The Hunter (Boston Belles, #1)

by L.J. Shen

“I hope she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” ―F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby In this book, she isn’t.

The girl wondered what would happen if the sun kissed the moon. She had no idea she’d find an answer to that question one day. Or that the person to give it to her would be that very lonely boy.

She was a tomboy, and possibly a lesbian (not that I had any issues with that), and an archer (something I did have an issue with, because it meant she could kill me with little effort).

Anyway, Dad would kill Hunter Fitzpatrick if he gave me trouble. And Sam, my brother, would get rid of the body. That was the beauty of coming from a mobster family.

“Specifically speaking, I don’t have any. Just think of me, like, as Bambi: cute AF but super stupid and in total need of supervision.”

He just said aay-eff. Plus, he willingly labeled himself stupid. I felt kind of sad for him, before I remembered who he was.

Hunter was a boy, but he wasn’t a good fit for me. I was in no danger of falling in love with him, of losing focus.

Yeah we'll see. 🤭

“Listen to me carefully, Hunter Fitzpatrick. I may seem like an insecure, average-looking geek to you. And you know what? That’s who I am. I own it. But make no mistake, this insecure geek comes from a long line of people you do not want to screw with, and their savagery rubbed off on me as well. I will not hesitate to pierce your pretty, spoiled-prince heart with one of my pointy arrows.

1-0, away team.

Get em girl!

We were on day two of one hundred and eighty-two, but who the fuck was counting? (Answer: me. I was counting.)

This man child needs to grow up 😂

I’d seen my friends fall in love and go to extreme lengths to get the girl. It seemed like a giant drag.

Oh I can't wait for this one to eat his pretty little words 😂

As I took the elevator up to the penthouse, I realized what the cherry on the shit cake this day had served me was: My father’s people had to have seen me getting into Troy’s car—they had eyes on me wherever I was—but they didn’t do a damn thing about it. I really was alone in the world.

Yeah his family is a whole ton of fucked up

HHH: Why, I thought you’d never ask. A kiss. Sailor: From who? HHH: A flame-haired banshee.

It was funny how Hunter believed he was dumb, and I believed I was unattractive—and that these opposite sources of insecurity made us enemies. I despised him for his looks, and he thought I was an unattractive bore.

I held him like he was made of glass. He held me like I was made of clouds.

In that moment, I wished I’d never laid eyes upon Hunter Fitzpatrick, because I knew with certainty that for all his spoiled ways, corrupted behavior, and obsession with pleasure, he was innately good, loyal, and courageous.

Maybe that’s why he said what he said. He thought I was asleep, not just resting. “Agnes,” he whispered. “The nanny’s name was Agnes.”

I looked up from my offended nuts, noticing that she was full-blown smiling, and that I was full-blown fucked. How did I not realize Sailor Brennan had the most amazing goddamn smile in the entire goddamn world?

His demise is already upon him—his fall is going to be oh so delicious!

“Sorry, aingeal dian, but I think you just met the one motherfucker who is dumb enough not to be scared of you or your family.”

She released the arrow. I repeat: Bitch. Released. The. Arrow.

Boy has he met his match 😅

“Just so we’re clear, you may be my babysitter, but you don’t call the shots. You do not boss me around, you do not make stupid-ass decisions with your body. Finally, you do not fucking hunt me. I’m the hunter here, sweetheart. And you? The goddamn prey.”

“Your name may be Hunter, but make no mistakes—you’ll never catch me.”

Hmm or will he? Seems to me, you'll be catching each other.

Sailor’s body went limp, compliant. She was surprisingly submissive. The prey accepted its fate for now.

I realized with a sinking feeling that I was CT when Hunter was in a sour mood, and aingeal dian when he wanted to cop a feel. God, I hated him.

“I’m going to have you, prey. One way or the other. Our little deals are just a way for you to give yourself excuses for letting me into your panties. Do the smart thing, and get something out of it, too. Yes or no?”

Hawt diggity dog

If kissing Hunter felt so far removed from anything I’d experienced with Beau, I wondered how having sex with him would be. Divine. Euphoric. Destructive.

“Submit, prey,” he growled darkly. “Fight harder for it, Hunter.”

I almost took mercy on her then. Almost. Then I remembered my own goddamn family had an eat-your-young mentality—and the other part Nanny Number Six had mentioned: the tigress’ side. It was hungry, depraved, and wanted to stay just as alive as the zebra. Hunters needed to eat to survive.

I realized he was right. I was the archer, but he was the true hunter.

“The prince is not going to save you, aingeal dian. He is stuck in his castle, fighting his own battle. Are you ready to step out of your comfort zone and live?” he asked, almost brokenly. I’d never seen him so bare, so raw. “You have to let life touch you. Drown a little with me, baby.”

“You are my butterfly, Sailor. And maybe I’m not Gerald’s flesh and blood, but make no mistakes—when I finally catch you, I intend to capture you, too.”

“I don’t need gentle. I’m a warrior, remember?” I grabbed his face, bringing him down for a scorching-hot kiss.

He was fearless, and a rebel, and a sinner, and a saint. A prince who’d never wanted his title. A pure-hearted rake.

He was everything a woman should run away from, personified. And yet here I was, falling deeper.

We just existed: a butterfly and a man who appreciated beautiful things. Co-existing in the eye of a storm we’d been thrown into.

“Priceless and worthless are the same sum, presented in different manners. Words make you or break you. By cursing, you reduce yourself to someone who cannot convey their feelings sufficiently.”

“I cannot keep you from making mistakes, because then you’ll never learn from them. The world is tough, and cruel, and mostly unfair. It’s our job to find a way to navigate our way in it. The more I shield you, the less chance you’ll have of surviving.”

If you want it, it is yours. To keep. To use. To burn. With this, you’ll never fall. —Hunt

I smiled bitterly, allowing a tear to slide down my cheek. “Silly boy,” I whispered. “I already have.”

“If you’re asking me to choose between my family fortune and a girl, my answer is obvious—the fortune.” I paused, watching his throat working behind his silky orange tie. “But if you’re asking me to choose between the family fortune and Sailor Brennan, I’m going to have to kiss your money goodbye and bow out of this one, Fitzpatrick or not.”

His smile evaporated. He wasn’t expecting that plot twist. Honestly, I wasn’t, either.

I bit my fist again. I’d made the right choice. Fuck the money.

He was the Hunter. I was the prey.

“Angry angel. Aingeal dian means angry angel.

The first time I held you in my arms, at the fundraiser event, two things occurred to me. The first was that I couldn’t let go of you, even if you asked really, and I mean really nicely. The second was that I was unworthy of keeping you.

“Say yes,” he breathed into my mouth. “Say you’ll never leave.”

“Never,” I murmured. “I love you so much, Hunter. It terrifies me how far I’ll go to save you.”

“However far that is, know I’ll go even fa...

And this, I thought as I drowned in his kisses, is how you know it is real.

I leaned down, kissing the tip of her nose. She was a fucking vision, Sailor Brennan.