Page 43 of Haunting the Hunter

Well, fuck.

I make my way back into the chaos and search for the tiny brunette. It doesn’t take me long to see her standing in the corner of the room, a cup of water in hand, shrinking into herself like she doesn’t want to be here. She looks me up and down as I approach her.

“We need to get you out of here,” I start. “Is there a back entrance to this place?”

She sighs, setting her drink on the stage.

“In the back, behind the bar.” She points to the back of the wall, past a large group of people.

“All right, let’s go.”

“I’m sorry, who the hell are you to tell me what to do? This isn’t your problem. I’m a grown-ass woman, and I’ll figure this the fuck out on my own.”

I can’t help but laugh.

“Is that funny?”

“No, you just remind me of my sister. Now let’s go. You can be stubborn when there isn’t a group of men outside trying to take you.”

She looks behind me at the door.

“Wait,what? They’re here?”

“Yes.” I grip her arm, not hard, but enough to urge her on. Her eyes widen at the contact.

“Okay, yeah, let’s go! You have no idea what those men are capable of. If Theo called them, it’s not gonna be good for you,” she says, yanking her arm from my grip.

I trail behind her as she makes her way to an employee exit. She pushes the door open with force, and we are met with two men in similar vests as her brother. She stops dead in her tracks. One of them calls out, “Yo, Theo! We found her!”

No sooner does the call go out than her brother comes around the corner with rage in his eyes.

“I come to apologize, and you get some asshole to try and start a fight? The fuck is wrong with you?” he says quickly, the words almost blending together with his slurred speech.

“Get on the bike, now,” one of the men commands.

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“I don’t give a fuck what the issue is here,” I say loud enough forthem to hear, fixing my eyes on the girl. “Do you want to leave with them?”

“No,” she answers quietly.

“Good. Now that we’ve cleared that up, let her fucking leave.”

“This is none of your business, dick,” he says, grabbing the girl’s arm and jerking her away.

“You just made it my business.”

The bald one charges first. I sidestep clean, twist, and crack a fist across his jaw—hard enough to spin him. No hesitation. I’m already moving.

Theo barely gets his hands up before I drive a punch straight into his nose. Cartilage crunches. He hits the ground like dead weight.

The girl flinches, staggering back.

Two more come in fast. One throws a low kick that slams into my knee. A solid hit, but I drop back, pivot low, and sweep his legs. He hits the concrete hard.

The second’s already mid-swing. I don’t bother blocking. I slam my fist up between his legs. He folds forward, choking on his breath. I rise slowly, brushing the dirt from my jeans. They’re still groaning on the ground when I turn and walk away.

I glance at the girl. She’s frozen, wide-eyed. I jerk my chin toward the truck out back, pulling the keys from my pocket.