Hunter

Chapter Thirty Six

Kenzie ~

Kenzie felt lighter than she had in a long time, having told Hunter her secret. Every decision she had been forced to make in the past few years was out of survival and fear and she was final able to turn it over to more capable hands, ridding herself of the anxiety that accompanied it.

Hunter was the best at what he did and handled threats far more dangerous than her father. The only unknown left to deal with was Banks and whatever news he came to deliver.

Hunter parked his truck at Knight Security with the black sedan that Banks was driving already in the parking lot.

Feeling her pulse suddenly spike and her palms start to sweat, Kenzie took in a shaky breath as she tried to center herself.

"What if he tries to hug me like nothing happened?" She asked nervously.

"You want me to stop him?" Hunters voice was low and serious as he turned in his seat toward her.

"Yes." She said softly.

"Not a problem. Nobody touches you except me. Anything else?"

Kenzie considered his questions carefully, drawing her brows in as she ran through several scenarios.

"What if I can't forgive him?" She asked, looking up at Hunter, begging him for answers.

"Then you can't, but you have to hear what he has to say or the unknown will eat you alive. I'll be right there with you the whole time."

Knowing Hunter was right, Kenzie nodded and shifted her gaze to the parking lot where she saw several other cars that she hadn't noticed before.

"Is Lexi here?" She asked.

"Thought you might need some back up too."

His words brought a smile to Kenzie's face.

"That and she insisted...rather forcefully." Hunter said, scrolling through his texts with Declan.

That only made Kenzie's smile grow wider, knowing she had a large show of support.

"One more thing."

"Name it." Hunter said firmly.

"I want to be the one to tell the guys that I lied."

Her request was definitely not what Hunter expected judging by his furrowed brows and tilted head.

"You didn't lie Kenzie." He corrected her.

"A lie of omission is still a lie. And I want to own mine."

He eyed her carefully with some sort of internal dialogue running before he ultimately nodded and responded.

"Alright, but I can't guarantee how they will react. You okay with that?"

Nodding with slight hesitation before she fully committed, Kenzie locked eyes with Hunter as she spoke.

"I'm okay with that. Even if they hate me for it." 

"They could never hate you Kenz. And they won't fault you for doing what you had to in order to escape and survive. If anything they'll probably understand that more than most."

That's true. I hadn't thought about it like that.

Feeling a little more at ease and secure, Kenzie unlatched her seatbelt as they both climbed out of the car.

They walked together across the parking lot toward the garage with Hunter leading the way is if he'd already communicated a plan to every man at Knight Security. And he probably had done exactly that.