Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 67479 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67479 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Now I see that’s not going to happen anytime soon.
“I can’t do this with you right now, Maya,” I say on a sigh.
“Of course you can’t, because I’m not important to you,” she cries, then stomps out the door.
I get a few things together before I leave to meet up with Boston, a detective who is also a member of the Forsaken.
When I arrive and take a seat next to him, he passes me a file. When I open it, the first thing I see is a picture of an average-looking man with red hair and a scar above his right eye. He has a very long criminal history. He has a thing for underage girls and has been avoiding the law for some time. He thought jumping between states would help that. It hasn’t. He ended up back in the town where he was first found guilty and charged twenty years ago, and now he’s back to his old ways. But he’s smarter now. Trying to hide what he’s up to. Boston has been tracking him for many years, but has never been able to get his hands on him.
Until now.
I close the file, having read enough.
He will be the prey in our next hunt.
The thought of plunging my knife into that son of a bitch makes me excited with anticipation.
“He’s in a house not far from here,” Boston informs me. “I’ll pick him up on Saturday and take him out to the hunting grounds.” He stands, nodding to me before he walks away.
We wear masks when we hunt. The tradition has been around for generations. I’ve been told that the founder of the Forsaken had a badly disfigured face, and that the mask’s design was all his idea. It’s covered in broken pieces of mirror, so when you look at it, it’s a cracked version of yourself staring back at you. Poetic, really.
Those chosen as prey for the hunt are usually people who won’t be missed. I always make the selection, and I take great pride in that fact. And then the members of the Forsaken get to do what their darkest desires want them to do.
They hunt.
TWENTY-THREE
CRESSIDA
I’ve emailed Soren to let him know that I’ll start my new job next week. That gives me time to spend the rest of this week with my son. Soren responded, saying that was perfectly fine, and left it at that. I haven’t heard from him in two days. Truth be told, I’m a little surprised.
On the day of my meeting with Soren, I picked up Oliver from school, and we spent the afternoon eating ice cream and playing together. For the rest of the week, I did the exact same thing every afternoon.
Oliver usually goes to after-school care in the afternoons, so his excitement at seeing me waiting for him outside the school building makes my heart incredibly happy. I bank those smiles to keep me company when the weekends roll around and Noah comes to collect Oliver. It’s those times that make me wish our marriage had worked out. Not because I want to be with Noah, but because I hate the separation from Oliver. So, yes, on days like today, I do wish I were still married to someone I no longer love.
I watch as Oliver walks away with my ex-husband. Taylor sits in the car, never getting out to talk to me, the mother of the boy who will soon be her stepson. It irritates me to no end that Noah still hasn’t made the effort yet to introduce us.
Once Oliver is in the car, I say to Noah, “I want to meet Taylor properly.”
“Yeah, it’s probably time,” he replies, then opens the car door and says something to her before she climbs out of the car, looking down and avoiding eye contact with me. She runs her palms over her dress as she meets my eyes.
“My son likes you, so I want to tell you that if you upset him in any way, I won’t be happy. I don’t care that you’re with his father… I will find you.”
“Cressida,” Noah says, shaking his head in irritation.
“I respect that. I’ve mentioned a few times to Noah that I wanted to meet you before I met Oliver, but it never worked out that way. He’s a good kid, and has good manners. I would never intentionally do anything to upset him.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear that,” I say with a smile. “Have a good weekend. Please get him to call me.” Noah just stares at me. Did he expect anything less of me?
We never really had a conversation about dating other people after the divorce. We should have, because I don’t want Oliver to think it’s normal for his parents to bring a parade of men or women into his life. I want him to have stability. I had that growing up, and I think it’s made me a better person for it.