Page 19 of Wretched Heart
He glances up, a twinkle in his green eyes as if he expects me to share the joke. His expression falters, but before either of us can say anything else, there’s a tap at the door. It’s followed by a click as the lock releases and the door swings open. Mace has a clear view of me kneeling on the bed in nothing but Hunter’s t-shirt. The bastard smirks.
Hunter steps forward to block his brother’s line of sight, his back to me. My vision is too blurred with tears to appreciate the tapestry of muscle and ink across his shoulder blades.
“We need to have words,” Hunter tells Mace gruffly.
“Sure looks that way,” his brother retorts.
Hunter’s body ripples with tension as he pushes Mace back out through the door. “Don’t be a prick, we’ve got problems,” I hear him say as the door closes on them both, leaving me on my own.
I swipe away my tears as I try to figure out what to do next. I don’t know enough about Hunter and his family to judge if the meeting he has planned with Hugo will make my situation better or worse. I wasn’t the only one who was humiliated yesterday. The deal Hugo brokered with Barrettwas meant to save us all, and he won’t be happy to have everyone know he was duped. And when Hugo isn’t happy, he’s at his most unpredictable. I really don’t want to be there when he meets the three brothers who spent the night with his sister.
My legs tremble as I retreat to the bathroom and lock the door, enjoying the sense of security it brings until memories of last night come crashing around me. I avoid looking at the shower stall, but I can’t help but notice the abandoned wedding dress that Hunter practically shredded. It’s the one thing he did that I thoroughly approve of.
I use the hotel care package to brush my teeth, and by some miracle manage to get the comb through my hair until it no longer resembles the bird’s nest Hunter had described it as yesterday. I wonder if that was why he started calling me his little bird. I hate myself for liking that he has a pet name for me, but I pray he doesn’t use it in front of Hugo.
That thought has my stomach dropping. I can’t face my brother yet, but neither can I lock myself away in the bathroom forever. I’m going to have to do something more drastic.
I stalk back into the bedroom, not knowing what I’m looking for. There’s no escape route, and given how Hunter had me guarded yesterday, I doubt they’d let me walk out without a struggle. I circle the bed, and that’s when I see my one and only chance to take control for the first time in my twenty-four years. I just hope my nerve holds.
My hands tremble only a little as I position myself to the side of the door so that Hunter won’t see me until he steps into the room. I don’t have to wait long, and he returns carrying a garment bag and a crumpled paper bag. I’m thankful Mace isn’t with him, giving me one less problem to deal with.
I watch silently as Hunter drops his suit onto the bed, then starts going through the contents of the paper bag. It’s a long minute before he finally glances up to find more than just my eyes trained on him.
The only sign that he registers the gun in my hand is the tiniest tick of his jaw. He lifts the paper bag. “There’s a dress in there for you. Sorry, I don’t think it’s your usual style.”
“Put it on the bed,” I order. I don’t want him to have something in his hand that he might be able to throw at me.
Hunter sighs as he drops the bag and sits on the edge of the bed, legs spread wide. His elbows rest on his knees. “Do you want to tell me what the fuck you think you’re doing?”
“What do you want with my family, Hunter?”
“You’ve seen my card,” he replies softly. “My specialty is acquisitions and I want to acquire your company.”
“Why?”
He laughs. “I’m starting to ask myself the same question,” he admits. “The simple answer is I want it because Barrett Emerson wanted it. I’m hoping when we get into the detail of the takeover, we’ll be able to figure out if he was just turning a fast buck, or if he had an ulterior motive.” From the way his eyes graze over my body, I know he’s wondering why Barrett was willing to accept the added complication of a wife.
“Hugo won’t do business with you. Not after you humiliated him yesterday.”
“Your brother doesn’t have a choice. He’s up to his neck in debt – personal as well as corporate. If I don’t step in, the company will fold in a matter of months and he’ll lose everything. And he’ll take you down with him.”
I adjust my grip on the gun. My palms are clammy. “I’d rather that than let someone else pick over the bones of ourcompany. You’ve just admitted you want to figure out his plan. Is that so you can turn a quick profit too?”
Hunter shakes his head. “I thought we’d established that I’m not Barrett, little bird,” he says in a honeyed tone. “I’ve seen what he can do to entire communities with ruthless efficiency, and my brothers and I take pride in doing the exact opposite. You have over a hundred employees counting on you to make the right decision over the coming days and weeks. And that’s not including the other businesses in Brimstage that directly or indirectly rely on your mill. I’m not sure the town would survive without it. Are you?”
“They wouldn’t,” I agree.
“We buy. We invest. And we share our profits with the communities we help.”
It sounds too good to be true. “Why should I trust you?”
Hunter’s green eyes glint and I feel the intensity of his stare in the center of my chest. It’s like he’s drilling into my heart. “Because I’m asking you to.”
“But I don’t know anything about you,” I say, refusing to let him in. “Except how you and your brothers can seemingly take over an entire hotel, including their security cameras, and just walk in here with your own key card.”
“Mace has a master key card.”
“Of course he fucking does,” I mutter. I glance down to Hunter’s bare feet and frown as another thought occurs. “You got here pretty fast last night when I called.”
