Stalking the Others Read Online Free PDF

in kind.
    Then I had to face the hunters.
    “Uh,” I said.
    Jack kicked out a chair beside him at the table, his eyes narrowed and jaw clenched. I shuffled over to it with as much dignity as I could muster, mumbling something that I hoped passed for a greeting so I wouldn’t have to meet their probing gazes. Nobody said a thing as I gingerly lowered myself into the chair, or as I cast surreptitious, longing looks at the piles of steaks, veggies, and other trimmings placed around the table. No one had filled their plates yet, so I didn’t dare reach for anything, and I wondered what the heck they were waiting for.
    Nikki brought a couple of bottles of red wine to the table, popping the corks and pouring. At this point, I was too hungry to care about the awkward silence; I just wanted the wait to be over so I could dig into those heavenly-looking steaks. Once everyone had a full glass, she took a seat, and then we all started filling our plates.
    “Shiarra,” Jack said, startling me so badly I almost dropped the salad bowl on my lap, “I believe you remember Dr. Morrow and Bo, yes? If you haven’t been introduced, I’d like you to meet Jason, Patrick, Adam, and Keith.”
    The other hunters gave me sparse nods as Jack said their names. Patrick, Adam, and Jason were watching me with mixtures of speculation and dislike. They looked vaguely familiar, and they all had the bodies of men who pumped iron and probably hid tattoos of things like barbed wire cuffs and flying hearts with “Mom” banners on them under their long-sleeved shirts. Keith, a skinny kid who reminded me of Arnold the mage, gave me a disinterested once-over before digging into his steak.
    Dr. Morrow and Bo seemed to be the only people who didn’t loathe me on sight. Dr. Morrow had treated me a few times when I’d been in scrapes before. I hadn’t known until I was suffering from severe blood loss after a vampire bite that he was working for the White Hats.
    A group of them, including Bo, had saved me from the clutches of a vampire bent on revenge. Why Max Carlyle had thought Royce cared enough about me to think that I would be useful as bait was still beyond me. Though I was grateful to the White Hats for saving me, I’d never considered becoming a member of their crazy organization. Bo had badly injured his leg in some fight or another (maybe in the process of saving me from Max?), and we’d spent some time together in the infirmary. Judging by the wink he gave me, he didn’t begrudge my walking out on the White Hats to go back to Royce’s side the way Jack and Nikki did.
    “Still waiting for that movie night, chica,” Bo said, giving me a flash of white teeth against dark skin. “Got any plans after dinner?”
    “Sure, I owe you one,” I replied, returning his smile in kind.
    Patrick kicked Bo under the table, not so subtly that I missed it. Bo shot him a look before returning his attention to his meal. Jack sipped at his wine, not touching the small portions of food Nikki had put on his plate, earning a frown from her.
    It was probably the most awkward dinner I’ve ever attended, even counting the time Chaz and Arnold came to my parents’ house for my younger brother’s birthday. Every time Bo would try to strike up a conversation with me, someone else would cut him off. Dr. Morrow was as disinterested as could be in anything but his food. Jack, Nikki, Patrick, Jason, and Adam seemed as if they couldn’t care less whether I lived or died.
    Keith surprised me by being the first to show interest. He finished his second helping before anybody else, and swirled the wine in his glass while he stared at me from across the table. He had to lean slightly to one side to peer around a vase of flowers Nikki must have put there as a centerpiece.
    “So, you’re looking for somebody, right? Is that why you’re here?”
    I glanced up, fork halfway to my mouth, uncertain if he really was talking to me. Everyone else but Bo feigned disinterest in the