I feel tears forming in the corners of my eyes again at his kind words. “Thanks, Carter,” I say, sniffling a bit. “That’s really nice of you.”
“Of course,” he says. “If you need anything, let us know, all right? We’re here for you.”
I can only assume everyone knows what happened because they saw Hunter and I disappear into his office during the party. I feel like I’m doing the walk of shame over the phone, but Carter is being so supportive. It really makes me feel lucky to have such a caring work family.
I thank him again and hang up, but then it’s back to my date with chocolate, brownies, wine, and real estate drama.
As I watch, I can’t help but go over the conversation I had with Carter and how it warmed my heart. It’s been a long time since I felt like part of a family. I certainly haven’t felt that way since Mitch joined my real family. The idea that I can have people in my life who treat me like we are related by blood makes me smile. It’s nice to know that I’ll have them until I’m ready to start my own family.
I scoff at the thought. Like that’s going to happen anytime soon. I don’t even have a boyfriend, and if I continue down this path, I won’t ever have one.
Not that you have to have a boyfriend to get pregnant…
I am about to put a bite of brownie into my mouth when my words register. “Oh, fuck!” I say aloud. “We didn’t even use a condom.”
CHAPTER19
HUNTER
The phone rings a few times as I sit behind my desk trying not to think of how good Meg tasted when I had her legs spread wide on this very surface not that long ago—a million years ago. It’s going to be difficult for me to focus on working here when every time I enter the room, I think of her sexy body, how good she felt, and how amazing it was to finally take her.
My thoughts are jarred away from the events of the last few days when I hear a familiar voice on the phone say, “Hunter! Long time no hear. What can I do for you, man?”
The sound of his voice makes me chuckle under my breath. “Tommy! How are you doing, you asshole?” I ask, and we both laugh. “How’s the Vegas heat?”
“You know, we can’t complain too much. It is a dry heat after all,” he jokes, poking fun at the people who think that the desert air isn’t so bad. “What can I do for you, man?”
Tommy runs the Vegas Club Limelight, and the two of us go way back. He’s just one of the guys I’ve called recently to see if they can help me out with tracking down the money Jonathan stole. Now that I don’t have Meg to obsess over, I’ve decided to refocus on the fact that that asshole stole from me, and I want my money back.
I explain the situation to him, getting up to pace back and forth as we talk. When I’m done explaining how Jonathan was my best friend and business partner who double-crossed me and took a hundred million dollars out of my account while he was doing it, I ask, “Have you heard anyone mention anything at all that sounds like it could be related to this?”
“No, man, I’m sorry,” Tommy says. “Out here, we get all kinds of high rollers, but I think I’d remember something like that, some punk kid walking around with that kinda money. Nah, honestly, I think if he’d been spending it, everyone would know. He probably did something else with it.”
“Something else?” I repeat, not sure what he’s getting at.
“Yeah, like squirreled it away somewhere or traded it to a cartel for the good stuff. Maybe he invested it into some new street drug. Who the fuck knows? I think you’re chasing smoke though, man, I hate to say.”
Tommy’s words irritate the hell out of me but only because I know there’s a good chance they are true. It’s been too long. I wasn’t able to track down Jonathan or the money for all of this time, and now that the punk ass is dead, I may never know what happened to my money.
The entire situation is infuriating, and I wish Jonathan was still alive so I could kill him again. But then, I also wish he was alive so I could torture the fuck out of him until he tells me what he did with my goddamn money.
Tommy says a few more pleasantries, and I pretend to be cordial, but as soon as he hangs up, I ram my fist through the sheetrock behind my office chair. Drywall, splinters, and a plume of dust hit me in the face, almost making me sneeze, but I’m too pissed to even do that.
Yanking my hand out of the wall, I see that I’ve split open my knuckles, but that’s an everyday occurrence for me. The fact that it wasn’t on someone’s face is different…
“Leah’s going to be pissed about that,” I mutter, otherwise not giving a damn. It didn’t make me feel any better, though. I am still ready to go exhume Jonathan’s body from his shallow grave so I can kill him again.
My phone is ringing, and for a moment, I think maybe it’s Meg. But then, before I even look at the caller ID, I know that’s not the case. Meg wouldn’t be calling me even if she did have my cell phone number. So then I think perhaps it’s another one of the club managers I’ve called looking for leads on Jonathan.
But when my eyes actually connect with the screen, and I see who it is, I’m shocked. As quickly as I can, I fumble with my bleeding hand to answer. “Riley?” I ask my younger sister. “Is everything okay?” She never calls me at this time of day.
“Oh, my God, Hunter! You are not going to believe what that bitch Hadley did!” Riley is obviously worked up about something, and while I’m sorry she’s upset, it is nice to hear the sound of her voice. It’s nowhere near the time of our regularly scheduled call, but just hearing her speak brings a smile to my face.
“What happened, Ri?” I ask. “Did you get into another fight?” I check the time. It’s the middle of the night in London. She should be asleep.
My sister groans. “I’m pretty sure you can’t call it a fight when that bitch swings like a kindergartner with a chicken wing for an arm.”
I bite back my laughter at the analogy. I am supposed to be angry at her when she gets in trouble and shout at her for letting us all down or something of that nature, but it’s difficult to treat her that way when I’m the one who has taught her not to take that shit from anyone.