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Oh, he would, would he? Somehow he got half the credit when I’d done all the training? “Thank you so very much,” I said with a heap of sarcasm.
The Hunter ignored my tone. “Now that I’ve seen the results of my efforts in action, I’m quite pleased with what you’ve become. I’d like you to come onto my payroll officially.”
My jaw nearly dropped right off my face. “You… want me to come work for you?”
“Was some part of my wording unclear? I can offer you anything you could possibly want or need so long as you contract yourself to me and only me. I’m powerful—more powerful than you may realize, Decima. Nothing is beyond my reach. I have extensive connections all around the world. You would never want for another thing again as long as you carry out your work as well as you always have.”
I closed my mouth, but my thoughts kept spinning. Even if the Hunter could offer everything he said, I’d just heard straight from his lips how little consideration he had for his employees. He saw no issue with having them killed if it happened to serve his purposes at any given moment. I doubted he’d see me as any less expendable. One wrong word, one wrong move—or even just happening to make a convenient scapegoat—and I’d be at the wrong end of his gun.
Besides, there was nothing he could give me that I wanted. Ihadeverything I wanted: the family I’d made with the men of the Chaos Crew, my freedom, the knowledge of who I was and how I’d come to be that person.
It didn’t seem wise to throw the offer back in this man’s face so blatantly, though, especially when he had a pistol a few inches from his hand right now and two armed men between me and my escape route.
“I don’t even know who you really are,” I said, hedging. “Obviously your real name isn’t ‘the Hunter.’”
“It’s close enough,” the Hunter said. “People at my level don’t give out their real names to anyone but family. To everyone else that matters, I’m known as the Blood Hunter.”
He flicked a business card across the desk at me, and I found myself staring down at a symbol that was far too familiar. A blood-red droplet sliced through diagonally by an arrow.
The back of my neck itched.Thatwas the image tattooed on me. Not a teardrop but a drop of blood; not simply a line but an arrow. The Blood Hunter.
He’d all but written his name onto my body. I wanted to scratch the ink right off my flesh.
“That’s my mark,” he said, as if I hadn’t figured that out. “There are only twelve others as powerful as me in the world, and together we form the Devil’s Dozen. We control more than you could imagine—every significant criminal endeavor on this planet. Take me up on my offer, and you’ll be an essential player in manipulating global events. You’ll be more than you ever thought possible.”
This game wasn’t about making me happy or giving me what I wanted, though. He wanted to controlme. But I’d already decided I was never going to be a pawn in anyone’s game ever again.
I raised my eyes to meet his gaze steadily. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m not interested. I like the freedom I’ve gained since I left the household, and I plan to keep it.”
It was a polite enough refusal to his offer, but I could see the frustration in his eyes. “I don’t know if you understand what you’re turning down here.”
“I’m perfectly capable of making my own decisions. Even if you haven’t generally given me much of a chance to.”
The Blood Hunter stood up, shaking his head. “You’re going to regret that decision.” He flipped over the card to show a phone number printed on the back and pushed it the rest of the way to my end of the desk. “I’ll give you two days to fully think it over. If you change your mind, use that number to contact me. And Decima?”
“Yes?” I said with trepidation, knowing I’d already done all the thinking I needed to.
His cool gaze pierced into me. His voice came out as smooth as ever, but somehow it sounded like a threat all the same.
“Make your final decision wisely.”
