Moments of Malevolence (The Hunters Book 1)

“WHO WAS THAT?” I finally ask. I’ve been quiet for most of the car ride here. Contemplating how I can get out of this situation.

“He’s a doctor.”

“Why didn’t you take me to the hospital?”

“Do you want to report the stabbing? Because they would have made you.” I absorb his words. “Or would you rather I deal with it?”

“You deal with it?” I ask, confused.

“Yes, I can deal with it.”

“How?”

He pulls up to his house. “Any which way you please.”

“What if I asked you to leave it alone?”

He gets out of the car, comes around to my side, then opens the car door and stares down at me. “You don’t want her to suffer after what she’s done to you?”

“Do you?” I take his offered hand and wince when I stand, my hand instantly going to my stomach.

“Yes, very much so.” His jaw is set, and his brows are furrowed.

“It’s not you who was stabbed.”

“I’ve been stabbed before,” he says.

“What did you do to that person?”

“Well, the first time, I gave him a black eye…” He smirks. “It was Kyson.” My brows shoot up at that bit of information. “The second… I killed.” He shrugs like it’s nothing. “He obviously was not my brother and did not get a pass.”

I pause in the doorway.

“I’m not sleeping with you,” I declare.

“I’ll take the couch.” He nods to the house for me to enter. When we’re both safely inside he locks the door. I like his house, even though it’s so minimalist. I know he spends a lot of time here. It smells like him, and despite my wanting to hate that as well, it somehow comforts me.

“I’m only staying tonight,” I warn.

“No, you will stay a minimum of two nights. I need to change the dressing.” I clench my jaw, but he ignores it and opens the door to his bedroom. “The sheets are fresh, and I’ll get you something to sleep in.” He opens a drawer and pulls out a black shirt, then passes it to me. “I can go and buy you fresh underwear if you prefer.”

“I’ll wear yours.” He nods again, a smile teasing his lips as if he’s happy with that answer and comes back holding a black pair of briefs. “You can leave now. I need to change.” I nod to the door.

“And how do you expect to lift that tight shirt over your head?” he asks, eyeing the piece of clothing in question.

I turn around and give him my back. “Cut it off of me,” I order. “It’s not like I plan to wear it ever again.”

His phone starts ringing loudly, and he takes it out of his pocket and places it on speaker before throwing it on his bed. “What?”

“Is she okay?” I hear the voice and know who it is straight away.

“Hey, Louise,” I answer.

“Oh God, I feel so stupid. I was talking to you, and you were stabbed, and it didn’t even register, Alaska. Shit, are you okay?”

“How did you get this number?” I ask, but she doesn’t answer, Zuko does.

“I gave it to her so she can check on you.” Something inside of me swells at the thought. I’ve never really had anyone care for me before. No one to look after me the way Zuko is. My appendix burst once, and they asked me who to put as my next of kin. I had no one. Now, I have two people. Both are forced, I think—one I plan to set his house on fire, and the other gives unwanted cuddles.

“Do you need anything? I can see you tomorrow,” she offers.

“I need everything, and he won’t let me go home,” I complain as I hear a ripping sound. Zuko tears my shirt in half up my back and then moves around to face me as he removes the remnants of my shirt until I’m left standing in front of him in my bra.

“Okay, well, I’ll call back in the morning to see what you want me to get for you. Get some rest. And I’m glad you are doing okay.” She doesn’t hang up after she speaks. I wait and glance at the phone, and after a few silent moments, she finally mumbles, “Who did it?”

“I’ll tell you tomorrow,” I reply.

Zuko reaches for the phone and hangs up on her before he comes to stand in front of me. “Sit.”

I glance at his bed and do as he says.

He gets down on his knees and pulls off my boots one by one, followed by my socks. Standing, he places them at the door and comes back to me. “Sleep with the bra on or off?”

I reach for the clip, which just so happens to be at the front, and undo it. My tits fall free, but I don’t care. Zuko’s eyes lock on my chest before he reaches for his shirt and starts dressing me.

“Have you ever cared for anyone in your life?” I ask, just as he slides my arm through one of the holes carefully. He does the same with the other arm, not answering me until he pulls the sheets back on the bed.

“No.” He motions for me to crawl in, but I don’t move. “Am I doing okay?” he asks, unsure, and my heart skips a beat at his vulnerability. It’s the first sign of this type of emotion that I have seen from him.

I’m far from the sappiest person. I have an exterior shell that is almost impossible to crack.

“We shall see.” I grin as I lie back.

He leaves the room for a few minutes, then comes back with a glass of water and the pain medication the doc gave me and places it on the nightstand My eyes become heavy, but they follow him as he walks out and shuts the door behind him, taking my dirty clothes with him.

I wake up in pain.

In agony.

Every time I attempt to move, a bolt of torture shoots through me. Tears prick my eyes, and I don’t know where my phone is to call Zuko. Actually, I don’t even know if anyone grabbed it. Sighing, my head falls deeper into the pillow. I want to lie on my side. My body tries to go that way, with or without my consent, and sweat dots my forehead. I lie still for a while knowing it wasn’t the pain that woke me and then it all comes flooding back. the

Stupid fucking nightmares.

The door opens slightly, and when I turn my head, Zuko is standing there.

“You screamed,” he says. Huh, I thought I did that in my head. “Figured it was a nightmare,” he adds.

“It was.” I move wrong and yelp at the pain. He is at my bedside in three long strides. Scooping up the pills and holding the glass of water out to me.

“Painkillers. Take them.”

I shake my head. “I usually don’t sleep with painkillers but those look like they can knock a bear out. I don’t want to go back to sleep.”

“Scared of the nightmares?”

I pick at the imaginary lint on the covers.

“I…” He rounds the bed and sits on it. He doesn’t get under the blanket next to me. Instead, he stays on top of it and turns to face me.

“What do you need?” he asks quietly.

“I don’t know.” He reaches out and touches my arm. tickling the skin softly as he strokes his fingers up and down. The feel of him doing that makes me smile.

“Why won’t you let me deal with her?” he asks. I turn my head to face him, not moving any other part of my body. His hand maintains its gentle strokes, which are oddly comforting.

What is he doing? I feel my body relax. Or perhaps it’s the pain medication. Who knows.

“Because you don’t get that right,” I reply.

“What do you plan to do to her?”

I turn back and stare up at the ceiling. “Maybe I should stab her too. See how she likes it,” I mumble. “Or maybe I will just beat the living fucking shit out of her.”

“I think both options are great,” he says, with a hint of laughter in his voice. “Though I personally would go with the first.” I turn to him and see a small smirk gracing his lips.

“You and your stupid knife.”

“Your pussy says otherwise.”

“I am still gonna burn your house down, you know. You didn’t listen to me.”

“Aren’t you glad I didn’t? Where would you be now?” he playfully fires back.

“In a hospital.” I cover my mouth as I yawn.

“Yeah, but they wouldn’t be able to help with your nightmares and lack of sleep.”

“I’m sure there are drugs for that now,” I say, knowing full well l wouldn’t take them.

“Yeah, there probably are.” He runs a fingertip over my cheek before saying my name. “Alaska…”

“Hmm…”

“I don’t plan to let you go.”

“I’m not yours to keep,” I remind him.

“I know that, but you could be.”

“Could you survive off not almost killing me every time you want to fuck?” I ask him seriously.

“Yes.” His answer is immediate, and in some ways, that shocks me.

“I doubt that very much.” My eyes start to become heavier and heavier.

“I would, for you. But the thing is…you can’t accept how much you actually like it.”

I don’t respond to that.

Because my eyes close and I’m out.