Hunter had left Amalia at her home after they left the hospital. He was reluctant to leave her alone. In fact, several moments after he escorted her home he stood at her doorway as it closed. He was restless. With a heavy sigh, he raked his fingers through his hair. He had to get back to the club, even if briefly to oversee things and tie up some loose ends. After a few moments of hesitation, he mounted his bike and made his way to the club.
Hunters mind was in chaos. Its sole focus on the kid and her emotional state when he left her. He had never seen someone cry like that before. It was as though she built up a lifetime worth of pain and kept it locked securely inside. Her eyes, when she had finished, looked broken he had felt like he was looking down an abyss. The farther he looked, the more pain he had found. Even now he wasn't sure she had found the bottom yet.
He was so distracted by his thoughts that barely noticed the men around him. Instead, he found his way to his office where he pounded back shot after shot of whiskey. None of it strong enough to dull his urge to return to her. Unfortunately, he had work to do. He would get what he do what he could for now and let Cage handle the rest.
Meanwhile, Charlie had seen him return after a few days absence. The boss was back yet Luke was still nowhere to be seen. It was almost too perfect really. The timing of their departures and Lukes disappearance left a sour taste in his mouth. Charlie didn't know whether he should be worried or suspicious. All he knew was his gut was telling him that Hunter had answers, and he needed them.
Charlie paced the grounds of the warehouse anxiously. His fists were curled into the denim of his jacket as he gazed sightlessly at his surroundings. He could feel his anger and frustration bubbling up inside him with every step. His muscles tensed. His heart raced. And finally, after some deliberation, he made his way to Hunter's office.
Charlie didn't knock when he arrived there. He didn't announce himself. Nor did he even ask permission to enter. Instead, he pushed his way into the room which caused the door to ricochet all the wall, and several of Hunters belongings landed on the floor. A normal man would be afraid. Charlie was not. He wasn't capable of that at this point. He was so angry at Hunter right now, and Luke that he saw nothing but red.
More than anything, he was angry at himself.
If he hadn't allowed his pride to get the better of him he wouldn't need to be here right now. The guilt he felt over his argument with Luke was slowly eating away at his sanity. Hunter was right, he needed to fix it. The only problem was, how? How was he going to fix it if he couldn't find the guy? But then, if he hadn't tried to push his way into Luke's space he wouldn't be wondering this either. There was just no end to it.
Hunter looked up at the man who stood before him. His eyes were glassy from the drink. His expression was surly. This was the absolute last thing he needed. His eyes stared the man down as he attempted to burn him into the floor with his gaze.
" You got a lot of balls, Kid. Coming in here like that?" The words were more a growl of an annoyance than they were a statement. "You have something you want to say?" He barked at Charlie. It was bad enough he had his hands full with her, but this guy just had to stick his nose into everything. He was beginning to understand what had caused the rift between them. With as much as she fought to keep her emotions in check, she didn't need a live wire like Charlie around. He was nothing, if not a giant ball of unnecessary tender feelings. To the kid, those were lethal.
Charlie stared at the ground a moment, chewing the inside of his cheek in thought. Challenging the boss would not be a smart move. However, no matter how much the thought of calling Hunter out intimidated him, the thought that Hunter might have done something to Luke infuriated him more.
"Yeah! You bet I have something to say!! What did you do with Luke? You didn't decide to expel him after all, did you?"
The words wouldn't stop coming out as he spoke. One by one, they tumbled off his tongue of their own accord as all his pent up guilt and anger proceeded to spill out.
"I swear to God, Hunter if you hurt him ..if anyone hair on his head is damaged..anything you've done will pale in comparison to what I do to you."
He spat the words out. It was only after he had finished speaking, that he realized exactly what he had said. His face went white, almost ashen as his eyes widened. It was too late now, though, to regret it. And he wouldn't. Even if it cost him his life. Luke was his brother, if he couldn't exact revenge, he would at least die trying.
Hunter went deathly still hearing his new junior call him out in such a way. He narrowed his eyes at the man across from him. His fingers curling around the edge of his glass even more tightly. This guy, he didn't just have balls. He was stupid as well. Hunter couldn't believe the kids audacity. He understood why the punk had challenged him, that was easy. But Charlie was a peace-loving pacificist. Hunter was certain the only reason he had joined at all was so that he could protect the kid.
Hunter inhaled deeply, staring down at this whiskey as he swirled it around in the glass. He knew Charlie was only looking out for his brother. In fact, he was positive Charlie wasn't even aware of Lukes actual identity. All of it made sense, logically speaking. The problem was, Hunter was feeling anything but logical. His brain was more than aware that they were friends but on some deeper more intrinsic level, it was irritating him to no end that Charlie kept poking his nose around Lukes business. The fact that he was here challenging him was pushing him closer and closer to the edge.
"Who the f*ck gave you the right to question me?"
Hunter had barely finished his sentence when his glass of whiskey went crashing against the wall. In fact, it had all happened so quickly that Charlie had no opportunity to defend himself. He hadn't realized what was happening until Hunter had him against the wall. His fist came crashing hard into Charlie's abdomen in what seemed like seconds.
"Listen here kid, this is my club"
His fist landed again, timed to punctuate each and every sentence.
"I will do what I want."
**BAM***
"With whoever I want."
The last blow had Charlie doubled over coughing up blood. He groaned holding his stomach glaring up at his boss with angry eyes.
"Then...then at least tell me ..is ok?" he demanded, in between shallow painful breaths. It was hard enough just to breathe. Speaking was a task all on its own. Charlie turned his head to the side spitting out blood.
Hunter looked down at the man on the ground without an ounce of pity. His expression was clearly annoyed.
"The punk will find you when he's ready. He has some shit going down right now so I gave him some leave. In the meantime, don't go poking your nose around."
Truthfully Hunter didn't want him anywhere near the punk at all, her secret was his to protect. He'd be damned if he let some busy body meddle her affairs and make a mess of things. The kid had goals, and while he didn't approve of them, he could respect them. Even more, at this point, he felt there wasn't he wouldn't do to dissolve that wall she was slowly building around herself.
Charlie had been listening to Hunter's words. Right up until the part where he mentioned Luke taking a leave. His eyes widened in shock. The whole in his heart felt like it was expanding outward and was about to swallow him whole. It was like he was standing over the edge of an abyss and about to fall in.
Luke was in trouble. Not only had he not been there, but he had avoided him. And now, He had turned to Hunter.
Charlies opened his mouth to speak but his voice seemed to have disappeared. His bravado from earlier lay crumbled at his feet and all he could do nod his head meekly at Hunter's orders. Normally he would go searching. The problem was, he had no idea of where to start.
The only thing for him at this point that was worse than not knowing where Luke was, was the knowledge that Hunter did.
If Luke hadn't come looking for him, did that mean he no longer needed him?