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Brooks cuts me off by placing a hand in the air, effectively swatting away my words like they’re nothing more than pesky mosquitoes buzzing around his head. “Wait. Wait. Wait. Who the fuck is Levi?”
I arch an eyebrow at him. “Really, Brooks? Really?”
He glares at me. “What?”
“I think your jealousy is showing.”
He scoffs and folds his corded arms over his chest, the muscles rippling in a way that draws my attention. “I’m not jealous. I just don’t want you to get distracted on our mission. Distractions can lead to mistakes, and mistakes can lead to—”
“Death. Yes, I’ve heard that before.”
“I was going to say dismemberment.” A smirk touches his lips. “I suppose that’s what you get for being such a know-it-all smartass.”
As abruptly as it appeared, his smile fades, his lips compressing into a grim line. It’s enough to make me tense and narrow my eyes at him.
“What now?”
“We need to talk, Lily Dean.” Brooks’s tone is the no-nonsense one I’m oh so familiar with.
A thousand goose pimples pebble on my skin, and a delicious wave of radioactive heat cascades through me.
Stupid, bossy, irritatingly gorgeous men.
I throw myself back onto the bed and twist my body so my back is now facing him. “Night, asshole. Try not to get murdered or possessed in your sleep.”
“I’m serious, Lily. We need to talk.”
I can hear the barely veiled irritation in Brooks’s voice, causing each word to be said sharply and succinctly, a keen blade slicing at skin.
I let out an exaggerated yawn. “Night, night.”
“Why did you begin hunting? Was it because of what happened on prom night?” Brooks presses, seemingly ignoring my very obvious dismissal.
Every muscle in my body locks together.
Prom night…
When my date turned into a werewolf and tried to eat me…
And then I arrived home to find my parents slaughtered in a sacrificial ritual.
When Brooks doesn’t continue, no doubt waiting for me to respond, I pretend to snore as loudly as I can.
“Here’s what I think happened,” Brooks continues like the cocky asshole he is. “You were curious after the werewolf attack and started doing research. Maybe you suspected what we were—hunters.”
“Shut up, Brooks.” My voice is muffled from where it’s pressed against the pillow.
Feelings bombard me from every direction, feelings I’ve tried so desperately to eradicate with time, therapy, and meaningless flings.
“Perhaps you even wanted to find us.” Brooks’s arrogant voice has anger burning through me like magma. “The more you looked, the more intertwined you found yourself in the supernatural world. And then you thought to yourself—I can be the hero. I can save people.”
He pauses, allowing his words to flow over me, to permeate the air and my skin like an acrid kiss. “Is that what happened, Lily Dean? Was it some sort of hero complex? Did you want to save the day? Be the knight in shining armor?”
Images of my parents’ dead bodies flit across my closed eyelids.
Blood.
Limbs.
