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The door was open, and I was waiting for Ripley to walk through and start making demands—whether Huntsman was awake or still fucking close to death. But instead, he froze, just staring at the entrance like the fires of hell themselves were raging around it.
I looked at Romeo and raised an eyebrow, but he just shook his head.
This was Ripley’s dad.
Huntsman was a man who was larger than life, a man who was hard to imagine as anything but a pillar of strength. Men like Huntsman weren’t ever broken, they were never beaten, and they never fucking lost. And when that man was your father, I could only imagine what Ripley was going through. When you’re faced with the idea of losing a parent, no matter how old you are, you’re suddenly transformed back to that small child who looked up to them. Who idolized them, and who never thought that there would be a time where you would have to be the strong one.
Suddenly, there was no one there to be strong for you.
Just when I thought shit couldn’t get any fucking weirder, Dakota stepped up beside him, not looking at him, not touching him, not saying a single word. She just stood at his side.
A few seconds later, he nodded and took a deep breath and walked inside, Dakota following behind him.
Before we could even step into the room, the sound of Huntsman’s deep and gruff voice had me breathing a little easier. And even though Meyah was still missing, and my need to find her and hold some asshole responsible by putting a bullet through their brain, I couldn’t help but at least be thankful that Meyah wouldn’t have to go through all this shit, and also deal with losing a part of her she’d only just discovered.
“Get me out of this fucking bed,” Huntsman roared, and I looked over at Romeo again to see a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “And get me my goddamn gun. I’m going hunting.”
I stepped inside and looked at the man in the bed.
Beaten.
Bruised.
Not fucking getting out any time soon.
He stared directly at me, and for a second, his body slumped. I knew what he was feeling, exactly how I would be if someone had managed to take Meyah from me. I’d feel guilty, responsible, all the things Huntsman shouldn’t feel given he nearly died trying to protect her.
“I’ll get her back,” he promised.His version of an apology.
I shook my head. “We’llget her back.”
“Isiah will need at least twenty-four hours to get photos, get word out about a new website, get them up online and start taking bids before it gets shut down,” Romeo started, but then he soon stopped and looked at me. “We need to get to her first.”
Ripley cut in, “Slow the fuck down. What are you guys talking about?”
I clicked about what Romeo was saying.
Isiah still didn’t know our connection. Even if he’d followed Huntsman down here to Meyah, I never left the building, he wouldn’t have seen me.
“I’m going to buy her.”
“Excuse me,” Dakota exclaimed like I was fucking nuts.
“If you’re gonna buy her, can’t we just go in now?” Ripley argued. “She might not have much time. I know that asshole. I know what he does to those girls.”
“Meyah is strong,” I argued. “I have a plan, but we need all the time we can get.”
Everyone else seemed to let the idea sink in. And at this stage, it was the only one we’ve got.
“We’ve got less than twenty-four hours,” Huntsman noted.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and hit dial. “What are you doing?” Dakota demanded, looking from one of us to the other with her eyes wide.
Out of her depth.
And things were only going to get deeper.
“I’m calling in reinforcements.”
