Probably wanted to pick up where he’d left off last night. Hunter would have to set him straight or kill him.
“I’ll take care of it.”
“Stop! I don’t want you to take care of anything.”
Hunter swallowed against sudden fury, his voice very low. “You’re my wife. You’re not going to f**k him again.”
She gasped. “You thought . . . oh, that’s just f**king perfect. Why the hell do you want to be married to me if you think I’m going to step out on you the minute you turn your back?”
It was a fair question, and Hunter grappled for a fair answer. “I don’t know what your feelings for him are. And I know that a piece of paper between us probably wouldn’t make a damn bit of difference to him. But let me be clear: It means something to me.”
“He’s a friend and he’s been convenient, yeah. But he’s not jealous, just pissed that I won’t have sex with him anymore. I couldn’t stay and listen to him rant. It was making my head hurt like a bitch.”
Hunter repressed a smile. Poor baby was hungover. It pleased him even more that she didn’t want to be intimate with Ben.
“Understood. Sorry if I upset you. No insult intended.” He gripped the phone tighter. “Tell me where you are, honey. I’ll come to you, and we’ll have a thorough conversation. I don’t want to change your life; I just want to be a part of it.”
“You change everything just by being you, the same way Gordon does.” Her voice wobbled with tears, and she sniffed. “Ugh, I need to shut up.”
Who the hell was Gordon? “Give us a chance to work this out. Are you with your sister?”
She laughed through her tears. “You think I’d go near two rambunctious boys when my head is throbbing like a broken toe? Or sign up for the lecture from hell? No way. I came to my office. It’s almost empty on Sunday.”
“Street address?”
Kata paused a long time, and Hunter bet she was weighing the intelligence of giving him an inch versus the sheer futility of running. In the end, she sighed. “You win.”
He memorized the address as she rattled it off.
“I’ll be there in two hours.”
“You know this marriage thing is a train wreck waiting to happen?”
He laughed. “Or the adventure of our lives.”
“Well, I—”
Suddenly, he heard a blast on the other end of the line. It was unmistakably gunfire.
Kata screamed. Then the line went dead.
Chapter Six
HUNTER knew his fingers shook as he dialed Kata again. Four rings, then voice mail. The result didn’t change when he tried once more.
Who the hell would be shooting inside her office building? He couldn’t let himself think that she couldn’t answer the phone because something terrible had happened.
Pushing down his fear, he fell back on his training. Stuck on a f**king plane, he could only reach out for help. And he had to do it before the plane pushed away from the gate and the flight attendants forced him to turn off his cell phone.
He didn’t hesitate to hit one of the numbers on his speed dial. Thankfully, Deke had elected to move to Lafayette, closer to work and his cousin Luc, a few months back. His brother-in-law answered right away. “Hey, Hunter.”
“I have a situation. There’s a female probation officer, Kata Muñoz, who’s been either shot or shot at.” He rattled off the address. “She’s had some run-ins with a local gangster who’s been threatening her. Get to her, man. Now. I’ll be there as soon as I get off this damn plane.”
Deke could have asked a lot of questions and probably would later, but the soldier in him responded to the urgency of Hunter’s tone. “Done. I’ll text you.”
“Sir, you have to turn off your phone.” The flight attendant hovering in the aisle scowled.
“Thanks, Deke.” He ended the call, moving restlessly in his seat, praying like hell that help wouldn’t be too late for Kata.