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“Like it wasn’t intense enough,” V complained.

33

A Girl Has Options

INFORMATION OVERLOADdidn’t cover how overwhelmed I was by the notion other planes existed, where creatures beyond imagination reigned. But it wasn’t anything new. I studied the text carefully for as long as I could before reality came raining down like a monsoon out of fucking nowhere.

Eros, here. Great.

I’d gotten complacent, and that was often a Hunter’s first and last mistake. Luckily for me, I had two exceptionally good Hunters keeping tabs on things beyond my capabilities. Silver lining to the new dark cloud over our heads was it helped distract me from everything going on between Phil and I.

I spent what remained of the evening helping Phillip set up several area traps and preparing everything I needed for a quick escape. My heart nearly pounded right out of my chest every second we spent getting ready for an attack that was likely to come at any moment. It’d just be my fucking luck it happened while we prepared the house for invasion, so I did everything like I was on fire. The distinct memory of poison seizing my lungs and the brutal shock of my mortality settled in and plagued my body as I worked quickly to ensure every exit was ready to go.

The gaze of the other two Hunters as I rushed from one place to the next didn’t help at all calm me down either. If anything, it made me that much more anxious. But I didn’t let it distract me. I’d make the most out of the time we had, and I used my unnatural speed to ensure I was the quickest about it. When we finally finished, it was two in the morning.

Sloan followed me into the room we planned to share, but I barely noticed him at all. Because by that time, I’d gone through every possible death scenario meeting Eros might lead to. Every worst-case situation circled my thoughts like hungry vultures, eager to send me right into a panic attack. The other Hunter’s eyes followed me as I paced a small path along the right side of the room, very close to going to Phillip and having it out before I regretted not doing anything. But Sloan’s hands on my shoulders stopped me from getting far.

“Sit,” he commanded.

And I did.

He sighed a little to himself and sifted slender fingers through luscious dark hair. Sighing, Sloan took a seat next to me. “I know you have concerns, but you really shouldn’t. If anything, both Phillip and I owe you for giving us such a great head start.”

“Me?”

The Brit’s smile was dazzling. “Yes. If not for your comment, we may not have realized Eros was already on our trail. So, we have you to thank for that.”

It hadn’t occurred to me I’d been helpful, so the lift in my mouth wasn’t easy to conceal. “I helped?”

Sloan’s gentle smile really got to me, and I didn’t like how it made me go full teenage girl in seconds flat. But here we were. “You’re still learning, but even I’m impressed by what you can do and the way your brain works. You should be more confident in yourself. Both Phillip and I know how hard you’re working to get to our level, and neither one of us is disappointed.”

Something in his eyes said his speech was deeper than that, and I honed in on it like I was trained to do. “What’s this really about?”

The surprise visibly presented on the gorgeous Hunter’s face. “What do you mean?”

I scoffed, crossing my arms. “Don’t play stupid. It doesn’t fly with me.”