And then Hunter appeared out of nowhere, the smoke parting and her face blank as she approached.
If Ocean was an avenging knight, Hunter was a dark angel.
Lifting her favorite knife, she coldly swiped the serrated edge across the disemboweled goon’s throat.Excessive.Blood gushed from his neck, but he was somehow still standing when Ocean and Hunter walked away. Hunter held out her blood-caked hand for me, and I slipped my equally bloody one into hers.
As soon as I was on my feet, she grabbed my face and kissed me hard.
At the edge of our kiss, I heard a body drop. The sound of death, screams, and more bullets flying faded into the background, and by the time Hunter pulled away, the house was hauntingly silent again.
“Are you okay?” she asked softly.
I glanced at Ocean and saw him waiting for my answer, too, so I nodded, and then he pulled Hunter and me out of the room. Abel was methodically walked from room to room, putting a bullet in the fallen hitters’ heads to make sure none survived.
In the gallery, Ocean backed Hunter against the wall first, ignoring the dead bodies strewn around us as he checked her for injuries. Hunter silently endured it since she was doing the same to him. She had a few wounds that would need care, but her lips trembled at seeing that she was okay. When Ocean kissed her, his relief and anger were palpable. He poured it all into their kiss. I watched him whisper something to her when they came up for air, and whatever Hunter whispered back made him squeeze his eyes closed.
He barely collected himself before he was on me, checking me over as thoroughly as he had Hunter. I ran his hands all over his body, not caring how crazy it looked. I needed to see and feel formyself that we would all walk away from this night. Afterward, he kissed me with all the sorrow and unrest of a man who’d almost lost everything.
If Hunter and I had died, Ocean would be alone again. I would never let that happen, and I conveyed that promise through our kiss. Pulling back just enough to see his face, I whispered, “I love you.”
The knot in his throat bobbed and then kissed me hard one last time. “I love you more. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Mhmm. Thanks to Hunter. She kicked their asses. Kellan, Coco, and I helped. Oh, my God! Coco!” I’d left him outside with a dead body. Hunter was going to kill me.
“I found him right before I found you. He’s fine,” Hunter assured me.
“Oh, good,” I said while trying and failing to sound relieved. “Sohappy the little rat survived.”
And then I froze, remembering I hadn’t seen Kellan either since Ocean or Abel arrived in the nick of time to save our asses.
“What’s the matter?” Hunter asked, noticing my worry.
“Has anyone seen Kellan?”
Hunter shrugged and then leaned against the wall. I had no doubt she was exhausted, but she was trying too hard to appear casual. Oh God… she killed him, didn’t she? “We got separated in the smoke. I’m sure he’s fine, though.”
Unwilling to take that chance, I walked back into the living room with Ocean and Hunter trailing me like two mother hens. I searched the carnage for a familiar face and prayed I didn’t find one. Behind me, I overheard Ocean asking Abel if he’d see Kellan.
The four of us searched the house and grounds that night, but there was no sign of Kellan.
He wasn’t the only one missing, either.
Deborah was, too.
Everyone assumed Kellan had stolen the car and taken off during the chaos, but the single key now hanging around Hunter’s neck told me differently.
HUNTER
Coby really did make a beautiful bride. And as it turned out, so did I.
Our wedding was small and intimate, with only Abel, Effie, and Ocean as witnesses.
This came two months after Coby and Ocean’s glamorous—and completely fake—wedding, with an even faker priest performing in front of the entireFola.
And what a performance it was.
The only thing real about it had been our vows to one another.
Of course, all it would take to uncover our duplicity was for someone to look for the nonexistent marriage record between them. Ocean was confident that no one would ever think to since his family had seen them marry with their own eyes.
