Page 16 of Hunted

“Yeah, but I mean, she’s different from other women her age. She’s more naïve in a lot of ways, but she also had to grow up really fast, so she’s extremely mature and independent. She doesn’t like being told what to do. It’s something we’re working on with her.”

“What do you mean?”

I pull the tie from my hair and start working my fingers through it as I try to explain. “So a few days ago, she snuck off to climb this huge ass rock wall, just so she could collect some eggs for us to eat. West was furious, we all were. But she didn’t understand the problem, since she did it dozens of times before we got here.”

“Does she often put herself in unnecessary danger?” he asks with concern.

“Unfortunately. It’s part of the reason she needs us, almost as much as we need her.”

“Need her? You meanwanther?”

“No, man. I fuckingneedher in my life. Meeting her has changed my brain chemistry or some shit. I’ve never felt even a spec of this with any other girlfriend. I literally feel like I wouldn’t survive without her in my life.”

“Shit.” He exhales and I finish tying my hair up, as he asks, “You love her, don’t you?”

A huge smile splits my face. “To the moon and back.”

“Have you slept with her?” he asks, looking like he’s bracing for impact.

“First of all, if you want to be part of this, you’re gonna have to come around to the thought of her being with us without hurling.”

“I wasn’t—”

"Second of all,” I cut him off, “It’s none of your business.” His face pinches in frustration, so I decide to throw him a bone. “We’ve done… stuff. But not that.”

I watch as he seems to battle with relief and frustration before he finally nods.

“Good morning!” I hear her angelic voice before I see her.

With a huge smile on my face, I turn to see Zee waving down at us from the skywalk, West and King stepping out behind her. King whispers something to her and she nods, then moves to climb down the ladder.

Reece quickly moves over to where she’s climbing down, his hands raised like he’s afraid she’ll fall. I smirk, thinking about how he’ll react when he sees her leap onto a vine.

As soon as she’s low enough, he grabs her by the waist and lifts her down to the ground. “I got you,” he says, as if she was doing somethingdangerous and not descending a ladder she built and has been climbing for well over a decade.

“Oh, ah, thanks, Reece.”

He just nods and takes a step back, giving the others room to climb down.

King is the last to reach the ground, and as soon as he does, he turns to take us all in, his hands on his hips. “Okay, so I think today's plan should be making sure someone is always at the beach, on lookout. We probably need to gather more firewood, too, so we can rebuild the wood pile on the beach. We should also fill our waterskins and grab some fruit.”

Jumping in quickly, hoping for some alone time with my girl, I suggest, “Zee and I can fill the canteens and get fruit, if you guys want to head to the beach?”

Three sets of eyes turn to me with a glare, but when nobody verbally protests, I clap my hands together, rocking back on my heels. “Great, I’ll go grab the waterskins and a couple bags.”

“I can help!” Zee says excitedly as she scampers to the ladder and climbs up faster than I can even step up to the bottom. “Got them!” she yells down after I place a foot on the bottom rung.

Chuckling, I step back and shake my head. “You’re so fast, Tink. Like a little fairy!”

“We’ll see you two at the beach when you’re done?” King asks. I turn to see the other two watching Zee climb down while King looks at me in question.

“Yep, we’ll bring breakfast.” He nods and follows the other two out of the clearing. The sound of Zee hitting the ground has me turning around to her beaming face as she holds up all the bags and waterskins.

I grab them all from her and throw them over my arm.

“I can take some,” she protests, trying to grab one back, but I grab her wrists and kiss her palms quickly, smiling down at her.

“Nope, I’ve got them, you can hold my hand.” I wiggle my fingers as she tries to hold back her smile before grabbing my hand and leading me out of the clearing.