Chương 19: Hunter or Prey?

Chris frowned, baffled by his gaze, which seemed to imply something. He shook his head, thinking he was just angry about the girl being kille. Seeing the mood stiffened, Allison tried to change the subject.

"Dad, do you know? Lucas is interested in firearms, he even started to get lessons." Chris looked surprised as he asked: "You don't say… what got you interested?" looking at Lucas while he analyzed him. Putting down the fork, he answered: "It's kind of a family tradition, used for hunting."

"Hunting? Like deer and stuff?" Allison asked curiously.

"Yeah… hunting deer…" he said with a smile, while thinking of several "deer" that needed to be hunted.

"It's an interesting tradition." Chris replied, frowning as he couldn't help but feel that Lucas was implying something. Then Victoria asked calmly: "It seems that I forgot to ask your full name." Lucas's smile widened at this question as he looked directly in Chris's eyes when he answered.

"My name is Lucas Ashford…" Underneath the table, Chris's hand gripped tightly, his eyes widening for a second before calming down. Victoria, on the other hand, as if by instinct, grabbed the knife, then looked at Allison and quickly let go. Allison frowned, as she sensed the atmosphere getting colder, then asked with a puzzled expression.

"Do you guys know about his family?" This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Chris gave Victoria a look, then he smiled and replied: "No… I was just thinking about the earlier discussion, and got upset thinking of that poor girl." Allison nodded, but she still felt he was hiding something. Seeing his daughter not continue asking, he felt relieved. Chris then looked back at Lucas, who was smiling as if he enjoyed a performance.

His doubts grew more and more, but he refrained from speaking about the subject again. Soon, as all finished eating, Lucas got up, ready to go home.

"I will walk you out." Allison quickly got up and followed him. Chris and Victoria looked at them leaving, then, hearing the door closing, they started talking. Chris's face now was emotionless, different from his usual smile.

"Do you think… that he is from 'that' family?" Victoria looked at her husband and responded: "It's obvious… did you not see how he was waiting for a reaction from you?" Chris looked at the door while speaking: "The way he looked at me when he talked about the girl's ripped body… as if he knew something…" Hearing him say that, her expression hardened, and she said in a low tone: "Should we…" Although she didn't finish her sentence, Chris knew what she meant.

"No! We must follow the code!" he told her with an unwavering expression.

"Sigh… what about Allison?" Chris was at a loss; he was not blind, he saw how she looked at that boy.

"We will figure it out." That's it, that's the only answer he could think of for now. While the two were having a wonderful conversation, Lucas and Allison were having a different discussion. As they left the house, now the two of them were right in front of his car. Lucas looked at the slightly distracted Allison, having a guess what was on her mind. He then lifted his hand towards her face and gently pushed her hair behind her ear.

Allison's eyes widened at his gesture, but before she could say something, he started speaking; his eyes were gentler than usual and made her heart beat faster.

"You're a smart girl… I know that. I also know that you sensed something in there." He told her softly. Allison opened her mouth, wanting to ask what he meant, but he continued, not giving her a chance.

"There are some things you need to learn and see for yourself to believe them, and I don't think I have that kind of trust to make you believe, but I hope that one day I will." Her eyes were sparkling. Something inside of her urged her to ask him what he meant, but ultimately she abstained from asking and nodded in agreement. He gave her a smile, then entered his car and left. Allison stood there for a moment in deep thought, then her hand touched her right cheek before going right back inside.

Unknowingly to them, they were not the only ones there; behind some trees in the distance, a blurred figure was standing there. You could hardly tell if it was a human or something else entirely. Just the deep glowing eyes.