Page 62 of Hunter

It’s then I notice activity in my men surrounding the room. They seem on high alert, as if a threat has been noted. I look to Damon who widens his eyes, encouraging me to continue; he’s on it.

“But it’s not only our good fortune we’re here to celebrate. Tilly, come join us.”

My niece’s eyes snap up to mine; the moment is now, and she knows it. This is also when she may choose to be the brat she has been in the past. Reluctantly, she weaves through the crowd, never taking her eyes from mine and nothing but hatred glared in my direction. Previously, her disdain would have merely been an annoyance, but after Isabella shared such a high opinion of her, it’s making me question my sanity.

Eventually, she arrives beside me, and I take her hand, lifting it to my lips, kissing her knuckles. She shudders under my touch. I try to ignore it, push it down as unimportant, but I can’t. The doubt has already set in. So, I decide to push forward before I change my mind.

“After years of Miss Devane being our family thorn…” The crowd bursts into laughter, then I feel Isabella’s fingers twist the skin on my back. She’s pissed by that comment. “I am delighted to announce that Tilly will be wedded to none other than Domenico Lombardi himself.”

The laughter dissipates to shock as the older man makes his way up on stage. He takes my hand to shake it before moving his attention to my niece. My brain exits my body as if I’m watching the performance from above. He takes her hands and pulls her toward him, dropping wrinkled lips on plump pink ones. Tilly looks ready to be sick. Fuck, what have I done?

I glance to Isabella, standing frozen, watching the same shit show I am—one I created all on my own. But as my mind moves to figure out how to stop this insanity, my predicament is quickly resolved by the sound of gunfire.

Chapter twenty-nine

Clarion House, London

Hunter

Panic slams into me, real, raw, and worse than anything I’ve ever felt in the line of fire. I lunge at Isabella, pulling her to the ground and laying my body over hers. If anything happened to her here and now, I’d never forgive myself. Our men pour onto the stage, creating an army around us, a line of defense against the enemy.

From our position on stage, I watch on as the sea of sequins and bowties run in all directions for cover. Like gazelles under a lion’s stare, they duck beneath tables or dash into concealed doorways. Lombardi’s men congregate around him in a protective circle. They take their boss off stage, completely ignoring his future wife crouched in a ball, hands over her head, frozen to the spot. Her eyes flick to him, the desolation on her face saying that this was the life she expected. One where she is not important to those she should be.

“Stay down,” I whisper in Isabella’s ear, then push myself to my feet, pulling my knife from my waistband, the cold metal grounding me in the madness. I step in front of Tilly, scanning the room for any obvious threat. There is none. No more bullets, no men I don’t know. My niece glances up at me, her eyes wide and filled with fear.

“What’s going on?” she stutters, looking every inch the young, immature woman I know she is.

“A warning,” I reply, my heart rate returning to something almost normal as Damon and Greyson appear at my side.

“Hunter, we need to go,” Damon says. “It’s too open here. We need to get cover.”

I shake my head. Whoever the bastards are that have ruined my event tonight, I want them found, now.

“Just find out who fired the shots,” I tell him. “If they wanted to kill me, they’d have done it by now. Have the men sweep the whole building, and get the surveillance team onto the camera footage. Find the bastards so I can kill them.”

“Hunter, I think…”

“Now’s not the time to play cop. Fucking do as you’re told,” I spit, spinning my knife between my fingers. The rage and fury building fast.

“On it, Boss,” Damon responds. It’s not until he’s walking away that I register his nod to our hierarchy. We were good friends before he became my right-hand man, but all leaders must pull rank sometimes. This is one of those times.

Isabella is back on her feet, surrounded by Ronan and a few other guards. He nods in my direction, a silent signal that she’s under his protection and I should do what I need to do for now. My attention moves to my niece; the situation is dangerous, and she needs to be taken somewhere safe.

“Greyson, take Tilly to my suite and stay there with her. Don’t let anyone in, unless it’s myself or McKinney.” I throw him the keycard. “She must stay alive. The situation is too volatile for this deal not to happen.”

Greyson gathers up my niece, abandoned by her soon-to-be husband, and ushers her away from the ballroom. Similar happens to Isabella with Ronan as I spot her red dress disappearing into the crowd. I turn back to my men, barking orders to spread out, find the gunmen, search every damn inch of this bloody place until we find whoever is responsible.

After jumping down from the stage, I make my way toward the reception area again. I am halfway through shouting another order when Bella collides into me, arms tight and eyes wild. No tears are streaming down her cheeks with shock like I would expect. All that I can see is fury.

“Who did this?” she snarls. “How dare they…”

“Bella…” I soothe. “It was a warning. No one was hurt.” Damon appears at my shoulder, and I look to him for reassurance. He nods, and mouthsno casualties. “Go home, my love. I will be with you when I can.”

“No,” she hisses. “I want to stay with you. What if you get injured? What if whoever it is comes back for you?”

“We don’t even know if I was the target.”

“Who else would be?” That makes me laugh as my guest list of the rich and influential runs through my head. I graze her cheek with my thumb.

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