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I gently lift her head by her chin. “Tell me,” I urge softly, needing to know what she remembers.
She squeezes her eyes shut, shaking her head as more tears trail down her cheeks. Her eyes look haunted when she opens them again.
“I-I was tied to a chair.” Her throat bobs when she swallows. “There was a m-man holding a knife. The mask he was wearing looked so evil, Hunter.” Her face crumples with a hiccupping sob. “H-he asked me a question, but I can’t remember what it was.”
It feels like my heart is trying to claw its way out of my chest. I remember the first time Cat mentioned the question she was asked while she and our children were held captive. Exactly like then, I experience a blinding rage unlike anything else I’ve ever known. Locking down that feeling and keeping it from Cat takes almost more effort than I possess. My body vibrates and my skin heats to such a degree that should burn anywhere Cat touches. The need to find Henry and completely eliminate him floods my system. The other two men are unattainable since they’re in prison, but Henry isn’t. He’s free and available to quench my thirst for murder. Whisper is next on my list as soon as I find him.
Slamming my eyes shut and taking a deep breath, I quell the violence that’s trying to overwhelm me and refocus my attention on Cat. She needs my full attention on her, so I need to stop thinking about all the ways I will slaughter Henry and Whisper.
“It was just a nightmare, baby,” I whisper hoarsely, running my hand up and down Cat’s leg. “Nothing and no one can hurt you.”Not as long as I draw breath, I silently add.
The nightmares are getting worse, and I don’t know what that means. Dr. Armani has told me repeatedly that we need to let Cat remember the events of that night on her own. Forcing it could cause irreversible mental damage. For a few months after the break-in, she remembered, but one morning it was as if the incident never happened. Any memory of that night, including having children, simply vanished, as if her brain said “Enough.” Now the mere mention of our children or that night causes her to break down and she becomes hysterical.
No one, especially me, blames Cat for what happened that night. However, she blames herself, and it’s that misplaced guilt that prevents her from truly healing.
There’s not a damn thing I can do to convince her that there was nothing she could have done to save our children. Those teens entered our house with the intent of killing my wife and children. There was nothing she could have done to change the outcome. Cat surviving was a miracle.
Henry is living on borrowed time. And eventually I’ll find a way to get to Terry Fletcher and Howard Leeway.
And then there’s Whisper. I’ll enjoy killing him the most.
ChapterEighteen
Hunter
Cat: Can you pick up a carton of my ice cream on your way home?
Ismile as I read the text message I received thirty minutes ago. I should have expected to receive this message today, since she ate the last of the butter pecan ice cream last night. Cat always keeps it in the freezer. The woman is obsessed with the stuff.
I shoot off a quick reply.
Me: You got it, baby.
After exiting the text app, I get up from my chair, having already shut down my computer. Paperwork is one of the things I hate most about owning a business. The majority of the work can be delegated, but there are some financial things Silas and I need to handle ourselves.
I leave my office and head to Silas’s to tell him I’m leaving. It’s rare for me to be here at night when the place is packed. As Silas prefers the nightlife, he tends to be here during the late hours more often than not. However, sometimes, like today, he’s here when I arrive in the morning.
Katie is sitting in Silas’s chair when I enter the office. He’s standing behind her, one hand resting on the desk and the other on the back of her chair as she shows him something on her computer.
“What do you think?” she asks as I walk into the room. Neither of them notice me. “It’s perfect, right? ”
“Anywhere you pick will be perfect, so long as it has a bed, and I get to spend the majority of my time in it with you.”
She snorts and rolls her eyes. “Sex. It’s all you think about.”
Fisting a handful of her hair, he pulls her head back, leaving only a couple of inches between their faces. “Not my fault you’ve ensnared me with your tight-as-fuck pussy. It’s damn near all I can think about.”
She sneers, though it’s hard to miss the shiver that shakes her body in response to the dominant action. “Don’t be so crass, Silas. It’s not an attractive look.”
Silas laughs before dropping a hard kiss against her lips and letting her hair go. “You like my crassness. Admit it. It makes you wet.”
“I’ll admit to no such thing.” She pats her hair, fixing the mess Silas made of it, while giving him a disgruntled look. “I have no idea why I put up with you.”
“Because you’re addicted to my big cock just as much as I’m addicted to your tight little pussy.”
She gets up from the chair. “Whatever,” she mutters. “If you hate the place I pick, don’t blame me.”
I walk further into the room, interrupting their playful spat. “Haven’t even tied the knot yet and you’re already bickering like an old married couple,” I say with a chuckle.
