Page 99 of Marks of Rebellion

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His eyes turn to slits. "Does this have to do with what Tinker said last night?"

My heart breaks with every word. "No. You told me you'd get me out of Belize, and you have. You have a life, and you can go back to it now." I try to smile, but it's forced and feels fake.

"I'm not leaving you, Vanessa. You can't log in to any of your accounts. The minute you do, they will be here. And until you get to safety, you're not going anywhere without me."

"I'm not your responsibility. I—"

"Flower, I know I messed up, but this is one thing I won't back down on. I'll try my best not to make things uncomfortable for you, but until you're safe, you're stuck with me."

"I'm not uncomfortable with you," I blurt out.

"No?"

"No."

"That's not what this is about?" he asks.

"Not at all. I want to be fair to you."

"You don't have to worry about that. And I won't go away until you're safe."

"Okay. Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me."

"I do."

Uncomfortable silence follows as we stare at each other.

Hunter speaks first. "I'm sorry you heard what Tinker said."

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop."

"You weren't."

"I'm... I'm sorry about your breakup. I hope it isn't still painful for you."

"It's not. It happened over two years ago."

"But Tinker said you just moved her out?"

He shifts on his feet. "It's complicated. There are laws I wasn't aware of that allowed her to stay in my home. I didn't even ask her to move in, she just did. But it doesn't matter. She was only there to get half the value of my house."

"Oh. I'm...that's horrible."

He shrugs. "Would have hurt worse if I loved her. My bank account got the brunt of it."

"I'm sorry you went through that."

"Is what it is."

"When I'm able to access my funds, I'll pay you back for everything."

He scrunches his face and tilts his head.

Blood pounds in my ears.

A deep line forms between his brows. "I don't care about money."

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