Page 25 of Rough Exile


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“What about me?” I demanded. “If neither of you finds me, what do I get?”

He chuckled. “Both of us have been hunting since we were boys. Do you really think you can hide from us both until dark?”

“I’ve done several tours on the Island.”

“You did well there because you played politics. You found the strongest, most vicious men and made them eat out of your hand.”

It hadn’t been as easy as he made it sound, but he wasn’t entirely wrong.

“What do I get?” I demanded again, propping my hands on my hips and raising my chin.

Both men looked me over with interest. I was pretty sure one of them growled.

“If you can avoid us both until dark, you get a financial bonus.”

“I get a bonus and I get to boss you both around for the rest of the night.”

Bron barked a laugh, his perfect teeth flashing.

“Boss me around? To do what?”

Oh, the things I’d do with that kind of power. I wouldn’t only make him serve me hand and foot, I’d make him bottom for Ilya and give the jerk a taste of his own medicine.

“Anything I say.”

He glared at me. Could he read my evil thoughts?

“If the two of you are such expert hunters, then what I might make you do shouldn’t worry you.”

His head came up. I’d stung his massive male ego.

“Done. You’d better pray it’s not me who finds you, De-li-lah.” When he was feeling aggressive, he always said my name like it was three separate words and possibly the most ridiculous name he’d ever heard.

I gave a toss of my head and ran into the woods, wishing I hadn’t chosen a long skirt to wear today. Luckily, my boots fit well enough and protected my feet. Hopefully, they’d support my ankle too—I’d fucked it up running track in high school and it had never been the same since. They’d never given us decent footwear on the Island, and it had always felt like cheating to me. Giving men who were already bigger and stronger than we were an extra advantage seemed unnecessarily cruel.

The forest on this island felt very different. The green was a different shade, and the ground was damp rather than sandy. It was harder going, too, without as many paths winding through the undergrowth.

My heart was pounding. If Ilya caught me, he might hurt me just because he’d be keyed up and didn’t know what he was doing. If Bron caught me, he’d definitely let his sadism loose after the bargain we’d struck.

At least there were only two of them on this island.

“Watch out for the wolves.” Bron’s voice came to me from a distance.

Wolves? He was fucking with me, right?

I hiked up my skirt and kept running, wishing I knew how to tie my skirt high the way Lanie had told me she’d done during one hunt. I’d never gotten around to finding out how and didn’t have time to stop and figure it out.

At least my clothes were neutral. The gray was close enough to green that I didn’t stick out the way we did when they’d made us wear florescent colors during the Island hunts.

In a way, this was harder. I wanted to win because I wanted to claim temporary mastery over Bron, but my libido wanted me to get caught.

I struggled through some bracken, making a god-awful racket. Damn it, I wasn’t used to the terrain here. I spooked a rabbit who spooked me, too, and my scream of surprise rent the air.

The woods held the same mysterious shadows they did in the jungle, but not knowing what might be lurking made it scarier. Needing to worry about other men was one thing, but worrying about animals that might attack and rip me apart was a different kind of fear. As badass as it might sound, getting eaten by wolves wasn’t even in my top ten of ways I’d prefer to die.

Eventually, the stitch in my side made me slow to a walk. I’d tripped and almost fallen so many times that I felt punch drunk. My legs shook.

Did I dare find somewhere to hide and sit down for a few minutes?

I looked around, but the forest was an impenetrable wall. If I evaded them until nightfall, then what? I’d never be able to find my way back in the dark. I’d have to wait until morning and find the shore, then follow it around the island to the dock so I could find the road to the house. I wasn’t even sure how big this island was. Were there neighbors on it? I didn’t think so, but I’d never asked.

I stopped and tried to catch my breath, the fresh damp green smell welcome. Budding leaves had unfurled in the short time I’d been on Ilya’s island, making everything fresh and new.

Was the island on an ocean or was this a lake? I hadn’t asked, and I hadn’t brought anything to eat or drink with me. Drinking ocean water wouldn’t help my thirst.

Did I really want to sleep alone in the woods tonight with no shelter when there were wolves, and maybe other predators around?

Maybe I should go back?

I turned in a full circle, not even sure which way I’d come from.

This island felt much more dangerous and isolated than the other had. I wasn’t going to stumble across other female prey here, and no other predators would find me.

Not human ones, anyway.

My choice was Ilya, Bron, or spending the night alone in the forest. I shuddered, not knowing which of those options I dreaded more.

An eerie howl filled the air—not close, but then again, what did I know?

Another answered.

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