Page 24

Roxxi stepped carefully through the glass and bent to retrieve the note, doing her best not to touch the bird too much. Her expression turned murderous as her eyes scanned the paper. “The Hunt,” she seethed. “I knew it. I fucking knew it.”

“What does it say?” Layla asked.

Roxxi didn’t answer her. Instead, she offered it to me to read. I clutched the towel tighter and took it from her.

“ Secrets bleed in the dark.

We can’t wait to spill yours.

The Hunt is an honor,

This time, all of you are ours.”

“Have you just been officially Marked?” Layla asked in disbelief.

I swallowed and gave a small nod. I had called it while walking home earlier, and in the truck with Ryder, but having confirmation was entirely something else. And what the hell was up with their sick method of delivery? The car had been indicating enough.

“Wait,” Roxxi held out her hand, and I gave the note to her again. “All of you?” She re-read the line, her brows pulling together.

Arianna stepped closer and took a look. “It’s not just you, Sanj.”

“What do you mean?” Layla asked, her voice elevating.

“Their choice of words,” Cloe explained. “ All of you wouldn’t be Sanj alone. Ours . That’s plural too. It’s implying there are multiple Huntsmen. Whoever did this, they weren’t aiming for only one of us.”

“There are supposed to be rules.” Layla stared down at the crow. “They can’t be allowed to throw a dead bird through a window.”

“Our secret admirer, or admirers, apparently disagree,” Roxxi quipped, eyes still narrowed on the note like she wanted to tear the people responsible in half.

“But how did they know anyone was in here?” Layla questioned.

Arianna turned her head toward the window, frowning thoughtfully. “The lights, possibly,” she motioned to the ceiling and fixture above the mirror. “That window faces the front of the house. Anyone could see it from the street.”

“Then why not throw the rock through one of the living room windows?”

No one had an answer to that.

A cold ripple slid down my spine. Roxxi turned toward me, her expression shifting, the anger dimming enough to let concern peek through. She reached out. “Come on, Sanj. Let’s get you out of here.”

I took her hand, letting her guide me away from the broken glass, her arm winding protectively around my shoulders like a shield. My heart still thundered, my legs barely steady as I stepped back into my bedroom.

“Why do they want to mess with us now?”

“To be honest, this could have happened last year as well. Being a freshman gave us immunity.”

I hadn’t considered that. I sat down on the ottoman at the foot of my bed, crossing my arms tightly over my chest.

“Isn’t it kind of ironic?” Layla pondered, her tone half-curious, half-teasing. “Everyone sees you as untouchable or something. Now the it girls have been Marked.”

Roxxi stopped where she’d taken up pacing, turning on her heel like a switch had been flipped. “ It girls? Who the fuck still talks like that?”

Layla raised her hands slightly. “Hey, it was just a joke. You guys are kinda rich and popular, you know?”

“Right. So, what’s the joke? Us having money or us being more well-liked than you?”

“Rox,” I tried.

“Don’t Rox me. You guys know she’s always making slick ass comments, and I always let it go, but can she not read a room?”

Layla’s brow furrowed. “Why are you getting so mad?”

“Why are you playing dumb?” Roxxi took a step forward, and Layla shifted back.

“We come from money. Our parents have money. Some of our grandparents have money. They all busted their asses for it, just like we’ll have to.

We aren’t in college for the fucking life experience, and if we’re ‘popular’ it’s only because we put ourselves out there. ”

“See how nice she broke things down for you?” Cloe asked rhetorically, her tone calm and polite.

Layla stared at Roxxi so long, I started to worry we’d be breaking up an actual fight in a minute, the last thing we needed.

Arianna shifted, sensing the blatant tension. “We shouldn’t be at each other’s throats like this. That note wasn’t just for Sanj. It included all of us, maybe even you, Layla. You’re here all the time.”

Layla hugged her middle, and I realized she was scared.

“Why don’t we all take a breath?” I suggested. “Ari’s right, this is not the time for us to be arguing.”

“I agree, especially if we’re all about to be pulled into this madness together,” Cloe seconded.

Layla nodded, eyes dropping. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I wasn’t trying to offend you guys.”

Roxxi gave me a look, and I knew right then she was not buying that apology, but for the sake of peace, she chose to let it go, for now. I decided it was best to focus on the most important things first. “Any guesses on how many Huntsmen we’ll have?”

“There were rumors about things being done differently this year,” Ari answered.

“We already know about the one who filmed us in the quad, then the person under the tree in the courtyard. That’s two… but there were more,” I divulged.

Cloe straightened, but she was already somewhat aware of this part.

Roxxi started pacing again. Ari watched me closely.

I took a breath and began to explain. “There was one at the edge of The Pit the day before the quad incident. Right after cheer practice. Another, or maybe that same person, was outside Ashton’s later that same night.

I planned to tell you all this when we talked later. ”

Arianna looked rattled. Roxxi muttered a curse under her breath.

“And then there was the car,” I continued, glancing toward Layla. “The black sedan that tailed me and Layla on our way here. Ryder showed up, and they drove off.”

Cloe looked at her. “You didn’t tell us about any car.”

“I was going to do it with Sanj.”

“Right,” Roxxi deadpanned. “So, we know of two for sure. All of this could be because of them.”

“The Hunts’ always been one Huntsman per Marked. One person watching. Tracking. Toying. Not two, or however many Sanj has counted. If there is more than one...” Cloe trailed off.

“It confirms they’ve changed the rules,” Roxxi finished.

“Or someone decided to rewrite the playbook,” I suggested.

The room fell quiet aside from the music still carrying on in the background from my phone in the bathroom.

“We can’t break down over this,” I reiterated, my voice sounding stronger than I felt. I looked at each of them. “Our best shot at getting through a Hunt is staying sharp and watching each other’s backs. I’m not about to let some masked dickheads make us afraid of our own shadows.”

Roxxi ran a hand through her hair. “You’re right. This is nothing we can’t handle.” She pointed to the hall. “Go get changed in my room, Sanj. We’ll start cleaning this up.”

I nodded, still shivering a little, whether it was from the cold or the crash of adrenaline finally bottoming out, I wasn’t sure. I pushed off the ottoman, making sure the towel was tucked tight.

“Um… what if whoever threw the rock is still outside right now?” Layla asked tentatively.

I stopped and glanced toward the bathroom, the chilled air from the shattered window was leaking through like a ghost. Roxxi sighed, shifting into problem-solving mode.

“New plan. Ari, call campus security. Say our window was broken by some drunk asshole. If they think it’s Hunt-related, they’ll either take their sweet-ass time or not do shit.

Cloe, there’s a flashlight in the kitchen under the sink.

Let’s get the bird to the trash before it becomes a damn health hazard. ”

“Wait, what?” I cut in, frowning. “Does campus security even patrol the rentals? And no, you’re not going outside.”

Roxxi scowled, ready to argue until I held up a hand to stop her. “Something happens, and then someone proceeds to go toward the strange out-of-the-ordinary occurrence to investigate. Does that sound familiar at all? It’s literally how horror movies drive a plot.”

“Exactly,” Cloe backed me up. “If we’re going by common genre tropes, one of us is a virgin,” she side-eyed Ari, “one’s too scared of everything—,” she motioned to Layla, who frowned.

“We have the girl who gets her back blown out before they get taken out naked as the day they were born,” now looking at me, “and then there’s the one making dumbass decisions. ”

I was legit flabbergasted. “My back blew out? Then who would you be? Do tell since you’ve got this all figured out.”

“The final girl standing,” she replied matter-of-factly.

“And I’m the one making dumbass choices?” Roxxi pointed to herself, sounding as incredulous as I felt.

“You did just volunteer to do bird-disposal duty like we don’t have a potential stalker situation,” Ari reminded her.

For a second, we all just looked at each other, then laughter broke out. It didn’t last long, but it helped ease a bit more of the tension.

“You bitches are a pain in my ass,” Roxxi muttered affectionately. “Alright. Plan C, then. No one is going outside tonight. For now, let’s just clean up what we can.”

“That works for me, but I’m going to get dressed first.” I moved toward the bathroom, carefully stepping over the broken glass, and made a point not to look at the poor bird, grabbing my clothes and phone.

I paused my music and headed from my room down the hall to Roxxi's.

The scent of her perfume curled around me as I stepped inside, comforting and familiar, like her.

I debated whether or not to text Ryder. I already knew exactly how he’d respond.

He’d be out for blood and not in a metaphorical way anymore.

This happening on top of everything else would send him over the edge.

He’d done so well since we started college, and now this Hunt bullshit was coming around to test all of us.

It had been so bad before that there were times when I genuinely worried that I’d be helping him go on the run or sitting across from him during visitation hours at a prison because someone had said the wrong thing or looked at me the wrong way.