“Sorry for cursing, Evelyn.”
“Not at all. It seems like you have been holding that in for a while.” She laughed when I looked up.
Sedric frowned. “Who is giving you these lessons? Are they trustworthy?”
“Adriana, Mel’s—”
“The slave girl who follows Melody around like a lost dog?” Olivia snorted, drinking her wine.
“Olivia, that is enough,” Sedric snapped, and she stood up straight immediately. “Coraline, when do you train again?”
“Tomorrow at five,” I answered, smiling at Olivia.
“Very well, I shall see you both then.”
Shit.
Day 5
“Do it,” I told Adriana as I sat in front of the mirror.
“Are you sure Cora?” Evelyn asked, looking at my hair.
“It is just hair. It will grow back, right? Adriana almost ripped my ponytail out during our fight yesterday,” I said. After everything, Evelyn and Sedric were both watching as if it were some damn sport. Sedric didn’t really speak. However, he would frown every time my body collided with the floor.
Adriana demanded I learn how to use my size to an advantage, so everything I learned had been quick jabs and kicks. She made me jump up and down for an hour straight before having me kick her hands. But I could barely even stand up, let alone kick. When I puked, she gave me water, some bread, and a six-minute break before putting me to work again.
“Here I go,” Adriana said, and I closed my eyes. All I heard were the scissors snipping away at my hair.
“Evelyn, your nephew will still love me if I’m bald right?” I joked.
“Um—”
“Evelyn!” My eyes flew open, and I stared at my reflection. I looked so different. Not bad different, just different.
Evelyn gasped. “Adriana, you must cut my hair from now on.” She messed with some of the edges of my hair until she met my eyes in the mirror. “You look beautiful, and Declan, will fall in love with you all over again.”
God, I hoped so.
“Now you, Adriana.” I smiled, standing up as I pulled her down.
“Cor . . .”
“Nope, we’re doing this, and if you don’t, I will cut your hair while you sleep,” I threatened, causing her to roll her eyes.
“I don’t sleep,” she joked.
“Why doesn’t that shock me?” I smiled, grabbing the flat iron.
“I think we may have some contacts. Let me see if there are any for your prescription,” Evelyn said quickly, walking out of the room.
“Sexy Adriana is under here somewhere.” I grinned. “This is going to be like one of those teen movies.”
Day 7
I pressed my dress down for what had to be the ninth time since we stepped out of the car. I felt like I was going to jump out of my skin. I was so excited to see him. However, the first person to step out of the jet was one of the men I didn’t recognize, followed by Mel. She looked me over as she made her way toward me.
However, I couldn’t pay attention because there was my Declan. His eyebrows squished together as he looked at my hair.
“Do you like it?” I asked him as I brushed the back down a little.
He reached over and played with a little before looking back to me. “I’m kind of shocked, but you look cute.”
Cute, not beautiful, but I would take that for now. It was better than nothing.
TWENTY-TWO
“It is surely easier to confess a murder over a cup of coffee
than in front of a jury.”
~ Friedrich Dürrenmatt
LIAM
“That’s right, you little shit, come closer,” she said as she eyed the deer standing a few dozen feet away.
“Relax your arm and breathe,” I told her, resting my head right beside hers.
“My arm is relaxed, and you’re doing enough breathing for the both of us,” she replied like the smartass she was.
Backing away from her, I rolled my eyes. “Well then, go ahead, kill Bambi.”
She released the arrow and just like I figured, it went right past the deer’s head, causing it to run away in fear. She watched it disappear into the forest in silent rage before turning back to me. Handing me the bow and arrows, she pulled out a gun, and I tried not to laugh.
“I could kill it so much better with this!” she yelled, and it was cute, especially since I knew I wasn’t the source of her rage.
“That’s not the point.” I lifted the bow to the sky, pulling it back and releasing the arrow. It went straight through a bird’s heart. Mel simply rolled her eyes, pointing to the sky and shot three times.
“Three birds for me, one for you. What’s the point again?” She smiled, looking down at the . . . fuck.
“We just killed Mockingbirds.” I frowned, kneeling down to stare at the four birds now half-blown to pieces on the ground.
“Please, tell me you’re joking.”
Smiling at her once more, I stood and released another arrow into the tree, watching another one of the beautiful birds fall to its death.
“Show off.”
“I found the one weapon my wife can’t use.” I grinned as she glared at me. “I think I’ll show it off as much as possible.”
“I’m a people hunter! Who hunts people with arrows?” she snapped, and I opened my mouth to speak but she glared.
“If you say the Green Arrow I will shoot you in the other thigh,” she added, and all I could do was smirk at her.
“All people are animals, love. They freeze when they are afraid. They cry out in pain as they die. A hunter is a hunter, and if you can kill a deer, you can kill a person. It’s that simple,” I replied. “Plus, I wasn’t going to say the Green Arrow, maybe Hawkeye or Katniss Everdeen, but definitely not the Green Arrow.”
Her eyes became wide, and she turned away from me, heading back to camp. It wasn’t hard catching up to her.
“You are such a child,” she said, but I could see the smallest grin on her lips.
“Yeah, yeah,” I said, taking her hand and pulling her to me. She looked at her hands and then to me. I knew she was somewhat uncomfortable, but she didn’t pull away.
“What? Aren’t you going to ask me to go steady first?”
“Maybe if we were in the nineteen fifties.”
“Have you ever been on a date?” I asked her, causing us to stop.
“I don’t date, and you better not try any of that romantic shit on me either,” she said.
“Girls like romantic shit.” I smiled. She always made me smile, and I wasn’t sure if I could bring myself to hide it from her or the world.
“I’m not ‘girls.’ I’m Melody.”
“We can compromise,” I said, leaning against one of the tress.
She crossed her arms and stood straighter. “Or I could shoot you.”
“Violence is not the answer, love. Well violence against me isn’t the answer,” I replied, thinking quickly. “We can have private dates. You and I in our bedroom, where only I can see you being kind.”
Before she could speak, I pulled her toward me and pressed her up against the tree, kissing her ruthlessly, only to break away.
“On special occasions, we can kill the cops or anyone else who gets in our way in our pajamas again. We can watch as they bleed out and burn, drink wine and have each other over and over again. After all, we are both people hunters,” I whispered into the distance between our lips.