Page 161 of Boys Who Hunt

Just before I flip him off, Max enters the room, breaking my train of thought with his happy, “Morning, everyone!”

He looks at me, then at Silas, and briefly at Heath before sitting down on the other end of the table, far away from Heath.

“What is this, a grand buffet on a cruise?” Max says. “This looks amazing!”

“Silas went all out,” Heath replies.

But Max won’t look at him and keeps readjusting his cutlery and the plates like he doesn’t know where to look until he finds me. “Sleep well?”

“Amazing, thanks,” I reply. “You?”

“Never slept better.” He stretches. “Though, I’m a bit worried about all those bodies we left in the street.”

“I have it covered. I called one of my mom’s men. He owes me one,” Silas says.

“One?” Heath pauses with shoveling down the bacon. “You think one guy is gonna fix all of this?”

“I know my mom’s men. They know how to get a job done discreetly.”

“Your mom?” I mutter. “Penelope?”

“What about her?” he asks.

“She has men to clean upbodies?”

“His grandpa is an underground Mafia hunter. Takes money from the rich and gives back to people in need. A notorious hater of everything criminal,” Heath explains. “She inherited hisbusiness.” He makes quotation marks with his fingers.

“Wow.” I lean back in my seat. “No wonder you’re like this.”

Silas narrows his eyes at me like I caught him red-handed.

“You said that out loud,” Max whispers into my ear.

“I know,” I say, unafraid.

“Those men were after you for a reason,” Silas says, putting his elbows on the table as he leans his chin on both hands. “So what was it?”

“Do we have to do this now?” Max asks.

“Yes,” Silas replies. “Now.”

I grind my teeth. I’m not about to tell them my entire life’s story when they could use it against me.

“I owed them …”

“What?”

“Money.”

He snorts. “Money for what?”

He won’t stop prying until he’s satisfied, will he?

“Why do you care?”

“I care because there’s no way those violent fuckers would come after a girl like you without an ulterior motive. What kind of money could you have borrowed? What amount would warrant a murder in the middle of the streets?”

“I never said Iborrowedmoney.”