Page 40 of Reaper's Hunt

Many things.

I start piling each little rock on the coffee table, cringing as I realize each one has a letter on it. I’m not even sure if it spells something because I’m too terrified that my mysterious caller has gotten to the one place he’s not supposed to be.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!” I scream as I take off to my bedroom to see my wall of jars out on display. Was this his glorious move because I’m beyond pissed and terrified. No one has ever infiltrated themselves into my life like this and I have no idea what to do.

My gaze creeps along each jar before falling on a rock situated toward the back, blood dripping off the side. I grab it, turning it over to see an A printed on it. “The fuck?” I pull out my phone and dial the mysterious caller, needing answers. “What the fuck is this?”

“I thought you might call. Turn on the TV. I told you my move would be glorious.”

I search for a remote, frantically changing the channel to our local news station, eyes wide as some anchor drones on about a new murder so soon after Philip’s. The headline reads:Businessman Brutally Beaten in Courtyard.

There’s a blurry picture of the same courtyard I was in a few days ago but this kill is grotesque. Nothing about this is art. But then the anchor mentions a name: Richard Hensley, a gasp tearing from my throat as I continue to watch. Hensley was a predator I chased months ago but never got my hands on. He moved up my list when he caught my ass at one of those uppity functions Ashthorne sometimes has but I haven’t been able to do anything.

However, a kill this close to mine and everyone is going to know that we’re playing a game, that this man on the phone is challenging me.

“I found out he touched you,” the man purrs through the earpiece, “and that just can’t happen.”

“You can’t go around killing all the people that fuck around with me!” I snap, my hand waving the rock around as blood flies across my room. Something about blunt force trauma on the TV tells me that I’m holding the murder weapon and am now covered in Hensley’s blood.Great.“Especially not someone as big as that! There has to be a good reason and touching me isn’t one.”

“No, it’s not a good reason but I did it anyway. Hensley was a piece of shit human and you know it. He was eventually going to be one of your targets but I sped up the timeline. Besides, I don’t mind your recent conquests. In fact, I really like them. It’s nice that they’re all bundled up in the same place.”

Confusion splits through the anger. “What are you talking about?”

“They haven’t told you yet that they all live together?” he teases just as a heavy knock hits my front door. “That’s probably them, coming to make sure you’re okay. Ask them how they know the Wolf. I want to see your face when Dante tries to explain.”

The bastard has to have cameras in here because how else can he see everything? That’s beside the point. I quickly hang up, just in time for my front door to slam open, Dante stalking down the hall toward me.

“Fuck, I thought something might have happened to you.”

“What? Why?” As far as I know, nothing has changed in the last several hours. I search his expression for answers, hoping he won’t give me some bullshit.

“Because we came across a bit of information that might explain what’s going on. There’s a lot of shit to wade through but you’re being targeted specifically and—”

My mysterious caller doesn’t fit that profile, not with the freaked out look on Dante’s face. I decide to test my luck and ask about something I shouldn’t know. Maybe Dante will lie to me or maybe he’ll tell me the truth. All I know is that I’m really fucking confused right now. “Who’s the Wolf?”

Silence meets my question as Malik and Ronan step up to the edge of my room, Dante glancing back at them and then at me. “How do you know Ronan’s name?”

Fucking hell. Of course, I’d somehow stumble on three bastards who are absolutely perfect for me. “And you, uh, live together?”

I don’t get an immediate answer for that either, Dante’s eyes roaming all over me until they land on the bloody rock in my hand. “How would you know that? Princess, what the fuck are you holding?”

“It’s complicated, okay? But I’m beginning to see that all of this is just part of a much, much bigger picture.”

Ronan steps forward, an indecisive look on his face. “See, what I would like to know is that the media already has wind of this kill and they keep mentioning something about a rock missing from the original formation at the courtyard. Which looks to be currently in your hands. I don’t think you did it, Selene but I’m pretty sure you might have a clue as to who it is.”

My shoulders deflate as I push past all three of them and head down the hall. “I’m not having a heart to heart in my bedroom. Make yourselves comfortable on the couch. I need a fucking drink.”

Ronan

IwatchasSelenetakes a second shot of cheap tequila before placing the glass on the coffee table across from me. There’s a pile of rocks settled in the middle and I can’t tell if it’s décor or something more sinister. Either way, she’s curled up in the corner of the couch, glaring at Malik who’s slowly inching closer oblivious to her silent warning.

It’s almost comical, his puppy-like devotion clashing with her bared teeth, until she yanks a knife from her pocket and rears it back, ready to strike. I snatch her off the couch and pull her into my side before there’s a blood-fueled sex fest right in front of my eyes. As fun as that would be, we don’t have the time and I can see in her eyes that she doesn’t have the energy.

“Easy,” I push out, watching as Dante slides onto the couch and clamps an arm around Malik’s shoulders to hold him in place. Only when Malik settles do I let Selene go, the glare she gives me chilling my soul. “So, what’s with the rocks, sweetheart?”

If looks could kill, I’d be filleted like one of her victims. Using sweetheart in this instance probably wasn’t the best choice of words. She lets out a little grunt of frustration before nodding to the pile of rocks on the table.

“I was going to handle this bullshit by myself,” she sighs, “but yes, whoever killed that other guy on the strip and now Hansley has been in my ear. He threatened to out me and I kinda liked the chase a little bit before it got weird. And then he sent me a rock as a present.” She points to a small one. “And then the rest were in here when I came back from the store. I only noticed because he fucking touched all my furniture. I killed the mayor’s son for him.”

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