Page 6 of Court of Evil

“Those are our bunks,” Mav tells me. “Down here is the rec room. We have a private gym too—elite perks. Come on, they will probably be in the kitchen.”

Nodding, I drop my bag on the wood floor before I follow him to the hallway and down to the first open door. Music pours frominside. There are three guys sitting at the table, and Mav nods at a skinny one. “That’s Goose, as in duck, duck, goose,” he says. “The bigger one next to him is Santos, and the one on his other side is Wick.”

I turn to the man at the countertop, happily chopping away.

“That’s Ara. Yo, guys, meet the newbie.”

They turn, with Ara throwing his knife as if we are coming to attack him, not just entering the room. It makes me wonder what kind of situations he’s faced if he throws first and asks questions after, but Mav ducks like he’s used to it.

I don’t.

Catching the knife midair, I raise my eyebrow. “How many times will I have knives thrown at me today?” I remark with a smirk before tossing it back. It embeds into the cupboard.

“Thanks.” Ara nods, plucks it free, and returns to carving carrots.

“Newbie, huh?” Santos glances at the others. “I give her three days.”

“A week.” Wick throws some cash on the table.

Goose eyes me, and something in those big orbs unnerves me. “I give her a year. She looks like a killer.”

“Nah, I think she’s in it for the long run,” Mav says as he jumps into a chair and grins at me. “So, Tate, what do you think?”

“I’m not going anywhere. I’ll take that bet.” I throw some bills on the table. “Is this it?”

“Yup, this is it, plus Black. Welcome to the elites. Let’s see if you can hack it.”

Four Years Later

“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” Mav sings, making me smirk behind my mask as his voice fills my ears. Goose and I share a look, and I nod to the left, gesturing with two fingers. He nods, his gun held out, and quickly but silently moves down the corridor branching off this hellhole of a maze.

Mav and Wick are on the next level up, Santos and Ara on the bottom level, and Black is on the top. I drew the lucky straw and got the newbie, Eric. I suppose he technically isn’t new anymore, but we all treat him as such. Hell, it took me almost two years to stop being the newbie and for them to accept that I wasn’t going to drop out or die. It’s hard to believe I’ve been with them four years, but our team just keeps growing, as does Black’s control. He’s in charge of nearly the entire northwest now, his name more famous than any other hunter’s, and we are right there with him.

“This way, kid,” I murmur, keeping my back to the hallway wall of the abandoned hotel that was marked as a vamp hotspot. Two teams were sent in, and none made it back, which is why they called us.

We get the job done when no one else can. It’s one of the reasons I hung in there through all the shit I experienced. It was rough at the beginning. They weren’t open to accepting a new hunter, never mind a woman, but I proved myself time and time again, and even Major Black has come to respect and trust me. It’s made us into an unstoppable unit, a family—something I didn’t even know I needed after my father passed, but I’ll admit it’s nice having someone to watch my back.

They have become my brothers, my friends, and the people I trust most in this world. I might have had my reservations because of the rumours about this unit, but I know now that most are unfounded. They might have different ways of dealing with shit sometimes, but they always get the job done and, more often than not, the stuff they do is to keep this world and our unitsafe. Others wouldn’t understand, especially that commanding prick Vilaran who tries to mess with our every hunt—always calling meetings and wanting to talk.

Always calling me an angel.

Shaking my head, I focus on the hunt. A distracted hunter is a dead hunter, and I don’t plan on dying tonight nor any night after this.

“T, you good?” Santos checks in. “Anyone got anything?”

“Nah, this is too quiet,” Wick comments dryly. “Maybe they are hiding in the walls.”

“Or the floor like the rats they are,” Ara hisses. He really hates vamps, but no one hates them as much as our commander.

“Silence,” Black barks. “Move silently and clear your floors. No more chatter unless it’s to count the fangs you pulled.”

“Yes, sir,” we answer in unison. We might give each other shit and joke, even sometimes with Black, but we all accept his power. It’s probably why he’s such an asshole. Trying to control six wild, opinionated hunters? Yeah, can’t be fucking easy.

I do not envy him his job, though they are right—it’s too quiet. We need more information before we end up like the other teams.

“What are you doing?” Eric whispers to me.

“Watch my back,” I respond softly as I lower my gun, my torch hitting the mouldy carpet as I tug off my glove. I glance over to see him turning, scanning the hallway, the back of his hunting uniform blending into the shadows. Turning to the wall, I find a spot where the plaster isn’t caved in, eaten, or broken.

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