Why don’t I hear the gun go off? Aren’t guns supposed to be loud? But then, maybe the gun has a silencer on it. I think those are illegal, but I doubt the person who is trying to murder me is worried about breaking the law.
I keep hoping that I’ll wake up in my bed and this will all have been a bad fever dream, but the further I run, the more I realize that this is real. I’m really being chased by a psycho.
How did he even get a gun onto a high school campus?
West Raven Academy is home to a lot of students—some students have politician parents. I wonder if he’s mistaken me for a senator’s daughter or something. He’s clearly after the wrong person, but I do not want to stop and explain it to him.
I scream as dirt explodes again. This time, the bullet was close. Close enough for the debris to hurt a lot when it hit my legs. I’m so busy looking at my legs, trying to make sure I didn’t get shot because they hurt, I don’t notice somebody walk onto the path. I run straight into somebody, my entire body ricocheting off of them. I end up falling backward onto my butt. I tense up, thinking this is it. I’m about to get shot. The sound of grunting has me looking up.
I see the gunman on the ground. He’s disarmed and… Hunter? … is now holding the gun.
This is all just crazy, right? I’m most definitely seeing things.
I close my eyes tight, wishing the vision away, but when I open my eyes, Hunter is still there.
I take a deep breath. And then another. I breathe so fast and hard that my lungs hurt, but I am freaking out. Any sane person would be.
I was just shot at.
And Hunter saved me.
Hunter Duran—the one boy in the school that I can’t stand.
“You… saved my life…” my voice is so low that I’m not even sure he can even hear me.
Hunter opens his mouth, his lips moving, but no words come out.
I cock my head to the side, trying to hear better. But the ringing in my ears is too loud. Everything is starting to get a bit fuzzy around the edges.
“What?” I ask.
But my head is just so heavy. I decide I need to rest it for just a minute and those are my last thoughts before everything goes dark.
You’re welcome for saving your life.
When I open my eyes, I am back in my dorm room.
Back? Am I sure I ever left?
I am lying on top of the covers and the dress I put on earlier when I went to meet Preston is on.
Maybe…
Maybe after I left Preston, I came back here and had the wildest dream ever.
But…
I sit up, looking at my legs. There are red marks on them from where the dirt smacked hard against me. Which means that it definitely wasn’t just a dream.
“Good, you’re awake.”
That’s when I notice that I’m not alone.
Hunter Duran is sitting in a chair beside my bed.
I furrow my brows. “What are you doing in my dorm room?”
“You’re welcome for saving your life.”
My jaw drops open.
I guess that part wasn’t a dream either.
Hunter Duran truly did save my life, which I’m not sure what to think about right now. He was the one person in this school that I simply couldn’t stand to be around. Now, I feel like I owe him. I do owe him. He saved me.
“Thank you.” I look up at him through my lashes, trying to form a coherent thought. I have so many questions for him—mostly about how and where he learned to do whatever he did. He somehow disarmed a guy with a gun.
Most people, like me, run away from danger. But Hunter didn’t. In fact, he did the opposite. He ran toward danger, ready to fight. He was ready to fight for me, which is insane. I don’t think Hunter likes me any more than I like him.
“Cove Lawson, you are going to be a handful, aren’t you?” He sighs, looking at me. “Are you hurt? I debated taking you to the hospital, but I didn’t find any injuries. I figured you passed out because your brain was overloaded.”
“There was a guy with a gun.” I blink, trying to figure out what exactly happened.
Hunter nods. “Yep.”
“And he was shooting at me.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure you didn’t hit your head?”
I’m sure that’s probably a dig at me, but I’m too stunned to fight him right now. I am in complete shock.
“How did a guy with a gun even get on campus?” I swing my legs over the side of my bed, scooting over to the edge. “I thought this school was supposed to be secure.”
He shrugs. “I’m sure there are ways to sneak on and off campus.”
Spoken like somebody who has probably done both before.
Hunter Duran is a bad boy—the kind most moms warn their daughters to stay away from. But he’s a bad boy who saved my life, so…
He eyes me warily. “Are you sure you’re doing all right?”
I lick my lips, which are feeling very dry. “I think so. I’m just… confused.”
“Maybe you did hit your head.” He gets up, coming closer. He sticks his fingers in my hair, feeling my head for any bumps.
I swat his hand away. “Stop that. I’m fine.”
He does drop his hands, but he doesn’t step away.
Having Hunter this close makes me feel uncomfortable.
“Why are you confused?” Hunter asks.
“A guy with a gun chased me.”
He nods. “Yeah, that’s what happened. I just don’t get what’s confusing about that.”
I throw my hands up. “What do you mean you don’t get what is confusing about that? A guy with a gun chased me! You can’t just tell me that’s normal because it’s definitely a first for me. And if it’s something that does happen to you often, then you should know, that doesn’t happen to normal people.”
He looks down at me, a slow smile building. “I suppose not, huh?”
I glare at him. “Are you going to explain any of this to me? What happened to the guy with the gun? Did you call the police? Is he in jail? Do they need my statement?”
Hunter sighs. “Look, the less you know, the better. Let’s just say that you don’t have to worry about that guy ever again. No statement with the police is necessary.”
I furrow my brows.
“What is that look for?” Hunter asks.
I glance up at him, swallowing hard. “I’m just imaging you walking through the woods wearing all black, dragging a dead body and a shovel behind you.”
He laughs. Hard.
His laugh does nothing to ease my worry.
“Should I be worried that I’m going to end up in your freezer?” I raise an eyebrow.
He shakes his head. “Nah, I don’t kill pretty girls.” He pauses. “Let me rephrase that—I don’t kill pretty girls unless they deserve it.”
My heart skips a beat. “Is that supposed to comfort me? Because it doesn’t. In fact, if anything, it makes me more scared. Do I need to call the police?”
He snorts. “There is constant entertainment with you.”
I narrow my eyes.
“By the way, weren’t you supposed to hang out with ‘Pretty Boy’ today?” Hunter asks.
I shrug, playing with the hem of my dress. “Preston isn’t the guy that I thought he was.”