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“So you can go now.” He says it with all the entitlement the fucker grew up with. The rich boy that was better than everyone else. The one who turned to dealing drugs and fucking cheerleaders just to make a damn name for himself. The same asshole who got too damn deep and stopped giving a shit about who he hurt in his wake.
From the corner of my eye, I see Alec give me the go-ahead signal. Two-taps with his pointer and middle finger on the side of his gun.
I lift my lips, making sure James sees my fake-ass smile.
“Oh yeah, we’ll go.” I watch as his body seems to slump in relief, but before he even has time to process what’s happening, I aim my gun right at his head and shoot.
Eight Years Later…
CHAPTER ONE
Anya
I can’t sayI ever really saw myself living in a place like this. Being born and raised in Boston, you get used to things and people being a certain way. But I’d be lying if I said I hate it here, because I don’t. My brother may have been the catalyst to make me want to leave Boston once and for all but coming to North Carolina and staying with him for a few weeks was definitely helpful with the push I needed.
I didn’t exactly realize it at the time, but I was in a funk. Running in the same circles and living the same routine over and over. I needed a change, a fresh start. Even though Boston and Beaufort aren’t that terribly far from each other, they’re incredibly different. Like right now, I’m sitting at a small cafe table on a cliff overlooking the ocean. The scents of fresh baked breads and desserts, coffee and seawater fill the air. It’s incredible and addictive at the same time.
I glance at the time on my watch again, knowing I got here early because I wanted to be able to get a seat outside. It’s not often that I meet clients outside of my office, but when Noah said he could only meet up during his lunch break today, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to kill two birds with one stone.
I take a sip of my water, kind of wishing I could pull a Jesus and turn it into wine. But I don’t while I’m with clients. I know there are plenty of lawyers out there who will meet over drinks, but I’ve just never been the kind to do that. I’ll be personable with my clients, but I believe in boundaries. And boundaries aren’t hard to blur when you cross professional lines.
I swallow down the remains of ice water in my glass and sit it back down on the table. Thankfully the server isn’t far away and comes right over the pitcher to refill my glass. Just as she’s walking away, my gaze catches on a couple of tables over and my breath leaves me in an instant. I’ve seen him plenty of times, but it’s never for longer than a couple of minutes since it always seems to be in passing. I know my brother keeps his employees pretty busy, but it always seems like Hunter is the busiest of all of them. Looking at the time on my phone I decide that it’ll probably be another few minutes before Noah gets here. Without thinking too hard about it, I get up from my table and walk right over to him with a bright smile on my face.
“Hey there!” His eyes snap from where he was looking out over the water to where I’m standing and for a moment, I think he might actually be mad to see me. I’ve never actually seen Hunter smile, but something tells me that not many people have. Hell, I’ve only heard him talk a small handful of times. But every time I do, I savor the hell out of it.
“Hey.” His deep rumble sends a wave through me. I’ve never heard a voice like his before. It’s deep and growly, at the same time it’s as smooth as honey.
“I wish I had known you were here, we could have had lunch together.” It’s not entirely true since I’m meeting a client, but if I thought Hunter wanted to have lunch with me, I may have been able to be persuaded to cancel.
His face remains completely stoic and emotionless, giving nothing away to what he’s thinking right now. He doesn’t respond to my comment about having lunch together, and because I apparently love making a fool of myself, I keep talking. “I didn’t even know my brother gave you guys breaks. You’re always so busy. Especially you.” He lifts one of his giant shoulders, and my attention draws to the corded muscles and tattoos peeking out from under his snug t-shirt. Hunter is easily the sexiest man I’ve ever seen. He’s not traditionally handsome in the tall, dark, and handsome sort of way. But there’s just something about him with his severely shaved head, neatly trimmed beard, and arms full of tattoos that just demand attention. And from the moment I laid my eyes on him, he’s had it.
“Gotta eat.” Those two simple words pull me from my trance, and I force myself to tear my eyes away from his body and nod my head casually.
“Right, of course. We all have to eat.” I try for a self-deprecating laugh, but I’m sure it comes out a bit more maniacal. “Well,” I say, motioning toward my table still sitting vacant. “I’ll let you be. My client should be here any minute.”
That seems to get his attention if the way his eyebrows fall and his shoulders stiffen slightly is any indication.
“Client.” It’s not a question, but for some reason I feel the need to answer anyway.
“Yeah. I’m a lawyer.” I mentally facepalm myself because he already knows I’m a damn lawyer. All of Alec’s employees know what I do for a living. It’s been discussed in detail over time.
Before I can make any more of a fool of myself, I turn on my heel and hurry back to my table.
“Anya, hey!” Noah calls out just as I’m about to sit back down, so I wait for him to approach and hold out my hand and shake his.
“I’m sorry I’m late, my boss called a last second team meeting and he really likes to talk.” He chuckles to himself, and I wave him off.
“It’s not a problem. I have a much more flexible schedule.” It’s true. It’s one thing I loved about leaving my corporate job years ago. I understand that most people need to have more options when it comes to meetings and appointments like these. Nine-to-five business hours don’t always work. Especially for someone like Noah, a single father who can’t leave his kids alone for longer than necessary.
I do my best to focus solely on Noah and ignore the way I can practically feel Hunter’s eyes on me. My skin prickles with recognition and I want to look, want to see his eyes on me. Sometimes it feels as if he avoids looking at me, like he hates me for some unknown reason. I shake that intrusive thought away because I know I’ve never done anything to make him hate me. I just wish he actually liked me. At least a little bit.
“I appreciate you making this work for me.” Our server comes over to our table to grab our order, and I’m thankful for the multiple distractions that keep me from looking back over toward Hunter. Whenever we’re around my brother and everyone else, I usually only allow myself a couple quick glances, but I know without a doubt that if I had the opportunity, I could spend hours at a time just staring and admiring everything about him. And that’s probably one of the reasons why he avoids being around me for too long.
Once our orders are taken and Noah has a drink in front of him, I decide it’s time to get down to business. Work has always been a good distraction for me. I get my tablet out of my bag in order to pull up the file I need so I can go over the strategy I planned for Noah’s case. But before I get to it, I take a deep breath, deciding to allow myself one last look at Hunter before I keep my full attention on my client for the rest of lunch. But when I look over at his table, it’s empty.
* * *
My lunch meeting with Noah went by fast, especially once I realized Hunter wasn’t there anymore. Any distraction I may have had was gone and I was easily able to focus on my job at hand. I was relieved that Noah didn’t question any of my strategies. It’s surprising how many people have such strong opinions about not only something they aren’t experienced in, but on something they’re receiving for free. I don’t charge for my services. Not when someone truly needs it. But even that doesn’t stop some people from questioning my expertise.
