Page 35 of Hunt Me

“Rock, paper, scissors,shoot!”

I burst into laughter as Milo picked rock, and Percy picked scissors.

“He played you,” I mutter.

Percy flips me off as Milo turns happily and leaves the shed. I put my knives away, then turn back to my brother, who’s grimacing at the mess Charls is currently leaving on the floor.

“I’m having a guest over tonight. Don’t scare him off,” I say.

“A guest?” Percy raises a brow. “Does he know about us?”

“No.” I don’t think so. He probably will eventually, but that doesn’t bother me. “He’s pretty. Does drag. I like him.”

Percy hums but doesn’t do more than give me the big brotherly nod. “Wash your hands before you meet up with your friend. No idea what this nasty fucker has picked up.”

I was going to do that anyway, but I appreciate that he looks out for me. “Good luck with the clinic,” I say, then open the door and head out, making my way toward the house so I can chat with my best friend and then bring in my little rabbit.

‘How are things?’

Nico looks the same as he always does—his dark curls perfectly styled, tawny-brown skin without a single blemish, and his rich, honey-amber eyes pop, thanks to the thick black liner he’s got on his top eyelids. His full lips are flesh colored but shine with gloss, and it gives me a visceral sense memory of the last time we were together and he kissed my cheek, leaving his sticky goo behind.

But he also looks a little older, I think. And maybe a bit more tired. It’s been months since we talked like this, but he still has the same fire in his eyes he’s always had. I remember the first time I saw him, blood on his temple, big, wide eyes as he scrambled up and ran from the person who was hurting him.

But like Denver, he was brave and didn’t go far. He stood at the edge of the building and watched me beat his attacker to death.

There was no regret or horror in his eyes, and he showed up two days later with coffee that I refused to drink and an offer to hang out, which I reluctantly accepted.

In reality, apart from my brothers, he was my first friend.

And right now, he’s my only friend.

‘I’m having sex with someone,’ I tell him, the signs flicking off my fingers. I rest my elbows on my desk and lean toward the camera.

Nico’s perfectly sculpted brows fly up. “Seriously?” he says and signs at the same time.

I shrug. ‘Yes. I like him. He’s very pretty. Like you, but different.’

Nico’s not as femme as Denver, but he’s close. He likes lace and silk too, but I don’t think he’s ever done drag, though I think he’d like it. Nico’s relationship with his past is complicated, and he wears his trauma like a mask—just like Milo does. I think adding another mask, even for just the length of a show, would give him some comfort.

He once told me it was why he liked doing porn and working as a camboy. It gave him the ability to love himself and show himself off with the protection of a screen between him and other people. His viewers only knew the pieces of him he was willing to share, and that made him feel safe.

“Tell me all about him,” he says, clamping his fists under his chin. “I can see it on your face, babe. You like him. Youlikelike him.”

I don’t know what that means, but I never understand half the shit Nico says. It doesn’t matter though. I shrug and nod. “Someone was hurting him. I helped,” I whisper. My throat still feels a little tight, my tongue heavy and hard to move.

“You’re good at that, sweetness.”

Something in me feels warm. I like when he calls me that, and I like when he thinks my very small set of skills is worthsomething. My family has never let me feel inadequate, even when they didn’t understand me, but everything I’ve ever done has been expected. Under orders.

Saving Nico had been the first time I broke protocol. I wasn’t supposed to be seen, and then I brought home a shaking man who had no idea why he was being hunted down and showed him our life.

The punishment had been swift and severe, but he’s family to all of us now, and my father eventually asked for my forgiveness. I didn’t understand why I needed to give it. Or why he needed it at all.

That was just how we were.

“So,” Nico says, interrupting my thoughts, “I have something to tell you too.”

I look up at him and jerk my chin up.