Page 21 of The Magic of Revenge
"I was on the verge of remembering something. I definitely remember a white fox. Whoever I was recalling had a white fox. I'm positive."
"What the hell is going on?" I muttered to nobody in particular.
Palmer's giggles drew our attention just in time to hear her say, "Don't worry about me, Hunter. I'll be fine."
Cam's body went stiff as a fucking board. Shit, all of ours did.What are the odds? No. There's no fucking way. Palmer ended the call and walked back to where we were, grinning the whole time.
"That your boyfriend?" Sloane asked nonchalantly.
"No. He's my best friend," Palmer corrected, rolling her eyes. “Why? You interested?”
Sloane did his Sloaney face, the one where he gives absolutely nothing away. “You wish.” Palmer threw her head back and her sultry laugh filled the room.
“You three are an interesting bunch,” she teased, a twinkle to her eyes.
"Does your bestie work for Montague, too?" Cam pressed, his voice surprisingly smooth. I mean, there were a lot of Hunters in the world. It was just with the way things had been going for us recently—it didn't hurt to investigate.
"Yeah. We're the same age, but he’d already been here for a while by the time I arrived at sixteen," Palmer told us, as she scratched Snake's head.
"Have we met him before? Our memory is a little fucked up. Sorry," I apologized.
"I'm actually not sure. Oh, I can show you a picture of us from a few weeks ago? See if that jogs your memory?" she offered and I refrained from clapping.
"What's his last name?" Cam asked, stepping closer to her.
"James. Hunter James."
James was Hunter's middle name. My stomach was starting to twist uncomfortably.
"Ah, here we go. Do you recognize him?" Palmer slid her phone into Cam's big hand and the huge guy sank down to the couch, blinking several times. Oh fuck.
"Y-yeah. I recognize him. It's been a while though..." Emotion flooded Cam's tone and I swallowed my own. I stepped up behind the couch and leaned over to peek at the image.
Holy moon beams. It was one hundred percent Hunter. It really was Cam's brother, who we all thought had died years ago. He was right here in the photo, alive and well. His arm was slung around Palmer's shoulder, her head tipped back to look up at him. Hunter had light brown coloring, a mix he'd obtained from his mother's rich black skin and his sperm donor's lighter complexion. But those eyes—they matched Cam's perfectly. Those must be from their unnamed sire. Where Cam was golden and rugged, Hunter was dark and handsome as fuck. He'd really grown into a beautiful man.
His black hair hung to his shoulders in tight curls, his smile radiant even through the screen.Oh my gods, Hunter is alive.I squeezed Cam's shoulder in solidarity, reminding him that he wasn't alone. Sloane's gaze landed on mine and we exchanged a look of pure astonishment.
"I lost his number, can you put it in here? Put yours in here too. You never know when you might need backup or something," Sloane offered, handing her his cell.
"Good idea. I'll just put the numbers here and you can give them to the other two. I really do need to get a move on, though. Call me if you need anything in the future, but heads up. I’m going dark on my assignment so if you need anything in the next few months, I won’t be available."
Cam swiped the image away and handed her back her phone with a glazed look in his eyes. “You okay, dude?” Palmer asked, and Cam replied with a grunt that could’ve meant a whole slew of things.
"He’s tired. He gets weird when it’s time for him to go night night. Good luck on your assignment," I told her. I meant it too. I liked Palmer, she seemed like a good enough person, and knowing now that she was Hunter's best friend made me feel even closer to her for some reason.
The moment she disappeared through the door, we were on Cam. He was frozen, staring straight ahead, probably in shock.
"Cam. Talk to us, what's going through your head right now?" Sloane asked, rubbing Cam's back in a rare show of affection.
"I-I can't fucking believe it," Cam choked out. "How did he survive that fire? How did he end up with Montague Industries as his guardian? He should've been with me, gods dammit!" He yelled, hopping up from the couch to pace around the room. "He probably thinks I fucking abandoned him. I've mourned him every single fucking day since, and these people... They took him? Stole him away from me?"
His thoughts were coming like rapid-fire, I could see the way his muscles tensed and his fists clenched as he stormed around the room. Rain began pelting the windows and the wind howled a mournful melody that represented his inner turmoil.
"He's alive. That's the most important thing right now. And not only that, we have his contact information," I reminded him, holding up Sloane's phone.
His eyes landed on the phone and he charged like a bull to grab it. Sloane snatched it away at the last second, preventing him from getting his hands on the damn thing.
"Give. Me. The. Phone," Cam growled.
