Hunter √

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

I dedicated this chapter to colourfulminds for all her support so far. Thanks girl

GOODBYE.

Her voice echoed in his head and he drove faster, as if he could outrun the damnable truth.

Though she loved him, she would never admit it.

And what good would it do if she did?

None. Her words wouldn't change anything.

Still, he'd wanted to hear them just once.

He fought the need and hauled ass back to the motel. He would pick up Luke and they would head for Skull Creek Choppers. And then he would get the hell out of this pissant town.

Away from her.

From the damnable feelings eating him up inside.

He slammed on the brakes and swerved into the back parking lot. He was halfway around the side of the motel when he felt the prickling awareness. He came to a dead stop.

For an instant, Hunter thought that Benny James might have caught up to him. But then the hair on his stomach hollowed out. He knew even before he heard the voice that the moment he'd been waiting for had finally arrived.

"I heard you were looking for me."

He turned and found himself staring at the one face that had haunted him for well over a hundred years.

Garret Sawyer had the same eyes, the same distinct features. The only thing different was that he wasn't covered in blood or holding a knife.

Hunter's gaze skittered to either side and he listened for a sound, a thought,  something. "Where are your friends?"

"This doesn't have anything to do with them. It's between you and me."

"You mean they don't know you're here?" Hunter shook his head, remembering Jake McCain's watchdog expression. "That's a little hard to believe."

"This is my fight. I care about them too much to drag them into it."

"And we care abut him too much to stay out of it." The vampire Hunter had met on his visit to Skull Creek Choppers stepped from the shadows, along with another vampire, Dillion Cash, the third of the Skull Creek Choppers trio.

"Dammit, Jake," Garret muttered as both vampires came up behind him and flanked him.

"You take him out," Jake added, his gaze riveted on Hunter, "We take you out."

Hunter shrugged. "It doesn't matter." His attention shifted to Garret, to the face that had been burned into his DNA. Anger and regret whirled inside of him and made his hands clench. His vision fired a bright, vivid red, bathing everything the colour of blood. The memories welled up inside of him---his mother's face, the inferno that had been the ranch, the pain of losing it all and being too damned late to do anything---and sent a burst of angry adrenaline pulsing through his body. "All that matters is that you die first." He lunged, slamming into Garret's body.

The vamp fell backward and Hunter straddled him.

He slammed his fist into Garret's jaw. Once. Twice. Over and over until he felt the hands reaching for him, pulling him away.