Page 53 of Savage Hunter

“Step away from me, Wolfe. Just let me go. Go back to my mother and tell her you couldn't find me.”

Two thumbs under either side of my chin lift my face to his. I’d been keeping my eyes pinned to the center of his chest because the second my eyes lock with his I know I will lose the battle going on inside me. I want to believe him. But I can’t afford to trust so easily.

I look up to see a deep frown tugging at Wolfe’s lips. It goes with the slashes etched across the expanse of his forehead and the downward pull on his dark brows.

“I can’t stand to hear the devastation in your voice. If I could erase the past, I would. I searched everywhere, Harmonia. I dragged my net across the bottom of this fucked up world and I came back empty-handed every single time. I followed every lead. I didn’t care how far nor deep into the underworld it took me. I never stopped looking for you. I made the mistake of leaving your mother alive in order to get to you. And I failed. I couldn’t protect you and I have lived with that haunting nightmare every single night since I lost you.”

I keep hearing the wordsI failedand they slam into my heart with the brute force of a category five hurricane.

“Now that I have you, I’m not letting you go. You will have to put a bullet in me to stop me.”

My heart swells and embers of hope inside me fuel the need to believe his words. “Wolfe, I don’t know who to trust. I’m so damn scared.” I wrap my hands around his wrists. “I’m tired of running and hiding. I’m tired of being so alone.”

“My angel. My beautiful, sweet innocent angel. The tears in your eyes break my heart to the point of death.” He swipes at the falling tears and then does the one thing that makes me love him all over again. I didn’t think such a simple act could break the metal barrier around my heart, but when Wolfe leans in and kisses away the tears, I fall for him all over again.

But I can’t let my heart guide me. The last time I let that happen…no. The never-ending-loop of pain will never end if I don’t take control right now. I shutter my thoughts and cut off the emotions gripping my heart. I press my palms to his chest and push out of his arms. A secret part of me wishes I could fall into his arms and run away, but fairy tales are just that—a fantasy.

“Where is your sister? Does my mother have her? Is that why you are here, being the puppet she controls?”

Wolfe recoils as if I slapped him. He steps away, leaving me space to run. I want to, but where would I go?

Heart in throat, I mirror his scowl with one of my own. “And don’tHarmoniame.”

Dark eyes flicker from my face to the clenched fists at my sides and back. Lightning flashes outside the raw construction. Thunder rumbles. The fight between the clouds and the moon finally ends, and the rain won out.

Fat drops hammer against the plastic covering the unfinished roof. Wind picks up and filters through the window frames. Wolfe steps in front of me like a shield and walks me backward until I hit a wall. Using his substantial weight against me, one arm pins me in place while the other grabs my chin.

“Later we can—and will—talk about your trust issues. We work through them together one at a time until we are both old and gray. I’ll be there faster than you, but I’ll be there for you until my heart stops beating. But right now I need you to hear me and fast. I am here to protect you. End of story. You will never be in danger again, princess. That is a promise I make right now. Believe me or not, I don’t care.”

What do I say to his confession? Ask him to prove it? How? A fraction of my anger fades. I don’t trust him, but he will not drive a blade in my heart personally.

“You need to trust me and I only have one way to prove I am on your side.”

Wolfe pulls his phone out and in a couple of seconds he has a name pulled up. He hits the call button and a tired female voice comes over the line.

“Wolfe, what’s wrong? Did something happen with Harmonia? Is she okay?”

“Nyx, I have Harmonia here. I want you to tell her you are safe and not being used as a pawn by the queenpin to control me.”

Wind whips through the house, carrying rain with it. Wolfe moves in closer, our body heats melding in ways I don’t want to like. But I do. Damn it. I do.

I swallow thickly and fight the urge to bury my face in his neck and beg him to take me away to some island where our troubles can never touch us again. I think there, in the middle of nowhere and endless sunshine I could forget a lot of my past.

“Harmonia, we haven’t met before but I’m Nyx.” There’s a nervous tremble to the other woman’s voice.

“I’m Wolfe’s sister.”

“Nyx,” I repeat on autopilot.

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” I never knew Wolfe had a sister the entire time he worked for my mother, never mind knowing her name. He could have anyone on the other end of the phone.

The phone call turns into a video call and the second I see her face I know she’s blood to Wolfe. She has a soft slope to her jawline and the color of her eyes differs completely from his darker ones, but the connection is in the shape of the eyes and the high cheekbones. Her softer features don’t hide the fact she’s his family.

“I’m sorry about everything,” she starts and I hold up a hand.

“We don’t have to talk about it.” The last thing I need is another reason to cry.

Guns go off in the distance but it’s the grinding cock of a gun that has fear and panic slithering down my spine.

---