“Won’t happen. He was frightening when he took after those punks for ya. Ya should have seen him. He asked me which one hit ya, and when I told him, that was his goal.”
“To go after David Nunzio?” I asked, surprised.
“He always intended to get him for ya. Too bad he got away.”
“Ya were there with him the whole time. What did ya think? Can Hunter handle himself?” I hated how apprehensive I felt asking, but I had to know how much danger he’d put himself in. “I know ya wouldn’t have let him get killed, but—”
“He was okay,” Corbin said. “Not fantastic, but he was at least as good as Tadgh and Mickey, and ya trust them to do a lot of things.”
“Not alone.”
“He was with me.” Corbin flicked my ear hard.
“Fuck, driving!” I roared at him.
“Are ya accusing me of not providing protection for someone important to ya? Isn’t that my job? Protecting ya and any family ya have?” He glared.
“Yeah, but you’ve never really had ta do that. Well, there was that time ya watched Ma for a bit.”
Corbin didn’t say anything else. He sat there tight-lipped, and I realized I’d offended him, but my ear still stung, so when we got to the small house we were renting along a pretty stretch of the lake, I sat in the car while he got out and helped unload the luggage with the rest. I texted Hunter even though he never replied.
I’ll be along to find you after I take care of some business.
A jealous part of me reared its ugly head and I added:
You better be sleeping alone.
I thought about taking it back or laughing it off, but my gut boiled. It hadn’t been that long, but some men could move on in a matter of a half hour. I didn’t think for a second he was like that, not really, but until I saw him and was able to talk this out, I didn’t think I would be okay.
When I was done with that, I called King. He picked up on the third ring.
“Hello?” He sounded confused, and I supposed that was to be expected.
“Hello, Mr. Arthur? This is Jamie Shannon.”
“Oh.” King’s tone softened and he laughed with someone on his end. “What can I do for you there, James?”
I cringed. My mother was the only person who regularly called me James, and I wasn’t in a habit of answering to it, but since he was Hunter’s da, I also didn’t want to pop off about it. Horror scrabbled through me. How would I negotiate with a man I didn’t want to piss off anymore?
“Hello?”
“I would like to meet with ya in person to discuss business. Tonight?”
“I’m in the middle of something right now. How about later?” There was more laughter on his end.
“Sure, uh, Mr. Arthur? Might I ask ya something important?”
I wasn’t sure how to present this next question and found myself falling back on the few manners my mother ever managed to make stick in me.
“Make it quick.”
“Where can I find Hunter? He’s one of your men, correct?”
The line clicked on me and I moved the phone away from myself to stare at it with a frown. Had he… hung up? Stunned, I blinked at the phone a few more times; the call was no longer active.
You’re the only man I’ve been with.
Fuck, hefinallysent me a message back. Faster than I ever managed to text before in my life, I asked him for his address, since I wouldn’t be able to talk to King immediately. I slumped back against my seat in relief when he sent it. Maybe he’d just been upset this whole time, but I was grateful he was over his mood. New confidence swooped into me and had me grinning from ear to ear. Corbin opened his door, bent to look in on me, and let out a heartfelt groan.
