“Yes.” He gave me a squeeze. “We got a location. The boys are moving in now. Should get a call soon.”
I pulled back, stared up at him. “You didn’t go.”
“We decided it wasn’t a good idea for me to be there when they found your stepfather.”
He didn’t need to say why. It was written all over his face. He also wasn’t happy about it.
Hunter lifted me off the counter and carried me back to bed.
I woke several hours later to the sound of his voice. He was sitting up, back to me, phone to his ear.
“Yeah.” He listened to whoever was talking, back and shoulders stiff. “Leave it with me. I’ll talk to Tomas.” Then he ended the call.
I moved in behind him, coming up on my knees, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. My heart was pounding like crazy. “Was that Van?”
“Yeah.” He grabbed my arm, dragged me around to his front, and lay back on the bed.
“Did they find him?”
He held my stare. “What was left of him.”
Everything bunched, tightened inside me. “What?”
“Tomas called before our boys could track Pierce down. His men found a body. Fucked up so bad they didn’t know it was him at first.”
My heart was pounding. “Maybe it wasn’t?”
“He was wearing a ring. A wide gold band, square sapphire. There was an inscription on it from your mother.”
His wedding ring.
He’d chosen it himself. It was gaudy and tasteless, but he always wore it. Not because of his love for my mother, but because he thought it made him look like he had money.
An avalanche of emotion washed over me. But the one hitting me hardest in that moment was relief. I sagged against Hunter, my limbs suddenly weak. He was dead. That sick, sadistic bastard was finally out of our lives forever.
It might make me a bad person, but I didn’t care. Pierce had hurt me. I wasn’t naïve enough to think I was the only person he’d done something like that to. Only those people hadn’t had their own superhero to protect them like I did. A far as I was concerned, he’d more than deserved whatever he got.
I remembered what Hunter said on the phone. “What are they going to do?”
“Pierce’s body was found in Tomas’s territory. After Neco checked out the body and identified the ring, Tomas disposed of it.”
“No police?”
Hunter shook his head. “Tomas doesn’t want the cops sniffing around. He cleans his own house. If Neco had tried to call them in, shit would have gotten ugly.”
I lay my head on his chest. I understood how it worked. I didn’t like it, but I understood.
His hand smoothed over my hip, digging into my waist, holding me close. “You okay?”
I nodded and lifted my head, heart banging like crazy. “So we’re finally safe?”
He threaded his fingers in my hair at my nape, making me lift my head to look at him. “Yeah, babe.”
“No more bodyguard twenty-four hours a day?”
He shook his head.
“So, we can just . . . be us, a normal couple?”
“We can be a normal couple.”
I smiled so wide my cheeks ached. The weight that I’d been carrying around, the fear, lifted, and I felt . . . lighter. I stared down at him. “So you can take me out on dates and stuff?”
“Dates?” His lips tilted up and he sounded amused.
I loved that sound in his voice. “Yes, dates.”
“Babe, we live together.”
“So?”
“So dates are for guys trying to get a woman in their bed. I’ve already got you here.”
I scowled at him. “You did not just say that.”
“I don’t need to do the spade work.” He slapped my butt. “This ass is already mine.”
I gave him a shove. “You jerk!” I tried to get up, halfheartedly, but he yanked me in close and rolled me to my back. His body covered me, thigh shoved between my legs. I slapped his shoulders, and then I heard it, felt it. He was laughing. I narrowed my eyes, faking outrage, when I felt anything but. In fact, I was damn near giddy, and I could see Hunter was right there with me. He was relieved; we both were. Pierce was out of our lives in a way that was permanent. We were finally safe. “What’s so damn funny?” I said, keeping up my front.
“I love getting you all riled up. You’re cute when you’re pissed.”
“Cute?” I squawked.
He grinned down at me, eyes glittering. “You want me to take you out? I’ll take you out.”
It had been so long since he’d cracked a joke or even teased me. I loved it. “You’re damn right I want you to take me out.”
He grinned some more. “I’ll see if Van can look after Josh tonight.”