Page 104 of The Hunted
Silva narrowed her eyes. “I thought you didn’t remember.” He had been lying to her. If he didn’t remember, his brain was protecting him from what they lived through. She wished her brain had been that kind to her, but she was stuck with the memories that infiltrated her sleep.
Until Santino.
“I don’t.” He tapped his head. “But I get these glimpses of two kids constantly. I thought it was just my brain blending in everything that I’ve come across in my life. I can infer what they went through.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Did. You. Get. Them?”
Silva’s heart was beating too fast, and she could feel the blood rushing in her body. She hadn’t thought about those people in years. They hadn’t even been her first kills, but they’d been the most significant. Thinking about them put her right back in her seven-year-old shoes—the first time she was truly aware of what was going on around her. She hated being there.
But they can’t hurt you no more.
Silva nodded. “I got them.”
“Good.” The one word had warmth filling her chest. She didn’t need his approval, but she had gotten them for him too.
Don’t falter.
“Run, princess.” Santino took another step forward, and she took a step back. “Let’s see how far you can get before I catch you.”
Silva was gone before he finished his sentence. She was leaving Amra before she was dealt with, but the knots on her binding weren’t going anywhere. The only way for her to get out was for someone to cut her loose, and she didn’t think Santino was going to do that unless he killed her first.
She glanced over her shoulder, seeing Santino already standing by the back door. She flipped him off before she darted into the foliage. She wouldn’t go far. Just far enough to lay her trap.
“Come on, Midnight Strangler. Come and find me.”
ChapterThirty-Nine
Santino watched Silva flee. His need to go after her was only checked by Amra tied in his kitchen chair. He didn’t think he’d feel anything for Silva when he saw her in all black. Her hair was done in two braids, and those damn eyes of hers had his knees buckling. The pet name had slipped off his lips on its own. It was like every plan he had to hurt her had vanished. His only need had been to close the distance and taste her.
Find out if what they had shared was real or just a game that needed to be played.
He still couldn’t believe she was the Reaper. Nothing about the profile on them matched who he knew Silva to be, but nothing that matched the profile on a few of his monikers matched him either.
“You’re going to let her get away?” Amra’s voice pulled his gaze from the back door.
“She won’t go far.” He looked her over, seeing the knots tied into the binds. He used his gloved hand to tug at them and whistled when they didn’t give an inch. “Why’d you come, Amra?” he sighed.
He really didn’t want to kill her, but there was no way she was leaving here alive. She knew too much and clearly was never letting this go.
She shrugged. “Did you tell anyone you were coming here?” he questioned, wanting to know if he had to worry about anyone else.
Like Martin.
“Nope.” She popped the ‘p’. “If I did, they would have talked me out of this considering you have everyone wrapped around your finger at the office.”
He squatted in front of her. “And you still chose to come after me.” He shook his head. “You know you’ve just sealed your death, right?”
“Death comes for us all, whether that’s today by your hand, your girlfriends, or tomorrow if I get hit by a car crossing the street. I can’t control when I go. I just know it will happen, so why would I not embrace it?”
He hummed low in his throat as he stood to his full height. He ignored the way his pulse jumped when she referred to Silva as his girlfriend. They weren’t anything to each other anymore.
But you could be.
He ignored the taunt. “I’ll be back. Sit tight.” He waltzed out his back door in search for Silva.
The longer the head start he gave her, the more he could feel his resolve to do what needed to be done slip. There was no going back or pretending they were just Silva and Santino. They were now the Reaper and the Midnight Strangler. There could only be one victor, and he wouldn’t die over a slight he had no control over.
The leaves crunched under his boots as he made his way through the foliage. There were many dead bodies buried out here. Silva would join them.
“Run, rabbit, run.” He let his voice carry on the cool breeze. “You don’t know these woods like I do, princess. I will find you, and I can’t wait to get my hands on you.”
