get complicated. It keeps him amused as everyone scrambles to save whatever situation we are in. “You’re a fuckwit, Devane, more than capable of creating plenty of enemies on your own. Working with you is never boring.”

“When are they expecting delivery of these cars?” I ask, ignoring Russell completely. I can’t be arsed with his idiocy today. My carefully laid plans, which I hoped to be executing with no issues, are falling to pieces.

“Within the week,” Damon tells me, his tone grave. “And you haven’t answered the question of what is in it for you. What does marrying Tilly off to the Lombardis get you beyond a less fragile alliance?”

“Men,” I say, bluntly. “Lombardi is struggling to maintain a foothold in London. I give him Tilly and he gives me his men on the ground in London.”

“Are you fucking serious?” Damon snaps. “You want to bring infiltrators into the ranks? Men who could run information to fuck knows who?”

“I want to grow, McKinney. And to do that we need power, men, and people with influence worldwide. The Lombardi family is one of the oldest. They have people in legal systems, judiciary positions, and financial sectors all over the globe. This isn’t my first tea party.”

“No, but I think you’ve lost your fucking mind. You may have created an alliance, Hunter, but you’ve made the enemy we were already scrambling to manage more dangerous. The Russians will not only want payback for the promised vehicles, but also for Tilly.”

“Just find the fucking ship,” I roar, pissed at being attacked. I push myself up to stand, then turn and stride over to the elevator. Damon moves to follow me. “Don’t fucking think about it, McKinney. Stay here and help them find my cars, then you will have one less thing to worry about.”

My journey back to the house is subdued. I sit in the rear of my car, mulling over the complexities of the coming weeks. We as a team have danger coming from all sides. Our Russian customers haven’t been happy with our inability to provide the stock they ordered. They will be further enraged by my rejection of their marriage proposal between Rodion and Tilly, which will be compounded by the arrangement I have made.

Then there is the perpetual thorn in our side that is Menzies, the cop still in the force that is constantly popping up when we least expect it. He made his wishes clear to take not only Damon, but myself and my friends down by any means necessary. Two enemies, unconnected, but both with the power to cause me inconvenience if not harm. Both could implode my life just when it’s starting to get on track.

For once, the idea of things getting complicated isn’t comforting. Before Isabella returned to my side, I breathed chaos. Now, there’s a certain wonderment about normalcy, and deep down I think I need it.

Chapter twenty-one

New Bond St, London

Isabella

Hunter appeared back at the house an hour ago. He was a little later than he said he would be, and I’d been pacing up and down the hallway waiting for him. Ronan was sitting on one of the decorative armchairs reading a magazine, waiting to accompany us.

When Hunter walked in, I ran across the hall and jumped straight into his arms. He’d spun me around like you see in romance movies before dropping a kiss on my lips. We both beamed at one another. Just being in each other’s company made us so damn happy, I could burst with joy from a look.

“Now, that is the welcome home I want every day,” he said, as I wrapped my arms around his neck. We kissed again, this time a little slower, savoring each morsel. With our focus only on each other, we completely forgot about Ronan sitting patiently to the side. “Where would my wife like to go today?”

Since our reunion a few weeks ago, Hunter has used the word "wife" more often than I can count. It sounds better every damn time. It seems insane that after having been married for twenty years, there’s a new buzz from his acknowledgment of my place in his life. We’ve both basked in the romance and newness of our relationship. It’s as if a redo has occurred and we are back in our youth, full of excitement.

“I was thinking of New Bond Street,” I suggested.

“Whatever you wish. I am at your total disposal for the whole day. My out-of-office is officially on.” He had taken his phone out of his pocket then, and switched it off. “I do love the fact my wife has taste when selecting where we shop.”

“Perfect,” I gushed, delighted that his full attention would be on me for the day.

Even though our relationship has progressed well over the weeks, and we spend every night in his room, Hunter is still an extremely busy man, and I know lots of people pull him in all directions. Even this morning, his meeting wasn’t planned. He disappeared before the sun was up.

“I plan to drag you around every store today. My shopping list is long,” I warned him.

He gathered me closer, our bodies pressed hard against one another. His hands slid down my back then came to rest cupping my ass. He flexed his fingers, pushing my pussy upwards against him. Our height difference meant I felt him harden against my stomach.

“Perhaps I could suggest something more active,” he whispered in my ear, his warm breath tickling my skin. My cheeks heated with the open suggestion in front of Ronan, who was pretending to be completely focused on what he was reading. But with a glance, I saw his mouth twisted into an amused smile. He knew fine. “You are the only item on my ‘to-do’ list today, Bella.”

“We have presents to buy,” I told him.

“And I have twenty years of not having you to make up for.”

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