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His brows rose slightly. “Are you jealous?”

“Are you delusional?”

“I think you might be, since you’re seeing things that aren’t there. She wasn’t in my lap.”

“Okay. Whatever you say. You know everything now. Let me out.”

“No, I don’t. You didn’t answer my question. I wasn’t asking how you found the photos. I want to know how you found out you were Marked, officially.”

I looked at him, his piercing stare pinning me in place. A small voice warned me to tread carefully. I knew so many shades of Ryder, and something about this one set off every internal alarm I had. Should I tell him about the bird? Kellan clearly hadn’t mentioned it. At least there was that. I could lie and say it was in a text, but that wasn’t how The Hunt worked. If he were Marked, too, he’d know. Wait a minute…

“How didyoufind out?” I questioned, narrowing my eyes. “If I got hit, then I know you’re Marked.”

“I got a note this afternoon.”

“What did it say?”

His mouth twitched. “We’re not talking about me right now.”

We were at an impasse then. I couldn’t tell him about the bird, not when he was already fuming beneath that eerily calm facade he never let crack. It was telling enough that he’d just dragged me into a bathroom right in front of half our peers. Telling him meant revealing I’d seen more masked figures. There was also the fact that eventually, he’d take a better look at my photo and realize it had been taken from inside my house. Then what?

“I’m not doing this with you in a bathroom, Ryder. We can talk tomorrow, when you’re calm.”

I stepped back further, needing distance,but Ryder didn’t let space stay space. He followed, brushing his knuckles down my cheek with a gentleness that was at complete odds with what he was feeling. “Do you really think I’m going to be any calmer after I’ve had all night to think about what you just told me, and the things you aren’t?”

I exhaled shakily, not sure what else to say to him.

“You can go, Sass. Run like you always do, but know this, it’s the last time I’m going to let you.”

I could have pushed back or argued with him, but I didn’t want to walk away and leave things like this. Whatever was unraveling between us, it wasn’t just about The Hunt. It wasn’t about secrets or Marks or tradition. It was about me and him. If things were already spiraling this badly, before the game had even started,I was going to need a lot of liquor to make it through the next few weeks.

And I had shit alcohol tolerance.

I swallowed thickly and reached up, my hand trembling slightly as I cupped his face.“I’ve never wanted to run from you,” I murmured.

Maybe it was stupid to say that out loud and a bit reckless, but it was also true. I let him do what he would with the admission and moved toward the door. My fingers slid over the lock, and I grimaced, remembering that the dude who’d been in there earlier hadn’t washed his hands. Ryder didn’t stop me, but I felt his eyes on my back. My heart pounded against my ribs, a traitor aching to stay. To turn back and place it in his hands where it belonged. I stepped into the hallway, the dull thrum of the diner swallowing me whole.

Laughter. Music. Silverware clinking against ceramic plates. Life kept moving, as if I hadn’t just left part of my soul behind in a fluorescent-lit bathroom. I weaved through the diner, mouthingI’ll be backto Roxxi, Cloe, and Ari, who all looked ready to climb across the table when they saw me. I didn’t glance at the guys. They were too perceptive, and I couldn’t deal with them on top of everything else. I needed air that wasn’t laced with tension and the scent of him. The second I hit the entryway, my phone started going off. I yanked it out on instinct, half-expecting another text from my stalker.

Sugarmamalit the screen.

A laugh slipped from my lips. I pushed through the doors and stepped out into the crisp night air, dragging in a lungful. I didn’t wander, going just far enough to put space between me and the noise, answering before the call could go to voicemail. “Hey, Sugarmama.”

“Meri Jaan,”she crooned, her voice warm like honey, cardamom, and love all wrapped in one.

“Is everything okay?”

“Oh, everything’s fine,” she said breezily. “I just got back from dinner with some friends.”

“Where’d you go?” I asked, walking toward Ryder’s truck and leaning lightly against the door.

“Shalimar, of course. The owner’s son just got engaged—again. You know how those Patel boys are.”

I smiled faintly. “Mmhm.”

“And you know I don’t like gossip…”

I laughed. “That’s a lie.”

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