Page 105 of The Hunt

“She had a sick mom, right?” I said, my thoughts a storm of old memories now. “We tried to cheer her up by sneaking out to explore the tunnels. But we ended up running into one of the trials.”

JJ let out a pained laugh, his breath hitching as the pressure of my hand dug into his wound. “Good times,” he said. “We were so innocent back then.”

I leaned in close, letting him see the fury in my eyes. “Keep talking.”

“Ev and I always got along well. Kept in touch online and saw each other every summer. Her parents thought it was cute, and my parents thought it was good for me to have a normal friend. As in, a friend who wasn’t from a family of billionaires like all the other kids I knew.” He grimaced and went on. “And itwasgood,you know. Ev was my best friend. We told each other everything, and eventually things turned romantic. But…”

“But then you changed your mind and decided to kill her?” I said scornfully.

JJ lifted a shaky hand. “Shit got hard when we were teenagers. I loved her, but it was hard doing the whole long-distance thing. You know what it’s like in high school. Raging hormones and constant boners. I needed something more.”

“My heart bleeds for you,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Truly.”

“Look, itwashard, okay? But I tried my best to stay loyal. It just… it wasn’t enough,” he muttered. “So when I started college, I decided to tell everyone I was single. That way I could fuck around and have fun without her ever knowing better. I spared her a lot of pain that way.”

I scoffed. “How nice of you to consider her feelings like that.”

JJ ignored my dig and went on. “I still wanted to be with her long-term, and I knew I’d have to introduce her to people eventually. But I wasn’t too worried, because the only people who’d really know what I’d been up to behind her back were other Wilders, and I knew none of you would ever tell her I cheated. Bro code and all.”

That’s what you think, motherfucker.

I narrowed my eyes. “So what happened, then?”

“We broke up a few months ago, and she went totally nuts and transferred to Hollingsworth like a fucking stalker. Ever since then, she’s been trying to ruin my life as revenge. I told you, she’s crazy.”

I plunged the knife back into his leg, twisting it this time. “I think you might’ve missed a major part of that story, JJ.”

He howled as I removed the knife again. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“You conveniently skipped overwhyyou broke up. It was obviously something bad, given her reaction to it.”

“She caught me cheating. That’s all.”

There was a flash of something odd in his expression as he spoke, and he wouldn’t meet my eyes, either. He was lying for sure.

I cast my mind back to the bonfire party. What was it Ev tried to say before I told her to fuck off?

Jake is sick. He hates women deep down, and he has a disgusting way of showing that hatred. When I caught him doing it, he tried to claim it was some sort of sexual fetish.

“She didn’t catch you cheating,” I said in a hollow voice. “You hurt a woman, didn’t you? That’s what she caught you doing.”

JJ’s face blanched. “She told you about that?”

“No, but you just did, you stupid motherfucker,” I snarled, smashing my fist into his jaw.

His head reeled back, hitting the cabin wall, and he cried out. “Fuck, man! Stop hitting me!”

“Stop fucking lying to me, then,” I said through gritted teeth. “I said I wanted the whole story. Therealstory. Not your bullshit version.”

“Okay, okay! I… I’ll tell you. Just stop hurting me, okay?”

I blinked. “No.”

JJ stared up at me, eyes wide and beseeching. When he realized I wasn’t going to change my mind and promise not to hurt him, his shoulders sagged.

“Fine,” he muttered. “There’s a hot maid at my house. I wanted to try something with her. Something… new. So I slipped some stuff in her drink. But she had no idea it was happening, so it wasn’t even that ba—”

I cut him off. “So you’re a dirty fucking rapist,” I said, stomach roiling with disgust. “That’s why Ev hates you.”

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