Chapters (72)
- Dedication
- Prey Island Map
- PROLOGUE
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- CREED
- SIX
- BILLIE
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- JIRO
- TWELVE
- BILLIE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- ROW
- TWENTY-TWO
- BILLIE
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- ACHILLES
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- CREED
- THIRTY-NINE
- BILLIE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- ROW
- FIFTY
- BILLIE
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- TO CONTINUE THE ADVENTURE…
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- ALSO BY KENDRA
The gunshot rings out in the trees as Creed literally snaps the neck of the last one, another body falling to the ground as he turns to look at me. Harry is still standing, a red flower blooming on his chest as he looks down at it in horror. He falls down a second later and Creed turns, proud eyes on me.
But I’m not paying attention.
The gun is shaking in my hand, the sound of the gunshot still ringing in my ears.
I can’t breathe.
Oh fuck. I can’t breathe!
“Hey, hey, hey,” Creed says, coming close and grabbing my face in his large hands. Hands that just killed two other men. “Breathe, Billie. Come on. You’ve got this.”
“I killed him,” I gasp, the edges of my vision growing black when I start to hyperventilate. “I killed him.”
“I remember my first time, too,” Creed says. “You’re going to be okay. Breathe in through your mouth, out slowly through your nose.” When I try and copy his breathing, he nods proudly. “That’s a good girl. It’s gonna be okay.”
The pride kink in me swells up but it can’t compete with the panic. I went through the training, but that’s completely different from killing someone. I killed him. He’s dead because of me.
“He’s dead,” I repeat out loud, staring at the body again but Creed forces me to look back at him, to stare into his ocean-colored eyes.
“Because you had to take him out, Billie. If you didn’t shoot first, he would have taken both of us out. It doesn’t make it any easier, I know, but this is a survival situation. Regular morals don’t count here.”
I stare at him, at the way he’s so calm, and I wonder how many he’s killed for it to be so easy.
“Will it fade?” I ask, focusing on his face rather than the three bodies.
He shakes his head. “No, but it gets easier to digest. You’re going to survive this, Billie. We both are. But we’re going to have to fight our way out. Think you can do that for me?” It takes me long minutes before I can nod. “Good. Now just put that pistol away for me, and we’ll keep going.”
Carefully, with still shaking hands, I flip the safety back on and shove it in my cargo pocket, careful not to touch the heat of the barrel against my skin. I glance at the bodies one more time before Creed steers me back around, leaving them to rot in the jungle. The flower on Harry’s chest is all I see, the way it bloomed so quickly. I know that’s going to be the image that haunts me the most.