Page 101 of Playing My Rivals

My vision clouds. “What you need to do is tell me what happened on that goddamn mountain.”

CHAPTER 24

HUNTER

“I’m not going to drop this, so you may as well tell me. Or I can go down to his place right now and ask him.” My white-knuckled fingers grip my empty glass. “Your choice.”

Dorothy’s tears spill out in waves, pouring down her cheeks. If she’s looking for sympathy, she’s not going to get it.

She says nothing, but her expression screams deception. My chest collapses.

Hate.

Betrayal.

Love.

All those ingredients mixed into sludge, creating a dark purple bruise on my heart. I have no idea how to make sense of it.

She shakes her head and wipes her face with her hand. “We got into a car accident. It was raining and I was freezing.”

“I already know all this. Get to the cabin.” I grab the bourbon bottle and fill my glass to the rim.

Her shame-filled eyes finally meet mine, and I know for sure. My world splinters into pieces.

I knew something happened that night when Dorothy’s location tracking disappeared off the screen. I feared she had driven off the mountain.

Deep down, I knew she was okay. She was with Jamison and despite how I feel about him, he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

“Hunter, please try to understand.” She pulls her hand into the sleeve of her sweatshirt and wipes her face again.

I slam half a glass of alcohol down my throat and then round the bar. “Let’s skip the minor details and get to the point. You’re the queen of hearts, and I’m the joker in this deck. Isn’t that what you’re trying to say?”

“That’s not how it is.” She twists on her stool to face me.

“Then how is it?” My glare is downright lethal. “What the fuck happened in that goddamn cabin?”

“I was freezing cold. We were drenched from the rain. We had to break in. The electricity was shut off. There wasn’t anything to start a fire. So we had to… Hunter, I’m so sorry. It just happened.” She steps toward me. “It wasn’t planned.”

I jerk away. I’m speared in the heart and stumble backward. The back of the couch catches my fall. The room distorts and moves in a way that makes it seem like I’m on acid.

God. Fucking. Dammit.

She lied.

She fucking lied about their night together.

My worst fear was just confirmed and I think I’m going to die from the pain. I amble to the front of the couch and collapse onto my legs.

I fist my hair and try to escape the agonizing misery caused by her giving me the truth. A truth I demanded, so I can’t hate her for doing what I begged her to do.

I knew it in the pit of my stomach. I could probably pinpoint the hour it happened. One of the worst anxiety attacks I’ve had took hold of me. I tried to tell myself I was just concerned about her, but I knew.

She moves in front of me and sits on the coffee table.

My head snaps to her. “How does that just happen?”

Her cheeks turn that goddamn shade of crimson and I want to scrub it off her face with a Brillo pad.

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