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The breath left his chest in a whoosh.
Empty. If they’d been chased from the house, or kidnapped, or whatever, they wouldn’t have emptied the refrigerator.
Hunter was completely unprepared for the crushing weight of disappointment and loss. It socked him in the gut and made it hard to breathe. He’d known they were planning on leaving—had actually counted on it—but he hadn’t expected them truly just to ditch him here without a word.
He dropped into one of the kitchen chairs and rubbed his hands over his face.
“There’s no one here,” he said. “They left.”
God, he sounded pathetic.
Kate dropped into the chair beside him. She didn’t say anything.
She was probably thinking he was such an idiot for trusting them. Or maybe he was the one thinking that.
He wondered if they’d been planning this all along. Throw a party, distract him, get him to hook up with Kate—
Wait. It had been his idea to leave.
For god’s sake, though, he’d stood outside and listened to Michael’s bullshit last night, and they’d been planning to walk out on him.
He’d felt guilty about the fight with Gabriel. About letting Nick down.
He wanted to put his fist through this table. Casper thrust his nose into Hunter’s hand, and he patted the dog absently.
“I’m sorry,” Kate said quietly.
He lifted his eyes to find hers. “I knew it was coming.”
She inhaled like she was going to say something—but must have thought better of it.
Instead, she reached out and put her hand over his.
And that meant more than any other way she’d touched him.
He turned his hand and caught her fingers, then squeezed.
Her phone beeped, and she jumped.
“Silver?” he said.
She glanced at the screen and shoved it back in her pocket. “No. Battery died. All that Internet searching.”
Hunter straightened. “If they’re gone, they’re safe. Let’s grab my files and get out of here.”
He shoved the gun into his waistband, pulling his shirt loose to hang over it so it wouldn’t be seen.
Pretty stupid, he realized later, since they walked back out the front door without any of the caution they’d used going in. He carried one box, and Kate carried the other. Their hands were occupied. Casper jogged out the door ahead of them.
Then a gun went off, the sound cracking from somewhere between the trees.
And before Hunter could even get it together to draw his own weapon, Kate went down.
CHAPTER 27
Hunter got Kate back through the door. He hollered for Casper.
His dog was barking somewhere in the yard. Hunter yelled for him again.
