Page 19 of The Hunter

“Just a little payback.”

Cole looked from Lacey to Telok and back again. “Right. Well.” He stepped behind her, placed his hands on her shoulders, and turned her toward the steps leading down. “Was nice of you to visit, but I’m pretty tired. See you later!”

“Hey! Wait!” she cried as he pushed, guiding her forward. “Cole!”

“Respectfully, that dude can be scary enough when he’s not pissed off. I am definitely not standing in the middle of whatever shit you stirred up with him.”

Lacey turned her head and glared at him. “What about having my back?”

He stopped when her feet reached the top step, where he gave her a pat on the back. “We all have to learn to fight our own battles sometimes, don’t we?” He turned and ran, calling over his shoulder, “Good luck!”

If Cole had darted into his den any faster, Lacey swore he would’ve left a cartoonish, human-shaped dust cloud behind.

Lacey sighed and slowly took the stairs down. “Well, time to pay the piper.”

As she reached the bottom step, she saw Telok stalking toward her, his quick strides thumping over the wooden boards.

She smiled sweetly as she walked over to meet him. “Don’t you look extra grumpy today.”

Telok halted a few feet away from her, broad shoulders rising and falling with ragged breaths. His bright green eyes were ablaze in his scarred, mask-like face. “You did this.”

With a smirk playing upon her lips, Lacey notched her chin, crossed her arms over her breasts, and cocked a hip. “Did what?”

Dropping his lower arms, he dumped the spears onto the platform. They landed heavily, wooden shafts clattering, stone heads thudding and clacking. Lacey’s breath hitched.

He thrust a clawed finger at the pile. Dirt and leaves clung to the weapons, some of which were missing the beads, feathers, teeth, and claws with which Telok had adorned them. One shaft was snapped in half, several more were cracked, and at least two blackrock spearheads had broken.

A stab of regret twisted in her belly.

No, no, no…

This wasn’t supposed to have happened. They weren’t supposed to be ruined.

Well, what’d you expect? You’re hundreds of feet above the ground!

She’d thought ahead only far enough to make sure no one was on the ground below before dropping the weapons off the platform that held Telok’s den. It was her revenge for the way he’d treated her, but she’d only wanted to inconvenience him—to force him to walk down all those steps and haul the spears back up to the top again. She hadn’t expected…this.

Trying to push aside her guilt, Lacey touched her fingers to her mouth. “Oh noooo. Looks like someone should take better care of his weapons.”

He jabbed his finger at her. “It was you.”

“Me?” Lacey said, forcing an innocent smile and leaning forward even as guilt ate her alive. “Now why would I do that?”

“Lacey,” he snarled in warning, stepping closer, his forelegs coming down heavily between the shafts of two spears.

She stood her ground despite her instincts screaming at her to run. The sunlight was behind him, casting his features in shadow except for those glowing green eyes, and with the scars on his face and body, he was truly frightening.

But despite his rage, Lacey knew he’d never hurt her.

Not physically, anyway.

“I know you were in my den,” he grated in measured but heavily accented English.

“I was not.”

“I smelled you.”

Warmth flooded her face.