Page 62 of Hunted

“Bob?” I ask, trying to place the name as I shake my head slowly.

“Yeah, he was my nemesis on the island. He shit on my head once, and we’ve been enemies ever since.”

My jaw drops open, but no sound comes out.Who the hell was Bob?

Bower chuckles as he clarifies, “Bob’s a seagull.”

That eases my worry that there was yet another man on that island with her. As she tells me story after story of her interactions with him, Kevin the palm tree, and her other island acquaintances, my body starts to relax, and before I know it, our wheels are touching the ground in Kenya.

Chapter seventeen

Darla

Weston brings the rental van to a stop at the side of the road, the warehouse looming in the distance about a mile ahead. We all climb out and stare at it. It looks normal enough from the outside, but then again, I have no idea what we’re looking for.

Weston turns to me, a stern expression on his face. “You need to stay here with one of the others.”

“What? No!” I argue, wanting to see what was going on.

“We have no idea what’s in there. There is no way I’m going to let you go in there without knowing what we’re walking into.”

“You don’t get to decide that for me,” I argue angrily, crossing my arms over my chest as he glares down at me.

“Oh yes, I do.”

“Excuse me?”

“West, you suck at this,” Bower says in exasperation, making me turn my glare at him.

“Are you in on this, too?”

“In on what?”

“This whole,leave Darla in the carnonsense?” I say, waving my arms around in aggravation.

I expect him to make a joke, so it startles me when he replies, “Actually, yes.”

Kingsley speaks next, making my glare turn to him. “Darla, we’re not trying to tell you what to do, but we don’t want to see you hurt. You’ve only just started walking again today after beingshot. We’re all scared of something like that, or worse, happening again.”

He drags his hand through his brown hair as he takes a deep breath. “Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide if you trust us or not.”

My glare turns into confusion, instantly replying, “Of course, I trust you.”

“Then you need to trust that we know what’s best for you. Especially when all four of us agree on something.”

I glance around, seeing all four of them are watching me carefully. It’s clear they all agree, that they want me to stay here. But I’ve been through tough situations and I’m tired of being left behind.

“Baby,” Weston whispers, drawing my gaze to him. “Please… I can’t see you get hurt again. Especially when we can prevent it.”

“I don’t want to see you get hurt either,” I mumble, dropping my eyes so I don't have to look at his pleading ones.

“We’re not going in unarmed,” Reece states, and when I look over at him, he pulls up his shirt and shows a gun peeking out of the waistband of his pants. I look around and Weston and Bower show me the same things.

I glance at King, and he shrugs. “There’s a gun in the glove box if we need it. I’m staying with you this time.”

I press my lips together firmly, then sigh. “Fine,” I grumble. “But I’ll be very angry if you get hurt.”

“Thanks, Tink,” Bower says, giving me a quick kiss and a hug. Reece and Weston hug me, then the three of them head towards the building.