Page 93 of Hunter
“Back up, man, we don’t have time for this right now,” Max interjects, cutting me off as he shoulders himself between us. He’s either the bravest motherfucker in here or the dumbest, getting between us like that. Alvi shifts uncomfortably beside us as he stares at his phone. “You need to fucking come clean about all this shit later. We expect the full fucking story,” Max says.
“No, we’re fucking done. We’re going this way, and you’re all staying behind me. Don’t fuck around, you guys have no fucking idea what’s up ahead,” Alvi demands, leaving Chase and Max speechless.
“Neither do you.” I snap back.
“At least I have a gun, dipshit.”
“Then give me something, Alv,”
“Fuck. Take this,” he says, pulling out a pocket knife and handing it to me.What the fuck? Ed’s shit is bigger than this.“Now get behind me.”
“What are we gonna do, man? What happens next?” Chase questions. I crack my knuckles, switching the blade from one hand to the other. I feel jacked up, and I’m ready to kick some fucking ass.LET’S FUCKING GO!
“They placed bets against a team that won when they should have lost. Money comes and goes. That’s not what I’m really worried about. I’m more concerned with the emotions caught up in all of this. Tonight was supposed to settle a score, and that’s not how it panned out,” Alvi pauses and clears his throat. “Plus, I already know that these assholes have your girl clocked–”
“How do you know they had her followed?” I ask, cutting him off as I look over at his screen.
“I had my guys follow the ones tailing her.” He’s got some app pulled up that’s tracking several moving dots. I move closer to get a better look at his phone and realize that those aren’tdots on the screen. They’re heat signatures, and they’re moving quick. “This isn’t my first fucking time doing this shit, man, come on now. You’re girl just led them to my wife’s fucking doorstep.”
“Why didn’t I know that you had a secret fucking wife?”The fuck?!?
“Not now, Three… we’ve got fucking company,” Alv huffs out and sends out a text with his left hand while holding his gun up with his right. “Eyes up, head down. And don’t be a fucking hero. All you’ve got on you is a Swiss Army knife and an ego that a bullet wouldn't miss. These assholes may not be professional, but they’re not new at this either. You are.”
“I just want my girl safe and sound. I’ll settle whatever fucking debt she has, even if I need to wire the fucking money. This shit ends tonight,” I reiterate. I hear my voice start to crack and feel my panic start to rise while I watch the heat signatures on his screen move closer to a building.
Alvi doesn’t say a word before he’s booking it in the direction of those dots, leaving us all holding our cocks and scrambling to catch up. He saw something, or someone, on there that lit a fucking fire under his ass, and I’m glad that we’re all on the same page now.
The three of us jog up to the back parking lot of the shelter, Alvi leading the way and all of us ready for a fucking fight. According to my tracking app, I’m as close to her dot as I’ve been all fucking night, but I still don’t see her.
And then I do. She’s on the back concrete stairs, standing in front of a metal door at the back of the shelter under a bright spotlight. At the bottom of the stairs is that fucking punk Dylan, and he’s pointing a gun at the love of my fucking life.
The dragon in my gut is blowing fire and ready to tear him to shreds, but before I can lunge at him, the back door opens, andthe woman who runs the shelter steps out into the night. In that moment, everything descends into fucking chaos.
SIXTY-TWO
This is fucking insanity,and I have to keep reminding myself that this isn’t a fucking Hollywood movie, a Netflix docuseries, or a goddamn video game. It’s fucking real life, and it’s hell on earth.
Dylan is aiming a gun at my girl, Alvi’s is trained on Dylan, and from the corner of my eye, I see Payton enter the fucking scene from the other side of the parking lot. Chase and Max are standing behind me, but I feel like I’m on an island of one. Time is standing still as my world crashes to my fucking feet.
All I see in my head is the fucked up nightmare of my beautiful girl covered in her own blood last fall. She felt dead in my arms, and it woke me the fuck up when I held her tightly to my chest. I fucking refuse to let that ever happen again. Fucking now included, and I walk straight ahead into the line of fire.
I’m full of adrenaline, determination, and all these fucking feelings for Ed that season my blood. She adds flavor to my life and makes me feel fucking bold. I could give a shit that I brought a knife to a gun fight. Don’t fucking fuck with me.Hell isn’t getting an angel tonight. She’s my demon, and I’m fucking keeping her.
“YOU KILLED HIM!” Dylan shouts at Ed, talking about that punk ass bitch that she killed in self-defense.
“DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE, DYLAN!” Payton bellows out while she steps away from Ed’s cousin. This crazy bitch shakes off her man, who is trying to hold her back, and is walking right up to a guy holding a gun like she doesn’t give a single fuck as she screams, “I TOLD YOU THAT VALENTINE WAS MINE!” The loudest screech I’ve ever heard echoes in my head and reverberates in my chest. I don’t like her fucking words.No, she’s not, you psycho bitch, Edison’s mine. She’s not yours, and she sure as fuck ain’t Dylans.
“THIS CUNT BITCH KILLED MY OLDEST FUCKING FRIEND! SHE NEEDS TO FUCKING PAY FOR THAT SHIT, I DON’T GIVE A FUCK!!” He looks fucked up in the head. Like, he may be tripping his balls off or having a psychotic break.
“GET INSIDE THE FUCKING BUILDING, ED!” I scream, and hope that the goddesses she loves so much, fucking protect her now more than ever. Especially since it’s making me sick to my fucking stomach watching Dylan point a fucking gun at my girl.
I’m also hoping that the‘diosas’protect Chase and Max, because my boys need to go, “If there’s an opportunity to get thefuck out of here, then I’m gonna need you both to fucking take it, I need you to fucking run all the way back to the house and stay there. Stay with Evie and Red.” I pause and take in a deep breath, my chest feels tight, and they’re both looking at me with stone-cold fucking faces.
“I can’t protect all of you,” I tell them. I can’t. I know I fucking can’t. I’m not gonna be able to keep all three of them safe, and I know that Alvi won’t be able to keep us all safe either. I don’t care how many guys Alv has, we’re the ones standing here right fucking now. “Don’t make me choose between my girl, my brother, and my best friend, because you two will lose, and I don’t wanna have to fucking do that.”
“Dylan, put the fucking gun down and step away from my girl,” Ed’s cousin demands, and I can hear the fear and anger in his voice. I can tell that he’s hesitant to move forward. He doesn’t want to scare him, and I don’t want him to fucking spook him either.
“I’M NOT LEAVING UNTIL I GET MY FUCKING PAYBACK! IT’S NOT MY FAULT THAT YOUR GIRL IS CRAZY!” Dylan shouts in retaliation and points the loaded weapon at Payton.
