Exposed - Part Three (The Exposed Series, #3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

home."
    "You didn't talk to me." I'm sobbing now. The realization that he'd been so close for so many years is washing through me.
    "I couldn't." He lowers his head and pulls in a deep breath. "Your father had me arrested."
    "When?" The thought that this had gone on without my knowledge chills me. Why hadn't my father told me about Hunter?
    "A few years ago." He pulls himself up so he's sitting next to me now. "I was at the airport, waiting for arrivals. You'd been in Europe with your mother for three weeks. I couldn't breathe anymore. I missed seeing your beautiful face so I was there waiting for you to appear."
    I pull my hands to my face, covering my eyes in an effort to push my mind back to that day. "No, Hunter. No." I turn to look at him, my hand reaching to grab his suit jacket. "There was a man. He was on the floor. The guards had tackled him. I remember the chaos when I walked out."
    He nods his head slowly.
    "My father rushed me out. He said it wasn't safe." I pull my hand down his lapel before resting it on his thigh.
    "He recognized me. I stopped him outside of your house one day months before that to explain who I was and to ask to see you." He reaches to squeeze my hand.  "He told me to go to hell and that if he ever saw me again he'd call the police. He wasn't lying."
    I twist my hand around his. "He called you Zander. That's why when I said I was seeing a man named Hunter he didn't connect the dots."
    "I hate my name." He cringes as he says the words. "I'm Hunter. I've always been Hunter."
    "You're Zander." I correct him. "They all call you that."
    "My mother calls me Hunter." He drops my hand. "When I was young she'd call me that because I hunted creatures outside. Bugs, spiders, mice. I'm her Hunter."

Chapter 12
    H e's my Hunter too. He hunted me. He watched me for years. He was always there. Always in the background of my life.
    "Why are you marrying her?" I know the question is ill timed but I can't contain it any longer. I've wanted to ask him that since I saw him at the doorway of my room.
    "It's so complicated." He twists his hands together. "I took Coral away and then Ben died because of me."
    "Ben?" I stare at his face.
    "Coral's dad." He winces as he says his name. "He died of a broken heart."
    I don't know how to respond. I can't imagine the pain her parents must have felt in the days after her death. Blaming himself for her father's death just didn't make sense. It was too much weight for anyone's shoulders to bear, even Hunter's.
    "His death wasn’t your fault." I try to sound reassuring but I can't comprehend everything I've learned since he walked into the room. It's all too much.
    "It was." He pushes back slightly so he can turn and face me directly.
    "I managed to destroy their entire family when I crashed that car." I see the weight of the words as they cling to him. His expression speaks of such deep regret that it's almost palpable.
    "They're blaming you for this." I reach to cradle his cheek in my hand. "I saw that tonight."
    He pulls his hand up to cover mine and closes his eyes. "I blame myself for it."
    "You have to let it go," I whisper. "It's been such a long time."
    His eyes flash open and a darkness flares over them. "It's not that simple." His tone is deep and low. "You can't just let something like that go."
    "You can and you need to." I exhale in a rush. If he's marrying her out of guilt, he can change that. He can let that go and end things with her tonight.
    "Sadie, you don't understand," he says softly. "I've taken care of them for years now. Since Ben died, I'm the one who takes care of everything."
    "It doesn't have to be that way." I want him to see that a future with me is just one conversation away. All he has to do is tell Christina he can't marry her and I can have him back. He can be my Hunter again.
    "It does." He stares into my eyes. I can't read what he's feeling. There's too much pain to see past.
    "Then I hope you can find what you need with her." I drop my hand