282 Hunter and the Russo family 3

8:24 AM

"It's almost time for breakfast!" Mia's shout from the door woke up Hunter.

He looked at her and smiled. "Come here…"

"When did you sneak out?" Hunter asked drowsily while pulling her in the bed next to him. They made love until late last night, and he remembers enjoying her attempts not to make loud sounds.

"I got out on time for no one to notice me, and I made sure to make ruckus now so that people know I just got inside your room." Mia said smugly.

"You don't think that your dad has cameras and some other spy-stuff installed?"

"He probably does." Mia admitted before adding: "But the fact that I am doing this secretively will make it easy for him not to call it out."

Hunter nodded in understanding. "So, it's a matter of pride as a father… that he can control you."

Mia made a face. "It is pride, but it's more about respect than control."

"Respect? You are not the one changing lovers like socks." Hunter blurted out and regretted when he saw that Mia's mood worsened. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I'm just stressed with the current situation and I had a need to say something mean about people who are causing us to sneak around."

"You noticed?" Mia asked after some time.

Hunter knows that her question is about his comment that Fabricio is a womanizer. "Your mood change when you saw Penelope was obvious. Is that why you are keeping your distance from him and from this place?"

Mia frowned. "Can we talk about it some other time?"

"Sure. Let's switch to better topics. When is breakfast?"

Mia stifled a laugh. Sure, talking about the upcoming meal is one of the best topics. "At nine. Go shower. You always take forever to get ready."

Hunter narrowed his eyes at her. "It takes time to be perfect."

Mia looked at Hunter dreamily. Yes, her Hunter is perfect.

…

Later that morning…

Mia and Hunter followed Fabricio and Keith down the path behind the mansion.

Mia frowned when they stopped at a clearing. "Shooting?"

Fabricio confirmed. "Keith suggested that Hunter shows some of his skills without contact with the opponent. It will reduce the chance for Hunter to get hurt."

Mia looked a Keith who smiled innocently.

At first, Keith thought that Hunter is just a pretty boy from a wealthy family and that Hunter will be intimidated by Fabricio enough to run away and abandon any desires of being with Mia. But after last night, Keith has to admit that Hunter is someone he needs to deal with.

There is nothing more Keith wants than to pummel Hunter into a pulp, but Keith is aware of how Mia will not approve and probably hate him for harming Hunter directly, so he needs a more subtle approach.

Mia turned to Hunter and looked at him with concern obvious on her face. She does not care much about these silly competitions but she knows that a loss will impact Hunter negatively. He has his pride as a man and she loves that cocky side of him.

Hunter gave Mia an assuring smile. "It's OK. If Keith suggested this, he must have a plan. I am touched that Keith is concerned about my safety."

Keith forced a smile. "Of course. Pick your weapon." Keith gestured toward the table with a variety of rifles and pistols.

Hunter casually glanced at the firearms and shrugged. "Can you pick? I understand that you are giving me an opportunity to pick the one I'm most proficient with, but honestly, there is no such weapon. They are all the same to me so I will use whatever you decide on."

"If you insist. We will use the same." Keith smiled smugly and went to pick a gun.

Mia saw that Keith picked his favorite pistol and her expression dropped more. "Hunter, you don't need to do this."

"It's OK. You told me that your family would want to test me, and Keith already thought about my physical safety. I am willing to do this for you. For us." Hunter wrapped his arms around Mia's waist and looked into her eyes. "I would cross the oceans and climb mountains in order to spend my life with you. What is a little shooting match? And if I lose, will you love me less?"

Mia smiled and put her arms around Hunter's neck. "No matter what happens, there is no way I will love you less."

Keith looked at the love-dovey mood and gritted his teeth. "Ready?"

"Please, start first. I'm busy now…" Hunter responded without breaking eye contact with Mia.

Fabricio cleared his throat. "I will keep the scores."

Mia giggled. "What scores? Aren't the targets automated and you only need to look at the screen?"

"Someone needs to do that." Fabricio said awkwardly, irritated that Mia exposed him. He was only looking for an excuse to ignore Mia and Hunter. He wanted to tell them to stand further apart, but then he saw that they are only holding each other with several inches between their bodies, so it's nothing inappropriate. "Keith, please start. You have ten shots, overall best score wins… If it's close, we will go for another match, up to three..."

Keith stood in the position and took his aim. He was irritated that Mia is not looking at him or at the target. Hunter has all her attention, but that will not be for long! Or so he thought…

Sometime later…

"You didn't tell me that you can shoot." Mia said with amazement in her voice while walking away from the shooting range with Hunter.

Hunter smiled smugly. "You are looking at the junior state champion in precision shooting with pistol and air rifle. Also, during college, I had a gang and we went camping a few times a year where we would hunt our dinner and your fiancé would never come back to the camp empty-handed. Do you think that my name is Hunter by accident? You should see me with a spear..."

Mia giggled. She likes it when Hunter shows off, and he played Keith perfectly. "No wonder you said that pistols and rifles are the same to you. You are amazing with both. But Keith is good as well, how did you wipe the floor with him so badly?"

Hunter pointed at his temple. "When two good shooters face each other, victory is in messing with other's head."

Mia pouted. "Aww… I thought you were hugging me and saying all those sweet things because you love me."

"I do love you. But in this case, our public display of affection helped mess up Keith. With an unsteady mind, the aim is shaky..."

Back at the shooting range…

"Keith, it's time to go inside." Fabricio said to Keith who was still staring toward the scoreboard, unable to believe that he lost all three rounds they played. He didn't lose by much, but a loss is a loss… and he lost.

"I… I'm sorry for disappointing you." Keith said after some time.

Fabricio shook his head. "I admit that I was surprised to see you lose, but I knew it's coming before the match started."

Keith frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You didn't lose in the shooting. You lost when your temper flared because of how Hunter and Mia interacted." Fabricio explained.

"You know about my intentions toward Mia. How can I stay cool when a stranger is standing in the place which is rightfully mine?"

Fabricio exhaled forcibly. "Keith, I know about your intentions but… Mia's heart is set on Hunter."

Keith looked at Fabricio in disbelief. "Are you saying that you will support their relationship? What if they get married? He is not fit to be her husband! He is not fit to be your successor." 

"Mia is not picking my successor. She is deciding with whom she will create her future. I can see that they care about each other and as long as Hunter is not a liability which will put Mia in danger, I will not try to get between them."

"What about the organization?"

"Keith, as you know, Mia already told me that she is not interested in taking her rightful spot. I didn't make Roberto my heir because she is more capable and less impulsive. Also, I hope that she will change her mind because if I hand it to Roberto, it is only a matter of time before we dissolve. I see that she cares about Hunter and about his opinion. Maybe this boy is capable and maybe he helps in convincing her to take over after I retire."

Fabricio saw that Keith frowned in disapproval and Fabricio raised his hand, stopping Keith from speaking before he could say anything. "Let's not talk about the future, but focus on today. It's unexpected that Hunter's shooting skills are comparable to yours, but what was really surprising in this match is that he outwitted you. You know that in our line of work, a cool head saves lives more often than a quick trigger. If this was a mission, you would fail and your life would be in danger. Take this as a learning experience, how Hunter turned a disadvantageous situation in his favor." Fabricio patted Keith's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. "Lunchtime is approaching. I will allow you to pick one more challenge for Hunter."

"You already decided to accept him." Keith squeezed through his teeth.

Fabricio shrugged, indicating that he is not sure. "He won in a game you picked and that tells me that he is competent and using his head. By end of the day, I want you to either prove him as not qualified or to accept him as Mia's choice."

Keith balled his hands into fists angrily while looking after Fabricio who was walking away. This didn't turn out the way he hoped. Actually, this was a disaster. Instead of showing how Hunter is incompetent, Keith ended up getting a lesson from Fabricio with Hunter as an example of how the real man should behave.

Keith told himself to calm down. Fabricio gave him another chance to test Hunter. What will the test be? So many options...

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