Page 131 of Boys Who Hunt
I’m not about to tell the fucking world what it is we like to do.
Orion chuckles and puts his wine down. “Well, I don’t blame him. So much pleasure in this world, yet we all hunger for more.” He sighs out loud, like he’s languishing in these bright strobelights that flash through the dark rooms. “Man, these lights are giving me a headache. I’m going to find a private room to rest. See you later.”
“Bye,” I say, and he walks off, rubbing his forehead.
But my eyes immediately fall on the figure walking through the hallways with a giant bouquet, his brown, side-swept hair peeking out from the mask. My eyes narrow. That looks like …
Max.
Ivy
I takeoff this damn mask, chuck it aside, and sink to my knees in front of the mini vault in this bedroom.
Jackpot.
I slowly begin to roll the buttons around to find the combination. I don’t care how long it’s going to take me; I am going to open this thing and get ahold of the money.
Sweat rolls down my forehead, and I pray no one will come inside. The party downstairs provides so much background noise that it’s hard to focus on the task, but I refuse to give up.
This is my life.
Not just my livelihood.
My actual fuckinglifeis at stake. And not just mine, but Cora’s too.
Ihaveto get this money, no matter the cost.
I wipe away the sweat and keep turning the buttons.
However, a sudden squeak in the back of the room makes me turn my ears like a goddamn cat, and I shimmy away to the desk, rolling underneath it before whoever it is sees me.
“Ivy? I know you’re in here.”
That sounded like …
Frowning, I crawl out from underneath the desk. “Max?”
Like all the other guests, he’s wearing an eerie-looking white mask that belongs to the Phantom Society house, which covers only half his face. But it doesn’t suit him at all.
He shuts the door behind him. “What are you doing here?”
It’s only after I said the words that my eyes slide down his body, and I notice the giant bouquet in his hand.
Oh God.
CHAPTER 33
Ivy
“I was looking for you,but then your neighbor said you were here, and—”
“You went to my house?” I interrupt.
He approaches. “I wanted to tell you—”
I raise a finger to interrupt him. “Please … don’t.”
“Ivy …”