Over twenty days later, Los Angeles International Airport.
Hunter stepped out of the terminal with a sweet, sexy girl clinging to his arm like a decorative pendant.
Looking at Sam, who was now utterly dependent on him, Hunter's mood was excellent.
Over the past three weeks, after spending a few days at sea, Hunter and Sam had stayed in the Dominican Republic for eleven days.
However, no matter how hard he searched or how much money he threw around, he couldn't find a single trace of Dominic Toretto or his sister, Mia.
After that, he took Sam to the neighboring island nation of Dominica and stayed there for several more days.
The result was the same.
Right up until they left the Caribbean, Hunter found zero information regarding Dom or Mia.
It was as if the two of them had vanished off the face of the earth.
Hunter didn't know exactly what the situation was, but he hadn't given up.
He had brought Sam back to the US with a new plan: he was going to grind out assassination contracts for the Continental Hotel.
Having witnessed the terrifying efficiency of the Hotel's intelligence network in the Bahamas, Hunter planned to earn enough Continental gold coins to simply buy Dom's location from them.
He was confident that if he could find Dom, Mia wouldn't be far behind.
Upon arriving in LA, Hunter didn't linger in the city. He drove Sam straight out to Pomona, back to the agricultural heartland.
However, he didn't take her to his original ranch where his other lovers lived.
Instead, he took her to a newly purchased property right next door.
This new ranch was slightly larger than his first, spanning exactly 325 acres. Unlike his first property, which had a significant amount of untamed land, this new purchase was mostly prime, arable farmland, with only about 43 acres of forest.
Because of this, it was significantly more expensive.
But for the current Hunter, money was meaningless.
With the Continental Hotel acting as his financial guarantor and laundering service, he no longer had to worry about the IRS investigating his massive wealth.
He bought the $325-acre ranch outright in cash and put the deed entirely in Sam's name.
This not only solved her immigration and green card issues through an investor visa but also gave Hunter a much-needed buffer. He wasn't in a rush to introduce Sam to his other women just yet.
Once settled in LA, Hunter's life quickly returned to a bloody, efficient routine.
The very next day, he walked into the Los Angeles Continental and accepted a contract. The target was a local gang boss in California.
For Hunter, it wasn't even a challenge. One sniper bullet, one dead boss. Contract complete.
Over the next half-month, he accepted and executed three more high-tier contracts in rapid succession. Aside from one that required a bit of tracking, the others were eliminated within a day of accepting the job.
Very quickly, Hunter Sun's name began to command serious respect within the LA branch of the Continental.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
On the new ranch, Hunter had sectioned off a plot of land and built a private outdoor shooting range.
He stood behind Sam, who was wearing a tight, sleeveless tank top and noise-canceling earmuffs. She was firing a 9mm pistol at a target ten meters away.
Hunter stepped closer. He placed a hand on her waist to correct her posture, then gently pressed down on her shoulders.
Having received his instruction for days, Sam immediately understood. She adjusted her hips to stabilize her stance and consciously relaxed her tense shoulders.
When she finished the magazine, Hunter looked at the grouping on the paper target and nodded in satisfaction.
"Not bad. For a beginner, your progress is excellent."
He handed her a towel, offering a warm smile.
Hunter made it a point to teach all his women basic firearms proficiency—whether it was Slattery, Terri, Maggie, or even Maggie's adopted daughter, Mathilda.
It couldn't be helped. This was the 'Land of the Free.' Guns were everywhere.
Even though Hunter was confident in his ability to protect them, he knew he couldn't be everywhere at once.
He didn't expect them to become elite assassins who could wipe out hit squads. He just wanted them to have enough self-defense capability to hold off a threat until he could arrive.
Therefore, he mandated that they all learn how to handle a pistol and shoot accurately within a ten to twenty-meter range.
Sam rolled her wrists, shaking out the stiffness from the recoil.
"I hit the ten-ring four times," she reported happily, seeking his praise.
It had been over a month since she left the Bahamas with him, and over twenty days since they moved to California. The longer she stayed with him, the deeper his influence over her became.
Hunter naturally didn't hold back on his compliments.
But before they could get too affectionate on the range, a voice called out from the distance.
"Hey!"
Accompanied by the rhythmic thud of hooves, Terri rode up to the fence line separating the two ranches, with young Mathilda riding a smaller horse beside her.
They were riding American Quarter Horses. Hunter had recently purchased over a dozen of them. Riding around the vast properties in their free time had become a favorite pastime for the women.
"Sam! We're having a BBQ later, come on over!" Terri yelled cheerfully over the fence.
The fence separating the two massive properties wasn't very high.
More importantly, Terri had received her instructions from Hunter.
Terri, whose dependency on Hunter was absolute, would never disobey him. After Hunter gave her the subtle go-ahead a few days ago, Terri had intentionally created a "chance" encounter to introduce herself to her new neighbor.
Since then, interactions between the two ranches had become frequent.
Sam spent most of her time alone on her new ranch. Hunter was busy with his "business," so he couldn't be with her 24/7. Even though she spent her time learning ranch management, riding horses, and practicing at the range, she inevitably got lonely.
Slowly but surely, she had grown friendly with the women next door: Terri and Maggie.
Sam looked at Hunter. He smiled and gave her a subtle nod of approval.
Her face lit up. "Sure, I'd love to!" she called back to Terri. "Let me just take a quick shower, and I'll be right over!"
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