In Between Seasons (The Fall) (9 page)

“
If you
’
r
e
told not to question
things
,
you won't. Besides it seems you questioned more impo
rtant things.”

“
I didn't question them enough,
”
I responded as I silently reprimanded myself, but what would it of helped if I had seen it before?

“
Don't say that
—
if you had this could be so different.
”

“
Meaning I would be dead,” I filled in the blank,
kicking at the dirt on the ground.

“
No
,
meaning you co
uld be like them,” Hunter corrected me as he grabbed
my ankles.

I took a deep breath,
“
No, I don't think I could be like them.
”

“
The
n you would be dead
,
but
not because of me,
”
h
e said.

I swallowed at the thought,
“
I'm lucky they didn't kill me before this then.
”

Hunte
r let go of my ankles,
“W
e don't know that.
”

Our eyes met,
“
Yes
,
we do
,
” I said.

“
I'm sorry,” he responded
as his jaw tightened in anger.

“
Don't be
,
it's not your fault. You might be the only reason I'm alive
—
they would have got
ten
sick of me eventually
and
even if th
ey told me their truth I could
never have accepted it.
”

“You could have found a way to live with it
,” Hunter assured me,
looking
at the dying fire.

“Luckily
,
I don’t have to.”

“And this rea
lity is so much better?” h
e probed,
the green of his eyes seeming to darken with the words.

“Yes,” I answered standing,
“N
ow I think it’s time for us to get going.”

“What’s the rush?”

“I don’t know
how much more bunny I can stand,
”
I joked.

I had managed to clear the thoughts about my family from my mind. It was easier to just not think about it. I had disowned them
, and they were merely a part of a blurred past.
I found myself
wonder
ing
if there were reasons for the events that I had
happened
, or if it was all just orders that we were following—or in Hunter’s case not following.
I didn’t fully understand why Hunter had chosen
not to kill me, but at this point I wasn’t going to ask why. It didn’t matter, and with the future as infinitely gray as it was, it was some comfort to know that somehow I had helped him too. He didn’t have to say it. I could see it in his face and eyes. There was less of the darkness there, and his muscles seemed less tense. I couldn’t be sure though because they still rippled when he ran. I had to shake my head with the thought, and Hunter noticed.

“What’s wrong?” he asked with a small smirk.

“
Oh, umm…nothing.
So, a
re we getting closer
to your home?” I asked
, watching as
Hunter’s
sprint slowed to a jog
and
then a walk.

“Home isn’
t the appropriate word for it,
”
he
sneered.

“We could
just pretend we were both dead,” I suggested,
stopping
and
making him face me,
“a
nd go
somewhere else w
h
ere no one knows us.
They wouldn’t be able to find us.
”

He put his h
and on my face
and
sighed,
“We’
re the children of the two most hated men in our world. Everyone knows who we are.”

The sadness in his face, and the heat of his palm against my cheek made it hard for me to think, but the truth in his words stung.

“Too bad the worl
d doesn’t know we hate them too,” I sighed,
turning away from his hand.

His hand tightened in mine
and
he turned me
to face him again,
“Kate, we’
ll figure something out. Please trust me as your friend.”

Friend? That was not what I was feeling. I thought I might choke to death on the word.
Friend?
Then why was my heart hammering like this, and why was he looking at me like that? No one had ever looked at me like that, but then again I had never had a friend. Maybe that’s what this was, knowing that you could truly count on someone. Maybe…

“I trust you,
”
I replied with a slight smile
.

“I’ll be right back, stay here
and
don’t move—”

“Hide in a tree if I have
to?
”

“No, that
didn’t work last time,” he squeezed my hand,
“Nothing is going to happen now
that we’
re
here
.”

The look in his eyes told me that
he
didn’t trust the words himself, but he still dropped my hand and headed into the distance. Soon
I could
hear a commotion
,
but
I couldn’t tell what was going on. I couldn’t help
myself
and
scale
d
the tree in front of me as I strained
to hear.
I could see Hunter standing in front of a group of young men no older than him.
They stood
in
the
front o
f an impressive fencing system
that looked like no one could ever get in or get out if they weren’t suppose
d
to.
At first they stood rigid
,
but
soon their shoulders
slouched as they listened to him.

“Where have you b
een so long?” one of the young men asked, and I shook my head at his boldness
.
This kid was looking for a beating from the look of Hunter’s back muscles. They twitched at the question.

“That
isn’
t your concern. What you should be
concern
ed with is
follow
ing
my orders strictly. I will not t
olerate any deviations from them
,
”
Hunter instructed, and I watched as he placed his hands behind his back. The veins in his forearms looked as though they might pop.

“Yes, Sir,” t
he group responded
,
going
rigid again.

“I ha
ve a p
risoner…a young woman,
” Hunter began
, and
I could see the white of hi
s knuckles
as his hands went into fists
. Someone whistled,
he stepped forward once
,
and
they all cringed before he continued,
“You will not lay one hand on
her;
you will not
so much as give her a sideways glance. I will castrate you if I so much as see
an
unclean thought in your eyes.
”

“Yes
, Sir,” the group echoed as they stood even straighter than before. I couldn’t see their eyes clearly from the distance, but I imagined from their body language that Hunter could see the whites of their eyes. I wondered how it felt to control that much power. Hunter
turned on his heel
and
sprinted towards me.
I saw the answer in his face. He was tired from it already. I tried
to get out of the tree before he
could reach
me
,
but instead
I e
nded up tumbling out of the tree. It was a miracle that I somehow ended up landing on my feet.

“A tree again?” h
e taunted me with his hands in his back pockets,
“Why?”

“You’re going to castrat
e them if they give me a sideways glance?
”

He looked at the ground. “I’m not bringing you to the safest place
and
you’re beautiful
,
so I needed to warn them.”

“
I’m beautiful?” I repeated
,
trying not to smile.

“Don’t let it go to your head
,
darling,” h
e said
as he held
his hand out for me.

“You’re not too bad yourself.
”

“I know
.
I saw the way you stared
at me when I took my shirt off,” he winked at me, and I had to take a deep breath.

As I watched Hunter walking
into what was supposed to be his home
I felt as if I
wa
s
watching someone put on a heavy suit of armor. With each step he put on another layer of defense to protect himself from who he was suppose
d
to be.
He changed from the person I had begun to know to the person that had kidnapped me. His composure became rigid
,
and
now that I knew him I could see the darkness in his eyes building. It was as if he was preparing himself for another war, one
that
he waged completely alone. I squeezed his hand
,
and
he looked down at me.
I smiled
and
some of the light came back to his eyes.

There was one word to describe the army base of Hunter’s tribe—overkill. I had never imagined that something like this still existed in our world, and I couldn’t even begin to fathom how it did.
The only thought that I could comprehend was that it hadn’t been obtained fairly.

“This house is huge,” I commented,
leaning closer to Hunter as a woman pushed past me in the hall a
s if I were
invisible.

“Wait until you see the kitc
hen…well, the community kitchen,
”
he replied
with a smirk
as we entered
a huge room with two six-
burner ovens on each side in stainless steel. There were two huge center islands with sinks in them
,
and
a sink on the back wall that had two dish washers on either side. The cabinets were a deep cherry wood, which accented the hints of pink that shimmered out of the granite counter tops. I shivered as I looked over my shoulder to where the breeze was coming from. There were two sets of large stainless
doors that led into a huge walk-
in fridge
and
walk-
in freezer.

“Seri
ously? Why is it so big?” I asked
as I opened
the fridge
and
stepped
inside
.

“We have a lot of p
eople to feed here,” he responded,
shaking his head as he looked at the massive amount of food.

“I don’t thin
k I’ve ever seen this much food,” I gawked
at
the shelves of fresh produce, eggs, milk
,
and
condiments,
“Where does it come from? I didn’t see any gardens?”

“Another one of the bases does the
farming. This is a soldier base,” he explained,
taking my hand
and
walking me out.

“How many bases are there?”

“Three, here—the soldier base, the farming base
,
and
the home base where my father
and
his head men are,
”
he answered,
averting his eyes from mine when he mentioned his father.

“Aren’t you one of your father’s head men?”

“Yes
,
but
someone needs to run this place,” he replied
,
and
his tone showed his disapproval.

“So,
are
there
more kitchens?” I asked
as we walked into a large open room with one side having pool tables
and
a bar. T
he other side had a huge
suede
couch
,
and
a
TV that took up the whole wall. There were at least ten women watching a movie there.
Their faces were expressionless, and the whole idea of sitting there all day with them was frightening.

“We have our o
wn living quarters
,
so
we have our own kitchen.
There are some pe
rks to being the son of the man,” he whispered
into my ear
,
but
his eyes show
ed how trapped he felt, “Right
through there is
a store where
the
clothes
and
other
supplies are
. If you need anything you can find it there from toiletries to clothes.”

The women were now peering over the edge of the couch at us
, and their eyes burned
into me before they turned back around.

“They hate me already,
”
I observed
,
wanting to suddenly become invisible again.
I was far more entertaining to them than the movie they were watching.

“You have that affe
ct on other woman, huh?” h
e observed,
his eyes becoming light.

“Yeah, must be my beauty. Makes them all want
to eat me alive,” I joked
with my teeth clenched
.

Hunter chuckled to himself so quiet I was the only one who could hear him. I smacked him
and
had to shake my hand because of how hard
his muscles were against it
. I tried not to blush as my mind lingered to him with his shirt off.

“And what are you thinking about
,
darling?” Hunter
asked
as we walked outside onto a porch
and
up a set of stairs. I swallowed
,
shaking my head as if it would sha
ke the thought away. It didn’t,
“T
his is it. Our home for a while,” he turned to face me,
“Yo
u’re blushing—tell me what you’
re thinking about?”

My stomach was flipping
because his face was just inches from mine
and
we were alone in his bedroom
,
and
I couldn’t keep my brain f
unctioning rationally.

“Nothing,
”
I sputtered.

“W
ell, I’m going to take a shower,” h
e said
,
nodding over hi
s shoulder to the attached bath,
“The kitchen is
right through that
there if you want to
explore. It’s really not all that
big.
The remote to the TV is right
here if you want to watch a movie or something.”

He didn’t turn away from me as he lifted his shirt
off with
the mu
scles of his arms rippling and
threw it into a laundry bin.
He turned
,
and
I couldn’t take my ey
es off the muscles in his back
—
that
was until he
slipped his jeans off. Jesus Christ, I thought to mysel
f trying not to stare at his ass
in his boxer briefs. He saved me from a heart attack as he opened the door to the bathroom
and
slipped inside. I
sat on the bed shaking my head before
I heard the bathroo
m door crack open
,
and
Hunter
threw
his bo
xer briefs into the laundry bin, and
a wide smile covered his face as h
e winked at me before shutting the door again. I could hear him laughing to hi
mself as he turned the water on, and I could feel the heat spreading from my face down my body.
When he came out of the bathroom he was wearing a fresh pair of jeans
,
and
I was sorting through the DVD’s aimlessly
,
trying to get my hormones in check. I could honestly say that no one had ever had this effect on me. He could be fully dressed
and
I was just as attracted to him. If his eyes st
ayed locked on mine long enough
just those could drive me insane.

“You can
go on in if you want,” h
e said as
his eyes
teased
me.

“Oh, thanks,
”
I responded as I stood
. I took
my shirt off
and
threw
it into the laundry bin before slowly slipping my jeans off
. H
is eyes slipped from my chest
and
down my legs
,
and t
he look on his
face was just what I had wanted. I
t was exactly what I had imagined mine had looked like.  I walked past him as he dropped onto the bed
,
and
I could feel his eyes burning into my back. I was going to do him one better. I slid my hands across my back
and
unhooked my bra
,
letting the straps slip gradually off my shoulders before letting it fall to the floor. I looked over my shoulder
and
winked at him before closing the door.

“Jesus Christ,
” I heard him say through the closed door
,
and
I couldn’t help
smiling.

I didn’t let him rest long because after I got out of t
he shower I discovered the walk-
in closet was almost bare. The only items of clothing were his
,
and
I found my
self relieved that there wasn’t
any
thing a woman would wear
.
I stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel
,
and
when he looked up from his hands his eyes shot up
and
down my body before stopping at my eyes.

“Oh, you’re good,” h
e said
,
smiling in a way that
made me feel
as though my heart might leap out of my chest into his hands.

“What?” I asked,
tryi
ng to sound innocent,
“There are
no clothes in there for me to
wear. You should talk—
you’
re shirtless
and
rippling when you
do have clothes to wear
.”

“I guess we’re even
then. Let me go get you some pajama
pants from the store. In the meantime you can wear one of
my shirts to sleep in,
” Hunter suggested.

“Can you get me some underwear
and
a bra too?”

“Can
’t
you just get those from the store tomorrow?”
h
e asked
,
shaking his head.

“Sure, if you want me to walk around commando
and
braless,
” I retorted
as I caught unraveling
t
he towel.

He coughed,
“I’ll get you a big sweatshirt too.”

“You’re not going to go wit
hout a shirt on are you?” I asked
as he stood
and
walked towards the door.

“No, of course not. I don’t want to mak
e any of the other guys jealous.
”

“You’re a cocky bastard,” I teased,
rolling my eyes.

“I don’t walk around here with my shirt off
,
so
don’t worry,” h
e
replied as he walked
into the bathroom,
“That’s
a special treat
just
for you.”

“Get somethin
g to cook for dinner while you’
re at it too.” I ordered as I sat
on the bed.

“Bunny?”

I looked up at him with narrowed eyes
,
and
he smiled back withou
t a hint of cockiness. Cocky
was one word I would never use to describe him, although I thought that the others here mig
ht mistake his coldness for the
same thing.

Without Hunter to distract me I was able to take in my surroundings. The bedroom was a sapphire blue
and
all the furniture was mocha
brown. I sat on the bed that felt
like a cloud amongst the darkness of the other items in the room. The bedding was a crisp white on top of the platform bed frame that had a puffed mocha leather headboard. The pine wood floors were cool against my feet as I stood
and
went into
the kitchen. It was like Hunter; much more modest tha
n the world he was surrounded by. The appliances were black
and
framed by simple white cabinets. Unlike the main kitchen there was no dishwasher
,
and
the room was just big enough to cook
and
fit a table for two in front of the windows that overlooked the woods. The high end finishes of the rest of the house made
me uncomfortable—
as if the whole world was tittering on the edge of being too good to be true
and
of course
,
it was.