Page 117 of Boys Who Hunt
I grind my teeth over and over until finally I push away. I hate, hate,hatethat he’s right, and that he knew before I did.
I snatch the money off the floor and throw it at his face. “Keep your filthy money. I don’t want it.”
“Oh, now the thief is getting all righteous?” he scoffs.
I snatch the oversized bathrobe off his door and swiftly put it on, then walk out the door, completely ignoring him.
“Ivy, wait!” Max calls as I race down the stairs.
“She’ll come back soon enough. Don’t fucking worry,” Silas calls from the top of the stairs. “She needs us.”
I stick up my middle finger as I waltz toward the door. “The fuck I do!”
“The money is going somewhere, thief …” His voice is dark, heavy, threatening as he clutches the banister while staring down at me with those hollowed-out eyes. “That trail will lead to inevitable death.”
I pause and glance at him, wondering if he’s trying to tell me something.
“The only question is who will be the reaper?”
A reaper.
A murderer without a conscience.
A killer who could end all my troubles once and for all.
A shiver runs down my spine, but I still march off and slam the front door shut behind me.
I walk across the street,hoping no one will notice me walking in a bathrobe, but it’s too late. People are already staring, and I just know they want to ask me the reason so they can gossip about it later. I’m not about to answer some questions like some head of press, so I head straight for the first building in my path.
Alpha Psi. The sorority Océane belongs to.
I knock on the door a few times and wait. When someone opens, I immediately ask, “Is Océane here?” Before they even have the chance to question me.
“Um … sure, let me go get her.” The girl looks confused as fuck but still leaves the door open for me as she walks off.
Minutes later, Océane comes to the door.
“Ivy?” She looks me up and down. “What happened?”
“Can I borrow some clothes, please?” I ask.
Her brows furrow. “Um … sure.”
I know we’re not the best of friends, but I appreciate her helping me out. “Thanks.”
But when I enter, Talon’s stern gaze catches me off guard.
“Um, hi,” I mutter to him.
He just stares at me like I interrupted their private time, then turns his head back to the other girls who are all chatting in the kitchen.
Océane closes the door after I’m in and places a hand on my shoulder. “Are you okay?” she asks. “Why are you wearing this?”
“I … I’d rather not talk about it.”
I can’t lie, I wouldn’t even know how to explain this anyway. It’s not like I hiked up the mountain and tore my clothes, then found a random bathrobe lying around. But I don’t want to tell the truth either and risk exposing myself as a fraud, a thief, just like Silas marked me as.
I clear my throat and add, “Sorry.”