Page 45 of The Hunted
Her shrill laughter made him smile. The sound filled the space in the car, making him feel warm and fuzzy. There was a buzzing sound in his ear and a slight pain behind his eyelids. He closed his eyes, briefly, trying to shake what he thought might be a headache coming.
He didn’t get headaches.
He barely got colds.
“Ohh, flowers? For my birthday?” The sound of laughter made him happy. It felt good to do something that brought them joy, especially with all the crap they’d been surrounded by lately. “And a stuffed animal too? I love it! Where did you steal this?”
He shook his head. He didn’t want to say because it would ruin the surprise, and in these stolen moments he only wanted to focus on the joy.
“You don’t have to tell me. When we finally escape, I’ll make you steal all the stuffed animals for me.”
The sound of a car horn blaring and Silva’s hand on his shoulder jolted him from a memory that didn’t seem to be his but felt familiar. He opened his eyes, seeing the light was green, and quickly made a right to pull over on the side of the road. He threw his blinkers on and clutched the steering wheel trying to push the pain in the center of his skull away.
This was the third time he had a flash of memory that seemed like a dream that didn’t belong to him. He could never make out the faces. They were always blurred but he could tell they were children and they were close, siblings maybe? He wasn’t sure and he didn’t understand the connection to him either. He didn’t remember having a sibling and his guardian hadn’t mentioned a family when she asked him about his past.
“Do you remember your life before you came to me, mijo?”
Santino shook his head, watching his guardian wash the rice while he cut up cucumbers for the salad. “Is that a bad thing?” He wondered why there were so many holes in his memory, but he also didn’t care much either.
His guardian shrugged. “I don’t know yet. Sometimes our brains block things out to protect us. Your memory can come back when you least expect it.” She hummed. “Let’s just hope it doesn’t happen when you’re out on a hunt.”
“Are you okay?” Silva’s voice was laced with concern and he nodded, not trusting his voice.
He never had a reason to look into his past before, but with the Reaper popping up and taunting him, it had triggered this need he hadn’t wanted to admit. He needed to find out who he was around before he lived with his guardian.
Maybe I left someone behind?
But were those memories even real?
Santino let out a breath, taking the blinkers off and easing his way back into traffic. He would figure it out, but not now. Not when he had Silva here with him.
“Should I be worried?” she asked. He felt her shift next to him, slipping her hand from his shoulder. He hated the coldness that seeped into his body at the loss of her touch, but it didn’t last long when her hand went to his thigh.
He shuddered, enjoying the way heat engulfed him. He could get used to feeling this every time she touched him.
“About driving you home? Nah, I’m good, it was a slight headache but it’s not debilitating.”
Silva chuckled. “Not about that, about your stalking. Do I need to worry about how far you’re going to go with it?” She hummed. “Maybe it’s time I call your higher ups and tell them what you’ve been up to.”
He could hear the teasing lilt in her tone. When he glanced over at her there was a smirk on her lips that made him want to kiss her again.
Such a pretty little distraction.
“You don’t sound too worried, princess. In fact, you sound like you enjoy it.” He focused back on the road. “Maybe you’re even tempted to see how far my skills could go.”
Her hand tightened on his thigh and he swallowed his tongue. His cock had been hard since he saw her at Luther’s and it hadn’t really let up since. Every touch, every twitch on her face and the way her eyes seemed to be a kaleidoscope of what she was feeling had seeped into his blood. She had no problems commanding his body, and he found he liked giving her that power—if in small doses.
They lapsed into a comfortable silence since she had neither confirmed nor denied her want of his so-called stalking skills. He mulled over the fact that she’d grown up in foster homes, something he had done as well, though he had no knowledge of that time before he found his place with his guardian. He wondered what it was like for her and if she knew the why behind it. Her time in the system probably shaped her in ways she hadn’t realized, and peeling back her layers, he knew he was going to uncover something she probably wasn’t aware of.
“I grew up in foster care, too, from what I’ve been told.” He made a turn down a residential street. There were two family homes and a tree in front of each one. Some had front lawns, others had only porches, but it was a quiet block, with only the streetlamps for light.
“What do you mean from what you’ve been told?” Silva sat up straighter and removed her hand from his thigh. “We’re you adopted out early?”
He pulled in front of the sole apartment building on the block. It had a courtyard and cameras facing the entrance, but from where he parked, he could tell they were mostly for show—no red lights were on. The upkeep looked nice on the outside, but he wondered why Silva Hunt resided here.
“I wasn’t.” He turned off the engine, and turned on the overhead light, shifting to face her. “I don’t have much memory from before I was thirteen.” He didn’t talk about his past with anyone really. Even with the obligatory introductions and work events, he managed to keep his past a secret unless he found common ground with someone. It was easier to nod and offer his two cents in the right places to make it seem like he was engaged.
“What about you? Did you get adopted?” She shook her head. “Is that why you don’t want to tell me things?”
