Page 4 of Hunter

“Opportunity. Annie is at nursery, and Emma is working from home today.”

“So, you want your dick sucked?”

“I want the opportunity to have my dick sucked. There is a difference. Emma still has to approve the suggestion.”

“Emma doesn’t have time to be pleasuring you,” Harrison interjects. “She’s too busy trying to clean up his fucking mess.” He wags his finger at me as Connor passes out coffees, and everyone takes a seat at the boardroom table. Emma, Damon’s partner, is a trainee lawyer with Chase, Chase, and Waite Law Firm. Everything is so damn interconnected, I get confused half the time.

“What have I done?” I shoot back, pissed off at being called out without warning.

“You,” Harrison snaps, his previously hidden fury appearing fast. “You were caught on CCTV outside the gym holding a man against a wall with a knife at his throat.”

“When? I hold my knife at a lot of throats.” He rolls his eyes, and I smile at him.

“Not on CCTV, and not on video that is then possibly leaked to the media.” Everyone falls silent on that bombshell, and we all stare at each other. “You don’t need me to tell you how bad this is.” I shrug, attempting to appear unworried, but inside, I am dying. Although there are a lot of rumors about my underground activities, nothing is ever proven. I have enough friends in high places that I’ve been able to squash any previous attempts to out me.

“What CCTV was it? I made sure I was in the back alley. The only coverage there is our own.”

“It’s ours from the gym. Someone has managed to get hold of the footage. They are threatening to pass it to the press.”

“How much do they want?” I ask him.

“One million pounds.”

“And you think I should pay?”

He looks between each of us, his usually solid demeanor lost. Harrison’s decision-making and problem-solving tend to outwit most of us, but this time he doesn’t look so sure.

“I don’t know,” he says honestly. “They could have copies. They could keep coming back for more.”

“Fuck them,” Russell pipes up. “Let them leak it. We can deal with the fallout.”

“Hunter has business dealings with the most influential people in London and worldwide. They won't want to get their hands dirty if his reputation becomes mud. Rumors are all right, but cold hard evidence makes people nervous,” Connor advises, and his brother scowls at him.

“Always the voice of fucking reason,” he mutters. “Sometimes I wonder if we’re related at all.”

Connor jumps out of his seat, strides across the room, picks up a glass of water, and proceeds to pour it over his brother’s head. Russell shoots out of his chair and wipes at the cold liquid running down his face and suit.

“You’re such an arsehole,” he growls, furious.

“Takes one to know one,” Connor shoots back.

Russell opens his mouth to respond, but Harrison bangs his hands on the table to stop the nonsense and bring attention back to him. Disappointed at the show being stopped, I start playing with my knife, then pick up an apple from the bowl in front of me to peel it.

“If we are all ready to have an adult discussion,” Harrison says with a sigh, “some of us have work to do.” Just then, there is a knock at the door, and his wife, Violet, wanders in with their young daughter on her hip.

“Hi everyone,” she says in her usual sing-song voice. Harrison immediately forgets everything he is doing and takes her in his arms. He kisses her softly on the lips, then his daughter’s forehead, before dropping to his knees and saying good morning to their unborn baby in her belly. “You were gone when I woke,” Violet continues as he rises and smiles goofily at her.

“You need your rest, Vi.” His hand rests on her stomach. “You have the most important job of all of us.”

“True,” she agrees with a slight shrug. Evie gurgles happily at them both. “Anyway, we just came to say good morning to Daddy. Didn’t we?”

“What about her uncles?” Russell asks, standing and going to join the little group. His niece reaches for him, and he eagerly takes her. Within moments, Connor is beside them. I groan with the family moment. Damon chuckles beside me.

“Is your house like this too?” I ask him, and he glances my way.

“Sure is. You don’t know what you’re missing, Devane.”

Chapter four

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