Page 112 of The Hunt

“Fucking asshole,” she muttered, glaring at him. Her eyes snapped back to me. “Are you going to kill him now?”

“No.You’regoing to kill him.” I reached into my jacket and pulled out my hunting knife. “After what he’s put you through, you deserve the chance.”

She stared at the blade, eyes wide. “Oh.”

“If you can’t handle it, that’s okay. I can do it for you.”

“No.” Ev took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and took the knife. “I can do it.”

“All right.” I crouched to rip the gag out of JJ’s mouth. “Any last words, asshole? Maybe an apology?”

“Evvy, please,” he gasped out, panicked eyes focusing on her. “Rhett is fucking crazy! I don’t know what he told you, but—”

She cut him off with a swift kick to the guts. He fell to his side, spluttering.

“Good girl,” I said, watching with a smirk.

“Everly… please,” JJ ground out, wincing from the pain. “Don’t kill me.”

“Whywouldn’tI kill you, Jake?” Ev said, voice rising an octave. “After everything you did to me! And Julia, too!”

“If you kill me, you’ll never know the truth. Neither of you will ever know.”

“Rhett already told me the truth,” Ev said, rolling her eyes. “He told meeverything, you sick fuck.”

“No, I mean… about The Wild Hunt. It’s not what you think.”

Ev looked at me, forehead creasing. “What the hell is he talking about?”

“No idea,” I said with a shrug. “He vaguely alluded to some stuff earlier, but he’s probably just talking shit to try and save himself.”

“I’m not lying!” JJ said, eyes bulging. “You know who my father is!”

I looked back at Ev, whose face was still etched with confusion. “His dad’s the top dog in the society,” I explained. “That’s what he means.”

“I know things! Things you should know!” JJ shouted before Ev could reply. “Let me live, and I’ll tell you.”

“Why don’t you tell us first, and then we’ll decide if we’re going to let you live,” Ev said, voice dripping with condescension.

“No.” JJ swallowed hard. “I’m not stupid. You’ll just kill me straight afterwards.”

“Okay.” I shrugged again and gestured to the knife. “Do it now. He’s not going to tell us any—”

“Wait!” JJ shrieked. I’d never heard such a pathetic sound coming from him, even when he pissed himself earlier. “I’ll tell you what I know! But please… just promise me you’llthinkabout letting me go, okay? I can be helpful to you. I can make sure you get off the island alive.”

“Sure, we’ll consider it,” Ev said, glancing over at me. The hard determination in her eyes told me she’d already made up her mind—no mercy.

“Yeah,” I said, suppressing a smile. “We’ll definitely consider it. But this information better be worth it.”

JJ gulped again. “This game… it’s not what you think,” he began. “People die here, but—”

Ev laughed and threw up her hands, cutting him off. “Oh my god,really?” she said in an acid tone. “That’syour big reveal? That people die here?”

“Yeah, that’s not exactly news, man,” I said, lifting a scornful brow.

JJ stared up at me. “Just listen to me,” he said in a hollow voice. “The society isn’t what you think. Neither is this game. The players don’t know what they’re signing up for, and the hunters don’t really know either. That’s what I meant.”

I frowned. “What?”

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