Page 91 of Wretched Heart
I stay on the car roof, and I watch and wait for Hunter to feel the pull of the connection between us. He will come back to me. He has to.
When sun sinks below the horizon, I hear something snap deep in my chest and I release a howl into the night.
I have no choice but to go home, or to be more exact, return to the house that once belonged to my family. But it’s not mine. I forfeited the opportunity to own the house when I refused the trap that Ash set, and Hunter placed in my hands.
My small rebellion might be for nothing, but it was worth it. I don’t want the house. I’m not even sure I want the controlling share of the paper mill. I want the company to flourish for the sake of our employees, but I don’t need to be here for that to happen.
I’d always presumed I’d have to move away anyway, assuming I married someone with a base elsewhere. I didmarry someone based elsewhere, but now he’s gone, and I’m still here.
I feel so damn lost. The only thing that tempts me back to the house is the familiarity of the covers I can crawl beneath. Jen hadn’t wanted or needed to take most of the furniture so I have my old bed. I just don’t have the old me.
As if my heart doesn’t hurt enough, I slip on the t-shirt that I’d accidentally picked out of the laundry basket in my haste to pack. It’s Hunter’s, and I’ve been wearing it to bed every night. My nose is too blocked to pick up his scent, but I already know it’s getting fainter, washed away by my tears.
Burying my head in my pillow, I try to give myself a pep talk. I have a whole new life to fill – a miserable, empty life. I could throw myself into work and dedicate myself to my business, but I’m not a fucking Griffin brother. In which case, I should socialize more. But for that, I’d need a social circle. Reid, Mace and even Ash were becoming my friends. Connie, Jake and Levi too. There’s Theo, I suppose, but he might want to be more than just friends.
One day I might have to kiss someone who isn’t Hunter…
My breath catches as fresh grief overwhelms me. I don’t want another man erasing the touch of my husband’s lips. I don’t care if I never have sex again. I miss Hunter so damn much. I shove my fist into my mouth to plug the sob that’s ready to tear from my throat.
And then I hear it. The click of my bedroom door opening.
Swallowing back tears, I use Hunter’s t-shirt to wipe my nose. I must look a mess. What is he going to think of my red and swollen eyes? I’ll tell him to keep the lights off. No. To hell with any of that. I don’t care what I look like.What’s important is that Hunter has come back for me, even if he is being sneaky.
I’m lying on my side, facing away from the door, so I pretend to be asleep. I don’t respond when I hear the creak of the loose floorboard on the other side of the bed. I breathe through my nose as best I can, trying to pick up the familiar scent of my husband, but I still can’t smell anything. My heart beats wildly against my ribcage, and as the mattress dips, those flutters move lower.
Weight slams against my shoulder blades. Too much weight, and I let out a yelp as I’m forced onto my stomach. A knee presses against my back. What the hell, Hunter? I shoot out an arm and he grabs it, bringing it around my back so sharply that pain screams from my shoulder to my wrist. And then I’m the one who’s screaming. It’s not Hunter on top of me.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” a man warns.
“Get off me!”
I try to wriggle free, but my assailant pulls my arm tighter until I almost black out with the pain. Something is being wrapped around my wrist and fastened tight. A cable tie. I fight harder despite my agony.
“You need to stop now!” I say through gritted teeth. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with! My husband will kill you for this!”
The knee on my back digs into my spine as the man leans forward to whisper in my ear. “Like he killed your brother?”
I don’t recognize the voice, but I can’t be sure I haven’t heard it before.
“Only this time I’m going to watch!” I hiss.
The man hesitates. I’m guessing he wasn’t expecting meto know that Hunter was behind Hugo’s death. He releases an exasperated sigh. “I hate to break it to you, Maddison, but your knight in shining armor isn’t going to come to the rescue this time. He’s done using you.”
The voice is soft and relaxed. I have heard it before. But where? My mind spins. Who is it, and what does he want? Is he going to rape me? Kill me? He hasn’t put a knife to my throat, or threatened me with a gun, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t armed. I don’t want to die.
If I know my enemy and what he’s after, I might be able to find a way out of this. Is this someone coming to collect more of Hugo’s debts – ones we didn’t know about? Or am I dealing with an enemy of the Griffins? It’s not Barrett’s voice, I know that much. But could it be someone acting on his behalf?
“Ray?”
It all fits into place. My ex-fiancé is still out for revenge, and he’s been waiting for Hunter and the others to leave. It would be just like Barrett to send someone else to do his dirty work. But Ray Forsyth is a middle-aged executive. He’s in good shape for his age, but he’s not a thug. He wouldn’t beat a woman up at his boss’s behest. Would he?
“What does Barrett want with me?”
“Hunter took his toy away, and now he wants it back. You and he had a bargain. You belong to him.”
I stop struggling.
The weight against my back shifts. “Glad to see you know your master,” Ray says with a chuckle.
