Chapter Thirty

Irene

“Mr. Hunter, I—”

Zachary held up his hands to silence Irene.

“Mr. Zachary, I—” She tried again but got shushed again.

He walked to her and took her in his arms. “Are you alright?” he asked quietly.

“Er, yes, I think so.” Irene frowned. She didn’t get what the deal was with Zach’s behavior. One moment he was raging with anger, the next, he was gentle and sweet.

“Are you sure? Did he hurt you?”

“Yes, I am sure.” She pulled away from Zach. “Angelo slapped me in the face, so that will be red for a while, but other than that, I’ll be fine. Thank you for saving me.”

She looked up at him with big eyes. She saw his eyes run over her body. When they landed on her neck, he turned angry again.

She looked shocked. “What’s wrong?” she said.

“Your neck, it looks red. Did he choke you?”

“Er, yeah, I guess so. I don’t— It all just happened so fast. I’m a bit confused, I guess.”

“That’s no problem. My main concern is that you are alright.” He took her back in his arms. He stroked her back and kissed her on her temple.

“Your mood keeps switching, though,” she said, still wondering what was going on in his head. She looked up at him. “And you were terribly angry with your friend. Why?”

“You know I am a member of a certain underground organization, right?” He looked into her eyes. “You shouldn’t be surprised—we’re protective, loyal.” Zach shrugged.

“And what with your friend?”

“Actually, he is my little brother. Jackson. He was touching what’s mine. Can’t have that.”

“What’s yours? Do you mean me? How am I yours?” She pushed him away again.

“I can’t explain, not right now. It’s not the right time for you to know.” He sighed again, then he brushed some stray hairs out of her face. “Please, come here. Let me calm you down.”

“No.” She took a step further away from him.

“Please.” He held out his arms. “Let me hold you for a minute. It will calm you down.”

Irene had no idea why he wanted to hold her so badly, but the idea that he wouldn’t stop asking until she gave in got stronger. She sighed and walked back into his arms.

She laid her head on his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. Zach sighed contentedly and laid his head on top of hers. She had to admit that he was right, though.

The second he had her in his arms, she felt a comforting feeling warming her body. And where their bodies touched each other, she felt a slight tingle.

After a while, a question popped into her head. “How did you get here, by the way?” She backed away a little to look at him, without letting go of him. “How did you know I was being assaulted?”

“I didn’t,” Zach tried to think of a way to give Irene a logical explanation but didn’t really come up with anything. He started playing with a loose strand of her hair.

“Then what are you doing here?” Irene’s eyes were full of questions.

“I was following Angelo. He has threatened me, attacked me, and fatally wounded one of my family members,” Zach told Irene. “I’ll explain it all to you when you’re a little less shocked.”

Irene stepped away from Zach and sat down on the sofa.

“Do you live here alone?” Zach asked suddenly. He needed to know she was safe.

“No, I have a roommate. He’s not at home now, though. Why do you want to know?”

For a little moment, Zach had to fight the urge to punch her roommate in the face. But then he realized that he’d push her away if he did that, so he shook his head to get rid of the thoughts.

“I need to make sure you’re safe. I’ll keep an eye on Angelo, but next time I could be too late.” Zach walked over to the window and looked outside. The sun was setting like nothing had happened.

“I am safe,” she said.

“No, you’re not.” Zach turned his back to the window and walked to where Irene sat on the couch. “I think you’re underestimating Angelo a little, sweetheart.”

He knelt in front of her and grabbed her hands. “He already came here to have his revenge. Now he’ll just wait for you to be alone again, and he’ll strike again. Lord knows what he’ll do to you then.”

“But—” Irene frowned, a stubborn look on her face.

“There’s more.” Zach squeezed her hands softly. “This guy is highly dangerous. He is part of a big group of criminals. They have no good in mind.

“He won’t hesitate to kill anyone if he thinks he needs to do so. Even you.”

“Then what should I do?” She looked at him.

He saw how this information was too much; she wasn’t handling it well.

“You could come with me to my house and live there until the threat is gone. There’s no place safer than with my family. Joanna will be there too. Or I could hire a bodyguard for you.”

“Why are you doing this for me? I can hire myself a bodyguard, right?”

“Yes, you can. But it’ll give me some peace of mind. As I said, I need you to be safe.”

“Why?”

Zach scratched the hair on his neck. “Irene, I—” He didn’t want to tell her; she wasn’t ready. She wouldn’t handle it well, with all that had just happened.

“You can’t tell me?” She raised an eyebrow questioningly.

He looked down; he couldn’t take those interrogating eyes. “Irene, I—” He sighed. “You know about how Ethan and Joanna are destined lovers, right?”

“Yes?”

“Well…” He kept looking down and, barely audible, he said, “You are mine.”