Page 27 of Wicked Games

Her words abruptly dried up as the door directly to our left opened a crack. I stared at it, eyes wide, and watched as it swung farther open to reveal a pretty face with red-rimmed eyes.

“What the hell areyoudoing here?” Jasmine Briarwood snapped, glaring down at me.

My lips tightened. “Nice to see you too,” I said in a withering tone, crossing my arms.

“What the fuck is going on here? Did you two losers plan this bullshit to get back at me or something?” she asked, drawing herself up to her full height as her gaze flicked between me and Brooke. She was clearly trying to seem fearless and imperious, but the slight crack in her voice betrayed her underlying distress.

“No.” Brooke shook her head. “We woke up here, just like you.”

“What about last night? Were you invited here? With the weird black letter about the Galileo Society?”

“Yes.”

“I should’ve known it wasn’t a real secret society. Not if they were inviting people likeyou,” Jasmine said, nostrils flaring with disdain as she looked at me again.

“And that’s my cue. Always a pleasure, Jasmine,” I said. With that, I turned around and marched down the hall, Brooke at my side.

“Wait!” Jasmine hurried after us. “Let me come with you!”

“Are you sure you want to hang out with losers like us?” Brooke asked, looking over her shoulder.

Jasmine’s face had gone pale, and her hands were shaking. “Look, I just… I don’t want to be alone, okay?” she said in a small voice. “I have no idea what’s going on.”

“Fine. Come with us,” I said flatly. “But one more bitchy comment and you’re on your own again.”

She nodded and remained silent until we reached the staircase. “Is the drawing room down there?” she asked, peering over the baluster.

I nodded. “We haven’t gone in yet. We’re going now to see if the others are there.”

“Wait!” A familiar voice called out behind us, and we whirled around to see April and Zach hurrying down the hallway, faces etched with a mix of panic and relief.

Brooke and I dashed back up the hall and threw our arms around them, clinging to them both for what felt like an eternity. Jasmine awkwardly hung back during the reunion, arms folded and lips pursed.

“Are you okay?” April asked, voice muffled against my shoulder.

“Not really,” I said softly. “I’m scared. I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Me neither. This shit is crazy.” She finally broke away from the hug and tilted her head. “Do you remember anything about last night?”

“Yes. I was drugged.”

Her eyes widened. “By a person in a mask?”

“Yup.”

“Us too,” April said, motioning to Zach.

“I woke up in that room down there,” he added in a tremulous tone, pointing to the second-last door on the right. “The first thing I saw was this creepy letter telling me to find the drawing room. April’s room is near mine, so we ran into each other when we left.”

“We’re heading to the drawing room now,” I said. “Oh, and by the way… apparently Hudson Calloway, Maverick Reinhart, and Rhys Whitmer are here too.”

April’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding. Those fucking ass—”

Brooke held up a palm. “They aren’t behind this,” she said hurriedly. “They were brought here and drugged the same way we were.”

“Right.” April looked at me with raised brows, and I could see that her bullshit radar was going off the same way mine did when I first heard the news. “Well… let’s go and see, I guess.”

We headed back to the staircase and descended, one by one. As Brooke described earlier, almost every doorway and window on the ground floor level was blocked off by thick steel barriers, leaving only one hall open on the far right of the foyer. A door at the end stood slightly ajar. Voices drifted out from the room beyond.

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