Page 68 of Hunt Me

It doesn’t. It’s later into the evening, but I’m wondering if he’ll sleep until morning. God knows he needs the rest.

I debate about setting my camera up so my phone will alert me if he starts moving around, but in the end, I know he feels safe here, so he’ll probably come looking if he gets up. Though I doubt he will.

The injuries he has are mostly superficial. My brothers and I have all had so much worse. But I know he’s in pain, and that’s causing a sensation in me that I don’t like. It’s itchy and uncomfortable, and I know it won’t be solved with anything except feeling that bastard’s blood dripping between my fingers.

But at least I have a place to start now. Denver has files in his apartment, and if we have a name, then we will have a face to go with it. And there’s nowhere in the world this fucker will be able to hide from me once I know who he is.

I venture upstairs to find the house empty as it usually is during the day. Percy’s still on the case, looking for his missingPI, and Milo’s distracted by the café, so I head into the kitchen and make myself a sandwich as I call my older brother.

“You good?” Percy says when he answers.

“Fine,” I grunt. Talking is strange after not even trying to do it for the entire day. Being with Denver has had so many unexpected soothing side effects. And being voice off with him makes it so much easier to turn my voice back on with my brother. “I have some info.”

“Hit me.”

“I need to go back to Denver’s apartment and go through his stuff. I think there might be some files on his last stalker case there. But I don’t think it’s the same guy.”

Percy’s quiet for a beat, then sighs. “I don’t think so either. This feels weirdly personal, but not like revenge. It’s so obsessive.”

He would know. Hell, we all would know.

Leaving the sandwich on the counter, I start pacing. My body feels a little on edge, and stimming helps, but I know I need to do something more. Something bigger because if I don’t, I’m going to have a meltdown. The last thing I want is for Denver to see me like that.

If he hasn’t run now, he’ll definitely run then.

“What do you need from me?” Percy asks.

I sigh as I let my fingers dance through the air in my favorite, familiar pattern. “Come home and watch Denver so I can go over there.”

“You know, I can go look if you?—”

“No. I need to do it.” My voice is a little tight, and if he argues with me, I’m going to lose my words. And my temper.

But Percy knows when to put up a fight and when to let things go. “Alright. I can be home in ten. We don’t have any appointments today anyway, and Milo was making noise about going to talk to the vet who brought that cat back.”

“Cat?”

“The one you took in?” Percy says.

Oh, good. It lived. Which means the vet will too. “Alright. I can be ready to go in ten minutes.”

Percy ends the call without a goodbye, which I’m used to, so I set my phone down and attack my sandwich like it offended me. Eating has always been hard for me. I like about six things total, and even those can be hard to get down.

If it weren’t for the fact that I need food to live—and that I want to live as well—I would have given it up years ago. But I choke it down, then slip back to the basement to find Denver still snoring quietly into my pillow.

His phone is on the nightstand, and I manage to get it in front of his face just enough to unlock the screen before putting my number in it.

On the desk, I yank one of the notepads I’ve stolen from a random funeral home and write him a quick few sentences before leaving it on the pillow, grabbing my keys, and going upstairs to wait for my brother.

The only thing keeping me sane in this whole situation is knowing that I will be able to fix this. That I have the ability and the power to find out who hurt my little rabbit…

And to make them pay for it.

Percy knows me well enough to know he has to show up on time. He’s three minutes early and doesn’t try to make small talk as I breeze past him and jump in my car. I make the drive back to Denver’s apartment without paying attention to how long it takes me or the fact that I’m speeding like hell, so it’s a miracle I’m not pulled over.

Percy would probably kill me if I drew the attention of the local law enforcement here. He’s still raging pissed off about the arson at the gym, and it’s a wonder it only cost Charls a few toes.

I wonder if Percy’s going soft.