Page 132 of The Hunt

Rhett’s arm shifted slightly, tightening around me, and I smiled faintly, my eyes still closed.

Then, reality finally came crashing down.

My stomach twisted as memories from yesterday slammed into me like a wrecking ball. Rhett’s heartbreaking story about his childhood. My father’s broken sobs on the phone. The revelations about The Wild Hunt, the lies, the corruption. It all settled heavily on my chest, making my breath catch in my throat, sharp and painful.

“Morning, princess,” Rhett murmured, pulling me against his chest. “How did you sleep?”

“Surprisingly well, considering… everything.”

“Me too. Must be because I’m with you.” He slowly sat up, blinking away the sleep. Then he glanced at his phone. “I should go and grab us some breakfast. You must be starving.”

My stomach churned at the thought of being alone in the room. I couldn’t leave with him and risk being seen, though. I was lucky I even made it onto the estate grounds in the first place.

My worry must’ve been written all over my face, because Rhett grabbed my hand and pulled me close again, murmuring in my ear. “I don’t want to leave you. Not for a second,” he said, voice low and urgent. “If taking you with me didn’t put your life in so much danger, I’d do it. But I can’t risk losing you. Even thinking about it hurts.”

“I know,” I whispered. “I understand. You have to go alone.”

He tilted my chin up and kissed me, long and deep, setting butterflies loose in my stomach. Then he finally pulled back, brows dipping in a small frown of contemplation. “There’s a kitchen in this wing,” he said. “But with no guests here right now, I’m not sure if it’s stocked with anything. I’ll probably have to go to one of the other wings to get us food.”

“How long do you think you’ll take?” I asked.

“Not long. Twenty minutes, maybe.”

He pulled away and left the bed to look through his backpack. When he returned to my side, he was holding a large hunting knife. “I doubt any of the maids will come back here today—or anyone else—and even if they do, the door will be locked, so I doubt anything will happen. But you should hold onto this just in case.”

“Thanks.” I swallowed hard as I accepted the knife. “I’ll make sure to lock the door the second you leave.”

Rhett leaned in and kissed the top of my head. “I’ll be back soon, okay?”

True to his word, he returned after what felt like fifteen minutes or so, gently rapping on the door. “It’s just me,” he murmured from the other side. “I come bearing supplies.”

I unlocked the door, and he entered the room with a grin. “I think you’ll be happy with everything I got,” he said. “And don’t worry—I remembered you don’t eat meat.”

He unzipped his bag and unpacked several containers on the end of the bed, narrating the process as he went. “We have two giant breakfast burritos, a goat’s cheese and pumpkin omelet, and a fruit salad. Coffee and juice, too,” he said. “I also got you some sandwiches and salad for lunch later, and some bags of chocolate and nuts for snacks.”

My stomach grumbled loudly as I stared at the spread. After surviving on rations for the last two days, it looked like a king’s feast. “This is amazing. Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome,” Rhett said, kissing the top of my head again. “Dig in. I’ll tell you my plan while you eat.”

I unwrapped one of the breakfast burritos and took a big bite. “Did you figure out how to get us away from here?” I asked through my mouthful.

“Not yet. I just need to go back out to the hunting grounds for a while,” he replied. “But I think I can get everything done and get back here in three hours or so.”

“What do you need to do out there?” I asked, tilting my head.

“Firstly, I want to make sure no one will find JJ’s body anytime soon. I know we covered it with that tarp before we left, but the storm could’ve blown it off last night. So I’ll make sure it’s covered properly and weigh it down with rocks this time. Then I’ll cover that with leaves and branches. If anyone happens to walk behind the cabin, they won’t look at the pile and instantly assume there’s a body under it. They’ll probably think it’s nothing and ignore it.”

I nodded slowly. “The longer it takes for him to be found, the better, right?”

“Yes. Right now, no one knows anything’s amiss. But the second he’s found dead, and obviously murdered… this place will be in an uproar,” Rhett said. “The other thing I need to do this morning—I’ve gotta go back to your wristband and move it somewhere else.”

“Why?”

“I think it’s a good idea to move it twice a day,” he replied. “The hunters never have access to the GPS data—it’s cheating—but I think the tech guys would make a report to the Patriarchs if they noticed a player in the exact same spot for more than a day.”

“Ah. Then they’d probably go out there to see what’s going on, find the wristband, and realize someone took it off me,” I said, nodding again.

“Yup. That’s what I’m worried about.”

---