What do you think, will Addy say yes?
[Addison][A FEW HOURS AGO]The handsome young man in the fine suit and sharp looking glasses, held out his hand. Looking over his shoulder at my guards, he signals that they stay near the entrance. "Boss's orders. This is a secure site."As he moves his arms, I see more tattoos peaking from beneath the edge of his sleeve. He may be dressed to the nines, but underneath his suit, I suspect he has the markings of my boyfriend's gang, the Westside Thorns, He must be another of Hunter's reformed recruits. If he works here, that means this building, whatever it is, is likely run by Hunter's gang.Is this really a safe place for me to be? Even though the rest of my security stays by the door, their arms crossed as they watch us walk away, Charley stays firmly by my side. "I know where I'm supposed to be," her lips are pressed. "I don't care how 'secure' this place is, I'm not leaving your side." "Thank you, Charley, for keeping me safe," I nod gratefully.Monica jogs ahead of us, her shoe
[Hunter]“Do you think she’ll like it,” kneeling next to Livy, I hold her close and show her the ring I just pulled from the vault. “It’s for Addy.” She blinks twice and then gives me the first smile I’ve seen since the fire. She’s gone back to her almost mute state, like before we met Addison. Her therapist says that with love and patience, her voice should return. “She experienced a great trauma with the loss of your home, it may take her some time to recover.” After the death of her parents, she has already seen more violence than any child ever should.I need to do better to rid her world of monsters like Debrassy and Arrowheart. No more children should suffer because evil like them seeks to take advantage of the weak and innocent. The streets out there are hard. I learned that the hard way. I was a stupid kid, stubborn, and I pushed my mother and father too hard. My father threatened to disown me, and so I saved him the trouble by running away. Being a stupid teenager, I thoug
[Addison]Breathe.I need to remember how to breathe. "It was just an engine backfiring," a member of my security detail announces. Slowly they released me from the tight huddle they had made around my body as a human shield. As Charley stands, I notice her Kevlar vest visible around the edges of her dress shirt and I'm grateful knowing that none of my guards were actually in serious danger."Have you stopped them at the intersection?" One of my guards speaks quietly into their earpiece. "Are their identities confirmed? Yes. Okay, let them go." He then turns to inform me that it was "Just a delivery car."My heart is racing. I'm glad that Livy wasn't here to see and hear this panic. She has been seeing a therapist twice a week to deal with the trauma from the day she was attacked. She saw me almost die and watched her favorite babysitter killed in front of her. She may never recover--just like I have never recovered from seeing my own parents die. Can I live like this? Should I take
[Addison]With a single statement, my world has been turned upside down. My professor, my mentor, was the one who saved my life all those years ago, hiding me away under a different name so that I might have a chance at survival. So many questions are swirling around in my head. He said my case was the reason he quit working for the NYPD, but how much of his life has he spent protecting me? “Does the executor of my grandmother’s estate know?” I think back to when I asked for my file–the names of the officers involved had been redacted, marked into non-existence with a thick black marker. “No,” he shakes his head. “The only people who knew, sadly, are dead, likely taken out by the same people who destroyed your family.” He smiles sadly. “Funny enough that you’d end up working for his son and starting a family with him.” “Michael?” My first thought goes to my ex-husband. “But his father was a plumber and…” McCannon shakes his head with an amused smirk. “Not him.”And then I remember
[Addison]Adam Wright smiles at me with his million-dollar popstar smile between the fullest, most sensual lips I’ve ever seen on a man, or anyone. He’s handsome in a pretty way, his auburn hair cut artfully and yet still professional, framing his warm amber eyes which kiss at the corners at a sharp angle to match his architectural cheekbones. Today he is wearing thin, wire-rimmed glasses which take away from his K-pop appearance, and the German that spills from his mouth reminds me he’s not only attractive, but world traveled and intelligent. “German isn’t one of my languages,” I apologize as I hold out my hand. “Mr. Wright, what brings you to Grant Group.” “CCRP has been handed a case that involves racketeering on a global financial scale. The legal team here at Grant Group have more of a specialization in corporate finance law specifically, and a much larger global reach. We were hoping to collaborate.” McCannon’s eyes sparkle as he looks up at me. Something has him amused. “And
[Addison]I’m wrapped in silk sheets, a warm body pressed into my back, when my eyes flutter open and I realize I am no longer in the courtroom. I’m home, in bed with my lover. But how did I get here? Everything after the moment that I heard the judge say that my son is going to go to Michael feels like a foggy dream.“You’re awake,” Hunter kisses the base of my neck as he snuggles in tighter, the heat of his body warming away my fears. “I was worried.” “How did we end up naked in bed,” I turn my head around, an eyebrow curved with amusement. “I carried you, of course. You passed out in the car,” he explains logically with a straight face. “And you’re naked because I wasn’t going to put you to bed wearing clothing. You’d be achy and sore if I did that.” “Is that so?” my lips curl and he smiles back at me. “Then why are you naked too and in bed with me? You didn’t take advantage of me did you?”“Never,” he kisses me gently and I melt into him, enjoying the sensation of his firm muscl