Twenty-Nine
Hunter
“She got there safely,” Jesse told him the second he climbed off his bike.
Hunter was out front of the clubhouse, back pressed against the brick wall, smoking a cigarette. He barely tasted the fucking thing.
There was no relief from this deprivation.
It was like withdrawal in the most extreme form.
Jesse peered at him, sympathetically. “It was hard on her, Sav. She was hurting.”
Hunter forced a nod, saying nothing.
His six months were up, and now he wondered if he had made the most if it.
“Talk to me, man,” Jesse implored. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“Keep an eye on her,” Hunter said. “I know we’re meant to be monitoring George the most, but…she’s under Leo’s care now and the money hasn’t been moved.”
It was frustrating on the club, mostly because they were doubting Leo was going to turn on George. He would have done it already, wouldn’t he? And, now that they speculated in private to one another about it, perhaps Leo had met Abram on behalf of George.
But Roy was adamant they keep watching. He loathed the Itanis. Jesse had divulged to Hunter a time or two that Roy was more obsessed with wanting to watch them burn than taking the actual money.
Hunter remained tight-lipped about it all. Even knowing the bikers were hovering over him, he was certain Leo was still going to turn on George, and while there were numerous sightings of them working together like there was no rift there, Hunter was still convinced that Leo’s secret meeting with Abram had not come to George’s knowledge.
Shit was going to go down.
It was only a matter of time.
If it struck these next six months while Skye was in Leo’s care, Hunter was going to be livid. To pull something as risky as that off while having the love of their lives so close to the damn thing—
The Savage in him stirred. Just the thought of it enraged him, and so he lit another smoke and reasoned that Leo would never put her in harm’s way.
Miles stepped out, whistling at Hunter. “We ready to ride?”
Hunter stiffened a nod and threw his smoke down, squashing it under his boot. He stared at Jesse then. “I want to know what she’s doing, Jess.”
Jesse appeared conflicted. “I’m just gonna watch her—”
“You’re gonna tell me what the fuck she’s doing, too.” Hunter stilled, closing his eyes briefly to breathe as that monster within him flickered. Fuck, he needed to calm down. He opened his eyes to look at Jesse apologetically. “Please,Jesse.”
Jesse studied him, frowning for a moment. “Not sure why you agreed to these terms if it’s making you lose your shit day dot, man.”
Hunter let out a breath, admitting, “I didn’t think it would be easy.”
“But you didn’t think it would be this hard, either.”
Now he sighed. “I thought if I had her for the six months, maybe…”
“Maybe you could let her go?”
Hunter didn’t answer.
Jesse appeared thoughtful. “It’s not my place to give you my two cents, but…this shit won’t get easier, and you’re playing a risky fucking game with the enemy.”
Hunter wanted to tell him Leo wasn’t the enemy, but that wasn’t entirely true. “Our business won’t interfere with my arrangement with him.”