Her husband laughed softly, shaking his head. “I have no idea who’d I put my money on to win this battle, but Hunt is as firm as you on his opinions. You can argue it out, but I suspect you’ll be arguing for a while.”
She rolled her eyes with a huff. “Fine. I’ll bill you at the family rate,” she said to Hunt.
He gave a firm nod. “Appreciate that.”
She finally gave in and laughed, shaking her head at him before heading down the hallway toward where Hunt knew was her home office.
Archer waited for her door to shut before he said with a laugh, “She just said that to shut you up, you know. Your bill will likely be greatly discounted.”
“I know, and that’s fine,” Hunt said. “I’ll give her a tip.”
Archer threw his head back and barked a laugh.
Hunt chuckled along with him. Archer was right—he often did get his way because he was relentless when he wanted something. Wanting to get back to Lottie, Hunt pulled his cell phone from his pocket and called another Uber.
When silence fell like a heavy blanket over them, Archer asked, “Do you need me?”
“Nah, I’m all right,” Hunt said, rising, feeling the heavy weight on his shoulders. “Ronan’s with Lottie now while she’s on her dog walks.” Hunt had no interest in pulling his married buddies away from their wives. “At this point, I don’t even know what’s going on or if there is anything to worry about.”
“But something feels off?” Archer asked.
Hunt nodded. “Yeah. Something feels off.”
Archer followed Hunt to the front door. “Your instincts are rarely wrong.”
Hunt nodded. That’s what bothered him most. He’d wondered for so long why Lottie never let him get close. He had a hundred reasons to explain her behavior, but now, he began to wonder if he really wanted to know the truth. All of this didn’t sit right. When he reached the door, he opened it. “Sorry if I interrupted your plans for the day.”
“Don’t apologize,” Archer said, holding the door open. “Elise is doing what she loves. I’d never get in the way of that.” When Hunt stepped outside, Archer added, “It’s good Lottie has you.”
Hunt looked over his shoulder and grinned, letting his expression say all the things that he didn’t feel necessary to say aloud. “Yeah, it’srealgood.”
At Archer’s responding beaming smile, Hunt knew his face told his secret that he’d finally taken a step forward with Lottie. “About damn time, Hunt. About damn time.”
“Yeah. It is,” Hunt agreed, then trotted down the steps toward the Uber that would take him back to exactly where he wanted to be—with Lottie.
5
Seated on her bed after she finished walking her second group of dogs, Lottie stared at the box sitting atop her duvet cover, for the hundredth time. The box wasn’t special. It was both cherrywood and oak. She opened it again, taking out the note from inside. Probably the only thing that could make her blood turn cold.
My darling, Marissa:
I have many regrets. Losing you is one of them.
Dad
She couldn’t peel her eyes away from her father’s letter, not doubting this noteandthe box came from her father. His scratchy handwriting was just as she remembered it being. Fear sliced through her, her breath becoming trapped in her throat. In the seven years since she since left Chicago, she’d remained undetected.
Hunt.
On top of the many reasons she’d stayed away from Hunt,thiswas the one that topped the list. She knew seven years ago, stealing dirty drug money would put her family in a bad place. She didn’t want that vengeance to come down on Hunt, the man who’d do whatever he could to protect her.
With shaky hands, she put the note back into the box and closed the lid.
“A gift?”
She glanced up with a gasp, finding Hunt leaning against her doorframe, arms folded, watching her with that keen eye. The mattress bounced beneath her as she leapt from the bed, box in hand, and made her way into the closet. “Not a gift. It’s something I ordered,” she said, feeling like a bag of shit for lying to him. Her hands shook as she placed the box on the top shelf next to her clothes and then shut the door behind her.
Turning around, she found Hunt right in her space, his hand lifting until he gripped her chin. “Do things you order always make you so afraid?” he asked, staring at her intently.
