The Hunter (Orion the Hunter) by J. D. Chase Read Free Book Online

joked.
     
    He laughed.  “No, now that would be impossible!”
     
    “So come on, who couldn’t it be?” I asked as I became aware that I was batting my eyelashes.
     
    “Your description sounds like Lucas Hunter but it can’t have been him,” he replied with conviction.
     
    “Who is Lucas Hunter and why can’t it have been him?” I asked.  I tried not to sound as exasperated as I felt.
     
    “He owns this building.  It can’t have been him because, as far as I know, he stays in his own part of the building.  He wouldn‘t be on the 4 th floor or in the elevator,” said Clark quietly, as if he didn’t want to be overheard.
     
    I found myself whispering back, “Why wouldn’t he?  Is he based on this floor then?”
     
    “No, right at the top.  He never uses the main elevator.  And I mean, never,” he said and then, noticing my confusion, he dropped his voice even further.  “He has a private elevator that is for his use only.”
     
    “He sounds … odd,” I murmured.  Then a thought struck me.  “Does he have a master key for the building?”
     
    “Yes, he does,” replied Clark knowledgeably, his eyes immediately narrowing.  “Why, do you ask?”
     
    “Just curious,” I said with forced brightness.  “Anyway, I must go - it is my turn to cook.  See you in the morning Mr Clark.”
     
    “Just call me Clark.  Bye, Miss Prince” he called as I shot entered the revolving door.
     
    As I exited, I turned and saw him shaking his head as he walked back to his desk.
     
    I walked back to the apartment with so many thoughts and emotions crashing around my head.  I felt exhausted when I reached it but I made sure to make time for a quick chat with James because I felt bad for snapping at him that morning.
     
    I was so glad to be back inside the apartment.  I closed the door, leaned against it and closed my eyes, breathing in the scrumptious scent of the bouquet.  When I eventually opened by eyes, I found Angel smirking at me from the breakfast bar.
     
    “So, do I take it that you found out who your secret admirer is, then?” she asked smugly.
     
    “Yes … no … I don’t have a secret admirer,” I said in exasperation.
     
    “Oh, so he isn’t secret any more?” she asked, determined, it seemed, to get to the bottom of things.
     
    “I wouldn’t say that exactly,” I whispered.  I placed the bouquet on the breakfast bar and placed my hands on the surface, bracing my arms.
     
    “I think you had better tell me all about it,” Angel coaxed.  “But let’s open a bottle of wine first.”
     
    “I would prefer something stronger,” I said, hopefully.
     
    Ten minutes later we were sat on the sofa sipping cocktails.  I glanced at her and she cocked her head to one side.  I knew that she was waiting expectantly for an explanation but I really didn’t know where to start.  I knew that she was going to freak out when if she learned that I had kept something from her.  I also knew that she wasn’t going to give up until she knew all that there was to know.
     
    I wished that the alcohol would hurry up and hit my bloodstream.  I should have insisted on tequila shots, I thought wryly.  Angel’s eyes widened in surprise as I knocked back the whole cocktail and then shuddered, thinking that, on balance, Angel’s cocktails were probably just as lethal as tequila.
     
    I placed my glass carefully on the coffee table and sat back against the sofa cushion. 
     
    “Oh my god,” Angel announced when I had recounted my first strange encounter.  Her blue eyes were huge.
     
    “Holy crap!” she said when I told her about the elevator encounter. “That’s why you looked like you had seen a ghost - you virtually had.  I knew that it wasn‘t just because of your nerves.  Why didn‘t you tell me?”
     
    I shrugged and avoided her gaze but I should have known that she would persist.  I eventually confessed that I wasn’t sure that he was real.  That I might have