Devastated (Anger Management, #1)(9)

Why hadn’t she taken that job in Providence when they’d offered it to her?

Because she hated the cold, it was too expensive to live there, and of course, she refused to ever set foot in Rhode Island again, she reminded herself as she took a right at the end of the street. As she drove down the street towards the supermarket that she’d spotted on her way here yesterday, Kylie considered getting herself fired, but she couldn’t risk a black mark on her resume.

Sighing heavily, she tried to look on the bright side of things. At least there was one less day that she had to spend in that house. That was something at least, Kylie told herself as she pulled into the large parking lot of the busy grocery store. She’d survived the night, and with any luck, she’d survive the next 364 days, because there was no way that she was going to allow herself to quit, not after everything she’d done to get here.

In the meantime, she was just going to have to suck it up, try to make the best of things and make this work. She could do it. Hell, she’d been through a lot worse and she’d survived. She’d survived being married to a sociopath for two years, so what was one year working for an asshole?

At least this job promised to be interesting, Kylie told herself with a sigh and a nod, because everything was going to be fine. She’d work her butt off, keep her mouth shut, and in a year, she would move on. She wasn’t happy about it, but she reminded herself that things would work out for her one day. She just had to bide her time, work towards her goals, and stay focused.

Everything would be okay, Kylie told herself, using the same mantra that she’d been using all her life. It had gotten her through worse situations than this. Nothing could be as bad as what she’d survived. Feeling her heart begin to race and her palms getting sweaty just thinking about all the things that she’d worked so hard to forget, Kylie closed her eyes, slowed her breathing and reminded herself that she was free. She had a safe place to stay, a good job, and the knowledge that her life would never be the hell that it had once been.





Chapter 5

He was already bored out of his fucking mind, Hunter realized, as he sat at the large oak desk that Ryan had arranged for him and stared out the double glass doors that overlooked the large in-ground pool that had been the deciding factor for buying this house. Sighing, Hunter tossed his pen on the desk and leaned back in his chair so that he could shift his attention to the ceiling. He needed something to do besides staring at walls all day, he realized, wracking his brain as he tried to think of something to do that wouldn’t bore him to fucking tears.

There was a reason why he’d never bothered buying a house before now, because he couldn’t tolerate feeling boxed in. At least with a hotel he could pack his shit up and leave when it felt like the walls were closing in, but with a house…

Shaking his head in disgust, he pushed his chair back and got to his feet. He needed a distraction before he lost his fucking mind. There was plenty of work that needed his attention, but right now, he couldn’t focus on any of that. He needed to move.

Besides, he needed to know how tight his leash was now.

With that in mind, Hunter walked over to the ugly pea green duffle bag that he’d been living out of since he’d left the Marines and searched until he found what he was looking for. Shaking the orange spray can that he used when he went on jobs to mark security concerns, he headed out the front door.

A high-pitched beep sounded when he was ten feet from the end of his driveway, signaling the first side of the invisible fence that was supposed to keep him locked away for the next twelve months. Grinding his jaw, he stepped back until the unit on his leg stopped beeping and marked the spot with a large “X.”

Walking towards the side of the large yard, Hunter marked intervals of ten feet until another beep had him placing a new mark and headed towards the back of his property, continuing to mark intervals at every ten feet. The next beep came before he made it to the woods that lined the back of his property. Turning to his right, he walked a straight line until he came to the other side of his property. From there he turned to the right and repeated the action until he came to the original line that marked off the front yard.

When he was done, Hunter tossed the can aside, looked around him, and nodded. He was definitely going to lose his fucking mind here. There was absolutely no doubt about it, he absently thought as he watched a small four-door sedan covered in dents and rust pull into his driveway.

It took him a few seconds to figure out who it was, and when he did, he couldn’t help but chuckle. She actually came back. He wasn’t sure if he should give her points for bravery or question her sanity for willingly coming back here when he would have fucking split the second the opportunity presented itself. She was definitely a glutton for punishment, Hunter decided, as he studied her for a moment, debating on what he was going to do with her.

He didn’t really need her for anything, but since she was here…

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“Miss Daniels,” the deep voice that she was beginning to loathe drawled from right behind her.

Tightening her arms around her bag, her shoulders dropped in defeat. So much for getting a shower and a few hours of sleep in before facing her new boss, who just happened to be a criminal. Kylie wanted to ask him what he did, but then again, she was actually afraid that he might tell her and the answer would force her to do something stupid like flee.

So, she was going to keep her mouth shut no matter how badly she wanted to ask about his house arrest, and God, did she want to ask him. She’d Google his name later on her phone after she had some food in her stomach and a little sleep so that she was less likely to freak out over whatever she found.