Page 32 of Boys Who Hunt

Heath: She took the bait. Good job, Max.

Silas: I fucking knew it was her.

My stomach begins to churn uncomfortably.

Silas: She’s ours now.

The car outside begins to skid across the pavement, and I peer outside, straight into Silas’s piercing eyes.

Fuck.

CHAPTER 8

Ivy

I ridemy bike as fast as I can up the hill where Spine Ridge University is situated. The steep and curvy road follows a mountain path surrounded by pine trees. Every day, I made this trek up and down the mountain to attend the university while I still slept in my own home. But now that I have those Skull & Serpent guys after me, I can’t risk going home and putting Cora’s safety in jeopardy, so I’ve opted to stay somewhere else for the time being, somewhere far less cozy.

Joining a sorority this late in the year was out of the question, not to mention that I can’t pay the associated costs. My only option was an abandoned house halfway up the mountain road, colloquially known as The Shack.

There are a few empty rooms and lots of stains on the flooring and walls, but there’s one relatively clean room upstairs with a dirty bed where I’ve put a new sleeping mat and a blanket on the floor. It’s better than sleeping on that filthy bed or out in the cold air, and it’s already getting darker outside.

But with every push of the pedal, my eyes can’t help stray to the car persistently driving behind me. There are no streetlights for me to see who it is, nor are there lights turned on inside the car. But I can definitely tell it’s driving far slower than it should be … and it’s been like this for the past fifteen minutes.

I glance over my shoulder again and try to peer inside the vehicle, but no matter how hard I pinch my eyes, I can’t fucking see.

“Goddammit,” I growl, nearly crashing on my bike, but I catch myself by swerving around the road.

I come to a stop in front of The Shack and swiftly chuck my bike into the grass before I head inside and shut the door. With labored breathing, I make my way to the living room and lean over the couch, ripping away at the wood that blocks the window until I’ve managed to peel off a corner. I peer through the hole I created and nervously look around the premise and all the overgrown bushes and weeds.

But then I spot that same car, parked a few feet away from the house.

I do a double take.

Something flickers between the trees in Priory Forest and I suck in a breath.

Is it a flashlight? No.

An LED purge mask. Not one, but two.

And the guys wearing them are dressed in all-black streetwear, including chains and a white Skull and Serpent Society logo on the front of their shirts.

Silas and Heath … are marching straight toward me.

Panicking, I crawl backward, falling off the couch headfirst.

“Fuck,” I groan, rubbing my head before I get to my feet.

I have to get out of here, fast. But how? Where?

I run into the kitchen and rummage at the door, but it’s locked and bolted shut.

“Shit!” I growl, and I run back through the living room and bolt upstairs, skipping several steps.

Right as I enter the bedroom door, there’s a loud banging noise downstairs.

I shut the door and hide under the bed.

WHAM!