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The man wasn’t ready for it—or maybe he just didn’t expect Hunter to hit back. His grandfather hit the counter and fell.
His grandmother cried out. Casper was barking, bouncing on his hind legs, waiting for Hunter to give some direction.
His mother was crying again. “Hunter, stop.”
As if he’d started this.
ushed Hunter and his text messages out of her mind. “I don’t understand all this caution. They’re not organized. There are only four of them.”
“Every Guide who has come to destroy them has disappeared. That begs caution. Don’t let your age make you impetuous.”
“My age.” She glared at him. “You’re not that much older than me. How did you get assigned to this?”
“I’m twenty-one. And I followed orders.”
“You followed orders.”
He didn’t say anything. Just looked at her.
She narrowed her eyes. “Well, that’s not too impressive.”
“Perhaps not.” He leaned in. “But I do it well.”
His voice was full of the promise of danger, lending more weight to the words than they’d carry on their own. She quickly took a sip of soda and glanced away.
Time to change the topic.
“I sat with Nick and Chris at lunch today. They were nice.”
“Nice?”
It was the wrong thing to say. She could hear the judgment in his voice. What the hell had made her say that?
They were nice? The people they were here to kill?
Was she insane?
She quickly added, “They bought my story. I should be able to work an invite back to their house by the weekend.”
She’d thought Silver would be pleased, but his expression darkened. “I don’t like you going there alone.”
“Jealous?”
“It’s a risk.” A little part of her wondered at the thought of him worrying about her—but then he crushed it. “Surrounded by all of them, you may give yourself away. And if they kill off my decoy, I’ll have to start from square one.”
“Stop it. You’re getting me all hot and bothered.”
“You may be talented, but you aren’t strong enough to take all of them by yourself, Kathryn.”
Just like before, it was an insult and a compliment all rolled into one. She took another sip of her soda. “I can take care of myself.”
Silver regarded her silently for a moment. “Find another way to spend time around them. We’ll figure out a way I can monitor the situation.”
He was making her feel like she was about twelve years old. “What did you learn today?”
“I sat outside the school and read police reports on the recent arson cases.”
“You sat in the truck all day? Why?”
