Hunter

Chapter Fifty Nine

Hunter ~

Kenzie spent a few days in the hospital and was later released into Caleb's care. Once Kenzie was stable and in the hands of the medical staff of the hospital, Caleb and the rest of his teams hightailed it to the safe house were Eli was being held. Knowing there was a fox in the hen house did something to Caleb and he was all business, making sure he got to Lainey as quickly as possible.

Caleb and Lainey pulled up to the hospital entrance, where Kenzie was being discharged, in a large SUV with blacked out windows.

"There she is." Caleb said with a wide grin as he laid eyes on Kenzie. "How ya feelin darlin?"

"Happy to be out of that bed." Kenzie said as a partial jab as she looked up at Hunter who hadn't allowed Kenzie to do much.

Hunter and Banks helped Kenzie out of the wheelchair, steadying her as she stood, but despite the pain she had to have felt, Kenzie was all smiles.

"What can I do?" Lainey asked, opening the passenger door.

"Bring any wine?" Kenzie laughed as she took a slow step forward.

"Absolutely not." Hunter grumbled under his breath.

"It was a joke, grumpy."

"Yeah grumpy," Austin sassed, knowing Hunter wouldn't raise his voice or throw hands with Kenzie in such bad shape.

Fuckin clown.

"Call me grumpy again, I fuckin dare you."

Glaring at Austin, who seemed to lose a bit of his humor, Hunter turned his attention back to Kenzie as they helped her into the back seat.

"Figured she could lay across you and Banks in the back seat and Austin can ride bitch."

"Seems like a good place for him." Hunter mumbled.

"Jokes on y'all, I happen to love riding in the trunk,"

Kenzie's bright smile at the men's banter, made Hunter's heart swell. If Austin's dumbass made her smile then he'd razz him the whole ride, just to see the light in those big bright eyes.

The drive was long and Kenzie became uncomfortable quickly, but she did her best to hide it, leaning against Hunter with her legs in Banks' lap.

"Say something if you're hurting Kenz." Hunter whispered in her ear.

"I'm okay."

Her insistence was followed by a wince as she tried to reposition her legs in Banks' lap. Lifting his hands to give her the ability to adjust herself, Banks' watched her intently, exchanging a knowing look with Hunter.

Stubborn little thing won't ask for pain medicine, but she needs it.

"I got some magic pills up here for ya, just say the word Kenzie." Caleb asked, glancing over his shoulder from the drivers seat.

"I don't like the way they make me feel." Kenzie said, shaking her head.

Or the way it loosens your tongue.

"But if you're hurting..." Hunter started, but Kenzie shook her head with a definitive no.

"Can we just talk about something else?"

"I don't know how any of you are having a conversation back there with Austin snoring so damn loud." Caleb chuckled.

"Fill me in on what's going on at the safe house." Hunter asked, wanting to know if the situation had changed in the past few hours.

"Nothin new that I've heard Sir, Eli and Parker and secured along with the three operatives that Axel and the guys brought in. We figured the two of you had a few things that you wanted to uh...discuss with them."

Hunter and Banks glanced at each other briefly over the top of Kenzie, knowing they wanted to do much more than talk with the men who were held captive at the house.

"My brother Grant is scheduled to pick up our guests tomorrow morning."

Which gives us an entire evening to...entertain them.

"Any stipulations to that pick up?" Banks asked, but Hunter knew what he was truly asking.

"Only that they're breathin."

"That's doable. Not ideal, but doable."

"Remind me again who Axel transported from the Bunker."

"Three Elite Tactical operatives. Guy named Ben who wants us to think he doesn't know much, big dude named Drake who's been singing like a canary and seemed to be close with Jack and Miles, and an asshole named Rhett who needs his teeth kicked in."

Kenzie's body tensed in Hunter's lap and her eyes went wide as Caleb said the names.

"Did you just say Rhett?" Kenzie all but screamed.

"Yeah why?" Caleb asked with sudden concern on his face.

"Th-that can't be right. I...He's...I killed Rhett in the bunker. It's how I got out."

"You did that to him?" Caleb asked in disbelief.

The notion that Rhett wasn't dead seemed to be affecting Kenzie, causing her breathing to pick up as she leaned against Hunter. He draped one of his large arms across her body like a weighted blanket, carefully avoiding her injuries to try and calm her.

"Easy. You know I'll handle that for you. Your brother and I will handle him." Hunter said against her hair as he made eye contact with Banks who sat furious in his seat.

"I can't believe my dad kept that asshole around after what he did." Banks seethed.

Banks clearly hates this guy  for good reason and Kenzie seems downright terrified of him.

Kenzie aggressively wiped a tear from her cheek as if she was angry with herself for showing emotion, letting Hunter know there was more to the story than neither of the Gryffon siblings wanted to share in the car, which meant it had to be bad.

"You got these guys in the interrogation rooms in the basement of the safehouse?" Hunter asked.

Caleb gave a nod of his head from the drivers seat.

"Sound proof?" Hunter asked in a lethal tone.

"Yes Sir."

Hunter watched as Lainey snaked her arm through the crack in the seat and took hold of Kenzie's hand, interlocking their fingers gently in a physical show of support. 

"I think I'd like some of those pain meds, Caleb."

Atta girl.

"Yes ma'am."

With her free hand, Lainey fished out the medication from Caleb's medical bag and handed them over the top of the seat to Hunter.

Popping what lid off with his thumb, Hunter dispensed the correct dosage into his palm, as he helped Kenzie sit up and swallow them.

"Close your eyes and rest baby." Hunter said, as she settled back down onto his lap and nestled her head against his chest.

There was a thick silence in the car for the rest of the trip. Everyone was trying to let Kenzie rest, but Hunter knew there was much that needed to be said. His angle bubbled up and boiled over as he stroked Kenzie's hair and soaked in the feeling of her small body pressed against his. His anger seemed to be matched by her very pissed off brother who rest his hands on her calves, glaring out the window with gritted teeth.

Deciding it was best for him to rest his eyes and conserve his energy, Hunter let his head fall back against the headrest and close his eyes, noticing that Banks had done the same.

Better rest now Banks, you and I have an eventful night ahead of us. 

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