Authors: Clarissa Wild

Fierce (25 page)

BOOK: Fierce

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“What? Are those the cops?” I say, rubbing
my neck because it still feels sore.

He nods, then turns around and leans
against the window. His wounds from the arena are still fresh, and he looks
like a complete mess. Blood is all over his face, both his eyes are black, and
he has bruises all over his ripped muscles.

“Fuck,” he mutters. “I’m glad I came here
in time. Lucky I could get ahold of those damned keys to open the cage myself
and slip out.”

I gulp. Hunter went through all that
trouble to free himself. He came to my rescue. I put myself in danger, knowing
what he said about avoiding Brody, and still I came here. Words can’t describe
how grateful and lucky I feel to be saved by Hunter.

“Thank you,” I say softly.

“Don’t thank me yet.”

“What do you mean?”

He looks up at me, and then his eyes flick
to the door.

A couple of cops storm into the room, and
their gazes flick from Hunter, to me, to Brody.

“Agent Williams.” The chief cop holds up
his badge. “Is this him?” he asks.

“Yep,” Hunter says. “Like I promised.”

“Where are the goods? I need proof,” Agent
Williams says, and he starts untying Brody.

“I’d be careful with that motherfucker if I
were you. He just tried to stab us with a pen,” Hunter says.

“Thanks, my partners here will make sure he
doesn’t move,” Agent William says, as he cuffs Brody.

“You have nothing on me,” Brody says.

“Oh no?” Hunter lifts an eyebrow, and then
directs his attention toward Agent Williams. “Check the bottom of the drawer. Especially
the screws.”

Hunter steps forward as I gape in
confusion. “How did the cops get here so fast?” I ask.

“I already alerted them back at the arena,
once I got hold of a cell phone.”

“You were right,” Agent Williams says,
holding up a piece of wood. “There’s a double bottom.” Then he carefully takes
out packets of powder, pills, and needles.

Agent Williams instructs the other cops to
take Brody away, while another one starts plowing through the room. Williams
himself walks up to Hunter. “Well, since you upheld your agreement, I’ll make
sure we do the same.”

Hunter’s lips curve up into a smile. Agent
Williams holds out his hand. Hunter shakes it. “Thanks.”

“What agreement?” I say.

“The one where they reduce Jessie’s
sentence to a week.”

“What?” I say, gaping at him.

“I’ll fill in the paperwork tomorrow. You
can come pick him up then,” Agent Williams says. “Now, we have to clear the
room, so please, if you will.” He points at the door, and Hunter escorts me
out.

When the door closes behind us, I feel like
I just closed off a part of my life I can never, ever return to.

Chapter 28

Explanations

“It’s true,” Hunter says. We walk to his
room in complete silence. My throat feels thick, and I can barely swallow. So
much information is being processed in my brain right now.

While I sit down on his bed, Hunter closes
the door behind us, and he grabs a water bottle to hold against his face. The
bleeding has stopped, and he’s wiped away most of it.

“My brother got himself involved in this
crappy frat house so he could pay my college funds,” he says.

“Yeah,” I say, acknowledging I already knew
that.

“Well, the Feds wanted to catch the damn
bastard behind it all. I made a deal with them. I’d lead them to the boss of
the entire operation, if they’d reduce Jessie’s sentence so I could bail him
out and take him home.”

My jaw drops, and I can only stare at
Hunter. I’m completely baffled.

Hunter places the bottle on his desk, and
then takes a step forward. I freeze.

“This is the reason I couldn’t tell you
anything. I was afraid it would blow the entire operation.”

“So you were basically … undercover?” I
mutter.

“No … not really. Sort of, maybe,” he
chuckles. “I’m not a cop, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Oh …” I don’t really know what to say. I’m
flabbergasted.

“I’m just a poor student, enrolled thanks
to his big brother. I was just there at the right moment at the right time.
They needed to roll up the gang, I had an easy way in. One plus one equals
two.”

“So they got you to do their dirty job?”

“Yeah, well, it was that or let my brother
rot in jail. And that wasn’t really an option.”

He sits down beside me and gently curls his
arm around my waist.

“So you were only in the frat house to get
your brother out?” I say.

“That’s what I told you, isn’t it?”

“And the drugs, the dealing, the fighting,
it was all for this?”

“I needed to gain their trust to climb up
higher in the ranks. It was the only way I could find out who was running the
entire thing.”

“Wow …” I let out a huge sigh, trying to
process it all.

Biting his lip, he looks up at me from
under his dark lashes. For the first time I see those gray eyes from a whole
different perspective.

“Please don’t be mad at me for not telling
you sooner.” He squeezes my waist and places his hand on top of mine. “I don’t
want to lose you.”

“I’m not mad,” I say after a while. “I just
can’t believe that’s what was really happening.”

“I couldn’t tell you, because I knew it
would jeopardize your safety. I could never risk that.”

“You didn’t jeopardize my safety; I did,” I
say, chuckling. “Going to Brody was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done.”

“Yeah, that was pretty stupid,” he says.

I gasp and pound him against the shoulder.
He winces, laughing, but is barely moved by my pitiful strength. “Good punch.”

“Nah. Not as good as yours.”

“I can teach you. Just like old times.” He
wriggles his eyebrows. “I can take you anytime.”

I chortle. “God, you and your sexual
innuendos.”

“I just got a thing for you, can’t help
it.” He inches closer and plants a kiss on my cheek. “Tell me you’ll forgive
me. I need you.”

A flush spreads across my cheeks. After
everything that’s happened, he still wants me.

“I just need to know one thing,” I say.
“Was I part of your little operation?”

He frowns, confused. “No, of course not.”

“Seeing as I was Brody’s friend.”

“No. That wasn’t why I wanted to spend time
with you.”

I lift my head, my eyes meeting his. “Then
why?”

Hunter raises his hand and caresses my jaw.
The pad of his thumb skidding over my skin creates goose bumps all over my
body.

“I’m such a screw-up. I’ve always been a
screw-up,” he says. “I wanted to free Jessie and sold my soul to the devil to
do it. And then I met you. You’re like an angel, the complete opposite of me.
You caught my attention the moment you walked into our campus, with your untamed
hair, and pretty little eyes you hide behind those cute glasses.”

He licks his lips, his eyes flicking down
toward our entwined hands, and then back up to my eyes. “Remember when I asked
you if you thought I was trying to change you?”

Swallowing, I try to suppress the nerves,
but lightning shoots through my veins.

I nod.

“I wanted you to change
me
,” he
says. “To help me keep my promise to my brother. To keep me from failing at
school. To keep me on the right track. To make me a better person. Because you
can do all those things, and you did.”

He squeezes my hand, and I lace my fingers
through his. Happiness buzzes through me, forcing a smile onto my face.

“I think you’re the only one who sees me
for who I really am. Who knows what it’s like to be the underdog. You’re the
only good thing that has ever happened to me. And I was so, so goddamn afraid I
was gonna lose you over all this shit.” He lets out a big breath.

The moment of silence between us feels
nice, and it’s the first time I’ve actually enjoyed not knowing what to say. I
want this moment to last forever.

“And when you told me you loved me … I … I
just …” He sighs. “I thought I didn’t deserve it. Something this good doesn’t
happen for fuck-ups like me. I was always afraid of getting too involved with
girls, so I kept them at arm’s length. I didn’t want to feel the responsibility
that came with a relationship. It meant having even more to take care of. But
then I never really had a girl like you before.”

He smiles. “You’re different.”

“Different how?” I say, muffling a laugh.

“Good,” he says with a wink. “Very good.”
He comes closer, gently leaning his forehead against mine. His hot breath is on
my skin, and it calms me down so much I barely remember what went down before.
Being in his presence is soothing, and I don’t want this to end.

“And you know what? I think I love you,”
he says.

A smile quirks up his lips, and I can’t
hold back my laugh.

“What’s so funny?” he says. “You think it’s
funny?”

I can’t stop laughing.

Hunter grabs me by the arms and pushes me
down on the bed, while I’m laughing like crazy.

“Am I funny, huh?” he says, looking me
straight in the eye.

“I’m sorry,” I say, still laughing. “I
can’t help it.”

“Is me loving you funny?” Hunter’s fingers
move to my belly, and then he starts tickling me ferociously. His skilled
fingers make me squirm underneath him.

“No, no, it’s not funny at all,” I squeal,
laughing hysterically. “Stop!”

“Beg me,” he says.

“Please!” I stammer.

He grins. His hands move up, gripping me
tightly, and his fingers curl around my shoulders.

“I like it when you say please,” he says,
licking his lips. I give him a playful slap. “See, you can’t resist my charm,
Autumn.”

I frown, still chuckling. “What? You’ve
never called me by my name.”

“Guess there’s a first time for everything.
I still prefer Leafy, though.” He brushes a strand of hair from my face, his
index finger briefly grazing my cheek.

‘Me too,” I say.

Hunter cups my chin between his index
finger and thumb and then presses his lips down onto mine. It’s a soft and tender
kiss, full of love. One I’ve been wishing for ever since I met him. His kisses
swiftly turn into the more rabid, ravenous sucks and licks, as he starts
pecking me all over my face and neck. I squirm underneath him.

“You’re my Leafy now, and I’m never letting
you go. Ever.”

He places his hand on top of mine, pinning
it above my head. I gasp for air as he takes my breath away, never taking his
mouth off mine. Our lips are locked in a hot, sexy battle, our tongues dipping
out to meet each other. He groans, heightening all my senses. I moan in
anticipation of what’s coming, knowing what his love can do to me.

I’m delirious, and I love it.

I love everything about him. Who he is.
What he’s made me be. We’re both strong, no matter the cost. Fierce.

And I’m his Leafy. Forever.

###

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