Page 36 of Hunted

That nameless boy piped up. “I’d like to have a crack at it.”

I raised a brow. “Please. As if we’d follow orders from someone whose name we don’t even know.”

He frowned, ginger brows swooping down, highlighting the raging red acne plastered across his forehead. “You’re the only one who never bothered to learn it, Adelaide.”

My gaze flicked around the circle. “Surely that’s not⁠—”

“It is true,” he cut in. “Even Sebastos knows it, though his intentions for learning it are less than cordial. Even Fleur⁠—”

Before he could utter anything else, my dagger was against his throat. “Do not say her name.”

He swallowed roughly, the movement pressing his Adam’s apple harder against the blade, drawing blood. I didn’t relent. Not under Mercy’s protests or Ethan’s quiet suggestions. Not even when I felt the intense stare of our watchful instructor burning a hole in the side of my face.

Not until No-Name apologised. “Sorry, Sinclair. I won’t—I won’t say it again.” He gulped, then winced when it drew more blood.

Wordlessly, I withdrew, resheathing the blade without taking my eyes off him.

“It’s Aidan, by the way. My name,” he said, wiping his neck with his palm.

I blinked. “I still don’t care.”

Cohen whistled. “Harsh, Ads.”

I turned my glare on him. “Don’t call me that,” I said at the same time as Eth said, “Don’t call her that.”

Cohen raised his hands in surrender, whistling again—though notably quieter this time.

“Two minutes,” I murmured, glancing at the clock on the wall above the door we’d be entering through.

“Right,” Eth said, immediately snapping back into work-mode. “Mercy votes for Cohen, Cohen votes for himself?”

Cohen nodded.

“Bodie votes for himself, which leeeaves,” he half-sang, pivoting. “Dak, Ace, Aidan, Addie, and me.”

Aidan took the opportunity to play suck-up. “I vote Sinclair.”

I rolled my eyes. “Ew. Veto.”

Eth whipped back round. “Veto? You don’t want TL?”

“Negatory.”

“Ads, TL could put you over the line for Eagle,” Ethan said softly—seriously.

“It could just as easily see me fucked over, dude. I’d rather follow your lead and concentrate on taking out as many targets as possible. Besides, it’s a nice ass to follow.” I winked, earning a snicker from Mercy, who not-so-subtly ogled the goods and nodded appreciatively. “I vote Taylor,” I said to the group.

Dak pursed his lips, resting his hand on the butt of his holstered gun. He met my gaze head-on, considered for a moment, then dipped his chin. “If Sinclair votes Taylor, then I vote Taylor.”

“Thanks, I think?” Eth frowned.

Ace’s vote, unsurprisingly, went where Dak’s did—meaning Eth was ahead by one vote and he was the only one left unspoken for.

“Mine would have gone to Addie, but since she doesn’t want it, I guess this burden falls to me.” He sighed dramatically, pretending the patch in his hand weighed a metric tonne.

I sighed deeply, already mentally prepping for the task ahead while Eth velcroed the TL patch onto his left arm and a plain red one to mine. The rest of the team slapped their patches on haphazardly, checked their gear again, and waited for instructions to be passed out.

“Time’s up! Team Leaders, report to me,” Pearce called out.