Page 57 of Submission

Logic dictates that if I tell Hunter the entire truth, he will believe me, and it will be a burden off my shoulders. But some part of me doesn’t want to. I don’t want to alter his perception of me. I don’t want him to look at me and see the blood staining my hands, even if his are also dripping with it.

I’m not ready to talk about something that I’ve held onto for two years.

“Do what you need to do,” I say coldly. “But you’re not going to force me to spill every single detail of my life to you, Hunter. Even sharing this much doesn’t come easy to me.”

His expression turns thoughtful. “And if I were to investigate your past behind your back?“

“I can’t stop you.”

“What if I talked to your sister? What would she tell me?”

“My sister?”

“She’s still in town, you know.”

Shit, I didn’t know that.

“At the end of the day, I’m very aware of the power balance between us.” I stand to my feet. “Either you can wait and trust me to tell you when I’m ready, or you can just go and satisfy your curiosity like you normally do. I can’t stop you either way.”

His expression turns dark. “I’m not trying to hurt you, Megan. There’s no need to get so defensive.”

“Whatever,” I shrug. “It’s your call.”

From the look on his face, it’s obvious that he’s angry. He stands as well and I feel an anxious churning in my stomach as he walks past me without so much as a glance.

Yeah, he's not angry, he's furious.

The silence in the room now is deafening, and I stand in the middle of his office, frozen in place, wondering if I’ve finally managed to piss him off for good.

Maybe he thinks I’m not worth the effort anymore. Or just maybe he realizes… that I never really was.

Chapter 21

To Shoot What?

Megan

All the insecurities that I’ve always kept locked inside me are rising to the surface. My eyes are shut, and I curl my hands into fists to keep them from shaking until I realize that Hunter hasn’t actually left the room.

He’s still here.

He didn’t leave.

I hear a strange clicking sound and then my lover’s unmistakable voice behind me.

“Here, take this.”

I turn around and see that Hunter is holding a small black gun. A weapon so tiny that, for a moment, I doubt whether it’s real.

“Is that real?”

“You just have to point and aim,” he responds tightly. “Make sure to shoot at a body part that is wide so that you can inflict damage, like in the gut.”

“You’re giving me a gun?” I look from the gun to him. “To shoot what?”

“Until I get this mess under control, what happened today might happen again, especially if you decide to randomly ditch your security again.” He puts the gun in my hand. “Carry this with you everywhere. Don’t second guess when someone comes at you. Just shoot. I’ll deal with any consequences afterward.”

“Like if I mistakingly shoot an innocent person?”

---