Page 2 of Theirs to Hunt (Girls Like Us #1)

Chapter two

“ B rooks, have you seen her?” I barked into the phone.

“No, Dad. Have you?”

“No. Our little fawn must’ve had a heads-up. I’m not finding her either.”

“She looked spooked when she came out of the restroom,” I said. “Took off the second I got distracted.”

My eyes narrowed, scanning the shadows beneath the trees.

“She’s still on the property. Somewhere close.”

I slowed my pace, circling beneath the canopy of the live oak, eyes sweeping the dark with deliberate intent, a performance for her.

It’s always better when they understand what’s coming. Makes the capture taste sweeter.

There was a beat of silence on the line.

“Meet me at my location,” I said, turning back toward the gravel path. “We’ll regroup. ”

I didn’t miss the faint rustle above me, a shift in the branches, subtle but there.

Clever. Untrained.

It wasn’t supposed to be tonight. But she ran. And once prey runs, the game’s begun.

Brooks can worry about the schedule. I know how this ends.

A smile ghosted across my mouth as I pocketed the phone.

I wouldn’t chase her. Not tonight.