Page 80 of Hunter or Hunted

But he knew something, damn it. Everything he’d said at Thanksgiving proved it.

I caught up with him and grabbed the back of his cutoff.

He spun around, shrugging me off. “What?”

“Don’t ‘what’ me.” Only silence filled the empty gym, but I still lowered my voice. “What’s with the cryptic comments?”

His expression stayed blank. Like he was ordering his lunch. “Just saying. If you wanna be strong, it’s gonna take more than a treadmill.”

“Who said I wanted to be strong?” I narrowed my eyes. “Why would I need to be?”

He narrowed his too. “I don’t know. Why would you, Gwen?”

Teeth gritted, a deep breath escaped my nostrils. “What do you know, Axel?”

A half smile, and another gulp from his bottle. “You still haven’t passed your self-defense test. Running only helps once you’re out from under your attacker. If you wanna take down a guy my size, you need to weight train.”

I huffed. “That’s it, huh? You just want me to be able to pass my self-defense test?”

“I want you to be able to take down a guy my size.” He shrugged. “Or, you know. Lift him. If you had to.”

“You saw me,” I whispered. “You know.”

Another arch of his brow, and another gulp from his water.

“Did anyone else?” My octave stayed so low, I wasn’t sure if he even heard me. “Does anyone else know, Axel? Because if they do⁠—”

“Why would I tell anyone?” He stayed just as quiet. “I saw what he did to Simone. I know what he did to Junie. I don’t give a shit that he’s dead. But I do care about your form. You were walking like a penguin for a week after.”

Blinking hard, I shook my head. “Did you see it happen? Did you⁠—”

“Alright, shit.” He groaned and rubbed a hand over his mouth. “I was doing my rounds. I saw that car in your driveway. I went up the steps to check on you, and I saw Simone through the window. Just when I was about to bust the door down, you came out. You were checking on her. That’s when I saw the blood on your shoes, and the porch, and you started shoving shit into a bag.”

A sliver of relief coasted through me. Relief and annoyance. “Would’ve been nice if you offered to help.”

“Hell no.” He snorted. “I didn’t know exactly what happened, but it was too much already. I figured it out after I ran his plates. And you handled it. You didn’t need my help.”

“Well, I wouldn’t have been walking like a penguin if I’d had some help getting him in th⁠—”

“Sh!” He shook his head, brows furrowed. “Don’t tell me shit. Plausible deniability.”

“If you wanted plausible deniability, why’d you show the day after?” I snapped. “And why’d you say all that at Thanksgiving? Just to torture me?”

“To torture you? Piss off.” His tone held just as much annoyance as mine. “Last I saw Simone, she was almost unrecognizable. I had to make sure she was okay. And you looked wiry all the time. Like you knew someone knew. That’s why I said what I did at Thanksgiving. So you’d know it was me, that I wasn’t gonna snitch, and you could relax.”

Hm.

That was fair. Almost kind.

But that didn’t explain why he’d just done it again.

“Okay, but why’d you just say all that?” I gestured to the treadmill I’d been on. “Was that to torture me?”

He rolled his eyes. “Why’d you go to Delilah’s hometown, Gwen?”

“For the funeral,” I said. “To say goodbye.”

Axel let out a half laugh and grabbed another towel to wipe down the machine he’d been using. “Sure.”