287 Hunter and the Russo family 8

"Are you sure that your speech will not make Keith act against Fabricio?" Hunter asked when Mia closed the door behind them. "Cornered animal will bite back no matter how big the opponent is."

Mia shrugged. "Keith already acted against my father's orders. Once a person starts rebelling, things escalate. It was one thing to stubbornly pursue me, but now Keith escalated into using Fabricio's men to sabotage the escape room. Keith is getting bolder and if Fabricio stays passive, it's only a matter of time before Keith opposes him openly and challenges his position. I don't care much about this organization, but there is no way that I will take over when it's in the middle of an internal power struggle. This place and these people are my father's legacy and I don't feel attached to it enough to put my life on the line to fix the wrongs."

Hunter agrees with Mia about not taking over something unstable, especially if she does not care much about it. By now, Hunter confirmed that Mia has conflicting thoughts about being Fabricio's heir. On one side, she was raised here with thoughts that she will be the next boss. But then things happened, and she lost her faith in Fabricio and that is clashing with her initial upbringing because she is associating this organization with Fabricio.

It must be tough on Mia, Hunter thought. But this is not a decision he should influence. Hunter only hopes that Mia is aware of how he will support her, no matter what she decides.

Hunter looked at the bandage on his left calf and remembered the incident from that afternoon.

"Do you think that technician is dead?"

Mia nodded. "Probably. In the organization of assassins, that is how you remove weak links."

"What is a graveyard?" Hunter asked Mia apprehensively. He wanted to ask during dinner because he had a hunch that it's not just a typical place where dead are buried, but Keith and Fabricio were at the table with them and Hunter didn't want to appear to be nosy.

Mia confirmed Hunter's suspicion. "It's where we dispose of bodies. But if he is there, by now, animals got him, and he is not recognizable. Even if that is not the case, we would probably only confirm that he was murdered. After all, our basic training covers not leaving traces that can identify us."

Hunter looked at Mia with a gentle gaze. "I found myself an interesting wife."

Mia laughed. "Thank you for describing all this mess as… interesting. Let's get you in the shower. I will help you keep the wound dry."

…

They returned to the room from the bathroom, and Mia helped Hunter settle in the bed. She brought snacks and drinks to the bedside table because it's early to sleep and they will probably chat.

Hunter observed Mia and his sight fell on her feet.

"I didn't notice that you are into fuzzy slippers."

Hunter smiled while observing Mia acting girly. "I will buy you many fuzzy things."

Mia bobbed her head happily. "Just don't overdo it. I don't want to ruin my reputation of a strong woman."

Hunter laughed.

That evening, Mia didn't pretend to go to her room to sleep. After snacking and chatting, Mia slept in Hunter's arms.

…

Sunday

2:21 AM

Mia's legs jerked in her sleep and she kicked Hunter.

He saw that she is restless, which is unusual because Mia always sleeps like a log. Hunter felt that something is not right and he turned on the bedside lamp.

By this time, Mia was half-awake as well. "Don't tickle me…" She said drowsily.

Hunter frowned, why would she assume that he is tickling her?

A small squeak from the side of the bed got Hunter's attention and his eyes widened in horror when he saw four rats nearby fuzzy slippers which Mia wore earlier. In one violent move, Hunter tugged the cover off from them and saw five rats under the cover, mostly around Mia's feet.

"Shit!" Mia cursed when she realized that the tickling is not from Hunter.

In the next moment, she screamed. "Ahh! The bastard bit me!"

Mia started kicking the rats off the bed, including the one which was moving toward Hunter's wound on his calf.

Hunter saw another three heads of the rats emerging from the edge of the bed and they dashed toward Mia's feet, stimulated by the scent of her blood.

Hunter scooped Mia in his arms and dashed into the bathroom. He immediately started the shower and got them inside while pouring shower gel over their feet and the floor.

"What are you doing?" Mia asked.

"The slippers have something that attracts rats. I assume it's a scent, and this should cover it up so that they don't come at us. How is your wound?"

"It's not big… but it stings…" Mia whined.

Hunter looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry, Mia, but we need to get the scent off or they will find us in here. Rats have an amazing sense of smell and if my guess is correct, the scent which attracts them is on those fuzzy slippers you wore."

Mia had to agree that Hunter's deduction is correct.

"Ah, your wound is getting wet!" Mia exclaimed when she saw that Hunter is soaked, just as she is.

"Don't worry." Hunter assured her. "It's just water, and once we are out, we will change the bandage. Let's wash your feet well and we can wrap our wounds in towels to cover up the scent of blood so that we can come out safely. I counted at least a dozen rats… You need to bear with the stinging for a minute. You should get a tetanus shot."

…

About twenty minutes later…

Hunter and Mia were in the living room, wearing bathrobes, and Mia made sure to wake up everyone.

The medic came swiftly to give Mia a tetanus shot, and he was doing blood tests to make sure if she needs anything else because rats could carry various diseases.

"How could this happen?" Fabricio asked in disbelief while looking at the medic who was bandaging Mia's foot.

"Do you have rats which attack according to scent?" Mia asked.

"Yes. It's experimental…" Fabricio responded.

"Well, the experiment succeeded!" Mia said angrily. "Someone left in Hunter's room slippers which I wore, and the rats attacked my feet!"

Fabricio ran his hand through his hair nervously.

"What were you doing in his room?" Keith asked mockingly.

Mia glared at Keith. "I was sleeping. Don't pretend that you don't know we are living together in Seattle! I will not allow you to divert the topic! The target of this attack was Hunter. Luckily, he thought quickly and got us both in the shower to wash off whatever scent stuck to my feet, or this would be much worse. If I was alone, I would not reach the shower before suffering heavy damage."

Keith snorted. "So now the Hunter is the hero…"

'POW!'

Keith's sentence was interrupted by Hunter's punch which landed on Keith's face heavily.

"It's one thing to go after me, but now you hurt Mia. Do you even care about her? Or you just want to inherit Fabricio!? Was it ever about Mia!?" Hunter roared.

Keith gritted his teeth while holding his cheek. "How dare you hit me in my house? How dare you accuse me without evidence? You are an outsider and you have no right to interfere."

"I am with Mia, that makes me more qualified to be here than you."

Keith narrowed his eyes. "How can you be more qualified to be in this house?"

"I'm not talking about the house. I am talking about being by Mia's side as a man she relies on, her lover. If it's up to me, you can keep the house and everything in it, I have more than what we will ever need! The only reason I'm here is because of Mia! And why are you here, Keith!?" Hunter shouted angrily.

"Calm down, boys…" Fabricio interfered. He turned to a maid and instructed: "I want to know who delivered those slippers into Hunter's room. I want security footage. If no one takes responsibility and the footage is missing, I will assume that all of you are plotting against me."

The maid bowed and left the room.

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