The Hunt Read Free Page B

pretend to be someone he’s not.”
    Deborah nodded, pointing her plastic fork at Faye like a spear. “You should give him a taste of his own medicine. Max played you, and now you have to turn it around on him.”
    â€œThere he is.” Sean shifted his beady eyes across the cafeteria toward Max, and Faye quickly applied a fresh coat of red gloss to her lips.
    â€œDo you honestly think revenge is the best idea right now?” Diana asked. “We’ve already had one close call with a hunter today. We don’t need another.”
    â€œRelax, D.” Faye curled her lips into a smile. “We need information on the hunters and he’s our way to it. I’m going to pump him for intel, double agent–style. Watch and learn.”
    Without another word, Faye stood up and jogged over to Max, meeting him halfway as he approached. He was dressed to go to lacrosse practice and carried a duffel bag. Faye took the bag from him, dropped it to her side, and pretended to be just as in love with him as ever. She pulled him in close and kissed him passionately on the mouth. “I’ve missed you,” she said, loud enough for the Circle to hear.
    Max touched his fingers to his lips, now lightly coated in the same red gloss as Faye’s. “And I missed you,” he said.
    Max was tall and muscular with light brown hair. His voice was rugged, and he wore a perpetual cocky grin. He was just the kind of guy that made Faye swoon. It’s nowonder she’d let her guard down enough to get marked by him.
    The rest of the Circle watched as Faye whispered into Max’s ear and he murmured back to her in a soft voice.
    â€œDo you think he’s falling for it?” Sean asked.
    â€œSeems like it,” Doug said, nodding his wild head of blond hair. “He’s acting the same as before. Like a lovesick wimp.”
    â€œBut who knows if she’ll be able to get any information out of him,” his twin brother said.
    Melanie was dubious, as usual. “There’s no way he’s going to give up anything on the hunters. Whether he thinks Faye’s on to him or not, he’s not stupid.”
    â€œBut Faye might be able to trick him into leading us to more of them,” Nick said. He was sitting on the cafeteria table, bent over with his feet on a chair. “There have to be more hunters in town than just Max and his dad.”
    Melanie rolled her gray eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure Max will be happy to introduce us to all his hunter buddies. Maybe he’ll even host a cocktail party.”
    Cassie continued watching Max and Faye’s back-and-forth. It was almost comical, both of them pretending to be into the other when they were actually sworn enemies. But Max’s face betrayed nothing more than he intended itto. He was running this show and Cassie could see he was too good at it to crack under a little pressure.
    After a few minutes of the charade, Faye finally gave up. She leaned in and kissed Max one last time before returning to the group. Max waved as he passed them on his way to the gym, flashing his perfect smile—but Cassie thought it looked like he was grinning at Diana in particular.
    â€œWell, that was a bust,” Faye said. “He’s either a really good actor or he doesn’t know anything about what happened earlier in the principal’s office. I mentioned my friend Laurel and he asked which one she was.”
    â€œWe still shouldn’t push our luck,” Diana said. “I think it’s time for you to distance yourself from him and his dad.”
    â€œI think Diana’s right,” Cassie said. “We need to lay down some new rules.”
    â€œJust what this Circle needs.” Faye returned to her seat at the table. “More rules.”
    â€œWhat do you propose?” Diana asked, speaking over Faye. “We’re listening.”
    Cassie realized she had the whole group’s attention. They