Page 30 of Art of the Hunt
She glanced at him over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. “You won’t believe me, so I’m not even going to bother telling you.”
She shuffled around in the space, sort of half-crouching as she checked out a red, metal toolbox and a leather toolbelt lying on the floor. The seats had been taken out, and it looked like whoever owned this van used it as a work vehicle for some sort of contractor or maintenance-type business. Hunter hadn’t noticed a logo on the outside though.
“Did he mention whether he ran the plates or VIN?” he asked while doing his own snooping. Might as well, since he was in here and all.
“Yes. This vehicle was reported stolen a few hours ago. Perpetrator still at large.”
“Great. Did you hear that witness say he thought the van had been heading right for you and me?”
“Yes, and since I don’t live in Chicago and my best friend is the only person who knows I’m here at the moment, it’s quite obviousyouwere the target.”
Chapter Ten
He handled that news far better than she expected. “Why are you not freaking out?” she asked as they left the scene and headed toward her hotel.
“About which part? You lifting me like I weighed nothing? Or how about you jumping over the side of a bridge with me in your arms? Or maybe the fact that you swim faster than any Olympic athlete I’ve ever seen. Oh, and let’s also call out that cops forget who they are when you’re around. Is that the part I should be freaking out about?”
She shook her head. “That happens to most men when I’m around. It’s quite refreshing, to be honest, that you don’t act like a lovesick fool.” Although she certainly wouldn’t complain if he acted like helikedher.
At the barest minimum.
Hunter stopped walking when they reached the canopy stretching over the entrance to her hotel.
“Look, Artemis, I have to go. I need to get some sleep and I…I just need to go.”
He was leaving? She grabbed his arm. “You can’t leave. At least, not alone.”
“Before you came along, I was alone pretty much all the time.”
“That doesn’t make it right. Or safe.”
Sighing, he said, “Are we really going to have this conversation?”
She stabbed her finger at the bridge in the distance. “The driver of that van was trying to run you down. I don’t need three thousand years of experience to understand that in a collision between a human body and a motor vehicle, the human body would most definitely lose.” And she would lose Hunter before she even really had him.
Thatwas an interesting—and chilling—thought.
Dropping his hand onto her shoulder, he gave it what was probably supposed to be a reassuring squeeze. “I appreciate your concern, but this isn’t the first time someone has been gunning for me.”
“It isn’t?”
He shook his head. “Every now and then, a disgruntled perp decides revenge is better than accepting defeat and moving on with his life. It’s just part of the job. Now that I’m aware of the threat, I’ll be more diligent.”
“But you don’t even know what the threat is.”
“I’ll be fine, Artemis. Good night.”
She wasn’t used to being blown off. In fact, she couldn’t think of a single time in her immortal life that someone had dismissed her quite so succinctly as Hunter was doing at this moment.
She crossed her arms. “At least let me drive you home.”
This sigh was resigned. “I’d rather—”
“I insist.”
It was obvious he was considering arguing, but after a few beats of silence, he gave in with a bitten off, “Fine.”
This ride on her bike was entirely different from the last one. Despite their close proximity, there was a chasm between them. Instead of wrapping his arms around her waist, Hunter left them resting on his thighs, and as they were tooling through busy city streets, she couldn’t even open up the throttle to force him to grab onto her.
