Devastated (Anger Management, #1)(62)

Ten sexually explicit emails later and she found herself glancing up from the computer to find two sets of eyes focused on her. Swallowing nervously, she shifted in her seat, cleared her throat, and tried to focus on the next email only to risk another glance up and-

“Did Hunter ever tell you about the nickname that he earned during basic training?” Grey casually asked, looking amused.

“Nickname?” Kylie asked, blinking as she shifted her attention to Hunter to find him quickly getting to his feet and heading her way as he released an impressive string of curses.

“I believe it had something to do with the latrine,” Grey murmured thoughtfully as Kylie suddenly found herself plucked out of her chair and thrown over Hunter’s shoulder.

“Wait. What’s this about a latrine?” she asked, as Hunter quickened his pace and carried her into the hallway.

“He never told you?” Grey asked, sounding amused as she suddenly found herself standing alone in the hallway, staring at the closed office door.

“No! What was his nickname?” she asked, sounding hopeful when the office door suddenly opened and—

Hunter was standing there, glaring as he leaned down and quickly kissed her as he handed her the laptop before she once again found herself staring at the office door. Not really caring that she was pouting, she reluctantly turned around with her shoulders slumped in defeat as she hugged the laptop against her chest as she headed to the kitchen with a sadly mumbled, “Damn it.”

---

“She’s cute,” Grey said, as Hunter turned around and found the large bastard that had made his life a living hell sitting in his office, looking bored out of his fucking mind.

“Don’t fucking go there,” Hunter warned, somehow resisting the urge to beat the shit out of the large bastard and forced himself to sit back down.

“Fair enough,” Grey murmured absently.

“I don’t need therapy,” Hunter said, getting to the point as he faced the man that he never thought that he would see again.

“Agreed,” Grey said, taking him by surprise before adding with a sad shake of his head, “I’m afraid there’s no cure for being an asshole.”

“Then what are you doing here?” Hunter asked because last he’d heard, the bastard across from him had a thriving private practice in Boston.

“Needed a change of scenery,” Grey said, throwing a curious glance at the folded blanket the little workaholic kept on the couch for those nights when she was down here working until two in the morning.

“How did Ryan convince you to come here?” Hunter asked, as he pulled out his phone and sent a message to his corporate office in Boston to find out why the asshole was really down here.

“Kylie.”

“What about her?”

“I’m curious about something,” Grey said, as he pulled out the old silver half-dollar that he used to carry with him everywhere and began rolling it over the back of his fingers, looking lost in thought and reminding Hunter of all those times that he wished that he could forget.

“What’s that?”

“Does she have empathy?” Grey asked, watching him as that coin continued to flip from one finger to the next.

“She’s beyond fucking kind,” he bit out, noting the way that Grey nodded absently.

“People pleaser? Apologizes a lot?” Grey asked, once again looking lost in thought.

“Yes,” Hunter said evenly before asking, “What does this have to do with anything?”

“They’re never going to stop,” Grey said, making everything in Hunter go still. “But you knew that, didn’t you?”

“I figured out that much for myself,” Hunter said, even though he’d been hoping that they would get bored and move on.

Nodding, Grey glanced at the closed office door before asking, “Do you know what a narcissist is?”

“I’ve heard the term.”

“It’s an overused term,” Grey explained before adding, “but not in this case.”

Nodding, Hunter dropped his head in his hands and slowly exhaled as he closed his eyes, feeling sick to his stomach. “You’ve seen the file.”

“And the letters, their online posts, and all the fake reviews that they’ve been having their friends post about Shadow Securities. They’ve been very busy.”

“You think her parents are narcissists?” Hunter asked because he thought they were just sick fucks that belonged in jail.

“I think she’s lucky to be alive,” Grey said, meeting his gaze head-on.

“And that’s why you’re here,” Hunter said, dropping his hands as he stood up and headed for the open patio doors, feeling like the room was closing in on him and-Felt himself relax when he spotted Kylie through the kitchen patio doors. God, she was so fucking beautiful, he thought even as he couldn’t help but hate himself for not being there to keep her safe when she needed him most.

“That,” Grey said, as he joined him, “and I still owe you for saving my life.”

“Take care of her and we’ll call it even.”





Chapter 34

“That is so wrong,” Kylie mumbled hollowly to herself as she continued to hit Delete only to force herself to look away as the image of the woman old enough to be her grandmother, the glitter, cucumber and so many things that were wrong on so many levels seared into her brain.