Hunter

New house guest; who's dis?

Gail

Mason Jones brought me to his house, intending to keep Hunter in line. Who was I to argue? Except I did—all the time.

I let Mason Jones know in no uncertain terms I wasn't happy one bit about this arrangement. If he gave me rules, I broke every single one. Mason expected you on time for dinner. I arrived late, much to Mason's chagrin. If he mentioned going somewhere, I ensured I got lost in his house. Whatever Mason wanted, I did the complete opposite.

Unlike Mason's foot soldiers, he didn't own me. I had nothing to do with what my dad did.

Then, I underestimated Mason when he paired me with Hunter. Damn it.

Hunter was perched on the armrest of an oversized chair in my bedroom with his arms crossed. "Why must you antagonize Mason?"

I stood in front of Hunter with my arms crossed. "Why not? I didn't ask to come here."

"So, living alone is a better alternative?"

"It's better than being someone's puppet, which you are."

Hunter raised his brow. "That's where you're wrong. I'm not Mason's puppet."

"Says you. But Mason is pulling all the strings."

"Did you ask yourself why?"

"Do I care? No." I rolled my eyes.

"People won't hesitate to kill you with a snap of their fingers. You think you're safe under the guise of protection from mommy and daddy. You're not. It's a deception most people buy into because they're fools."

"Says the king of fools."

Hunter shook his head. "No, I'm not a fool. I learned a long time ago that people would rather destroy you than help you."

"Did anyone tell you that you have a pessimistic attitude?"

"There's nothing pessimistic about reality." Hunter shrugged.

"I refuse to bow down to anyone like a dog."

"I doubt anyone can make you bow down. You don't strike me as the type to bend to anyone."

"Well, you're not as dumb as I originally thought." I smirked.

Hunter stood up, moved closer to me, and leaned into me. "I'm far from dumb, Gail, with the fiery red hair. I only returned to Mason's house because of you."

My cheeks flushed as my heart quickened. Something about Hunter drove me crazy.

******
Hunter

Gail had a feisty personality. I enjoyed watching her disarm Mason's calm, collective manner. What did he expect when he caged a wild cat?

Here, Kitty, Kitty. Obey me. Yeah, okay.

Mason forgets that cats are assholes and don't listen, unlike dogs. I'm not saying Gail is an asshole. But she was a cat because she didn't listen to Mason's orders.

Good. I would rather deal with Gail instead of Mason's idiot brothers.

Gail took a step back to insert space between us. "So, what do you do for fun in this prison?"

"It depends on what's happening." I shrugged. "Mason has his ideas of fun."

"Let me guess. His fun includes writing an essay on how not to be fun."

"Not unless you consider a library with wall-to-wall books and chess boring."

"What?"

"Mason has a library full of books. He said I can use it anytime."