my mind when Brent was trying to remove me from Countryscape. Where the hell was he going to take me? What was he going to do?
Becker wastes no time getting us on our way again, and as soon as we reach his car, he opens the door and tries to push me down into the seat. ‘Lucy and Mark,’ I remind him, trying to spot my friends. ‘We can’t just leave them.’
Becker looks back, just as they appear out of the doors of Countryscape. He turns back towards me. ‘What happened?’ he asks, reaching up to take off his glasses and rubbing at his eyes before opening them.
‘I don’t know,’ I admit. ‘One minute I was happily listening to the story behind the Heart of Hell, and the next minute the lights went out and someone grabbed me.’
Becker’s nostrils flare dangerously, and he glances to the side when we’re joined by Mark and Lucy. ‘What’s going on?’ Lucy asks.
‘Nothing,’ Becker and I both answer in unison.
‘Get in,’ Becker says, opening the back door. ‘We’ll be two secs.’ He pulls me away from the car, putting distance between us and my friends. His anger has faded, but his concern is all too evident. ‘You sure you’re okay?’
‘Yes,’ I assure him, seeing the stress and worry on his face. ‘Why did he do that? What was he planning on doing, kidnapping me and demanding a one-hundred-and-fifty-million-pound ransom?’ I joke, laughing, trying to ease Becker up a bit. But I stop the moment I realise he isn’t joining me in my amusement. ‘Why aren’t you laughing?’ It’s a rhetorical question. I know why, and it scares the shit out of me. The Hunt Legacy isn’t a story any more. It’s my reality. ‘You don’t think he’d—’
‘He’s his father’s son.’ The regret pouring from Becker makes me worry for different reasons – reasons other than Brent using me against Becker in some way. I can see clear as day what Becker is thinking. He’s thinking how he regrets putting me at risk, for bringing me into his world.
‘Don’t you say it,’ I warn, stepping back, reading his mind too clearly. ‘Don’t you dare, Becker Hunt.’
‘This is why I’m better off alone, Eleanor.’
‘Shhhh!’ I slam my finger over my lips, my sexy shush not so sexy, more psychotic. I’m shaking my head, too, giving myself a headache. ‘No,’ I affirm.
His eyes drop to the gravel, and his head goes limp, his chin hitting his chest. ‘Fucking hell,’ he curses quietly. Then his arm comes out and he points to the car, keeping his eyes down. ‘Get in.’
I do as I’m told immediately, afraid to push his buttons. I’m not stupid. As I slip into the car and get comfortable, I reluctantly accept that Brent isn’t going to let go. And I accept that despite grasping the gravity of it all, I’ve underestimated Becker’s enemy. How could I have been so stupid?
I get the feeling that the war has only just begun.
Chapter 35
Back at The Haven after dropping Lucy and Mark home, the need for safety and security is once again dominating me as Becker collects me from the car. ‘I need to check on Gramps,’ he says, turning a kiss onto my forehead. ‘See you upstairs?’
‘I’ll be in the kitchen,’ I tell him. ‘I need some water.’
‘Okay.’ He heads for his granddad’s suite and I make my way to the kitchen.
As soon as I open the door, I’m ambushed by a very excitable Winston. ‘You should be asleep,’ I say, indulging his demand for attention for a few moments before throwing my purse onto the worktop and making my way to the fridge to get some water. But Winston’s high-pitched whine pulls me to a stop, and I glance back to see him circling by the kitchen door. ‘You need a wee?’ I ask, as he continues chasing his tail. Desperately, by the looks of things. I kick my shoes off and rush for the door, hearing my phone ringing as I do. ‘Damn.’ I divert quickly and grab it from my purse, before I make my way to the courtyard, seeing Lucy’s number on the screen. ‘Hey,’ I say as I weave through the Grand Hall.
‘Eleanor’, Lucy says, sounding urgent.
‘Everything okay?’ I carry on my way when Winston starts with the circling again. Pushing the doors into the courtyard open, I’m immediately hit with the cold night-time air. I shiver and Winston bolts past my legs, his nose hitting the floor in search of