Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 96112 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96112 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
“Found you.”
I screamed and spun around, eyes wide, heart threatening to pound its way out of my chest.
Colt.
Fuck!
He and his sinister smirk stood less than ten feet away, and there was no time to think. I bolted with every ounce of strength and speed I had.
He’d told me he wanted to play with his food first.
I had to lose him somehow—
“Not so fast,” I heard him growl, and a second later, he had a grip on my neck.
I screwed my eyes shut instinctively and made a repeat performance, swinging my fist around. Problem was, Colt caught it. Open your eyes. Focus. You have nothing to lose. The internal voice sounded a lot like Abel, and maybe that was why I listened.
Holy shit. The feral look in Colt’s eyes shot ripples of something I’d never felt before through me. I catalogued the sweat that beaded across his forehead, how his chest heaved underneath his dark T-shirt, and how his fingers curled around my fist.
Fight him. Show him.
I swallowed hard, and then the forest lit up in red once more. And it hit me. I played on my innocence to throw him off. I looked up at the trees as the sirens cried, and when I knew he was glancing up too, I jammed down my foot on his and sent my free hand flying into his stomach.
Colt choked and bowled over, and I hightailed it out of there. Panting, high on adrenaline, fucking grinning, I darted through the woods at high speed, not giving a shit about the branches that whipped at my face. I didn’t even feel any pain when I stumbled and fell to the ground. I was up in under two seconds, and I was running again.
“You’ve been holdin’ out on me!” he barked out.
I shot to the left when I heard others straight up ahead.
Four prey were down. Five to go.
It gave me a boost of confidence to know I hadn’t been one of the first.
It made me cockier.
Needing to catch my breath for a moment, I stopped at the next boulder I found and hid behind it. Every now and then, I peered around to see where Colt was. There were too many screams and moans, distant or not, real or recorded.
After about a minute, I caught sight of him between the trees.
I watched. For one second, I was the hunter. I stared at him while he came to a stop and lifted his T-shirt to wipe sweat off his face. I hadn’t bothered. Perspiration trickled down my neck, causing my clothes to stick to my skin.
He raised his gaze and looked around.
“Time to come outta hidin’, little fuckboy,” he called. “I know you’re here somewhere.”
I licked my lips and moved to the other side of the boulder where I could watch him from a safer spot, in the sliver of space between the big rock and a tree.
Was I ready to fight him?
I grew completely still and held my breath when he turned this way.
“You can’t hide forever,” he said. “If you’re a good little whore and come out now, maybe I won’t fuck you dry.”
I narrowed my eyes and took a slow breath. I could run, but he’d see me. He’d chase after me, and he’d throw me down on the ground sooner or later. Another option, I stepped out right now. He wouldn’t expect it. I was sure of it. He fully anticipated he was going to hunt me down, not that I would come out and meet him head on.
As the sirens began wailing again, I steeled myself for the inevitable pain, and I stepped out from behind the boulder.
His stare landed on me instantly, and a slow grin spread across his face.
“Perhaps I’ll end up fucking you dry instead,” I said.
His grin broadened, and he approached me without any hurry whatsoever. Cocky bastard. “You held back yesterday in the pool.”
“Maybe.” Wanting to fuck with him for having fucked with me, I crouched down quickly, as if I were about to bolt, and he froze with the Predator’s calculating stare. “You afraid I might run, old man?”
His brows rose a fraction. “Careful, Kit.”
“Fuck you.”
He strode forward to grab me, but I dodged his grasp and came out on the other side of him. He turned with a dark chuckle and rubbed his jaw, a clear sign that he was running out of patience.
“Do you want to sit down and rest?” I asked.
“That’s fuckin’ it.” He glared as he charged at me, and this time, I didn’t stand a chance. He rammed into me, sending us both to the ground, and I landed with a wheezed groan. Pain exploded along my back, though I didn’t let it control me. I fought back. God, I fought back. I clawed at him, smacked him, and kicked. Something changed. The air around us grew thick, and I saw red.