Page 8 of The Hunt

I ignored her remarks. “What’s your name, princess?”

She ignored my question in turn. “Even if it’s true, and you guys were just messing around, it’s hardly a fair fight, is it?” shesaid. “That guy was half a head shorter than you, and you’ve probably got around forty pounds of muscle on him. Maybe even more.”

I smirked. “All I’m hearing is: you think I’m jacked as fuck,” I said, tapping my chin with one finger. “Thanks for the compliment. Means a lot.”

“God, you really are an asshole, aren’t you?” she muttered, rolling her eyes. The end of the Taser crackled again, blue against black. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t call the cops right now and tell them there’s a guy going around attacking students.”

I sighed internally. If she called the cops on me, everything would work out fine in the end—it always did for guys in my position—but it would still cause a fucking headache, and I could really do without any of that shit right now.

“Would it satisfy you if I said that I can’t tell you why I have a problem with Ryan, but Icantell you that he deserves everything he gets?” I asked, cocking my head.

The girl scoffed. “That sounds like something a playground bully would say after he got caught,” she said. She took one more step toward me as she spoke, still brandishing the Taser. “But I guess that’s what you are, huh? A bully who doesn’t realize high school finished years ago.”

Now that she was even closer, and her face was a little less shadowed, something about it was nagging at a deep, dark corner of my mind. She wasn’t just beautiful—she was familiar.But why?

I usually had a pretty decent memory, but I couldn’t remember meeting this chick anywhere at Hollingsworth over the last few years. Or anywhere else, for that matter. And I’d definitely remember meeting a girl who looked likethat.

Still… I knew her face from somewhere. Maybe she was some famous e-girl. Or a local Insta model.

“Where do I know you from?” I asked, raising my brows. “Have we met?”

“No, I’m pretty sure I’d know if we’d met before,” she said, nose wrinkling. “You have a very memorable face, and I mean that in a bad way.”

I grinned again, still loving that spark of hers. “Are you calling me ugly?”

“No. I’m just saying that even if you leave right now, I could easily describe you to a police sketch artist and get a perfect likeness of you. And that would be bad for you,” she said stonily. “So I’ll say it again. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t call the cops and tell them what I saw.”

“What constitutes a good reason?” I asked, casually leaning back against the underpass wall.

“Well, I hate bullies who act like assholes for no reason, but I’m nottotallyanti-violence.” She waved the Taser to underline her statement. “If you had a valid reason to beat that guy up, I could probably muster up some sympathy and forget I saw anything tonight. Like… if he poisoned your dog. Or murdered your family. So tell me. What did he do?”

I stared down at her, tight-lipped.

She arched a brow. “Your silence tells me you don’t have a valid reason.”

“Or maybe it’s just none of your fucking business,” I said, shrugging.

“It’s almost as if youwantme to call the cops.”

“You’re not gonna call them, princess.” A cold smile spread over my face again. “See, I’ve just realized—that particular Taser in your hand is still illegal in this state. So if you try to take me down, I’m taking you right down with me.”

The girl’s haughty expression faltered, and she swallowed hard. That made me think about wrapping my hand around her pale throat. I knew it would fit perfectly. Like a fucking glove.

“I… it’s not illegal. I bought it at a legitimate store,” she said. I could tell she was bluffing. All the bite from her voice was gone, replaced by nervousness and defensiveness.

“We both know that’s bullshit. And the thing is, sweetheart...” I launched off the wall and stepped closer to her. “If the cops showed up right now, you’d be in a hell of a lot more trouble than me, because your claim against me is just words, isn’t it? A nasty little accusation with no proof. But my claim against you has solid evidence. Namely, thatillegalTaser in your hand. So who do you think would be more screwed in the end?”

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.

“Your silence tells me you know I’m right,” I said, echoing her words from earlier.

Before she could finally figure out a coherent response, a flashlight beam arced over the end of the underpass. “Hey! You two. Stay right there!”

The beam of light swept closer, and the heavy voice called out again. “What’s going on in here?”

I lifted a hand to block the bright light. “Nothing. We’re just talking.”

A campus cop stepped into view, brows furrowed. “Got a call from a dorm nearby,” he said, his tone firm. “Someone reported hearing shouting from this area. When they came down to check, they thought they saw someone getting attacked in the underpass.”

---