Page 78 of Bad Blood

I watched him until he disappeared into the trees, flipped the page in my book, and when I couldn’t concentrate on the words, set it down and sighed.

Things were good. So, so good, and I was happier than I’d ever been in my life. Could hardly even remember what being alone felt like. That soul-deep ache, that desperate yearning for the nearness of another.

Bowen had blown into my life like a little tornado and chased all the bad feelings away. I freed him from his past, but he’d done the same for me. He’d freed me from this solitude, had given me the companionship I’d been craving for so long.

He wasn’t a monster; far from it. He was an angel.

The angry kind. But an angel, nonetheless.

“We’re lucky, aren’t we Luna?” I scratched behind her ears, watching the shifting shadows as the sun crept higher into the sky.

How long had it been since he’d gone after that rabbit?

That felt like an hour ago, and an undercurrent of worry was starting to buzz beneath my skin. Luna was fast asleep, her tongue lolling out of her mouth, paws twitching as she dreamed.

She startled when I stood up. This worry was like a rock in my stomach, and I needed to see if he was okay. What if he’d fallen into the pit again…?

No. No, he wouldn’t.

I’d taught him what to look for. He knew what the pit looked like. He knew where it was. I’d walked him down the entire length of it, shown him what to look out for, so he would never, ever fall in again.

He wouldn’t, right?

But what if he’d momentarily forgotten in his excitement about the rabbit?

I shook my head. No.

He wouldn’t.

I grabbed my machete and clicked my tongue for Luna to follow, then headed in the direction Bowen had gone.

Maybe he was playing a game. Maybe he wanted me to come looking for him, to…hunt him.

That wasn’t likely, though. He was so direct he would’ve said so, if that were the case.

At least he’d worn his shoes. I was able to track him decently through the forest, but the farther I went, the harder it was to keep the panic at bay. Where the hell was he going? He’d just kept walking and walking and now we were almost at the western cliff. That was a straight drop.

Terror clawed at me, and I started running and calling his name.

“Bowen!Bowen!”

Luna whined at my side, sensing how distraught I was. I needed to hold it together so I could find him.

I kept running, kept calling his name, praying that he was alright.

Because if someone had hurt him…there would be no mercy for them.

When I heard the gunshot, I ran faster than I’d ever run in my life as my heart tried to pump enough oxygen through my veins, even though it was crumbling to pieces.

Chapter 15

Bowen

The rabbit was a lot quicker than I’d imagined a rabbit would be.

I almost lost it a few times, but it had a fluffy white tail that gave it away.

It reminded me of the rabbit I’d found that Hayes had destroyed—except it was gray, not pink. This time he wasn’t around to ruin it for me.