Page 54 of Tag

Layla glanced at me. “You should at least tell Ashton.”

Roxxi peered at her over the rim of her phone. “That was a given. Is he not a guy?”

“They’re already going to know, there’s no way they wouldn’t, but we still need to tell them ourselves outside of a text or the gossip that’s sure to start going around once it is confirmed,” Ari said.

We agreed, and Roxxi straightened in her chair. “Moving on then. We’re getting cameras. As a house full of single women living on our own, we should’ve had them already, but now it seems even more necessary.”

“I’ll handle it tomorrow,” Cloe volunteered. “My dad’s got a vendor for everything. I’ll get the window repair handled too.”

“Thanks for that. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of having it fixed until just now.”

“Because you’re dead on your feet. You look ready to fall asleep at any second,” Roxxi assessed.

“Oh, I’ll be out like a light the second my head hits the pillow.” I smothered a yawn before I added, “I think I should drive myself tomorrow, mix our routine up. See if anything happens.”

Layla’s brows pinched. “Alone?”

“I don’t like that idea, Sanj,” Ari objected.

“I’ll go straight from the house to my car,” I reassured her.

“In that case, I should hide out in your trunk then,” Roxxi suggested.

I couldn’t tell if she was joking or not.

“Rox, no. It’s not like I’m going to get murdered outside our front door. I always ride with someone else. I want to see how closely we’re being watched pre-Hunt.”

“You’re sure?” Ari pressed gently.

“Yeah. I—we need to get a feel of things. Now that I know we’ve been Marked, I have no intention of letting us lose this Hunt. I don’t care if we’re dealing with one Huntsman or four.”

Cloe grinned at me. “I know that’s right.”

“I’m in agreement with that. No way we’re losing,” Roxxi echoed.

The table quieted after that, the weight of everything settling into a new kind of resolve. One by one, we began gathering our plates, the unspoken agreement to move forward in motion. As tired as I was, I offered to help Layla with the dishes so the others could head upstairs and start winding down. Roxxi double-checked the doors and windows with Cloe—finally taking the whole locking-up thing seriously, go figure—before both of them disappeared for the night.

“Thanks for cleaning up,” Arianna said softly, pulling me into a hug. She smelled like fresh jasmine.

“No thanks needed. You cooked.”

She offered Layla a small smile and padded off toward her room, leaving the two of us to finish up in a silence that felt less awkward and more weighted. When we were done, I dried my hands and said quietly, “I got what you needed. It’s in my room.”

Layla’s expression shifted—relief, dread, and something else I couldn’t name flashing across her face. “I’ll wait for you,” she whispered, glancing up the staircase like it was a gauntlet.

We walked up in silence, the occasional creak of settling wood following us. From Roxxi’s room, music thumped quietly. Goku’s voice spilled from Cloe’s TV.

Ari’s room was quiet, but I could picture her curled up under her blanket, trying to escape into a book like she always did before making herself go to sleep. Inside my bedroom, I shut the door behind Layla and moved past her.

“I hid them under the mattress.” I pulled out the bag, handing it to her like I was passing off a ticking bomb. She took itcarefully, like it might shatter in her hands, then turned toward the bathroom without a word. The door clicked shut, and I sank onto the edge of the bed, phone in hand. There was a message from Ashton I hadn’t opened earlier while we were diving into Hunt research over dinner.

Ash

Aren’t you?

I read it twice, brows pinched. It didn’t make sense. The obvious answer was no. I didn’t have the energy to start something with him tonight. I sent a shortGoodnightin return, then messaged Ryder too.

Seconds passed.

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