Hunter

Chapter Thirty Five

 Hunter ~

Kenzie's eyes went wide before she immediately shot her gaze down to her lap, refusing to make eye contact with Hunter. Her shoulders started to rapidly rise and fall and Hunter could tell that she was shutting down and hiding from him.

Whatever she has to say, it can't be good. But I need to hear it and she needs to know she's safe to say it...whatever it is.

"I...um...I..." She stammered as she started to wring her hands and lift her eyes toward the exit door.

Don't even think about it, Kenz.

"Hey, look at me." Hunter soothed, trying to pull her out of her own panic, but it was as if she hadn't heard his voice at all.

"I said look at me Kenzie." His voice was louder, but still soft enough to be comforting as her eyes slowly rose to meet his.

She looks so scared of me right now.

"I don't know what to say." She said, meekly.

"Just start with the truth and we'll go from there sweetheart. Now I'm gonna ask you again. Did you steal intel from your dad?"

Hunter watched Kenzie's every move. He cataloged every micro-expression, every shift in her posture, every tensed muscle or quick movement, trying to read her as if it was an interrogation.

Her eyes darted back and forth as she stared at the table, clearly considering fabricating a story, then shaking her head as if she were internally battling with herself.

"Kenzie." Hunter said loudly hoping to pull her back to the present. "It's just me baby. Talk to me."

"And what if you don't like what I have to say?" She asked softly with fear in her voice that he hated.

"Talk to me anyway...What did you steal?"

Kenzie swallowed hard, squeezing her eyes shut as if her throat was too dry to function.

"Flashdrives." She said in a voice barely over a whisper.

Okay now we're getting somewhere.

"Where'd you get em?" Hunter asked, keeping his voice low and even, leaving emotion out of it and sticking strictly to the facts.

"My dad's office. H-he always kept them locked up when he wasn't using them, and when people would come in his office he'd always give the drawer a pull to make sure it was locked. Like it was involuntary. I knew they had to be important if he had a routine based around them."

I don't even want to know how you snuck those out of your dads office, Kenz.

"I stole them and ran when I saw the opportunity, hopping the first flight out and calling my dad once I was a safe distance away. I told him to let Banks and I walk away from his awful organization or I'd turn over the information to the authorities."

"Did you know what was on the drives?" Hunter asked, trying to gauge her level of knowledge on what she'd stolen.

"No, It was a shot in the dark, but he was furious when I threatened him. So I knew they had to have something incriminating."

Oh baby you have no idea what could be on those. So fucking dangerous.

"I thought if he was scared of me, then I could give Banks a safe exit. He hated the missions my dad would send him on. He told me himself. They were dangerous and too risky, not to mention ethically wrong. I was just trying to help my brother."

Tears welled in Kenzie's eyes as she spoke the words, causing Hunter to reach across the table and take hold of her hand.

"I know that Kenz. That was a brave thing you did. Fucking dangerous, but really brave." Hunter affirmed.