Page 48 of The Hunter

How if I hadn’t lied to my parents about where I was, he wouldn’t have gone out looking for me. He wouldn’t have been in that intersection when a man who’d had his license revoked years ago blew through a red light after drinking too much.

He would still be alive.

Our family’s floral shop wouldn’t have struggled, and I wouldn’t have been so quick to find salvation in the arms of a monster.

I wouldn’t be here.

“Everything kind of…fell apart after that,” I continued. “My mom never really got over it. And then when she got sick…” I let the words trail off. No use spilling my life story.

Like he’d care.

“I’m sorry,” he offered.

And it didn’t sound like pity. It sounded real.

He held my gaze for a beat, allowing me to see the truth in his words before abruptly standing, giving me yet another dose of emotional whiplash.

“Some clothes will arrive for you today. Basic necessities, too.”

I should have felt frustrated or despondent over this information. If he had arranged for clothes and other necessities for me, he had no intention of letting me go anytime soon.

But I had to admit things weren’t horrible here. I was safe from Victor.

And despite knowing next to nothing about Henry, he’d yet to lay a single hand on me.

“Where are you going?” I asked as he turned toward the same hallway he’d stormed down last night.

“I have work to do.”

“And what about me?”

“I’m not here for your amusement, princess.”

“You’ve made that point perfectly clear,” I snapped. “But what am I supposed to do? Stare at the wall all day?”

“Enjoy the quiet.”

I exhaled sharply. “Do you have a book I can read at least? Something to keep me from losing my mind?”

He paused for a moment, glancing over his shoulder.

“There’s a study off the living room. You’ll find a few books in there.”

“Thank you.”

He didn’t respond. Just disappeared into the shadows.

Like a ghost.

Chapter Nineteen

Ariana

After breakfast, I cleaned the kitchen.

Not because I had to or because Henry asked me to. But because I didn’t know what else to do.

So I wiped down the counters and rinsed the dishes, stacking them neatly in the dishwasher. Like this was part of my daily routine. As I cleaned, some forgotten piece of myself stirred to life from the familiar rhythm. A ghost of who I was before everything unraveled.