Page 25 of Torment

“You picked the wrong guy to fuck with, soldier boy.”

“Fuck you.”

Hunter swept his arm back and slammed his fist against Riggs’s jaw, sending him flying to the ground. Hunter didn’t wait for him to get up. He pinned Riggs down and started to pound away at his face. The anger was pulsing through Hunter’s veins, and he let the animal in him come out.

Riggs got in a few punches, but whenever Hunter was like this, he never felt pain. It was like the demons inside him fed on it, it was the reason he fought in all those illegal cage fighting matches.

Just as Hunter went to land another punch, Riggs kneed him in the back and pushed him off to the side. Riggs pinned him down, and then the deafening crack of a gunshot made them stop and had both of them reaching for their guns.

“What the hell is going on here?” James glared at them with Scarlet standing by his side.

Hunter pushed Riggs off him and got up. “Your fucking soldier boy here decided to do some punching practice against my damn face.”

Riggs spat out some blood. “You fucking deserved it.”

“Fuck you.”

Riggs wanted to launch at Hunter again, but James pulled the trigger again.

“Stop! If you two want to kill each other, it’s not going to be on my ground. You got it?”

Hunter turned to Riggs and held out his arms. “What the fuck is your problem anyway?”

“You. You are my fucking problem.” Riggs walked closer, his eyes reflecting the murder he had on his mind. He stopped within two feet from Hunter and leaned in. “If you ever speak to her like that again, I will kill you.” And then the son of a bitch walked off, straight into the house.

What the fuck was that about?

Hunter turned and saw Scarlet staring at him. For a moment the anger inside him subsided when he looked into her eyes. But he saw the pain, the heartache she felt—all because of him, of what he said.

“I’m sorry, Scar.”

“Yeah, me too.” And then she walked into the house, leaving just Hunter and James.

Hunter wiped some blood from his lip before spitting, trying to get rid of the metallic taste in his mouth. “Do you mind telling me what the hell is up with your soldier boy?”

James slowly walked down the stairs. “There’s one thing I still have to teach him, and that’s to not let his emotions guide his actions.”

Hunter knew it. He goddamn knew it. “Doessoldier boyhave the hots for your daughter?”

“I’m not sure if that’s the problem.”

“Then what?”

James tucked his gun back at his side. “Soldier boy, as you call him, was the man I had following and keeping an eye on Scarlet years ago before she ran away.”

Hunter paused. “What?”

“He was a new recruit. I thought keeping an eye on Scarlet was an easy enough op for him to start out with.” James placed his hands at his sides. “Now it’s just a damn mess.”

“Because now Riggs has a personal interest, doesn’t he?”

James kicked at the dirt on the ground. “I think now that we know what really happened, we all blame ourselves. Riggs included.”

Suddenly it all made sense. The looks, the stolen glances Riggs gave in Scarlet’s direction. Hunter was right. Riggs did have a personal interest when it came to her.

James gave a step closer and lowered his voice. “I can see you have feelings for my daughter. I also know you have a lot of shit to work through. But keeping her safe is our number one priority right now. That is what you want, right?”

Hunter glared at him. “You know I do.”

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