Page 6 of V for Vilified (Hunter V #4)

Love & Regrets

Phillip

I ’d been a bastard for weeks, and all because of jealousy.

Again. When it came to V, I struggled to control myself.

If I didn’t get my act together, I’d lose her.

The thought of it had quieted me for weeks, afraid of saying anything that might hurt her.

But it’d only made the distance between us worse.

Sloan was leaned against the door, glaring at me. “When she’s back, you’ll say sorry, or I’ll inject you with the serum and beat you to a bloody pulp myself, mate. You’re acting like an immature child.”

I raked a hand through my hair, unable to argue. “I’ll make things right with her. You have my word.”

“She just lost her friend. Another one. Maybe you’ve forgotten that at one time she loved him, probably still does, but I haven’t.

And he went out of his bloody way to protect her and everything she was fighting for,” Sloan went on, his tone somber.

He’d been the one to discover Nigel’s body and deliver the final letter the wolf wrote to her. “You’ve been a proper dick.”

I hung my head in shame, jaw clenched. “I don’t have any excuses, but the thought that she’d… for him . A Dark Fae who’d been there when her parents died. After all he’s done? After everything he is? What is she thinking? He’s put a spell on her, Sloan. Nothing else makes sense.”

The thought of V looking at that kotzbrocken the same way she did me…

Fuck.

My eyes cut back up to Sloan, but he wasn’t giving me an inch. “I think you need to seriously consider what loving someone means to you, mate. I know it’s been a while since Giselle, but for fuck’s sake…this is ridiculous. What does love even look like to you?”

His muscles bulged as if he was fighting himself. Pushing off the wall, he came over and stood in front of me. His piercing blue eyes took hold of mine.

He was one of few I trusted to give it to me straight. We shared a history, and now we shared our Liebling. I wouldn’t like what he had to say, but I needed to hear it.

“Here’s a secret, it’s not control. We both promised her we’d be happy with whatever she gives us as long as we got to be a part of her life.

I wasn’t lying, even if it means she wants to be with someone like Cash or Jo or anyone else for that matter.

It doesn’t change the way I feel about her or what we have together.

Before you talk to her, I suggest you figure out if that’s the same for you.

If it isn’t, mate, then let her go. She deserves people who take her as she is instead of trying to control what they don’t like. ”

My throat bobbed, swallowing my anger. Because he was right. If I couldn’t love her the way I promised, I didn’t deserve to have her at all. And if I kept this up, I’d lose her anyway.

Fucking hell.

I peered up at him, but my ears caught a sound before the sensation in the house changed. That bastard Cash and the other one had left without a word, that much I could immediately ascertain. Both Sloan and I went to the living room, only to find Rose and Kris gathering weapons.

“What’s—”

Rose strapped her preferred spiked bat to her back, razor-sharp eyes on me. “I don’t know what’s happened, but the alarms at Kate’s house were silenced and the video feed has been wiped. We haven’t heard back from the Hunters meant to be watching her, so I’m going over there to investigate.”

Sloan and I nodded at each other and gathered our things. The four of us headed to Kate’s house, but my instincts sensed trouble before we made it to the door.

The two Hunters who’d been assigned to keep an eye on V’s friend were not in the usual spot. Only a smattering of blood was found near the usual tree. The Organization was diligent about covering their tracks, so we wouldn’t find their bodies if they were dead.

“On me,” Rose instructed, taking lead toward the house. “Razor Scout protocol until we know what we’re dealing with.”

Rose suspected the Organization, too, if she was calling Razor Scout. She expected traps and possible supernatural enemies we didn’t usually encounter. We’d go in expecting anything to happen.

She had a dagger in one hand, a gun in the other, every step measured and her eyes on anything that could round the corner on us. Knowing Rose, she’d pull out her favorite bat at some point. The woman was diabolical with that fucking spiked stick.

I kept a magic-disabling ball in my hand, ready to throw the second we got inside. Magic users were the hardest to fight, but luckily not impossible. Not against my inventions. Weapons were useless until their magic was disabled.

Kris and Sloan naturally moved into action. Flanking from all sides, we entered with our weapons drawn, prepared for a fight, only to find the house ransacked and no one left on location. After a sweep, we confirmed no one had stayed to greet us. Which meant this wasn’t the final location.

Scheisse.

“Where’s V?” I asked Rose, who had gone over to the counter. She lifted the rings we’d given V, and my heart sank at the sight of them. “Why would she remove them?”

Rose peered down and lifted the phone left out. “Because of this. Seems she was lured elsewhere. The house was left like this for a reason. It’s a message as much as what’s written in this text.”

She tapped something into her phone, probably to log the coordinates.

“We’ll need to proceed with extreme caution.

If it’s the Organization, they’ll know how to catch us out the minute we come within a mile of the location.

My granddaughter knew what she was doing when she left these here.

She didn’t want to take any risks by being followed.

Bastards knew what they were doing when they took Kate. ”

I cursed and came over to read the text. “Both Cash and Jo left before you noticed anything was wrong?”

Rose sighed and nodded, looking uncomfortably her age as she did a sweep of the room again. “He’s a Hand of Death, Phillip. It’s very likely he has some way to track her, given how quickly he found her last time.”

“You know what that is, then?”

Her eyes danced with amusement. “I know something that you don’t?

Never thought I’d see the day,” she taunted.

I could sense her concern through her projected bravado.

“Let’s just say that you’re right to be wary of him, but he cares about her and he’ll be a fierce adversary to anyone in the Organization. Even this supposed Royal Siren.”

Uncomfortable with both her wariness and admiration, I crossed my arms. “V doesn’t need him.”

Patting my shoulder, Rose chuckled without amusement. “I’m afraid to say that you’re very wrong, old friend. I happen to think he’s exactly who she needs right now if…”

“If?” I asked, but Rose didn’t finish, just dialed a number and left the house.

Despite me having superior genetic makeup, Rose was a formidable Hunter who’d outwitted me on more than one occasion. Whatever she knew about the Dark Fae, it put her in his corner—something that bothered me as much as V’s fascination for him did.

Rose didn’t trust lightly, and knowing who he was and the hand he had in her son and daughter-in-law’s deaths, the attachment didn’t make sense. But I’d have to be an idiot to think I could get anything out of that woman. No doubt her secrets would be buried with her one day.

Sloan continued to check the house for anything that could give us clues before we went to the next location. Kris was on the phone with the other Hunters to ensure they hadn’t been attacked and organize a relocation. We’d need them on high alert if the Organization was keeping watch.

When Rose returned, her face was twisted in on itself.

Not a great sign from a woman who rarely showed her emotions.

“I had a friend in the area check the location. She can move around undetected, even from the best in the Organization. She said it’s abandoned but sensed recent Fae magic.

Stronger than anything she’s ever felt before. ”

To sense specific magic must’ve meant a Hunter or supernatural type with magical abilities. Rose had friends everywhere, so it could be either or. But it was likely this one came at a cost. A large one.

Her gaze found mine. “She thinks a portal was summoned in the area, though she’ll need more time to confirm it.” I waited on bated breath. “There’s no evidence of anyone there. She couldn’t get eyes on Vivienne or anyone in the area.”

My pulse was pounding in my ears. “You think she…”

“If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say One has found V and used Kate to lure her to the Fae realm. It was suggested One is a Royal Siren, so—”

“They can travel through the realms at will,” I finished, growling with my blood pumping hard and fast. If I didn’t calm myself down, I’d lose control and that wouldn’t be of any help to V.

Sloan looked exactly how I felt. “Do you think Cash and Jo made it in time?”

Rose hummed and peered down at her phone screen. “We can’t be sure, but she said nothing about a fight. She’d sense the aftermath of one. Since they haven’t returned, it’s my hope they crossed over in time to bring her back. Or at the very least, help her fight.”

Fight…

What I’d learned about Royal Sirens from V set my teeth on edge.

It was driving me fucking crazy to think she was somewhere I couldn’t go, up against someone I wasn’t strong enough to help her defeat.

None of my inventions could help us cross into other realms, and the Organization hadn’t achieved realm travel. Not that I knew about anyway.

We were stuck here.

“You’re saying we just have to…wait?” Kris asked the question I was too scared to voice, knowing the answer.

Rose let loose a breath and frowned. “We continue to organize here. We support her in her venture to overthrow the Organization and put our faith in Jo and Cash to help her wherever she is. That’s what we can and will do for my granddaughter.”

As if she hadn’t torn me apart with her words, Rose left the house and the three of us stood in a semi-circle, unable to move or speak.