Hunter (2 page)

She wasn't stupid, and neither was I. We both knew my father would find us. It was just a matter of when.

And whether or not anyone within the Los Angeles family would rat us out. Apparently the money my mother supplied them with on a monthly basis was enough to publicly ignore our entire existence.

I was amazed we'd lived ten years. Well... I had.

I shook off the thoughts of my mother as Rossi meowed loudly. Apparently, I'd been ignoring him while stuck in my own head. Nothing new there. I looked down at my feet, but he wasn't there, which only meant one thing. It wasn't me he was meowing at... Rather a bird or perhaps next door's tuna again.

I reached forward and opened the kitchen window. Rossi jumped out, his paws hitting the grass silently, and he bounded up onto the wall. I swore he was Tigger in a past life. The feline had back feet made of springs.

With a sigh, I picked up the bowl he'd licked clean of tuna and put it in the dishwasher. The older I got, the more I found my thoughts traveling back to the life I had before this. I'd made myself a promise the day we left New York, and I had every intention of keeping it... until I realized exactly what that promise would entail.

Sneaking away from California and across the country. Into New York. Find the Hamptons house my father was happily living in... the one that belonged to me... And kill him.

That was the short version. I imagined the long version to be a lot bloodier than that one.

So it never happened. I'd stayed here in California, afraid that telling Darien would make him put me on lockdown, and that's the last thing I wanted. My life was sheltered enough as it was, limited to attending UCLA for an advanced degree and grocery shopping.

Oh, not to forget the monthly meetings with the highest members of the Los Angeles family. How else was my existence supposed to remain secret? With my mother's death, the job of protecting me fell to... me. The meetings every few weeks consisted of my buying their silence for another month and them updating me on whether or not my father knows about me.

Just because they protected me doesn't mean that other families did.

All it would take would be for one person to look hard enough. I was hardly hiding. I didn't care enough about hiding. The only reason I didn't have a neon sign proclaiming my existence on the roof of our Calabasas house was because I promised Mamma I would do what I could to stay safe until the time for revenge came.

That's why the only friend I had other than Darien—and Rossi, of course—was Gaige Pontarelli, the second son of the head of the Los Angeles family. His brother, Angelo, was his father's shadow, which left Gaige to amuse me, as it was put.

Like the fact the money I handed his father every month didn't keep his place at the head of the family secure. I could collapse his family in a heartbeat if I was willing to take the risk of being found by my own family.

That day was coming closer.

My phone buzzed on the counter and I picked it up. Gaige's name flashed on the screen with a new message, and I clicked 'open.'

Gaige:
Ciao, bella. Let me the fuck in.

I laughed loudly as I put the phone down and headed for the front door. Our community was gated, but he was on the entry gate, so I rarely knew he was coming unless he... Well, unless I called him first. Usually this was how he showed up: randomly.

I peered through the spyhole in the door and down at my ruggedly handsome friend. His hair looked like he'd just had ten rounds on an electric chair, as it always did, but the rest of him was impeccably put together, from his soft brown eyes, sharp cheekbones and plump lips.

I pressed the button on the intercom. “Who is it?”

“Bite me, Addy.” He hammered his fist on the door. “Let me in. I'm turning into a fucking tomato.”

I rolled my eyes and unlocked the door, then opened it. I turned without waiting for him to follow me. “Tomato, right. Is that under that thick Italian skin of yours?”

“You wound me, baby.”

I glanced over my shoulder at his grinning face. “What do you want, Pontarelli?”

“You know,” he started, “I want a coffee.” He grabbed my shoulders and steered me into the kitchen. “Be a doll.”

“Or you can kiss my ass and make your own damn coffee.” I shrugged his hands off of me and pulled a bottle of water from the fridge. “Aren't you supposed to be... I don't know. Doing something this afternoon?”

“Oh, like work?” He raised his eyebrows as he fired up the coffee machine. “Yeah. Supposedly. Except Dad decided Angelo was doing it instead.”

“What were you supposed to be doing?”

“Not a fucking clue.”

“Don't you think that's why Angelo is doing it instead?”

“I know that's why Angelo is doing it,” he confirmed. “Why do you think I don't know what I was supposed to be doing? I'm already the black sheep. All I had to do was stare blankly at Dad when he called me down this morning and he told me to come protect the little princess.”

I snorted. “Little princess. Next time he says that, remind him who keeps his ass from being sliced off by someone else.”

“Not the greatest visual in the world, but it works.” Gaige dumped three teaspoons of sugar in his black coffee, making me wrinkle my nose in disgust. “What?”

“I don't know how you drink it like that,” I told him. “Just the smell of black coffee makes me feel sick.”

“What can I say? I take my coffee the way I like my women; sweetness and darkness all in one.”

Yet again, I rolled my eyes. “Yes, those poor women. I bet they last as long as a cup of coffee, too.”

“Now, now, Addy,” he chastised me. “I last longer than a cup of coffee, so they certainly do.”

“And once you're done with them?” I walked into the front room. “Precisely.”

“Look, baby, I'm the son of the head of Los Angeles's crime family. I can't settle for just anyone. And she certainly needs to have real tits, because if a fake one gets shot, I don't wanna be cleaning that mess up.” He sat on the other end of the sofa. “Besides, they all think I'm an up and coming actor.”

“You're a permanent actor. I don't think I've ever seen you be honest with a woman.” I tucked some hair behind my ear. “Except the time we met and I caught you masturbating because you didn't shut the bathroom door properly.”

A hint of red flamed in his cheeks, and I just about bit back a laugh. Yeah. I'd never tire of reminding him of that. He hadn't been told that Mamma and I were coming to his house, and when I'd gone to use the bathroom, I'd found him in it.

“Why do you keep bringing that up? I was fifteen. I had to get my kicks somewhere.”

“I'm just saying, Gaige, you should have been in your room or have locked the bathroom door.”

“One day, I'm going to walk in on you masturbating, and then you won't be so cocky. Mostly because I won't walk out.”

“And one day, you're gonna give up on your quest to get inside my pants.”

He pursed his lips, his eyes flashing with laughter. “Sorry. That doesn't make any sense to me.”

I laughed. Ever since I'd turned eighteen, he was certain that sooner or later, I'd give in to his random attempts at seduction and let him give me what he proclaimed would be 'the night of my life.'

That was five years ago.

He was still trying.

I had to give him props for effort. He wasn't letting it go, and if I were a weaker woman, I'd have given in long ago. Unfortunately for Gaige, I was too attached to our friendship to let something like that ruin it. Not to mention Darien was sure he wanted more than just one night, and with my future plans, that was out of the question.

I was no virgin. I was no slut. I was happily somewhere in the middle where I met guys, I screwed guys, and I conveniently lost their numbers.

There was no room for attachments in my world. Not while it was at risk of total catastrophe.

I would take down my father and any man who got in my way, but I wouldn't take anyone else down with me. There was a huge difference. I refused to put anyone at risk.

Maybe that's why I was so hesitant to do actually go through with my own promise.

I knew Darien would insist on coming, even if I refused, and I also knew he'd be shot on sight for being the accessory to our disappearance. I wouldn't have him killed for Mamma's choice, even if he knew the risk when he agreed.

He gave me life, and I would ensure he kept his, no matter the cost to myself.

“You're in another dimension again,” Gaige said. He kicked me across the sofa.

I swatted at him. “Just because I'm thinking doesn't mean I'm not listening to you.”

“Yeah? What did I just say?”

My lips pursed. Shit. He had me there. “Something about not walking out of my room if you ever catch me masturbating.”

“Are you finally admitting you masturbate?”

“This is a highly inappropriate conversation to be having right now.” My cheeks flushed as I put down my water bottle and got up. Time to go... I don't know. Do laundry or something.

“Ah-ha!” Gaige ran after me. I tried to shut the door to the laundry room, but he stuck his foot in the gap, thwarting that plan. “I knew you did.”

“Oh, for the love of God. I'm a twenty-three year old, single woman. Do you really think I lead an orgasm-less life?” I dragged the laundry basket in front of the empty washing machine and shoved a handful of clothes into it. “I'm not exactly a nun, Gaige.”

“I know, I know. I'm just teasing.” He leaned against the doorframe, a grin stretched across his face. His biceps bulged as he folded his arms across his chest. “I've never seen you with a guy, that's all.”

“Because some of us don't flaunt our conquests in the faces of others.”

“I know that, too. And I don't flaunt.”

“You do.” I put the last handful of dark clothing into the machine drum and closed it. I missed the old top-opening washer. I hated sitting on the floor to do this, and there was no way I'd ever catch Darien doing something as horrifying as washing my underwear. Fucker expected me to wash his though, didn't he?

“Your panties are on the floor.”

I snapped my head away from the control panel and looked at the floor. Yep. There we go. Clear as a day against the light gray tiles—my navy blue, lace thong.

Fucking brilliant.

I snatched it up and hurriedly put it in the machine, slamming the door once it was safely in there. Gaige laughed loudly, bending forward. I threw a clothes peg at his head as the machine whirred to life.

My panties
safely
inside it.

“I swear if I didn't love you, I'd kill you.” I lightly punched him in the arm as I passed him. “You're a prick.”

My insult only made him laugh harder, and he grabbed me around the shoulders and squeezed me. His body shook with each chuckle. “Ah, Addy. You're so easy to embarrass.”

“I also know how to shoot you and kill you instantly, so I'd back up on the embarrassing.” I elbowed him in the side.

He refused to let go of me. “I can do the same.”

“You won't have a chance to shoot me if I shoot you first.”

“So shoot me.”

“Nah. You're not worth the jail time, and I don't have anyone to buy me out of it.” I grinned and finally extracted myself from his grip, only to drop myself on the sofa with a dramatic flair. I even added a sigh for good measure.

Gaige was exhausting.

“Seriously, though, is there any real reason you're here?” I asked him when he sat down. “Or are you just here to piss me off?”

“Well, the pissing you off is a bonus.” His smile lit up his soft brown eyes. “But yes. I am here for a reason.”

“Oh, goodie. You're never here for a reason, so this can't be good.”

His expression sobered. “Not exactly.”

I waited for him to speak, but he didn't. Gaige was the kind of man who would never use five words if he could use fifty, so for him to have no words at all... Well, it worried me. A lot. I kept waiting, but he still didn't talk, and now, he wasn't even looking at me.

His eyes were fixed on the TV although the screen was blank. His knee was bobbing up and down quickly, and his shoulders heaved as he inhaled loudly.

“Gaige?” My voice was quiet. “What's wrong?”

“Angelo went to Chicago last week.” He turned back to me, all traces of amusement in his gaze completely gone. In its place was hesitance and, if I wasn't mistaken, a glimpse of fear.

“I knew that. He goes every three months.”

“Yeah. When he left, he overheard your dad's
consigliere
talking to Gino Sollecito's.” He stopped again. “They don't believe you're dead anymore.”

Slowly, my brows pulled into a frown. “They've believed it for ten years. Why would they suddenly change their mind?”

“I don't know, Addy. They stopped talking after that because they saw Angelo looking at them. That's all he heard.” Gaige runs his hand through his already messy hair. “This isn't good. If they find out you're alive, then we're all in trouble.”

“Because you've been hiding me,” I whispered softly, drawing my gaze away from his. “I knew this would happen.”

“You're prepared for it though, right? You and Darien? You have a plan?”

No.
“Of course we have a plan, but without knowing if they've found us here, then it could be hard to move without alerting them. Is that all Angelo heard?” I looked back at him. “That they think I'm actually alive?”

“Your mom, too,” he answered. “But, yeah. That's it.”

“Well, there isn't much I can do off of that.”

“Do you want me to find out more?”

“No.” I touched his knee and patted it gently. “It's okay. I won't ask you to put yourself at risk any longer. If they come for me, they come. I'm not going anywhere without a goddamn fight to the death.”

Gaige's nostrils flared, and he grabbed my hand. His fingers wrapped around mine and squeezed so tightly I felt every bit of his apprehension in that one touch. “And that, Adriana, is exactly what I'm afraid of.”

***

“Addy?” Darien's voice traveled through the house, followed by the shutting of the front door.

“Hey,” I called back, shuffling on the sofa. My feet were resting on the back of it, and I knew he'd hate it, but I couldn't be bothered to move. I'd been in a slump ever since Gaige had left six hours ago. He was reluctant to leave me alone until Darien came home, but there was no way he could stay here until almost midnight.