Chapter 8: Hunter and prey

The flash of blonde hair vanished into the thick brush beyond the dock, but Jake was already moving. He grabbed Emma’s hand, pulling her behind him as he strode toward the tree line, eyes narrowed and lethal.

“Stay close,” he muttered.

Emma’s heart hammered. “Jake, wait we should call the police.”

“And tell them what? My crazy ex is taking pictures from the woods?” He shook his head. “I need to see her face. Make her understand this ends today.”

They pushed through the undergrowth, branches snagging at Emma’s dress, the lake’s gentle lap fading behind them. Sunlight dappled the forest floor, but the air felt heavier here thicker with tension.

A twig snapped ahead.

Jake froze, listening. Then he released Emma’s hand and moved forward silently, muscles coiled like a predator. Emma followed, pulse roaring in her ears.

They reached a small clearing. Footprints indented the soft earth small, heeled. Fresh.

“She’s on foot,” Jake said quietly. “Can’t have gone far.”

Another sound a rustle to their left. Jake pivoted, but it was only a squirrel darting up a tree.

Emma’s phone buzzed again. She glanced at it, stomach dropping.

New message from Kayla:

You’re braver than I thought, coming after me. But you won’t like what you find.

Attached was another photo: this one of Jake’s truck parked outside Kayla’s apartment building last night timestamped.

Emma showed him. His jaw tightened.

“She’s trying to rattle us. Keep us chasing shadows.”

But they kept moving, deeper into the woods, following the faint trail of broken branches and scuffed dirt. The path curved toward an old service road used by park maintenance.

And there parked randomly under the trees was Kayla’s red convertible.

The driver’s door was open. A camera bag sat on the seat.

Jake approached cautiously, scanning the area. “Kayla!” he called, voice hard. “Come out. We know you’re here.”

Silence.

Emma’s skin prickled. “This feels wrong.”

Jake nodded, pulling her back a step. “Stay behind me.”

They circled the car. On the passenger seat lay a manila envelope. Jake’s name scrawled across it in red marker.

He grabbed it, tearing it open.

Inside: dozens of printed photos.

Them at the beach. Her on the kitchen counter. The balcony table. Last night’s raw reunion. Today on the dock moments ago.

And worse: older ones. Jake with other girls over the years some Emma recognized from parties, some she didn’t. All intimate. All damning if taken out of context.

A note on top, in Kayla’s looping handwriting:

He’ll never change. I have digitals too. Walk away, Emma, or these go to your parents, Mia, his work, everyone.

Emma’s knees weakened. “She’s been doing this for months.”

Jake’s face was stone. “She’s bluffing about sending them. If she does, it’s revenge p**n. Illegal. I’ll ruin her.”

But Emma saw the calculation in his eyes the fear that even the threat could destroy things. His job. Their families. Everything.

A laugh echoed from the trees high, unhinged.

Kayla stepped out twenty feet away, phone in hand, recording.

“Finally,” she said, smiling too wide. “The happy couple.”

She looked different from the party hair wild, makeup smudged, eyes glassy with something manic.

Jake stepped in front of Emma. “Delete everything. Now.”

“Or what?” Kayla tilted her head. “You’ll call the cops? Tell them your new girlfriend likes fucking in public while I document it?” She laughed again. “I have backups in the cloud. Timed emails. If anything happens to me, they send automatically.”

Emma’s blood chilled. “You’re sick.”

“No,” Kayla spat, venom twisting her features. “I’m in love. He was mine first. You’re just the flavor of the summer.”

Jake’s voice was ice. “I was never yours. We hooked up. It ended. You need help, Kayla.”

Her face crumpled, then hardened. “You said things. Promised”

“I didn’t.” He took a step forward. “Give me the phone.”

Kayla backed up, finger hovering over the screen. “One tap and Mia gets the full collection. Your parents. Her grad school advisor. Everyone sees what a slut she is”

Jake lunged.

Kayla shrieked, darting sideways, but he was faster. He grabbed her wrist, twisting until the phone dropped. She clawed at him, nails raking his arm, but he pinned her against a tree, careful not to hurt her but firm enough she couldn’t move.

Emma scooped up the phone, heart racing. Passcode locked.

“Code,” Jake growled.

Kayla spat at him. “Fuck you.”

He tightened his grip slightly. “Now.”

“0-8-1-4,” she hissed. “Your birthday. Pathetic, right?”

Emma’s stomach turned as she typed it in. The phone unlocked.

Gallery: thousands of photos. Videos. All of them.

Cloud app open, scheduled emails ready to send in 24 hours.

Emma’s hands shook as she deleted the scheduled sends, then started wiping the gallery.

Kayla thrashed. “You can’t! Those are mine!”

Jake held her easily. “You crossed a line. This is stalking. Harassment. We’re going to the police.”

Terror flashed in Kayla’s eyes. “No Jake, please. I love you. I just wanted you to see”

“You don’t love me,” he said coldly. “You’re obsessed. And it ends today.”

Sirens wailed in the distance growing closer.

Emma looked up, confused. “Did you”

Jake shook his head. “Must be a passerby heard the screaming.”

Kayla went limp, tears streaming. “Don’t do this. I’ll leave you alone. I swear.”

But the damage was visible, scratches on Jake’s arm, her wild appearance. When the two park rangers arrived minutes later, followed by local police, the story wrote itself.

Kayla was cuffed, sobbing, as officers took statements. They confiscated her phone, the envelope, the camera bag. Found more memory cards in her car.

By the time they were done, the sun was low, painting the lake gold.

Back at the house, Emma and Jake sat on the balcony steps, exhausted. Police had assured them charges would be filed stalking, harassment, potential revenge p**n distribution.

Jake pulled Emma against his side. “It’s over.”

She nodded, but tears came anyway relief, leftover fear, everything crashing at once.

He held her while she cried, stroking her hair. “I’m sorry you got dragged into my past.”

“I’m sorry I doubted you,” she whispered.

He tipped her chin up. “We’re even. And we’re stronger now.”

The kiss started soft comforting but ignited fast. Adrenaline still pumped through them, turning grief into need.

He lifted her, carrying her inside to the couch. Clothes came off in frantic tugs dress over her head, his shorts gone. No foreplay this time just raw connection.

He entered her slowly, eyes locked. “Feel me,” he murmured. “Only me.”

She wrapped around him, meeting every thrust, nails digging into his back. They moved together like survivors like two people who’d almost lost everything and refused to waste another second.

She came first, clenching around him, crying his name. He followed, burying his face in her neck, whispering I love you over and over.

After, they lay tangled, skin cooling, hearts syncing.

Emma’s phone buzzed Mia: Heard what happened. On my way home. You okay?

Emma smiled, typing back: We’re okay. Better than okay.

But as she set the phone down, Jake’s buzzed on the table.

Unknown number.

One new photo: Kayla in the back of the police car, tears streaking her face, staring straight at the camera.

Caption: This isn’t the end.

Jake deleted it immediately, blocking the number.

“She’s in custody,” he said firmly. “Can’t send anything.”

Emma nodded, but unease lingered.

Because Kayla’s eyes in that photo weren’t defeated.

They were promising revenge.

And somewhere, somehow, she still had a way to reach them.