Page 117 of Haunting the Hunter

He smiles again.

I take a step toward him. “No—”

But he’s already smoke. Gone, he slips beneath the crack of the door like a silent mist on a tide.

I’m moving before I can think, my feet barely touching the ground. I race after him, every step calculated, every movement as quiet as these human feet allow. But not quiet enough.

I hear a door open—just outside her room.

The bathroom.

I catch his shadow sliding along the floor like a serpent, then rising. Phasing through Calli’s door.

I don’t hesitate. I reach for the handle and ease it open as silently as I can. Just in time to see his shadow settle, shift, and take shape.

A body twitches in the dark. Limbs stiffen then go still.

It’sJack.

I freeze.

He lifts his head slowly—mechanically. Then his neck turns, unnaturally smooth. Our eyes lock, and he smiles. That’s not Jack anymore.

He turns, not saying a word, and walks calmly into the hallway. Back straight. Shoulders steady.

Likehe belongs here.

He disappears into his room. The door closes with a soft click.

I stand there, my pulse hammering, the silence pressing in around me.

Fuck…

EPILOGUE

CADE

It’s late when we get home and Calli is nowhere to be found—I imagine she is exhausted. I don’t want to wake her. I see Karma curled up on the counter. I pet her head as Jack escorts Genevieve to our spare room upstairs and I make my way to mine—collapsing onto the bed.

After everything, I’m finally home. My body is sore, the cuts and bruises half-healed. They sting.

I try to clear my mind and push it down, but I can’t get it out of my head. I grip the pendulum around my neck—like it’ll summon you.

When Frank was choking the life out of me—I didn’t think of Calli—or how she would survive without me. I thought of you.

Onlyyou.

You have no idea how badly I want to drag my fingers down your throat just to feel you shudder. To hold you down, pin your wrists, and watch the way your body betrays you as I whisper all the things I would do to you if I had you in front of me.

The thought of losing you—I can’t accept it.

I won’t.

You are mine.

I don’t know how this works. But I know that my every thought is consumed by your presence…

How am I supposed to get anything done?