Page 45 of Silent Vendetta (Vendetta Duet)

But those hazel eyes—light brown with specks of green—tightened, and I hated that they began to shimmer.

“Let me go, or so help me,” she said, “I will get revenge, Hunter. I will tell everyone what you’ve done. I will make it my personal mission to ruin you.”

Her words struck deep, a pang of unexpected hurt coursing through me, and right behind it, guilt—holding her against her will like this wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

“I’m going to keep you safe, Luna. If it’s the last thing I do.”

I shoved off the bed and locked the door behind me.

But this time, Luna wasn’t quiet. She banged her fists against the door, screaming, “Let me out! Hunter, Let me out of here!”

Wonderful.

Grayson was going to hear that.

I was already going to have a hard time explaining to my brother what I needed him to do, and now he could probably hear my hostage pleading for her release.

CHAPTER22

Hunter

“What the hell is going on?” Grayson’s eyes darted to the ceiling, where, upstairs, Luna pounded on the guest bedroom door, shouting profanities. “You’ve got her locked up in there?”

Understandably, Luna was upset that her father’s court case needed to get pushed and that she wasn’t allowed to leave just yet. But hopefully soon, she’d wantto digest everything else I’d told her. Each confession that had tumbled from my lips had been a vulnerable piece of my fractured heart, and I hoped she’d at least try to understand.

Every fiber of my being yearned for her acceptance. In a world full of chaos, she was my anchor, and if she didn’t at least try to process my most intimate revelations, it would cut me to the core. No matter how irrational that might sound.

My hand tightened as I raked it through my hair and sank into the chair, exhaling heavily.

The sun was starting its ascent in the sky, like a burning reminder that just twenty-four hours ago, it had risen with Luna in my arms. Before Franco had taken her, before she’d stumbled onto the scene last night.

Just like when my father had passed, I wished I’d had a warning at that moment that it could be the last time she’d ever look at me like I wasn’t a monster. So I could have savored her adoring gaze one last time.

“I’m in trouble, Grayson.” The ticking clock on the wall seemed louder than ever, each second echoing my growing desperation. “I only have two days to get some shit done, and I need your help to do it.”

It wasn’t surprising that Grayson narrowed his eyes; I had never uttered words like this to him before.

The first rays of dawn crept through the window, painting the room in soft, golden hues—a stark contrast to the chaos ravaging my head. I needed to reschedule meetings, and let my team know I wasn’t showing up to work today. Or tomorrow.

If Detective Rinaldi was keeping tabs on me, she would notice that both me and Luna were absent. But I’d have to worry about that later.

Bam, bam, bam.“Let me out, asshole!” The sound of her voice made my stomach churn with guilt and anxiety. Luna’s fists would be bloodied if she kept this up much longer.

As Grayson folded his arms over his chest, I tried to gauge his expression. Hopefully, my instincts had been right—that I could trust my brother with this.

His voice held a hint of that protective older brother from our childhood.

“Hunter, what’s going on?”

I explained how Franco had tried to kill her and had said someone hired him to end Luna because she was working to get her father’s conviction overturned. That others would likely come after her, too.

I hesitated, the weight of my secret identity pressing on my chest, but I held back, giving Grayson only half the story. Grayson would find out who I was soon enough, but anyone who helped meafterthey uncovered my identity might have the book thrown at them. I also left out that Franco Hopkins was decomposing in my basement right now. It was bad enough that I was asking Grayson to get involved in something that might get him in trouble; I didn’t need to make him an accomplice to homicide after the fact.

“You’re holding her to keep hersafe?” Grayson pressed skeptically.

“That’s one of the reasons, yes.”

“And another?”

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