Page 62 of Prey

“Were you at the last frat party?” before I could answer. “Oh my god, that was so good.”

This chick is getting too comfortable here. I'll kick her off the couch if she doesn’t move in ten seconds.

“Oh my god,” she screamed as the chick doing the shots was down to her bra and panties. “Strip it all off. Strip it all off.”

My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I flicked it out, eager for a reply from Riley. No, it was Ronan.

Ronan: Where r u?

Me: Killing myself.

Ronan: Use a rope. Less blood.

Me: Ha. Funny.

Ronan: People?

Me: Girl won’t stop talking.

Ronan: lol. Date?

Me: Fuck off. I have eyes for one girl.

Ronan: Do u know a Merk?

Me: Heard of him. Filth. Runs grooming gangs. Why?

Ronan: Running roads inside Savile. Mik wants to send him on vacation.

Me: I won’t cry. Be careful. His reach is far. Heavies everywhere.

Ronan: Have a good night. Talk to u later.

The girl was still chatting non-stop, but I caught the last part when she said, “The one Shaun slept with and abandoned that night.”

I assumed she was talking about the girl stripping for shots.

Then she added, “Remember that?”

“No,” I snapped, wishing she’d find someone else to blabber to. Besides, her perfume was aggravating the back of my throat. She’s a fucking fire hazard. I was surprised her hair didn’t explode when she took a puff of my joint. Yuck. She left lipstick on it. “You can keep this,” I added, handing the joint back, cringing. Then, I reflected on what she said. “Wait. Who were you talking about?”

“What? When?” she looked at me, bit her bottom lip, and a shudder ran down my spine. It’s a real problem when you haveeyes for only one girl because every other girl starts to look like a swamp ogre.

“The chick Shaun slept with then abandoned. Are you talking about her?” I pointed to the now fully naked chick dancing about as men squeezed her ass and tits. Jeezus, she’s a cow in the shed about to get milked.

“No,” she tipped her head back and laughed. “Riley. One of the Rileys we were talking about.”

“Shaun slept with Riley?” I needed clarification, and she better not fuck me around.

“Yes,” she laughed, “then for a joke, they forced her to walk home in the dark. I mean…that could be dangerous, I guess…”

With every irritating word she spoke, my left eye twitched, and the pumping music faded, replaced by a high-pitched siren bleeding inside my head. The drunken students' movements slowed to an unnatural pace as everything seemed surreal. Hollowed. Thumping heart. Rising anger.

All I could hear was the siren.

All I could see was the color red.

Culprit number two, Callum, had his tongue down the throat of a cheerleader, and with fists clenched, I rose from the couch, pulled by an overpowering magnet, and strolled through the crowd to him.

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