Page 101 of Hunt for You

He shook his head. “Nothing like that. I’m just the product of an occasionally violent, always neglectful home. The local gangs were my friends, and organized crime suited me because I’m not dumb. But I got out. In fact… well, you kind of make me feel like a pussy, if I’m honest.”

“Am I corrupting you? Or do you always talk like this?”

He gave a little smile. “I usually work with guys in prison. They’re a lot more colorful thanpussy,trust me.”

“You’re saying I talk like a felon?”

“I’m saying you haven’t corrupted me. Yet.”

There was a split second where his eyes locked on mine and something crackled behind my navel. But it was there and gone so fast, then he was turning away, picking up his mug, and getting out of his chair, so I wasn’t sure it had actually happened.

“Did you want a coffee yet?”

“Probably not a good idea.”

“Oh, right, the heart thing.” He sat back down, plunking the mug in front of him and shaking his head. “That’s a helluva story, Bridget.”

“I’m a helluva girl,” I said and winked.

Sam cleared his throat and looked away, grinning, but I saw the way he was rubbing his hand on his thigh, and I smiled too.

He liked me.

“Look,” he said a moment later. “I get that your life isfarfrom normal. And I can even understand why you… want what you want. But… isn’t there something in this life that gives you purpose? Something that would make it worth sticking around for a while? Or at the very least, nothiringa guy to kill you?”

“I didn’t hire him. He was very clear. No money is going to change hands.”

Sam cut me an unimpressed look. But the fucker didn’t speak, just sat there in silence. And I wanted to curse because that meant he’d already figured out that I could handle a lot of messed up conversations, but silence would kill me.

Metaphorically.

I rolled my eyes. “Look, like I said, I wanted to be hunted, right? And I thought… I thought if someone else killed me I wouldn’t feel guilty about killing myself.”

“But?”

I winced. “No but.”

“Yes, there’s a but.”

“No, for real, I just—”

“You just told me that you realized youdon’twant to die! Are you just going to ignore that?”

“No. But I also told you that I realized I didn’t want to diethat way.”

“What difference does it make?” his voice was still quiet, low. But there was a hint of menace in it and it made my stomach flutter again.

“The difference is… I find it thrilling.”

“Being hunted? By a human being?”

“Yeah.”

“So find a guy who will hunt you without killing you! There must be a kink like that?”

“There is, but… this isn’t my kink, Sam. This is—”

“Of course it’s a fucking kink. Wake up!”

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