Page 38 of His Curvy Woman

Chapter 16

Whitley

After changinginto some leggings and a t-shirt I go to the kitchen, passing a tense-looking Hunter who is on the phone in his office. I make us both some coffee and bring it back to his office so we can talk about whatever is going on. Hunter is staring down at his hands on the desk.

“Everything okay Hunt?” I ask.

He looks up and smiles at me, but something is missing from his usual warm gaze.

“Baby sit down. We need to talk about some things.”

Worried by his tone, I set down our coffees and take a seat across from Hunter at his desk. While I’m waiting for Hunter to talk to me, Arya walks in and sits down beside my chair. I scratch behind her ear and wait for Hunt to tell me what’s going on.

“I just got off the phone with the Marshall handling my parent’s case. Remember how I told you that he said he was going to look into it and make sure everything was still status quo? Well, he called me back.”

My chest tightens. “What did he say?”

“Kozlov and his men are still behind bars, and they won’t be getting out any time soon.”

I breathe out a sigh of relief. “Well, that’s good then, right? That just means I’m letting all of these little things mess with my head. Like you said, there’s probably a reasonable explanation for what’s been happening.”

His brow furrows. “Maybe. I’m not sure. There’s something else. McManus said there is chatter between agencies. The head of the Bratva in Russia sent over someone new to take Kozlov’s place, and they’re looking to make those responsible for putting his men in prison pay for what they’ve done.”

I suck in a sharp breath. “Your parents! What’s going to happen to them? Are you going back to them?” I ask selfishly, worrying that he’ll leave, while at the same time concerned about the welfare of his parents.

He smiles at me sadly. “I can’t go back, Whitley. I’d risk their identities and put them in more danger. Marshall McManus is assigning another Marshall to watch over my parents, but he’s on his way here in hopes he’ll catch the new guy in charge.”

“Oh, Hunter.” I stand from my chair and walk around the desk to stand between his spread thighs. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I rest my forehead against his. “I’m so sorry this is happening again.”

He hugs me to his front, wrapping me tightly in his arms. “Me too, baby.” He’s quiet a moment before telling me the rest. “He might be coming here since this is where it all went down. Because I’ve started using my identity again, I’ll be easy to locate. Maybe it’s best if you take Arya and go stay with your parents until all of this blows over.”

I shake my head no, firmly. “It’s not happening. I’m not leaving you. You can’t make me leave.” I beg, my voice cracking as I put my foot down.

“Don’t you understand? If anything ever happened to you Whitley, I don’t know what I’d do. I’ve spent the last seven years without you. Don’t make me spend an eternity. I wouldn’t survive it. It will only be for a month or two, just until we know we’re in the clear.”

“Hunter, you said the safest place for me was with you. You said that.” I say, my voice rising with every word.

“That was before I knew I could be the one putting you in harm's way.” He growls, then looks to the side, clearly upset.

I grab his face, forcing him to look at me, then stare at him straight on. “You listen to me, Hunter Stone. I’m not leaving. I’ll do everything you tell me to do. I’ll follow every precaution. I mean, what’s the point of having the best security money can buy if you aren’t even going to use it?”

Hunter shakes his head. “There’s that sass that I love.” He says and smiles. “You’re right. You leaving was a stupid idea in the first place. Promise me you’ll let me know if anything happens out of the ordinary though.”

I nod my head, and he squeezes my side. “I promise. If anything happens, I’ll tell you.”

“Good, now I want to talk to you about your junior year.”

I stiffen in his grasp. “What about it?” I go back around the desk and sit down, taking a sip of my coffee.

“James and I got into it at the station last night after one of our calls, and he mentioned-”

“You and James were fighting? Why?”

Hunter gives me a look that I don’t understand. “What?” I say.

“He let me know in no uncertain terms that if things between us don’t work out, he'd be the first guy lined up to take my place.” He lets it hang until it finally sinks in and I start choking on my coffee. Hunter stands up and rubs my back until I’m breathing easy again.

“You can’t be serious? James is like my brother. He’s never shown any interest before.”

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