I swear to God, I almost shot him.
I’d given Paul the night off, wanting as few witnesses to what we were about to do as possible, so Abel hopped into the front seat of the Denali while Hunter and I climbed into the back.
I watched her while she stared out the window.
We rode south for an hour until we reached a secluded road, where we found a fleet of cars blocking our path. Abel flicked his lights so we wouldn’t be shot the fuck up as soon as we stepped out.
“This feels familiar,” Hunter said, the first words she’d spoken since we left.
“Yeah, well, it’ll feel even realer in a second.”
The three of us climbed out and walked toward the cars parked up ahead. I stopped Hunter just before we reached them while Abel kept walking, leaving us to talk alone.
“What’s up?” Hunter asked me.
“You once mentioned a friend you trusted who tried to take more from you than you were willing to give. Tell me who he was.”
Her brows rose as she cut her gaze toward all the men waiting for us a few feet away. “You want to talk about this now?”
“A name,” I demanded.
Still resistant as ever, Hunter sighed. “Why does it matter, Ocean?”
“Because tonight will go one of two ways. Your answer will determine which path we take, but only one of them is irreversible. The only has lasting consequences.”
“Wow, so mysterious.” She looked toward the cars, all facing one way and blocking her view. I swear she paled a little when it dawned on her why I brought her here. “And what if I don’t want that? Whatever it is?”
Using my good hand, I pulled her closer until she had no choice but to lean into me. “Don’t you?”
Hunter gulped and then squeezed her eyes closed. “It was so long ago, Ocean. I’m fine now.”
“But it still happened, Hunter. Who. Was. He?”
“I can’t.” Her eyes flew open as her breathing increased until she was hyperventilating. “I can’t kill him. I can’t. She’ll never forgive me.”
“Shhh. Calm, Vengeance. Calm.” I tucked her face into my chest and rubbed her back, whispering sweet nothings until she went lax against me. “What do you want to do? I’ll take your lead, but Hunter… he can’t come anywhere near you or Coby again. One way or another, Roshaun has to go.”
“Not that I’m torn up about it, but why can’t he see Coby? He’s a piece of shit, but he is her brother.”
I released a heavy sigh. Of course, Coby hadn’t told her.
“Because he put his fucking hands on her. He slapped her so hard, her fucking head hit the window. I’m not giving him a chance to do something like that ever again.”
Hunter stiffened, and then she slowly lifted her head from my chest.
The last time I’d seen that look in her eyes was when she nearly succeeded in sticking a hunting knife in my heart.
One moment, I was holding her.
Next, she was gone.
HUNTER
For the first time since I was a snot-nosed kid, it truly felt like Christmas morning.
“Hunter?” Roshaun peered through the dark, the mist spilling from the trees onto the road. The eye that wasn’t swollen shut widened briefly when I stopped before him. “Shit, it is you. Aye…” He shifted anxiously on his knees. “Listen, you got to help me. My sister—”
“You hit her.”
