Page 100 of The Hunt

“I told you, I didn’t do anything,” I said. “I didn’t apply for this shit. Someone else signed me up.”

“That’s not possible.”

I threw my hands up. “Well, clearly it is, because it happened to me!”

“Who the fuck would do that to you, Ev? Who would want you deadthatbadly?”

I opened my mouth to speak, and the knife went under my throat again.

“The next fucking thing out of your mouth better not be Jake’s name,” Rhett hissed.

Suddenly I was exhausted. Beyond exhausted. I was just… done. No more protests. No more defending myself. I couldn’t do it anymore. Not in a place where I could be killed at any second for stating the truth. Or simply for existing.

“Fine. You win,” I muttered, shoulders slumping as all the fight drained out of me. “Just do it.”

Rhett frowned. “Do what?”

“Kill me,” I said. “I can’t take it anymore. Can’t take this place. So do it. Put me out of my fucking misery. Just… please… have enough mercy to make it quick.”

I closed my eyes, tears stinging behind my lids. My chest rose and fell in uneven breaths as I braced myself, waiting for the sharp, final pain that would end this nightmare.

Seconds stretched into an eternity, the sound of the wind around me amplifying the eerie silence from Rhett. I hesitated, then cracked one eye open, followed by the other.

He was gone.

24

Rhett

I stalked awayfrom the cabin, the fog curling around me like ghostly fingers. My knife was in my hand, the grip still warm from where Ev’s skin had pressed against it earlier. I flexed my fingers, trying to shake the phantom sensation of her pulse thrumming beneath my touch.

I wasn’t worried about getting in trouble with the other Wilders for fucking her and letting her walk away unscathed afterwards. The area behind the cabin was a dead zone—no cameras—so no one would ever know it happened.

The only thing I was worried about was why the fuck I’d done it in the first place. I’d tried to convince myself that it was just a strategy to get the truth out of Everly, but deep down, I knew that was bullshit.

I fucked her again because Iwantedto fuck her. Simple as that.

I clenched my jaw, frustration bubbling up like a wildfire. There’d been something in her eyes when I said Jake’s name a minute ago—a raw, broken vulnerability that didn’t match the image of the scheming, desperate little liar I’d conjured upin my mind. She didn’t look like someone who was trying to manipulate me. She looked like someone who had nothing left.

Fuck.

That damn look had really gotten under my skin.

Stop this shit, dumbass,I told myself, forcing my thoughts into sharp focus.People lie. They fake weakness. Then they stab you in the back the second you let your guard down.

I’d seen it happen to others before, over and over.

But still, the memory of Ev’s shaky voice, her slumped shoulders as she told me to kill her, wouldn’t leave my head. She hadn’t tried to run. She hadn’t tried to fight. She’d just… given up.

I let out a frustrated grunt and ran a hand through my hair, the damp strands slick against my palm. Maybe shewastelling the truth. Maybe she really didn’t know what the hell was going on, and maybe Jakehadsigned her up for The Hunt behind her back.

Or maybe she was the best fucking liar I’d ever met.

Gritting my teeth, I shoved the knife back into its sheath and disappeared deeper into the fog. When I reached a fallen log just beyond the tree line, I sank onto it and pulled out my satellite phone.

I dialed Jake’s number, and he picked up on the second ring, voice edged with excitement. “Hey, man! I’ve been watching you out there!” he said. “How are you doing?”

“I’m okay.” I leaned forward to grab a protein bar from my pack. “Just taking a quick break to eat.”

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