Total pages in book: 186
Estimated words: 176552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 883(@200wpm)___ 706(@250wpm)___ 589(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 176552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 883(@200wpm)___ 706(@250wpm)___ 589(@300wpm)
His attention stayed on the stack in his hand. “Trying to find the only ones I give a fuck about.”
Brooke’s photo slipped from his fingers and landed face down on the tile.
“Hey, you dropped Brooke.”
His eyes briefly met mine. “And?”
I shifted, unsettled by his sudden coldness. “I just thought you’d care.”
“Who I care about is right in front of me.”
I was still debating if I should grab her photo off the floor or not when he added, “I’m not her shield. I’m barely hers. When shit hits the fan, and it will, I’m all yours to use however you want to. I’ll be watching every move around you, even when you think I’m not.”
I stared at him, his words sinking in like a weighted anchor in my chest. Had she told him about that conversation? It was pretty spot on. Despite what I had said to her, though, I wouldn’t take advantage of him like that.
“I would never use you.”
His lips curved with a devilish grin. “What if I beg you to?”
I glanced down to save myself from having to reply to that, and saw he only had two photos left in his hand—Roxxi’s and mine. “These are the ones worth keeping. You’re so beautiful.”
I frowned. “Are… are you talking about yourself? Because we’re literally scribbled out in that picture. You can’t even see my face.”
“I can still tell how gorgeous you are.” He swept his eyes over me slowly and appreciatively. “Not that it compares to the real thing.”
“Ryder.”
He held my gaze as he slid the photos into his back pocket. “If I hadn’t pulled you in here, when were you going to tell me about all of this?”
“I was going to tell you about us being Marked tonight. The photo thing just happened.”
He watched me closely. “How did you find out?”
“When we went into the locker room. Are you really going to keep interrogating me in this gross bathroom? Brooke didn’t tell you about this out there when she was sitting in your lap?”
His brows rose slightly. “Are you jealous?”
“Are you delusional?”
“I think you might be, since you’re seeing things that aren’t there. She wasn’t in my lap.”
“Okay. Whatever you say. You know everything now. Let me out.”
“No, I don’t. You didn’t answer my question. I wasn’t asking how you found the photos. I want to know how you found out you were Marked, officially.”
I looked at him, his piercing stare pinning me in place. A small voice warned me to tread carefully. I knew so many shades of Ryder, and something about this one set off every internal alarm I had. Should I tell him about the bird? Kellan clearly hadn’t mentioned it. At least there was that. I could lie and say it was in a text, but that wasn’t how The Hunt worked. If he were Marked, too, he’d know. Wait a minute…
“How did you find out?” I questioned, narrowing my eyes. “If I got hit, then I know you’re Marked.”
“I got a note this afternoon.”
“What did it say?”
His mouth twitched. “We’re not talking about me right now.”
We were at an impasse then. I couldn’t tell him about the bird, not when he was already fuming beneath that eerily calm facade he never let crack. It was telling enough that he’d just dragged me into a bathroom right in front of half our peers. Telling him meant revealing I’d seen more masked figures. There was also the fact that eventually, he’d take a better look at my photo and realize it had been taken from inside my house. Then what?
“I’m not doing this with you in a bathroom, Ryder. We can talk tomorrow, when you’re calm.”
I stepped back further, needing distance, but Ryder didn’t let space stay space. He followed, brushing his knuckles down my cheek with a gentleness that was at complete odds with what he was feeling. “Do you really think I’m going to be any calmer after I’ve had all night to think about what you just told me, and the things you aren’t?”
I exhaled shakily, not sure what else to say to him.
“You can go, Sass. Run like you always do, but know this, it’s the last time I’m going to let you.”
I could have pushed back or argued with him, but I didn’t want to walk away and leave things like this. Whatever was unraveling between us, it wasn’t just about The Hunt. It wasn’t about secrets or Marks or tradition. It was about me and him. If things were already spiraling this badly, before the game had even started, I was going to need a lot of liquor to make it through the next few weeks.
And I had shit alcohol tolerance.
I swallowed thickly and reached up, my hand trembling slightly as I cupped his face. “I’ve never wanted to run from you,” I murmured.