Page 102 of The Hunt

“How are you doing out here?” I asked. “Apart from the no food thing.”

He swallowed his mouthful, head slightly shaking. “Honestly, man… not so good. I think I’ve got the yips or some shit like that.”

“Why?”

“I’ve only got one kill so far, and it was some chick from Group 2. That’s like shooting fish in a barrel.” He paused for a beat, scrubbing his free hand over his face. “I was tipped to be in the top five, but I’m totally failing. It’s fucking embarrassing. Especially with my dad being the Head Patriarch. People expect me to do well, you know?”

“We’re only two days in. There’s still time to turn things around.”

“I know.” He sighed. “It just feels different out here than it did in the practice sessions. Like… suddenly I can’t do anything properly. You know how bad I fucked up on the first day?”

I shook my head. “What happened?”

“I ran into this chick in sector D8. Tiny thing. Probably five feet and a hundred pounds. I thought she’d be an easy one, but I threw one of my knives at her, and I fuckingmissed,” he said. “It lodged in her arm instead of her chest, and then the little bitch took the fucking thing with her when she ran off.”

“Shit,” I said, brows rising. “You never miss with knives.”

JJ threw his hands up. “Well, I do now. That’s what I’m saying—there’s something wrong with me.”

“It’s just newbie nerves. You’ll get over it,” I said. “Besides, a few guys out here haven’t registered any kills at all. So you’re not right at the bottom of the barrel.”

“I guess.” He sighed again and finished the last bite of his protein bar. Then he looked back at me, forehead wrinkling. “You’re doing great. Got any tips for me?”

I scratched my jaw, lips twisting in contemplation. “You already know all the general stuff, but I guess I could give yousome tips related to specific targets,” I said. I tilted my head. “Are you going after today’s bounty? Or just anyone?”

“Anyone for now, just to up my kill count. Otherwise they’ll never accept my application for next year’s game,” he replied. “There’s one target I’m hoping to get eventually, though. Number 50.”

I stiffened. “Everly Marlowe?”

“Yup, that’s the one,” JJ said, nodding. “I can’t wait to take that little bitch down. She’s had it coming for a while. Total headcase.”

“How do you know her again?” I asked, cocking my head.

He shrugged. “She’s just some crazy chick from a while back.”

My eyes narrowed. “Didn’t you tell me you met her outside one of your classes a few weeks ago?”

“Yeah, that’s what I meant. Plus you told me she was nuts at the bonfire party, remember?”

I nodded slowly, brows furrowing. “Right.”

He wasn’t wrong—Ididsay that shit to him at the bonfire party—but his words were hanging in the air like a bad smell anyway, twisting my gut.

A strange mix of thoughts stirred in the back of my mind, blurry and unformed, like fragments of a puzzle I couldn’t quite piece together yet.

Then it hit me, crashing into me like a fucking freight train, and all those blurry puzzle pieces slammed into place with a clarity so stark it made my head spin.

No.

No fucking way.

I ran a hand through my hair, jaw clenching so tightly it felt like my teeth would shatter. How could I have been this goddamned stupid? What the fuck was wrong with me?

All along, I’d been so focused on Everly’s apparent hatred for my best friend, Jake Kelly, that I’d totally failed to consider that she could actually be referring to one of my other society brothers.

JJ. Jacob Jennings.

I’d honestly forgotten about his real name until this exact moment, because most people called him JJ. Hell,everyonecalled him JJ, and they always had as long as I’d known him, which was nearly twenty fucking years.

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