Page 37 of Hunt Me

10

DENVER

I have issues.I know this. My stalking abilities are terrible, but I have invested in a few things. Well, not so much invested as much as I found some old binoculars in a thrift shop and bought them so I can look at Arhe from a distance.

I debated getting a ghillie suit.

I may have bought that as well, just in case…not that I’d ever put it on because it smells like a dead animal, but it’s something, right? Not like I want to be a legit stalker. Being on the receiving end of one gave me a hefty dose of C-PTSD that still rears its ugly head at the most inopportune times. Especially since that fucking fuck might still be in town.

This—what I’m doing here—it’s different. Right? It has to be, because Arhe likes me. He’s touched me. He’s kissed me. He’s made me come and practically see god, so me sitting in his driveway doesn’t count as actual stalking.

And okay, maybe I’m trying to convince myself, but I think it’s working.

Or maybe I’ve lost my marbles. Hopefully, someone finds them soon.

Shoveling some popcorn into my mouth, I chew as I fiddle with the knob on the binoculars and press them to my eyes.I followed Arhe here, and the property’s been dark and quiet since I turned off the car and started watching.

He lives on the outskirts of town, near Leaf, which is fitting since the family seems to be a bit murdery, and Leaf comes from a family with real, actual serial killers in it. Or, well, one serial killer, but one is plenty.

I wonder if Arhe and Leaf have met. I’m not sure that would be a good thing or not, but I could see Arhe’s quiet presence and Leaf’s absolute chaos getting along like a house on fire.

I huff a small laugh at the thought, as a popcorn kernel gets stuck in my tooth. I pick it out and flick it out the window, grimacing because that was kind of gross, and I’m glad Arhe wasn’t here to see me be the opposite of sexy.

Uhg, I probably should have gotten something a little easier to eat, but I was in a hurry to leave campus. This was the one thing I had in my office besides a few things of stale beef jerky, and I’m not really into chewing leather.

I shove another handful into my mouth and turn my attention to the back windows.

The house sits eerily quiet despite the fact that I know they’re there. A van pulled up behind the house a few minutes ago, but I saw nothing once it turned the corner behind the shed.

And that was two hours ago.

Part of me wonders if Arhe knows I’m here. I parked my car off the road, and I’m being very discreet, but he seems to know things he shouldn’t. If he were anyone else, there wouldn’t be a chance. I’m very fucking sneaky.

The CIA should hire me. Maybe I’ll ask Thorne how he got recruited to the FBI, and?—

My thoughts cut off as I fall into a violent coughing fit, choking on a popcorn kernel. I need to stop eating this before I die out here. If I do, Michael will find me and drag me intoone of his little groundhog holes to live with the other bones on Leaf’s property, and Arhe would spend the rest of his life wondering what happened to me.

I pull the binoculars away from my eyes and rub at them. Yeah, I think I might actually be losing it.

I need a reality check. Or maybe I could be a responsible stalker and turn my hotspot on and do some grading. Students have been submitting their videos, and watching them makes my eyeballs cross, but my students take it very seriously—and then at least I could feel like I accomplished something besides watching a house for three hours in the middle of the night.

Pulling out my laptop, I’m about to get started when there’s a knock at the window. I’d forgotten I put my CIs in and nearly jump out of my skin at the noise I wasn’t expecting to hear. The tapping on glass vibrates against my chest as I attempt to calm my heart, and I peer over to find Arhe leaning his arm on the car, his brows up.

After a second, his eyes crinkle in the corners, almost like he’s smiling, but not quite. I can tell he’s amused though.

I pull my hand away from my thumping chest and offer something that’s supposed to be a smile but feels a lot more like a grimace. ‘Hi,’ I mouth.

Arhe’s eyes flick down to the binoculars in my lap, and his eyes flash to mine. ‘Out.’

I blink at him owlishly. I shouldn’t get out. I’m on a stakeout. Although my stakeout has been ruined by the man I was supposed to be spying on.

Damn it, I should have put on the ghillie suit.

‘Sorry, can’t. I’m busy,’ I tell him.

He reaches down and pulls the door open, and a soft breeze rushes into the car. He leans in closer, his gaze flickering down toward my lap, then to the seat beside me, and then to my face.

I follow the path his gaze took, and my entire body erupts in a humiliated blush. There’s popcorn all over my pants, the bag half-spilled on the seat, and I probably have crumbs all over my mouth.