1. Greedy

Chapter 1

Greedy

now

Red orbs cloud my periphery as I home in on the overdressed asshat standing in the doorway. He's pretty and polished in a way that screams money, exuding arrogance and privilege.

It's not just his smug expression and ridiculous suit that have me gritting my molars.

The words are what really send me for a loop. A cutting jab at Hunter—which would bother me on principle alone—along with a confession woven in his hurtful words leave me reeling.

With my heart in my throat, I turn to Hunter, searching.

Searching. Seeking. Silently praying that it's not true.

It can't be.

She wasn't pregnant. She wouldn't keep something like that from me.

Except…

My stomach rolls.

The truth is written plainly on her face. The panic emanating off her further confirms the confession from her—what? European lover ?

Fisting my hands at my sides, I narrow my eyes, willing her to look at me.

She's fuming at Sir Kabir What's-His-Ass, shaking her head slowly. Every few seconds, her attention drifts to Levi, who looks exceptionally uncomfortable, but also at the ready to come to her aid.

"Hunter."

She hears me. I know she fucking hears me. Her eyes shutter closed, her lashes trembling in a way that tells me she's fighting back tears.

Fucking hell.

I still need her to say it. I need to hear it.

More than that, I'm desperate for the truth.

"Hunter." I suppress the urge to claw at the hidden tattoo on my skull as I wait for her to finally acknowledge me. I settle for scratching the back of my neck as I step directly in front of her.

Her eyes open, then immediately widen in surprise.

When our gazes lock, a million lifetimes flash through my mind.

A million scenarios.

A million ways I wish it could be different.

She closes her eyes again, shutting me out like she always does.

I tip her chin up with two fingers. She startles, and her eyes fly open.

Choking back the venom churning in my gut, I lean close and focus on keeping my voice soft as I force the words out. "Where is our child, Hunter?"

A gasp escapes her, and tears track down her cheeks.

A set of perfectly manicured fingers encircle my wrist, and a flashy gold ring glints in the light. Then my hand is being peeled off Hunter with more force than necessary.

"She miscarried, you insensitive wanker. You don't have a child."

The world around me goes dark and hazy, and a sharp pain radiates through my knuckles.

"Greedy!" Hunter screams. She flies toward me.

I still haven't fully processed what I'm doing when I wind back and prepare to hit Sir Wanker What's-His-Ass again .

"Greedy, no!" Hunter shouts, clutching my forearm.

A second set of hands grasps my other arm, and then I'm pulled off the man I'm fully prepared to beat the shit out of.

I shift, fighting Levi's hold. But he's too strong, and I won't risk hurting him or Hunter just to get another hit on our British Invasion, so my efforts are halfhearted.

Once they've put some space between the two of us, they release me. Clawing at my head, I stare up at the cloudless blue sky and take a long breath in, then let it out slowly.

I force myself to take two more deep breaths before I right myself. Instantly, I wish I hadn't. Hunter's hands are all over Kabir.

My blood, which has just cooled to a simmer, heats again. She doesn't get to get away with this. "When?"

She's silent—they all are—as I search her expression, desperate for answers.

"Come on, man," Levi insists. "Let's go inside. Give them some space. Cool off." He smooths one hand down my forearm and grasps my wrist.

With a scoff, I recoil.

Space.

All I've done for the last three-plus years is give her fucking space.

Where has it gotten me? To what fucking end?

"Answer me, Tem," I grit out, shaking.

Beside me, Levi sighs, garnering my attention. I shoot him a glare, but the look on his face is like a punch to the gut. Though his expression is filled with hurt, there's pity there, too. What's missing? Shock. There isn't a single iota of surprise…

"Hunter!" I bark.

She freezes, but she still won't look at me.

"Come on, G," Levi pleads, his voice rough. "Give her a minute."

I turn to him, fists balled and blood pounding in my ears. "Why aren't you more surprised? "

He averts his gaze, glancing at Hunter, then settling his focus on the ground where his bare feet are planted wide on the stamped concrete pathway.

"Did you—"

My heart cracks in two, and my throat closes up, leaving the sentiment hanging between us. He couldn't have known. If I had no idea, then he couldn't possibly have—

"I only knew because I was with her at the hospital when she found out."

The confession is mumbled to the ground, yet the weight of it slams into me like a 270-pound linebacker.

My knees hit the grass, pain ricocheting up my thighs as I sink back on my heels. Memories flood my brain. Regret churns my gut. A wave of devastation swamps me.

She kept it from me.

He knew.

Then she left.

She was gone.

He was gone.

Back then, he knew. He left me anyway. He never told me.

"Greedy," Hunter whispers, crouching in front of me.

Bile burns up my throat, but I ask the question anyway. "You were pregnant with our baby?"

With her lip caught between her teeth and tears still streaming down both cheeks, she nods.

The misery I've existed in for the last three years transforms into bitter betrayal. From heartache to fucking anguish.

I plop back on my ass, crossing my legs and tenting my elbows on my knees. The dew still clinging to the grass glistens along the edge of the pathway. The smell of cold and changing seasons blends with the sweetness of Hunter's strawberry-scented shampoo.

Breathe . I have to remind myself to inhale, then exhale again. The task feels so unnatural I want to scream.

In front of me, Hunter worries her lip. She keeps looking from me to Levi, then back to Kabir, as if she's waiting for one of them to swoop in and save her.

Except this is her doing. This was her lie. It was my life—my fucking future. She owes me the truth, and we both know it.

She has to say it. She owes me that much.

"Levi knew?" The words are jagged, like broken glass, as I force them out.

Her eyes shutter closed. She sinks to her knees, wincing when her bare skin scrapes against the pavement, and reaches for my arm.

I flinch, pulling quickly out of her hold.

"Levi knew," I grit, tugging on my hair. "Sir What's-His-Ass knew. You decided what, Hunter? They were worthy enough to know, but I wasn't?"

Pain lances through me, the cut of it so sharp it takes my breath away.

"It wasn't like that, Greedy. I found out the—"

"I don't want to hear it!" I hop to my feet and press my fists against my skull. "There's nothing you could say. There's no fucking excuse. You chose not to tell me, Hunter. You chose to cut me out.

"I thought your disappearance was the worst thing that ever happened to me. But this? It's so much worse."

"Greedy," she pleads, rising to her knees like she's going to get up. To follow me. To chase me for once.

An hour ago?

That's all I fucking wanted.

But now…

"You made your choice, Hunter."

"Come on, G—" Levi pipes up.

"No!" I scream, pointing at him. He betrayed me, too. He's right up there with Hunter at the top of my shit list.

He looks absolutely wrecked, his face drawn and his dark-blue eyes filled with anguish as he looks from me to Hunter and back again.

"You made a choice, too," I whisper to the ground between us .

He could have told me. Urged me not to give up on getting through to her. Given me some fucking indication of what she was going through. Alone .

Knowing what he did, how could he let her go?

Why did she seek his comfort and solace, but not mine?

Heart shattered, I back up a few steps and take in the scene.

Kabir is off the side of the pathway, rubbing at his jaw like a fucking pussy.

Levi's hovering near Hunter, desperately looking from her to me, his expression full of uncertainty and fear.

Hunter is on her fucking knees. Defeated. Out of defenses.

Three fucking years .

For three years, she ran. For months, she's rejected me over and over. She's ignored me. Pushed me away and held me at arm's length.

For what? So she could continue to hold on to a secret that wasn't hers to keep?

She had no right to keep it from me—to flee the fucking country and leave me behind.

That wasn't just her baby. She wasn't the only one who experienced a loss. She couldn't even give me that heartache.

"You made your choices," I say, regarding Levi, then Hunter. "Now it's my turn. And I'm choosing to walk away."