Page 17 of Erik's Redemption
The note could be nothing. But after the last couple months, he wasn’t taking the fucking chance. “I’m not sure. And Chandler…the person is to remain hidden. Watch the office from a distance. Watchherfrom a distance. I don’t want her to know he’s there.”
Because something inside him knew she’d refuse the protection. And that wasn’t a fucking option.
CHAPTER 6
Hannah heard the music before she climbed out of the car. It was loud and echoed through the quiet night from the back of the house.
The home was a heritage-style colonial with a beautiful sandstone façade, and it sat pretty much on its own, with no neighbors on either side.
Gorgeous.
“I see the doctor has good taste,” Henry said, climbing out from behind the wheel.
Brigid opened the back door. Henry had basically wrangled all three of them together, telling them that if they weren’t at his place by five p.m. with their shit for tonight, he’d hunt them down. He’d even asked his partner, Owen, to meet them at the party.
Because Henry had been feeling it too—the drift between them. The distance that Brigid, in particular, was putting up.
Arriving together was fine with Hannah. Erik had told her that he might be late, so coming with her friends was better than arriving alone. And she wanted to bring the three of them back together. Henry and Brigid were her family by choice.
Hannah slipped her fingers through Brigid’s. “Ready to party?”
“Depends,” her friend said with a small grin. “We gonna dance?”
Hannah’s smile widened. Brigid seemed a little better tonight. Happier. Hannah had no idea what had instigated the change, but she was hopeful it was here to stay.
Henry came to the other side of Brigid and slipped his arm through hers. “And cocktails. Andi said there’d be lots of cocktails, including pisco sours, which I’m dying for.”
Hannah frowned. “What’s a pisco sour?”
Henry looked at her like she’d just asked what trees were. “Pisco…as in the grape brandy which, when added to bitters, syrup, and lime, is the best damn thing you’ll ever drink.”
Brigid wrinkled her nose. “Don’t pisco sours have egg whites in them?”
Henry lifted a shoulder. “Yeah. Extra protein to keep me going.”
Hannah laughed as they headed around the side of the house, passing a large lit-up lap pool with steam coming off the surface. When they reached the backyard, her jaw dropped.
Okay…when a Hunter wanted to throw a party, they went all out.
A huge dance floor centered the grassed yard, and behind it was a five-person band. Tables scattered from one end of the yard to the other, but it was the lights strung above that had the space feeling almost magical.
And of course, there were people everywhere. Gorgeous people, all wearing the most beautiful dresses and suits.
Brigid moved straight over to a heater. “Yes…warmth. I love it.”
Hannah searched the area for Erik, her heart doing a sad little turn when she didn’t see him. She shouldn’t be surprised.And it wasn’t like he’d miss tonight altogether. It was his sister’s thirtieth birthday. At least, she was pretty sure he wouldn’t. But then, she wasn’t sure she really knew the man at all right now.
Andi popped out of the crowd, her gaze colliding with Hannah’s. She beamed and headed toward them, first wrapping Henry in a hug, then Brigid, then Hannah. When she pulled back, she frowned. “Erik’s not with you?”
He hadn’t told her? She squirmed uncomfortably. “No. We decided to come separately. He’ll probably be late.”
What exactly he was doing to warrant being late, she wasn’t sure. She hadn’t asked. Maybe because a part of her had been scared that whatever he said, she wouldn’t believe after all the reasons for his absences already.
Disappointment flashed over Andi’s face, but she recovered quickly. “Well, we have a food table to the right. A dance floor. And of course, a bar with plenty of cocktails.”
“Yes, please,” Brigid said, eyes already on the bar.
They moved toward it and, without asking, Henry ordered them each a pisco sour.
