Page 144 of The Hunt

I nodded. “Yeah, I spent most of the day out there. But I came back because I wanted to talk to you about something. In your office, if that’s okay,” I said. I glanced at Peter. “Sorry, Mr. Jennings. Not trying to be rude. It’s just family stuff.”

Peter smiled and rose to his feet. “It’s no problem,” he said, picking up his whiskey glass. “But before I leave you to it, can I ask if you’ve seen or heard from JJ today?”

I nodded casually. “Yeah, I spoke to him earlier.”

“Really?” Peter’s shoulders sagged with relief. “I haven’t seen him since yesterday morning. I was starting to worry he’d fallen in a ditch and knocked himself out.”

“Nah, he’s fine. He told me he’s found himself a little hidey-hole in sector L13,” I said smoothly. “He’s waiting for today’s bounty. Apparently she’s been lurking around there somewhere.”

“What time did you speak to him?” Peter asked, brows furrowing. “He hasn’t answered a single one of my calls or messages, and I’ve been trying all day.”

I pulled out my satellite phone and pressed a few buttons to bring up my recent call log. “It wasn’t long ago,” I said, turning the screen to show Peter. “1:53.”

Part of Ev’s plan involved me taking photos of JJ’s dead body, so while I was doing that earlier, I’d taken his satellite phone and staged a fake call to myself, knowing there was achance I might be asked about his whereabouts at some point. After all, I was the last person to see him before the two of us headed into the dead zone yesterday, and anyone who’d reviewed the footage would know that.

“Well, he’s obviously fine, then.” Peter’s eyes flared with irritation. “I wonder why he isn’t picking up any of my calls.”

“He’s probably just trying his best to concentrate,” I said. “The only reason he called me was because he was out of snacks and wanted to see if I was close. But I was nowhere near him.”

“It’s strange. I’ve looked everywhere on the feeds, and I can’t see him anywhere. In fact, I haven’t seen him on the feeds since you two met up and did some target practice together yesterday afternoon. After that, you both vanished.” Peter cocked his head slightly. “You said he’s currently in sector L14?”

“L13,” I said. “There’s a few blind spots and dead zones down there, so that’s probably why you can’t see him. It’s probably why you couldn’t see us after we finished our target practice yesterday, too.”

“Ah, yes.” He nodded slowly. “That makes sense.”

“You know, I was actually thinking—maybe it would be worth getting more cameras installed on the island for next year’s game,” I said, smiling pleasantly as if I actually gave a single fuck about improving the quality of the Hunt. “There’s quite a lot of those blind spots on the island, and it probably annoys the guys when they’re trying to watch all the action.”

“Yes, you’re right. I should really get the engineering team onto that.” Peter clapped me on the back with his free hand and looked at my father. “Richard, this son of yours is a real forward thinker. Perhaps he’ll follow in your footsteps one day, eh? Be a Patriarch like his father?”

Dad smiled thinly. “Perhaps.”

Peter dipped his chin in a silent goodbye and stepped away from the table. Dad looked at me and gestured for me to sit, but I shook my head. “I’d really like to talk in your office.”

“Why?” he asked.

My jaw tightened. “It’s about Jessica,” I said in a low voice.

Truthfully, I didn’t want to talk about her—I’d done enough of that last night with Ev—but it was the best way I could think of to get my father alone in his office.

“Ah.” Understanding dawned on his face, and he briskly rose to his feet. “You’re right. This is not a conversation for the common room.”

We headed down the hall toward his private suite. All of the Patriarchs had one of their own on the ground floor—a huge, lavish space featuring a bedroom, bathroom, and office.

Dad gestured for me to step into his office and closed the door behind us. “I think I already know what you’re going to ask me, because you’ve already asked me once before,” he said, turning to look at me with a solemn expression. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for months, to be honest.”

“Well, I’ll ask again anyway,” I said. “What happened to Jessica after she got out of prison? I want the truth this time.”

He set his jaw and looked me right in the eye. “I arranged for her to be brought into the Hunt six seasons ago.”

“She didn’t apply like any of the other players?”

“No.”

I folded my arms across my chest and narrowed my eyes, wondering if he’d tell me the truth at all, and if so, just how much of the truth he was willing to reveal. “How is that possible?” I asked. “I thought all of the players were supposed to apply willingly.”

Dad rubbed his chin and coughed to clear his throat. “When you’re a Patriarch, there are certain strings you can pull,” he said. “It’s not easy to bring in a non-applicant… but it’s possible.”

“I see.”

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