Chapter 45

45

Hunter

"You’re marrying him?" Cade asks.

"I haven’t answered him yet," Zara interjects at the same time.

"Right." Cade drags his fingers through his hair. "I guess I’d best let you two figure this out, but first…" He lowers his hand, and in a move I didn’t see coming, he steps up to me and grabs me by my collar. "You hurt her, and you’ll have me to contend with."

I curl my fingers into fists at my sides, more out of instinct than out of a need to avoid picking a fight with him again. Also, he’s her brother. Of course, it’s natural he’d threaten me. Especially, now that he realizes I’m not just a jealous boyfriend, but a potential husband.

"You hear me?" he growls.

"Crystal clear." I step forward so the toes of our boots collide. "You and I need to have a catch up, separately."

"No, you don’t." Zara jumps to her feet.

"You bet," Cade says at the same time.

"Bloody hell." Zara seems to sway, then sinks back down in her chair.

I twist myself out of Cade’s grasp and leap toward her. "Hey, Fire, you okay?" I squat down in front of her. "What’s wrong? Are you dizzy? Is it because of the stress from what happened? I’m sorry it came to that. I promise, I’ll never pick a fight again—not unless I absolutely have to." I take her hand between mine, and her fingers are cold.

"Fuck!” I turn to Cade. "Dr. Weston Kincaid—he’s on my phone list. Call him; tell him he needs to get here pronto.

"No doctor," Zara says weakly.

"Save your strength, baby." I pull out my phone, unlock it, and toss it at Cade. He snatches it out of the air, then steps out of the room.

"Stop with the histrionics." She scowls. Her voice is stronger, but her color is still pale.

"I will not make any compromises when it comes to your health."

"Do you have any idea how cavemanlike you sound?" she murmurs. Her expression is far from being angry though. If anything, there’s a softening around her eyes.

"I’m glad I’m living up to my reputation."

"Also,"—her brow furrows—"how do you have your phone with you?"

"How do you have yours with you?"

Her lips curve, and god, her smile is so beautiful, so bewitching, so everything. I bring her hand to my mouth and kiss her fingertips.

Her phone buzzes. She reaches for it, but I get to her bag first. I hold it up and out of her reach.

"Hey, gimme my phone."

"Not until the doc has checked you out and pronounced you okay."

"I really am okay, Hunter." She says softly.

"Let the doc give you a clean bill of health."

She looks between my eyes, then blows out a breath. "Fine, if he says I’m okay, then I walk out of here, on my own steam, and you don’t follow me."

"No fucking way. You came with me, and I’ll drop you back home."

"Let your chauffeur drop me off, but I’ll ride alone. After all the speculation that is, no doubt, circulating amongst the guests, it’s the least we can do to ensure no other gossip spreads."

"I don’t fucking care what people say."

"But I do. I care about your campaign. I want to see you elected, Hunter."

I set my jaw, then take in the expression on her features. They mirror the stubbornness that is my hallmark, and which I’m recognizing is also second nature to her. "You’re not budging on this, are you?"

"So, she’s okay then?" JJ leans over and tops up my glass of whiskey. When he offers the bottle to Sinclair, he refuses. As does Michael. Both men are not drinking for the duration that their wives are still nursing.

"She seemed fine when I dropped her home, but I don’t understand why she didn’t allow me to be in the room when the doctor examined her." I peer into the depths of my glass.

Cade had reached Weston, who’d turned up in the next ten minutes. At which point, Zara insisted I leave. I refused and she grew increasingly agitated. Weston pulled me aside and told me it was best to respect her wishes. I didn’t want her to get more stressed—her health is of paramount importance—so I removed myself from the room.

I paced outside for the half-hour it took for the doctor to complete the examination. Cade watched me with curiosity on his features, but he didn’t ask me any further questions about my relationship with his sister. Thank fuck. Meanwhile, her phone vibrated non-stop, as did mine. I refused to look at either of the screens. Truth is, I wasn’t able to focus on anything, until Weston finally came out of the room. He had a strange look on his face, and for a second, my stomach plummeted to my toes. Then he smiled and reassured me that she was fine. Maybe a little exhausted. Nothing that a good night’s sleep wouldn’t cure.

The tension drained out of my shoulders and I felt faint. Only then, did I realize how overwrought I’d been about her condition. Somewhat reassured, I thanked him and walked into the room to find her on her feet. Adamant woman insisted she was fine. She then told me I needed to tell my chauffeur to drop her home. I was having none of it.

No way, was I letting her be driven back on her own. Much to her consternation, I told her I was breaking my word and driving back with her. Cade supported me, and it was both of us against her, so she finally backed down.

I had the car come around to the back door so we could get in without any prying eyes. Then I took her to her apartment, insisted on seeing her up, and tucked her into bed. By then, she was so exhausted, she didn’t protest. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. I covered her up and placed her phone—after putting it on silent—next to her bed. I stayed there watching over her until the wee hours of this morning, then I came home and put in a full day's work, before arriving at the 7A Club. I walked into the private room which has become the unofficial meeting place for me and the rest of the Seven, as well as the Sovranos, and those known to us.

"You respected her privacy and left the room when the doctor examined her? I’m assuming you have eyes on her." Michael tips his chin in my direction.

"I’m running for office. I need to uphold the highest levels of ethics" —I glance between the faces of my friends— "but when it comes to her, there are no rules. I’ll do anything to ensure she’s safe. Even if it means protecting her from herself."

"So, you have eyes on her." Michael nods.

"On her phone, her laptop, in her house." And now, I’ll finally find out why she kept evading the investigator I had on her. Y-e-p, that’s me, wading out into the morally gray area.

While Zara slept, I called in Axel Sovrano and his security team. Axel is Michael’s younger brother. An ex-cop, he now runs an agency and can be counted on for discretion. I explained what I needed, and he obliged. His team moved in within the hour and put the security measures in place.

After the team left, I brewed a fresh pot of coffee for Zara, and left a plate of breakfast for her. Woman needs to eat to keep up her strength, after all. Only then, did I leave.

"You do realize, this doesn’t bode well for you? What you did is bound to come out, at some point. And when it does, she’s going to be pissed." Sinclair drums his fingers on the arm of his chair.

"That’s a bridge I’ll have to cross when I get to it."

"I understand why you did it, but don’t put off sharing what you did with her for too long. It’s best to come clean."

"Shouldn’t the leader to-be of this country keep his reputation clean at all costs?" A new voice announces.

I glance up, spot Cade at the door and groan. "The fuck you doing here?"

"I could ask the lot of you the same question." He glances about the table. The shiner around his eye is an interesting shade of purple. Not that I regret putting it there, in the first place.

Only, he’s Zara’s brother… Her twin…which means, I need to repair the relationship between us. That’s the only reason I jerk my chin in his direction. "Have the rest of you met Cade?"

JJ is the first to beckon him in. "Great last inning at Lord’s."

"Thanks." Cade walks over to JJ and holds out his hand. "Cade Kingston."

JJ shakes it. "JJ Kane."

"Sinclair Sterling."

"Michael Sovrano."

The men shake hands.

"Cade also happens to be Zara’s brother," I interject.

The men glance at him, then at me.

"Ah." JJ lights up his cigar. "I can see the resemblance. Why do the two of you have different surnames though?"

"I took my mother’s surname. Zara took my father’s." He raises a shoulder. "Family dynamics can be complex."

"Tell me about it," JJ says in a self-deprecating tone. I have no doubt he’s referring to the relationship between him and Lena, and his son. "These things have a way of working themselves out though," he offers.

"You haven’t met my family." Cade shakes his head. "Speaking of...how’s Zara?" He turns to me.

"She seemed fine, last I saw her." Which was through the camera app on my phone, which showed she was back at work in her office. She seemed fine, on the face of it, at least. Checking in on her, making sure she’s okay, now that I could see her with the swipe of the screen, is getting to be a dangerous addiction. At least, I’ve managed to curb myself from doing so since arriving at the Club.

"And the fallout from the V my name will be kept out of it completely. Not that I don’t trust Zara and her team to handle it, but if I can spare her the stress of finding any reference to the bout between Cade and me, then it could only be helpful for her, right?

"I assume that’s where the shiner is from?" Sinclair jerks his chin in Cade’s direction. I filled them in on what went down at the ball but left out the fact that Cade is Zara’s brother. Now, all three men dart me knowing looks. Yeah, so it was stupid of me to swing without thinking, and I’m loathe to apologize for it. Except, he’s Zara’s brother. So…

I square my shoulders, "If it’s any consolation, you got in a few good ones, too." I move my jaw from side to side.

"I should hope so." He flexes his fingers. The skin over his knuckles is raw.

"I owe you an apology." I hold out my hand.

He stares down at it, then at me. "This doesn’t change anything. Zara may come across as strong, but she’s fragile inside. She’s one hell of a survivor, and you don’t deserve her."

"In this, I am with you." I tilt my head.

His scowl deepens. "Hurt her, and I’ll break your jaw next time."

"If I hurt her, I won’t stop you," I concur.

He finally takes my hand. "For Zara’s sake," he mutters.

We shake, then both of us pull our hands back. That’s when my phone vibrates. I glance at the camera app, then rise to my feet.

"Good meeting you." I manage to infuse a note of sincerity in my voice, then turn to the others. "Later ol’ chaps."

I head out of the club, then direct my chauffeur to take me to her place. Twenty minutes later, I’m pressing the doorbell to her apartment.

I hear movement behind the door before it swings open. "You?"