Page 15 of Boys Who Hunt
“I scared her so much, I doubt she’ll say another word to me,” Silas says, folding his arms.
“Maybe not to you, but she might talk tohim.”
Heath glances down at me, and I frown, confused.
“Wait, what?”
“Yeah, you can talk to her and make her confess,” Silas reiterates.
“What makes you think I’m good at lying to people?” I ask.
“Oh, c’mon, it’s not that difficult,” Heath says.
Silas’s brow rises. “It’s not lying if you like her.”
“You like her?” Heath asks.
A blush creeps onto my cheeks. “It’s nothing, I—”
“He couldn’t keep his eyes off her,” Silas jests.
“Is that true?” Heath’s arrogant smile makes it hard to focus. “Does Max have a crush?”
I roll my eyes. “Fuck me, this is embarrassing.”
Both boys laugh.
“It’s perfect, bro,” Heath says. “She’ll never suspect someone who’s swooning head over heels at the thought of kissing her.”
“Do you really think I could do that?”
“Of course!” He grabs me and turns me around to lock eyes with me. “You go talk to her. Seduce her. Make her trust you.” He leans in and whispers, “And when we have her right where we want her … you will convince her to admit she’s the thief.”
Ivy
Yearsago
“I’m home!”
Dad’s voice rings through the hallways, and I jump up from the couch and immediately sprint to hug him tightly like I do every day when he comes home from work.
He hugs me back, laughing. “God, one of these days, you’re going to squeeze the rest of my life out of me with those strong arms.”
I giggle as he leans over to kiss me on the forehead. “Dad, I got an A plus on my test! Wanna see?” I’m jumping up and down with excitement as I hold up my paper for him to see.
“Really?” The beaming smile on his face makes me feel proud. “You did great, sweetie. If you keep this up, you’ll definitely get into Spine Ridge University one day.”
“YES!” I yell.
Suddenly, he begins to cough, and I hold my breath while he struggles and clutches the table next to him. Mom jumps in to whisk him away while he keeps coughing and drops my paper on the floor.
“S-sorry, sweetie, I n-need a f-few minutes,” he stammers, coughing up heaps.
The smile dissipates off my face while I look down at the paper, as a splotch of blood slowly spreads on it like venom seeping into the ink…
And into my hopeful heart.
Present