Page 24 of Crooked Crows (Boys of Briar Hall 1)

My breath foggedin the air as I jogged down the trail, one earbud in and the other tucked away in my pocket. The road ahead was gravel, narrow, winding up a fairly steep incline.

I told myself I just wanted to see which road Becca was talking about—to know where toavoidgoing but…

It was past midnight, and I couldn’t sleep. I kept thinking about Dom, and Kit, and where the hell Becca kept going at all hours of the early morning and night. And, if I were being honest with myself, I couldn’t stop thinking aboutthem,either. This burning urge to know more ate at me.

Know your enemies.

I’d feel better if I knew what I was dealing with. Where they lived. If I knew how far it was from the school.

It didn’t take much to convince myself before I was stepping off the gravel road and into the shadows of the trees running alongside it, speeding back up to a run over the leafy ground.

A cool wind stole over the ridge, flash cooling the sweat slicking my arms and back, making the small hairs there stand on end.

I clenched my teeth, tapping my earbud to switch off the husky whisper of Primal Ethos singing to me of savages and saints. Just in case.

Statistics would warn against it, but night runs were my favorite. Especially in the hours just after midnight or just before dawn. When the whole world seemed to hold its breath, steeling itself against the coming of a new day. Only the night creatures chirped and chattered in the dark. Creating their own sort of music.

The house came into view about two miles up, where the road began to level out onto a flat, treed lot.

I squatted in the shadows, putting my hands to the damp earth as I squinted through the branches, keeping low as I moved closer.

I could see how the place got its name.

The Crow’s Nest was a modern structure, tall and narrow, built of grey wood with big square windows and a sharply slanted roof. Orange tinted light shone out around the heavy black curtains on the middle floor, but every other light within was out.

There was a garage, built similarly, next to the odd house, and a smaller structure down to the right, almost hidden in the trees. A shed?

It wasn’t built to match the others, it looked old. Ancient, really. And I wondered if it was the original structure here before they built the monstrosity of a house.

A camera hid in the alcove above the big black front door, facing downward. I checked for others before mentally giving myself a smack.

It was habit. Casing the place for weak points to exploit.

I mean, it looked like the sort of place where I’d find a metric boatload of cash. Probably weapons. Jewelry. Watches?

With only one camera, it was doable—

No, Ava Jade.

Jesus fuck.

What happened to not poking the bears?

Worst. Idea. Ever.

I sighed, deciding to leave well enough alone, placated knowing that they were at least eight miles from the school in total. Not far enough, but at least they didn’t live on the grounds.

The sound of car tires chewing gravel made me duck lower in the shadows and I narrowed my vision. An old model light blue Camry sped into view, peeling into the lot in front of the house and coming to a jarring stop.

I should leave.

I shouldreallyleave.

I settled in, biting my lower lip as the engine went dead, and I held my breath to keep from making a sound.

A bulky shadow spilled out of the passenger door and pulled a black ski mask from his face. As he lifted his face skyward, taking a long breath, I saw that it was Corvus. Odd sounds filtered to me on the breeze. Whispers, and was that…

Was that whimpering?

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