Page 22 of Unleashed

It was never going to work between us. Our past is too ugly and fucked up to overcome. There’s too much wreckage to wade through. Besides, there’s another undeniable truth. I’m his first. Now that he’s unlocked the shackles that were holding him back, he’s going to want to explore, to date around and sow his oats.

The ache in the left side of my chest has me putting my car back into drive and pulling out of his parking lot. I need to forget him. But it’s impossible when those eyes continue to haunt me. Only, they’ve twisted in my mind. I no longer see the evil gleam of who he once was. Instead, I see the man riddled with guilt and hungry for love.

I pick up my phone, needing to take care of one final thing so I can forget Hunter once and for all.

“Was wondering when you were going to call, Twinkle Toes.” Banks’s voice sounds off, but maybe that’s me. Maybe I’m the one completely fucked up at the moment.

“Need your help,” I state cutting right to the chase. This isn’t a booty call. Those days between us are done.

“You kill the little prick?”

Hunter’s prick is definitely not little. It’s fucking long and thick as hell, and it makes my gut clench at the thought of it. But I’m gonna have to suffer with the fact that I never got to feel it.

“No.” I shove the regret away. “Turns out his father is the bigger bully.”

“Ah. Makes sense. But I still wouldn’t let that little prick off the hook.”

My shoulders tense but I bite back my irritation with his remark. I shouldn’t be defending Hunter. He doesn’t deserve it. “Going after the bigger fish first,” I state.

“So how can I help, Monk?”

“Need you to send someone to arrest his ass.”

“On what charges?”

The list of the bastard’s sins is too damn long. There are too many to count. The fucker’s got more skeletons saved on his hard drive than there are in a graveyard. All those stories I heard in the slammer weren’t tall tales. Sorent sent innocent men away. Took bribes to ensure the men got the max sentence for crimes they didn’t commit. He then turned around and worked out a deal with the judge. Making them both very wealthy men. And that’s not even the half of Sorent’s illegal dealings. The bastard’s gonna be spending the rest of his life behind bars.

“I’m shooting you over the file of evidence. Some late-night reading, but get ready, because the book is long.”

“It’s going to take me a few days, Monk. But he’ll be handled.”

“Understood. And thanks, man.”

“No thanks needed, Monk. You never should’ve been in here. It should’ve been them. And I’m more than happy to ensure justice is served.”

I feel the emotion trying to clog up my throat, which means it’s time to end the call.

“You’re a good cop, Banks. And a good man.”

“All right, Twinkle Toes. Gonna go before I grow a pair of ovaries. I’ll let you know when the bastard has been apprehended.

“Appreciate it, man.”

The line goes dead, and I take in a deep breath. It would’ve been easier if I’d fallen in love with him. He’s the one I should want. But my stubborn soul is tied to another. And honestly, so is Banks.

CHAPTER 13

Hunter

Fuck. What the hell is taking so long? He’s been in there for over three hours. I can’t even stand the sound of my pounding heart or my heavy breathing anymore. The urge to storm into that boardroom and confront him in front of every exec of Colannas is starting to win out. But fuck…I need him to make that deal happen.

I want my father to burn at the stake and have to answer to all those fucking scumbag investors who were fed insider information from the crooked-ass man. I want to see dad cower in fear from people who are more powerful than him. Maybe then he’ll know what it feels like to be bullied.

When the doors of the building open, I clench my steering wheel, seeing my obsession walking out. The air grows ragged in my lungs as I drink in his tall frame. His thick muscles are filling out a fine tailored suit and it has my tongue running across my lip, starved for a taste. He takes off his stupid covid mask and tosses it into the garbage. My gut twists, knowing the reason forthe mask. He thinks he’s grotesque, but it’s the opposite in my eyes. The scar makes him look lethal, and is sexy as fucking hell.

I climb from my car and stalk toward him. His nostrils flare when he sees me coming.

“You come to try to close the deal,” he states, “because I already did that. Signed, sealed, and delivered.”