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I squeezed harder, falling more into the red. The rage.
Dad was going to die tonight.
* * *
Angelina
“Bill, I don’t understand what’s going on?” I opened the door to his SUV near panicked after he almost broke my door down. “Is Hunter okay?”
“It’s a long story. Get in, I’ll tell you on the way. Hunter’s fine…I think.”
I hopped in and Bill revved the car to life. “That’s not very reassuring.”
“Why do you have a guard?” he asked, glancing in the rearview mirror.
Looking over my shoulder, George’s SUV came into view. “After the attack on campus, I…asked for more protection.”
Bill eyed me, his eyebrow up. Obviously, he didn’t believe me, but I wasn’t going to spill Hunter and Lisa’s secret. No way. The fact that Bill showed up at the hotel for me had me a little concerned, though.
“So, what’s going on?” I asked settled back into my seat.
“Something weird came up on Hunter’s background check when I promoted him to Cooler. Something didn’t add up about social security numbers or something. My HR lady flagged it and called me.”
“What?”
“I’m not sure what to think of this, but... the SSN he’s using was just issued or something.” He shook his head. “It doesn’t add up.”
“What’s that got to do with me? I mean, Hunter and I…we’re not together anymore.”
He let out a huff, and his knuckles blanched as his grip tightened on the wheel. “That’s not right. You two…That boy, he was better with you. But…I thought—” He pounded the wheel.
“Bill. What?” The nervousness radiating off this big guy mademenervous. He was like a dad to Hunter, but for him to step forward, especially about Hunter and me…something was up, and my gut wasn’t liking the feeling.
“You don’t know much about me, but…well, earlier today, some tall, skinny guy showed up at the club. Now, that’s normally not a big deal, but I’ve seen a lot of shit, and this guy, his eyes were dead. Vacant. He came around sniffing after Hunter.”
“Who was he?”Oh no!It might have been Hunter’s dad!
He shook his head. “Don’t know. He danced around my questions pretty well—like a pro.”
“And that got you to my house why?”
“He asked about you, Angelina. About youandHunter.”
I gasped at how fast my chest tensed.
“I know you two aren’t together, but when Dead Eyes asked about you, my gut went nuts. And if I’ve learned anything throughout my fifty-two years of life, it’s how to survive, and I’ve done that by trusting my gut.” He steered the vehicle onto the exit ramp.
Those must have been a rough fifty-two years, because I’d always pegged him for being in his early sixties. And here he was talking about how his gut had helped him survive. More than likely, it was the prison time Hunter had told me about before.
Only a few more minutes, and I’d see Hunter. I needed to see him. “Your gut told you to come to my house, and then what?”
“Hunter’s at work, I…if I got the two of you together, maybe work things out…I’ve been wanting to do this for a while now, and then today…” He slouched. “I’m not really sure, Angelina. But Hunter’s like a son to me, and he’s been miserable without you…”
“I’ve…been miserable without him, too.” I let out the breath that felt like I’d been holding since I’d last told Hunter to get out of my apartment. And it was the truth, I’d been miserable. But now I was a little scared. “Bill?”
“Yeah?” He glanced at me.
“Hunter told me a little about what happened to you. And, well, if you felt like you needed to get me, then I’m glad you did. I want Hunter to be okay, too.”
