20 Questions

Chapter 125

Hunter

Saying goodbye to my gorgeous wife to enter into something so dangerous and unpredictable was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. All I wanted was to crawl back in bed and hold her for the rest of my life. A part of me wanted to tell Elijah to go on without me and finish the job, but I couldn't go forward with it. I need to be the one to end this. I'll never get the closure I need unless it's me stealing his last breath.

Elijah and the rest of the team are in the kitchen and living room when I exit the bedroom. I take one last look at my beautiful Jenna, softly crack the door and grab my bag from the couch.

"We are loaded up whenever you are ready," Elijah says to me. "Hunter, if you want to stay here with Jenna while we finish the job, nobody will blame you. We can complete the mission without you."

"I appreciate it," I say. "But I can't, Elijah. I have to be the one to take him down. It has to be me. I promise, I can do this. I need to do this."

"Ok, we will meet you in the truck then. Is there anything you have left to do before we leave?"

I hand my bag to him. "If you don't mind throwing this in the truck, I'd like a moment alone with Griffin. I need to talk to him before we leave."

Elijah agrees, takes my bag and turns to motion Griffin over. Griffin's expression is tense, but there is a tough conversation I need to have with him. Jenna is the most important person in my life, I love her with everything in me and I need to know she will be safe and taken care of. Griffin walks over and extends his hand for me to shake. When we release our hands, I wave him over to the kitchen table and take a seat, him following my lead.

"Griffin, this is a conversation I'm not that comfortable having with you, but it needs to happen."

"Hunter," he starts but I hold my hand up to stop him. I need to get this off my chest before I leave.

"Jenna is the love of my life, the only good thing that has ever come my way. I was dead inside until she came along, like this light that never burns out. She's the best person I know and deserves so much better than me, but I would spend my entire life trying to prove myself worthy. Griffin, I don't know what's gonna happen in the next couple days. I could come back home safely or I could be taken from her forever. I'm confident in our plan and this mission, but you and I both know that plans can always change, no matter how prepared we think we are. With that being said, I need to know that she'll be ok."

"Hunter, when you come back – and you will come back because I have that much faith in Elijah and my team – she will be just as you left her. I won't let anything happen to her."

"Thank you," I say. "But I'm not just talking about the next couple days. If things go south and I don't make it out, I want you to be the one to take my place."

"Hunter, don't," he argues but I hold up my hand again to stop him.

"No, let me say this, it's important. Jenna adores you and cares deeply for you, Griffin. She thinks that I don't see it, but I do. Apart from me, I never seen her fight for another man like she did when Elijah reassigned you. Like I told her yesterday, you all have a special bond that can't be broken. If the mission is a success, I'm confident that you two will remain close. Do I love my wife having feelings for another man? Not so much, but I would never take you from her. She would resent me for the rest of her life. Over the next four days, she's going to be a handful. She will worry herself sick. She will get under your skin and work your nerves. She will cry, scream and fight you every step of the way. She will demand that you bring her to me, but you don't let her. I need her out of harm's way until this is over. She will need to be consoled and comforted and if I can't be the one to do it, I need you to be the man that steps in to do it for me. I don't love having another man putting his hands on my wife, but I trust you and I need you to hug her when she is emotional, hold her hand when she's anxious, satisfy her when she's edgy and tell her everything is going to be ok. Talk to her thoughtfully and reassure her when she needs it. She craves affection when she's stressed so give it to her."