Page 108 of Hunted

I played.

I played for Fleur, for my parents, for the life I mourned.

I played for Beckett, for Deklan, for Van, and for the future I thought we might carve out.

I played and I played and I played, until I couldn’t play any longer.

Exhaustion and emotion crept up in tandem and tapped me on the shoulder, letting me know that it was time to go home. I closed the lid again, spun on the seat, and clambered into Beckett’s lap.

His usually inscrutable face was overcome—it was obvious he’d been crying—that they all had.

Dek sniffed and stood, but not before pressing a gentle kiss to my lips. “Thank you for that, Deadly. I think I needed it as much as you did.”

Van followed suit, but opted to kiss my forehead instead. “Let’s go home, Pretty.”

Rising last and taking his time about it—like he knew such moments were limited—Beck carried me out past the hotel’s unsuspecting guests, past its oblivious staff, and past London’s sleepless residents. He didn’t let go either. Not the whole way back to Blackwing. Not until we were inside their shared apartment and beside his perfectly-made bed.

He placed me down gently, drew a clean shirt from his chest of drawers, and handed it to me.

“I know you have your own clothes now, but I really liked seeing you in mine,” he rasped, exposing another sliver of the man beneath the mask.

Dek scoffed from where he leaned against the doorjamb.

Van rolled his eyes from just inside the room.

And I just turned to face the window. “I’m gonna need a hand with this zipper, please.”

It didn’t take a genius to realise that more than one set of hands ran over my bare skin, dragging the zip down to the bottom of my spine. I stepped out of it, entirely naked and more vulnerable than I’d been in a room full of vipers.

Beck wordlessly handed me his shirt and I tugged it on.

I looked between them and sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed with my heart hammering so loudly I swore they could all hear it. Fidgeting with my fingers in my lap, I spat out the words I’d been chewing on since Lewis’ bathroom. “We need to talk.”

The three of them exchanged looks, seeming to pass unspoken messages between them in that uncanny way of theirs. Then Beck nodded once, and turned to face me head-on. “No. We don’t.”

“But—”

“Adelaide.” The tone of his voice silenced me. He was serious, if not a little defeated. “If tonight has taught us anything, it’s that the three of us would stop at nothing to protect you—even from yourself if it came down to that.”

Dek and Van nodded behind him.

“None of us could live with something happening to you,” Van said. “Or something happening to each other because of you.”

Dek frowned at him. “That came out wrong”—Van blushed—“what he means is that we couldn’t veritably ask each other to give up something we wouldn’t be willing to give up ourselves.”

Beck placed his hand on my leg, just above my knee. “And we have recently discovered that the only thing none of us are willing to give up… is you.”

[ 40 ]

ADDIE

PIANO TRIBUTE PLAYERS – ALL I WANTED

“I… I don’t understand,” I stammered, frowning. “How would that even work?”

Beck shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. “I don’t think we’ve really thought it through.”

Van stepped closer. “It’s not as simple as taking turns⁠—”