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“Are you falling for me, sweet cheeks?” I send her a smirk that she shoots down in flames.
“Don’t pull that cocky, jokester bullshit on me, Decker. I know what it’s like. And I’m here if you ever need to talk.”
“You mean for now,” I chuckle, “in the short space of time before Hunt kills me.”
She winces. “He’ll calm down. Eventually.”
“I doubt it. I stabbed him in the back. I know him well enough to realize there’s no way back from being his enemy.”
“Obviously, you don’t know him at all. Because being the informant isn’t the reason he wants to gut you like a fish.” She grabs her glass and takes another sip. “You’re not even close to understanding him, Deck.”
“Okay. I’ll bite.” I walk to the fridge and grab myself an apple from the crisper. “What am I missing here?”
“He’s pissed off because you kept him in the dark. You pretended to be his friend and made him look like a fool.”
“I don’t think we’re talking about the same guy. This is Hunter. The son of a bitch who gives no fucks about anyone or anything, except his pride and his fealty to the all-mighty Torian.”
“That’s a little harsh.”
“Tell that to the eyeballs he tried to gouge yesterday.”
She presses her lips tight, but her humor seeps through in the curving edges of her mouth. “How many people do you think he has in his life?”
“I don’t know. He knows everyone.”
“Yes, he knows everyone. That’s his job. But he doesn’t have anyone. Not apart from you and me. We’re all he’s got. And in one surprise revelation, you halved his support network.” Her face turns somber. “Despite the weird testosterone-fueled, we-have-to-act-like-schoolyard-thugs thing you two have going on, he fucking adores you.”
“Adores?” I drawl. “That sounds delightfully charming.”
She glowers and points a finger at her chest. “My words. Not his.”
I grin, because drilling down to the seriousness of this conversation isn’t something I’m comfortable with. “You should’ve seen how much he adored me yesterday when he had a barrel between my eyes. That shit was affectionate as hell. I really felt the love.”
“You mean when he warned you about being uncovered, then let you get away?”
“Oh, no, Sare bear.” He came prepared to kill me. He was on a mission to seek revenge for his almighty leader. He chose money over friendship. “Despite what he might have told you, he didn’t let me get away at all. I had to beat the fuck out of his ogre ass. And that shit ain’t easy.”
She raises a brow, her condescending look making me feel like I’m simple. “He let you get away, Decker. I’m pretty sure, deep down, you know that more than I do.”