Our usual companionable silence wouldn’t last long, since I expected Hunter’s incoming line of questioning. No matter my reassurances, he wouldn’t rest easy until he heard the whole story. Had the roles been reversed and I stumbled upon a bloody and bruised Hunter, I’d have the same reactions and feelings as him. “Ask me what’s on your mind, Hunt.”
He leaned his head against mine. “Will you tell me everything that happened and why he did this to you?” he pleaded. “If you’re okay to talk about it, I need to know.Please.”
There was a part of me that wanted to spare him the gruesome details. But it wouldn’t be fair to keep this from him.
My jaw clenched when I recalled the kidnapping. Waking up in a mausoleum. A deceased Morgan lying next to me. Tom promising to kill me. Hunter showing up and beating him to a bloody pulp.
And me finishing the job by shooting Tom dead like the piece of shit he was.
I never thought I’d take a life. But if given the chance, I’d kill Tom a thousand times over. I would never feel bad about his death.
“Tom did all of this because he was in love with me.”
Hunter reared back, blue eyes burning with fire. “What?”
I grabbed the glass of water on my bedside table and washed down some of the bitter taste on my palate before continuing.“He ended our arrangement all those months ago, not because he wanted to, but because he went through my phone and saw my texts with Anna and Layla. The ones where I told themIwas planning on ending it with Tom. Prior to that, he was planning on asking me to be his girlfriend.” Hunter was astonished. “It hurt his ego, to say the least, and so he ended it with me first via text and then hooked up with Morgan. He thought rubbing her in my face would piss me off. And when I remained unaffected through the entire debacle and moved on by kissing you on the dance floor…it pissedhimoff.
“He broke into my apartment the next day and left me that message on my wall. Tom would have kept terrorizing me, but by then Oscar was on my case. You were always with me too.” I swallowed. “I was never alone enough for Tom to find an opening and strike. But, Hunt…he stalked us. In the mausoleum, he showed me hundreds of pictures he’d accumulated of you and me over the weeks. He watched from the shadows—including that time in the Remington woods—until the perfect time. And Friday night? He didn’t just mean to stab you…He wanted you dead.” I closed my eyes, shuddering at the reminder. “He was furious that I fell in love with you. That’s why he kidnapped me. He was going to kill me and himself. He even dug a grave for us. Said our final resting place would be together.”
Hunter was hardened stone against me, his anger growing exponentially. I rubbed my hands over his bunched muscles to alleviate his tension, but it did little to soothe him.
“If he wasn’t already dead,” Hunter bit out, “I’d kill him right fucking now.” He used two fingers under my chin to tip my face up. “What happened when you left my home this morning?”
Hunter listened with intent as I explained to him how Craig and Oscar died. How Tom yanked me from the vehicle and dragged me against the road to his awaiting one. How he cursed me out and stuffed me in the trunk. How I woke up in themausoleum zip-tied, with a dead Morgan lying next to me. How Tom revealed his fucked-up plans. How I fought him off for as long as I could before Hunter found us.
By the end of it, I felt better having confided in Hunter. The weight on my shoulders lessened.
“I’m sorry.” Hunter burrowed his lips against my hairline in a shaky kiss. His body vibrated with the remnant of his fury and pain for me. “I’m so sorry you had to endure that. I wish I could remove this chapter from your life.”
“I know,” I whispered. “I’m just glad it’s finally over.”
“There’s no way to have known it was him, Gabby, especially with the way Tom acted so indifferent whenever we were in his vicinity. But it does baffle me that the culprit was right under our noses this whole time.” A harsh chuckle erupted from him. “Nothing you or I did to him was enough. I fucking hope he’s rotting in hell as we speak.”
“I hope he is too.” I ran my fingers through the ends of his hair. “And I agree that nothing we did to him was enough, but he’s dead now, so let’s let bygones be bygones. It’ll take time, but we’ll heal from this. I promise you.”
Though Hunter appeared calmer after all was said and done, I didn’t miss the edges of darkness clinging to him. The memories of today might haunt us for the foreseeable future, but I was optimistic that we would overcome this part of our story together.
“Gabriela.” He feathered his mouth over my tender cheek. “I want you to know that there’s no reality where you don’t exist and I remain whole. Had anything happened to you, I would have gone with you.”
My heart thudded.
It was in that moment, as we locked gazes, that a specific realization dawned on me. Franco once said I was worthless and loving me was a chore. But with his words and actions, Hunterproved that couldn’t be further from the truth—loving me was the easiest and most potent thing he’d ever done. The highest honour of his life. And if it was his final act, he’d go out with an almighty smile on his face.
“It’s the truth.” At my shocked silence, he laid his forehead to mine and simply breathed me in. “Wherever you go, I will always follow, doll.”
I would do anything for this man—anything in the world to ensure his happiness and keep the light in his eyes.
I kissed him gently and expressed my devotion. “Ti amo così tanto, bello. You’re my home. Wherever you go, I’ll always follow you too.”
There it was. That soft smile of his I adored so much.
A knock on the door interrupted us.
We moved away from each other to ensure there was a respectable distance between our bodies just in time for my parents to barrel into the room.
“Oh, Gabriela, you’re awake!” Mamma nearly wailed, coming over to grab my face and kiss my forehead. “How are you feeling? Are you hungry? We brought food.”
Right on cue, Papà deposited soups and sandwiches on a table.
