Chapter 5

5

"W hat?" I shout. I snatch my cell off the coffee table, my hands trembling, my breaths coming fast. "I knew it. You're a liar. You are here to kill me."

My shaking finger tries to dial 911. As I'm about to press the call button, the phone is pulled from my grip. I race around the other side of my couch, my legs moving fast toward my bedroom.

Strong arms wrap around me, and I release a scream. Immediately, a large hand covers my mouth. Lifting my feet, I try pushing Hunter off with my weight. It does nothing. He doesn't even budge.

"Will you stop? I told you I'm not here to hurt you. If anything, I need your help." He growls into my ear from behind.

I lift my arm and jab it back hard and fast, right into his ribs. He grunts, releasing me, and my body crumbles to the floor. I crawl away and press my back against the wall. "Why would you tell me your family is out to kill me and then tell me you're not here to hurt me? That's a little contradictory, don't you think?" I wrap my arms around my chest, trying to catch my breath.

Hunter paces in front of me. His hand moves to his face and swipes it down in what I assume is frustration. Then he stops and looks at me. "I guess that wasn't smart on my behalf. Perhaps I should go. I'm sorry to have scared you. Trust me when I say I'm not out to harm you in any way. I need you more than you know." A light from the street catches his face as he speaks, and his eyes soften.

He needs me.

I'm sure my eyes just popped out of my head. That doesn't sound right. I don't know this guy.

"Why would you need me? " I slowly get back up and stay against the wall, putting about six feet between us. The streetlights' yellow glow cast shadows along his features, making his chiseled face seem more mysterious and intriguing.

His brow furrows deeply, and concern etches across his face as he steps closer, closing the distance between us. "As I've said, you're important to people. Yes, my family runs the underworld, but both of our families did at one stage."

This entire situation makes no sense.

"But I don't even have a family. They left me at a hospital when I was a baby. Why would I be punished for their mistakes?"

He has to be wrong!

He shakes his head. "Aelina, my grandmother knows yours. They've been friends for years and still are, in fact. Only now they have to keep their friendship secret because of the rivalry between our families."

His words start to sink in. I have a grandmother. My breath shakes. "How do you know I'm the right person?"

Stepping closer again, he whispers, "Because it was your grandmother who took you away from your parents. She didn't want to see you brought up in that world. It destroys people."

There's a hardness in his eyes, but I hold his gaze. "You seem to be doing all right."

Hunter's hand reaches out. I turn my head away, but it doesn't stop him from brushing the hair off my cheek. His fingertips glide across the sensitive skin of my face, and then they are gone.

My body begs for more, but my mind tells me he could still be a murderer.

My murderer.

"I am a male. Males are raised as fighters, to be strong, to be leaders. Women..." He sighs, then continues, "Women are used to pay for things if debts aren't paid off. Sometimes they don't survive."

I turn back toward him. I didn't realize how much closer he'd come. He must have come closer when I turned away. His breath hits my exposed shoulder, and goose bumps rise over my body.

"But if my family were people in charge, just like yours are, wouldn't I have been spared?" A new fear settles in my bones, causing my blood to run cold.

Hunter shakes his head again. "It's not that simple, Aelina. You see, because of what your grandmother did, it put your family in trouble. They had a debt, or I should say a promise they couldn't fulfill because you'd disappeared."

"Wouldn't my parents have seen me on the news and spoken out or come to collect me?" My voice cracks, and Hunter's hand cups my cheek. I close my eyes while tears fill them. I don't want to know this.

"Aelina, look at me."

Reluctantly, I open my eyes, taking in his square jaw. He has short stubble growing—something I hadn't noticed at the diner earlier. "I'm not sure what you're thinking, but your grandmother did what she had to because she loved you then and still does now. She didn't want you to be caught up in anything or killed. Only one night six months ago, one of my family's men recognized you. You look so much like your mother, the spitting image. When he came to me and told me what he was about to do, I raced to save you. That man ended up in the grave, which was meant for you."

Fear paralyzes me. Clearing my throat, I question, "How do you know about me?"

Hunter lets his hand drop, and I miss his touch already. I shouldn't be lusting over this man whose family is out to kill me. For all I know, he could be lying, and he does have plans to hurt me.

"My granny told me about your grandmother. She would tell me all the stories of our families and how close we were. Then kids came along, and thankfully, I never had sisters, or they would have probably had a terrible life. Fortunately for your parents, their firstborn was a boy, but then they had you. A couple of days after you were born, my granny and your grandmother plotted to take you away. That, of course, made my parents furious because a deal was struck between families. They thought your parents had hidden you. My parents wouldn't listen. So that's where the rift began."

"I have a brother? Is he alive?"

Hunter nods, and I don't miss the solemn glint in his eyes.

My knees become weak, and I feel myself falling. I don't hit the floor as Hunter scoops me up and takes me back to the living room. Inhaling his woodsy scent somewhat calms me.

I wish he would tell me what he wants, but now I have so many more questions. I can't even begin to sort through everything poured over me like a bucket of ice-cold water tonight.

Hunter puts me down, slowly easing his arms away from me. Why does being here with him feel right but also very wrong? I should be running or hiding from this man, though I'm sure he'd probably find me again. He is no one to me. Yet, the way he talks to and comforts me, it's as if he's been in my life forever. Maybe the small connection between us is the fact that he saved my life, not ending it like he probably should have.

He moves gracefully and sits back on the couch beside me, then slowly turns. "Aelina, you have two brothers and two sisters."

My heart skips a beat, and my mouth hangs open. "What? Are they all part of the ‘family business,' as you would call it?"

Hunter's eyes become sad. "No. One of your brothers is alive, and the other was killed about a year ago. Your sisters got the same treatment as you. Put into hiding. Only your grandmother knows where they are. She gave them to families who couldn't have children and were no part of the life your parents chose."

I lean forward over the couch, my head falling into my hands. "This is too much. Why are you here now? What could I possibly do?"

My chest tightens. My breathing becomes heavy. Slowly, I breathe in through my nose and out my mouth. The last thing I need right now is to have a panic attack.

"Your brother, Nash, who was killed, was the oldest, which means he was basically running things alongside your father."

I lift my head and look at him. "Wait, stop. Are my parents alive?" Even I hear the hopeful plea in my words.

I'm not sure if having them alive is a good or bad thing.

"I believe your mother is, but no one has seen your father in a long time. I'm talking years."

"What's happened to my mother?"

"Nothing. She is in hiding, thanks to your grandmother. Your brother, Nash, was running things until..."

"He was killed." I finish his sentence for him. Hunter nods, a somber expression resting across his face.

It's amazing how my eyes have adjusted to such little light, and I can see him so clearly now.

I want to cry.

This is all too much.

Silence fills the room while I process the information overload I've received. As I think about it, something clicks. Running my fingers through my damp hair, I question, "So you're telling me that because my older brother has been killed, it's a chance for me to step in and take his place?"

"Yes." He leans back and folds his arms across his chest.

"And you're here because?" I leave the question hanging.

"I'm here to claim what's mine."