Chapter four.

“Hunter Callum?” Someone gasped from the crowd.

It couldn't be him right?

Maya stared at him through the flashing club lights, her tequila-soaked brain trying and failing to properly process what the hell was happening.

Then she frowned. “No.”

The man standing in front of her raised a brow slightly, chest still rising evenly like he hadn’t just nearly killed somebody moments ago.

“No?” he repeated.

“You are not Hunter Callum,” Maya informed him seriously.

Somewhere behind them, security was dragging Derek away while people continued shouting over the music. Phones were raised everywhere now. Recording. Filming. Probably livestreaming at this point.

Maya ignored all of it.

Mostly because she was too busy staring at the extremely attractive stranger standing in front of her.

Hunter Callum was supposed to exist on giant billboards and sports magazines Ethan kept scattered around the apartment.

Not standing this close to her in a club. Not with split knuckles and someone else’s blood across his hand.

Maya narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

“Hunter Callum looks bigger on television.”

One of his brows lifted slightly.

“Is that so?”

“Yes,” Maya nodded confidently despite swaying slightly where she stood. “So you can’t be him.”

Something almost like amusement flickered briefly across his face.

Then Maya noticed his hand. Her brows pulled together immediately.

“You’re bleeding.”

Hunter glanced down at his knuckles before looking back at her. “It’s nothing.”

“No,” Maya argued softly, reaching for his wrist before he could move it away. Her fingers wrapped clumsily around his hand as she squinted down at the faint blood smeared across his knuckles.

“That is definitely blood.”

The alcohol humming through her veins made concentrating difficult, but she still stared at his hand with genuine concern like this was somehow the biggest issue currently happening.

Behind them, Derek was still yelling at security while the entire club practically vibrated with noise.

Hunter barely reacted to any of it.

His attention stayed on the drunk woman holding his wrist.

“Maya!”

Jessie finally pushed through the crowd looking stressed enough to pass out.

Her eyes landed on Hunter. Then widened instantly.

“Oh my God.”

Maya sighed tiredly. “Why does everybody keep saying that?”

Jessie looked between them in complete horror while more phones lifted around the bar.

“Please tell me this isn’t what it looks like.”

“He punched Derek,” Maya informed her immediately.

“I can see that.”

“And now he’s bleeding,” Maya added, still holding Hunter’s wrist like she’d personally taken responsibility for it.

Jessie looked like she was physically fighting for her life trying to process the situation.

“Maya,” she whispered urgently, stepping closer. “Do you know who this is?”

Maya looked up at the man again. Then narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“He’s my stranger.”

Jessie blinked.

Hunter’s expression shifted slightly at that, something unreadable flickering briefly across his face before disappearing again.

“Maya,” Jessie tried again carefully, “that is Hunter Callum.”

“No,” Maya said immediately.

Then after another long look at him—Maya still had her doubts.

Before Jessie could respond, Maya stepped closer and suddenly wrapped both arms around his neck. She was standing on her tippy toes.

Jessie made a horrified choking sound.

Several people nearby immediately started yelling.

“No fucking way—”

“Bro are you recording this?!”

“Oh my God she’s ON him—”

Hunter went still beneath her arms.

Maya smiled lazily up at him, eyes slipping half closed for a second before reopening again.

“There,” she mumbled softly, sounding oddly satisfied with herself. “Now you can’t disappear.”

The warmth of him beneath her hands felt unfairly comforting. Solid and safe.

Everything around her still felt loud and blurry and spinning slightly, but him?

Him she could focus on.

Hunter looked down at her quietly while cameras flashed around them.

“Maya,” he said eventually, his voice calm. “Let go.”

She tightened her arms immediately.

“No.” She refused.

“You’re drunk.”

“You’re judging me.”

His hand settled carefully against her waist when she swayed again. Not in a possessive way—just steadying and grounding.

“You need to let go,” he tried again more gently this time, fingers attempting to loosen her grip carefully from around his neck.

Maya refused instantly, shaking her head against him.

“No. You’ll leave.”

Something in his expression shifted slightly at that.

It was enough for anyone else to notice. But it was just enough.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said quietly.

“You promise?”

For the first time since she’d met him, Hunter hesitated. But only just briefly. Then he leaned slightly closer so she could hear him beneath the screaming crowd and pounding music.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he murmured. “It seems I’ve been found.”

Maya stared at him for several long seconds like she was trying to decide whether he could actually be trusted.

Then finally, she nodded once against his shoulder.

“Okay.”

Except she still didn’t let go.

Jessie looked seconds away from a mental breakdown now as more people openly filmed them.

“Oh my God,” she muttered, rubbing both hands down her face. “This is absolutely ending up online.”

“It’s already online,” Hunter said dryly, glancing briefly toward someone very obviously livestreaming nearby.

Maya frowned toward the flashing phones around them.

“Why is everyone so loud?” she complained softly, her voice muffled slightly against his shoulder.

Hunter looked back down at her.

Then slowly, like he’d finally accepted there was no easier solution to this situation, he bent slightly and lifted her into his arms.

Maya blinked in visible surprise before instinctively curling closer against him.

The sudden movement made the world tilt unpleasantly for a second. She buried her face briefly against his shoulder with a quiet groan.

“Okay,” she mumbled reluctantly. “ My legs were starting to feel like jelly.”

Hunter adjusted his hold on her automatically, one arm secure beneath her knees while the other remained firm against her back.

Around them, the crowd practically exploded. Phones lifted higher. People shouted questions at him from every direction.

“HUNTER LOOK HERE!”

“ARE YOU GUYS TOGETHER?!”

“WHO IS SHE?!”

Hunter ignored every single one.

Jessie stared at him cautiously while following close beside him through the crowd.

“Are you seriously taking her with you?”

“She can barely stand and clearly doesn't want to let go”

“That is unfortunately true,” Jessie admitted with a defeated sigh.

She was already scrambling for a lie to tell Mrs Adams—Maya’s mother—about their whereabouts. The woman trusted her completely as Maya’s best friend, and somehow, that trust made her guilt worse.

She’d just say Maya had a few too many drinks and was spending the night at her place.

Outside, the cold Manhattan air hit them instantly. Black SUVs waited near the curb while security tried holding people back from crowding too close.

The shouting outside sounded even worse. Cameras flashed endlessly around them. People pushing forward trying to film. Trying to see.

Maya flinched slightly against him at the noise before tightening her hold around his neck again.

Hunter opened the back door just as his driver stepped out quickly.

“Careful,” the older man said automatically.

“I’ve got her.”

Hunter lowered Maya carefully into the backseat. The second he pulled away, her hand immediately caught the sleeve of his black shirt.

“You’re still staying,” she mumbled stubbornly.

His eyes dropped briefly to her hand gripping him.

Then his phone started vibrating.

Holiday Winters. His Agent 

Hunter stared at the screen for a second already knowing exactly what waited for him on the other end of that call.

Questions. Damage control. Several incoming headaches.

Outside the SUV, people were still filming through the windows while security struggled to push them back.

Hunter declined the call without answering.

Just not tonight.

Then he slid into the backseat beside her and pulled the door shut.

“Drive,” Hunter said simply.

The driver nodded before pulling away from the curb.

Maya barely noticed any of it. She was too busy staring at him.

Hunter loosened the collar of his black shirt slightly before leaning back against the leather seat beside her. His knuckles were still split faintly from the fight earlier, a thin streak of dried blood still visible across his hand.

Maya’s eyes stayed fixed on him.

“You stayed,” she murmured softly.

Hunter looked at her briefly. “I said I would.”

For some reason, that seemed to settle her completely.

The city lights slipped through the windows in blurred streaks of gold and white as the SUV moved through Manhattan traffic.

Maya still hadn’t let go of his sleeve.

Her fingers remained curled loosely against the fabric of his shirt while she looked up at him with heavy-lidded eyes.

Not because she fully understood who he was or because she cared about the chaos outside.

Right now, all her tequila-soaked brain seemed capable of understanding was that he was warm, steady and unfairly attractive.

Hunter could feel her staring.

When he glanced back at her again, Maya was already looking at him like she was trying to memorize his face.

It should’ve made him uncomfortable. Instead, something about it felt strangely dangerous.

Maya shifted slightly closer without thinking. Her gaze dropped briefly to his mouth.

Then back to his eyes.

Hunter saw the exact moment the impulsive thought crossed her mind.

“Maya—”

She kissed him before he could finish.

It wasn’t graceful or careful. It was soft and impulsive and slightly clumsy from the alcohol still lingering on her tongue.

Hunter went completely still.

For half a second, the entire world outside the SUV seemed to disappear.

No headlines waiting to happen, no consequences.

Just her.

Then his hand tightened against her waist before he pulled back first.

Then it hit him instantly. This was a mistake..

Maya blinked at him slowly, her brows pulling together slightly like she didn’t understand why he’d moved away.

Then she said softly—

 “You taste nice.”