Page 28 of Hunted

I turn to him, my eyebrows pinching in confusion. “Don’t you want to spend some time alone with her, too?”

He shrugs, avoiding me as he looks out at the ocean.

“Has something happened?” I ask. “I thought you and her were… you know, as close as the others?”

“Apparently not,” he says with a sigh.

“What do you mean?” I turn fully to him, seeing that something is really bothering him.

He glances down at his fingers, dangling between his bent knees as he speaks. “It just seems like she doesn’t need me anymore. I feel like the other two are moving forward with her and I’m… I’m not.”

“King, that’s bullshit. I’m sure you’re just as important to her. This environment isn’t exactly conducive to an equal opportunity relationship between you all.”

“What do you mean?” He turns to look at me, a hint of hope in his eyes.

“It’s not like you can take turns taking her on dates. We’re on a dangerous island with only one place to sleep. I’m sure it will work itself out when we’re back in the real world.”

“Yeah,” he says with a shrug. “Maybe you’re right.”

Pushing to my feet, I ask, “What do you say we get back out there and continue our search?”

“Sure.” He gets up and brushes the sand off his legs.

“And King?” I ask, looking back at him. “Don’t count yourself out yet. I saw the way she threw herself at you yesterday after the whole… incident.”

He looks at me for a second, his lips pinched tightly as he nods.

As we continue our search through the water, he starts telling me about everything that’s happened since their plane crash. How Darla stayed hidden at first, but helped them survive, even though she was scared. How she saved him from a wild boar and how she almost broke her ankle, falling from a tree.

It starts to paint a picture of who my Darla has become. She seems to be incredibly brave and independent, but she also holds a naivety that calls for us to help her, to protect her, even from herself. Like yesterday. Would she have drowned herself searching for her rock if Weston hadn’t stopped her?

My foot hits something hard and I bend down and pull up the rock. It looks like any other, but when I flip it over, I suck in a surprised breath. The word Steve is carved into it.

“I fucking found it,” I whisper in shock. I didn’t think I’d actually find it.

King whirls to face me in surprise, “What? Really?” I turn the rock to show him, and a huge smile splits his face. “You’ve just made her so happy.”

I nod, looking down at the rock. I still don’t fully understand how a rock can mean so much to her, but it doesn’t matter. If it’s important to her, then she deserves to have it.

As we head back to shore, something starts to bother me. “King? When we get out of here, like when we go back to the real world… this rock, it probably has that man’s DNA on it. Water wouldn’t have gotten rid of all traces of it.”

He stops walking and turns to face me. “You don’t think we should take it?”

I frown down at it, considering our options. “It will feel like a ticking time bomb, just waiting for someone to find.”

“But why would anybody ever do that? Besides, we burned the bodies, there is no trace of them to be found. They can’t prove anyone died.”

I nod my head slowly. “I suppose you’re right.”

“Besides, they were mercenaries, I doubt their DNA was in any system to match with.”

“That’s true,” I concede, as we continue walking to our clothes.

As we head down the jungle path, King tells me about the incident with the mud pit, and how Darla threw herself in to save Bower. It brings up a flood of emotions. Thinking about how close I was to losing Bower makes my gut clench in fear, but knowing she tried to sacrifice herself for him, it makes me angry. How can she see her life as less important?

Although, I have to admire her tenacity. I would sacrifice myself for anyone on this island… even West.

A loud, feminine laugh cuts through the air, making my head snap up. We can’t see the camp yet, but we’re close.