Huntsman by Cambria Hebert
32
Virginia
“Take this.”
I stared at the item he extended between us like it was a three-headed baby alien he’d just pulled out of his belly button.
In reality, it was the small knife he carried around in his boot.
“I appreciate you thinking of me for a gift—” I started.
He made a rude noise. “This is not a gift. It’s a weapon.”
“Well, I was trying to be polite!” I admonished. “You seem to really like knives, so I thought maybe this was your idea of a gift.”
He laughed. “Even I know better than that.”
I glanced down at the small blade dubiously. “I don’t want it.”
“Why?”
“Because you tried to stab my brother with it.”
“I did not try and stab your brother. He attacked me, and I protected myself.”
“I don’t need it.”
Pursing his lips, he backed up until he came up against my dresser. Leaning back against it, he crossed one ankle over the other and stared. “You called me last night when you thought someone was breaking into this room.”
“I was scared.”
“What if that crazed patient burst in here like a beast and came at you? What were you going to do?”
I glanced at the lamp I’d briefly thought of trying to grab.
Earth’s gaze followed mine. “Could you have reached that in time? What if he just took it away from you?”
The rush of helplessness I’d felt last night washed over me again. How I’d felt like a sitting duck, waiting to get picked off. The truth was sometimes I was more vulnerable than most people. I wasn’t able to move with the same agility, and protecting myself was harder.
“There’s not even a lock on that door,” he spat.
“I was thinking of moving out,” I blurted.
Straightening away from the dresser, he frowned. “What? Where would you go?”
“Well, I’ve been talking to Neo. He mentioned maybe me moving in with him and Ivory.”
“You want to do that?”
“I think I’m ready to move on from this room. I mentioned getting my own place—”
“No.”
My mouth fell open. “Excuse me?”
“You can’t just live alone.”
“Yes, I can.” It would take some adjustments, but I could.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’d worry about you every minute.”
I deflated, sinking back into my chair. How could I be mad that he cared? Oddly, it was much more endearing than Neo telling me no.
“Well, that’s why he suggested I move in with him and Ivory, so I wouldn’t be alone.”
“Her place is nice.” He allowed, almost bitterly.
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. He was trying, and I wouldn’t laugh. “It’s very beautiful, but my brother is there.”
“What about me?” he demanded.
“Are you jealous?” I couldn’t help but tease.
A sour look crossed his features, and he crossed his arms over his chest. “No.”
I smiled and turned my voice sweet. “Would you come see me at Ivory’s?”
“Neo probably wouldn’t let me in the door,” he grumped.
I hid a smile. “Well, at least there are locks there.”
He was not amused by my observation.
Giggling, I held out my hand, wiggling my fingers at him. He came forward to take them but kept his expression foul.
“I could just stay here.”
The grump-tastic expression cleared, and his eyes shot to mine with surprise.
“It’s closer to you,” I explained.
Emotion passed behind his eyes, but then it was gone. “Ivory’s is safer.”
“Ivory’s house has windows,” I recalled wistfully. They looked out over Central Park, and it really was like being perched in your own private tower.
“It’s also probably wheelchair accessible,” he pointed out.
“Well, it does have an elevator.”
“It would be good for you. You deserve better than this place.”
“Can I see that knife?” I asked, giving his hand a little tug.
He brought it back out, lying in the center of his palm. It was a smaller knife, one that he kept in his boot. It was much different from the one he used a harness for, which was draped over the foot of my bed.
“I guess I could take it, at least until I move.”
He made a low sound. “You don’t have to. I’ll stay here at night anyway. You won’t need it.”
“Then why did you try and give it to me before?”
“Because I worry about you when I’m not here.”
“I’ve managed for five years in this place.”
“Well, now there’s a roaring beast down the hall.”
“Did you see him?” I whispered.
“No.”
“He must be in a lot of pain.”
Earth tilted his head to the side. “Why do you think that?”
“Why else would he be carrying on like that?”
“Because he’s an asshole.”
I shook my head. “‘Anger is never without reason, but seldom with a good one.’Benjamin Franklin said that, and I think it fits here. The man down the hall is definitely angry. He’s probably been through something horrible.”
Closing the distance between us, Earth kissed me deep and slow.
When he eased back, I slipped the knife from his hand into my lap. “I’ll keep it with me, okay?”
He kissed me again. “How about I come back and get you in a couple hours, take you out for a while before I have to work?”
I perked up. “Really?”
I threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I can’t wait!”
He pressed a kiss to my forehead before standing. “Think about where you want to go.”
“I don’t care where we go as long as I’m with you.”
He tried to hide it, but I saw the small smile form on his lips. “If anyone comes in here just stab them.”
“Earth!” I admonished.
This time, his smile was unmistakable. Crossing the room, he pulled on the harness with the very wicked-looking blade against his back. When he pulled on his leather jacket, all trace of it was gone.
“Do you carry that all the time?” I asked.
He nodded. “In my world, a man doesn’t walk around without protection.”
“Most people carry guns,” I commented.
“Not me.”
What kind of world does he live in? Why does it feel like it is different than the one the rest of us know?
“Earth?”
“What, sweetheart?”
“Where are your parents?”
He stilled, the question catching him off guard. I hadn’t meant to surprise him so much, but I also couldn’t help wondering.
He came to this city as a young kid who had nothing. He ended up an assassin and spoke of living in a world where he needed to protect himself.
“Dead.” He said it flat, almost emotionless. But I knew. His emotion was there, just much deeper than most.
“Like mine,” I whispered, sympathetic because I also knew what it was like to lose parents too young.
“No.” This time, the passion and emotion in his voice were unmistakable, and it brought my head up. “Not like yours. Your parents were good people who died tragically through no fault of their own.”
“A-and yours?”
“Mine died because of the way they lived.”
“That must be very difficult for you.”
“Actually, what’s more difficult is the relief I felt when they were gone.”
The hurt that statement caused had the breath whooshing out of me. “Oh, babe.”
“Babe?” He lifted an eyebrow curiously.
I didn’t even realize I’d said it out loud. I nodded, acknowledging that I did indeed call him that.
His eyes softened, lingering on my face the entire time he moved forward to press another kiss against my lips. Before pulling away, he rubbed our noses together, making me giggle.
Another kiss against my temple, a slight brush of his fingertips against that spot on the back of my neck.
“I’ll be back in a little while, sprite. Miss me while I’m gone.”
I watched him stride out the door, all long legs and black boots. I wanted to tell him I would definitely miss him, but I couldn’t seem to get the words out. I was too full of butterflies, skin still tingling from his brief caress.
The tip of my nose felt warm where he’d snuggled it, and so I just watched him go, his presence commanding even as it retreated.
When he was gone, my gaze dropped into my lap, to the knife that was lying on the chair against my outer thigh.
I lifted it, flipped out the blade, and looked at the reflective metal curiously.
Oh, Earth. What kind of life did you survive, and what sent you seeking refuge in the Grimms? And why?
The quote I’d shared with Earth came back to me. Anger is never without reason, but seldom with a good one.
It’s true everyone thought the Huntsman was a villain, and perhaps he was.
But even villains had their reasons, for weren’t villains actually just victims whose stories had never been heard?