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He wasn’t dazed, which Hunter took as a good sign. But he wasn’t bouncing right back to his normal self either. Hunter knew they had limited time. The sound of gunfire would bring the police. He could already hear voices in the hallway, likely from the neighbors trying to figure out what was happening.
    Hunter dropped to the lifeless body and checked for ID, not expecting to find any. But he did have some idea who he was. “It’s the guy who came on to you as we left the club.”
    The news seemed to wake Will from his stupor. He shook his head. “He followed us back here? That seems extreme. Also makes me question your bodyguard qualifications.”
    “Not to knock your ego, but he didn’t come here looking for sex.”
    Will looked around. Grabbed up his keys and duffel bag. “Apparently not.”
    “Skills, weapons, and no ID. This guy was on a job. He’s been trained.” Hunter stood up again, ignoring the ache in his side from the rapid punches the guy had landed there. “Do you know if Peter is really dead?”
    Will frowned. “I don’t know how that’s relevant to this situation.”
    “Answer the fucking question.”
    His eyebrow lifted but he didn’t hesitate. “I don’t know.”
    Hunter took in the sight of the duffel and Will’s ready stance. He was smart enough to know they had to run. That the clock was ticking, and if the sound of wailing sirens in the distance was any indication, they had minutes only.
    Still, this point was too important to put off until later. “You are one of the heirs to the family business. If Peter is alive, he has to split the business with you. I can’t really see your unstable big brother tolerating that, but with you gone he’s in charge.”
    “Okay.”
    Hunter wasn’t sure it was. “Do you understand what I’m telling you?”
    Will’s fingers tightened on the bag’s strap. “You think my brother sent someone to kill me.”
    “Stacia and Peter were locked in an all-out war for power. It was only a matter of time before one of them took the other out.”
    “So much for the theory that the staff doesn’t pay attention.”
    That’s it.
Hunter took a giant step forward. Landed right in front of Will. “You need to understand one thing. I’m not your fucking servant.”
    If the closeness bothered him, Will hid it well. “What are you?”
    “The only hope you’ve got.”
    “So you keep saying.”
    “This guy was the first. There will be more, and one of them will take you out.” Hunter pointed at the guy bleeding out on the floor from the clean head shot Will had delivered. “Unless you think this was unrelated to your family. That you’re so irresistible that some guy would go through all of this to get your pants off.”
    Hunter almost hated saying the words. After everything, and even with the stench of death still hovering around them, he felt the kick of need. He wanted to get out of there, get somewhere safe, and bury himself in Will. Maybe if he did that, he could work the guy out of his system. Take one shot and then walk away. Hand him over to whoever was in charge of the Pentasus investigation.
    But he doubted it.
    Will’s eyes narrowed. “What I think is that you don’t sound like a bodyguard.”
    Good, because Hunter was done with that title. From now on this was an operation of equals. Even worse for Will, Hunter was thinking of making it a dictatorship with him at the helm. “Think of me as your chance at survival. Which means the days of me obeying you are over.”
    “So, now you’re in charge?”
    Fine, they’d go with that. “Damn right.”
    “Of my protection?”
    Heat flashed through Hunter again. “Of everything. Now let’s go.”

Chapter 5
    The hollow sensation hadn’t left Will’s stomach forty minutes later. After dodging anything that could have been a potential threat and covering their tracks, they walked up the steps of a building in Le Marais, a historic section of Paris on the Right Bank of the Seine. Thoughts