Page 68 of Regret

Scarlet laughed. “At least his oversexed life is easy money for you, then.”

“True.”

Silence settled over them, but it wasn’t the uncomfortable type. The crashing of the waves echoed through the night, the soft breeze rustling through the leaves of the surrounding trees. It felt so serene. So peaceful. She couldn’t remember when last she felt so…relaxed.

“Hunter, how did you find me?”

“Nope. A good PI never outs his informants.”

Scarlet peered at him, and he smiled.

“I will tell you, though,” he started, “it wasn’t fucking easy finding you. It took me a long time to get a trail on your ass. How did you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Manage to disappear off the damn radar. Apparently, Brent hired a few PIs to find you, but no one ever could.”

Scarlet stared at the tumbler in her hand. “Until you, that is.”

“Yeah. Until me. Seriously, though, how did you do it?”

She shrugged. “I didn’t do much really. I got a few fake IDs, colored my hair, and made sure I didn’t stay at the same place too long.”

Hunter stared at her, dumbfounded. “That’s it?”

“Yup. Guess I’m lucky that way.” She shot him a sly grin.

“Ah-huh.”

More silence settled around them, causing Scarlet to shift a little. Especially since it seemed like they were suddenly sitting very close to each other. Did he move? Did she move? Did both of them move while they had thatmoment?

Hunter cleared his throat. “So you’re okay with the whole not screwing the same woman twice thing?”

She turned to him and frowned. “Sure. Everyone has their thing, and not eating from the same apple tree twice is yours. Although,” she grinned at him, “the second apple could be much sweeter.”

“I doubt that.”

She took a sip of her whiskey and relished in the smooth taste. “So what’s the plan, Ace? You gonna hide me out here forever?”

Hunter poured himself another glass. “Well, you said Brent was adopted, so I’m going to call in a favor tomorrow morning and try to find out who this guy really is. His background. But, Scar,” he turned to face her, “I know you’re not telling me everything. If there is anything that I need to know in order for me to help you, you’ve gotta tell me.”

“I already told you—”

“Yeah, I know. All I need to know. But somehow, I doubt that.”

He stared at her with his emerald green eyes, and she swallowed hard. It felt like he was staring straight through her, searching for her secrets, rummaging through her soul to find out what she was hiding. The way his eyes searched hers was like he was trying to piece together a puzzle, trying to get the bigger picture.

What would he think of her if he knew the truth? Would he think her weak, or pity her? God, she hoped not. She wasn’t weak, and she sure as hell didn’t need anyone’s pity. She just wanted to be left alone, to be able to live freely without looking over her shoulder like a damn criminal.

Unable to handle the heat creeping up inside her chest while under his gaze, she stood up and stepped out of the pool.

“I’m gonna crash. You still hell-bent on sleeping in the same room as me?”

“Definitely.” There was no hesitation in his answer.

“You sure? If anyone does try to grab me in the middle of the night while you’re not there, I pack a mean punch.”

“And if that doesn’t work, you sure as hell dish out an epic bitch slap.” He placed his hand on his cheek, and they both burst out laughing.

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