Smitten (7 page)

Chapter Eight

Cami-

I stared down at the text from an unknown number on my phone.

I can’t take it anymore. It’s been
3weeks & I might actually die if I don’t get 2 C
U
. I knew exactly who it was from, and my heart skipped a beat. Was I dreaming of him again? Another text beeped in before I could respond.

I’m going 2 send U an address & I want you 2 meet me there. It’s an automotive store. Drive my car & park 2 the side of the building. Lift the hood & sit in the car with the door locked.

Lift the hood? That’s a weird request,
I thought. I waited for more.

Write down the address & then delete these texts. I’m taking a big risk with this.

The phone buzzed one more time and an address appeared. It was across town and would take me a while to get there. It looked like I was going to miss my class tonight. I’d need to call in.

Got it
.
I texted back
.
It’ll probably take me 30 minutes 2 get there.

C U soon.

I waited for a few moments in case he sent anything else, but nothing happened. Quickly looking up the address on my computer, I took a moment to memorize the driving instructions. It was freeway most of the way there, and the automotive store was a couple blocks away from the exit. It would be easy to find.

My pulse raced as I grabbed the keys and my purse and headed to the car. I was so excited to see him. It felt like it had been ages
, although Russ had dutifully filled in for him, checking on me several times a week and in between classes occasionally. I smiled as I remembered the dinner and movie we’d gone to last weekend. I’d teased him about how having me around all the time was going to seriously cramp his style with other girls.

“What other girls?” he’d replied with a laugh, brushing off my comment.

Living in a single dorm room, I hadn’t really had the opportunity to become well acquainted with any of the girls at school since I was always at class, studying, or doing my work-study hours in the library. What free time I had, had been spent with Hunter before this, and now Russ. I was happy to have someone to fill the time with.

The freeway was busy with the evening rush hour traffic. Coming from a small town, I always forgot to take that kind of stuff into account
, and I tapped my fingers against the wheel, hoping it wouldn’t slow me down too much.

In the end
, it wasn't too bad—only about 15 minutes later than I said. Parking, I glanced around the lot and realized Hunter wasn’t here. At least, I wasn't sure if he was, since I’d forgotten to ask him what he was driving.

Getting out, I went to the front of the vehicle
, released the hood, and glanced around the parking lot one more time. There was no sign of him, so I got back into the car. It was slightly nerve wracking sitting here alone. From the looks of all the graffiti on the buildings, this was a much rougher neighborhood than I was used to. Suddenly I recalled Hunter telling me to lock the doors. I quickly pushed the button, feeling safer when the loud click sounded.

I checked the phone, to see if I'
d missed any texts while I was outside, but there was nothing. I couldn't help watching the parking lot behind me through the mirror, trying to catch his arrival. It was pretty dark when a flashy red-and-black Camaro pulled up beside me. There he was in the driver’s seat, and I felt my pulse rate jump into high-speed.

I quickly climbed out of the car, not even bothering to close the door behind me
, running over. Hunter got out to meet me, pushing me back in front of the vehicle where the hood was raised. He glanced around quickly, before hugging me tightly.

“
Man, I've missed you so much,” he said, burying his face into my hair. “I'm sorry to drag you all the way out here, but I couldn't take it any longer.”

“
I miss you too. How much longer do we have to do this?” I wrapped my arms around his waist squeezing him tightly, not wanting to let go. It felt so good to be back in his arms.

“
I don't know—I wish I could tell you, but I won't be able to stay here long.” He released me and stepped away with a longing look in his eyes, before he ducked his head under the hood and started looking at the engine. “Stand over here with me and pretend you're watching.”

I did as he asked, wondering what was going on.

“Just in case I was followed here, we need to make this look believable. Do you have your phone on you?”

“
I do,” I replied, pulling it out of my pocket.

“
Great. I need you to send me a text asking for help with your car.”

“
Give me your number again then, I deleted it with your texts.”

He rattled it off to me, and I quickly added it to my phone contacts.

“Russ said you’re going by Hunter Wilder again, is that correct?”

He reached out and jiggled a hose while he studied it.
“That's right. It should be easy for you to remember, don't you think?” He glanced over at me and winked casually brushing his hand over mine as he set it down and linked our little fingers together.

“
Yeah, that might be true, but it’ll also make it harder for me later.” I smiled at him.

“
I can see how that might happen, but whatever you do, don't start calling me anything else now.” He gave a short laugh and glanced back down at the engine before straightening. “Come into the store with me.”

“
What are we going to do?”

“
We’re going to get something to clean your jumper cables. You’re going to be one of those helpless women whose car isn't running right, to find out it was only dirty cables.”

“
Ah, so I'm a stupid damsel in distress.”

“
Yeah something like that.” He laughed. “Sorry.”

He opened the door for me and we walked into the store toward one of the aisles. I followed and watched while he appeared to study and look at different items. It was so nice to see him in person again. I dr
ank in the sight of him, afraid to blink for fear he’d disappear before my eyes.

“
So what’s been going on with you? Can you tell me anything?”

“
No, not really. This is a dangerous group of people. I don't want you getting involved with them.”

“
You can’t drop things like that in my lap, Hunter, and expect me to be okay with it. Do you know how many sleepless nights I've spent worrying about you, wondering if you were okay, or if you were shot in an alley somewhere? I need a bit more to go on, something that’ll help put my mind at ease.” I crossed my arms as I looked at him intently.

He gave a short chuckle.
“Are you always this demanding?”

“
Only when it comes to you and your safety. I take that very seriously, and after what happened with Clay, I want to make sure there isn't a repeat performance.”

Hunter glanced around again before grasping my hand and squeezing it slightly. He pulled me around the end of the aisle toward the back of the store
, gathered me into his arms, and held me tightly. It felt so good to be there again.

“
Cami, I'm so sorry to put you in this situation. You know if I could change it, I would. In fact, I begged not to be sent on this assignment. There was no one else to go. All you need to know is that I'm doing okay. No one has attempted to harm me, and I don’t plan on giving them any reason to. Chris is involved in this case as well and watching out for me. I know it’s still risky, but I'm doing my best to stay safe. I promise.”

I hugged him tighter, never wanting to let him go again. “I just miss you. I want you back to myself.”

He gently kissed the top of my head. “I want that too, Goody. More than you could possibly know.”

He held me for a few seconds longer before he released me and stepped away, continuing to look over items in the aisle before selecting one. I followed him to the register where he paid for it, and then we went back outside to the car.

Removing the item from the package, he revealed a round, steel brush of sorts. He proceeded to clean the jumper cables, which didn't appear to be dirty at all, in my opinion.

“
What are you doing?” I asked.

“
Keeping up appearances while we talk.” He continued on with his task.

“
Isn't there somewhere we can go to be alone together—away from prying eyes that might be watching?”

“
As much as I would love that, I don't think it's safe. I’d be too tempted to spend all evening with you, and it would raise questions to my whereabouts.” He glanced around. “This location is too far away now as it is, but I didn’t want you anywhere close to these guys.”

“Where do they think you are?”

“I'm supposed to be meeting my girlfriend at a club across town right now.” He studied me, clearly waiting for my reaction.

I couldn’t help my sly smile.
“Well, you
are
meeting your girlfriend.”

He chuckled.
“You know what I mean, Cami. My other girlfriend.”

“
I'm not sure how I feel about you having another girlfriend,” I teased. “I'm not really big on two timing.”

“
Trust me, there is no actual two timing going on.”

“
So, you're saying you got stuck with an ugly girl?” I couldn't help letting a small giggle escape.

He gave a noncommittal grunt.
“Hardly.”

His
reply caught me off guard, and I opened my mouth to question him some more, but a car playing very loud music pulled next to us.

“
Damn,” Hunter said, as he glanced at it. “Whatever you do, follow my lead. He’s probably been watching us this whole time.”

I knew we were in serious trouble
by the way he was acting. This was obviously one of the people he was worried about. A tall Latino guy—near Hunter's height, maybe a couple inches shorter—climbed out of the fancy sports car.

“
Hey there, my man,” he called out in a friendly enough tone, but I noticed he narrowed his eyes, his dark gaze scrutinizing both of us. “What’re you doing way out here?” He walked up beside Hunter and clapped him on the back, squeezing his shoulder. “And who is this sexy little number you have with ya? You know my sister is the jealous type, right? You aren’t cheating on her already, I hope.” He laughed, revealing a set of perfect white teeth that lit up his face, but there was still a rough edge to his demeanor. He pounded Hunter against the back again. “If you are, I may have to break your legs.”

Hunter laughed too and shook his head, but I certainly didn't see what the joke was. If this guy was serious, then he was a freak.

“Dude, you know I’d never cheat on Roberta. That girl is a hot mess, and I can't get my fill of her.”

Hunter didn't look at me at all, and I tried not to feel hurt by his remarks. I knew he was playing a role, but it was still hard to hear him talk about someone else like that.
The new arrival checked me out as he sauntered over to my side, and it didn’t escape my notice that Hunter hadn’t made any effort to introduce us. It was obvious he didn’t want this guy anywhere around me.

I took in his appearance as well, albeit
it was more discreet than how he was observing me. He was good looking and he knew it, short black hair cropped close to his head, dark eyes, perfect skin, and sporting casual, but nice clothing. There was something about him, though, that felt off to me—like he was putting on a show. He lifted his hand and twirled a bit of my hair around one of his fingers. I saw Hunter’s knuckles turn white beside me as he continued to grip the edge of the car.

“”What are you doing here?” Hunter asked casually. “I thought you were meeting Seth and Nick.”

“
Just out for a drive,” the newcomer replied noncommittally. “What's your name, sugar?” he asked with a wink and a grin.

“
I'm Cami.” I didn't know what else to say. Hunter hadn’t had time to coach me at all. I was totally tongue-tied, feeling a little paralyzed by fear. I was clearly out of my element.

“
Well hi, Cami. I’m Ripper.” He held out his hand, and when I accepted it, he raised it to his lips, placing a light kiss on the back. He didn’t release me either, and I resisted the urge to yank it away and wipe it against my clothing. “How exactly do you know our Hunter over there?”

“
Man, lay off her dude. She's my sister, all right?” Hunter jumped in, saving me from trying to invent a feasible reply. “There's no need to give her the third degree. She was having some car trouble and called me for help.”

“
Sister, really?” He glanced back and forth between us. His gaze narrowed as I gave him a faltering smile, wondering what the heck had possessed Hunter to say such a thing. There was no way we could pretend to have any kind of family resemblance. “What seems to be the problem? Cars happen to be one of my specialties.” He looked away, leaning in to stare at the engine.