Page 9 of The Hunt

As he spoke, his eyes landed on my little blonde rival. She’d shoved her hand in her pocket to conceal her Taser, and her eyes were wide and swimming with anxiety.

“You okay, miss?” the campus cop went on, frown deepening. He stepped closer, his free hand resting cautiously on his radio.

“She’s fine. I was the one shouting,” I said. “I didn’t realize I was so loud.”

The cop’s gaze flicked to me, skeptical but waiting. “Why were you shouting?”

I motioned to my leg and affected an embarrassed expression. “Because I’m a clumsy dumbass. Tripped and fell while I was walking through here, and I twisted my ankle. Hurt like fucking hell. Luckily, she heard me groaning and came in to help me.” I paused and looked toward Blondie. “Sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

She didn’t fall for my attempt to fish for her identity. Instead, she simply nodded. “I saw him lying at the end of the tunnel when I was walking past,” she said, gaze focused on the cop. “I thought his ankle must’ve been broken or something, from the way he was whining. Kind of pathetic, really. But it’s fine. No damage at all. It’s not even swollen.”

I suppressed the laughter rising in my throat. She was playing along with my bullshit ankle story, not wanting to get in trouble for her Taser, but she was having her own fun with it by mocking me and making me look like a weak asshole at the same time. The ensuing annoyance and anger I felt only made me hornier.

“Yeah, it feels fine now,” I said, baring my teeth at her in a malicious smile. “Guess I overreacted a bit, huh?”

The cop frowned at Blondie. “Listen, it was nice of you to offer your assistance, and I’m glad everything’s okay, but stepping into a dark tunnel at night isn’t safe. Next time, stay at a safe distance and call us if you see or hear anything. We can make sure everything’s okay without you having to put yourself at risk.”

“Shit, that’s a good point,” I said, nodding slowly. My eyes were still fixed on the blonde girl. Her eyes were narrowed with irritation, and her lips were pressed into a thin line. “Didn’t some serial killer from the seventies do that to lure in women? Pretended to be injured so they’d come over and help him?”

“Yeah. Some people do that. They prey on others by taking advantage of their kindness,” the cop said. He looked at Blondie again. “It’s an unfortunate fact of life, really. That’s why it’s a bad idea for girls like you to run in and help, no matter how badly the other person seems to need it.”

“Right,” she muttered through obviously gritted teeth. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

The cop turned his attention back to me. “Do you need a ride to the campus medical center to get your ankle checked out? They’re open until ten, so they should be able to squeeze you in.”

“Nah. I think it’s okay now,” I said, waving a dismissive hand. “I just need to walk it off.”

“All right.” His gaze swiveled back to Blondie. “I can take you to your dorm. It’s safer than walking alone late at night. Looks like you’ve got a heavy suitcase, too.”

She opened her mouth to reply, but I jumped in. “It’s okay. I offered to walk her there as a way of saying thanks for helping me. Right?”

She swallowed hard again, eyes flashing with barely contained annoyance. “Right.”

“You sure?” the cop asked, brows knitting.

“Yes.” Her lips curved in a small smile. “It’s a nice night, and I like walking. And I’ll be safe with, er—what was your name again?”

Nice.She’d played my name game right back at me, obviously wanting to know who I was to make it easier for her to avoid me in the future. Little smartass.

“Rhett,” I offered up.

“Rhett. That’s right.” She gave me a saccharine smile that didn’t meet her eyes. “Sorry, I forgot.”

“Speaking of names,” the cop cut in. “I’ll need to know both of yours for my incident report.”

“Report?” I asked, eyes narrowing.

He nodded. “Even though this turned out to be nothing, I still have to fill out all the forms. Bureaucracy, you know?”

“Oh. Right. I’m Ev,” the blonde girl said.

“Sorry, I should’ve been more specific. I’ll need to see your student IDs.”

I fished mine out of my wallet and craned my neck as Ev did the same, trying to catch a glimpse of her full name. It was too dark, though.Goddammit.

“All right. Thanks,” the cop said once he’d noted our names and ID numbers. “Stay safe, okay?”

“You got it.” I flashed a smile at him. “Thanks for checking on us.”

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