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Forty-Three
Skye
At one point, Hunter had stopped at a gas station and filled up. But after he had paid, he stood outside the station, making a phone call. The call was brief, under a minute. When he finished, he returned, throwing down a sandwich for me to eat.
I circled the sandwich in my hands when I asked, “Who did you call?”
He put us back on the road. “Leo’s driver.”
“Shane.”
“Yeah. I’m going to drop you off at Leo’s place, and he’ll be there to watch over you.”
“You won’t be there?”
He shook his head. “No. I’m going to drive back to the cabin.”
I gulped the acidic taste climbing up my throat. “To clean it up?”
He glanced at me. “To torch it.”
*
The drive was long. I couldn’t imagine how exhausted Hunter must have felt, but he didn’t stop or take a break.
By the time we were driving along the familiar roads of Brown Bay, I was half-asleep and aching everywhere. I kept rearranging myself in the seat when it got too much, glancing furtively at my pained feet. I was uncomfortable everywhere. My butt felt raw and scratched to shit. I’d had to tuck the shirt between my legs, and my feet were on their side in a weird position because pressing them flat against any surface made the pain skyrocket.
Hunter drove up the hill to Leo’s penthouse apartment. The drive was unfamiliar as I’d never been to his new place. It was tucked quietly in a private road surrounded by tall, beautiful trees. There was an underground parking lot, but Hunter stopped the car in front of the building instead. He threw his shirt on, turned the car off and stepped out to make another phone call.
Minutes later the entrance doors opened, and Shane appeared, waiting for us. He spoke to Hunter briefly before Hunter returned to the car, opening my door.
“The place is ready for you,” he told me.
I nodded and began to step out, but my movements were stiff. Hunter watched me carefully, immediately noticing when I sucked in a breath as my feet touched the ground.
“Can you walk?” he asked gently.
“I’ll try.”
Hunter stepped in closer to me, and his hands were on me then, shoving the shirt down as far as it could go. Now wasn’t the time to be decent, it was an impossible feat. I began to argue that it was okay, he didn’t need to worry, no one but Shane was around—
He wrapped his arms around me and picked me up in one fluid movement. “I’ll walk you in, Skye. Hold on to me.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck as he walked to the doors. Shane was good at hiding his emotions, but even he stiffened when his eyes raked me, settling on my feet.
“I can call for a doctor,” he told Hunter. “As you know, the Itanis always have one on standby.”
“I’ll look her over first,” Hunter returned. “Maybe we can clean it up.”
We took the elevator up to the highest floor. Shane had to use a key to get the elevator door to open, and then we were walking straight into Leo’s place. Shane led us to Leo’s bedroom and into his giant bathroom before leaving. Hunter set me down on a decorative seat that was situated in the corner of the room.
Hunter caught my bizarre expression and his mouth quirked. “I guess if you need to rest, you have an armchair in the master bathroom—”
A surprised laugh tumbled out of my mouth, and Hunter’s eyes warmed as he looked at my lips. He pulled back then, his hands sliding down my legs. “Let’s take a look at your feet.”
My laughter died when his fingers skirted along my heel and a hiss ripped from my throat. He raised it up, inspecting it. I watched him, tears of pain springing to the back of my eyes.
“Is it bad?” I asked him.
