Page 30 of Hunting Pretty

I especially didn’t want him to find the importantconnection I hadjustdiscovered about Liath’s disappearance.

An important connection that I don’t think anyone else had made.

A connection that made the hairs on my arms stand up on end.

Cormac let out a snort as he held up his hands. “I don’t need to steal leads off you. I came to chat.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Well, I’m afraid now is not a good time.”

“When is a good time?”

“Never.” I pointed to the door. “Goodbye.”

I ground my teeth as Cormac ignored my not-so-subtle hint to fuck off and flopped into my chair with a horrible creak. He propped up his feet, nearly causing the desk to buckle.

He made a face of disgust. “This place is falling apart. I don’t get why you left us to workhere.”

TheDarkmoor Timesoffice, located in the prestigious Regent Hall, had the best of the best.

A bright, airy, and well-insulated office space, brand-new computers and printers, an army of the latest digital cameras, and subscriptions to the best photo editing software.

Of course, Cormac didn’t understand why I’d give up a shiny office and unlimited newspaper budget that came with political strings to work for an unfunded (mostly online) student paper that could print whatever it wanted.

He didn’t understand why I would trade luxury for freedom.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “You and I both knowthat theTimesis a glorified mouthpiece for the dean. I want to investigate stories thatmeansomething.”

“Really?” Cormac stared at the darkroom door. “So what are you working on that’s so… meaningful?”

“None. Of. Your. Business.”

He turned to me with a devilish grin. “Come on, Ava. You can tell me.”

He might have made any other girls’ knees buckle. Dazzling white teeth, boyish dimples, broad shoulders in a crisp white Oxford shirt under a light-blue sweater that matched his eyes.

But I saw therealCormac underneath, the cruel brat whose entitled rage would cause him to snap if he didn’t get what he wanted.

As Lisa liked to say,even the devil can be nice if he wants something from you.

It was a test of character how a person acted when you didn’t do what they wanted.

“Sorry, would love to stay and tell you all my secrets,” I said, snatching up my bag. “But I was actually on my way out.”

Right now, I didn’t care that I was leaving behind my only evidence of my stalker in that darkroom.

The only thing I wanted to do was to get Cormac the hell out of this office before he got too curious.

And then to get the hell away from Cormac.

He hopped up with a beaming smile. “Great. I’ll walk you to your car.”

I made a point of locking the office behind Cormac.

As we twisted down the narrow, winding staircase, myskin prickled when Cormac placed his hand possessively around the back of my neck.

“Let go of me.” I tried to shrug him off.

But he wouldn’t let go. Instead, he squeezed to the point of pain. “What? Can’t a boyfriend help his girlfriend down the stairs.”

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