Total pages in book: 168
Estimated words: 160578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 803(@200wpm)___ 642(@250wpm)___ 535(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 160578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 803(@200wpm)___ 642(@250wpm)___ 535(@300wpm)
As soon as the words leave Bishop, someone begins to laugh before choking on their cough. Priest’s thigh taps against mine.
Like ice to my fire, I feel the leather straps he’s referring to.
“The fact that I haven’t found them means I’m good, Bishop.”
“How so?” Bishop asks.
It’s surprising that not a single person has cut in. Even with Nate and Brantley, I’m surprised Halen hasn’t snapped at her, War hasn’t started demanding answers, and Vaden hasn’t outwardly killed her.
“Because that’s what seals her fate,” Priest hisses through his teeth after taking a long pull of his whiskey. He drops the folder onto the coffee table that separates him and his dad in a spray of paper and photographs. “If you catch the bait, they’ll kill her. It’s all the trickery of the game.”
Bishop’s eyes turn to his son. “Sounds like something familiar.”
Vaden tosses the empty IV bag at Evie, which earns him her middle finger. “They’re trying to use our game against us?”
“Explain.” Bishop reaches forward to grab the files.
“The first hunt we did didn’t go as planned. Created to scare Luna, we’d tie her up somewhere and people would need to find her by a range of clues sent to their phones. It didn’t work. She wasn’t scared. But there was something Moses showed me on his phone beforehand. A stopwatch. It was near her feet, but when we got her, it was gone.”
Silence.
“I need a drink.” Pushing up from the couch, Priest forces me back down by my thigh. Once again, I feel every single eye on me. As if I was Priest’s little pet.
I kind of was.
“Call Moses.” Bishop flicks his wrist out at us. When did they get back from overseas?
“You gonna tell them, or am I? And remember, they can’t hurt you—”
“—Jesus, Priest,” Nate snaps. “He means we won’t hurt you.”
“I killed Moses.” Silence. “And Jeremiah.” Some shuffling. I hold my breath. “And Danny Dale.”
River’s behind the bar, the loud clinking of glass bottles displaying her annoyance. She snatches two glasses and the long-neck brown bottle. She moves through the large open space and sits on the coffee table, tearing the lid off with her teeth and pouring us both a glass.
Her eyes shift to me every few seconds before a glass is in my hand. It’s a silent gesture of support. The kind she’s always offered me.
“Wanna tell the class why you started a war?” Halen asks from somewhere.
The first sip stings as if I embody an open wound. The second warms my blood. “I knew them. The Gentlemen, I mean.”
Priest moves from beside me, and the side of my face burns.
“I haven’t told my mother yet, so I wanted to wait until she was here, but I guess it’s important to the story, so I may as well fill you in.”
“Will it help find Madison?” I’d spoken with her a handful of times. At first, I thought she didn’t like me. After Nate’s words to his mother, it makes sense.
Shifting over my shoulder, my eyes land on Tillie. The short stream of her pink hair cut sharply around her jaw, only enhancing the elegance of her features. “Yes, I believe it will.” A sad whisper.
Tillie dips her head.
Sweat trickles down the side of my temple, the air becoming tight. I clear my throat, and River lifts my glass to my mouth.
I swallow.
Running my palms down my thighs, my teeth catch the inside of my cheek. Spiral. Like the climb of a rollercoaster knowing your belt is faulty. The room closes in around me, the walls—cold—damp—screams.
I don’t realize he’s shifted me onto his lap until I come back to. River glares at Priest before sliding herself and the bottle over.
“Priest wasn’t so forthcoming with the truth when it came to the Hunt. He lied to others, but he did to me as well.” His arm tightens around my belly. “But I was as much of a liar as he was.”
He stills. We haven’t spoken about this yet.
“This isn’t going to work.” I pull at the ties around my wrists. “Why can’t you let it go.” I glare at Priest, but he lowers to the ground to tie a knot around my ankles. He didn’t know that I was aware of his obsession with her. That I knew the real reason why he created this was to frighten me enough to draw her out by recreating elements of that day.
I sniffle. “The concept was simple. He leaves me somewhere, and they have to find me. Whoever does, can do as they please.”
“You get off on hanging your wife to a crucifix?” Bishop asks his son, the leather of his chair complaining beneath his weight.
“He’d give them a time limit and two hints, but he’d never allow them to get me when it came down to it. It mirrored hide-and-seek, only he’d kill those who’d find me instead of them killing me.”