Page 235 of Boys Who Hunt

I hold him back from getting closer because we’re definitely not alone.

A man steps out from the kitchen, casually chewing on half a piece of apple while holding a pocket knife. The other half he holds between his fingers, and he hands it to someone out of sight behind a wall.

Cora.

“What have you done with them? Why is she out cold?” I grit. “Tell me, right now.” I clutch my knife so tightly I can feel it etch into my skin. “Did you fucking hurt her?”

“After the stunt she pulled, she should be happy she still lives,” he replies, swallowing down the apple in the most aggressive way I’ve ever seen.

That’s it. I’ll fucking kill him.

Suddenly, Heath grips my shoulder right as I was about to move.

“Not so fast,” Stefano says, holding up a phone with a button on the screen. “If you so much as touch me, her life will be forfeited.”

I glance at Ivy and the object tied to her chest.

A bomb.

“You strapped a fucking bomb to her chest?!” I say through gritted teeth.

“I knew you lot would be coming, so I made sure to prepare.”

“She doesn’t deserve this,” Max says.

Stefano approaches. “She is a thief who needed to be taught a lesson, so I gave her one. And you don’t have the slightest idea what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

When he gets too close, I point a knife right at his skull. “Take one more step and I will flay your fucking skin off your living body.”

The man merely smiles like he’s enjoying this.

Groaning in the back makes me instantly look up and lose sight of the man in front of me.

She’s awake.

“You know, I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot,” Stefano says, stepping back a little to avoid the pointy end of my blade.

“I doubt that,” I reply. “You fucking destroyed our house.”

“That was an unfortunate necessity,” he says, still twirling that damn knife of his. “After I finally learned where Ivy was keeping …” His eyes darken. “Mydaughter.”

CHAPTER 57

Max

So it is true.Cora isn’t hers.

Ivy’s eyes crack open, and I glance her way.

“So you see, this was all a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding, my ass,” Heath growls back. “There has to be a reason she stole your daughter.”

Ivy whimpers.

“Ivy,” I mutter, wishing I could take her pain away.

“You won’t get her back. She stole my daughter after all, so it is my job to punish her as I see fit,” Stefano says.