52. GAME OF THE HUNTED

52

GAME OF THE HUNTED

YARA

L ogan Jones wasn’t going to get away this time. Logan’s phone had finally come online—the one he used to send messages to me. I couldn’t wait to hunt him down.

My brain kept going back to Ryden and what happened, but this wasn’t the time to think about him. I needed to be focused.

Logan Jones first. I gripped the gun tighter in my hand. It felt odd—I had never used a gun before. I preferred knives. I took this one from one of my victims and kept it just because.

Logan had been a big part of my life for a long time, and I couldn’t wait to finally cut him into pieces, cut his intestines out, and then strangle him with them until he lost his breath.

Yellow became orange, which blazed into red. The burning anger would only leave me once Logan was gone.

I walked further into the woods, my eyes scanning the surroundings. I had a feeling that he knew I was here, and he was watching and waiting. I was his prey, but I knew this place. I had once hunted and killed here.

Pulling my trench coat tighter around my body, I moved further. I’d find a way to kill him even if I had to sacrifice my own life.

A life for a life. His for Katelyn’s. Mine for his.

I noticed every small detail along the trail that wound deep into the woods. The broken branches. The trampled wildflowers left there like breadcrumbs—he was inviting me to come closer. “Where the hell are you, Logan?” The words left my lips in an angry hiss. “And who the hell are you?”

Even though the soft sunlight filtered through the thick canopy of trees, the shadows still danced, hiding sinister secrets underneath its emerald blanket.

A snap, sharp and distinct, shattered the silence that lingered, sending a shiver down my spine. My body tensed.

Was it Logan? Or something else? I whirled around, raising my gun. My heart ran frantically when a hand grabbed me by my shoulder and pressed me against the tree.

“Fuck.” Grunting, I tried to pull away from my attacker.

“Don’t you dare even think about shooting.” Ryden’s voice sliced through the air like a blade, sharp and menacing, and my body instantly relaxed.

It’s only Ryden. But he sounded angry.

He gripped my hand with a growl, tightening his fingers until the gun slipped from mine.

With a swift motion, he spun me around, the force of his movement sending me crashing against the rough bark of the tree. Pain flared where my back met the trunk, but it paled in comparison to the nervousness coursing through my veins. Ryden…

He knew.

Now, what the fuck am I supposed to do, Kat?

“Ryden, let go.”

Every line of his face radiated anger. His grip on my hair tightened. He tugged it with a curse, eliciting a hiss of pain from my lips.

My eyes went to the glinting knife in his hand, and before I could do or say something, he pressed the blade against my throat with a growl. The sneer on his lips was bitter and mocking. “Hello, K.Y. Fucking Wolff.” His words were venom.

The web of secrets and betrayal that bound us together was finally unraveling, and I had nowhere to run, and no one else to blame. Here I was, and here he was.

“Admit it, Yara. You’re K.Y. Wolff.” The way he said my name was like a curse. Not the good kind of curse, either. “You fucking played me.”

I saw the flicker of rage so primal, so consuming that it made my back stiff.

“You knew about me from the first fucking day. You came into my home, and then batted your fucking eyes at me like you were innocent.” His eyes were murderous as he pressed the cold metal against my throat further, but I knew he was being extremely careful not to cut me.

There wasn’t a smidgen of fear in me. I was confident Ryden would never hurt me.

“Say something. Fucking say something.”

A part of me was glad that he finally knew my secrets. The relief I felt was powerful.

“Do you mind?” I said, pointing to the knife, and his eyes narrowed.

“The audacity…” he growled, pressing his body against mine, and the hint of his arousal made me heady. Even when he was angry, he wanted me, and that was all I needed to know.

I was glad it wasn’t the kind of anger that made his lust for me lessen. I wanted him like this, always, always begging for my touch, needing me even in the worst possible moment.

When he was near me, my body was only controlled by lust and not by common sense, and it was great to know that he wasn’t better than me at our game.

“What an amazing liar. What a fucking impressive game. Did you laugh at me when I was following you like a fucking dog? Did it make you feel powerful?”

“Yes, it did make me feel powerful.” That was the truth. It had always been, but he’d never know the other side of the truth. He was one of the very few who had ever made me feel weak. I wasn’t made for weakness, but somehow, he had found a way to breach the fucking walls.

He growled again. “Shut the fuck up, or I don’t know what I’ll do to you.”

“Hmm, it looks like your cock knows exactly what it wants to do to me,” I sang, my eyes meeting him in a challenge, and he grunted again and felt the knife nicking my skin. The sting of the blade made me groan.

I saw the anger flashing, and instead of fear, I felt lust. I wanted him to use his anger to tear me down.

“Do you ever think before you fucking talk?” His voice was a whisper, but the anger still lingered in his eyes, and then it became frustration when he realized I was bleeding. I didn’t care, but he did. “Fuck. You should have just kept your mouth shut.”

“But you love it when my mouth is open and around your cock,” I said as he took the knife away and pressed a finger against the drop of blood with a curse.

“You’re a fucking psycho. I should have known,” he snapped.

“Now that you’ve finally caught me, what are you going to do?” I whispered, and he stared at my mouth like he wanted to bite my tongue off.

The heat of his breath stroked my parted lips as he bared his teeth at me, looking like a rabid animal ready for its next meal. Oh, how badly I wanted to be his next meal.

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with you, you fucking demon from hell.”

“Kill me?” I asked, looking up at him. “I’m sorry you were hurt, Ryden, but I’m not sorry I killed Victor, just as you weren’t sorry you killed Jacob and Phil.”

“Maybe I should kill you. It’d be the end of all my problems,” he said, his eyes out of focus as he leaned closer, and then he bit my lip, hard, until I tasted blood. “I’d rather fucking kiss you. It’s infuriating.” It was obvious that he hated the fact that he would rather kiss me than kill me. He didn’t do anything to hide it as he pulled away and wiped the blood from his lips.

“Ryden… I’m sorry that you were caught in the middle of it, but you kill men like Victor.”

“I don’t know what to feel. I hate you,” he said, his face twisting with rage. “I hate you, Red.” Perhaps it was better this way. “I fucking love you, even when I hate you. I don’t understand what kind of madness this is, but here I am.”

There it was. Again. The L word. I had tried it once, and it failed magnificently.

“If you hate me… you can’t love me.”

“Who said I can’t? There is a thin line between love and hate, Little Killer,” he said, calling me by his usual nickname. Then his eyes widened once again as if he realized how appropriate his nickname was. “You’re really a killer. Were you laughing at me when I called you that? Fuck, I want to punish you so bad.”

He noticed the glint in my eyes. I couldn’t wait for him to punish me, and when he saw the way I was looking at him, he groaned, calling me names.

“Nothing about you is funny, Ryden Sinclair. I was obsessed, but I wasn’t making fun of you. I was using you for your body.”

He grunted. “The things that come out of your fucking mouth… always so fucking inappropriate.”

“Did Sister Serena call? Is that how you know I’m K.Y. Wolff?”

“Fucking K.Y. Wolff. It’s no wonder I was attracted to her,” he grunted. “But you smelled different. You felt different. Even your fucking voice was different.”

“Different perfume. I add layers of clothes. I can change my voice. How did you find me?”

“Sister Serena didn’t call. K.Y. Wolff’s burner phone… I mean, your burner phone just came back online, and Reah messaged me the location.”

No. That’s impossible, Kat said with a frown.

I shook my head. My burner phone, the one I used as K.Y. Wolff, was at home.

“I saw you were gone, and I called Reah, and she found you right here, with K.Y. Wolff. I saw the old sedan and called your number.” He pulled the phone out of his pocket. “You left it there.”

“I didn’t turn the burner phone back on,” I said, looking around with a grimace. I realized this was more than just a game between us. Logan Jones, for whatever reason, wanted Ryden here with me. “Logan wanted you here. This is the climax of his story. Now that you’re here, the game will truly begin.”

“Why? Why does he want me here?”

“To kill you. As far as he’s concerned, you’re with me, and you’re an obstacle to his love.”

“Delusional bastard.”

“So are you,” I whispered, and his eyes flashed.

“Fuck you, Red.”

“Fuck me when this is over.”

His eyes widened and then he sighed.

“Can you let me go now? We have to find him before he finds us.”

“We aren’t done talking about what you did. You’ll get your punishment,” Ryden said, his voice a low warning.

“Later,” I sang, smiling, and my smile froze when I caught the glint of a pistol peeking through the trees just a few feet away.

He is finally here to play.

“Autopsy,” I whispered and Ryden went stiff. “He’s here.”

“What will you do if I die?” Ryden whispered. Fuck him. This wasn’t a joke.

“I’ll resuscitate you and kill you all over again. Don’t you dare die on me, Turtle Mocha,” I growled, shoving him to the ground as the gunshot echoed throughout the woods. Snatching my gun from the dirt, I put a foot on Ryden’s back, keeping him out of Logan’s line of shot. I aimed my gun higher and shot at Logan twice.

“Come out and play, Logan. It’s about time, is it not? Or are you just a spineless coward who plays only with vulnerable, drugged women?”

“What the hell are you doing, Yara? Don’t make him angry,” Ryden whispered angrily, struggling to get up.

“He won’t kill me. He wants my attention, and he has it now, but he’ll kill you,” I said to Ryden before whirling around when I heard the gun going off. A bullet whizzed past my ear, too close for comfort. “Do you want to kill me? After all this time, Logan? Don’t you love me?”

“You know nothing, you bitch.” He sounded pained, angry. “You don’t know anything. You’re the reason I—I…”

“Aren’t you The Strangler? Didn’t you write letters to me?”

“I am. I did.”

There.

“He doesn’t sound lovestruck,” Ryden said with a scoff. “Now, get your fucking boot off my back, and help me up, Red.”

I knew he wasn’t over the fact that I had lied and made a fool out of him, but I knew he’d get over it. We’d talk if we had to, or I’d fuck him until he lost his mind and memory.

Either could work. Kat looked like she wanted to smack me.

“Stop moving and stay down,” I said. He hissed and writhed like a worm under my feet.

“If you don’t let me get up, I’m going to…”

Before I could realize what he was going to do, he grabbed my leg in one hand and, with a tug, pulled me down on his hard body.

This is not the time to have a wet pussy. You can’t fuck when The Strangler is shooting at you, Kat admonished. No, no, Yara. This is beyond insane.

Wellll…

“You fool…” I glared at Ryden. My words died when I saw the searing look in his eyes. Then, through the thick foliage, I spotted Logan Jones closing in on us. He was farther than I’d assumed but steadily closing the gap. “Stay still,” I warned Ryden as his fingers trailed along my spine. I arched into his touch when he squeezed my ass, but my eyes were focused on Logan. With a steady hand, I took my shot without even blinking as Ryden’s erection went harder beneath me.

“Fuck,” Ryden moaned. “Red…”

A howl pierced the air, indicating my bullet had found its mark. But I wouldn’t let Logan die, not so easily.

He had to look into my eyes. He had to see the pain he’d caused before drawing his final breath. Gritting my teeth, I pulled the trigger again, making sure to aim it at the hand that was holding the gun. Another scream ricocheted along the woods.

“Fucking bitch,” Logan shouted. I shot again and missed, but Logan was no longer at the top of the food chain. He was wounded and I had Ryden. Two animals were always better than one.

I’d never hunted with a partner before, but…I now understood the appeal of it.

“Is he still there?” Ryden asked as he tugged my pants down and palmed my naked ass. “Where the hell is your underwear?” he whispered, his voice incredulous.

Really? He’s worse than you. Kat sighed.

“I didn’t have time for underwear…” His fingers went to my hair, and he pulled me down until his lips were on mine. “We can’t do this now.” Even as I said that, I was humping him. “I shot him, though. Twice. He must be bleeding.”

“I know.” But he didn’t move as he groped my ass before spanking me. “That’s for all the lies.”

I moaned. Slap . “That’s for making me look like a fool.” Slap . “That’s for being a fucking tease.”

“If you continue this, I’ll forget that we’re this close to dying, and fuck you, Ryden.” My voice was a warning as he pushed his hand up and traced his fingers down my tits. His other hand pulled my pants further down until his fingers were on my pussy.

“You’re such a greedy whore,” he said, thrusting two fingers inside me. I couldn’t close my eyes. I had to keep looking for Logan while Ryden fingered my pussy. I moved with him, trying to take more of his finger inside me, and he chuckled. “My whore.”

My pussy tightened, and he moaned, which was broken by another gunshot echoed through the woods. Logan wasn’t retreating yet.

My cheeks were burning hot when Ryden jumped up from the ground and gave me his hand.

“We should deal with him first, and then we can fuck over his dead body to celebrate,” Ryden said, grabbing my gun from me. I pulled out the knife from inside my trench coat, and Ryden shook his head. “Knowing that you use knives not just for sex but for other things… it’s making me so fucking hard, Little Killer.”

“Don’t distract me,” I said with a smirk, trailing the knife down his cheek.

One more bullet hit the tree to the right of us. Logan wasn’t a good shot, but for what he lacked in aim, he quite made up in persistence.

Fucking bastard.

“There’s a marsh inside the forest. It’s the best place to kill. We just have to lure him to it.”

“Fucking run, Red,” Ryden breathed out. “I’ve dreamed of chasing you through the woods and then fucking your pretty cunt until you can’t run or even hobble.”

“You’re the worst,” I said as Ryden grabbed my hand, and we hurtled toward the thicket of trees, away from Logan.

Thundering footsteps followed, but there were no bullets. Perhaps he was out of ammo, or he was saving them.

Sweat trailed down between my breasts as we finally reached the thorny trees, sedges, and bushes surrounding the soggy brown earth that looked ready to swallow a whole human.

“What’s our strategy now?” Ryden asked, his eyes clashing against mine, giving me a sense of solace, even when my heart was getting ready to explode.

“Goad him to make a mistake.”

“He’s The fucking Strangler. He’s smart.”

“Not today. His past kills were clinical and impersonal, except for Kat. That one showed how personal it was. Today is personal. You’re here, Ryden, because he wants to kill you before me. He wants to take the one last good thing I have.” I whirled around, staring through the foliage. “You’re not winning, Logan. Not this time. I found you,” I growled out. “The odds are against you.”

“You didn’t catch me. You wouldn’t have come an inch closer if I hadn’t wanted you to find me.” Was he telling the truth? But it didn’t matter anymore. “I lured you. I fucking played you.” There was no desperation in his voice.

Ryden and I shared a quick look. “He may be right, but he won’t walk away from this,” I whispered, gesturing for Ryden to move toward Logan from the opposite side. “Circle behind. I know this place. You can do it without being seen.”

“I can’t leave you alone here, Red,” Ryden spat through gritted teeth. I knew he was worried, but I had been doing it a lot longer, maybe longer than him.

“You have to. Trust me. I know this place. I’ve killed someone here before,” I said, and Ryden’s eyes widened, a grin defining his features. He leaned closer to me and pressed a quick kiss to my lips.

“Why are you so fucking perfect? It’s like someone took time to create you just for me,” he said before whirling around. “I hope you keep what belongs to me safe.”

“I’m going to kick your ass if you don’t move now.”

He smiled before walking away from me, his steps stealthy, quick. The predatory gleam in his eyes made me tremble. He gave me one last look before disappearing into the trees. “I’m not the one with a gunshot wound now, am I?” I said, goading Logan, hoping Ryden would be quick.

Eyes wide, I watched when Ryden finally came behind Logan, flanking him from the back as I advanced, my gun aiming straight at his heart.

“Do not fucking move,” Ryden said. Logan’s eyes widened for a split second before something else took over the fear.

Ryden raised his gun and slammed it hard against Logan’s head. At the same time, Logan whirled around, and his gun went off.

My breath froze. My heart tilted.

“Are you okay?” I asked, my breath hitching even as I stared at the man who was now on the ground, looking harmless. The man who killed my best friend.

“I am. It’s just a small graze. Here he is, Red. What do you want to do with him?”

I knew what I wanted. I always knew. I had been dreaming of this moment for years.

I found him, Kat. And now, I’ll cut him open, inch by fucking inch.

I love you, Yara.

I know. I love you, Kat.

“Gut him and then peel his flesh off his bones.”

I looked at Ryden and he gave me a nod. “Sounds perfect.”