Page 11 of The Devil's Hunt

My vision was beginning to fade in and out, and in a few more seconds, I would pass out.

His hands pulled me upright, pushing my back against the bookshelf, and slammed his lips against mine. I gasped when his tongue slipped into my mouth, and air flooded my lungs. His hands slid down to my waist, yanking me flush against him. I closed my eyes, my mind on fire as my body went numb. My head swam as his kiss deepened, and I was forced to breathe through my nose. I felt everything at once—his hot breath pushing against my mouth, the hard length pressing against my stomach, the wetness quickly gathering between my legs—and at the same time, I felt nothing at all.

He broke away from my lips but kept his face close to mine. I panted, clinging to him, and felt my face flush. My body was still frozen in shock. I had never been kissed like that in my life.

"You kissed me."

"Yeah, I did." His voice was low and full of amusement.

"Why?" I whispered, feeling my jaw tremble.

"You took a breath, didn't you?" he teased.

I pushed him away, my cheeks burning. "I need to go." I slid past him and all but ran home to take afreezingshower.

4

FOUR

ARCHER

Iwatched her run from me, her raven-colored hair cascading down her spine. I ran my tongue across my lips and tasted her, my tongue savoring a sweet remembrance of her.

Mila Grey.

Mylittle rabbit.

She had no idea what fate had in store for her.

I looked forward to showing her my world.

I ached for the moment I could unleash all of my darkness onto her unsuspecting soul.

The flame of devilry burning inside her was ever-growing, and she thought I hadn't noticed.

But I could feel it—see it—in every shiver that ran through her body when our lips collided.

The way her body melted into mine as our lips caressed and our souls clung together.

Or how I seized the air from her lungs, leaving a piece of me behind.

From the second I laid eyes on her, I knew I would do whatever it took to make her mine. Capturing her would be a challenge, but oneway or another, I would have her as my own—even if it cost me my life.

I revved my motorcycle—a menacing blacked-out Indian Scout Bobber Sixty with its liquid-cooled, 1000 cc V-Twin engine that produced 78 horsepower and 65 pounds of torque. It roared like an unchained beast, catching the attention of a group of girls that walked by. They laughed nervously, their faces a mask of trepidation as they dared not take a step closer. I could feel the fear emanating from them, every ounce of it directed at me, thedevilwith an awful reputation that seemed to have no bounds.

And they weren’t wrong.

I put on my helmet and burned rubber out of the library's parking lot. My destination was the mansion that I shared with my brothers. It was nestled deep in the thick forest, with land bought and paid for by our great-grandfathers who created The Brotherhood. As I rode along the winding roads toward the mansion, my thoughts stayed on her. I could see the fire in her eyes, and I knew that I had what it took to tame her. Her father was head of Grey Industries, a company focused on the stock market and trading. But what my little rabbit didn't know is that Daddy didn't just trade stocks and bonds. He was making secret deals that he didn't think anyone would notice.

But The Brotherhood noticed.

Winston Grey was one of The Brotherhood's biggest suppliers of weapons, and he had been working behind our backs, selling weapons to our enemies—specifically, The Collectors, a rival family whose business spanned into drugs and human trafficking. Their gang members carelessly stole the lives of innocent women, exploiting college girls for their perverse pleasure market. They held auctions for the girls they kidnapped, pumping them full of drugs and dressing them up. Perverts would take turns touching them, raping them, participating in acts of unthinkable depravity before they would buy them.

And he was running for governor against my father.

If someone like him became governor, he would be unstoppable.And in turn, The Collectors would become the most powerful family in New York.

We’d had our eyes on Winston Grey for a while, but it was only recently that we’d gotten concrete proof that he was working with The Collectors. If he knew we were closing in on him and his life was in danger, he would turn to The Collectors for help, but they would demand payment for their assistance. And they only dealt in human payments. He would give the only thing he had to give.

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