Page 57 of Dark Little Game

A potent mix.

Rage.

Shame.

Utter exhaustion.

All churning together and somehow making me hate Hunter more than I ever have.

He looks down at my exposed skin, glancing at my abs and then at my tattoos, which he seems particularly focused on every time he sees them.

“I scared you,” he says, looking at my eyes again. “Do you need a glass of water, or maybe a handle of whiskey?”

I swallow hard. “I don’t need anything from you. Never will.”

Panic is still coursing through my veins as the hail patters on the window.

Is he fucking with me?

Is he trying to hurt me?

Or is it something else?

His eyes narrow on me, and he gives me a bitter glare.

“You accept my brother’s condescending bullshit for a lifetime, but you won’t take help from me,” he says, shaking his head. “You’re worse than I thought.”

“Worse? Fuck you,” I tell him. “I’ve never known what your problem is with Weston. That isn’t my business. But I never didshitto you, Hunter.”

“And you act spoiled, just like my brother, even though you didn’t grow up with a silver spoon like us.”

“I thought I was about to die two minutes ago and now you’re calling me spoiled,” I say. “And you wonder why I don’t trust you?”

The panic is gone from me now.

It’sallrage.

Hunter doesn’t seem to care at all. “You’re spoiled enough that you don’t accept when someone wants to help you, because you think you have to do everything yourself.”

“It’s because I don’t trust you, Knox. Not because of some stubborn independence. You show up in Onyx and suddenly there are photos of me nailed onto the front door?”

Hunter’s gaze steadies. “Excuse me?”

“Nobody told you what happened earlier?”

“Whathappened earlier?”

“Cute that you’re playing dumb. Who took those pictures of me? Maybe it’s the fucking asshole who’s been following me around all week.”

“So they’ve been following you, too,” Hunter says. “God, I fucking knew it.”

I bring my hands up to my hair, running my fingers through it.

“I’m so confused. And I’m so tired of being confused.”

“Nothing confusing about it. Someone’s trying to get to you, andI’mgoing to find them and put a blade through their throat.”

His words put a chill down my spine.