Bite Deep by Rebekah Turner Read Free Book Online Page B

didn’t already know and he tuned out quickly, mentally going over what he knew about this man. He’d been holding a steady job in Camden for the last three years, a front for the assignment of watching the communes. Nothing new had been derived from the posting though, and his Hunter knew nothing of the rumour about the Breed King coming to visit.
    Coulter realised the Hunter had stopped talking and was standing in the kitchen doorway, holding two steaming mugs.
    â€˜What are you doing?’ He walked over and placed down the mugs. Coulter continued to take the photos down, stacking them in piles and ignoring the Hunter’s alarmed look.
    â€˜Why did you kill the female Breed?’ Coulter asked.
    The Hunter’s eyes dropped. ‘It was an accident.’
    â€˜Explain.’
    â€˜I’d seen her a few times, and thought by getting close, I could get better information.’ He looked up at Coulter, defensive now. ‘It was a good plan. She really liked me.’
    â€˜And why did you kill her?’ Coulter repeated his question.
    The Hunter stared at him, and Coulter felt a small shiver roll down his spine at the emptiness he saw there. Then the Hunter blinked and sat down at the table, sipping his tea.
    â€˜I don’t know,’ he said. ‘One minute we were talking in the car, the next moment she had gotten out and was running from me.’
    Coulter’s hand hesitated over one of the photos on the wall, this one recent and of Lydia. ‘What were you talking about?’
    â€˜Her life at Crystal Waters. I guess I pushed too hard and she got suspicious.’
    â€˜And do you have anything of hers that might tie you to her?’
    â€˜No.’
    â€˜Are you sure?’ Coulter pressed. He knew the minds of killers and their desire to keep something, a trophy of their victim.
    The Hunter didn’t answer at first, then he picked up one of the photos and stared at it intently. ‘No one ever saw me with her. I won’t be tied to her death.’
    Coulter put the photo of Lydia to the side of the piles he was making. ‘It will only be a matter of time. The Breed won’t stop until they find out who killed her.’
    â€˜I’m not afraid,’ the Hunter said sullenly. ‘And I don’t see why you have to pack up all my work.’
    â€˜We need these images for our files,’ Coulter said in a calm voice. ‘Why don’t you continue with your report.’
    The tea now sat ignored by both men, while the Hunter continued talking about what he’d observed in Camden. Not for the first time, Coulter wondered how the Association could have missed that there was something wrong with this Hunter. Stringently vetted for their religious and personal beliefs, Hunters were also assessed on their mental status and stability and this one had sailed through the tests easily. Coulter knew he would be blamed. After all, this project had been his idea. It was just fortunate the woman the Hunter had murdered had been Breed. If she had been human, the Hunter would have been executed. No trial, no appeal. Their duty was to save human lives, not take them.
    â€˜Are you going to pull me out? Is that what’s happening here?’ the Hunter asked suddenly.
    Coulter’s hand paused over one of the photos for a second before he ripped it off, tearing away some of the wall plaster. ‘It’s time for you to be reassigned.’
    â€˜But I’m established here. I have the locals’ trust. I even uncovered where the last witch is in town. She could be a problem, you know.’
    â€˜Enough.’ Coulter turned from the wall and gave the Hunter a smooth smile. ‘You’ve been isolated here for a number of years now. This is standard procedure.’
    The Hunter frowned and sat down heavily at the dining room table. ‘It would be a mistake.’
    â€˜That’s not your call.’ Coulter picked up one of the photos of