Page 111 of Hunted

“Uhhh….” I trail off, staring at it. “I don’t think it’s my birthday for another couple months.”

“You’ve missed a lot of birthdays and Christmases and many other holidays, so don't be surprised if we try to make up for it now,” Reece says, sipping from a fresh cup of coffee as he sits down beside me.

“But we thought we could at least be fair about it, so you don’t get favorites, so if one of us wants to give you something, all four of us do,” Kingsley says, tapping the edge of the bag he’s given me with the tip of his finger.

I sniffle as I try not to get emotional. “You guys… I don't deserve you,” I mumble as I drop my head and peek into the bag.

“You deserve more than we can ever give you, but we sure as shit are gonna try,” Weston says, as he comes in holding a bag of his own.

“I already gave you mine,” Reece says, giving me a wink as he runs a finger under my blue bra strap. Right, the panties and bras he gave me this morning.

“Open it,” Kingsley says, shoving his hands in his pockets and biting his lip with a mixture of excitement and worry.

I reach in and fumble around the tissue paper until I can find the gift and pull it out. “It’s a tennis racket!” It’s in a custom fitted bag, but the shape is obvious. Reece pulls the empty bag away, and I lay it on my lap and unzip it, revealing a beautiful pink racket.

“I haven’t played in so long, you’ll teach me?” I ask Kingsley hopefully.

“I was counting on it. None of these twats will ever play with me. I need a permanent tennis partner, you think you’re up for it?”

Permanent?I like the sound of that.

I nod quickly. “I’d love that, and I love this. Thank you, Kingsley.” I stand up and he bends down and kisses me. Someone grabs the back of my dress and pulls me back down to the couch before it can get too heated.

Kingsley sits on the coffee table beside Weston, both facing me as Bower shoves his gift into my lap. “Mine next!” he says excitedly.

Reece pulls the tennis racket away, closing it back in its bag to give me some room.

“Hmm, let me guess, you got me food?” I ask Bower with a raised eyebrow.

“Nope, not even close.”

I reach in and my fingers graze some sort of soft yet firm material. Pulling it out, I realize it’s a bag.

“It’s like a purse, but it goes across your body, like your old one. I’m told this is very stylish.”

“Hazel?” I ask, knowing his sort-of-sister most likely had to tell him what was in style for women.

“Yeah, I made sure it was big enough to fit Steve and McStabby and it even has a pocket—right here—for your cell phone.”

I run my fingers over the soft brown leather before I smile at him. “It’s perfect, thank you, Bower.” I lean over and give him a quick kiss and a hug. Then I pull it over my head, and he passes me Steve, who was on the side table. I place him in my bag and zip it up.

“Perfect!” I exclaim, feeling his heavy, comforting presence against my chest.

When I pull back, he takes the bag from me, and Weston drops his into my lap. I pull out a pink and purple plaid blanket.

“This weekend, we’re going to take you on a date,” Weston says, surprising me. “We’ll start by going ax throwing. Reece rented out the entire place, so we’ll be the only people there. Then we’re going to go see a movie. Again we’ll have the place to ourselves. And finally, we’ll come back here, and you and I are going to lay on that in the backyard and do some stargazing.”

I hug the blanket to my chest, unable to keep the smile off my face at everything he described. “Sounds perfect.”

I stand up and move over to him, then bend down and kiss him. He doesn’t let me pull away after a few seconds, making me laugh against him. But eventually he leans back and kisses the tip of my nose. “Thanks, Weston.”

“Of course, baby. Anything to see that smile on your face.”

The oven beeps and we all move to the kitchen as Bower serves us the breakfast casserole dish, even if it is more of a lunch now. As we’re finishing up, Reece’s phone buzzes.

“My dad is texting me… I’m supposed to go see him. Better get it over with.” He pushes his chair back and stands up, moving around to me and giving me a quick kiss goodbye. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“You’re not going alone, are you? You remember there is still someone out there, trying to hurt us?”