Page 22 of The Hunted
He stumbled back with a loud laugh. “I’ll talk to you later?” he questioned, looking hopeful.
She smirked. “If you’re lucky,” she sing-songed, sitting back down in front of her laptop, already knowing she’d never get any work done now.
Her mind would be replaying every single detail of what happened between them and try to figure out if this was the start of something or a one-off. She secretly hoped it was the start of something.
You are in serious trouble, Silva Hunt.
ChapterTen
I’ve returned a piece of her, though this isn’t the second part to the game.
It’s only a token to help you figure out what I really think of you.
Not all of you, of course.
Especially not the one that hides among you.
Have you noticed any sheep with extra sharp teeth?
Anyway, enjoy this gift.
I surely can’t keep it.
Whatever would I do with one middle finger
when I already have two?
Santino read and reread the words of the note that had been delivered with a severed middle finger. He didn’t need to wait for the DNA results to know it was from the blonde they found on Route 160. Call it killer’s intuition, but if he were trying to send a message and wanted to be bold, this is exactly the cocky thing he’d do.
And it was cocky.
Who would have the audacity to deliver something like this to a place surrounded by FBI agents? The cameras would have been a hard pass to get through, let alone all the agents watching everything around here. It should have been enough to deter anyone, and yet the Reaper slipped through unannounced, with no record of ever being here. The security tapes showed the mailroom empty one minute and the next the package was sitting there on top of a stack of boxes they received a couple of days ago.
Honestly, it was starting to annoy Santino how impressed he was with the Reaper. They were competent in their kills, had figured out who Santino was and how he liked to kill, and apparently was tech savvy. Given the age of technology they were in, everyone left their trail, whether big or small, but somehow the Reaper had managed to figure out the cameras here well enough they came in undetected.
He cracked his neck and bounced his leg looking over the note again. He added it to his Reaper folder, still no closer to figuring out who they were or why he had been targeted specifically.
Was it simply a case of him being in the Reaper’s territory or was there more to it?
“You’ll like this trip. The both of you. There are important people to meet.”
“No we won’t. We hate it there. They keep touching us and we don’t like it. Right, Saint?”
Saint nodded, looking out the window. Route 160 flashed by and he shivered. When he was big and strong, he’d kill everyone and then they’ll be able to escape.
He rubbed between his eyes, wondering how much of that memory belonged to him or was some mashed-up dream. It had been years since he thought of himself as Saint, and he couldn’t remember why his new guardian had changed his name when she took him in. His mind was foggy around that time frame. Every time he tried to pull memories of his life before his guardian had adopted him, he got a splitting headache, so he stopped worrying about it, but now he wondered if he needed to find a way to unlock more of his childhood.
Could the answer to this game be hidden there?
The sound of Martin’s booming laugh made Santino grit his teeth. His leg started shaking faster and his headache became a marching band. He wasn’t sure how much longer he had it in him to continue to work with Martin.
He could feel the tantalizing temptation of slipping off his well-worn mask and showing the world exactly who he was. He’d start with his partner, snapping his thick neck swiftly because he wouldn’t be able to stand hearing the torturous sounds coming out of him. He’d move on indiscriminately, savoring the sounds his marks made. He could already hear the screams and the pleas to stop—he could taste the death in the air. It made him salivate, and the gnawing sensation in his stomach made his head swim like he was underwater.
Do it.
When was the last time you indulged?
He could hear the whispered taunts of the Reaper all but forcing his hand, daring him to take any life that crossed his path.
