She wanted him.Not just the protection of his arms, not just the comfort of his presence.She wanted him.The man.The man who lived in silence but spoke louder to her heart than anyone else ever had.Hunter carried scars but still fought for her, for Leigh, for his club.
He was the most unselfish person she knew.
She turned on her side, tears slipping down her cheeks.She remembered the first time she'd seen him.He'd scared her to death.Running at full speed, she was sure Jason was going to mow her down with his car when Hunter rode in like a knight in shining armor on a motorcycle, scooping her out of the middle of the street, and tossing her on the back of his bike without slowing down.
He was decked out in black with a biker vest.Yet, beneath the hard lines and the leather, there was something different about him.Something tragically broken that made him special.She wanted to show him how special he was to her.
She thought about her mother.As her caregiver, she'd done the best she could do, and even then, her mother had passed away.She ran off to rescue Leigh, and look where it got them?They were living in a hotel, scared to death and unable to voice what they really feared—that the police would knock on the door and arrest Leigh for killing her abusive husband.
She wanted to go back to Hunter.To the clubhouse.To the place where she'd felt, for the first time in years, like she belonged.
But she couldn't.Not now.Not with the police watching.Not with Leigh's story hanging in the balance.
So, she lay there, trapped between loyalty to her sister and desire for Hunter.Her heart was torn in two.
Annie closed her eyes and pretended she was in his bed, waiting for him to finish working in the garage.
Whatever happened, she knew, no matter how far apart they were, she would fight her way back to him.
Because he was worth it.
Because they both deserved love.
Chapter 35
Four days after Jason'sdeath, Annie stood beside her sister at the polished counter of the funeral home.She breathed through her mouth to avoid the faint smell of lilies and disinfectants.
The director spoke in hushed tones as if afraid to wake the dead.
"The cremation process is complete," he said gently."The remains will be ready for pickup at the end of the week."
Leigh nodded, her hands trembling, but her face was composed.Annie felt her own shoulders sag, the tension easing just slightly.It was done.Cremations couldn't be undone.
They walked out into the cold air, the weight of the past week pressing down, yet lifting in strange ways.Jason was gone.The police could no longer arrest Leigh because the only evidence was in the ashes.She had gotten away with murder.The insurance company couldn't come after her for arson and had dropped her policy because it was believed that Jason had started the house on fire to commit suicide.
Leigh had lost everything—her house, her possessions, her life as she knew it.But she seemed almost relieved."I'll start over," she said quietly, her voice steady."A clean slate.Maybe I'll move with you to Seattle until I get a job and figure out what to do."
