Page 98 of Regret

That was when the tears of anger turned into tears of sadness and regret. “I should have gone back to help her. I never should have run away, but I was too much of a coward—”

“No!” Hunter grabbed her shoulders and shook her hard. “You are not a coward. Don’t you dare say shit like that, do you hear me? You are not a fucking coward.”

“She died!” Scarlet cried out while he continued to shake her. “My sister died that day.”

Hunter stilled. “Did he—”

She shook her head. “No. But he might as well have.”

Scarlet cried so hard that Hunter had no other choice but to pull her hard against his chest. Dear God, this poor woman. The horror and the pain she had been through, and she still managed to stand strong. How the fuck did she do it?

“You listen to me, Scar, and you listen fucking carefully.” He pulled her face from his chest and held her cheeks in his palms. “I envy you because you are the strongest person I know. I wish I had your strength, your determination. But I don’t. After all you’ve been through you’re still here, still living. You’re still fucking human. You’re a survivor just like that tattoo says on the inside of your thigh. A survivor, Scarlet. I envy you because you’ve been to hell and back and you still. Fucking. Survived.”

Without thinking, he kissed her. He kissed her so hard, as if trying to remove all her pain, all her anger and torment with that one kiss. It was a bittersweet kiss mixed with the saltiness of her tears. If there was one thing he could wish for, it would be to take away every bad thing that had ever happened to this woman. To give her a life filled with nothing but love and laughter and joy. She deserved it. She. Fucking. Deserved it.

Scarlet pushed back and cried out in pain. Her demons were torturing her, killing her from the inside, and there was nothing he could do about it.

“It’s my fault she’s dead, and the only reason I choose to survive is because I don’t deserve to die. I deserve to live and be tortured by her memory, knowing that if it wasn’t for me, she would still be alive.”

“That’s bullshit.” Hunter shook his head. “That’s a bunch of horse crap and you know it.”

“Fuck you, Ace. You don’t know me. Just because we fucked and shared a few moments does not mean you know me, that you can analyze me and be right.”

He grabbed hold of her arm and yanked her toward him. “Your sister is dead because of that son of a bitch and what he did to you. It’s not your fault.”

“Stop saying that!” More tears, more cries, but Hunter refused to let go.

“Scarlet, stop. You can’t keep on torturing yourself like this.”

“He fucked up my entire family, and now he has everything. Even my home.Myhome, Ace. Bella Vista wasmyhome, and now it’s his.”

Hunter froze. “What did you say?”

Scarlet wiped at her cheeks with her hand. “Bella Vista will never be home again. Brent has everything now right in the palms of his filthy hands.” She jerked her arm free from his hold and stormed up the stairs. Hunter’s entire body went numb and he didn’t even try to stop her.

Bella Vista. Blue. The estate with the huge-ass walls.

No. No, this can’t be…

This can’t be happening. This can’t be fucking happening. No way.

Hunter stared up the stairs, his mind trying to come up with just one other reason Scarlet would refer to Bella Vista as her home. Any other reason but the obvious.

Could it be? Could this really be?

Hunter pushed his hands through his hair, bending over like he was in physical pain. “Fuck!” Flashes of blue eyes and heart-shaped lips infested his mind, cracking his chest wide open. The clear blue eyes of the woman he lost…and the intense blue eyes of the woman he had found. It was impossible. Scarlet and Blue?

“What is this?”

Hunter looked up. Scarlet was standing a few feet from him, holding his silver chain with the Celtic symbol in her hand, dressed like she was ready to leave.

“Scar—” He stood up straight, not knowing if he wanted to scream or cry. Whether he wanted to wrap her in his arms or run as far away from her as possible. Right then it seemed like the latter.

“Tell me where you got this, Ace.”

Hunter sat down on the couch and let out a long sigh of defeat. “You know where I got it, don’t you, Scar?”

She lightly shook her head, the raw look of denial plastered on her face. “No.”

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