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“What am I thinking, Parker?” he bites back, positioning me behind his broad back, a place that I wish I could nestle for longer than this tense moment will allow.
“You’re thinking that I’ve had some part in what’s happened to Megan.”
“My fiancee was taken, and now she’s with you, eating bad Mexican food, at a pit stop in Arizona. It doesn’t take rocket science to figure out what’s going on. One plus one equals motherfucking two,” he retorts cooly.
“Can you put that away, boss?” Parker asks, referring to the gun on the table.
“Oh, didn’t you hear? You are no longer under my employment. You stole my car. You stole my woman. The name is Mr. Middleton to you.”
“I didn’t take her!” he pleads. “I saved her from Fabre.”
Okay, that’s not exactly what happened.
“Then why didn’t you pick up your phone one single time when we called?”
“Boss–”
“You’re always on that damn phone.”
“I had to toss it.”
“I bet you did. Get up.”
Hunter reaches for his gun, so I squeeze him harder around his waist.
“It’s okay, Megan.” He pats my hand softly. “We’re just going out to the car,” he assures me. “And Parker, if you run, I will fuck you up.”
“I’m not going to run,” Parker sighs defeatedly.
“Then get up and walk toward the exit. When we get through the doors, turn to your left.”
It’s only a matter of moments until we see Lars and another security team that usually works at the club. The look on Lars’s face when he spots me next to Hunter is priceless. I imagine it’s the type of look a loving father would give his long-lost child.
I offer him a smile in return.
“You found her,” Lars says to Hunter as he approaches.
“It wasn’t hard,” Hunter quips. “She was having lunch with our boy Parker here.”
Lars rakes his eyes over Parker with the complete opposite look he gave me. It’s one full of disappointment and pretty much disgust. It’s obvious that both Hunter and Lars believe that Parker is guilty of something, which he is, but for a pretty good reason in my opinion. I see it’s going to be up to me to help him, but when dealing with Hunter, the timing always matters, and this is not the time to try and save Parker’s ass.
Hunter turns to me, my face between his two strong hands, and it’s at this very moment that I see just how much our separation has cost him. His eyes are sunken in and are missing their usual silvery-grey glow. The frown lines on his forehead have deepened, and he hasn’t shaved at all.
“Lars and I need to talk to Parker for a moment before we get back on the road. I need to understand how much danger you’re still in.”
“I’m not sure he can tell you anything, Hunter.”
“I don’t want you to worry about any of this. You’ve already been through enough. I’m just asking you to sit in the truck with the other team while we talk to him.”
“I don’t want to be separated from you again,” I say, almost panicked.
His face looks pained by my reaction. “Of course, that was thoughtless of me.”
“Can’t you talk to him later? I just want to get home.”
Lars leads Parker a few feet away to give the two of us some privacy. After a moment of staring me intensely in the eyes, Hunter finally asks the question I think he’s been wanting to ask since he found me.
“Megan…is there anything you’re not telling me?” he asks hesitantly and dare I say almost fearfully as if he’s afraid of my answer.