The room erupted in a cheer as he led me by the arm through the crowd, drink in my hand. With the quiet exception of the redhead behind the bar, there wasn’t a dissenting voice in the entire bar.
His word was law.
If I was his guest, I was welcomed here.
He thinks that I’m the one full of surprises… but what the hell happened? The Hunter I remember was a young upstart in an established motorcycle club… Now he’s calling the shots.
Hunter and I stepped outside into the brisk El Paso night, and the merriment quieted as the bar door closed. While I took a swig, I glanced over at the unmarked Crown Vic wishing it was a bit more inconspicuous. Maybe I’d get it some old lady hub caps to hide the exposed steel wheels…
“Can we go somewhere more private?” I asked.
“I was thinking my place, once you’re done with that,” Hunter grinned. “The club’s going to want answers soon on why there’s a member of the force in our midst… they’re nice and liquored up tonight. Hopefully not too liquored up, since we’re always on call for a job… But there’ll be questions in the morning. Lots of questions.”
I nodded, kicking back another swig. The whiskey sour certainly didn’t taste like it had been desecrated, and for that, I was thankful.
“I have questions too,” I replied. “I’m not here for pleasure… there’s some business to attend to.”
“Well, Detective…” Hunter chuckled, taking a step towards me. I could practically feel the same youthful, hungry energy crackling between us… just as it had eight years ago. “Finish up your drink and follow me. I’m not far from here…”
I glanced down at the whiskey sour.
“Are you asking me to drink and drive?”
He smiled mischievously. “Last I checked, you weren’t the kind of girl who got tipsy on a couple sips. I’ve seen you drink three hundred pound bikers under the table… I’m asking you to accept my hospitality. It beats the hell out of sticking around here, especially with my bartender’s… fragile sentiments towards you.”
I realized that I hadn’t paid for the drink, and turned back towards the door. With the motion, my gaze turned inside, and I could spot the bartender glaring at us over the drinks she was pouring.
“Don’t worry,” he murmured, his hand grasping my arm. “It’s on the house, remember? Just finish that up and let’s hit the road. I’m not far…”
7
While riding his steel, rumbling hog, Hunter led me a couple of miles away to his place – a small, single-story house off of a dirt road.
Flicking lights on as we entered, he directed me towards the den. “Coffee? Or another drink?”
“You pick,” I smirked. “It’s going to be a long night.”
“Well aren’t you optimistic,” Hunter noted coyly. “Give me a minute. Make yourself at home.”
I did as suggested, sitting down on the single sofa in the room. It brought back memories of that receded sofa in the strip club floor, and I wondered if he thought of that last night together every time that he sat here.
The wafting smell of fresh coffee came into the room, and I felt a little invigorated. Oh good, he’s behaving…
However, I knew Hunter. That’s why I wasn’t surprised when he came in with a pair of double-shot whiskey neats instead, impishly handing me one without a word.
“You just like the roasted coffee bean aroma for ambience, right?”
Hunter laughed. “Something like that.”
My former lover pulled the coffee table in the room closer, propping up his boots on it as he took a swing of the drink.
I followed his lead, watching how effortlessly he slid into this role. The last second that I’d seen him, he had looked like I’d ripped his heart to shreds… and then he’d ducked out of that window and out of my life. For all he’d known, the police could have been right on his tail…
If any of that was on the mind of this cool, confident man beside me, then he didn’t show an ounce of it. There was a scarily comfortable air between us, as if the pains of the last eight years had been nothing but a bad dream.
Worse than that, he knew it. His gaze fell upon me, transparently telling me that he could sense my apprehension and my fear…
“Well now, Detective…” he began, setting the drink down on the surface in front. “Let’s get business out of the way. What brings you out to El Paso?”
I blinked in confusion.
It hadn’t really occurred to me that he’d go straight for that. All these questions, all these concerns about the time we’d spent apart…