Page 2 of Hunter or Hunted

He wet his lips, nodding slowly. “Yeah, I do.”

“Then why are you looking at me like I’m crazy?”

“Maybe because you just showed up at my door and asked me to help you murder someone, Gwen.” He blinked hard at me. “Barely got a hello first.”

“Hello.” The bitter irony had my cheeks turning red and my lips twitching at the corners. “See? You got a hello and a smile. Now let’s talk about killing this guy.”

A joyless laugh parted his lips. He tugged his hand from mine and rubbed his eyes between his thumb and forefinger.

“You gave me a half-hour monologue about why you felt justified in killing Jason,” I said. “And you know what? I agree. I get why you did it. It was the right thing to do, and the world is a better place for it.”

“It’s, uh…” He stared ahead for a moment, voice distant. Eventually, he looked my way. “You understand the weight of what you’re saying, don’t you? You understand how dangerous this is.”

“We got away with it before,” I said.

“That doesn’t mean we would again.”

“Theoretically. But last time, I wasn’t prepared. Instinct kicked in, and I did what I had to do to survive. And I still got away with it.”

“You wouldn’t have if I hadn’t covered your ass.”

“Which is why I asked for your help.”

“God damn it, Gwen.” He stared at me with brows furrowed so deep, I wasn’t sure we were making eye contact anymore. “Why are you talking about this so casually? Why does this sound like a good idea to you?”

“It was a fine idea when you did it,” I said. “Simone and Junie are safe because I did it. But Delilah is dead, and she wouldn’t have been if I’d⁠—”

“What we did wasn’t the same.” He waved a finger between the two of us. “You said a second ago that instinct kicked in, and you did what you had to. You’re talking about premeditating this, Gwen. You’re talking about planning to take a man’s life⁠—”

“Not an innocent man’s life,” I snapped. “Don’t patronize me, Sebastian. I know what I’m asking. I know it’s a lot. I know that it’s something you’re good at, and something I need to learn to be good at, because I’m going to do it.”

The frown he gave me was just as patronizing as his last words. “How do you know that?”

“Well, because if you refuse to help me, I’m gonna figure it out,” I said. “The hardest part was moving the body, but I’ve got money saved up. I can buy a bigger car. If I get a van, I can probably fit a wheelbarrow in the back. That’d make the hardest part a lot easier. There’s also the ranch. If I talk to Rhiannon, she’ll give me a job at the meatpacking plant, and I can incinerate the body. It won’t be easy, but if you won’t help me, I’m going to⁠—”

“I wasn’t asking how you were going to do it,” he said. “I was asking how you know this is the guy that killed Delilah.”

Chest tightening, I clenched my teeth. “How did you know it was Jason?”

“I told you. He practically confessed⁠—”

“Practically. He didn’t flat out say that he killed Sarah, did he?”

“No, but with everything considered, I knew⁠—”

“With everything considered, I know Evan killed Delilah.”

“You’re probably right,” he said. “But what if you’re wrong?”

“I’m not wrong,” I said. “When a young girl is killed, everyone knows it was the boyfriend. It’s always the boyfriend.”

“But do you think you’ll be able to live with the doubt?” Sebastian’s voice was just a little bit softer now, eyes narrowed. Not with anger, but scrutiny. “What if, in two years, someone confesses? What if you were wrong, Gwen? Will you be able to live with yourself?”

Yes.

“Even if he didn’t kill her, he was twenty-five years old when he started screwing her. She was fifteen.” Sebastian winced, but I kept going. “When I first met her, she had a purple ring the size of an apple around her eye. The girl couldn’t have weighed more than a hundred and twenty pounds soaking wet, and that grown man had a lovely habit of slamming her head through walls, Sebastian. So yeah. Even if I’m wrong, and he didn’t kill her, I can live with knowing he’s not out in the world anymore.”

He went back to rubbing his eyes between his thumb and forefinger. “At the bare minimum, this is a huge ask. At the worst, it’s insane. This is bat shit crazy.”