Page 243 of Boys Who Hunt

Cora, no!

I open my mouth to speak, but the words refuse to come out.

Please, Cora, run!

Despite the fact that I’m fighting him off as hard as I can, my muscles are slowly losing their strength, my grip on his hand waning.

This is it.

This is the end.

I’m sorry, Cora. I tried. I tried so hard, and still, it wasn’t enough.

Suddenly, a knife flies out from the hallways and hits Stefano in the shoulder, and his fingers finally unravel from my throat. I suck in a breath as he releases me, and I drop to the floor, dragging the oxygen into my lungs like a fish on land.

I look up to see Heath standing in the hallway, with Max and Silas behind him, supporting themselves on the wooden beams next to the doors just to stay standing.

Max is alive, thank God.

Max huddles closer to the door and chucks something my way: My hearing aids.

He nods with a gentle smile, and I swiftly put them in.

“You motherf—” Stefano growls as he gets up, and he reaches for a gun in his pocket.

No, I won’t allow this to keep on happening.

He can’t keep hurting the people I love.

I rip the knife Heath threw at him from his back and ram it straight into his thigh. He howls in pain and sinks to his knees.

“I am done running from you. This is the last time, you hear me?! The last time you ever fucking hurt us!” I scream at him with a squeaky voice from all the damage he did to my windpipe.

“You fucking brats, you all just couldn’t stay out of my business,” Stefano growls at Heath. “You want to aid a fucking murderer? She stole my child and killed my wife!”

“He’s a liar,” Max says through gritted teeth, repeating the words I told him in sign language. “That woman in the bed was Ivy’s mother.”

CHAPTER 59

Heath

It feelslike the floor has been ripped out from underneath my feet.

That dead woman was her mother?

She wouldn’t kill her own mom. No way.

“Wait, is that true?” I mutter in disbelief.

Ivy nods. “He hurt her.” The tears began to roll. “Over and over. Every single day. She only stayed with him because of Cora.” She bites her lip. “I couldn’t take it anymore, so I took Cora and ran.” Cora suddenly runs up to her and clutches her thigh. “Away from my own mother just to keep us both safe.”

Stefano laughs even though he’s wounded. “That woman wasmywife.”

“No. I know the truth. Ivy signed it at me.Youkilled her,” Max says.

“No, she pulled the wires out of the machine that kept her alive!” Stefano growls.

“To save her from you!” Ivy screams, silencing everyone. “You wouldn’t even let her die in peace!”