Chapter 19

Hunter

The next day started with Morgan safe and sound in my arms, but it quickly went to shit. I left her there so she could sleep in a little bit in my bed, but as soon as I walked into the office, the phones were ringing off the hook, probably because of the press conference yesterday and whatever blowback was coming from that. Elaine knocked on my door, and I called her in, hoping to avoid whatever was coming my way with her help.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Mr. Hunter, there's a man here to see you. He says it's important," Elaine began, and I groaned. Everyone always said that even about the most trivial thing, and it was almost always a waste of my time. With a firm shake of my head, I sighed.

"What does he want?" I asked, my voice heavy with exhaustion over what was already amounting to a trying day.

"He won't say," she said, albeit a bit reluctantly.

"Then tell him to call my assistant and set up a time," I said with an annoyed huff.

"It's just that he's been here for hours…" she hesitated.

"And?"

"He refuses to leave," she replied, her exasperation written all over her face. Elaine was good at her job. If she couldn't get him to leave, no one could, which meant that I would have to handle whatever this man wanted in order to get him out of here.

"Fuck me. I'll deal with it," I muttered.

"I'll send him in," she continued, and I cursed, running a hand through my hair.

"Fine," I said, my voice clipped. She walked out and I sat down at my desk, mentally preparing myself for whatever emergency this man had.

I straightened up in my chair as the door opened and the man walked in. He was tall, with dark, slicked-back hair, a stern expression, and a serious look in his eyes.

"Mr. Blackwater," he said, his tone curt and business-like.

"What is this regarding?" I asked, hoping to cut through the bullshit and get right down to the reason he was interrupting my morning.

"I have some information I believe you would find valuable," he stated, and my gaze narrowed even further. His response gave me a bad taste in my mouth, and I lifted my chin, leveling him with a hard look.

The man's demeanor didn't change as he stepped further into the room, a sly smile playing at the corners of his mouth. He looked around, seemingly appraising the space before his eyes settled back on me. I didn't like it one bit.

Truth be told, he reminded me of a snake.

"Allow me to introduce myself," he began with a smarmy confidence that irked me even more. "I'm Richard Conway. And I must say, Mr. Blackwater, I've come across something quite… intriguing."

I leaned back in my chair, my patience wearing thin. "Mr. Conway, if you have something to say, I suggest you get to the point."

Richard sauntered closer, pulling out an envelope and sliding it across the desk towards me. "I believe what's in here will be of great interest to you. Pictures of you and a certain young lady in some, shall we say, compromising positions."

My heart skipped a beat as I stared at the envelope, a sense of dread building within me. "What do you want, Mr. Conway?"

"For a price, I could ensure these pictures remain out of the public eye," he replied, his tone casual, yet laced with malice.

I clenched my jaw, anger and disgust mingling within me. This was blackmail, plain and simple. "You think you can come in here and threaten me with this… this extortion?"

Richard leaned against my desk, his expression unbothered. "It's not a threat, Mr. Blackwater. It's business. These days, information is currency. And this information? Well, it's quite valuable, especially for a man like you."

I stared at him, weighing my options. I could call his bluff, involve the authorities, but the risk of these photos becoming public was something I couldn't ignore. The impact it could have on Morgan and me, both personally and professionally, was too great.

"How much?" I asked, my voice steady despite the turmoil inside.

Richard's smile widened, sensing victory. "Now we're talking business. Let's start the bidding at, say, half a million?"

His audacity was appalling, but I knew I had to handle this delicately. I needed time to think, to plan my next move.

"Give me twenty-four hours," I said, my mind racing with strategies to turn this situation around.

Richard stood up straight, sliding the envelope closer to me. "You can keep these. I have plenty of copies. But remember, twenty-four hours, Mr. Blackwater. Clock's ticking. I'll be in contact."

With that, he turned and left, leaving me fuming in my office. I picked up the envelope with a sense of loathing and opened it to see that he did indeed have several pictures of the two of us in compromising situations.

My jaw clenched, rage simmering through my veins. Several were from last night. The most damning was a set of pictures captured at just the right angle to show Morgan taking off her panties and handing them to me at the restaurant table.

One even showed the pretty pink petals of her pussy, and a surge of rage rocketed through me at the thought of another man seeing what belonged to me.

What was mine.

I'd just wanted to take her out of the office, to get to know her on a deeper level aside from our interactions at work, and now I had this shit to deal with. I should have known better, should have protected her better.

Hell, I should have rented the whole restaurant out for just the two of us.

I shook my head and started thinking through my options.

Two came to mind.

The first was to simply pay the man off, I had more than enough money for that, but the second was far more appealing.

I'd have to have someone tail him and then get him taken care of.

Permanently. It had been a very long time since I'd used my connections in such a way, but I was willing to do anything to protect her.

She was more than worth it.

I had just begun making the necessary arrangements when Morgan walked into my office. In an instant, she saw the look on my face and stopped in her tracks.

"What's wrong?" she asked, concern etched on her beautiful face.

"Close the door and lock it," I instructed, and she obeyed without question, her eyebrows knitting together in worry. At any other time, I would have praised her for her obedience, but now was not that time.

"Hunter, what's happening? You look… troubled," she said, her voice laced with concern as she approached my desk.

I hesitated, torn between the instinct to shield her from the darker aspects of my life and the need for her to understand the gravity of the situation.

I decided to just tell her the truth.

"Morgan, we have a problem. There's a man named Richard Conway that came here with several very compromising photographs in his possession," I began. "He's trying to blackmail us."

Her eyes widened in shock. "Blackmail? With photos of us?" she asked, her disbelief apparent from her tone.

"Yes," I confirmed, my jaw tightening. "And I have a way to deal with it. I'm going to make it go away so it's never a problem for us again."

Morgan's expression shifted to one of apprehension. "What do you mean by ‘deal with it'?"

I looked into her eyes, my resolve hardening. "I have connections, Morgan. I can have someone tail him, make sure he's taken care of, that he… well… that he doesn't pose a threat to us anymore."

Her response was immediate. The shock and alarm on her face gave way to anger, and she fisted her hands at her sides, leveling me with a firm glare.

"Hunter, no! That's not the way to handle this. I don't want you diving back into that world, not for me. You've worked too hard to throw it away for someone like me."

I gritted my teeth. "Keep talking like that, and we'll finish this discussion with my belt," I snapped, and she narrowed her eyes in my direction.

"There are other ways we can handle this," she said, a bit more calmly, and I relaxed my jaw as I let out a sigh.

"Morgan, I would do anything to keep you safe. If that means tapping into my old connections, then so be it."

She stepped closer, her hand reaching out to mine. "Please, Hunter. Promise me you'll leave that world behind. For us. There has to be another way to deal with this."

"I promise, Morgan. I'll leave it behind," I said, and then added with a fierce certainty, "Unless it comes to your safety. There's no force on earth that's going to stop me from dealing with that as I see fit, if you are involved."

She nodded, a mixture of relief and worry flashing across her face. I reached out and took her hand in mine, pulling her into an embrace, her body fitting perfectly against mine. I loved the feeling of her pressed against me.

"You can't go around killing people, Hunter," she chided, her voice muffled by the fabric of my shirt.

I pressed my teeth together and shook my head. It wouldn't be the first time I got blood on my hands.

Hopefully, this would be the last.

"You have no idea what I'm capable of, my beautiful girl," I answered, and she shivered in my arms. "But you are right. Not unless it comes to protecting you. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," she whispered.

* * *

Later that day, I called in my lawyers. They were already there in the conference room waiting for us when Morgan and I walked in through the door. I'd already briefed them on the issue, and they'd done their own background research on Richard Conway for me.

From what they uncovered, he had started out as an investigative journalist, but the competitive and cutthroat nature of the industry drove him towards the more lucrative world of sensationalism and scandal.

There, he'd flourished.

He once infamously exposed Senator James Hamilton's extramarital affair by bribing a hotel maid for access to the senator's room, where he illegally installed hidden cameras. The scandalous footage he captured and sold to a tabloid destroyed the senator's career.

I wasn't going to let him do the same to Morgan and me.

"This is a serious matter," Brenda, my lead attorney, warned. "It could ruin your reputation and the company, but what you're doing, the two of you dating, isn't illegal, not by any means. Blackmail and extortion, however, is."

"I just can't sit back and do nothing," I growled.

"I understand, Mr. Blackwater. You can report it to the police, but that probably won't stop the photos from being leaked."

"Maybe we can get ahead of it," Morgan blurted.

"How so?" I asked, turning my gaze to her beautiful face.

"Maybe the press would listen to a statement from the two of us," she continued, her eyes bright and eager. "It would be the best way to control the narrative and prevent it from being sensationalized."

"I don't want us to jump and react too quickly," I said thoughtfully, turning over her strategy in my mind. It certainly was a valid one, but I was unwilling to open her to that level of scrutiny based on a simple threat.

"I think we should talk to the press," she continued. "It's better to take the horse by the reins than to let it spiral out of control."

"We could always try it," Brenda said, her expression thoughtful.

"Not yet. Let me talk to Richard again and see if I can get a read on him."

"It could be a good idea," she countered.

"We'll see. Just give me a little time to think it over," I said.

Brenda nodded, gathering her things and rising from her chair. The rest of my team followed her out, leaving me and Morgan in the conference room together.

"Are you worried?" Morgan asked.

"Yes, I am," I admitted, my chest tightening. "But I also know that there's nothing I won't do to protect you."

Morgan gave me a soft smile. "I trust you, Hunter. We'll figure this out."

* * *

The next day, I'd come into the office for a while before the planned meeting with Richard. Concerned for Morgan's safety, I'd demanded that she head out early and go home.

Much to my surprise, she didn't really put up that much of a fight, and I was planning on rewarding her for that later with my mouth in between her delicious thighs. She deserved to come good and hard for me for being such a good girl.

Now it was late enough that the office was abandoned, save for me.

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts, and I looked up to see Richard standing in the doorway.

"Come in," I commanded.

Richard sauntered into my office, his eyes casually scanning the room with an air of arrogance. He paused at my bookshelves, picking up the picture frame holding the photo of the children I worked with at the orphanage, examining it with a sneer before setting it back down.

"You've got quite the setup here, Blackwater," Richard said, turning to face me with a smug expression. "It'd be a shame if your little philanthropic ventures got tarnished by scandal."

His thinly veiled threat made my blood boil, but I kept my composure, albeit barely. "What do you want, Richard?"

He chuckled, leaning against the bookshelf. "Just what we agreed upon. Half a million, and these photos disappear."

I leaned back in my chair, fixing him with a steely gaze. "And if I refuse?"

Richard shrugged nonchalantly. "Then I guess the world gets to see what you and your lovely lady friend have been up to. Not to mention, I might take a particular interest in your charity work. Who knows what I might uncover about those little orphans?"

The implication was clear, and it took all my restraint not to leap across the desk at him and rip his head from his shoulders.

Instead, I stood up slowly, my voice low and menacing. "Listen carefully, Richard. I'm a man of many resources and connections. You don't want to make an enemy out of me. Cross me, and you'll find yourself in a situation you can't weasel your way out of."

Richard raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips. "Is that a threat, Blackwater?"

"It's a promise," I replied sharply. "But I'm willing to pay your price, on one condition—you leave me, Morgan, and the orphanage out of your sleazy scandals permanently."

He pondered for a moment, then extended his hand. "Deal. I get my money, and you all become perfect strangers to me."

I shook his hand firmly, feeling a sense of distaste. "You'll get your money. But remember, the world I come from doesn't take kindly to threats against children or innocent people. And though I've stepped away from that world, I still have friends—friends who don't play by the rules. Friends who, if I asked them to, would make sure you'd disappear without a trace."

Richard's smugness wavered, replaced by a hint of apprehension. He set the picture frame down carefully, his demeanor shifting. "Alright, Blackwater. I get your point. Your money for my silence. And I won't bother you, the lady, or your charity work again."

I sat back, the tension in the room thick. "Good. Now, we'll wire the funds today. Give me your number, and I'll let you know when it's done."

"Pleasure doing business with you, Blackwater," he said, his wry grin a bit unsettling.

I handed him a pen and a scrap of paper, and he quickly jotted down his number. Richard passed the piece of paper to me and gave me a mock salute as he headed for the door.

I stared at the back of his head, glaring at him as I tucked it into my pocket.

He left the room, closing the door behind him. I sank back into my chair, exhaling heavily. I wanted the man dead, but I didn't want to go against Morgan's wishes. I'd wire him the money, and hopefully that meant this man would be out of our lives permanently.

I picked up the phone and made the necessary arrangements.

The money was sent within minutes, and I felt a sense of relief, but it was short-lived. The whole incident left me feeling unsettled and frustrated.

I couldn't wait to go home to my girl.

I knew that as soon as she was in my arms, I'd feel better. Sitting back, I tried to calm myself. My heart was still beating too fast, and my palms were sweating. I took a deep breath, imagining stripping every inch of Morgan's clothes from her body, baring her slowly, purposefully, until she was entirely naked before me. She'd already be dripping wet and ready to take all of me inside that sweet little pussy…

My cock twitched in my slacks, and I grinned, knowing exactly how I was going to take out my frustrations. I stood up and made my way over to the bathroom door, and then all of sudden, there was a soft noise coming from inside.

What the fuck?

As far as I knew, no one else was in the building.

I swung open the door to reveal Morgan standing before me, her cell phone in her hand and a stunned expression written all over her face.

"I thought I was explicit enough in my orders that you were to go home," I growled.

"I was just using the restroom," she began, and I shook my head.

I reached out and grabbed her phone, only to find it recording.

"You were spying on me," I growled, my temper flaring.

"I wasn't—" she began, but I could tell that she was lying. I had told her that I would handle this, and she went off on her own, putting herself at risk because she didn't trust me.

Well, I had ways of dealing with naughty little liars.