Secret: A Military Stepbrother Romance (37 page)

And I fucking hate it.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

“What is it about backstage areas that gets me so hard for you?”

I smirk, feeling Hunter’s lips against my ear as we wait in the wings of the auditorium stage for my mother’s final address to the audience. That’s why we’re here, to trot out after she’s done wowing them to wave and bring it all home.

At this point, I get it. I
get
the pageantry of it all, and I understand that this is all part of the wildly stressful job my mother willingly does every day. So what, I have to smile on stage here and there for front page stories and political blogs about how “fierce” or how “bold and inspiring” my mother is?

There are worse jobs, really.

I grin and turn at Hunter’s words, smiling up into his face while we’re hidden in the shadows like that. 

“Probably because you’re the creepy stalker-type and women alone in dark, shadowy areas just do it for you,” I say with as much mock sincerity as I can muster on my face.

He snorts out a laugh as I cave and stick my tongue out at him. “Pegged; you got me.”

He kisses me then, and it’s something tender and hot as it sears across my lips and radiates  through my whole body.

“Or maybe it’s because it reminds me of first meeting you,” he says with a grin as he pulls away.

This time it’s my turn to laugh. “Ahh,
yes
, our sweet and romantic first encounter.” 

I roll my eyes as I wrap my arms around his torso, “They should really option that for a movie deal at some point.”

“They have, but you need to be eighteen and have a credit card in order to see it.”

I laugh as he kisses me again, wrapping his arms around me and holding me close. 

“Or maybe,” he whispers against my lips. “Maybe I just like having you all to myself away from all the bullshit of the world.”

“That works,” I whisper with a grin as I kiss him again.

The sound of muffled laughter and footsteps has us backing away from each other as Emma comes stomping around the corner with Dexter in tow.

“Oh!” She says quickly, her eyebrows shooting up behind her glasses before she quickly smiles. “Why hello you two, come here often?” She’s grinning oddly at me; almost as odd as her trying to make a weird joke for the first time since I’ve actually known her. 

Emma quickly looks at Hunter. “Mr. Ryan, you’re actually just the man I was looking for.”

“Aww, I thought I was special,” Dexter snorts. “She just said the same thing to me.”

Emma flushes red and rolls her eyes before her face goes back her normal all-business look. 

“Actually, I
do
need you both.
The
Times
is here, and they’d like a quick photo op with the two brothers for an article they’re doing on your father.”

“Sounds like fun, right?” Dexter says, rolling his eyes.

Hunter frowns as he looks at his watch. “We’ve got time for that?” Emma looks over her glasses and down her nose at him, and he laughs. “Right, the queen of schedules.” He shoots me a quick look with his back to them. “Duty calls?”

They all turn to leave, and he gives me one last subtle and hidden hand squeeze before they head off to find the
Times
photographer.

‘Maybe I just like having you all to myself away from all the bullshit of the world.’

It’s a sentiment I feel as well, but there’s another level to the statement that we still don’t talk about. There’s another side to that coin that we’ve been willfully ignoring while this whole thing has gotten totally out of control. And it’s the unspoken part that sends a dull ache through my gut.

The part that says this
has
to be in the shadows.

We’re not just hiding this away so we don’t have to deal with people’s opinions, we’re hiding it away because it’s a
necessity
of the lives we lead. And that’s a sad state of affairs, knowing I can’t tell a soul about the man that makes me
feel
like I’ve never felt before.

I can’t tell a soul about the man I lo—

“I always knew you were damaged.”

The voice from my past, the voice of fear and fury and pain has me gasping as I whirl.

Harry
.

Harry the ex from Chicago. Harry the asshole, the cheater, the manipulator. 

Harry who hit me.

His hair is a bit shaggier, his pallor a little paler, and his eyes a little more dangerous looking than the last time we spoke; that last time when I was running screaming from him after he’d smacked me across the face.

“
Harry?
” I say weakly, all strength leaving my voice as my legs suddenly turn to jell-o. “What— how did you get in here?”

He grins this lopsided, sneering grin at me as he pulls a bottle of something out of his jacket pocket and takes a swig as he shrugs.

“Harry,” I say, trying to keep my voice from shaking. “Harry you shouldn’t be—”

“You know, it’s disgusting,” he says with a sneer, shaking his head at me. His eyes burn into me, the scent of alcohol creeping over me. “But like I said, I knew you were damaged goods.”

“Harry, I don’t know what you—”

“I mean your
brother
, Maddie?” He snorts out a laugh, “Nice job slumming it.”

“I think you should leave, Harry,” I say, mustering as much strength in my voice as I can.

He grins and shakes his head. “Nah, I don’t think so. You see, we
belong
together, you and I.”

“I don’t think—”

“
You
belong to me,” he says darkly, the tone of his voice and leer in his eyes making my skin crawl. “I’m your boyfriend, Maddie, and it’s time for you to quit slutting it up and learn to respect me.”

I can feel my heart pounding in my chest and cold sweat creeping down my spine. Something unseen is pulling at every warning bell I’ve got inside, something that tells me I should run.

I whirl away from him, but his hand on my arm is stronger than I remember as he yanks me back around, almost pulling me off my feet. Out of nowhere, I’m looking right into the blade of a gleaming knife in his hand.

The world sort of fades away around me until it’s just me, Harry, and the knife, alone in the darkness. And suddenly there’s only one thought in my head:
I don’t want to die.

Harry grins evilly at me. 

“Oh, feel like listening to me now, huh? Feel like showing me a little respect
now
, is that it? This what it took, babe?”

I can feel my legs start to give out, my blood frozen like ice in my veins as tears start to trickle from my eyes. “Harry—”

“Remember my name, babe,” he says chillingly, and I fall to my knees as he takes a step towards me, the knife glinting wickedly in his hand. “Because I want it to be the last thing you—”

When the hit comes, everything goes into slow motion.

I’m
aware
of Hunter barreling into me and shoving me aside before he
roars
as he hurls himself at Harry. I’m aware of falling, and catching myself in the tangles of the curtain backstage, and staggering to my feet just as Hunter connects with Harry.

And then the only thing I’m aware of is the blood, and the knife going flying as the two of them fall to the ground. 

I barely notice as Harry scrambles to his feet and starts to run as this utterly silent
scream
just freezes in my throat. The roar of my own voice chokes in the frozen tightness of my throat as I drop to my knees and grab Hunter into my arms, feeling the entire world shattering around me as my heart starts to—

He’s laughing.

I jerk my eyes up to his face, the tears blurring my vision as I see that strong, cocky, smug grin on his face that I’ve never once been gladder to see. 

“Are you—?!” I collapse into him as tears of pure shock and fear and
everything
start to pour down my face.

“Maddie!” He laughs out, pulling me into him with a small wince. “Maddie, I’m fine, he just winged me.” He nods down to gash across his arm. “I’m
fine
.”

I choke out a sobbing laugh as I throw my arms around him and squeeze him as hard as I can, like I’m afraid he might fly away if I ever let go. I kiss him, fervently, madly, passionately, his lips searing into mine as I just
fall
into him, heedless of the world around us. 

So heedless, in fact, that I don’t notice the large back wall of the stage that I’ve managed to knock off its base in my tumble. And I’m still lost in him, kissing him like we might blow away in the wind if we move apart, when that very stage wall finally starts to teeter and goes crashing forward into the stage.

Every single pair of eyes belonging to the five thousand members of the press, the public, and my
mother
immediately land on us. Right there, center stage, wrapped in each other’s arms, with the
whole world
there to see it.

There’s exactly half a second of stunned silence, before everything just
explodes
, and just like that, the secret’s out.

Just like that, the entire fucking world is in on my terrible, horrible, dirty little secret.

There’s a rush of screaming questions, camera flashes, and both the press and men in suits with guns drawn racing towards us.

But there, past it all, is my mother; her face drawn, her mouth open, and her head just slowly shaking side to side.

And that’s when I faint, and the nightmare just fade away.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN