Page 91 of The Hunt

“Well, congratulations, man.” The shorter hunter jabbed Cheryl’s ass with the butt of his rifle. “What’s your number, woman?”

Cheryl ignored him. He let out an irritated sigh and pulled his mask off. “Fuck, it’s hot under this thing,” he muttered, tossing it on the ground. “Check her bag. See if she’s today’s bounty.”

The other hunter removed his mask too, wiping sweat from his forehead as he kicked Cheryl’s backpack to turn it over. “Thirty-nine.”

“Damn. No extra points for you.”

“Stillapoint, though. Better than nothing. Especially with Sinclair dominating everything. What’s he on now? Six?”

“Yeah, six or seven. He got yesterday’s bounty, too. So maybe it’s actually eight.”

They were talking about Rhett. I strained to listen, curious despite the fear flooding my veins.

“I want whatever drugs he’s on, man,” the shorter guy said.

“That dude’s not on anything except adrenaline. He’s just got serious fucking issues. Remember his confession ceremony?”

“Shit, yeah. Can’t really blame the guy for being mad at the world, can you?”

“Can you fuckers just hurry up and kill me?” Cheryl finally snapped, kicking out at the net. “You can have your little gossip session later!”

The two men turned to look up at her, grinning. “Patience, woman. We feel like talking right now, so that’s what we’re gonna do for as long as we like,” one of them said in a taunting tone. “You’ll get your turn eventually.”

Coldblooded motherfuckers.They wanted to draw this out, keep poor Cheryl in suspense—literally and figuratively—until they finally decided to put her out of her misery. It was beyond cruel. Completely heartless.

Next to me, Nikki inhaled sharply, eyes widening. “Holy shit, Iknowthose guys,” she whispered.

“Really?”

“Yeah. They’re from my econ class,” she said. “Jordan Prince and Matt Treska. They’ve both tried to sleep with me before.Manytimes.”

“So what?” I whispered back, wondering why on earth she’d bring up something like that in a moment like this. It was hardly the time for an ego boost.

“So I think I could probably talk them down. Convince them to give Cheryl a second chance.”

My heart sank. “Nikki,no.You can’t talk them down.”

“I really think I can,” she whispered insistently. “They wouldn’t hurt me.”

“Are you crazy? These guys are fucking psychopaths! They’d probably kill their own grandmothers if it awarded them points in this fucked-up game!”

“Yeah, maybe Iamcrazy. But I really think I can do it.”

I grabbed her arm. “Please don’t go out there,” I said, voice thick with emotion. “If you die, I’ll never forgive myself for letting you go. And I’ll never forgive you for doing something so stupid!”

“Well, I’ll never forgive myself if I don’t try,” she replied. She paused for a beat, steeling her jaw. “Cheryl told me about her sister. She deserves a chance to find out what happened to her.”

“Nikki,pleasedon’t do this.” I vehemently shook my head. “You know better. It’syourrule!”

“I’m going. Just stay here, okay?”

Before I could argue any further, Nikki rose from the bushes and strode into the clearing. “Hey, Jordan,” she said, lifting a hand in a casual wave. “Hey, Matt.”

The hunters turned to her, faces etched with surprise. “Well, shit, look who the fucking cat dragged in,” Jordan said, rubbing his jaw. “Nikki Hahn.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Matt added.

“You know why I’m here,” Nikki said, lifting her wrist to display her band. I could tell she was trying her best to sound brave, but a slight tremor had appeared in her voice. “Can we talk?”

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