Page 103 of The Hunt

But another old friend I’d never met? Or an old girlfriend? They might refer to him by his real name… or Jake as another nickname.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

My stomach churned as the implications settled in. Everly had begged me to listen to her. Begged me not to dismiss her. And all along, I’d fucking ignored her and treated her like shit because of a stupid misunderstanding; one thatI’dcaused by jumping to conclusions and stubbornly refusing to listen when she tried to explain.

Idiot.

My mind flashed back to the night of the bonfire party. Ev’s shaky finger had pointed to the fire with all the Wilders sitting or standing around it, and I’d followed her gaze to Jake and asked if she was talking about the tall blond guy. She’d confirmed it instantly, and it hadn’t even occurred to me that JJ, who was also tall with blond hair, was standing right next to him.

All a misunderstanding. All my fucking fault. I’d tortured the poor girl over it. Almost wrecked her fucking life by trying to run her off campus. And now… shit, now her life was at stake.

“Hey, Rhett…” JJ’s forehead creased as he stared at me. “Everything okay?”

I rearranged my face into a neutral expression. “Yeah, I was just thinking of some tips I could give you. I actually might have something.”

“Yeah?” His eyes widened slightly, and he jumped off the rock, holding his palms out. “Anything you’ve got would be great.”

I forced an amiable smile, masking the disgust and unease creeping under my skin as I tugged at the left cuff of my jacket. “This’ll probably sound stupid, but it works for me,” I said. “Whenever I roll up my sleeves before I shoot, I hit the target every single time.”

JJ blinked at me. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. Maybe it’s wind resistance or some shit like that. Makes me more streamlined,” I said. “Or maybe it’s a placebo effect. I believe it makes me better, so it does.”

“Right.”

I motioned to his camo sweatshirt. “Give it a try. We’ll use that tree behind you as a target.”

“Okay.” He grinned. “Not gonna lie, it sounds weird as fuck, but I’m willing to try anything at this point.”

My jaw tightened as he rolled his sleeves up, and I took a step closer, eyes narrowing on the underside of his forearms.There it is.

The scar was faint, but I could still see it—a crescent-shaped mark just below his left wrist, unmistakable in its jagged imperfection.Teeth marks.

My mind flashed back to Everly’s trembling voice as she recounted the attack in her dorm. How she’d fought back. How she’d bitten the masked intruder in desperation, hard enough to draw blood. Hard enough to leave a mark that still wouldn’t have faded two weeks later.

My fists clenched, nails digging into my palms as dark fury bubbled up inside me.

Everly had never lied to me. She wasn’t crazy, either. JJ had been messing with her all along, and now he’d brought her here to Wildercliff Island. The exact details of why and how were still blurry, but I intended to find out.

“Go on, then,” I muttered through gritted teeth. ‘Try it.”

JJ grabbed one of his guns and aimed it at the tree in front of us. There was a loud crack, and the bullet met its mark, right in the center of the trunk.

“Holy shit!” JJ whooped victoriously. “It works!”

“Told you,” I said, forcing another smile as my eyes lingered on his wrist.

He nodded. “Thanks, man. That was really helpful.”

“I actually might be able to help you even more,” I said, eyeing the camera perched on a nearby branch. I had to get him the fuck out of here. Had to get him into a dead zone where no one could possibly see us.

“How?”

“You said you want to get number 50, right? That blonde girl?” I said in a casual tone, as if I barely knew Ev. As if my dick hadn’t been in all three of her holes today.

“Yup.”

“I actually saw her about half an hour ago, not far from here. Sector F3. She was with a few others, but I couldn’t get any of them, because they were already in the safe zone.”

---