Page 110 of The Hunt

I leaned over to my pack to grab a protein bar for her. “One of your friends set off a smoke-veil trap.”

“Are they all dead?”

I dipped my chin in a curt nod. “Yes.”

She shuddered. “That man washuge.And that gas mask… I don’t think I’ve ever seen something so terrifying in my life,” she said, voice cracking. “I really thought I was going to die.”

“That’s Xavier Nilsson. Definitely not a guy you want to run into in a dark alley,” I said.

She gulped. “Won’t he be angry that you stole his kill right from under him?”

“No. He didn’t see either of us. All that smoke was in the way.”

“And if hedidsee us? What then?”

I lifted my shoulder in a nonchalant shrug. “I would’ve had to kill him.”

“You’d really do that?” Ev’s eyes widened. “Kill one of your own… for me?”

“Yup.”

She stared at me for a long, silent moment, eyes flickering with confusion. Then she took a long gulp of water and accepted the protein bar. Once she’d finished eating, she lifted her gaze to meet mine again. “How long have you known, Rhett?” she asked in a low murmur.

“Known what?”

“That we knew each other when we were kids.”

I glanced at my watch. “About an hour.”

“Oh,” she said softly.

I rose to my feet and extended a hand. “Time to go.”

Ev didn’t get up right away. Instead, she kept looking up at me like she was trying to piece together a puzzle, brows furrowing. “Why?” she finally said. “Why did you save me?”

“Because I didn’t want to see you die,” I said, my tone clipped. “Not like that. Not by him. Not byanyone.”

“Just because we knew each other as kids?”

“No,” I muttered, rubbing my jaw. “But I think you already know that.”

Her eyes searched mine. “Tell me why, Rhett. Please.”

“Walk with me for a few minutes, and I’llshowyou why.”

She swallowed audibly and rose to her feet, limbs still trembling. I grabbed her hand and motioned to the north. “This way.”

“Wait… won’t they see us on the cameras?” she asked, voice laced with panic. “Won’t you get in trouble for helping a player?”

“No. This is a dead zone.” I gestured to the dense trees around us, their branches weaving a canopy that shrouded us from prying eyes. “No cameras. We’re invisible here.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. The island is too big to put cameras absolutely everywhere, so there’s a few places with no coverage. Mostly places that hardly get any traffic,” I said. “And even in zones thatdohave cameras, there’s narrow corridors in them that are basically blind spots. I use them to get around when I don’t want to be seen.”

Her brows rose. “You know all of the blind spots?”

“Yup. I’ve been studying this place for a long time. Know it like the back of my hand.”

---