Page 9 of Hunted

“So, what was your plan? After you were rescued, you’d all just go off and live together?”Without me.I refrain from asking those last two words, just barely.

“Live together, yes, but in our house,withyou.”

I frown at him as I consider what that would be like, the four of them living there, while I’m stuck watching them like some fucking outsider in my own goddamned home.

“Gee, thanks for including me in your plans,” I bite out bitterly.

He sighs and runs his hands through his hair, clearly getting frustrated with me.

Join the club.

“Reece, come on, man. You have to understand, you have shown zero interest in anyone, ever. At one point I thought you might be asexual or something. Besides, Bower and I always planned to stay living with you when we met women we wanted something permanent with, you know that. It just turns out that it’s the same woman.”

“Mywoman,” I growl, my hands clenching into fists.

“No, not yours,” West bites back, crossing his arms over his chest as he stands up tall. “Ours.”

“Reece, you’re being a real asshole right now, you know that?” Bower asks, shaking his head in disappointment.

“Me?” I ask in disbelief. “You guys are telling me you plan to bring West, and the fucking love of my life, to our home, that we share, and I’m supposed to watch you all be happy from the sidelines? What the actual fuck, man?” I ask, feeling slightly betrayed by them.

“We never said you couldn’t be part of it. That’s up to Zee—Darla.” My face scrunches in confusion as I look at King. He wears an exasperated expression on his face, like he’s tired of talking in circles. But his words help.

They aren’t trying to push me out, they’re expecting me to catch up.

I glance up at the tree once more and let out a deep breath. They’re right, if I want any sort of relationship with her, it’s not them that gets to decide that; it’s between Darla and me.

And I already know I’ll stop at nothing to call her mine again. Even if that means I have to share her.

“Don’t worry, she’ll come back when she’s ready,” Bower says, giving my shoulder a squeeze as he heads inside the hut. “It’s getting dark, let’s sit down inside and talk about how the hell we’re gonna get out of here.”

As we move inside, I give it more than a cursory glance this time. It looks decently built, considering it’s completely handmade, possibly even waterproof. “Who built this?” I ask, my fingers skimming over the table.

“Darla did. She built everything in here, she even made the waterskins,” King says, lifting up the one that’s strapped to his side.

“By herself?” I ask, my eyes narrowing in on the hundreds - nothousands- of marks etched into the wall.

Nobody answers, but they don’t need to.

“I think those are tally marks,” King says, coming to sit on the mattress where I’m bending over to get a better look at them.

“Tally marks?”

“One for every day she’s been here. She’s never said as much, but I’m pretty sure that’s what they are. She adds one every night. I don’t think she knows we see her do it.”

Standing up straight, I take in the enormity of that. Every one of those marks represents a night she laid here on her own, while I was out there, unknowing she was still alive.

Nobody should have to spend that amount of time in solitude. Not just alone, but stranded without any resources, it seems.

“We need to get her off this island,” I say, turning to face the others.

“How didyoufind us?”

“Your watch.” I point to King’s wrist. “It was giving off a weak random analog signal. Hendrix was able to integrate it with Siren, and added a fuck ton of other upgrades and, finally, it gave us a ping of your location. I followed it here.”

“That’s brilliant,” King says with wide eyes. “Who knows you're here? Your dad?”

“Yeah, he has the info. When I don’t report back, I’m sure he’ll send a rescue team, especially since he has our coordinates now. Also, the entire team at Titan Tech has it. I’m sure they’ll reach out to someone for help if they don’t hear from me in a couple days.”