Page 48 of Married into the Mob
I closed my eyes, expecting to stay awake until it was time to leave. But I was woken by a weight on my chest. I did my best to scream and couldn’t. Kicking the covers off, my arms flailed as I tried to rid myself of the heaviness. Images of men in black and guns flitted through my head. Eventually I found my voice and yelled, hoping someone would hear me.
“Odell. Dellie!” The voice in my ear wasn’t a bad guy, not Draven, not my Uncle. Someone who didn’t want to hurt me but wrap me in bubble wrap and protect me. “It’s Hunter. You’re safe.”
Hunter! I reached behind me, grabbed his hand and put it over my hip. I didn’t know if I slept, but I was wrapped in a Hunter cocoon and that blocked the anxiety.
When I opened my eyes, light was filtering into the room, so it was later than five o’clock. Hunter was still cuddling me. I didn’t want to move. What if we forgot about Draven and accepted Hunter’s banishment? But we couldn’t because other people might be in danger, my family in particular.
“I wish we could stay.” I didn’t ask if he was awake, but I sensed his heart speed up when I spoke.
“Me too, but?—”
I flipped over and put a finger to his lips. “Don’t say it. I know.”
Our bodies were pressed together, and I ignored his morning wood. Instead, I gazed into his eyes and wondered what paths we’d take after Draven was no longer a problem.
Taking only enough food for the day, we “borrowed” a car from the closest shifter neighbor, one who only visited his cabin once a month. I dozed for much of the trip, as Hunter could manage the “new” car, and when we arrived, we ate a late lunch in a small diner and got to talking with the waiter who’d been born in the area. Not having gleaned much from them, we sat hugging our coffee mugs.
But as we discussed waiting until dark to turn up at Stefan’s, Hunter spotted someone on the opposite side of the street.
“Look who it is!”
NINETEEN
HUNTER
“Look who it is!”
While Stefan did live here, I hadn’t expected to see him strolling casually down the street. He didn’t have a black-suited goon at his back with a gun pointed at his spine. There were no handcuffs around his wrists, and he wasn’t being bundled into the back of a car. Police weren’t swarming him with pistols pointed at his chest.
It was a workday, so he must be on vacation or have a day off. Being threatened by Draven must have been traumatizing, so perhaps he’d taken sick leave. Or the kickback he received from Draven had enabled him to retire.
I put a hand out, predicting Odell would leap up and press his face to the glass. But I underestimated him. He didn’t make any quick movements that would alert the waitstaff, and there were no tears or shaking limbs. I had to admire him because he’d pushed that stress down deep. It’d bubble up and he’d have to deal with it, but he, like me, was on a mission.
We might not be mates in the truest sense—not yet—but we were a team, and I was grateful he was at my side.
Technically he’s across the table,my wolf pointed out.
“Okay, rapid-fire answers. What’s he doing out and about?” I kept my voice low, though there were no shifters in the diner and only a handful of customers, none of whom were sitting close to us.
“He's not afraid of Draven.”
“Agreed.” Damn it.When we met, he was ill at ease, jumpy and lacking in confidence. He had a job and while he wielded some power, he’d never advanced to the top of the ladder. “But why?” I was puzzled over this. I’d miscalculated Stefan’s relationship to Draven.
“He’s just been paid a lot of money and is off to a tropical island to live out his days.”
That sounded amazing. “Is that something you’d like to do? I can make it happen when all this is over.”
Odell shot me a look. “Really? Now, when we’re so close, you’re thinking of a balmy beach, sunbathing, and cocktails?”
“Sor-ry!” I wasn’t. I’d always hated it when Flint called me on my shit, but when my mate did it, it was cute. And hot!
“Focus, Hunter!”
I saluted, and he poked out his tongue. “The hit on us was unsuccessful, so if he’s involved as we think, he should be running fast in the opposite direction.”
“Because if not, he’ll be buried in a shallow grave.”
I side-eyed my mate. “Sure you’ve never done this before?”
