Later that night, after we’d fucked furiously on the kitchen island and then made chicken salad for lunch, Hunter was napping peacefully on the couch and I was antsy. The hormones pulsing through my system had me on edge, living without all of my stuff had me on edge, hiding out had me on edge. I still wasn’t convinced that we were as safe here as Hunter seemed to believe, but I followed his lead. He was the expert. And he said there was nothing that could be done until JW was found.
I sat on an Adirondack chair on the small wraparound porch that looked out over the water and sipped coffee. Hunter had hounded me about decaf, about too much sugar, about everything, but I’d negotiated him down to one cup a day. He then grumbled that I chose to have my one cup in the evening, but I craved the creamy warmth after a long day. Tea was my daily beverage; coffee was what I relaxed with.
I sighed and flipped through my phone, glancing over the dozen or so messages my mom had bombarded me with that day. I finally sucked in a deep breath, took another swallow of the bitter brew for strength, and dialed, feeling dread coil in my stomach. I listened to it ring exactly one and a half times before she picked up.
“Erin, where the hell are you?” Her shriek hit my ears. “I’ve been so worried — how could you just leave without telling me?! You’re so rude sometimes, Erin,” she ended on a guilt-delivering pout.
“Mom, it’s been so busy–”
“You have to come home. It’s all over the news,” she whispered the last word as if it were a dirty sin. It was, I guess. Having the dirty laundry aired was her worst fear. Little did she know how dark the situation was.
“It’s just safer to be away right now; all that media coverage is tough.” I sighed, feeling more beaten down than ever. Every time I picked up the phone with my mother, she found a way to play victim.
“No, come home. You’re safe here,” her smooth voice purred. “You can stay with me.” She was offering up my nightmare with a cloying smile, I could hear it in her voice. Like hell I would return to her house. I spent two decades crawling my way out of that pit she called a home. “It’s time for this game the two of you have been playing to end.”
“Mom, it’s not a game. The last thing it is is a game. I wish it were that simple.” I nearly collapsed into the chair. I was so sick of defending my emotions against her. “I can’t come now. Hopefully soon, we just have to let this die down.” I knew it was a lie as it left my lips.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this photographer, Erin. Why do you get yourself into these messes? You’d think you’d be a little more cautious considering you’re still married. Do you even know who he is?”
“Mom, how could you say that?” feeling the fight die before it’d even risen. “How could you bring up Brant right now?” I had someone new to worry about and that was changing me already. I needed to keep our baby safe. I suddenly realized what mattered, and it wasn’t her endless criticisms and veiled insults. I had a little family of three that required my energy; I didn’t need to burn it on running in circles with my mother.
“You’ve known this guy for what–a few months?” She continued hurling barbs as if she hadn’t even heard me.
“I’m sorry, Mom, I can’t really get into this now, I just wanted to let you know I’m okay,” I offered, desperate to end the call now that I’d done my due diligence as daughter.
“You sound awful,” she replied.
“Thanks.” I rolled my eyes. Exactly the reason I never returned her calls. Couldn’t she see that? “I’ll call you soon.”
“Erin–”
“I love you, Mom. Stay safe.” I rushed to hang up.
I swirled the coffee in my cup and took a sip, finding it’d gone cool while I was talking to her. I stood, intent on microwaving the dark drink when I thought better of it, dropped my cup in the sink, and then headed for the living room. I sank down on the soft couch next to Hunter and curled around his solid body, tucking myself in wherever I could fit.
In his sleep he turned, one arm wrapping me up with him before his soft snores were the only sound again. I sighed, my eyes searching his golden-stubbled face as he slept. “I love you so, so much.” I dusted one soft fingertip across the soft bow of his lips. “I just hope we aren’t in for any more surprises,” I said, a haunted tone lacing my voice. I hoped desperately for no more surprises, for the sweet man curled up with me more than anyone else.
“Talk to your mom?” Hunter mumbled a few moments later. I swear he slept with one eye open.
“Yeah,” I paused before continuing. “Just felt like saying goodbye. Like I won’t see her again, or even talk to her.”
“It may just be for a while. We won’t run forever.” One of his thumbs traced patterns through my hair. “You gonna be okay?” His exhausted eyes caught mine.
“For now.” I ran my hand across his chest and along the muscles that etched his physique.
“You feeling okay?” His hand trailed to my tummy and I knew he meant the baby. The baby.
“Yeah, I’m good. It’s been a long day.” I tucked myself under his arm. “I could lie right here all night.” I breathed in his smoky scent with a content sigh.
“It’s been a long few weeks.” One hand kneaded at the base of my neck. “Let’s take a shower.” He pulled me into his arms and escorted me into the bathroom. I hummed when he started to undress me, piece by piece, before finally slipping my bra down my shoulders. With the shower heating up and plumes of fog washing around us, we ducked into the forceful spray and I felt the anxiety of the day being pounded away by the hot water.
“So I was thinking Luca,” Hunter said as he pushed a soaped up sponge around my body.
A smile turned my lips. “Luca? How very exotic of you.”
“It was the name of our driver in Lisbon.” He pressed between my legs and washed. I tried not to get distracted by his devout attention to my body.
“Really? You remember that?” I asked.
“Of course. I remember every moment with you.” He placed a kiss on the curve of my ass before he hung the sponge and used his soapy hands against my skin.
I sighed and closed my eyes, feeling the warm water rushing over my muscles. “I like Luca,” I said, still in awe that I was even in this position in the first place. Picking names for a baby with Hunter. What kind of alternate reality had I been plopped in?
“I have to make a prenatal appointment,” I offered absentmindedly.
“What? You haven’t had your first appointment yet? Don’t you need vitamins and shit?”
“Well, yeah, but it’s not do or die.” The giggle clogged in my throat when I thought in some ways, it was. Our lives were in do or die mode at this very moment. “I’ll do it when we get back in the city.”
“Erin.” He tipped my chin to catch his gaze. “We may not be going back to the city.”
“Oh. Right.” Witness protection.
“You still want to do it?” his eyes holding mine with earnest.
“Yeah.” I nodded. “Yes, I think it’s the smart thing.” I ducked my head, thinking only of protecting the little person growing inside me.
“I’ll call in the morning. Give us the night to make sure,” he said somberly as he wiped wet tendrils from my cheeks. “But if we do this, they’ll whisk us off in less than twenty-four hours. It’s fast, and there are no official goodbyes…” His green eyes seared mine.
“Okay. I won’t change my mind. But okay.” I smiled and placed a kiss on his lips, my hands winding around his neck and drawing him to me. My fingertips connected with the cool metal of his tags, in sharp contrast to the hot water pelting his skin.
“You don’t take these off to shower either?” I said as I fingered the chain.
Without replying, his hand came out and clasped mine, taking the chain in his hand and pulling it over his neck before dropping it in a tray in the shower.
“Now I do.” He pecked my lips. “That’s the first time I’ve taken them off in almost four years,” a touch of sadness in his tone.
My eyes rose with surprise. “You’re ready to now?” my attention darting between him and the pile of cool metal in the tray.
“Readier than I’ve ever been. Past stays in the past, right? Someone wise told me that once.” He grinned that teasing grin that turned my insides to whipped butter. “Plus, you’re right, the war is over. I don’t need those old things. Just a bad reminder.”
I grinned, pressing on my toes and placing a kiss on the tip of his golden nose. “I love you, Hunter Ellis.”
“Love you too, Princess.” He grinned and his hands wrapped around my face before he was devouring me in a kiss that stole my breath and my heart in one fell swoop. In a matter of weeks, I’d come to a place where I couldn’t picture my life without him. My golden god. My protector.
“So glad I saved you that day when you almost fell off that curb,” he murmured through a smile against my lips.
“Saved me my ass.” I swatted his shoulder with a giggle.
“Then you, and this little guy,” he placed his palms at my belly, “Saved me.”
