Page 46 of After Darkness Falls

Tris thought it out. "You said you had a bachelor’s in accounting? We're looking for someone to run our paychecks and stuff. Jack did it last week, but it's taking up too much time. If you're up for it, the huntsmen pay pretty well. You can pay me back in installments of whatever."

Chloe blinked. "You mean I could get a job with you guys?"

A job that didn't involve bussing tables, either.

"Jack would kiss you if you'd take it. Seriously. Not many people go to the Institute for business, and you already have an accounting degree. He wouldn't trust anyone outside of Oldcrest for this. We had someone in London—a witch-slash-business manager—but the coven was—never mind."

Killed. She was talking about Rose’s Coven, which had been wiped out the previous week.

"I'm definitely interested, if you think Jack would—"

Lifting one finger, Tris said, "Hold that thought," and called her cousin. "Hey, Jack. I was talking to Chloe about doing our payroll. Yeah. Yeah. Sure. Totally." She hung up. "You got the job. Part time, twenty-five per hour, and you’ll need to sign an NDA. There are about a hundred paychecks to process per week, plus the overall profit and loss account."

Chloe squealed."Do you have a size eight?"

After she happily charged the boots on her credit card, they went to get her weather-appropriate clothing. Chloe had always been a jeans and T-shirt kind of woman, but the weather made tights, long underwear, and knitwear more appropriate. Finally, Tris ended the trip at a sportswear store, where Chloe grabbed a few exercise bras, yoga pants, and a running jacket. If she was going to race with the huntsmen on a regular basis, it sounded like a good idea.

They ran back to the car park to make it within the two-hour window. Jack arrived right after them with a bunch of white boxes they stacked on their knees and in the boot.

"Is that what I think it is?" Tris asked eagerly.

"Hands off."

Jack was stern.

"Just the one."

"Handsoff."

"What is it?" Chloe asked.

"Cakes, pies, and doughnuts from the best bakery in town. Jack does that from time to time. Being liked makes our job a lot easier. Say in twenty years he needs info from a random clan, but hey, one of the witches remembers he gave her free cake…"

"There are exactly three hundred and seventy-one pieces, which means one for every person I intend to give it to.Hands off, cousin."

"But I could have minenow," Tris argued.

Chloe's stomach gargled at the scent of doughy, buttery, and sugary goodness.

"I know you. Take one now, you'll be on your tenth by the time we get to Oldcrest. No."

Tris only ate four. Chloe had five, though.

22

The Path

Unlike last time, this week’s run had a lot more participants; Chloe noticed some younger students right out of high school.

It was apparent that huntsmen took paintballing seriously. Chloe got it, given the fact that another pile of cash was involved.

"The rules are simple: you have to get to the summit. The likelihood of anyone making it without getting hit at least once is close to nil, so the rule is, you have to get hit less than three times. The reward is five hundred. If anyone makes it without a single paintball, I'll throw another five hundred on top."

Chloe could practically feel the excitement buzzing when Jack said that.

Damn. If she won this time, that would almost pay for the shiny new boots she wasn't wearing now. She'd opted for her trainers instead, because it had rained overnight and she wasn't getting mud on her pretty boots the first day.

"Last time we raced, I may have been a tad careless when I didn't share the whole picture. There are zones marked off on this hill with black tape. You enter those zones at your own risk—it's not against the rules, but the likelihood of you getting out of there alive is pretty grim. Got it? Good. On your mark."

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