Page 73 of Hunted Temptation
Hale knocks on the door, though he doesn’t have to. My office door is open. Watching him, I dip my chin toward the empty seat across from me. He takes a step inside, closing and locking the door behind him. I watch as he sinks down in the chair.
“What are your thoughts on Pointe Industries?” I ask.
He shakes his head, his eyes flicking down to his lap before he shifts them back up to meet mine. There is something seriously wrong. All thoughts of Pointe Industries disappear, and now I’m focused on him.
“You good?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “I’m on a job, and it’s not good.”
My brows snap together. This feels like déjà vu. It seems almost every one of us found our women on a job that did not go as planned. I’m wondering if Hale is about to fall next. He clears his throat and slides the palms of his hands down his thighs. If they’re sweaty, then I have a feeling this man has already fallen.
“What happened?” I ask.
He closes his eyes slowly, then opens them, and his gaze meets mine. I can tell he seems troubled, more than troubled. He looks broken. I don’t like this, not in the fucking slightest.
“Hale?” I ask.
He shakes his head a couple of times but doesn’t say anything. Instead, he leans back, closing his eyes as he takes a few calming breaths. I don’t rush him. He’s clearly working through something inside his head, and as much as I want to know what the fuck it is, I wait.
I have time. My work is complete for the day, and I was actually getting ready to pack up my shit and head home to my wife.
My wife.
I almost snort when I think about Elodie like that. She is my wife, but that was a title I was sure no woman should have or want. And then she came along, deserving so much more than that title, than the role, but she wanted it… all but demanded it, and I was proud to give it to her.
And hopefully soon, she’ll have another title I can give to her, another role.
Mother.
Though that is proving to be a bit more difficult than marriage. We’ve been trying for six months and have not had any success. Today, she went to the doctor for testing, so I am eager to get home and discover the results.
I tried to go with her, but she opted to have Lucille at her side, which is probably for the best. I can’t guarantee that if she got any bad news, I wouldn’t take my frustrations out on the doctor and kill him.
It was for the best.
“I don’t know what to do,” Hale whispers as he straightens his head, his eyes opening and immediately connecting to mine.
“I would love to help you, but I don’t know what the fuck is going on, brother.”
Hale chuckles before he speaks. “I fell in love with someone.”
“Who?”
I’m instantly concerned, since I’ve never even heard him talk about a woman, let alone one he could have fallen in love with. Hale is like the rest of us, deeply focused on self-control, so the fact that he’s feeling out of control, that he thinks he’s in love with this stranger, is concerning.
“A girl I met at the Willow Club.”
“I didn’t realize you were still going down there,” I state.
He smirks. “You don’t realize a lot of things now that you’re off the market, loved up, and devoted to the woman in your life. Bo and I go quite a bit.”
“Does this mean you feel the same way about this woman?” I ask.
He shrugs a shoulder. “I have fallen in love with her. But she’s not mine to have, and I’m afraid she’s going to die because of me.”
“Hale?” I demand.
He shakes his head, lifting his hands to press against each side of his head. He releases his hands as he stands, clearly frustrated, likely scared, too. I start to ask him if the man is a Night Devil member, but then he continues speaking.
