“You followed the wrong girl,” I said smoothly. “You dare to target what’s mine? Don’t worry. You won’t be able to target anyone else.”
I pulled out the knife from the inside of my boot, and the man let out a pathetic whimper.
Before he could beg, I slashed it across his throat until blood spurted out, warming my hand.
I let him go and watched as he struggled for a beat before I used his shirt to wipe my dirty hands. It wouldn’t clean them up thoroughly, and I needed to go home and burn these clothes.
But that meant I wasn’t able to walk Ryleigh home tonight.
Fucking bastard.
He ruined my routine.
I pulled out my phone, ordered a clean-up, and stayed hidden in the alley until I heard my crew coming in with the white van.
I nodded to the man in the driver’s seat before walking away and going back to her apartment.
She should already be home.
Sure enough, I could see the light coming from her apartment windows.
I stayed there and watched her, fighting against the urge to go to her apartment and take her away.
The only thing saving her from me right now was that she was Judge Hudson’s daughter, not some random woman off the street.
But her old man was as corrupt as they came, and it was only a matter of time before her father’s prominence couldn’t save her from me.
I could be patient.
After all, most hunters were when it came to their most desired prey.
* * *
My sunglasses wereon to fight off the glare of the sun and hide my eyes as I sat on the bleachers outside the UC Berkeley, along with other people watching the graduation.
Even though people didn’t know who I was, I guessed my presence was intimidating enough that most of them left me alone.
There was an empty space on either side of me—or there had been until another large figure took a seat.
I didn’t jump from his presence.
I should have known the fucker would have followed me.
Despite repeatedly proving how capable I was at taking care of myself, the fucker still acted like I needed my big brother to come to the rescue.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Following you. What areyoudoing here?”
“Seeing Kai graduate.”
He grunted. He knew it was a lie.
Dominic and Braxton were somewhere on the bench as they watched Kai graduate from college, something Dominic was fucking proud of, considering he barely graduated high school. And most of the brothers were here with them.
I should have been sitting with them, but I had separated from the crowd, wanting to get a closer look at Ryleigh.
I had thought we would run into Judge Hudson and his wife, but neither of them had shown up for her graduation, and I didn’t know why.