Page 28 of Not Your Hero

“What the hell, Gary?” I ask, nodding toward her.

“I used some new tactics on them this time.” I walk over and reach down, pressing my fingers to her neck.

“She’s basically dead,” I tell him. He shrugs, pulls his bow and arrow out, and walks over, shooting one through her heart.

“Now she’s all the way dead,” he laughs as the other girls scream. I can see how terrified they are, and that’s not even what bothers me. It’s fucking her. It’s Emerson. That’s what’s bothering me. The fact she’s here. He has her. This is why I couldn’t find her.

“Are we doing this?” Gary asks, seeming a little upset right now.

“Yeah, we’re doing this.”

“Ladies. The aim of the game is to survive until morning. As it stands, we’ve never had anyone live that long. But do try. You are free to run, hide, and do whatever else you think will help you survive. There are only two hunters, and if we find you, we kill you.” More sniffles, more cries. I look up and down the line of women once more, and I can’t stop myself from looking at her. Fuck!

“Now is the time. Stand up,” Gary demands them. The girls rise on their shaky legs, some falling back to the ground, others wrapping their arms around themselves. They all tremble from fear and sickness. I have to control myself, school my features so he doesn’t know just how furious I am that Emerson is here, that he had her this whole time.

My jaw ticks as the girls look at each other. Some understand this is the end for them, and some pray they make it out alive.

“When I say go, you run,” Gary says in a dark tone. I swallow hard because this isn’t going to be easy, but I have to get Emerson out of here. If Gary catches her, he’ll kill her, and that isn’t an option for her.

“Go!” Gary roars. The girls scream and take off running while Gary tosses me a beer. We always give them a head start and crack open a beer, but I have to find Emerson. I keep an eye on her out of the corner of my eye until she disappears into the tree line. Fuck! This isn’t good.

“How did you like the surprise?” Gary asks as I bring the beer to my lips.

“It was truly a surprise,” I tell him. He smirks and downs his beer before checking his watch.

“How long you want to give them?”

“Not long.”

“Good. I’ve been waiting for this,” he eagerly replies as he grabs his bow and arrows off the ground. My stomach is in knots as we get our gear ready, and luckily, when Gary moves, it’s toward the right. I stalk toward the trees on the left, the way Emerson went. I have my shit ready in my hands, but I don’t make a move to shoot. I don’t have time for this shit. I have to find her.

“Emerson?” I whisper as if she’s going to answer me. She thinks I’m going to kill her, so she isn’t going to give away her location that easily. I nearly roll my eyes at myself for thinking she might.

I stalk through the trees, spotting a few girls running, but I don’t take aim or fire. If this were any other hunt, I would, but he has taken the one person I never wanted near this involved, and now I need to get her out. I pull out my cell and send Ren a message I’m going to need a plane and a car at my disposal and quickly at that.

I shove the phone back in my pocket and keep moving through the trees. These girls are not the best at hiding, and when I hear one scream, I know she’s been hit. Before I can blink or make sense of what’s happening, something hits me in the face. It’s hard enough to draw blood as I feel it trickling down my face.

I turn instantly and see Emerson rushing the other way, the fucking bullseye bright on her back. I raise my bow and shoot a warning arrow right next to her, hoping she’ll stop, but she doesn’t. She squeals and starts running faster. I lower my bowand chase after her, listening as the branches snap and the leaves crinkle.

I stop when I lose her and listen, searching for any indication of where she went. That’s when I see her, or at least part of her. She’s squatting behind the broken remains of a tree, but I can see the white shirt sticking out. I have a decision to make here. I can attack her, praying she doesn’t scream, or I can shoot the arrow into her shoulder so Gary thinks I’m playing along. I don’t want to hurt her, not in that way, but I have no other choices here.

I raise the bow and release it in her direction, watching the arrow as it sails through the air and straight into her shoulder. She screams as I take off toward her. When I get to her, she’s spinning around, trying to pull the arrow free. She looks up, and our eyes lock. She’s about to scream again when I raise my finger to my lips, instructing her to be silent.

I reach for her, and she jerks away. I motion to the arrow and stare into those beautiful eyes of hers. Fuck, I didn’t want things to be like this. I didn’t want her here. I didn’t want her to know.

I step closer, setting the bow on the ground at my feet before grabbing her. I wrap one hand around her mouth, and instantly, she tries to fight me. She bites me hard as fuck until I’m sure I’m bleeding, but I power through it and pull the arrow from her shoulder with my free hand. Emerson screams behind my hand, but I keep it in place until she calms.

“We’re going to run. You need to take that shirt off first,” I tell her quietly.

“Fuck you. You’re trying to kill me,” she hisses at me.

“I’m not going to kill you, Emerson. Take the shirt off,” I tell her. She won’t budge and doesn’t make a move to take it off. I step into her once more and grab the front, tearing it open and ripping it off her body. I don’t toss it to the ground; instead, I shove it into my pocket so Gary doesn’t find it.

Emerson’s hands come up to cover her chest as she winces from the pain in her shoulder.

I glance around, hearing another girl scream.

“I need you to scream for me,” I tell her. She shakes her head, not willing to do it. I reach for her shoulder and jam my fingers into the wound. Emerson lets out a scream that pierces my ears before I pull my hand away and grab hers.

---