Page 147 of Boys Who Hunt
She pushes the door open and steps inside with Max, but Heath stays put in the doorway, his stance uncomfortable, muscles clenched.
I push him aside to see what she’s been hiding, only to come to an abrupt halt in the door opening while I clutch the frame as a little girl merely the size of my legs sits on the couch in the living room.
And I have never,everbeen so fucking dazed as I am now.
This is what she was hiding?
A child?
I can’t stop staring at the little girl who’s sucking her thumb as she stares us up and down as if she’s judging the weight of our value with her eyes alone. And for some reason, I feel like the entire floor has just caved in underneath me, which is an unfamiliar feeling to me. This body was made to kill, and it doesn’t fucking respond to any of my commands. That’s what scares the living shit out of me.
I take a good look around the apartment. It’s a shoddy mess, with patches of paint coming off the walls, a dirty carpet, and too many stains on the wall. This can’t be fucking healthy. Especially for a child.
“Thank fuck you’re finally here.” An old lady gets up from the couch and turns off the TV. “I thought you’d never show up.”
“Thanks for watching her, Mrs. Schwartz,” Ivy says, her hands diving into her pockets to fish out some change and a couple of bills. “I’m sorry, this is all I have tonight. I swear, I’ll repay you tomorrow.”
Wait a minute …
Max steps forward and plucks a wad of cash from his pocket, stuffing it into Mrs. Schwartz’s hands. “Consider the debt paid.”
Ivy looks up at him. “You don’t have to—”
“I want to,” Max replies, smiling.
She blushes, and my nails dig into the fucking walls of her apartment.
“Thanks, sonny,” Mrs. Schwartz waddles off in her slippers and pushes past us without even granting us a single look. “Oh, and feed that fucking cat, will you? He keeps nagging me, and I’m allergic.”
A cat?
I look up at the windowsill where a black cat with vicious yellow eyes home in on mine, sharpening its claws to prepare for an attack. And I nearly fucking turn around and waltz off.
“Hey, Bagel,” Max says as he pets that demon spawn on its head.
“Wait a minute … you’re acquainted?” My eyes narrow as Max looks up at me, and then it finally clicks. “You’ve been here before.”
He throws his hand behind his head and grins stupidly. “I was just looking out for her.”
“Looking out for that fucking pussy, yeah,” I grit, pulling up my sleeves.
Heath laughs, and I turn to glare up at him. “You knew?”
“Oh, he didn’t just know.” Max rolls his eyes.
My fingers dig into my palm so deeply they begin to bleed. “You both knew she lived here, and you kept it from me.”
“I did what you told me to do,” Max says.
“I never said you could lie to me.”
“I didn’t lie. I just … omitted the truth.” Max chuckles awkwardly. “Can you blame me?”
He glances at her with a crazy amount of love in his eyes, and for some reason, it makes me boil over with rage.
But that kid … that kid is staring at me from the couch like she’ll haunt me for the rest of my life if I don’t stay. And I can’t look away either because in her tiny hands is that red flower of mine.
“Cora, come here. It’s okay,” Ivy says, and the little girl runs into her arms to hug her tight.